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Vol. 117 No. 1 | January 1, 2026 - January 7, 2026

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Vol. 116 No. 27 | July 3, 2025 - July 9, 2025

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Vol. 116 No. 29 | July 17, 2025 - July 23, 2025

A RAGE IN HARLEM

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Vol. 116 No. 31 | July 31, 2025 - August 6, 2025

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HOUSING SHORTAGE LEAVES GUN VIOLENCE SURVIVORS STUCK IN NURSING HOMES

(See coverage on page 14)

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(See coverage on page 6)

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THE HOUSING BARRIER

THE STRUGGLE TO PRESERVE VOTING RIGHTS

SOME ACTIVISTS MAD OVER AFFORDABLE HOUSING LEVELS AT ONE45 DEVELOPMENT

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Vol. 116 No. 30 | July 24, 2025 - July 30, 2025

THE UNFINISHED MARCH

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wh AM ose I?

Dow gent n with rifica tion!

(See story on page 20) (AmNews)

(Amanda Ulloa Illustration)

(Amanda Ulloa Illustration)

NYPD’s Bad Habit: Stop-and-Frisk Abuses Still Targets Blacks, Latinos

Malcolm-Jamal Warner 1970-2025

Federal Loan Caps Put NY’s Workforce and Educational Equity at Risk

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

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

(Damaso Reyes photo)

‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Means Ugly Cuts And Dire NY Housing Crisis Urban Agenda by David R. Jones, President and CEO of the Community Service Society of New York - See page 5

(See story on page 21)

(Amanda Ulloa Illustration)

1 0 t h A N N U A L L A B O R B R E A K FA S T S U P P L E M E N T

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WHY DO YOU CARRY A GUN?

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WILL PROJECT 2025 USE THE CENSUS TO CUT US OUT?

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Vol. 116 No. 36 | September 4, 2025 - September 10, 2025

HURRICANE KATRINA

(See story on page 6)

THE NEW BLACK VIEW

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A PATTERN THAT PERSISTS:

SCHIZOPHRENIA OVERDIAGNOSED IN BLACK COMMUNITIES

20 YEARS IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR

(See story on page 6)

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(See story on page 6)

(See story on page 6)

(Amanda Ulloa illustration)

(Photo illustration by AmNews)

(AP/Eric Gay, AP Photo)

A Broken Ladder: NYC’s Elite High Schools Continue to Shut Out Black and Latino Students

SAVE SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICAID & MEDICARE. SUE WASHINGTON. Brought to you by senior citizens of Dumbo Brooklyn. New York.

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LLOYD A . WILLIAMS

Vol. 116 No. 35 | August 28, 2025 - September 3, 2025

LOOKING BACK AT HOUSE’S BARBERSHOP CAPTURING THE ESSENCE OF A HARLEM INSTITUTION

HOW A SIMPLE QUESTION IS TRANSFORMING LIVES IN A PENNSYLVANIA PRISON

New York’s Human Services Workers Deserve Wages That Reflect Their Value

By Keith Little, BUMP Campaign consultant - See page 5

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

(Photo courtesy of the Claire Oliver Gallery)

(Photo illustration by AmNews)

1945 -2025

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1947 - 2025

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Vol. 116 No. 37 | September 11, 2025 - September 17, 2025

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Vol. 116 No. 39 | September 25, 2025 - October 1, 2025

A LOVE LETTER TO HARLEM

WHY NYC SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS FACE UNSEEN CHALLENGES

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NYC’S FIRST HBCU EARLY COLLEGE PREP LOOKS TO DEFY THE ODDS

DOCUMENTING THE STORIES OF LONGTIME RESIDENTS

Vol. 116 No. 41 | October 9, 2025 - October 15, 2025

Vol. 116 No. 40 | October 2, 2025 - October 8, 2025

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IN-CUSTODY DEATHS: RISK REMAINS HIGH FOR VULNERABLE

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WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DIME MAKES

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WHY NEW YORKERS ARE FIGHTING MAD ABOUT MTA FARE HIKE TO $3

DETAINEES IN NYC’S JAIL SYSTEM

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

(Amanda Ulloa illustration)

Trump’s Racist Attack on Black America Urban Agenda by David R. Jones, President and CEO of the Community Service Society of New York - See page 5

How the Next NYC Mayor Can Fight Trump’s War on Healthcare Urban Agenda by David R. Jones, President and CEO of the Community Service Society of New York - See page 5

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Vol. 116 No. 44 | October 30, 2025 - November 5, 2025

2025 BALLOT PROPOSALS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

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THE MILLION MAN MARCH 30 YEARS LATER: REFLECTIONS FROM THOSE WHO WERE THERE

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VOTE 2025:

NEW YORK CITY CHOOSES ITS FUTURE IN AN ELECTION WITH NATIONAL IMPACT

(See story on page 6)

(See VOTER GUIDE on page 16)

Vol. 116 No. 45 | November 6, 2025 - November 12, 2025

THE NEW BLACK VIEW

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MAMDANI

Vol. 116 No. 46 | November 13, 2025 - November 19, 2025

THE NEW BLACK VIEW

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STUDIO MUSEUM, HARLEM’ HARLEM’S GEM

WINS 2025 NYC

BACK AND SHINING BRIGHTER THAN EVER (See story on page 6)

MAYORAL ELECTION

(See story on page 6)

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THE NEW BLACK VIEW

(AmNews)

New Mayor Must Hold FDNY’s Feet to the Fire

Faith Demands More Than Politics as Usual

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

Urban Agenda by Frederick Davie, Senior Vice President at Union Theological Seminary - See page 5

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WHY NYC'S FLOOD PROTECTION PLAN FOR RED HOOK FALLS SHORT

Vol. 116 No. 48 | November 27, 2025 - December 3, 2025

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BRAGG TALKS SECOND TERM (See story on page 6)

A SPECIAL REPORT FROM THE AMNEWS BLACKLIGHT TEAM

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Eric Adams’ Tumultuous Mayoralty

THE NEW BLACK VIEW

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WHY BROOKLYN WANTS TO SAVE THIS CENTURY-OLD MANSION

Vol. 116 No. 50 | December 11, 2025 - December 17, 2025

THE NEW BLACK VIEW

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SHOP HARLEM FOR THE HOLIDAYS THESE BLACK ENTREPRENEURS ARE WAITING TO WELCOME YOU

BACK AND SHINING THANEXCLUSIVE EVER ANBRIGHTER AMNEWS WITH

THE MANHATTAN D.A.

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Vol. 116 No. 51 | December 18, 2025 - December 24, 2025

THE NEW BLACK VIEW

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SHOP HARLEMDENTAL FOR THE IS AFFORDABLE CAREHOLIDAYS FOR BLACK THESE BLACK ENTREPRENEURS ARE WAITING TO WELCOME YOU

AND BROWN PATIENTS A PAINFUL DRILL? (See guide on page 6)

(See story on page 6)

(See story on page 6)

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

Vol. 116 No. 49 | December 4, 2025 - December 10, 2025

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(AmNews / Amanda Ulloa illustration)

NYC Schools Should Be High on Mamdani’s Priority List Urban Agenda by David R. Jones, President and CEO of the Community Service Society of New York - See page 5

Trump’s Dangerous Retreat from Minority Health Research Urban Agenda by David R. Jones, President and CEO of the Community Service Society of New York - See page 5 (See guide on page 20)

(See guide on page 6)

2 • January December 1, 2026 25, 2025 - January - December 7, 202631, 2025

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THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS B E S T O

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New aresound fired up over Trump’s NewYorkers York pols alarm, fearing executive far-right order targeting voting rights andBlack citizenship will weaponize Census against and

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff

Brown people ByOne ARIAMA of President C. LONG Donald Trump’s latest Amsterdamorders News is Staff executive targeting voting rights and mail-in ballots. A move that New York President Trump’s administration has alState officials and advocates are slamming ready started away immigrants, at the 2030 as an attack onchipping voters of color, Census, using Project 2025, the playbook and low-income communities. ofThe far-right racistwas policies aimson to order,and which madethat public overhaul countrypeople and reshape governMarch 25,the requires to show docmental infrastructure.

However, Blacktheir pouments, like a passport, proving litical leaders toto getregister ahead of before citizenship inwant order toitvote –– people in New State —American particularly its mimicking theYork Safeguard Voter Black and Act Brown population — bans are left disEligibility (SAVE Act). It also states enfranchised endangered. from countingand mail ballots that arrive after The Census, Election Day. taken every 10 years, plays a critical role in state for represenMembers of determining the New Yorkers Inclutation in Congress and allocation fundsive Democracy (NYID) coalition of warned ing for local communities. lost that “hard-won freedoms”New likeYork voting one congressional 2020 by only 89 rights needed to seat be in protected by the people,legislature largely due in to the to get state’s an rush op-ed on people March counted during the COVID-19 crisis.for the 19.

In their demands they called “Weto have to coordinate a statewide effort state invest at least $10.8 million in the before the Census here,”voter said Assemupcoming budget gets towards educablymember Michaelle C. as Solages, who tion and outreach, as well the passage sponsored AssemblyDuring Bill A5864, which Act esof the Democracy Detention tablishes a NewtoYork State office andfor com(S440/A2121) facilitate voting elmission for a local and Census “We were igible detainees, thecount.

Enhanced Aucaught flat-footed in 2020. Allocation tomatic Voter Registration bill (S88) for to funding to health care, education, food, automatically register eligible voters and assistance may cut, but with an through agencies likebethe Department of accurate Census(DMV count, Motor Vehicles ). we can stem the bleeding.”

“The executive order signed by President The count is used to determine the Trump is a blatant attempt at voter supnumber ofthat congressional seats each state pression could disenfranchise milhas —ofa eligible process voters. called apportionment — lions The order would and electoral districts are redrawn based create unnecessary barriers to the free exon where populations have increased or ercise of the very cornerstone of our dedecreased. government then gives or mocracy ––The the right to vote. It would have takesgreatest away hundreds billions of dollars in the impact ofon communities of federaland funding for communities on color naturalized citizens,” based said Asthat information. Latrice The U.S Walker, Census Bureau is semblymember chair of currently in the research phase the Assembly’s electionand lawtesting committee of planning for of 2030. and a member NYID, in a statement.

“I’m ringing the bell.

Census is the Walker denounced theThe order as “unconend game,” said Assemblymember stitutional” because the power toLandon deterDais, who has been passionately champimine the rules for federal elections lies oningthe state Census legislation.

“Ifhas Demwith states.

“So, the president no ocrats don’t wake updocumentary now, if we mess this authority to require proof of up, it’s likelytowe won’tto have another Demcitizenship register vote,” said Walker. ocratic president or Senate for atreceived least a She noted that mail-in ballots generation.

I need Governor Hochul to unby or after Election Day is standard pracderstand that this is a priority.” tice in 18 states, including New York, as long as they are postmarked by Election Day. Eliminating public Trump claims thatinput the order “strengthens Thecitizenship Trump administration in voter verification” andmoved “bans forMarch 2025 tofrom eliminate the in Census Bueign nationals interfering U.S. elecreau’s To National Committee on tions.” be clear,Advisory said the Brennan Center raceJustice, and ethnicity, as already well as can’t the Census for noncitizens vote in Scientific Advisory Committee, both of state and federal elections under penalty which give the bureauand public criminal prosecution thatinput. instances of Meeta Anand, senior director of census & in-person voter fraud are extremely low. The data equity at the Leadership Conference “myth of noncitizen voting” gained traction on Civil and Human Rights, the years adviwith “election deniers” in the said last five sory committees provide fromsystem, people to undermine trust in theinput electoral on the inCenter. their particular commusaid theground Brennan nities.

The bureau specifically sought exNew York City Council did once float the

(Collage by Amanda Ulloa)

idea of allowing “tax paying”Plan noncitizens 2020 Census Operational compiledto

by U.S. Census Bureau, part of Department of vote in local elections and managed Commerce.

(AP Photo/Jon Elswick) to pass Bill Intro 1867 (Local Law 11) in 2021. This perts leaders Black, wouldand havecommunity allowed more than from 800,000 im- not that huge. It’s been coming in at much Latino, Nativewho American, rural, and lower for the last few years,” said Anand. migrantAsian, New Yorkers held green cards, other historically undercounted and unWithout adequate funding for thorough work authorizations, Deferred Action for derrepresented communities that don’t testing and field sites before the decenniChildhood Arrivals (DACA) status, or Temget the Protected proper funding representation in al year, the porary Statusor (TPS) to vote. It was government need. bureau will have a hard time improving immediatelythey struck down by a state judge people arein able to ask questions in“These 2022 and again 2025 by the state’s accuracy since there are no do-overs, said in a way they are prodding and prob- Anand. For example, from 2012 to 2017, Court ofwhere Appeals. ing what seen the bureau is doing,” saidout Anand.

“We’ve this same effort play with insufficient funding forced the cancella“The otherdecision part of ittoisstrike because it was public the recent down Local Law tion of key tests in rural areas and on tribal input, asked of the bureau in lands. As a result, the 2020 Census saw un11—an questions initiative that would have enfranthese recommendations chised meetings, nearly one and million immigrant New dercounts in those areas. made at these theCEO Census Bureau Yorkers,” said meetings, President & of the New was to respond to them.”

Yorkrequired Immigration Coalition (NYIC) Murad Race and ethnicity data Anand said the Trump administration The race and ethnicity data collection at Awawdeh in a statement.

“This ruling wasn’t claimed that for these advisorycommunities; committees the federal level currently includes a disjust a setback immigrant were “biased,” is why they are pushit’s part of thewhich broader national trend of tinct “Middle Eastern or North African” ing to focus onatoutreach to “conservative (MENA) category. Project 2025’s plans eschipping away voting rights.”

Black and Brown voters in Brooklyn lined groups” — populations could win Re- sentially call for reversing vital updates to A similar issue occursthat with voter idenup at an early voting poll site during 2024’s publicans more(ID) votes. tity document laws in the U.S, which this type of data collection, known as the presidential election on Tuesday, November 5.

In addition to deleting public voter inputfraud from Statistical Policy Directive 15, in an effort indeed are necessary to prevent (Ariama C. Long photos) communities of color, Anand said the ad- to control standards long sought by the civil but have historically and disproportionateministration closing field test offices and rights community. ly impacted is Black, Latino, Native Amerimunity—voting is sacred, it is the foundadefunding count.

Thevoters, Censusreported Bureau tion Theof MENA our civic region and spiritual covers an commitment expansive can, elderly,the and student falls under both the Senate the During House, to area, justice,” from Africa said Crystal to the borders Walthall,ofexecuPakithe League of Women Votersand (LWV). and the Crow Census count is supremacists funded through standirector and Afghanistan of Faith in inNew Central York.

Asia “But to the the Jim era, white in tive the Senate and Appropriations proMediterranean.

It includes many Arabic of the federal Voting Rights Act government andHouse law enforcement began to promise cess.

For Fiscal Year 2026 (FY 2026), the has and never Islamic countries like Syria, been fully realized forIraq, too Libya, many use restrictive and ridiculous tactics to preappropriations bill offers lessThis funding at of Yemen, our communities.

Algeria, Bahrain, From Egypt, purges to Jordan, supvent Black people from voting. includabout $1.52tests billion forpoll thetaxes, countalong than even Kuwait, Lebanon, and nowMorocco, to coordinated Oman,attacks Qatar, ed literacy and with pression, Trump’s budget request.

Saudithe Arabia, Tunisia, United Arab highest levels ofthe government, the unwarranted arrests and outright violence. from The ofCensus Project and in other Emirates to vote (UAE), is under andthreat.” the West Bank and Most these were banned 1965groups under right have been advocating for $2 billion a year Many The U.S 2020 citizens Census also was justthe don’t firsthave census an the Voting Rights Act (VRA), but voter ID Gaza. to make needed investments in the count. ID to specifically MENA responses.

Its or access tosolicit a valid ID since the most laws persisted.

“Which I knowasounds like a lota but if you count concluded California, Michigan, form isthat a driver’s license.

Other “For me—as Black woman, person of common look other lines in deeply the budget, it’s in actually See VOTING See CENSUS RIGHTS on page 23 28 faith,atand someone rooted com-

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS B E S T O F 2 0 2 5

January 1, 2026 - January 7, 2026 • 3

Daniel Prude remembered as calls grow for mental health response reform

By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News staff writer New Yorkers across the state commemorated Daniel Prude on what would have seen his 47th birthday this past Saturday, Sept. 21, as they called for passing his namesake bill in Albany. The Chicago man who was visiting his brother in Rochester died at the hands of police there during a mental health response in March 2020. The incident sparked local, then-freshman, State Sen. Samra Brouk to introduce Daniel’s Law a year later, with permission from Prude’s family.

If passed, the legislation ostensibly limits law enforcement’s participation in mental health responses across the state. Medical research points to police escalating psychiatric crises, leading to preventable use-offorce and death. The issue often stems from a lack of training, but there is no evidence training officers to respond to mental health crises actually helps. Body armor, flashing sirens, and guns can be enough to heighten such encounters.

So advocates see civilian units, usually made up of intervention specialists and medical professionals, as the better alternative to deploying cops in non-violent scenarios. There is specifically a push for peer-led programs with people who live with a mental health condition at the forefront. Additionally, proponents say many cops do not want to respond to mental health crises either, and such measures would divert them towards focusing on index crimes like murder and rape.

Non-police crisis response teams already exist and are scattered across New York’s municipalities, but currently exist in a “patchwork system.” Daniel’s Law would bring them under a governing council, shaping participating municipalities with uniform protocols developed through evidence-based research while remaining mindful of their varied populations.

Additionally, the bill incentivizes local governments with state funding to move towards developing non-police mental health response programs. Brouk, who chairs the State Senate’s Committee on Mental Health, adds that these teams would likely help cost-cutting as they are cheaper than “deploying law enforcement indiscriminately.”

While the bill awaits passage, this year’s state budget invested millions in Daniel’s Law provisions, like a technical help center and several pilot programs. Such measures are guided by the Daniel’s Law Task Force created by state law two years ago.

“Oftentimes when looking [at legislation], this transformative, that’s reforming a deeply entrenched system like our emergency and crisis service system, you often

Advocates remember people killed by police during mental health crises during Daniel’s Day programming in Crown Heights this past Saturday, Sept. 21. (Tandy Lau photo)

do see that pieces of a bill will get passed,” said Brouk. “And it won’t be until later that the entire bill is passed. Some of it is because the state government works slowly.

These are hundreds of millions of dollars in investment, and you can learn a lot by doing a phased-in approach.”

“We deliberately put the Daniel’s Law Task Force into a previous budget so that we could really study what implementation would look like in New York State…what they came up with was the Technical Assistance Center and also a phased-in approach.”

The task force examined existing programs, particularly Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets (CAHOOTS), a mobile response unit that ceased longtime operations in Eugene, Ore., earlier this year due to funding (it still operates in the nearby Springfield, Ore.). For three decades, duos consisting of a crisis worker and a medical professional were deployed to mental health calls without a single documented death or serious injury.

Another program, Toronto’s Gerstein Centre, was also highlighted by the task force.

In 2023, Human Rights Watch researchers told the AmNews the Canadian service provider served as a strong “right-respecting” alternative model to Mayor Eric Adams’ thendirective to push involuntary commitments.

Rochester, which is in Brouk’s district, launched HOPE First Roc, the first “Daniel’s Law-styled” mental health response team, this past July. The pilot is based on tried-and-true models like CAHOOTS and Denver’s Support Team Assisted Responder (STAR). Starting this fall, the Daniel’s Law Coalition-backed program will deploy in

Rochester’s 19th Ward and Genesee-Jefferson neighborhoods — which boast majority Black populations — to offer voluntary, civilian crisis support.

However, Daniel’s Law proponents do not know what New York City’s non-police response program is based on. The city launched the B-HEARD pilot in spring 2021, originally servicing the Harlem area.

But the program faces regular criticism from mental health advocates. More than half of the calls requesting a B-HEARD were deemed ineligible according to the NYC Comptroller’s Office report this past March, sometimes due to unavailable dispatchers.

Even a third of eligible calls did not receive the program’s services.

New York City also faces a discrimination lawsuit accusing the NYPD-led mental health responses of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, filed by several organizations included in the Daniel’s Law Coalition, like New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and VOCAL-NY. Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice weighed in on the class action, asking the courts to look at how people with mental illness were singled out by the city for police responses while other health conditions received a medical response.

Advocates demand justice for Win Rozario Almost exactly four years after Prude’s death, Queens teenager Win Rozario called 911 on himself during a mental health crisis. Hailing from Ozone Park and the son of an airport worker, he originally emigrated from Bangladesh and quickly taught himself how to play basketball after arriv-

ing in the United States. He cooked for his mom and was an animal-lover with aspirations of owning his own farm.

NYPD officers Salvatore Alongi and Matthew Cianfrocco drew their tasers, and then guns, within two minutes of entering Rozario’s home on March 27, 2024, based on bodycam footage released by Attorney General Letitia James. They fatally shot him when he got hold of kitchen scissors after his mother, Notan Eva Costa, tried to de-escalate and restrain him, before ultimately attempting to shield him.

For more than a year, Rozario’s family called for accountability. On Sept. 10, the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), the city’s independent police oversight agency, substantiated misconduct charges against Alongi and Cianfrocco.

Organizations like the South Asian advocacy group Desis Rising Up & Moving (D.R.U.M.) and the Justice Committee for families of police violence joined in organizing efforts by rallying at CCRB meetings and calling the offices of the Mayor and Police Commissioner. They also raised money for Rozario’s family to move apartments so they would not be reminded of where he was killed.

“Win’s mom still had to cook in the same kitchen that her son was killed in,” said D.R.U.M. racial justice organizer Simran Thind. “It was only through D.R.U.M. and [Justice Committee] organizing [that] we raised money to make sure that the families were able to move [and] find a new place.”

However, the clock was running out to serve the officers within 18 months of the misconduct complaint last week. After the deadline, CCRB prosecutors would need to prove the officers committed a crime under a much higher burden of proof — such an issue delayed a disciplinary hearing for the killing of Allan Feliz in 2019 for roughly half a decade.

Last Thursday, Sept. 18, Rozario’s family and supporters took to One Police Plaza to call for Mayor Eric Adams and Commissioner Jessica Tisch to serve the officers before time ran out this month. Proponents included New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) Executive Drector Donna Lieberman, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, and State Senator John Liu. “The killing of Win Rozario is yet another devastating reminder that we must end our over-reliance on police as first responders,” said Lieberman. “That we must instead treat mental health crises as what they are: a public health issue, with police involved only if and when necessary.”

Just hours after the rally, Tisch served Alongi and Cianfrocco their charges. A long process awaits. The officers will undergo an NYPD disciplinary trial. They face See DANIEL’S LAW on page 23

4 • January 1, 2026 - January 7, 2026

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS B E S T O F 2 0 2 5

Harlem’s 28th Precinct C.O. James Whitlock says he knows what’s behind the drop in crime

By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News staff writer NYPD Capt. James Whitlock took the stage last month during National Night Out Against Crime in Harlem to reintroduce himself. He reflected on drastic reductions in crime: fourth most improved throughout the NYPD, he said, crediting not only his officers but the surrounding Harlem community.

For Whitlock, returning to Harlem as the 28th Precinct’s Commanding Officer feels “surreal.” He grew up in the Grant Houses on 125th Street, just three blocks from the police station. Now, 26 years deep in the NYPD (he’s careful to point out how three of those years were spent as a school safety agent), Whitlock took command of the 28th Precinct last summer after spending most of his career in investigative work. His previous role in the Bronx tackled narcotics distribution and gang violence.

This year, the NYPD reports a roughly 25% decrease in index crime in the 28th Precinct, which covers a significant area of Central Harlem, including the Apollo Theater, the main 125th Street Corridor, and the Adam Clayton Powell State Office Building.

In fact, every category decreased besides murder, which rose from four to five despite reductions in gun violence. Notably, grand larceny auto complaints — which are typically better documented than other major crimes because of mandated insurance reporting — plummeted from 46 last year to just 21 in 2025, a 54.3% year-to-date decrease as of August.

So what’s working? Whitlock points to combining increased community involvement with police presence and enforcement to “implement a multi-layered approach.”

He delineated his calendar of speaking to Manhattan Community Board 10 every first Wednesday, community council meetings every second Wednesday, and public safety and cabinet meetings every third Wednesday.

“We also discuss the same variety of issues that’s plaguing the community,” said Whitlock over the phone. “I think that’s essential, because we hear it firsthand from the people…living it. Crime is down [but] the perception may be that they see a lot of things that we don’t see. We try to accommodate that and get those issues out of the way. That’s why we’re pretty big on quality of issues and complaints.”

Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado stands in front of a mural at Amy Ruth’s restaurant in Harlem on Friday, June 6. (Tandy Lau photo)

Whitlock also pointed to partnerships with local organizations like the Central Park Conservancy and the 125th Business Improvement District, both members of the Harlem Gateway 110th Street Coalition, a consortium of local groups and businesses formed to improve parts of Central Park North under the 28th Precinct’s jurisdiction over needs like mental health interventions and cleanups for used needles and condoms.

Harlemite Shatic Mitchell, the Central Park Conservancy’s director of civic engagement, says he’s noticed increased patrols across 110th Street under Whitlock as early as 6 a.m. But he also points to the C.O.’s personal efforts.

“I’ve seen how Captain Whitlock talks to people,” said Mitchell. “He didn’t raise his voice, got people to move to the sidewalk, got people to stop double parking. I think that because he’s from the community, understands the community. I think it’s invaluable to have

somebody with that type of leadership.”

Apostle Dr. Staci Ramos of Garden of Gethsemane Ministries also recalls frequently seeing Whitlock and his fellow “whitshirts” regularly on the streets, engaging with the community. She credits the crime decrease under the C.O. to his approach of “unity” and “presence.”

“Whitlock and his team come out, right?” she said. “They’re going to be coming out soon for the African American Day parade, but let’s just talk about Memorial Day, Labor Day, Fourth of July, all these other things.

When there’s parades in the street or walking in the street and the streets are closed, they come out. He comes out and he acclimates himself with the guys on the corner.”

As “Quality of Life” teams ramp up under NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, Whitlock remains aware that critics are concerned that such units stem from “broken windows policing.” Even a proponent like

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Mitchell mentioned the importance of not criminalizing mental illness and homelessness, and called for getting “the right responders there to assess the situation and then help people out,” which he believes the community-wide effort remains key for.

Whitlock says enforcement does not necessarily mean a summons or arrest.

“We always use discretion when we see people on the street drinking — we just have to disperse it [and] we can’t have that behavior,” said Whitlock. “When I’m on the streets and I encounter that kind of problem, I always say, ‘Listen, your entertainment should not infringe upon other people’s quality of life.’ And most people understand that and they’ll just pack up and go about their merry way.

“Because they understand when you stand outside at an unreasonable volume it’s affecting the kid that’s trying to go to sleep and wake up in the morning to go to school.”

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS B E S T O F 2 0 2 5

January 1, 2026 - January 7, 2026 • 5

Brooklyn’s Institutional International Ministries hosts outdoor baptisms, promotes community

Prayer station in front of Institutional International Ministries.

(Imani McFadden/Joy Works Photography)

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff Most people who get baptized in their religious faith go through a ceremony in a church with a baptismal font or pool; a minister performs the service, and family is present, but there’s no rule saying that always has to be the case. At a recent event hosted by Brooklyn’s Institutional International Ministries (IIM), anyone seeking salvation was welcome to join.

The fifth annual IIM “Stoop” Water Baptism Service took place along Fort Greene’s Adelphi Street this past Sunday, Aug. 31. The event brought church members together with community groups to section off parts of Adelphi Street and conduct an old-school outdoor church baptism service.

Two metal tubs were placed diagonally across from each other in the middle of the street, directly in front of IIM’s building at 170 Adelphi Street. Filled with water, the tubs were there for anyone passing by on the street or attending the service. People were encouraged to take a moment to reflect, make the decision, and get baptized.

Pastor Alex L. Williams, IIM’s leader, emphasized that the Baptism Service event was an important opportunity for the church to go beyond its walls and connect with the wider community.

“We’re really, indeed, excited for the church to be coming out of the four walls, which is what we are called to do,” Williams told the AmNews after the services ended on a comfortable 80-degree day. “We are called to come out of the four walls and to present Jesus Christ to our world and to our community. This is just an opportunity for the church to show the world what love looks like.”

The event was a showcase for the church, as well as for local politicians who had been invited to attend. Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and Deputy Borough President Kim Council were present, alongside assembly members, district leaders, members of the NYPD 88th Precinct, and local firefighters who had the opportunity to step outside their offices and be accessible to the public.

Activist Terrence Floyd, the youngest brother of George Floyd, also came to the event. He said he also regularly attends IIM services. Floyd said he’d originally met Ty’Ann Williams, IIM’s executive pastor, at one event and later met her husband, Pastor Williams. When he finally saw the two of them together, he said he saw them as a powerhouse.

“I was like, wow!” he said. “And then they prayed for me, you know what I’m saying?

When they prayed, I just felt the connection, so now when I travel, when I come

IIM’s baptism service also offered bouncy house for children.

back, I try to make it over here.”

Floyd added that he grew up in church, “so, I know the power of prayer, I know the power of fellowship, I know the power of God –– from my own life experiences … I feel community experiences like this, it definitely helps. If it even helps one individual, that one individual will go speak to another individual, and it spreads. It may not get everybody in this one day, but it’ll definitely impact the culture soon.”

During the service, Pastor Williams spoke to worshippers about the issues of gun violence, discrimination, and inequity in Brooklyn, in the country, and throughout the world. He insisted that it was important for the church to take an active role in demonstrating care and compassion.

In Brooklyn, which is often nicknamed the “borough of churches,” he said, churches are obligated to model ways for the community to prosper.

“If the church does not show love, where else can we find love?” he asked. “We spread this slogan, ‘Spread love, it’s the Brooklyn Way,’ but we’re seeing gun violence. We’re seeing discrimination. We’re seeing inequities.

“We believe that love of others can sometimes be conditional, but we serve a God whose love is unconditional. The scripture tells us in John 3:16, ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believed in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’

“In a world that we isolate and we make love conditional based on race, creed, ethnicity, socioeconomic backgrounds, the church needs to represent and present what Christ’s love looks like,” he continued. “No matter what skin color you are, no matter if you’re a migrant, no matter the conditions you’ve come to this country [under], we believe in showing the community –– and the world –– real love.”

6 • January 1, 2026 - January 7, 2026

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS B E S T O F 2 0 2 5

New York moves forward with Brooklyn flood protection plan that falls short of other city projects

Port warehouses, brick buildings with black shutters, which now house artists’ studios, with the Manhattan skyline in the background. (Shuran Huang for ProPublica)

By ASHAD HAJELA Amsterdam News Staff This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with The New York Amsterdam News. Sign up for Dispatches to get our stories in your inbox every week.

Quincy Phillips and his family had to live without power for two weeks after Hurricane Sandy.

(Alex Bandoni/ProPublica)

After a decade of planning, New York City broke ground in September on a $218 million plan to prevent flooding in the portside neighborhood of Red Hook in Brooklyn, even though experts say it will provide inadequate protection from storms. The project will also provide less protection than other city flood-protection projects, including a new $3.5 billion upscale development on the edge of the neighborhood.

Over a decade ago, Superstorm Sandy killed 44 people and caused $19 billion in damage across New York City, swamping homes and destroying businesses in Red Hook. The city responded, pumping billions of dollars into neighborhood flood protection projects.

Most of the money went to protect lower Manhattan from powerful 100-year storms — defined as storms that have a 1-in-4 chance of occurring at some point during the typical 30-year home mortgage.

But in Red Hook, where roughly two-thirds of residents are Black and Hispanic and earn below the city’s median income, the city is instead building to protect against a 10-year storm. The planned construction is expected to raise streets and sidewalks and erect barriers and floodwalls to an elevation of up

to 10 feet above sea level.

“It’s at best temporary. At worst, it gives a false sense of security,” said John Shapiro, a Pratt Institute professor whose research focuses on the impact of climate change on urban planning.

Shapiro and other experts say that as the climate warms, floods and storms are striking more frequently and with greater intensity. This leaves coastal communities with a complicated choice: Retreat from the coast, or build protection against the next violent storm.

Red Hook sits on a peninsula jutting into New York Harbor, which makes it vulnerable to flooding. The neighborhood was a marsh before the city began filling it in by the 1870s. In 1939, the city added the first section of the Red Hook Houses to board dock workers. The 32 buildings of the Red Hook Houses make up one of the city’s largest public housing developments and dominate the neighborhood’s skyline.

The neighborhood has Brooklyn’s last working port, along with an Amazon warehouse and an Ikea store. Artists’ studios are now tucked into old port buildings and trendy stores line the cobblestone streets. In recent years, the area has gentrified.

Quincy Phillips was living in a third-floor apartment in the Red Hook Houses when Sandy hit. He watched as the water swamped the first floor of the building.

“It didn’t reach past the second floor, thank God,” he said. “We had to roll our pants up to even walk past to get outside.”

The storm sent a six-foot wave of water

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through the neighborhood, destroying homes, ripping metal doors from warehouses, dropping boats onto the streets, and carrying cars out into the harbor.

Phillips’ family, like several thousand others in Red Hook, lived for two weeks without power and had to rely on federal aid until their refrigerator came back on.

The year after Sandy wiped out the homes of Phillips and his neighbors in Red Hook, the administration of then-Mayor Mike Bloomberg determined Red Hook was at high risk of future flooding. A 2013 city report recommended a flood protection system for the neighborhood, using a combination of infrastructure such as floodwalls and floodgates.

The city said the project, now known as the Red Hook Coastal Resiliency Project, would cost $200 million, but at the time, was able to secure only a $50 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The administration of subsequent Mayor Bill de Blasio tapped the city’s capital budget for another $50 million. As a result, the city told consultants to only consider projects that it could afford on the smaller budget, according to a feasibility study. This would be a less ambitious 10-year storm plan.

No Accounting for Sea Level Rise In order to predict how frequently storms will occur in the future and how high floodwaters are likely to reach, scientists and engineers use historical tidal data.

The models project that in Red Hook, a 100-year storm at current sea level would produce surging waves that would reach an elevation of at least 11 feet — a foot higher than the current plan would protect against.

That doesn’t account for sea level rise.

Climate experts serving on a city climate change panel have projected that, by midcentury, in the worst-case scenario, sea levels will rise several feet. Counting that additional water height, the city’s own study found that Red Hook would need to erect barriers between 15 and 18 feet. Neighborhood storm protection projects in other parts of the city are being built to an elevation of at least 16 feet.

The National Flood Insurance Program, which provides subsidized flood insurance to homeowners who live in high-risk flood zones, encourages communities to adopt a 100-year flood plan, said Philip Orton, an engineering professor at Stevens Institute of Technology who researches flood protection. Doing so, he said, lowers the cost of flood insurance for residents. “It’s rare that communities will not do it,” he said. All other coastal storm protection projects in New York City meet a 100-year standard.

Biden and Obama administration guidelines encouraged federally funded projects to build to an elevation of at least 2 feet over 100year storm projections. The Trump administration revoked them during each of his terms.

Last year, the city and FEMA increased funding by about $100 million for the Red Hook project. According to the city’s De-

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS January 1, 2026 - January 7, 2026 • 7 B E S T O F 2 0 2 5 partment of Design and Construction, the agency responsible for the project, the added funds covered a decade of inflation and paid for upgrades to park and green spaces in the area.

The funds also increased the elevation of the project from the original height of 8 feet to 10, taking into account greater changes to sea levels. But it didn’t bring it up to the levels that are being pursued in other parts of the city.

The Department of Design and Construction said a bigger project would disrupt ports, cruises, and other waterfront businesses while taking away park space. When asked why Red Hook was receiving a lower level of protection than other communities, a department spokesperson said its low-lying topography and privately owned waterfront made gaining access to build and maintain a protection system difficult. The current project is sufficient, the spokesperson added, because Sandy is the only storm Construction on the Red Hook Coastal Resiliency Project began in September. to strike the city since 1927 that would have (Shuran Huang for ProPublica photos) overtopped the flood barrier.

Michael Oppenheimer, a professor at Princeton University who served on the city’s climate change panel that came up with the sea level rise projections, said the city is misusing the historical record to justify its failure to protect against future storms.

“That’s a pretty poor excuse,” he said, adding that storms and floods like those experienced in Sandy will occur more frequently as sea levels rise.

Bernice Rosenzweig, a professor at Sarah Lawrence College who studies urban flooding and serves on the New York City Panel on Climate Change, said the project is inadequate to protect Red Hook from even today’s large storms.

“The walls are not designed for major floods, not even our contemporary major floods, forget about major floods that will happen at New floodwalls at Asser Levy Playground in Manhattan are part of the East Side Coastal the end of the 21st century,” she said.

Resiliency Project. The walls, seen in the background, are 6.5 feet higher than the planned Unequal Protection Alexa Avilés, the City Council member representing Red Hook, said infrastructure planning is particularly frustrating in Red Hook. Along with community activists and residents, she argues that the system the city and the federal government use to decide how much money to spend on flood protection is biased against poor communities.

“It never feels like we are prioritized, and we’re constantly fighting with the city again for both a basic level of service and then to get these major projects done and coordinated properly,” she said.

To win federal grants, applicants conduct a cost-benefit analysis that needs to show flood projects save more money in the event of a storm than they cost to build, said Kristin Smith, an economics researcher at Headwaters Economics, a nonprofit that studies flood risk.

That can be difficult for poor communities, she said.

“The benefit-cost analysis can be a barrier to qualifying for federal funding when it’s a lower-income neighborhood and the cost of the project is so high that you just don’t have the benefits to justify it,” she said.

walls for the Red Hook project.

Red Hook residents, advocates, and leaders say the flood barrier system proposed for the $3.5 billion housing development in the neighborhood shows how wealthy residents in the city receive greater protection.

The development, called the Brooklyn Marine Terminal, would build 6,000 mostly market-rate units on the northwest side of Red Hook, according to planning documents. A city task force approved the development in September along with a plan to refurbish and upgrade the port. It promises a flood barrier system that would protect from 100-year storms.

The Economic Development Corp., a cityrun nonprofit organization, owns the land and plans to pay for the flood protection and other infrastructure with funding from federal grants, the city’s capital budget, and the state, plus some from developers.

The Brooklyn Marine Terminal plan still needs to pass an environmental review and the state’s approval process, but it will bypass the city’s more extensive process. According to the planning documents, it could take until 2038 to finish the project.

The plan would protect the new develop-

ment site with a 21-foot coastal floodwall, which would start on the northern end of Red Hook and extend about 1 mile north.

Urban planners who conducted an analysis of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal for the City Club of New York Waterfront Committee, an advocacy group promoting flood protection for waterfronts, say it’s a mistake to protect the new development while the south coast of Red Hook receives a lower level of protection. That will place the new development at risk, as a storm surge can overtop those barriers and flood the area from the landward side of the development.

The group said the plan serves gentrification and developer interests rather than the larger Red Hook community.

“Most Red Hook residents live in public housing and lack the income necessary for housing mobility in NYC,” the analysis said.

In contrast, most of the residents in the new development are expected to be very affluent, based on projected rents, it said.

A spokesperson for the Economic Development Corp. said the city would study how to integrate the two projects but that there are no plans to further protect the peninsula.

8 4 • January September 1, 2026 18, 2025 - January - September 7, 2026 24, 2025

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS B E S T O F 2 0 2 5

Florida’s oldest oldestcounty countyhas haslaunched launchedaa new Black Black heritage heritagetour tour

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff Florida’s northeast communities have created a new self-guided tour to showcase locations where Black residents have made a major impact. Their new St. Johns County Black Heritage Trail highlights 20 historic sites that people can visit to learn more about the role of Black history in Florida and beyond.

The trail’s development was a collaborative effort sponsored by the St. Johns County Tourist Development Council, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Florida Division of Historical Resources. The programming includes a 64page guidebook, a website with interactive maps, and new signage at each of the historical sites.

The tour includes key locations in St. Augustine, a city founded by Spanish conquistadors in 1565 that became a center of the Spanish Empire in Florida. The Spanish held the city with the aid of Africans and Haitians. Fort Mosé, the nation’s first free African settlement, was founded there when Africans fled enslavement in nearby English and French colonies.

Other stops on the tour include Butler Beach, one of the few beaches in the area developed for African Americans, and the Lincolnville Historic District, a neighborhood founded by freedmen in 1866 that became a focal point of the Civil Rights Movement leading up to the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964.

Dr. Tameka Bradley Hobbs, a Florida historian who helped design the tour, says that the trail helps demonstrate that Black history in the Americas was not exclusively grounded in slavery.

“Our past in America is often viewed only through the lens of slavery, but part of the story in St. Augustine is recognizing that we came here as free people,” Hobbs said. “We arrived alongside Spanish and other European settlers. There were leaders among that group who served as translators, guides, and intermediaries, helping to facilitate contact between Indigenous Americans and Europeans.”

She added that stories about the Spanish colonial presence in Florida often overlook the leadership role of Black people in the formation of St. Johns County. Examining this and looking at the establishment of places like Fort Mosé broadens our understanding of Black history beyond the confines of chattel slavery.

“There’s even a story about Jorge Biassou,” Hobbs added, “who was of Haitian descent. He participated in the Haitian Revolution and was somewhat of a mercenary, willing to work for whoever paid him the most. He ended up with the Spanish

and spent time in St. Augustine, where he actually led a defense of the city. This highlights a fascinating history of the African diaspora that more people should know about.”

Thomas Jackson, a founding member of the Fort Mosé Historical Society, told the AmNews that when he was young, older adults spoke about Fort Mosé, but with little proof of it, most young people didn’t really believe it had been a real place.

“On Easter Sunday, we’d go to church,” Jackson recalled: “After church, we would go to the parade downtown, and then we would also go to the Castillo de San Marcos, which is the Spanish fortress in downtown St. Augustine. When we would go to that fort, a lot of the old-timers would tell us, ‘You know, we had a fort too!’ And I used to kind of wonder, well, is that true or was it kind of a lot of wishful thinking, because who would give us a fort?”

When he attended Florida A&M University (FAMU), Jackson was in a class with Dr. James N. Eaton, who encouraged him to explore the history of his native city. That led Jackson to investigate and really appreciate the founding of Fort Mosé. When organizing began in the 1990s to support a formal interpretation of the fort’s original site, he joined the effort.

Jackson worked with other locals to create a civil society organization that, on June 26, 1996, traveled to the site of Fort Mosé and voted to support the creation of the Fort Mosé Historical Society. They started fundraising, recruiting volunteers, and taking on various initiatives so that they could develop and share the Fort Mosé story. Today, Fort Mosé has a 10,000-squarefoot museum and regularly holds music events and historic re-enactments.

“This project brings greater recognition to the people and places that helped build and define St. Johns County,” Brenda Swann, director of grants and operations at St. Johns Cultural Council said in a statement.

“We hope it inspires reflection, pride, and a deeper understanding of our shared history.”

Signage for boardwalk leading to Fort Mosé site. (St. Johns Cultural Council photos)

Local businessman Frank Butler established Butler Beach, a resort in northeast Florida for African Americans

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS B E S T O F 2 0 2 5

January 1, 2026 - January 7, 2026 • 9

One45 rezoning finally approved by NYC Council. Not all Harlem activists are happy with affordability rates.

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff The debate over the One45 housing development project, to be located in Harlem at 145th and Lenox Avenue, has waged for years, devolving at times to ugly fights between the community, City Council, and land developer. But after another round of intense negotiations, it seems there is finally a resolution on the horizon.

On June 26, the New York City Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises and Committee on Land Use voted to approve the One45 for Harlem rezoning that will allow the housing project to be built.

“At a moment when New Yorkers in every neighborhood desperately need more affordable homes, the [c]ouncil is confronting this crisis by approving the creation of new housing that meets the needs of our diverse communities,” said City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams in a statement.

The council has firmly moved into the City of Yes/All for Housing Opportunity (CHO) camp, making building more housing a priority across the city.

“After years of very real struggle and hard, yet honest conversations, One45 presents a housing development that has Harlem and our needs at the center,” said Councilmember Yusef Salaam in a statement.

New to politics, Salaam inherited the years-long debate over the housing development when he was elected last year. After a bout of public hearings, he and the council negotiated an agreement for the creation of 1,000 new units of housing throughout three buildings, 338 of which will be affordable. This is a major sticking point for many housing activists who don’t like the “33% affordability level.”

There are also 165 affordable units at an average of 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI), 122 units at an average of 80% of the AMI, and 90 units of affordable senior housing included. Other aspects of the revised One45 for Harlem agreement include an $8.8 million investment into Brigadier General Charles Young Playground; a technology center with community rooms; retail space with 20% set aside for Harlem businesses and 10% for Minority and WomenOwned Business Enterprises (M/WBEs); a promise to hire Harlem residents, including a 20% target for job training and apprenticeship programs; a paid youth internship for Manhattan Community Board 10; and investments in the adjacent Esplanade Gardens Mitchell-Lama housing complex.

“We approved a project that places Harlem and the needs of Harlemites at its core. This project is aimed at stopping the flight of middle-class Harlemites who are leaving the neighborhood and even the city due to lack of affordable housing,” said Salaam in a statement. “One45 will allow

generations of Harlemites to remain in the city by providing quality, permanent, affordable housing. This project goes beyond housing for Harlem.”

Early iterations of the One45 project were slated to have three mixed-use buildings with two towers that spanned five lots of land on the 145th Street block. It also included a civil rights museum and new headquarters for the National Action Network (NAN). It was supported by Black electeds and activists such as retired Assemblymember Inez Dickens and NAN Founder Rev. Al Sharpton, but the plans weren’t breezing through with community board and City Council approval in 2022.

Former City Councilmember Kristin Richardson Jordan led a series of protests against the proposed development and feuded publicly with the developer, Bruce Teitelbaum, to the point where he decided to scrap the proposal and replace it with a truck depot. Her biggest ask was for more affordability for residents of central Harlem worried that they’d be priced out of the neighborhood. The community was incensed.

After a cooling-off period, a new version of the project was “resurrected” in 2023 and renamed One45 Harlem for ALL. Those plans, which included 915 units with 50% income-targeted units, have since gone through multiple iterations as well.

“CM Salaam is a skilled and tough negotiator who was singularly focused on delivering for his constituents — and he was, by getting us to agree on an unprecedented deal,” said Teitelbaum about the approval of his current project proposal. “He demanded and he got a 100% affordable building for seniors at 50% AMI, and an additional 250 more deeply permanently affordable units, many at 40, 50, 60% AMI levels that are affordable to his constituents.”

The next steps will be a full City Council vote, followed by a mayoral sign-off.

The controversy over the One45 project is far from over, though.

Plenty of housing activists and community members are still deeply unhappy with the affordability level, like Defend Harlem NY Interfaith Commission For Housing Equality or Silent Voices United.

In the City Council hearing in May, Salaam noted that the plan presented was widely different from other past proposals in terms of affordability and the 291 “affordable” units were way “too low” to be viable for Harlem residents. Many see the jump up to 338 units in the approved plan as far too low as well.

“The community doesn’t owe anything to developers for them to be profitable, and we need to really understand that. We don’t owe anyone to make money off our community.

At the end of the day, [Teitelbaum] stands to profit a lot,” said Defend Harlem founder Kai

Rendering of One45 for Harlem — street view (143rd Street looking northwest).

(ShoP Architects PC photo)

Cogsville at his One45 emergency action day event on July 2. “Once we see the actual affordability rates, which I think need to start at minimum wage and really target the income of that local community at $50,000 a year … anything higher and you’re disregarding [us].”

Cogsville said advocates from Defend Harlem want an additional economic and cultural impact study on the building’s ramifications. A racial impact and environmental study has been done on the property so far. He believes the use of the city’s Area Median Income metric cannot fully explain the development’s affordability.

“A lot of it is just the amount of people making — almost double or triple what most of the existing residents in that area [earn],” said Cogsville. “It will definitely cause gentrification and displacement, but also expedite it. Also, that will give a dangerous precedent for Lenox Avenue for other developments that might also start accommodating residents [who] aren’t necessarily from this community [with] incomes [at] around $100,000 … there’s a lot of cultural, political, and economic vulnerabilities that are going to come to play if this project is executed affordably, as well as targeted to people [who] are actually from the community.”

Seemingly in response to the City Council’s approval of One45, a shadow person or group also cropped up in the last few weeks.

It anonymously bashed Salaam, more specifically his chief of staff Wilma Brown, and New York County (Manhattan) Democrat Party Boss Keith L.T. Wright. In a series of emails forwarded by the “Harlem Truth Circle” to the Amsterdam News, the dissenters attached black-and-white sketch cartoons depicting Salaam as a puppet on strings being controlled by Wright and Brown. The emails also talk about a sense of “betrayal” over the housing project approval and accuse Salaam’s staff of allegedly politicking without community interest

in mind.

In accordance with our mission, the Amsterdam News editorial team decided against including a photo of said cartoons with this story.

Cogsville categorically denied involvement with circulating the emails or cartoons of Salaam. Additional emails clarified that the opinions of the Harlem Truth Circle were “not reflective of any affiliations with Save Harlem, its coalition of longtime Harlemites, Silent Voices United Inc., its Executive Director, Tiffany Fulton, or Defend Harlem and its founder, Kai Cogsville.”

Wright said that if someone had a grievance with him, that they should address him directly on the matter and not resort to an anonymous tactic. He denied controlling Salaam’s office, although he does have family connections to it. His son, Assemblymember Jordan Wright, was Salaam’s campaign manager and chief of staff for a time. He theorized that the email attacks could be from a “disgruntled employee” or someone with a personal beef with Brown, but didn’t know for sure. He added that he is neither for or against the One45 housing project, but is sure that the community needs housing built.

“You want a truck depot or do you want housing?” he said in a brief phone interview with the Amsterdam News.

“Let’s celebrate a win for Harlem. January 27, 2021, developers filed permits to demo the buildings on 145th Street. This left Harlem with a gaping hole,” said Salaam.

“I entered office with a vision that included having that hole filled with affordable housing. I also knew that housing was not enough. As a family man, I also knew we needed family-sized apartments, two- and three-bedroom units. This was something I made sure was in the deal at an affordable rate. We need jobs. We need training.

We need more green space. We need a pathway for upward mobility. We need updates and investments in already existing housing in buildings like Esplanade Gardens.

Harlem needs affordable housing and so much more.”

Salaam added that the requests from Community Board 10 were exceeded. This includes reduced building heights, increased local hiring, a Community Benefits Agreement with oversight, more community space, and youth opportunities.

“What does all of this mean? Don’t let the naysayers cloud your vision. We are bringing much-needed housing to Harlem, jobs, training, opportunities for local businesses, a technology center, improvements to already existing housing, and filling that empty hole,” he continued.

Wilma Brown didn’t respond to a request for comment by post time.

Additional reporting from Tandy Lau.

10 • January 1, 2026 - January 7, 2026

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS B E S T O F 2 0 2 5

FAFO ain’t a forcefield: Why Black silence on immigration won’t save us

By JASMYNE A. CANNICK This might come as a shock to some Black folks sipping their tea, minding their own melanin-rich business, and lounging comfortably in their FAFO suite watching Latinos get rounded up in full slave-catcher cosplay — but let me remind you: FAFO is not a forcefield.

Let’s get right to it: I’ve been hearing a lot of Black folks shrug off what’s happening with ICE and our Latino brothers and sisters with a quick, “That’s their L.” And I get it — some of y’all are still recovering from watching folks wave Trump flags like they were auditioning for a deportation sponsorship. But this idea that we can stay quiet, stay cute, and somehow stay safe? That’s not strategy. That’s denial.

Yes. A whole lot of us watched in disbelief while some Latinos proudly hopped on the Trump train, waving flags and ignoring every warning we gave. And now that the train’s derailed and folks are getting dragged off it, some Black folks are responding with, “Welp, you asked for it.” And listen — that part of the conversation is real. Actions have consequences.

But …

If you think staying quiet, uninvolved, or emotionally checked out is gonna shield us from the same mess? That’s cute. And dangerously delusional.

Your citizenship won’t save you

How does the African proverb go?

He who digs a grave for his enemy might as well be digging one for himself.

Thinking your American citizenship, your clean record, your church attendance, and being “prayed up” is gonna save you?

I hate to break it to you, but it won’t.

This country is shifting. Fast. And not in our favor. What’s legal today can be criminalized tomorrow with a signature, a press conference, and a spin cycle on Fox News. And if you think that sounds dramatic, remember: We used to be illegal. Our bodies, our marriages, our votes, our very presence — criminalized.

Legal status didn’t protect us then, and it won’t save us now.

You can’t outrun anti-Blackness with paperwork, paychecks, or prayers.

So, no — don’t get too comfortable just because today, you’re not on the list. Because history shows us that when they run out of folks to target, they make new rules to come for the rest of us.

And if you don’t believe that?

Ask a Black immigrant.

Ask a trans youth.

Ask a woman in Texas.

Ask a Palestinian protester.

Ask your ancestors.

That Assata quote won’t cover your absence And let me say this — especially to the brothas and sistas who love to call themselves

“conscious,” “woke,” “revolutionary,” or whatever term is trending this week: While you’re sitting this one out, all quiet and unbothered, you’re sending a loud message to your Black immigrant cousins: You’re on your own.

And don’t hit me with the “That’s not my fight” nonsense.

Because if you’re out here quoting Marcus Garvey; rocking red, black, and green; posting Pan-African flags, but turning your back on Black folks being deported, detained, or banned from entering this country — you’re not conscious. You’re just curated. You’re not radical. You’re selective.

Pan-Africanism isn’t about vibes, fashion, or throwing up a fist on Instagram. It means all Black people, everywhere. Even the ones who don’t sound like you. Even the ones who weren’t born here. Even the ones ICE is coming for at 5 a.m.

If your liberation has borders, it’s not liberation — it’s branding.

While you’re off somewhere being too “busy” or “neutral,” just know: Silence is a choice. And that choice tells your Black immigrant fam exactly where they stand with you.

And that’s the part you won’t be able to pretty up with a quote from Assata.

You’re watching the warning play out in real time This was always supposed to be about the “bad hombres,” right? That’s what Trump

said. That was the sales pitch. That was never a good or moral argument — but at least that was the lie they told to get folks comfortable.

Fast forward to now, and they’re snatching people from their homes, their jobs, their kids’ graduations. Broad-daylight kidnappings dressed up as law enforcement. No warrants. No dignity. No shame. Just vibes, badges, and trauma.

If you’re still pretending this is about criminals, you’re not paying attention. Or you’re lying to yourself. Either way, they’re coming for you next.

Now, this isn’t the only reason Black folks should care and stay tapped in, but for the “I’m just minding my own Black business” crowd?

This might be the best one I’ve got. Because what happens to immigrants is your business.

What happens when systems get away with dehumanizing them is a blueprint for how they’ll come for you next. If history’s taught us anything, it’s that silence doesn’t protect us. It just clears the runway.

This moment calls for more than petty satisfaction. It calls for clarity, memory, and solidarity rooted in survival. Because history has shown us, again and again, that when the system finishes eating the folks it came for first, it always circles back for us.

Jasmyne Cannick is a political strategist and writer in Los Angeles.

Rikers Island: a modern-day auction block in the heart of New York

By DARREN MACK and KEVIN BECKFORD It affords me inexpressible pleasure, to be enabled to inform the friends of human rights, that the Hon. Richard Riker is no longer Recorder of the city of New York. His power to pollute the bench of justice, by sacrificing human liberty upon the altar of slavery, is no more.

— David Ruggles, abolitionist and emancipator, The Colored American, July 1838 In the early 1800s, Richard Riker, a descendant of the family who owned Rikers Island, participated in a kidnapping ring for decades that sent African Americans into slavery. Riker used his power as a judge and the pro-slavery Fugitive Slave clause of the Constitution to send countless souls to the South.

Riker’s methods were intentionally sloppy and cruel. He did not care whether the person in front of him was the person being sought; it did not matter whether the person was a child or an adult, or if they had proof of their freedom. However they came to be in New York, the essence of their crime was their Blackness.

More than 100 years after the Riker family sold the island to New York City, the Riker name remains linked to subjugation and brutality. Today, more than 5,900 legally innocent people are detained in conditions at Rikers Island so abhorrent that it is the source of multiple federal and class action lawsuits related to use of force, access to

medical care, basic sanitation, and illegal use of solitary confinement.

Race and wealth (or lack of it) largely define who is granted the presumption of innocence. Black New Yorkers are admitted to Rikers at 11 times the rate of white New Yorkers, and judges continue to set bail at levels that amount to a ransom, in defiance of New York’s landmark 2019 pre-trial reforms. While some tragic stories like the experiences of the Exonerated Five and Kalief Browder should remind New Yorkers that police and courts can make grave mistakes, false allegations continue to disrupt lives.

Rikers Island may be entering yet another level of infamy, with Mayor Eric Adams’ announcement that he intends to issue an Executive Order to allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to open an office there, in defiance of New York City’s sanctuary laws. While many people associate mass deportations with people of Latin American heritage, one in five people facing deportation is Black. As with all Black people in the U.S., police stop, search, and arrest Black immigrants at disproportionately high rates; Black immigrants are nearly three times more likely as non-Black immigrants to be detained and deported as the result of a criminal offense.

It bears repeating again here that Rikers is primarily a pretrial facility. The vast majority of people (85%) locked up at Rikers have not been convicted of a crime.

Let us now take a moment to contrast these

circumstances with those of the mayor, who controls the fate of so many people. He is a free man while his charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, and soliciting foreign campaign contributions are pending. He is able to work as mayor and live at home. He can hold media events where he proclaims his innocence and stands with his supporters.

He has assembled a ferocious team of lawyers, paid for by his legal defense fund, which started with $1.7 million. Adams experiences the criminal legal system differently, because the baseline impulse of the system is to preserve power over the weak, and Adams is a powerful man. (To be clear, Adams’ case is in the federal system, while Rikers is part of the city’s criminal legal system.)

Even for a powerful man, though, Adams’ case is moving unusually. The current presidential administration has sought to have Adams’ charges dismissed — a move so controversial that attorneys in the U.S. Attorney’s office and four of Adams’ deputy mayors resigned in protest. The Trump administration’s request to drop the charges explicitly cited their belief that doing so would enable the mayor to participate more fully in his deportation agenda.

As he noted in his book, “The Kidnapping Club: Wall Street, Slavery and Resistance on the Eve of the Civil War,” Jonathan Daniel Wells noted that so many New Yorkers were not just complacent about slavery; like Riker, they were complicit in its perpetuation. Whether motivated by anti-Blackness,

personal gain, or the devil’s bargain between New York’s financial institutions and the cotton-growing South, people like Riker viewed Black lives as merely pawns. In this modern iteration, Adams is using his power to trade thousands of souls for his own preservation.

Riker and his ilk did not act unopposed, however. David Ruggles, a Black abolitionist, formed the New York Committee of Vigilance to stop the kidnappings, and carried out other acts of liberation, by acting as a visible “conductor” on the Underground Railroad and publishing abolitionist tracts. Our charge here is to act in similar opposition, to prevent Rikers from continuing its legacy in any way.

As individuals deeply affected by the inequities of the pretrial system, we recognize the urgent need to dismantle the enduring legacy of racial injustice exemplified by Rikers Island. We will continue our organizing to end this grim chapter, and invite all New Yorkers to join us as we fight for a future where we can all live safe and free.

Darren Mack, the descendant of Black Southerners and co-director of Freedom Agenda, has personally endured the injustices of incarceration at Rikers. Kevin Beckford, a Black man of Jamaican heritage, is Senior Associate at the Pretrial Justice Institute and has witnessed firsthand the mistreatment of his Black immigrant family members in this flawed system.

Both of their organizations are members of the Campaign to Close Rikers.

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Happy Holidays Publisher Elinor R. Tatum and The Amsterdam News Team wish you a warm and wonderful Holiday Season.

With gratitude, we thank each of our Amsterdam News readers, subscribers, donors, and advertisers.

You make our 116 years of award winning racial equity journalism possible. We could not do it without you.

With warm regards, Publisher Elinor R. Tatum

2340 Frederick Douglass Blvd, Harlem, New York, NY 10027 NY Amsterdam News headquarters since 1936

January 1, 2026 - January 7, 2026 • 11

12 • January 1, 2026 - January 7, 2026

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS B E S T O F 2 0 2 5

New York must protect my right to visit my incarcerated mother

By LAQUINTAE BRADLEY It was just Mother’s Day, but I haven’t been seeing much of my mom lately.

When you have a parent in prison, much of your relationship is built on letters, phone calls, and visits. These connections matter deeply, but nothing replaces faceto-face, in-person visits.

Since the correction officers’ illegal strike in February, I have only been able to see my mom once. The disruption caused prisons throughout New York to halt in-person visits, starting on February 20. Despite the strike ending, visits remain restricted to weekends, when conditions are crowded and chaotic. I work on Sundays, which further limits when I can visit my mother.

It’s not fair, and it’s why the state legislature must pass the Protect In-Person Visits (PIPV) bill, which would require all correctional facilities to offer in-person visiting during accessible hours and make sure that video conferencing never replaces face-to-face visits. My mom and I have built a relationship that relies on visits, and

her love throughout our time together, and saw the pride in her eyes when I shared what I was learning in school. As I would leave, she would scoop me into her arms and hold me tight. I hoped she would never let go.

After graduating from high school, I moved to South Carolina. Although I made sure I always sent letters to keep my mom updated about my life, a mother’s love, while transcending time and space, couldn’t be felt as strongly from that distance. I returned home to be closer to my mom and start to advocate for her and others.

It’s great that we’re closer now, both physically and emotionally. Often, I have made spontaneous decisions to hop on a train to see her. The ache subsides for a while until I hug her and feel her warmth.

Since the strike, these impromptu visits have become impossible. Even with visits partially available, I’m limited to brief windisruptions have placed a strain. It’s an in- dows on weekend days — which are not describable hardship. accessible due to my work schedule. AlI remember visiting the Children’s Center though I eagerly wait for her calls, nothing when I was little. I can still see the shine in replaces in-person visits. her smile when I walked into the room. I felt The PIPV bill is so important to others like LaQuintae Bradley

me and to the thousands of NY families affected by incarceration. The bill would provide security in knowing I could see my mom whenever I feel an urgent need for her presence. The legislation would guarantee accessible visiting hours, including evenings and/or weekends. It also, importantly, ensures that video calls cannot replace in-person visiting.There is nothing like hugging and being hugged by your mom. Thousands of mothers and daughters, fathers and sons would benefit from this law.

Growing up with my mom in prison, we’ve built our bond with all the connection points available to us. Those visits, that precious time together, feeling her touch — all have strengthened our relationship, making it possible for me to know her love.

We must protect this right for my family and all the children missing their mothers on Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and beyond!

LaQuintae Bradley is a consultant and student who lives in Washington Heights.

Her mother has been incarcerated for 26 years, since she was 4 years old.

In honor of Kalief Browder: remember his story and fight to protect discovery reform

By PIYALI BASAK

years, waiting for trial.

Kalief refused to plead guilty to a crime In June 2015, a young Black man named he didn’t commit. For that, he lost his freeKalief Browder died by suicide. He was just dom, his youth, and ultimately, his life.

22 years old. His story is one we cannot In the wake of his death, community orforget or allow to happen again. ganizers, activists, and defenders fought At 16, Kalief was arrested for allegedly for years to fix these laws. And in 2019, stealing a backpack. He never had his day they won. New York finally joined the main court. Caged for three years on Rikers jority of states in ensuring that those acIsland, punished for a charge that was never cused of crimes had access to the evidence proven. Trapped in a system designed to against them early enough to build a debreak him, he endured brutal beatings and fense and make informed decisions. The spent nearly two years in solitary confine- reform brought long-overdue transparenment. By the time he was released, he was cy and fairness to a system that had long deeply traumatized. The weight of those relied on secrecy and coercion. years never left him.

Now, those hard-fought reforms are Why was Kalief jailed for so long? Because under attack. of New York’s broken and archaic discovery Right now, in Albany, Gov. Kathy Hochul laws. Before 2019, prosecutors weren’t re- is pushing a proposal that would gut these quired to hand over evidence until the eve reforms, undoing the progress made in Kaof trial, if at all. People like Kalief, over- lief’s name. District attorneys claim that whelmingly Black and Brown men, were turning over evidence is too difficult, that faced with an impossible choice: plead they struggle to obtain materials from the guilty without ever seeing the evidence NYPD, and that cases are being dismissed against them, or sit in jail, sometimes for on “technicalities.” But these are misleading arguments designed to shift blame away from the real issue: a system that prioritizes convictions over justice.

Let’s be clear: Access to discovElinor R. Tatum: Publisher ery is a constitutional right. It is and Editor in Chief not a loophole. It is not a techniMember Madison Gray: Executive & Investigative Editor cality. It is the foundation of due Damaso Reyes: Editor at Large process. And it is working exactly Kristin Fayne-Mulroy: Managing Editor as intended, giving people a fair Cyril Josh Barker: Digital Editor Alliance for shot at defending themselves, Audited Media Siobhan "Sam" Bennett: rather than forcing them to Chief Revenue Officer and Head of Advertising plead guilty out of fear and desWilbert A. Tatum (1984-2009): peration, or languishing in jail for Chairman of the Board, CEO and Publisher Emeritus months and years waiting to see

Kalief Browder (AP photo)

the evidence.

And there is another way. State lawmakers have introduced an alternative proposal that addresses legitimate concerns without dismantling this fundamental right. If the real issue is inefficiency, fix it.

If law enforcement isn’t turning over evidence, hold them accountable. But rolling back these reforms would be nothing short of a betrayal.

Before his death, Kalief Browder said, “I feel like I was robbed of my happiness.” But it wasn’t just his happiness that was stolen.

It was his freedom. His future. His life. The evidence.

We cannot let his story fade into just an-

other cautionary tale. We owe him more than remembrance. We owe him action.

The Alliance to Protect Kalief’s Law is leading this fight, pushing back against efforts to undo progress. Join the movement. Call your legislators. Make noise. Do not let them take us back to a time when young men like Kalief were thrown away, forgotten, and destroyed.

Because no one should ever have to suffer what Kalief endured. Not now. Not ever again.

Piyali Basak is the Managing Director of Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, a public defender organization dedicated to serving the Harlem community.

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS I N M E M O R I A M

January 1, 2026 - January 7, 2026 • 13

Remembering Lloyd Williams, Harlem’s tireless advocate and eternal friend

By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews If Harlem can be said to have a bellwether, a focused visionary, it was Lloyd Williams. As president and CEO of the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce and co-founder of Harlem Week, his leadership was indispensable. Williams died Tuesday, Aug. 6, following a private and courageous battle with cancer. He was 80.

The 51st Harlem Week celebration is currently underway and will continue until Aug. 17, said Winston Majette, executive director of the Chamber. “Our theme this year is ‘Celebrate Our Magic,’ which is fitting because Lloyd always celebrated the magic of his beloved community,” he added.

Very little transpired in Harlem without Williams’ knowledge, and far too many instances without his imprimatur.

When he called a meeting, the movers and shakers of Harlem showed up, along with several of the city’s major players — and if anyone arrived late they knew a chastisement from him would be part of the minutes.

His touch, his footprint was indelible on Harlem’s history, and he summoned a coterie of leaders to help him document the community’s illustrious history and culture. One of his most significant volumes to that end was “Forever Harlem,” and a second volume was in progress.

Williams is known for developing and co-founding Harlem Week, which he, along with friend Voza Rivers, former Manhattan Borough President Percy

Lloyd Williams at Harlem Week 1983 (AmNews Archives photo)

Lloyd Williams (Photo courtesy of the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce)

Sutton and numerous others, grew from a one-day event in 1974 to the major celebration of arts, culture, and community joy that is currently running through Aug. 17.

Much of his time recently was devoted to rounding up the staff and volunteers to ensure that another edition of Harlem Week was consistent with its remarkable past. Only a few New Yorkers and Harlemites were aware that Williams, whose family has lived in Harlem since 1919, was the godson of Malcolm X, but he recounted that relationship numerous times to his confederates and they got to know it verbatim.

Lloyd Williams (left), Funeral Director Dorrence Benta and New York Amsterdam News Publisher Elinor R. Tatum. (Bill Moore photo)

“Once a month, we had breakfast with him as he encouraged us, gave us history lessons, and shared his vision for the future,” Williams recalled. “Malcolm X also allowed us to listen to some of the discussions that he had at the restaurant with others. He then would quiz us as to what we had learned from our observations.”

We can say for certain that Williams not only absorbed those moments but put them into practice in various aspects of empowering Harlem. There is so much more to be said about this tireless leader and advocate for Harlem, and we will continue this encomium and prepare for the memorial tribute.

Assata Shakur dies in exile but free at age 78

By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News Staff Freedom fighter Assata Olugbala Shakur (JoAnne Chesimard) died this Thursday afternoon, Sept. 25, in Havana, Cuba, where she spent the last four decades of her life in exile. She was 78. The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement in Spanish announcing Shakur’s death from illness and advanced age.

Her daughter, Kakuya Shakur, confirmed the news on Facebook.

“Words cannot describe the depth of loss that I am feeling at this time,” Kakuya wrote. “I want to thank you for your loving prayers that continue to anchor me in the strength that I need in this movement. My spirit is overflowing in unison with all of you who are grieving with me at this time.”

Born in Queens on July 16, 1947, Shakur is remembered as an ex-political prisoner who participated in struggles ranging from the Black Liberation Army (BLA) and the Black Panthers to Manhattan Community College and City College campus

groups like the Golden Drums.

A perennial target in United States efforts to dismantle Black Nationalist Movements, she spent six years behind bars — despite countless calls for her innocence and conflicting medical evidence — before her BLA comrades sprung her from a New Jersey prison. Despite FBI manhunts, massive bounties, and numerous Black Panther site raids, Shakur evaded authorities and resurfaced in Cuba in 1984, where Pres. Fidel Castro offered her political asylum.

In 1998, the Amsterdam News published an open letter by Shakur to the media with her side of the story regarding the deadly New Jersey Turnpike shooting which she had been convicted (after a mistrial) for after New Jersey State Troopers stopped her and two comrades. The encounter left fellow revolutionary Zayd Malik Shakur and state trooper Werner Foerster dead.

She was charged alongside Sundiata Acoli, who was also in the car.

“Neither [Sundiata] Acoli nor I ever received a fair trial,” she wrote. “We were

both convicted in the news media way before our trials. No news media were ever permitted to interview us, although the New Jersey police and the FBI fed stories to the press daily. In 1977, I was convicted by an all-white jury and sentenced to life plus 33 years in prison.”

Before Shakur’s conviction, authorities threw several other criminal cases at her, which ended in dismissals or acquittals. Malcolm X Grassroots Movement organizer Jomo Muhammad called her as a beacon of hope for New Afrikan movements. But he says it’s important to remember her also as a person and hopes more people will come forward to share stories about her now that concerns for attempts to lure her back to the United States are over.

“It’s important to always remember that Assata was a parent, an auntie and a human being,” said Muhammad. “And a human being that loved people, that loved her people — that she was willing to make sacrifices for her people and their desire to be free. She’s been categorized

as the soul of the BLA but I think she was a little bit bigger than that: she was really a soul of a movement.

“She is one of the most recognized political prisoners and political exiles, and so she continued, even in her exile in Cuba, to be a force here inside the United States, in helping to keep alive our fight to bring home our captured freedom fighters and to create the conditions for Assata to come home, if that’s what she had chose.”

Recently, the state released several of her political prisoner peers due to elder parole and compassionate release mechanisms. In 2022, the AmNews reported Acoli’s release from prison 29 years after he became parole eligible. Her close confidant, and stepfather to her godson (the icon Tupac Shakur), Mulutu Shakur, faced a conviction stemming charges including orchestrating her escape and was also released as an elder in 2023 shortly before his passing. Sekou Odinga, a New Afrikan organizer, who also aided Shakur’s escape, was released from prison in 2014 and died last year.

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THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS I N M E M O R I A M

Sly Stone, the rock funkster, dies at 82

By RONALD E. SCOTT Special to the AmNews Sly Stone, the singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, who effortlessly transformed pop, funk, gospel, and psychedelic rock into one vibrant voice that created Sly & the Family Stone and influenced Miles Davis during his fusion movement, died on June 9 in Los Angeles, surrounded by his three children and extended family. He was 82.

His family announced the news “with profound sadness” and said in a statement, “After a prolonged battle with COPD and other underlying health issues, Sly passed away peacefully.”

Sly & the Family Stone was a double threat with Sly’s distinctive bass voice immediately recognized on his first note.

The pulsating, explosive funk of the Family Stone, their hard-hittin’ repetitive lyrics, electrified your entire body. His music touched your soul like a Mahalia Jackson spiritual or a Ray Charles blues tune that just made your body tremble, but Sly’s style, with all that funk, made you jump up and “dance to the music.”

Having been fortunate enough to see Sly on many occasions, I have only one thing to say: It was an invigorating experience. We saw him once at the Dome, formerly in the East Village; the music was louder than a freight train rolling through your living room — the entire club vibrated as we danced like tomorrow would never come. We once waited two hours for him to show up at Central Park, and he was late to the Apollo Theater, but once he arrived, the party was on — it was a non-stop excursion that took you higher!

Sly was one of the first major musicians to play every instrument on many of his songs. His high-intensity live performances influenced Michael Jackson, Prince, and many high-voltage groups that followed.

With the 1960s–1970s band, Sly Stone combined inspirational anthems with dagger-sharp commentary on America’s ongoing injustices and racism, with penetrating lyrics, brilliant hooks, and highflyin’ grooves. This magical blend made him one of the most sampled artists in history. His music elevated words into another realm.

His straight-up funk songs, like “I Want to Take You Higher” and “Fun,” lived up to their titles. A host of motivating songs became street anthems, like “Everybody is a Star”: “Everybody is a Star / Who would rain and chase the dust away / Everybody wants to shine / Who’ll come out on a cloudy day / Til the sun that loves you proud / When the system tries to beat you down.”

He comes back with the politically motivated “Stand”: “Stand / They will try to make you crawl / And they know what

Sly Stone (Public domain photo)

From the Nov. 28, 1970 issue of the AmNews.

you’re saying makes sense and all / Stand / Don’t you know that you are free? / Well, at least in your mind if you want to be (Everybody).” His gospel blues saturated interpretation of “Que Sera Sera,” reflecting a deeper dimension to the well-traveled hit.

Sly was politically astute to the tumultuous times of his flower-power era and his genius lyrics were filled with political thoughts of everyday people. His lyrics remain inspirational and extremely relevant to these times.

Born Sylvester Stewart, the second of five children, Sly and his family moved from Denton, Texas, to Vallejo, California, when he was an adolescent. The family was heavily involved in the Pentecostal Church.

By age 8, Stone was recording gospel music with his siblings, Freddie, Rose, and Vaetta, as the Stewart Four; they released a gospel single, “On the Battlefield.” By age 11, Stone was adept on keyboards, guitar, bass, and drums.

In high school, he formed a multi-ra-

cial doo-wop group, the Viscaynes, and made some recordings in Los Angeles.

With his eclectic music taste, Stone decided to attend the Chris Borden School of Broadcasting in San Francisco. He went on to earn a reputation as a disc jockey at KSOL and KDIA, an R&B radio station in San Mateo. His playlist blended both R&B and pop music like Dylan, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones, who were part of the British rock invasion. At the same time, Stone was employed as a record producer for Autumn Records, producing San Francisco-area bands.

Stone and his brother Freddie merged their own bands together in 1966 to form Sly & the Family Stone. It was an integrated group that included both white and Black musicians, and women who played instruments — a very rare occurrence for that era. The band’s original lineup featured Freddie on guitar, and Sly on organ, along with bassist Lary Graham, Vaetta (later known as Vet Stone) on keyboards and vocals, and drummer Greg Errico. The lineup would later include trumpeter Cynthia Robinson, saxophonist Jerry Martini, and Rose on keyboards and vocals. The group was soon riding the charts with hits like “Everyday People,” “Family Affair,” and “Dance to the Music.”

The group recorded the albums “Fresh” in 1973 and “Small Talk” in 1974; its bluesy soul doo wop flavor should have done much better in sales. Due to Stone’s welldocumented drug abuse, the Family Stone disbanded and Sly began recording solo.

His 1979 album “Back on the Right See SLY STONE on page 24

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

January 1, 2026 - January 7, 2026 • 15

Arts & Entertainment 2025: The Year In Black Theater — Part 2

By LINDA ARMSTRONG Special to the AmNews July began with great sadness as Michael Dinwiddie, playwright, NYU professor, and historian, passed away from cancer. It was an immense loss for the academic and theater community, and it is a loss that is still being felt. The month also included a free production of “Memnon” by the Classical Theatre of Harlem in Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem. Written by Will Power, it was co-conceived by Power and Carl Cofield, who also directed. Spirited choreography was provided by Tiffany Rea-Fisher. Eric Berryman gave a powerful, proud, and boldly honest performance as Memnon, an Ethiopian King who came from Troy; Andrea Patterson was brilliant as Helen of Troy.

“Twelfth Night” presented at The Public Theater’s renovated Delacorte Theater in Central Park was funny, fabulous, and free.

The Shakespearean comedic classic about unrequited love, disguises, and getting your heart’s desire was given a different approach

by Saheem Ali, who directed it. The production also boasted an all-star cast that included Khris Davis, Lupita Nyong’o, her brother Junior Nyong’o, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Moses Sumney, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, John Ellison Conlee, Sandra Oh, and Peter Dinklage.

The packages were flying in August as “Postal Madness” played at the American Theatre of Actors on W 54th St. Presented by Shades of Truth Theatre, New Heritage Theatre Group, and Michael Anthony Productions, Anthony wrote the play based on his 30 years of working at the post office and shared the zany happenings. The cast was entertaining to watch and included Andrew R. Cooksey Jr., Bill Vila, Patrice Battey, Sarah Tuchman, Jim Dadosky, Kevin Shivcharran, and the play was directed by Michael Green.

“Duke & Roya” played at the Lucille Lortel Theatre on Christopher St. Playwright Charles Randolph Wright rendered a powerful message about the war in Afghanistan, and how the people there are living, or just merely existing under the Taliban. You have a Black American rapper Duke, who comes to entertain troops in Afghanistan and meets an Afghan woman interpreter Roya, on the base.

Duke learned the issues faced by the Afghan people. Wright’s story was eye-opening. The drama had a sublime cast that included Jay Ellis, Stephanie Nur, Dariusch Kashani, and Noma Dumezweni. There was incredible direction by Warren Adams. Lencia Kebede became the first full-time Black Elphaba in “Wicked” on Broadway.

September was somber with soul stirring works. “Holes in the Shape of my Father,” brought autobiographical trauma triumphantly to life as the one-man show, written

Andrea Patterson and Eric Berryman in a scene from “Memnon” which played at Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem. (Richard Termine photo)

and performed by Savon Bartley, was presented at The Tank on W 36th. In this very intimate theater, Bartley bared his life, insecurities, and trauma, along with his resilience regarding growing up as a young Black man without his father visibly in his life due to choices his father purposely made. His father came from a legacy of Black fathers who were not in their sons’ lives. The play was poignant to witness. “Relative Strangers” shared a young woman’s journey to find herself as comedian Chanel Ali told her autobiographical story of growing up with a very complicated and troubled family.

Ending up in foster care, her story was one of trauma, frustration, wanting to feel loved and cared for, but not finding it in the way most people think of, that happens for a child. For one hour, the Soho Playhouse on Vandam St. was the place to hear her use humor to convey her sad tale.

“The Brothers Size,” which played at The Shed on W 30th St., was a deep, unique, powerful, and incredibly moving theater created by Tarell Alvin McCraney. Using two brothers, Ogun and Oshoosi Size, McCraney examined not only how complicated a relationship between brothers can be, but also

looked at what happens to a Black man when he is incarcerated. Through the characters of Oshoosi and Elegba, an ex-con who was in jail with Oshoosi, we learned what terror Black men face in the prison system and what constant injustices they face in the outside world after they have served their time. McCraney made the characters their own narrators, which was revolutionary. McCraney managed to beautifully and powerfully intertwine Yoruba culture and stories of the gods with these human characters. The three-man cast was exquisitely played by André Holland, Alani iLongwe, and Malcolm Mays, and the actors were accompanied on stage by musician Munir Zakee. McCraney co-directed the piece with Bijan Sheibani.

“Lady Patriot” was funny, informative, and incredibly creative at Theatre Row. Written and directed by Ted Lange, it demonstrated the resilience of enslaved Black people in the South during the Civil War as we heard the story of a Union spy based on real historical figures. The spy, an enslaved woman named Mary Bowser, was able to get information on the Confederate army’s moves, and gave that information to their opponents. The show was remarkable, and

included Chrystee Pharris, theater legend Count Stovall, Jill Whelan, Gordon Goodman, Varina Davis, and Fred Grandy.

October saw great happenings that chronicled Black achievements in theater over the decades. “Syncopated Stages: Black Disruptions to the Great White Way” is an exhibition still going on at Lincoln Center Performing Arts Library on W 65th St. through Feb. 21, 2026. Curated by the late Michael D. Dinwiddie, playwright, and theater historian, and NYU Theater Professor at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study. The exhibit traces the roots of Black theater contributions from 1821, and The African Grove Theatre all the way to the present day, broken down by decades. There are photos, performance videos, movie scenes with the tap-dancing Nicholas Brothers, original costumes — including Andre DeShields’ Wizard costume from “The Wiz!” There are original playbills, posters, and interviews with legendary actors and theater makers. The exhibit should be seen more than once, as there is too much to digest in one visit.

“Mexodus,” a new musical that told a history of Black and Brown people that we See YEAR IN BLACK THEATER PT. 2 on page 16

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didn’t learn in school, played at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre in Lower Manhattan.

Created and performed by Nygel D. Robinson and Brian Quijada, it was a tale of Black and Brown people coming together to help enslaved people escape through the Underground Railroad across the Rio Grande into Mexico. It focused on an enslaved man named Henry, who had to run away from his master and was helped by Carlos, a former Mexican soldier. The musical focused on the friendship built between these men, and on the white man’s desire to keep Black and Brown people from working together, to keep them both weaker. The two actors played multiple instruments and raised their stupendous voices in songs that dramatically told an untold story about this country, which was mesmerizing. It had wonderful choreography by Tony Thomas and stunning direction

by David Mendizabal.

On a personal note, on Monday, Oct. 27, I was honored for my theater criticism by Lincoln Center Performing Arts Library with a panel called “Linda Armstrong: Celebrating 40 Years of New York Theatre Criticism.” The panel consisted of theater makers, Tony Award-winning actors and playwright and New Federal Theatre founder Woodie King Jr.; actor, director and former Artistic Director of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe Rome Neal; theater producer and AUDELCO President, Jackie Jeffries; playwright Keenan Scott II (“Thoughts of a Colored Man”); Tony Award winners Brian Stokes Mitchell and Kara Young; and New York Times theater critic Brittani Samuel. The panelists talked about the impact of my work, including reviews and interviews, on Black theater, and individuals shared stories of how they were personally impacted in a positive, lasting way. The panel ended with Brian Stokes Mitchell singing a cappella, ‘The Impossible Dream’ from “Man of La Mancha,” but catering it to praise me. It was a moment I will never forget. This 90-minute panel was a lovely moment for me to hear what I mean to the community, which means the most to me. It was amazing to be appreciated! The panel was co-sponsored by Critical Minded, which recently published a report called “Topdog and Underdog: Critics of Color And The Theatrical Landscape.”

“Saturday Church,” which played at New York Theatre Workshop on E 4th St., was a breath of fresh air for the soul. It proclaimed unapologetically that gay and trans lives matter. The musical had a book and lyrics

by Damon Cardasis and James Ijames, Fabulous music by Sia, additional lyrics by Honey Dijon, and stunning music supervision, arrangements, and orchestration by Jason Michael Webb and Luke Solomon. It was conceived for the stage and was based on a Spring Picture movie Cardasis wrote and directed. It had heart-pounding songs and choreography by Darrell Grand Moultrie. It told the story of a gay young man, Ulysses, who wanted to sing in the church choir, but his Aunt Rose, who runs the choir, worries

Jay Ellis and Stephanie Nur in a scene from “Duke & Roya” at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. (Jeremy Daniel photo)

Savon Bartley in a scene from “Holes In The Shape Of My Father” at The Tank. (Mari Eimas-Dietrich photo)

that he’s too flamboyant. Ulysses desperately tries to find somewhere he fits in. Then he meets Raymond, a gay, homeless young man on the train, and Raymond introduces him to a Saturday Church community in which he is understood and embraced. This musical showcased a stellar cast that included J. Harrison Ghee, Bryson Battle, B. Noel Thomas, Anania, Caleb Quezon, Jackson Kanawha Perry, Kristolyn Lloyd, and Joaquina Kalukango. The ensemble cast members kept the energy flowing and included Primo Thee Ballerino, Veyonce Deleon, Michael Samarie George, J’Quay Gibbs, Fernell Hogan, Dava Huesca, Oyoyo Joi, Kareem Marsh, Damani Van Rensalier, and Wade Watson. There was phenomenal costume design by Qween Jean.

Patrice Battey and Bill Vila in a scene from “Postal Madness” playing at the American Theater of Actors. (Linwood Booker photo)

This extraordinary, much-needed musical was directed by Whitney White.

“Ragtime” is spectacularly sublime and is playing at Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theatre on W 65th St. The musical tells the story of three families striving for the American Dream — one Black, one immigrant, and one rich and white. This superb musical, packed with one showstopper number after another, features a book by Terrence McNally, and powerful music and lyrics by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, based on the novel “Ragtime” by E.L. Doctorow. The cast will send you to the upper stratosphere. It includes Joshua Henry as Coalhouse Walker Jr., Nichelle Lewis as Sarah, his love interest, and John Clay III as Booker T. Washington.

The large company also stars Caissie Levy, Brandon Uranowitz, Colin Donnell, Ben Levi Ross, Shaina Taub, and features Anna Grace Barlow, Rodd Cyrus, Nick Barrington, and Tabitha Lawing. Ensemble members include Nicholas Barrón, Lauren Blackman, Allison Blackwell, Briana Carlson-Goodman, Jordan Chin, Billy Cohen, Rheaume Crenshaw, Ellie Fishman, Jason Forbach, Ta’Nika Gibson, David Jennings, Marina Kondo, Morgan Marcell, Tom Nelis, Kent Overshown, Kayla Pecchioni, John Rapson, Deandre Sevon, Jacob Keith Watson, and Alan Wiggins. Kaleb Johnson and Kane Emmanuel alternate in the role of Coalhouse Walker III. See YEAR IN BLACK THEATER continued on next page

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November was a month of powerful works about issues in the Black community. “Freedom Riders: A Journey with No End in Sight” shone at Harlem Stages. This poignant, disturbing, vivid work had an adaptation by Arthur Yorinks with Zenzele Daniels and Dr. Indira Etwaroo and was presented in partnership with The New Press. Dr. Etwaroo directed this stunning work that consisted of 12 stories of police profiling, abusing, and murdering Black people. These productions tried to sound an alarm that something has to be done. At Harlem Stage’s intimate theater at 135th St. and Convent Avenue, five superb actors played multiple roles, depicting harassment and brutality and worse against Blacks. It was jarring to watch Russell Hornsby, Billy Eugene Jones, Lisa Arrindell, Stephen Tyrone Williams, and Angelica Ross (and, at two performances, Harry Lennix) take on characters that mainly did not have names, just stories. Emotions ran high as they told the stories of Bryanna Taylor and so many others killed by police. The actors were accompanied by live music performed by pianist Arden Altino, guitarist/singer Divinity Roxx, and violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain, who also composed the musical score.

“Oh Happy Day” at The Public Theater was a powerful and poignant musical written by and starring Jordan E. Cooper. It looked at the struggles of members of the LGBTQIA community through the lead character Keyshawn, a gay sex worker who is disowned by his family. He is also a victim of a violent crime and is preparing to cross over, but he must finally get to tell his family his truth, make peace in his own heart with his family, and make sure that they know what he has endured. Cooper was joined on stage at the performance I attended by a remarkable cast that included Tamika Lawrence, Brian D. Coats (understudy for Charles Randolph Wright), Donovan Louis Bazemore, along with Tiffany Mann, Shelea Melody McDonald, and Lautrice Pace. This production featured gorgeous costume design by Qween Jean and choreography by Eboni Nichols.

Bringing humor and song were the trademarks of “44: The Musical,” a satirically fun production playing through Jan. 4, 2026, at the Daryl Roth Theatre at E 15th St. Former Obama campaign staffer Eli Bauman created the book, music, and lyrics and directed this hilarious production comedy about the troubles that faced the 44th President, Barack Obama. It has delightful, funny, sexy, and silly moments, combined with a marvelous mix of soul, R&B, and hip-hop numbers. The cast is having a good time and will make sure you do as well. It stars T.J. Wilkins (Barack Obama), Shanice (Michelle Obama), and Chad Doreck (Joe Biden), and features Summer Nicole Greer, Dino Shorté, Larry Cedar, Michael Uribes, Jeff Sumner, Chelsea Morgan Stock, Jenna Pastuszek, and Evan Tyrone Martin. On the creative side, there is music direction and music co-production by Anthony “Brew” Brewster, music supervision by Wilkie Ferguson III, chore-

Malcolm Mays, Alani iLongwe and Andre Holland in “The Brothers Size” playing at The Shed’s Griffin Theater. (Marc J. Franklin photo)

Cast of “Twelfth Night” playing at the Delacorte Theater. (Joan Marcus photo)

ography by Miss James Alsop, and associate choreography by Johnny Rice.

“Tartuffe” played at the House of the Redeemer on E 95th St. This Molière comedy about a rich man being taken advantage of by a dishonest minister was marvelously performed. The ensemble cast featured Andre DeShields in the title role, Amber Iman, Chris Hahn, Tyler Hardwick, Alexander Socha, Charlie Labeck, Todd Buonopane, Phoebe Dunn, and Hannah Beck.

The 53rd Annual AUDELCO Awards were held at the Alhambra Ballroom, hosted

by Jerome Preston Bates and Toni Seawright. The Awards reward excellence in Black Theater and also present special honors. This year’s honorees were Andre

Chez Lewis and Zora Howard — Special Achievement Award; Dr. Indira Etwaroo; Kenny Seymour, and Adrienne C. Moore — Outstanding Achievement Award; Kim Weston-Moran and Ajene D. Washington — Pioneer Award; Vy Higginsen, Ron Himes, and Marie Thomas-Foster — Lifetime Achievement Award; Debbie McIntyre, Laurie Cumbo and myself — Board of Directors Award; Dr. Audrey Baker, Dr. Geraldine Baker, Crystal Field, and Juanita Howard — Legacy Award, Brenda Prescott, and Evern Gillard Randolph — Humanitarian Award, Carl Clay and Black Spectrum Theater, a special award for its 55 years!

November into December had one show in common, “Gruesome Playground Inju-

ries” playing at the Lucille Lortel Theatre through Dec. 28. Written by Rajiv Joseph, it stars Kara Young and Nicholas Braun, as two students in a Catholic High School that develop a very peculiar, dysfunctional relationship.

It was interesting to watch. The production had an intriguing direction by Neil Pepe.

Coming up in 2026, “Dreamgirls” will return to Broadway and will be choreographed and directed by the phenomenal Camille A. Brown, and produced by LaChanze Productions, Sonya Friedman Productions, Sue Wagner, and John Johnson. As of press time, casting has not been announced.

In 2026, let’s plan on going to the theater to support our people — they truly appreciate it.

See you there!

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Molière in the Park’s ‘The Imaginary Invalid’: A conversation with Sahr Ngaujah

By MARK WINSTON GRIFFITH Special to the AmNews For all the love that summer in New York gets, spring is really where it’s at. The weather is nonoppressive, free outdoors events have started to appear, and New Yorkers have already begun to light up the parks.

Molière in the Park checks all of those boxes. Since 2019, this world-class production house has brought the works of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, the 17th-century playwright, actor, and poet known as Molière, to Prospect Park. This year, from May 8–25, at the LeFrak Center, Molière in the Park is presenting the last work Molière wrote and performed in: “The Imaginary Invalid,” directed and translated by Lucie Tiberghien.

If the idea of getting steeped in classical French theater and comédie-ballet does not sound like an enthralling evening, au contraire, mon ami. Like Shakespeare in the Park, Molière in the Park productions are culturally relevant and designed to be accessible, whether or not you happened to have already read the play in question in preparation for an 11th-grade AP exam. Unlike Shakespeare in the Park, the language of Molière, at least the way it has been translated

by Tibeghien, is modern and immediately accessible. Meanwhile, scoring tickets does not require a day-long excursion.

Most importantly, the show is a pure hoot. Not only is it socially insightful and raucously funny about things like the medical industrial complex and marriage, but it features show-stopping movement and vocal performances. Fearless in breaking the fourth wall, “The Imaginary Invalid” is intent on entertaining the audience, not condescending to it.

I had a chance to sit down with Sahr Ngaujah, who plays the play’s titular invalid, Argan, as part of a mostly Black cast.

Ngaujah has had a long and distinguished career in theater and television, with his most notable credits being Tony-nominated turns in “Fela!” and ““Moulin Rouge” on Broadway. Having seen both “Fela!” and actual Fela Kuti performances multiple times myself, not to mention having attended a Mother’s Day evening performance of “The Imaginary Invalid,” I was particularly excited to chop it up with Ngaujah.

AmNews: First, let me just tell you

that I saw you in “Fela!” In fact, I saw “Fela!” three times, and it remains the single most satisfying experience I’ve ever had on Broadway.

Sahr Ngaujah (SN): Oh, man.

Thank you so much. Thanks for telling me that.

AmNews: Your performance was not only mesmerizing, but you brilliantly captured Fela’s revolutionary bad-boy charisma. If you look at the trajectory of your career so far, what significance do you feel that role had for you?

SN: It was life-changing. Definitely career-defining. I went to see the premiere of Bill T. Jones’ [the dancer/choreographer who conceived, directed, and choreographed “Fela!” on Broadway] show “Still/Here” at BAM a few months ago. He did not know I was going to be in attendance, and I went to the reception and stood next to him. He was gripping my hand, holding me close, and said in my ear, “Sahr, I’m really happy to see you. That show we did together was the most powerful show I’ve ever done in my life.”

Or something in that ballpark. My point is, if it was a big deal for Bill T. Jones, you can imagine that it was a big deal for me.

AmNews: You may be a little bit too young for this, but did you ever get a chance to see Fela perform yourself? How much did he figure in your life and imagination?

SN: He wasn’t performing while I was growing up, but he played a major role in my upbringing and in my understanding of music and of African music. My parents are music lovers and musicians in their own right. My father’s a West African man from Sierra Leone, and Fela is the poster child of cool, especially for guys of my father’s generation, so I grew up with that, and I was floored when I had the opportunity to participate in the development of the play. It was intimidating, but I worked as hard as I … could every single day. It’s a part of my life now and I’m still in touch and close with Fela’s family.

They made it very clear to me that I would always be a part of their family, whether I liked it or not.

And I do like it [laughter].

AmNews: You’ve been a bit of a globetrotter, right? You worked in Atlanta, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Johannesburg. How do you compare those theater experiences with that of New York?

SN: I was involved with a troupe.

At the time, it was called the

Sahr Ngaujah, star of Moliere in the Park’s “The Imaginary Invalid.”

Sahr Ngaujah, star of Moliere in the Park’s “The Imaginary Invalid.”

Freddie Hendrix Youth Ensemble of Atlanta; now it’s the Youth Ensemble of Atlanta, but it was based in a theater called Seven Stages. Seven Stages was the hub of international theater in Atlanta and it was deeply steeped in Theater of the Absurd, highly experimental theater, so I was completely immersed in that world at the age of 15, until I moved to Europe. [I] was exposed to companies from all over the world. We would do workshops and engage in the techniques and the practices of those theater companies.

The work in Johannesburg also happened at a very early age — I was in my late teens — but of all the companies that were coming through Seven Stages, the Dutch theater for me was the most fascinating. There was something about the way they dealt with scenic design or architecture and with design in general — the way costumes were constructed, the relationship to the audience, to the fourth wall, to story, and how a story was built or constructed or deconstructed. There was something that was just light years

United States?

SN: What we used in building the “Fela!” production has now become an industry standard, as in we offered the commercial theater industry a new tool that didn’t really exist before, which has brought the music industry and the commercial theater industry together. Now there is a template or a basis for how to tell the story of a music artist or a group of music artists, and you now have shows like “MJ the Musical” and “Buena Vista Social Club.” Much of that came from the construct that we created to build “Fela!”

AmNews: How did you get to “The Imaginary Invalid”? What was it about the script and role that intrigued you? How did you get involved in the production?

SN: I got a phone call and an offer.

First of all, I don’t live far from Prospect Park and the spring is a very special time. I have a son who is almost 5 years old, so it’s our backyard and it’s an incredible place to spend time. I’d heard of Molière in the Park. I never saw a show or a reading, but I thought it was really cool that Brooklyn has Molière and Manhattan has Shakespeare.

When they called me, however, I had been on a two-year hiatus from theater work, partly to focus on raising my son and being available to my wife and my family. I hadn’t read “The Imaginary Invalid” at the time. I listened to an audio reading of it, and I started watching tapes of many different productions of it, from all over the world. I fell in love with the story, and took a deeper dive into Molière’s life than I ever had before, and became completely captivated by him and his journey.

There was not a lot of time between getting the offer and starting rehearsals. I got the call about two weeks out from the start of rehearsal, and I was like, “Which role do you want me to play?”

When they said, “Argan,” I was like, “Whoa, wait a minute, there are 50-plus pages of lines here, man!”

But I took it anyway. I have a lot of respect for what Lucie is doing — the fact that she’s offering free theater in Prospect Park. Molière’s work and the placement that it had in France, when he made it, made it also feel like it was important to play a part in bringing this work to the city of New York, the borough of Brooklyn, and Prospect Park.

away from everything else that I saw. I said, What in the world is the starting point? And what are they drinking there? What are they eating? What are they smoking …

AmNews: And where can I get some [laughter]?

SN: Right [laughter]. I ended up living in the Netherlands for almost all of my 20s into my early 30s, until Bill T. Jones brought me to New York. I didn’t really have any intention of coming back to the States.

Honestly, I had a different trajectory in mind, but he got me back.

I’ve been in New York now for almost 20 years, but that [international work] had a massive impact on me. I worked as an actor and collaborator with a few very important theaters, but also began directing theater there. I became known there more as a director, theater maker, and eventually as a party promoter, rather than an actor, because I was quite busy with finding ways of bringing codes of theater, concert, club, and film environments into the same space.

AmNews: How did you bring that Visit amsterdamnews.com for our sensibility and approach to the full interview with Sahr Ngaujah.

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January 1, 2026 - January 7, 2026 • 19

Kara Young on ‘Purpose,’ Harlem, and Broadway history

Kara Young getting ready in make-up. (Marc J. Franklin photos)

(L-R): Jon Michael Hill (Naz), Kara Young (Aziza), and Harry Lennix (Solomon) in “Purpose.”

By DERRICK A. HEMPHILL Special to the AmNews

ing nannies and domestic workers, built families and communities. That legacy lives on in Young’s role as Aziza Houston, a social worker dedicated to centering Black life.

It was during her time in “Purlie Victorious” that Young aligned her artistry with the Black theater legacy. She transformed her dressing room into a vibrant shrine to Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, adorning it with beautiful fabrics from the Malcolm Shabazz Harlem Market on 116th Street and pictures of the legendary couple, some of which were so rare the couple’s daughter, Dr. Hasna Muhammad, had never seen them. “I took the time to do that,” she quipped, recalling the inspiration from Leslie Odom Jr.’s “decked out” dressing room. She added, “I was collecting a lot of Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee memorabilia of pivotal times in their lives, and I would listen to Ossie recite a poem, or Ruby recite a poem on one of those LPs.” “Purpose,” which recently won the Pulitzer Prize, centers on the influential Jasper family, pillars of Black American politics filled with civil rights leaders, pastors, and politicians. When the youngest son, Nazareth ‘Naz’ Jasper, returns home to Chicago with an uninvited friend, Aziza Houston, they confront the family with a reckoning involving collective identity, faith, and the heavy legacies of Black radicalism and political power.

Like Young, Aziza Houston carries the weight and wisdom of strong women who sacrificed for future generations.

Aziza, however, also embodies a specific moment in Black American conscious-

With the Tony Awards just days away, this Sunday, June 8, at Radio City Music Hall, one Harlem daughter is poised to make theater history again.

As Kara Young moves through Harlem with purpose, she evokes the timeless, syncopated jazz anthem, “Take the A Train,” from a bygone era. Unlike the uptown train that Duke Ellington made famous, the Tony Award-winning actress takes the 2, 3, B, or C trains for her daily commute to Broadway. Young moves graciously through the streets that shaped her, greeting the same neighbors, grabbing a cup of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee for a member of the community, and buying a “loosey” as a kind gesture.

This is her Harlem: the west side where she was born and raised, and the neighborhood her character Aziza Houston in Branden Jacobs Jenkins’ “Purpose” is also native to.

“I take the train every day. I’m in these streets,” Young said, her voice carrying the pride of someone who has never forgotten where she comes from. “I was born and raised in Harlem. I’m still here, and I walk down the same streets every single day.”

Cynthia Erivo will host the Tony Awards ceremony this Sunday, recognizing excellence in Broadway productions from the 2024-2025 season. Young will make an unprecedented mark on theater history. She is the first Black performer, and only the second performer ever, to receive Tony nominations in four consec-

utive years. From her 2022 nomination for “Clyde’s,” 2023 nomination for “Cost of Living,” 2024 Tony win for “Purlie Victorious,” and her 2025 nomination for “Purpose,” Young has proven herself an undeniable force — a testament to the talent she refuses to contain.

But her journey from the west side of Harlem to the Helen Hayes Theatre is more than individual triumph — it’s a story of purpose that echoes through generations, connecting the civil rights legacy her character Aziza reveres to the contemporary struggles for Black recognition and humanity.

Young’s family came from Belize, embodying the quintessential American dream as they sought better opportunities for their children. Her father, Klay Young, built a distinguished career in hospitality spanning more than 30 years (Young admits this is why she’s a good tipper). As the family adapted to life in New York City, Young’s education spanned across Manhattan; she attended elementary and high school in Spanish Harlem while still living on Harlem’s west side.

Adding another crucial layer to Young’s foundation is her family’s matriarchs, particularly her great-grandmother Hazel Baptiste, whom she affectionately called “granny.” This remarkable woman lived independently until 105, even seeing her incredibly talented granddaughter perform in “Purlie Victorious” just two weeks before passing. “She was sharp. She never missed a beat,” Young said. “Her sacrifice, like all the women in my life, was monumental.” These caretakers, includ-

ness: the period following the Black Lives Matter protests, when valuing Black life was a political statement.

“Aziza’s purpose in life is to bring life into the world because she has to show how much life matters to her,” Young explained. “Through all the Black Lives Matter protests and rallies and marches and a cry, a cry to the world to see us, to recognize that we are human, to recognize our humanity, I have to bring life into the world, and I have to bring Black life into the world.”

Young developed an extensive backstory for Aziza, drawing from Jacobs Jenkins’ rich dramaturgy. This character development process reflects her broader approach to theater. She shares her character-building strategy: “In my head, I’ll still be building.” She continued,“I’m still thinking about Letitia [‘Clyde’s’]. I’m still thinking about Jess in ‘Cost of Living.’ I’m still thinking about Lutiebelle [‘Purlie Victorious’].” From a single line in the script, Aziza tells Solomon Jasper, “Sir, you don’t get it. I have actual childhood memories of sitting on my daddy’s shoulders, watching you talk at some rally, maybe.

We was always at some rally,” Young said, using her Harlem upbringing as a lens through which to construct a whole world for her character.

Jacobs Jenkins’ script resonates deeply with Young, who describes his writing as “meticulous” and “surgical-like.” She noted the playwright creates “threads that connect the veins to make a heart pump.” Working with two-time Tony Continued on next page

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winner Phylicia Rashad as director has deepened Young’s understanding of how theater serves community. Young reveres Rashad immensely and said, “I praise her gift. And she’s so anointed as an actor.”

“The conversation that is really brought up [is about] the intergenerational ideologies that actually can be in relation to each other if we just seek out to understand,” Young explained. She finds particular beauty in the Aziza and Solomon dynamic, noting the reverence for the legacy that playwright Jacobs Jenkins laid as a foundation for Black people to be free. Aziza said, “I live free in a world you helped to make. So you’re a huge deal, right? All y’all are actually, which means that the legacy that you leave behind is also — y’all are all a big deal.”

This profound legacy is also vividly expressed throughout the Jasper home, meticulously designed by Todd Rosenthal.

The set is an exquisitely curated museum of Black pride, adorned with historical photos, rich African textiles, and striking sculptural pieces like elegant West African bronzes (reminiscent of the renowned Benin Bronzes). Ellis Wilson’s “Funeral Procession” and a prominent Martin Luther King Jr. painting preside over the space.

For Young, this design creates a moment that pays “homage to the kids of Malcolm X, to the homage of the children of Dr. Martin Luther King. I am paying respect to the children of these legacies in that moment.” The conversation between Aziza and Solomon becomes a recognition of how each generation builds upon the sacrifices of those who came before.

In one of the play’s most powerful scenes, Solomon tells Aziza he didn’t believe everything she said, “but she made me think, particularly when she spoke of the spectrum of sexuality.” She finds deep mean-

Kara Young (Photo courtesy of Polk & Co.)

ing in serving as a “catalyst of thought in the entire space,” noting how Jacobs Jenkins creates space for characters to challenge and transform each other.

The “Purpose” cast, mostly veterans from the original Steppenwolf Theatre production in Chicago, welcomed Young and LaTanya Richardson Jackson as the “newbies” with open arms and warmth.

They forged a true artistic family, praying daily before performances and cultivat-

(L-R): LaTanya Richardson Jackson (Claudine), Glenn Davis (Junior), Kara Young (Aziza), and Jon Michael Hill (Naz) in “Purpose” (Marc J. Franklin photos)

ing a shared understanding of theater as a sacred space. Young emphasizes the collective spirit of the company, stating, “A recognition for one person is a recognition for the entire company.”

Young’s current Tony nomination feels uniquely different because she’s actively performing eight shows a week throughout awards season. “This is the first time that I have been in production while also doing the Tony season,” she explained, Kara Young as Aziza in “Purpose.”

referencing the constant demands of galas, events, and press amidst her nightly performances.

Despite the packed schedule, each night brings discoveries on stage. “The show is always so alive and so electric,” she said, adding that every audience is different. This dynamic means “no show is the same in the sense of what people are going to respond to. Sometimes, there’s silence in moments where the night before there was laughter.”

As the 2025 Tony Awards countdown approaches, Young continues her daily routine, taking the subway and immersing herself in the neighborhood. She keeps her Tony Award at her parents’ house and doesn’t consider herself “famous,” a groundedness that allows her to seamlessly serve as both an artist and community member. She carries forward the legacy of those who came before, reflecting on a profound inheritance from her greatgrandmother Hazel and other matriarchs who shaped her: “I feel so honored to have been able to witness what it means to get older. It’s a deep, deep blessing.”

In “Purpose,” Young has found her perfect artistic vehicle. The play honors the civil rights generation while demanding space for contemporary Black voices.

It features a character who shares her Harlem roots and embodies the profound significance of Black life in the modern world. As a nominee continuing her unprecedented streak for a second Tony Award this Sunday, Young has already achieved something profound: she has found her purpose and, in doing so, helped a community find its voice on Broadway’s biggest stages.

Young’s journey from Harlem’s west side to the Helen Hayes Theatre proves American theater’s highest calling: a space where past and present collide, love demands recognition, and purpose becomes resistance.

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January 1, 2026 - January 7, 2026 • 21

A sense of ‘Purpose’ — A conversation with Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

By MARK WINSTON GRIFFITH Special to the AmNews Prominent among the buzz generators this Broadway season is Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ “Purpose,” playing at the Hayes Theater through this August. “Purpose,” the winner of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play, examines themes that converge, over a 24-hour period, on two generations of the Jaspers, a Chicago-based family that is explicitly inspired by the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s family life.

The plot in “Purpose” is disarmingly spirited along by smart, sitcom-adjacent humor, but is ultimately grounded in a moral and political complexity that lets you know that whoever wrote this ain’t playing around.

There’s so much back story. “Purpose” employs a narrative Sherpa in the form of Nazareth “Naz” Jasper, the perpetually fourth-wall-breaking younger son of Civil Rights Movement living legend Solomon Jasper and family caretaker Claudine Jasper. Naz, fresh off a spiritually elevating photography assignment, lands at his family home only to be joined by Aziza Houston, the queer woman with whom Naz has previously arranged to asexually conceive a child. Aziza soon finds herself waist deep in high-voltage family dynamics that also include Naz’s elder, emotionally struggling brother Junior, who has recently finished a prison sentence for financial fraud, and Junior’s embittered, Jasper-loathing wife Morgan, who has been courtordered to swap places in prison with Junior because of her complicity with his crimes.

We’re given early warning by Naz that the family dinner will become the battleground for some lively family messiness, and to say that hijinks and drama ensue is an understatement. The second act is spent sifting through the dinner’s emotional wreckage of recriminations, revelations, and threats.

This kind of family complexity, — one that carries a broader sociological resonance — is my jam, so I sat down with Branden Jacobs-Jenkins via Zoom to dig deeper into his portrayal of the Jaspers and Black American generational identity.

AmNews: So much of Junior’s sense of being lost, both personally and

Where is the leader?” She had come up in a space where, to make progress, there had to be one voice leading the many, so she couldn’t even wrap her head around what was happening with BLM. Everyone is responding to the same experience of disenfranchisement, injustice, inequality, and needless Black death, and yet, we only ever are taught about the one version of it that’s sort of mainstream, right?

Every town has a Martin Luther King Boulevard in it.

At the same time, I’m witnessing a lot of friends who discovered activism in the last 10 years, and were suddenly trying to piece together a legacy for themselves, because they were responding to the reality of what was happening outside their front doors, but I was also witnessing them go through what all those lovely folks in the ’60s and ’70s were going through, which was a kind of fatigue. This is a kind of work and a practice that is draining. It costs people things and sometimes that cost is borne out on the level of familial relationships and even perBranden Jacobs-Jenkins (Jai Lennard photo) sonal relationships. How do you live as a full person, and yet also professionally, is a result of his Obama’s [acceptance speech] from commit oneself to a necessary swimming in the backwash of the his first win: There’s a shot from the cause? That’s the tension in the Civil Rights Movement and his fa- [news] coverage, of Jesse Jackson Jasper family. While Solomon Jasper ther’s legacy. Daddy Jasper claims standing in the crowd with a single was out literally making the world that everyone “knew their role” in tear rolling down his face, and I’m freer for some folks, his family was the Civil Rights Movement, but this just thinking like, man, there are in a certain kind of trap. is clearly not the case for Junior, a so many things pinging off of each generation later. Junior complains other in this moment, symbolical- AmNews: You talked about dethat he was never taught anything ly, in terms of history. I think what’s mystifying the civil rights era and, by his father or properly mentored, never quite unpacked fully is the of course, you use the word “purand he clearly doesn’t know what depth and richness and wide-rang- pose” very intentionally in the title. his social role and purpose are. ing strategies that make up the Do you feel like that sense of purWhat’s your take on the political gains of Black political life in the pose exists in the political moment grounding of this nation’s newest 20th and 21st centuries. we’re in today? Or is it even fair to generation of political leadership?

I’m gesturing at the romanticiza- make the comparison?

Are they clear? Are they confused? tion of the Civil Rights Movement BJ-J: I do think that the purpose How much faith do you have in and, let’s say, the commodification exists. I think the challenge is for us their sense of purpose and politi- of it, or the kind of distilling it into to become aware of it, to figure out cal vision? its symbols. This commodification how to articulate it and lock into it.

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (BJ-J): As created these slipstreams, like you You know, there’s so much that far as intentional commentary, I said, the weight of which Junior is discourages individuals from being don’t know if I can claim that. I’m swimming in. In some ways, he’s brave enough to step out and say writing from a place of observa- trying to live his life on patterns that what they feel to take action, betion. My mother moved to DC to be are old, and the trap he falls into is cause we live in an anti-DEI culture, a part of [President] Jimmy Carter’s not being able to stay present to which is a wild concept. Who’s anticabinet and she sent me to an Af- what’s really happening. diversity on a planet that is nothing rocentric school where my teachers I remember the early moments but diverse, right? Or anti-woke? were all activists, Pan-Africanists, of Black Lives Matter (BLM). I lived The opposite of woke is asleep. and former Panthers, so I grew up two blocks from the Barclays Center People are so self-conscious. This in this stew of facets of what we during the uprisings, and the con- is what happened to a lot of Panmight think of as Black political life stant refrain I was hearing from thers. In pop cultural spaces, they and activism from the 20th century. my mother and her generation — were always depicted as buffoons, This play came to me in some who were the last gasp of boomers, disorganized, and it robbed that form at the very back end of Obama the last gasp of the Jim Crow gen- moment of its real richness and II. I’m haunted by an image from eration — was, “Who is the leader? intellectual rigor. I think everyone

feels the purpose, but can’t find their way into it.

What’s preventing us from locking into that space? That’s the conversation, I think, worth having.

The title, “Purpose,” is inspired by a book I came across by a very important political scholar and historian. He talked about the ’80s in terms of the narrative of Black political life being an era of a crisis of purpose, where in some ways it had achieved the gains of political buy-in that it had been after, and once that happened, there was no plan. There was a vacuum of all this energy, where it was like, “Well, now what — now what do we do?” That moment is what kind of stalled things out, maybe. That’s kind of the argument being made [in “Purpose”].

AmNews: Do you feel like we’ve moved beyond that moment? Because I actually lived it.

BJ-J: The world’s new every day, and new people are constantly showing up, right? I think I’ve always been interested in these cycles that seem to happen socially, where another generation comes of age and goes, “Wait a minute. Why am I being treated like this?” And they have to reconnect to some old version of the struggle. But I’m always interested in those moments in between.

Like, what happened? What’s that collective act of forgetting or overexhaustion when things get quiet; these benign neglect moments?

Of course, it’s different, it’s not the ’80s anymore. I was born in the ’80s. It’s 40 years later, and the world is a new place.

The same old things are happening, but there are new forms of it.

The beginning of my career was very contentious for people. I have a play called “Appropriate” that premiered 10 years ago. It did well, but it was met with a lot of aggression in a way that was crazy. Ten years later, it’s on Broadway, it wins a Tony.

I realized in that 10-year period, people just had more language for this experience. That creation of language, that creation of ideas, that documentation of points of view — that does move the conversation forward. I believe people just have more tools to process their experience of struggle.

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of “Black Excellence” that the Jasper family both epitomizes and feels deeply burdened by? What was your view of the notion of Black Excellence growing up, which is to say — where do you fall in the spectrum?

Do you believe that being an accomplished Black professional, who is a credit to their race, is a necessary North Star for Black folks, people whom the world is trying to convince are wretched? Or do you think Black Excellence is a dangerous bourgeois construct that we need to dismantle because it oversimplifies our humanity? I know those are two extremes, but where do you fall between them?

BJ-J: I guess I want to have both.

You do need models in the world, because I think young people and young minds are often shaped by what forms of thought they have access to.

I think about Toni Morrison every day because I don’t think I would have understood there was a path somewhere for me to be a writer without the model of Toni Morrison. I’m reading “Toni at Random,” which is a book about her years as an editor and how she was so daring and so experimental and took no guff from anybody. That groundbreaking, that path-breaking ... I would say I’m one of thousands of Black writers who benefited from that excellence.

But that idea of a Black writer and the mold that she cast of difficult work that was deserving of the work to get through it; the intelligence, that ownership of the active reading of literature and the canon — those things were essential for me to be able to get to where I am. I just needed to have that.

At the same time, there’s nothing worse than when these things create divisions within the community or are weaponized and you’re ultimately re-inscribing a kind of class system. I do think that part of the challenge for the Jasper family is they’re kind of hoisted on their petards — their own ambitions that they bought into. They drank the Kool-Aid with a promise because they didn’t know what they didn’t know. It’s all coming back now, to be reckoned.

How do you forgive yourself?

How do you forgive the choices you make as a young person? How do you stay committed to a struggle that you don’t know the end of and how it’s going to look?

Then, how do you live with what the results are, that reality of life, which is that everything comes with

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS B E S T O F 2 0 2 5 wins and losses. I think I live in that space where we shouldn’t be afraid of excellence, shouldn’t demonize excellence. But also excellence is fleeting — excellent by whose standards? Life, if you’re lucky, is long, and you live through many different yardsticks that emerge that want to tell you what you’re worth or what you’re not worth.

Solomon feels that he dedicated his life to achieving freedom for his people, and when he can’t quite see that his kids are living free, as free as they can, it doesn’t look like what he thought freedom would be. How do you live with the fact that you still The cast of “Purpose.” (Marc J. Franklin photo) did the work? You just couldn’t control what the work looked like. viction, and fixedness in their po- self-definition that everyone goes litical ideology, purpose, gender down, but when you do it in a difAmNews: You clearly wanted to identity, mental identity, cultural ferent world, you can sometimes make people think when they were norms, etc. But in the next gener- lose the forest for the trees. experiencing “Purpose,” but you ation, with Aziza, Naz, and Junior, I think Aziza, Junior, and Nazaclearly wanted to entertain them as there’s so much exploration, there’s reth are very free people. Nazareth well. I saw the show twice, and the fluidity, there’s unsteadiness. What gets to live his life in the woods, two audiences laughed in differ- do you think accounts for that gen- taking pictures of lakes, and he ent ways to different things. I don’t erational contrast? gets paid for that. There’s nothing know if you’ve experienced that.

BJ-J: I think it’s something about freer than that, you know? Aziza’s BJ-J: I haven’t seen it in a while, but shame. I find that shame is such an a single woman, she doesn’t have I have heard the audiences have interesting curse for a lot of families. a child, she’s well-employed. She’s gotten quite raucous, and I heard For that generation that [Solo- proud of where she is. Even Junior, last night was a very good audience. mon] and other elders belong to who is fresh out of prison and his AmNews: Yeah, it was a great (I would count my own parents in wife’s going in, literally is free. audience. that world), they have a very difHe’s also free from the chokehold How intentional, how strategic ficult time talking about expe- of this dynastic life he was supwas your use of humor? Were there riences of pain, experiences of posed to live. He’s trying to learn things that you felt would be better embarrassment. Part of their sur- how to live without his father’s communicated or received differ- vival was about not acknowledging name. To appreciate those things, ently through humor? the wounds that shaped their lives, you have to look past the trappings BJ-J: Try as I might, I cannot write but when you don’t acknowledge of what might make them “undea sad thing that’s just sad the whole those wounds, you become those sirable” children to a certain gentime. I’ve tried, and people still wounds, and suddenly you’re being eration of people. For me, it’s about laugh. Something about my voice parented by a wound. As a child, releasing shame to find purpose. clearly is comic, and I need to let you’re being shaped by something that be the thing. you can’t ever name. It’s like a ghost AmNews: You explore sexual idenLaughter is a very important and in the room, and that creates its tity, as well as mental health, in useful tool in the theater. No one own forms of anxiety.

“Purpose,” and Aziza at one point knows why we laugh, but it does For me, it’s about trying to create even suggests that Naz’s asexua lot of things. One, it’s proof that a new generation — people who ality is somehow connected to you’re listening. If you’re laugh- are ready to release the chokehold his neurodivergence. Was that ing, it’s because you got something, of that because that’s where free- mashup of sexual identity and and you’re receptive to that thing. dom is going to start, when we can neurology an incidental one-off, Laughter also is a thing you can’t acknowledge the good and the bad, or was it intentional and part of be very self-conscious about — it’s and take pride in being a part of our some kind of larger point? a thing you kind of do automatical- historic and familial makeup.

BJ-J: For me, it’s about this idea ly. And when we do it in a group, I think about Mom and Dad of self-determination. The great and we realize we’re all laughing, [Jasper] at the same age their kids irony and existential struggle of and subconsciously, you feel con- are, and how at that point, they Black American life is trying to litnected to people. You’re realizing were already young parents. They erally name oneself — descended that you share a point of view with were in the world experimenting in from people who were ripped away other people in this space, and that ways that their own parents could from their context in service of an should be a thing that unifies and never have dreamed of for them. insanely exploitative and very sucgrounds you.

They were going to college, they cessful economic system, who had There are very important experi- were seeing the world, they were to sire new generations of giants on ences where you hear some people leaving the 20-mile radius of the this Earth, who had to literally make laughing and other people not little farm that their families had up the story as they go and piece tolaughing, and you ask yourself, why come from. Everything was an ex- gether a kind of language world to am I not laughing? periment for them, too, but the ex- hold their being. So much of the AmNews: I want to come back to periment looked different. What fights of the postslavery and postthis question of generational split. they don’t see is that their children Jim Crow eras was about having to With Daddy and Mama Jasper, are doing the same thing. throw off the labels and stereotypes there was so much surety, conIt’s the same kind of path of that were thrust upon them to build

their own definition of self.

The whole point of political correctness, which is now demonized as an idea, was literally giving people the right to name themselves. Now, it’s this oppressive thing to ask people to be respectful when someone says what their name is. Among these various things that Black Americans have interfaced with are sexuality, mental competence, and mental health. I think this is about people trying to think their way into the form of life that best expresses who they are.

That might mean sometimes it runs contrary to the available labels that are there for you. How does anybody live their life when it feels like the options for naming yourself are so limited? How do you make new names for yourself? Especially for that younger generation, but also the older parents who have to find a new form for their lives now that they’re not the king and queen they thought they were going to be.

The [older] son’s got to remake his life out of prison, the youngest son is trying to just be allowed to follow the impulses of who he is. Aziza wants to be a mom, without the trappings of what we think a mom should have.

It’s not about saying that asexual people are mentally disturbed. For me, it’s all about upending labels in every way. There are aromantic and asexual people I’ve since learned about. Black male representation on stage is always so complicated because it often comes down to some crazy sexual situation. There has to be a different way to talk about Black male emotionality, interiority, intimacy. In some ways, Naz was my attempt to sort of see where we could get with that.

It seems like we got pretty far, because [audiences] love Naz. It has struck up interesting conversations, but I wasn’t really that self-conscious about it when I was working on it. I just wanted to present a different mode. Of course, every [character] wants him to be what they need him to be so they can feel right in their story. It’s all about the story they tell themselves about being a loving person in relationship to Naz. For Aziza, he has to be someone who is in need of more resources than he’s been given. For Mom, he’s just someone who needed confidence and support, and the world wanted to name him something.

The dad needs him to just come out as gay, but he’s not gay, and so he’s like, “What are you?”

That’s family, right? Family is always about appreciating everyone else’s expectations of you.

Census

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and New York now have the largest MENA populations.

Similarly, the Census has struggled with accurate Latino racial and ethnic distinctions in the past, but reported a huge increase in population numbers in the last count.

This complexity about race, ethnicity, nationality, and color has been a long-standing issue with communities in the Black and Latino diaspora. Nancy López, a sociology professor at the University of New Mexico (UNM) and director of UNM’s Institute for the Study of Race & Social Justice, pointed out the heated debate over the question of “Hispanic origin.” It’s hard for the Census to quantify some people because “race is a master social status (like gender) that is often ascribed based on someone’s skin color and other differences in physical appearance, like facial features and hair texture,” she said.

For example, Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran K. Mamdani identified as Asian (South Asian) and Black (Ugandan) on his college application because the cat-

Daniel’s Law Continued from page 3

termination if found guilty, based on departmental guidelines. However, any ruling by the NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Trials could be overruled by the police commissioner — earlier this year, Tisch decided not to fire Lt. Jonathan Rivera for killing Feliz despite a guilty verdict.

“The truth is, Alongi and Cianfrocco should already have been fired, and it’s painful that we still have the whole discipline process ahead of us,” said Costa in a statement. “I hope this means the NYPD won’t try to play tricks in the months ahead and that Alongi and Cianfrocco are fired as soon as possible. Without Win this past year and a half, I have felt like I lost a part of myself. I am fighting for Win and all New Yorkers so that all our children get a chance to grow up. Young people struggling with mental health issues should not live in fear of being killed by the NYPD.” This points to organizing as key to securing the charges. She says D.R.U.M. is working more on advocating for removing police involvement from mental health responses on behalf of Rozario’s family.

Daniel’s Day continues in Brooklyn Win Rozario was one of many names remembered this past Saturday during Daniel’s Day programming in Crown Heights.

Assemblywoman Monique Chandler-Waterman hosts the event each year in the district since she won a special election for her seat in 2022. She learned of Daniel’s Day — which happens each Saturday of Prude’s birthday week — from other cities like Rochester and Albany.

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS B E S T O F 2 0 2 5 egory of race often lacks nuance in the U.S. portant for sustaining the labor force across However, Census records have also been the state. Foreign-born New Yorkers are eninstrumental in preserving historical data, rolled in higher education at twice the rate of helping many Black Americans trace their native-born, and are in the labor force and ancestry and uncover their family’s jour- employed at higher rates, said the report. ney out of chattel slavery to citizenship in “There’s about half a million or more unthe U.S from 1790 to 1860. Free Black Amer- documented persons or noncitizens living icans and “free nonwhites” were also count- in New York State. These are people who are ed at that time as Black (B) or Mulatto (M) our neighbors, pay taxes, they serve in the in the Census, according to the National Ar- military, and they’ve been counted in the chives and Records Administration. The first Census since 1790,” said Wice. “But now, Census after the Civil War was in 1870. It is the Trump administration wants to exclude the first to include Black people and former these people [so they can] allocate congresslaves by name. sional power.”

Project 2025 calls for another attempt at Immigration adding a citizenship question to the 2030 Jeff Wice, a professor at the New York Census.

Law School, said Census funding is being Wice said the citizenship question threat“attacked,” with Republicans trying to re- ens accuracy and undermines the goal of the strict the use of apportionment funds to be Census to provide fair representation based “based solely on citizens.” on the total number of people living in the According to the most recent state comp- country during the redistricting process, troller report, New York State benefited which violates the 14th Amendment. This from the international migration of more question could “scare away” immigrants than 519,000 people between 2020 and or undocumented people from taking the 2024. This offset much steeper losses of survey, or possibly use confidential informamore than 966,000 people leaving the state tion for U.S Immigration and Customs Enduring COVID. forcement (ICE) raids and Internal Revenue Immigration, in particular, has been im- Service (IRS) action, said Wice.

“What they’re trying to do essentially is to roll back the gains made after the Civil War, when the 14th Amendment was enacted.

Lawmakers then made it very explicit that the basis for congressional apportionment is to be [an] account of all people,” said Wice.

Anand added that, “In this atmosphere of public distrust in why the government is collecting or sharing data is that once you start asking a citizenship question, people start getting spooked and wonder why you’re asking the question.”

A citizenship question inevitably leads to a decline in response rates, not only in undercounted immigrant and undocumented communities, but also in mixed-status families and with people who generally distrust the government, said Anand.

“People need to focus more on the Census,” said Wice. “It’s one of the building blocks of our democracy and should be just as important as your morning coffee and breakfast cereal. [The] Census helps shape everything — it helps shape the delivery of all government services. If you look outside your window, your streets, your hospitals, your schools, your senior centers, your parks — everything the government does is driven by the Census in one way or another.”

Chandler-Waterman holds the event each year in her district on Utica Avenue between Montgomery Street and East New York Avenue, where police killed Jamaican American Saheed Vassell during a mental health crisis in 2018. A few blocks away, NYPD officers killed Haitian American Eudes Pierre during a mental health response in 2021. Another Black New Yorker from Chandler-Waterman’s district, Dwayne Jeune, was also killed by the NYPD while experiencing a mental health condition in East Flatbush.

“We’re here to pay homage to these families,” Chandler-Waterman told the AmNews. “And making sure that we create a space for wellness and feeling, but also for people to understand what we’re doing in the state with Daniel’s Law…you got to make sure that there are services right now that we can get as a community for our loved ones [voluntarily] when they have a mental [health] crisis. So that’s what we’re advocating for.”

Pierre’s cousin Sheina Banatte spent the past half-decade championing mental health reform, including Daniel’s Law. She initially picked up the advocacy to comfort her grieving aunt and other cousin.

“At first, I was doing it for them to give them some hope,” said Banatte. “And to let them know that as much as Eudes matters to us, we’re going to make sure that he matters to other people, and they know that he’s not going to be defined by [how] he was killed. [but by] the way he lived, the way he loved.”

Today, Pierre and Vassell are remembered in Crown Heights beyond Daniel’s Day. In 2022, the city renamed a busy block on Eastern Parkway to Eudes Pierre Way. This year, the intersection of Crown Street and Utica

non-violent mental health calls and call in police if a response becomes dangerous.

“Lots of times, people believe more police is a panacea for all the problems,” said Haque. “But…America locks up more people than any other nation, and yet our states aren’t safer, our communities aren’t healthier. The answer isn’t always more police or more prisons; we need more smart safety, not just enforcement, and that’s why I’m supporting Zohran Mamdani’s vision.

“His Department of Community Safety will take on issues like homelessness. Lots of officers don’t want to respond to homelessness issues, so our police can actually focus on serious crime and not just social crisis. I believe that it is time to stop asking officers to do every job and start building a system that actually solves the root.”

Haque says the NYPD’s procedure for mental health responses involves assessing the situation and deciding whether the individual needs medical assistance.

If so, the officer requests EMS for hospital transport. If the person is violent, then the officer’s role is to bring in his or her supervisor. He adds that deploying lethal weapons hinges on split-second decisions. “This is a very huge responsibility [that] falls on the shoulder of the officers,” said Haque.

Brouk told the Amsterdam News that Mamdani’s plan very much reflects the tenets of Daniel’s Law given his peer-led approach and inspiration from programs like CAHOOTS. “We didn’t reinvent the wheel,” she said. “We looked around the country to see where this has been working for decades, and what we can use from those learnings to adapt that to New York State.”

Avenue was renamed Saheed Vassell Way. Mamdani’s Department of Community Safety offers hope During the Daniel’s Day programming in Crown Heights, healthcare union members from 1199SEIU reiterated their endorsement of Democratic mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani as a key solution to implementing non-police mental health responses through his proposed Department of Community Safety. ChandlerWaterman told the crowd she wouldn’t tell them who to vote for but asked them to register and extolled her assembly colleague’s track record.

This past spring, Mamdani unveiled his Department of Community Safety proposal, which included overhauling B-HEARD to expand into every neighborhood. His plan specifically pointed to CAHOOTS as a model because of its results.

“The CAHOOTS program has been immensely successful, resolving almost 20% of all calls that come through the Eugene Police Department,” said Mamdani over the phone in April. “And of those estimated 24,000 calls that this program responded to in 2019, only 311 required police backup, showing that tasking teams with appropriate mental health and Crisis Response Training is effective and reduces strain on police. It’s this focus, specifically on outcomes and on results, that has driven the creation of this department.”

With his community mourning Rozario, Bangladeshi American Police Association co-founder Shamsul Haque believes Mamdani’s plan can prevent future tragedies. The retired Lieutenant Commander who spent 21 years in the NYPD believes medical professionals can handle most

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Sly Stone

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Track” was an attempt to keep the Family Stone name in the limelight, but his personal issues remained a stumbling block.

By the 1980s, Stone had slipped into seclusion. In the mid-2000s, though, he started to make sporadic public appearances, including performing with his daughter’s band, Baby Stone.

The Grammys gave him a lifetime achievement award in 2017.

Stones’ legacy was revitalized in the last few years with musician Questlove’s Academy Award-winning 2021 documentary “Summer of Soul,” which included a performance by Sly and the Family Stone during a Harlem cultural festival in 1969 at Marcus Garvey Park. That film was followed in 2023 by a memoir, “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin).” The From the Sept. 14, 1968 issue of the AmNews.

memoir, wrote AP reviewer Christopher Weber, “overflows with wit and wordplay.” “The call, the response. It felt like church,” Stone wrote. “The horns went up into the sky. When the show was over, we were wet and cold. I don’t remember how I left, maybe the same way I came in, but I wasn’t there to see Jimi [Hendrix] close the festival (Woodstock).”

Last year, Questlove released a documentary about Stone’s life, “Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius).”

Sly Stone, innovator, whose music will ignite generations to come, was a fashion trendsetter who could wear the craziest hat and make it look hip. His eyeglass frames were outrageous. His genius lyrics will always strike a chord. He resonated with Everyday People, letting us know Everybody Is a Star and we should always STAND! In addition to his son, Stone is survived by two daughters, Sylvette Robinson and Novena Carmel, and six grandchildren.

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

January 1, 2026 - January 7, 2026 • 25

CLASSIFIED ADS 100 PUBLIC NOTICES RULES AND REGULATIONS CANCELLATIONS must be made in writing by 12 Noon Monday.

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In Case of error, notify the Amsterdam News 212-932-7440

101 LEGAL NOTICES

101 LEGAL NOTICES

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT NEW YORK COUNTY VELOCITY COMMERCIAL CAPITAL, LLC, Plaintiff against PETER DAVIDSON, AS ADMINISTRATOR TO THE ESTATE OF MARY E. KAPLAN, et al Defendant(s) Attorney for Plaintiff(s) McMichael Taylor Gray, LLC, 28 Corporate Drive, Suite 104, Halfmoon, NY 12065. Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered November 19, 2025, I will sell at public auction to the highest bidder at Room 252 at the Supreme Court, New York County, 60 Centre Street, New York, New York on January 14, 2026 at 2:15 PM. Premises known as 353 West 56th Street, Unit 9A, New York, NY 10019.

Block 1047 Lot 1564. All that certain lot, piece or parcel of land, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, City, County and State of New York. Approximate Amount of Judgment is $1,679,606.17 plus interest, fees, and costs.

Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index No 850124/2019. The foreclosure sale will be conducted in accordance with 1st Judicial District's Covid-19 Policies and foreclosure auction rules. The Referee shall enforce any rules in place regarding facial coverings and social distancing. Referee will only accept a certified bank check made payable to the referee. Scott H. Siller, Esq., Referee File # 23-000633-01

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF New York, Bank of America, National Association as Successor Merger to LaSalle Bank National Association aS trustee for WAMU 2005-AR7, Plaintiff, vs. Nicholas J. Sands a/k/a Nicholas Sands, ET AL., Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision + Order On Motion duly entered on April 23, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 252 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on January 21, 2026 at 2:15 p.m., premises known as 30 East 76th Street, Unit# 7B, a/k/a 971/973 Madison Avenue, Unit# 7B, New York, NY 10021. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County of New York, City and State of New York, Block 1390 and Lot 1101 together with an undivided 3.639 percent interest in the Common Elements. Approximate amount of judgment is $1,300,211.64 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to the provisions of filed Judgment Index #810068/2010.

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

Notice of Registration of a Limited Liability Partnership Atlas Solomon LLP filed a Certificate of Registration with the NY Department of State on November 25, 2025. The principal office of the registered limited liability partnership (“LLP”) is located at 11 Broadway, Suite 1168, New York, NY 10004. The Secretary of State has been designated as agent of the LLP upon whom process against it may be served, and a copy of any process served upon him or her shall be mailed to 819 SW Federal Highway, Suite 301, Stuart, FL 34994. The purpose of the LLP is to engage in the practice of law.

Notice of Qualification of FRED AT HOME, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/18/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 11/13/25. 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 SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF New York, Wilmington Savings FunD Society, FSB, not in its Individual Capacity, but Solely as Owner Trustee for CSMC 2022-NQM3 Trust, Plaintiff, vs.

Future IService, LLC, ET AL., Defendant(s).

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision + Order on Motion duly entered on November 6, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the Room 252 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on January 28, 2026 at 2:15 p.m., premises known as 20 West 84th Street, Unit 3C, New York, NY 10024. 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 1197 and Lot 1011 together with an undivided 3.383 percent interest in the Common Elements.

Approximate amount of judgment is $1,670,086.58 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index # 850437/2024.Paul Sklar, Esq., Referee Friedman Vartolo LLP, 85 Broad Street, Suite 501, New York, New York 10004, Attorneys for Plaintiff. Firm File No.:232425-2

101 LEGAL NOTICES NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT: NEW YORK COUNTY. W FINANCIAL REIT, LTD, Pltf. vs. KEY HOTELS, LLC, et al, Defts. Index #850190/2024. Pursuant to consent judgment of foreclosure and decision + order on motion entered Nov. 18, 2025, I will sell at public auction in Room 252 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on January 14, 2026 at 2:15 p.m. premises k/a 129 West 46 th Street, New York, NY a/k/a Block 999, Lot 17. Said property beginning at a point on the northerly side of 46 th St. distant 450 ft. easterly from the corner formed by the intersection of the easterly side of Broadway (formerly Seventh Avenue) and the said northerly side of 46 th Street, being a plot 37 ft. 5 ½ inches x. 100 ft. 5 ½ inches x 37 ft. 4 ½ inches x 100 ft. 5 inches. Approximate amount of judgment is $21,567,309.60 plus costs, interest and other amounts. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed consent judgment and terms of sale.

SCOTT SILLER, Referee. JASPAN SCHLESINGER NARENDRAN, LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 300 Garden City Plaza, Garden City, NY 11530. #102658 Notice of Qualification of BREC PARENT GP, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/23/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 06/25/25. Princ. office of LLC: 345 Park Ave., NY, NY 10154. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St. - Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of CITYWIDE APARTMENTS PRESERVATION CLASS A, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/21/25. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

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

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of formation of IMMACULATE MANAGEMENT GROUP LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/20/2025.

Office location: New York County (Manhattan). SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to JAMES BARNES: 1221 E 305th Willowick, OH 44092.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

101 LEGAL NOTICES

101 LEGAL NOTICES

SUPREME COURT ‑ COUNTY OF NEW YORK. OLYMPIC TOWER CONDO‑ MINIUM, BY ITS BOARD OF MANAGERS, Plaintiff ‑against‑ SKY 641 LLC, et al Defen‑ dant(s). Pursuant to a Judg‑ ment of Foreclosure and Sale dated October 29, 2025 and entered on October 30, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 252 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on Wednesday, January 28, 2026 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and be‑ ing in the Borough of Manhat‑ tan, City, County and State of New York, known as Unit 28‑F known as "The Olympic Tower Condominium" Together with an undivided .1753821 percent interest in common elements.

Block 1287 Lot: 1054.

Said premises known as 641 FIFTH AVENUE, UNIT 28F, NEW YORK, NY 10022 Approximate amount of lien $39,328.28 plus interest & costs.

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

Index Number 160276/2024.

RONALD ZEZIMA, ESQ., Ref‑ eree Schwartz Sladkus Reich Green‑ berg Atlas LLP Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 444 Madison Ave., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10022

SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK. 453 EAST 83RD FUNDING L.P., Plaintiff -against- 453 EAST 83RD STREET LLC, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision and Order on Motion dated July 9, 2024 and entered on December 16, 2024, the Decision and Order on Motion dated and entered on February 5, 2025, and the Decision and Order on Motion dated October 31, 2025 and entered on November 6, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 252 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY 10007 on January 14, 2026 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 Northerly side of East 83rd Street, distant 76 feet 6 inches Westerly from the corner formed by the intersection of the Westerly side of York Avenue (formerly Avenue A) with the Northerly side of East 83rd Street; being a plot 102 feet 2 inches by 20 feet by 102 feet 2 inches by 20 feet. Block: 1563 Lot: 121 Said premises known as 453 EAST 83RD STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10028 Approximate amount of lien $7,857,890.82 plus interest & costs.

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

Index Number 850183/2023.

ELAINE SHAY, ESQ., Referee KRISS & FEUERSTEIN LLP Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 360 Lexington Avenue, Suite 1200, New York, NY 10017

{* AMSTERDAM*} Notice of Formation of MELROSE SOUTH WORKFORCE LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/26/25. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: Phipps Houses, 257 Park Ave. South, 12th Fl., NY, NY 10010.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of formation of MPS GTM Advisory LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/06/2025. Office location: New York County (Manhattan).

SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to United States Corporation Agents, Inc.: 7014 13th Avenue Suite 102, Brooklyn, NY 11228. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of GOLDEN LUCY HOLDINGS LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/18/25. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to Ani Gabrellian, 450 E. 83rd St., Apt. 20B, NY, NY 10028. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

{* AMSTERDAM*} NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR BNC MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST 2006-2, MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2006-2, Plaintiff AGAINST REGINALD BORGELLA, ET AL., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered April 1, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse in Room 252, located at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on January 14, 2026 at 2:15 PM, premises known as 140 7th Avenue, Unit 7R, New York, NY 10011. 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 of New York, County of New York, State of New York, Block 768, Lot 1203. Approximate amount of judgment $1,043,907.05 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850069/2014.

Scott H. Siller, Esq., Referee Gross Polowy, LLC 1775 Wehrle Drive Williamsville, NY 14221 00-299477 87843

26 • January 1, 2026 - January 7, 2026

101 LEGAL NOTICES SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK. NYCTL 2021-A TRUST AND THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON, AS COLLATERAL AGENT AND CUSTODIAN FOR THE NYCTL 2021-A TRUST, Plaintiffs -against- EDDIE Z. CHEN a/k/a EDDIE CHEN, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered herein on April 15, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 252 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on January 14, 2026 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 440 Lot 1301 on the New York County Tax Assessment Map. Said premises known as 427 EAST 12TH STREET, #1A, NEW YORK, NY 10009 Approximate amount of lien $598,893.24 plus interest & costs.

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

Index Number 158480/2022.

PAUL R. SKLAR, ESQ., Referee Phillips Lytle LLP Attorney(s) for Plaintiffs 100 S. Clinton Avenue, Suite 2900, Rochester, NY 14604 {* AMSTERDAM*} NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT ‑ COUNTY OF NEW YORK. 57TH ST. VACATION OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC., BY AND THROUGH ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Plaintiff ‑against‑ JEFFREY L. BROWNELL, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated September 3, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 252 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on January 21, 2026 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 owner‑ ship interest as tenant‑in‑com‑ mon with other owners in the Timeshare Unit in the build‑ ing located at 102 West 57th Street, New York, NY. Together with an appurtenant undivided .015838% common interest per‑ centage. This is a foreclosure on ownership interest in a time‑ share unit, a studio penthouse on a floating use basis every year, in accordance with and subject to declarations. Decla‑ ration 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 $16,215.93 plus interest & costs.

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

Index Number 850230/2023.

JEFFREY MILLER, ESQ., Ref‑ eree DRUCKMAN LAW GROUP PLLC Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 242 Drexel Avenue, Westbury, NY 11590 DLG# 39147

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

101 LEGAL NOTICES

101 LEGAL NOTICES

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT ‑ COUNTY OF NEW YORK. 57TH ST. VACATION OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC., BY AND THROUGH ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Plaintiff ‑against‑ MARK H. MINEUR, et al Defen‑ dant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated October 22, 2025, I, the under‑ signed Referee will sell at public auction in Room 252 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on January 28, 2026 at 2:15p.m. premises situate, lying and be‑ ing in the Borough of Manhat‑ tan, County of New York, City and State of New York, being an undivided ownership interest as tenant‑in‑common with other owners in the Timeshare Unit in the building located at 102 West 57th Street, New York, NY. Together with an appurtenant undivided .009864% common interest percentage. This is a foreclosure on ownership inter‑ est in a timeshare unit, a studio penthouse on a floating use basis every year, in accordance with and subject to declara‑ tions. 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 $27,979.93 plus interest & costs.

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

Index Number 850370/2023.

TOM KLEINBERGER, ESQ., Referee DRUCKMAN LAW GROUP PLLC Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 242 Drexel Avenue, Westbury, NY 11590 DLG# 39282 {* AMSTERDAM*}

NOTICE OF SALE

NOTICE OF SALE

SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK , SMS FINANCIAL NYC34, LLC. , Plaintiff, vs . 11 WEST 34 TH STREET OWNER LLC., ET AL., Defendant(s).

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered on June 23 2025 , I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at New York County, Supreme Court, Courtroom 130, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on February 4, 2026 at 2:15 p.m., premises known as 11 West 34th Street, New York, New York 10001. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of New York, County of New York, City and State of New York, Block 836, Lot 25.

Approximate amount of judgment is $24,352,471.05 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index # 850106/2024. No cash deposit will be accepted.

Mark McKew, Esq., Referee Alston & Bird LLP, 90 Park Ave, New York, NY 10016, (212) 2109400, Attorneys for Plaintiff

SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF new york , TUEBOR REIT SUB LLC, Plaintiff, vs . 2338 SECOND AVENUE MAZAL LLC , ET AL., Defendant(s).

Pursuant to an Amended Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered on November 25, 2025 , I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Supreme Court, Room 252 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on January 21, 2026 at 2:15 p.m., premises known as; Parcel I; 2338 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10035 (Block 1796, Lot 51) Parcel II: 329 Pleasant Avenue, New York, NY 10035 (Block 1711, Lot 26) Parcel III; 2211 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10035 (Block 1785, Lots 1201, 1203, 1204 and 1205) Premises are to be sold individually starting with Parcel III, then Parcel I, and lastly Parcel II, until the sale of a Premises or such part thereof may be sufficient to discharge the mortgage debt evidenced by that certain Consolidated, Amended and Restated Mortgage, Assignment of Leases and Rents, Security Agreement and Fixture Filing dated as of December 6, 2021 (the “Mortgage”), at which point the auction will cease.

All that certain plots, pieces or parcels of lands, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough and County of New York, City and State of New York. Approximate amount of judgment is $69,123,716.34 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of Amended Judgment of Foreclosure Index #850117/2024. Cash will not be accepted.

Jeffrey R. Miller, Esq., Referee Richard J. Galati, Jr., ALSTON & BIRD LLP, 90 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016, (212) 2109400, Attorneys for Plaintiff

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK JPMORGAN CHASE BANK N.A., Plaintiff AGAINST ROOSEY KHAWLY, ET AL., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered February 25, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse in Room 252, located at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on January 21, 2026 at 2:15 PM, premises known as 15 West 53rd Street, Units 29A, 29F, 30A, New York, NY 10019.

All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, City, County and State of New York, Block: 1269, Lot: 1140 and 1145 and 1146. Approximate amount of judgment $11,351,008.92 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850464/2023. Clark Whitsett, Esq., Referee Fein, Such & Crane, LLP 28 East Main Street Rochester, NY 14614 CHNC1631 88060

101 LEGAL NOTICES NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT. NEW YORK COUNTY. USALLIANCE FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

BY MERGER WITH NEW YORK METRO FEDERAL CREDIT UNION, Pltf. vs., UNKNOWN HEIRS AT LAW OF JAMES MCCASKILL A/K/A JAMES MC CASKILL, HIS NEXT OF KIN, DISTRIBUTEES, EXECUTORS, ADMINISTRATORS, TRUSTEES, DEVISEES, LEGATEES, ASSIGNEES, LIENORS, CEDITORS, AND SUCCESSORS IN INTEREST, AND GENERALLY ALL PERSONS HAVING OR CLAIMING, UNDER, BY OR THROUGH SAID DEFENDANT WHO MAY BE DECEASED, BY PURCHASE, INHERITANCE, LIEN OR OTHERWISE, ANY RIGHT TITLE OR INTEREST IN AND TO THE PREMISES DESCRIBED IN THE COMPLAINT HEREIN, ALL OF WHOM AND WHOSE NAMES AND PLACES OF RESIDENCE ARE UNKNOWN TO THE PLAINTIFF AND CANNOT AFTER DILIGENT INQUIRY BE ASCERTAINED, et al Deft. Index #850257/2022. Pursuant to judgment of foreclosure and sale entered August 12, 2024, I will sell at public auction in Room 252 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York on January 14, 2026 at 2:15 p.m. prem. k/a 61 West 126 th Street, New York, NY 10027 a/k/a Block 1724, Lot 11. Approximate amount of judgment is $180,402.84 plus cost and interest. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed judgment and terms of sale and the right of the United States of America to redeem within 120 days from the date of sale as provided by law. CHRISTY M. DEMELFI, Referee., MARGOLIN, WEINREB & NIERER, LLP., Attys. for Pltf., 575 Underhill Blvd., Suite 224, Syosset, NY. #102646

Notice of Qualification of 261 MADISON AVENUE LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/19/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 11/05/25. Princ. office of LLC: The Sapir Organization, 261 Madison Ave., 17th Fl., NY, NY 10016. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (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 of DE, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

101 LEGAL NOTICES

101 LEGAL NOTICES

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF RABIN SCHUMANN AND PARTNERS LLP amended name RABIN PFEFFER AND PARTNERS LLP. Cert of Reg filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/24/20 and amended to change name on 7/7/25.

SSNY designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail a copy of any process against the LLP served upon him/her to: 11 Times Sq, Flr 10, NY, NY 10036. Purpose: legal services.

Notice of Formation of TALCOTT GARDENS DEVELOPER, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/01/25. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

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

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of formation of SOFTBALL LG LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/10/2025. Office location: New York County (Manhattan).

SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to JESSE WILLIAM GREEN: 115 CENTRAL PARK W. APT. 6CE. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of TALCOTT GARDENS PRESERVATION GP, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/01/25. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

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

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of TALCOTT GARDENS PRESERVATION CLASS B, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/01/25. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

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

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of WASABI SUSHI BENTO 400 MADISON LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/19/25. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of THOMPSON 2E LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/09/25. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to Lindsey Rollman, 300 Park Ave., Ste. 530, NY, NY 10022.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

PLAY WORLD USA LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 11/03/25.

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, 34 West 33rd Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10001. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of formation of Flight 13 LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/16/2025.

Office location: New York County (Manhattan). SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to Dominic Palombo: 171 E 77th Street 5F New York, NY 10075. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of 4 CHEQUIT AVENUE LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/17/25. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 14 Sutton Pl. South, Apt. 7B, NY, NY 10022. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

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

Notice of Formation of 5E44 ST PH PURCHASER LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/23/25. 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 Meister Seelig & Fein PLLC, 125 Park Ave., 7th Fl., NY, NY 10017. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of formation of Bondd Pilates LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/10/2025. Office location: New York. SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to Danielle Daubert: 370 E 76th Street Apt C909, New York, NY 10021. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Qualification of MATSON, DRISCOLL & DAMICO (US), LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/12/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 08/18/25. Princ. office of LLC: 10 High St., Ste. 1000, Boston, MA 02110. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St. - Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

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195LEGAL HELP WANTED 101 NOTICES

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NOTICE OF SALE

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

REFEREE'S NOTICE OF SALE IN FORECLOSURE

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT ‑ COUNTY OF NEW YORK. 57TH ST. VACATION OWN‑ ERS ASSOCIATION, INC., BY AND THROUGH ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Plaintiff ‑against‑ BRADLEY RAY WILL, CATHERINE SUE WILL, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated September 17, 2025, I, the undersigned Ref‑ eree will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on Janu‑ ary 14, 2026 at 2:15 p.m. prem‑ ises situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County of New York, City and State of New York, being an undivided ownership interest as tenant‑in‑common with other owners in the Timeshare Unit in the building located at 102 West 57th Street, New York, NY. Together with an appurtenant undivided 0.00986400000% common interest percentage.

This is a foreclosure on own‑ ership 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 re‑ corded 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 $18,314.89 plus interest & costs.

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

Index Number 850349/2023.

CHRISTY M. DEMELFI, ESQ., Referee DRUCKMAN LAW GROUP PLLC Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 242 Drexel Avenue, Westbury, NY 11590 DLG# 39342 {* AMSTERDAM*}

WILMINGTON TRUST, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE REGISTERED HOLDERS OF WELLS FARGO COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE TRUST 2016-C34, COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2016C34, BY AND THROUGH ITS SPECIAL SERVICER, LNR PARTNERS, LLC, Plaintiff v.

153 ELIZABETH STREET, LLC, 153 ELIZABETH HOTEL LLC, 30 KENMARE MASTER, LLC, EDMOND LI, ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL BOARD OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, THE CITY OF NEW YORK, and PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Defendants, Index No. 850275/2021. Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision and Order on Motion dated August 8, 2024, which was duly entered in the above-entitled action and filed in the Office of the New York County Clerk on August 12, 2024 and December 26, 2024, as amended by the Decision & Order on Motion dated September 24, 2024, which was duly entered in the above-entitled action and filed in the Office of the New York County Clerk on September 26, 2024 (the “Judgment”), I the undersigned Referee in said Judgment named, will sell at public auction to the highest bidder at Room 252 of the Courthouse, located at 60 Centre Street, New York, New York, the premises directed by said Judgment to be sold. The premises will be offered for sale, as one parcel, on Wednesday, February 4, 2026 at 2:15 p.m.

The premises therein described are located at 153 Elizabeth Street, New York, New York 10023, also known as Block 479, Lot 29 on the Tax Map for the County of New York, together with the buildings, improvements, fixtures, machinery, equipment, personalty and other rights or interests of any kind or nature located thereon, and more particularly described in the Judgment.

The premises will be sold subject to the provisions of the filed Judgment, Index No. 850275/2021, and the Terms of Sale , all of which are available from plaintiff’s counsel upon request.

The approximate amount of the Judgment, for the property referred to therein, is $35,312,720.52, plus interest and costs, as provided in the Judgment. The successful bidder will be required to deposit 10% of the bid by certified or official bank check, unendorsed, made payable to the Referee.

Scott H. Siller , Esq., Referee ( 516) 644-6769 Herrick, Feinstein LLP, Attorneys for Plaintiff, Two Park Avenue, New York, New York 10016, (212) 592-1400, Attention: David R. King, Esq.

Notice of Formation of MYZI LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/02/25. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to 417 W 120th St Apt 2B New York, NY 10027, USA Purpose: Any lawful activity.

BOARD OF MANAGERS OF TOWERS ON THE PARK CONDOMINIUM, Plaintiff, — against — ROGER WILLIAMS, Defendant.

Index No. 152565/2023 NOTICE OF SALE

Pursuant to the judgment of foreclosure and sale entered in the Office of the Clerk of the above-named Court on April 23, 2025 (NYSCEF #68), Ronald Zezima, Esq., will sell at public auction, at the New York County Courthouse, Room 130, 60 Centre Street, New York, New York 10007 on January 28, 2026 at 2:15 p.m., Towers on the Park Condominium Unit 12E, located at 301 Cathedral Parkway, New York, New York 10026, which is designated as Tax Lot No. 1191, Block: 1846 on the Tax Map of the Borough of Manhattan.

Approximate amount of lien is $ 154,383.45 plus additional common charges, assessments, late fees, legal fees, and interest that may accrue up to the date of sale.

This property will be sold subject to the provisions of the judgment and terms of sale; the sale is subject to a superior lien on the property claimed by Citibank, N.A. Dated: December 4, 2025 RONALD ZEZIMA, Referee 271 North Ave. - Suite 908 New Rochelle, N.Y. 10801 (914) 633-5600 rvzesq@aol.com Attorneys for Plaintiff KELLNER HERLIHY GETTY & FRIEDMAN, LLP 470 Park Avenue South—7 th Floor New York, New York 100166951 Telephone: (212) 889-2821 E-mail: e.ebiefung@khgflaw. com Notice of Formation of CROWN ACQUISITIONS VENTURES LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/04/25. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 73 Spring St., 5th Fl., NY, NY 10012. 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.

Stillwater Mental Health Counseling, PLLC. Arts. of Org. filed with NYSS on 09/19/2025.

Office:New York County.

NYSS designated for service of process;mail to 642 West 172nd Street #54 New York, NY 10032.

Purpose:Mental Health Counseling.

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 252 of the New York County Courthouse located at 60 Centre Street, New York, New York 10007 on the 14th day of January, 2026 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 MAN-79220

BREG-

Dated: November 17, 2025 During the COVID-19 health emergency, bidders are required to comply with all governmental health requirements in effect at the time of sale including but not limited to, wearing face coverings and maintaining social distancing (at least 6-feet apart) during the auction, while tendering deposit and at any subsequent closing. Bidders are also required to comply with the Foreclosure Auction Rules and COVID-19 Health Emergency Rules issued by the Supreme Court of this County in addition to the conditions set forth in the Terms of Sale. Auction Locations are subject to change.

NOTICE OF QUALIFICATION OF CMFH LLC. CMFH LLC filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY): Application for Authority on July 6, 2022. Office Location New York County. LLC formed in Delaware on May 10, 2022. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served.

The Post Office address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon him/her is: Corporation Service Company, 251 Little Falls Drive, Wilmington, DE 19808. The principal business address of LLC is 2218 Broadway, Num 218, New York, NY 10024. Certificate of LLC filed with Secretary of State of Delaware located at: 401 Federal Street, Suite 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful act or activity.

SUPREME COURT ‑ COUNTY OF NEW YORK. EMIGRANT BANK, SUC‑ CESSOR BY MERGER WITH EMIGRANT SAVINGS BANK‑MANHATTAN, Plaintiff ‑against‑ FLORENCE SOM‑ MER a/k/a FLORENCE T. SOMMER, et al Defendant(s).

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered on October 23, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 252 of the New York County Court‑ house, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on January 21, 2026 at 2:15 p.m. premise situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, City, County and State of New York, known as Unit No. 9P in the building known as "Continental Towers Condominium" together with an undivided 0.168% interest in the common elements. Block: 1542 Lot: 1116 Said premises known as 301 EAST 79TH STREET, #9P, NEW YORK, NY Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale.

Index Number 850681/2023.

JEFFREY R. MILLER, ESQ., Referee Terenzi & Confusione P.C. Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 401 Franklin Avenue, Suite 304, Garden City, NY 11530

January 1, 2026 - January 7, 2026 • 27

101 LEGAL NOTICES

101 LEGAL NOTICES

SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK HNY CLUB SUITES OWNERS ASSOCIATION INC., BY AND THROUGH ITS BROAD OF DIRECTORS, Plaintiff, -against- UNKNOWN HEIRS AND DISTRIBUTEES OF THE ESTATE OF STEPHEN J. GRAFF, if living, and if they be dead, any and all persons unknown to Plaintiff, claiming, or who may claim to have an interest in, or generally or specific lien upon the real property described in this action; such unknown persons being herein generally described and intended to be included in the following designation, namely: the wife, widow, husband, widower, heirs-at-law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assignees of such deceased, any and all persons deriving interest in or lien upon, or title to said real property by, through or under them, or either of them, and their respective wives, widows, husbands, widowers, heirs-at-law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assigns, all of whom and whose names, except as stated, are unknown to Plaintiff, Defendants. INDEX NO. 850265/2023 FILED: 12/3/2025 Plaintiff designates New York County as the place of trial pursuant to CPLR §507 TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANTS: YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the Complaint in this action, and to serve a copy of your answer, or, if the complaint is not served with this Summons, to serve a notice of appearance on the Plaintiff's attorney within 20 days after the service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service or within 30 days after completion of service where service is made in any other manner than by personal delivery within the State. In case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the Complaint. The foregoing Summons is served upon you by publication pursuant an Order of the Hon. Francis A. Kahn III, a Justice of the Supreme Court, of New York County, dated November 24, 2025 and entered November 24, 2025 Dated: November 21, 2025, Westbury, New York. Maria Sideris, Esq., DRUCKMAN LAW GROUP PLLC Attorneys for Plaintiff 242 Drexel Avenue Westbury, New York 11590 (516) 876-0800 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 January 12, 2026 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

SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK. AXOS BANK, Plaintiff -againstHUDSON 805 LLC, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated November 26, 2024 and entered on February 3, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 252 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on January 21, 2026 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, City, County and State of New York, known as Commercial Unit No. 805-06 in the Building known as the Printing House Condominium. Together with an undivided 0.0124% interest in the Common Elements. Block: 601 and Lot: 1155 Said premises known as 421 HUDSON STREET, UNIT 805/806, NEW YORK, NY 10014 Approximate amount of lien $7,584,837.12 plus interest & costs.

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

Index Number 850233/2022.

JEFFREY MILLER, ESQ., Referee Sheppard Mullin Attn: Benjamin Gilbert (212) 896-0682 Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112 {* AMSTERDAM*}

Notice of Qualification of 2GC MEZZ, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/24/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 11/21/25. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Tarter Krinsk & Drogin LLP, Attn: Brian J. Beller, Esq., 1350 Broadway, NY, NY 10018. DE addr. of LLC: 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 Formation of TALCOTT GARDENS PRESERVATION, L.P. Cert. of LP filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/01/25. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LP: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. Latest date on which the LP may dissolve is 12/31/2125.

SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

28••January January1, 1,2026 2026--January January7, 7,2026 2026 28

THE THENEW NEWYORK YORKAMSTERDAM AMSTERDAMNEWS NEWS

101 LEGAL NOTICES

101 LEGAL NOTICES

101 LEGAL NOTICES

Notice of Formation of CPG LIBERTY LANDING LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/05/25. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 116 E 27th St., 11th Fl., NY, NY 10016. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

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

Purpose: Real estate investment.

Notice of formation of James Lenox Partners LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/28/2025. Office location: New York County (Manhattan).

SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to James Lenox Partners LLC: natan.shklyar@jameslenoxpartners.com.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Qualification of TD FINANCIAL PRODUCTS LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/18/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 07/21/10. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State of the State of DE, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of DAVIDSON GI, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/07/25. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 24 W. 40th St., 16th Fl., NY, NY 10018. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to Peter Davidson, c/o Aligned Climate Capital at the princ. office of the LLC. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of EASTVIEW 400 LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/18/25. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to Ani Gabrellian, 450 E. 83rd St., Apt. 20B, NY, NY 10028. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of formation of Octavio Valdes Advisory LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/22/2025. Office location: New York County (Manhattan).

SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to Octavio Valdes: octaviovald@gmail. com. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Qualification of ATEA 168 Holding LLC. Certificate of Authority filed with Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/12/2025. Office location: New York County (Manhattan).

Limited Liability Company (LLC) formed on 11/06/2025. SSNY designated as agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to eResidentAgent, Inc: eteam@eminutes.com. Articles of Organization originally filed with Secretary of State (SOS).

Secretary of State, 401 Federal Street, Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901 Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Qualification of TALUS GROUP HOLDINGS LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/05/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 06/05/14. Princ. office of LLC: 110 Greene St., #1202, NY, NY 10012. 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 Formation of LIBERTY LANDING DEVELOPER LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/05/25. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 116 E 27th St., 11th Fl., NY, NY 10016. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

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

Purpose: Real estate investment.

Notice of formation of Thriving Mind LCSW PLLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the Sec. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/09/2025. Office location: New York County.

SSNY designated as an agent of the PLLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY should mail process to: 45 W 127th Street, #2, New York, NY 10027. Purpose: Any 1 • February 20, 2025 - February 26, 2025 lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of LUNA THE CAT LLC LEGAL NOTICES 101 LEGAL NOTICES Arts. of Org. filed with 101 Secy.

Notice of Formation of JDJ of State of NY (SSNY) on Notice is hereby given that a Notice of LLC Qualification of AP LEGACY GROUP, 11/12/25. Office location: NY license, serial #NA-0340-25CREDIT SOLUTIONS HOLDArts. of Org. County. SSNY designated 103028as for beer, wine & liquor INGSfiled (AIV) with II, L.P. Secy.

Appl. for has been applied for byState the filed with Secy. of State ofAuth.NY (SSNY) onof agent of LLC upon whom pro- to sell of undersigned beer, wine NY (SSNY) on 01/08/25. Office 11/07/25.

Office location: NY & liquor at retail in a restaulocation: NY County. LP formed cess against it may be served. rant under the ABC Law at 994 SSNY in Delaware (DE) on 12/26/24.

County. designated as SSNY shall mail process to Ave., New York, NY Columbus Princ. office of LP: Attn: General agent upon pro-Fl., 10025 80 for on-premises con-of LLC Counsel, 9 W.whom 57th St., 43rd Corporation Service Co., sumption; Limone LLC NY, NY 10019.

Duration of cess against it may be served.LP State St., Albany, NY 12207.

Perpetual. SSNY designated SSNY shall isas mail to c/o agentprocess of LP upon whom proPurpose: Any lawful activity. against served.

Julie Kesslercess LLP, 60it may E. be42nd NOTICE is hereby given that a SSNY shall mail process to the St., 46th Fl., Partnership NY, NY 10165.

Purlicense, number NA-0370-24at the princ. office for liquor, wine, beer Any & of the activity.

LP. Name and addr. of pose: lawful Notice of formation of135212 Luxe cider has been applied for by each general partner are availundersigned to sell liquor, able from SSNY. DE addr. of LP: Contracting Group LLC the . Artiwine, beer & cider at retail in a c/o Corporation Service Co., cles of Organization filed with under the Alcoholic bar/tavern 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, NOTICE OFDE 19808.

FORMATION at 4371 Cert. of LP filedof with the Secretary of State Beverage of NY Control Law 3rd Ave; Bronx, NYWEISFUSE 10457 in The Secy. of State of the State & WEISFUSE LLC. (SSNY) on 09/21/25. Office Bronx loCounty for on premises of DE, Dept. of State, Div. of Articles of Organization filed Corps., John Townsend Bldg., cation: New York County consumption.

(Man- Zion Restaurant d/b/a Zion Dover, DE Purpose: Any with Sec. of State of19901.

NY (SSNY) hattan). SSNY designatedand asLounge an andCorp Restaurant Lounge lawful activity. on 11/24/2025. Office location: agent of Limited Liability ComNew York Co. SSNY designated pany (LLC) upon whom process as agent upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to Luxe shall mail a copy of process to Contracting Group LLC: 25 Jo11 Broadway, Suite 464, New seph St Manalapan NJ, 07726.

York, NY 10004. Purpose: Law Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of formation of Aurelius Consulting & Solutions Group.

Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/07/2025. Office location: New York County (Manhattan). SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to Jay Bracey: 3904 Avenue D, Brooklyn, NY, 11203, USA. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of formation of FIVE IRON GOLF WILLIAMSBURG LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 07/18/2025.

Office location: New York County (Manhattan). SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to JARED SOLOMON: 883 Avenue of the Americas FL 3, NYC, NY 10001. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

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January 1, 2026 - January 7, 2026 • 29

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38 • October 2, 2025 - October 8, 2025

Is Terence Crawford the best of his era after defeating Canelo Alvarez?

By DERREL JOHNSON Special to the AmNews Terence Crawford understood he was chasing immortality when he stepped into the ring to face Canelo Alvarez. His opponent, the 35-yearold Alvarez, a native of Mexico, who is considered an all-time great and many contend is the best his country has ever produced, wasn’t Crawford’s most daunting adversary. At 37 (he turned 38 on September 28, two weeks after the match), Crawford was battling a more formidable foe –– legacy.

The Omaha, Nebraska-born and bred Crawford has held 18 separate major world championships in five weight classes and is the second male ever to be an undisputed world champion in three weight classes in the four-belt era. But an argument can be made as to whether he is the best of his generation, and in conversations as to being equal to or better than immortals such as Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, and his contemporary Floyd Mayweather Jr. Thus, moving up in weight classes, two divisions and 14 pounds to be exact, and by defeating Alvarez (39-3-2) by a 115-113, 116-112, and 115-113 unanimous decision on September 15, in front of 70,482 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas,

Terence Crawford (left) elevated his standing in boxing history with a September 15 victory over Canelo Alvarez at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas (Photo courtesy of Netflix)

the conversation of placing him with those legends is appropriate.

With the win, Crawford’s resume now reads undisputed champion in the junior welterweight, welterweight, and super middleweight divisions and five-division strap holder composed of the lightweight, junior welterweight, welterweight, light middleweight, and super middleweight classes.

Given this historic achievement, where does Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs) rank amongst the recent greats?

In evaluating his legacy, it’s essential to note that Crawford’s two biggest fights have occurred in the last

26 months, with his win over Alvarez and his destruction of then-undefeated champion Errol Spence Jr. in late July 2023. Crawford has experienced a career similar to that of the undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, who was a long-time cruiserweight title holder before moving up to heavyweight, taking higher-profile fights in 2021, and twice defeating both Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

A combination of his promoters’ inability to close the deal on huge fights and opponents’ fear of a clash with Crawford left him out of megafights that others secured

throughout their careers. Boxing icon Manny Pacquiao (62-8-3, 39 KOs) was with promoter Top Rank at the same time as Crawford, but left and fought welterweights Adrien Broner and Keith Thurman in 2019 instead of Crawford. The latter won his first welterweight title in June 2018 when he defeated Jeff Horn, who upset Pacquiao in July 2017. It would appear that the Filipino icon ducked, Crawford.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. (50-0, 27 KOs), regarded by many as the best boxer of this century, is an obvious comparison to Crawford.

The biggest difference in the pro-

files of the two is that Mayweather fought the best of his era, including Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto, a young Alvarez, and Pacquiao. His fight with Pacquiao in 2015 was the highestgrossing combat sports event of all time (over $600 million).

After their fight, both Crawford and Alvarez were asked about comparisons to Mayweather. “ I think Crawford is way better than Floyd Mayweather, ” Álvarez (623-2, 39 KOs) said at the post-fight news conference.

“Listen, Floyd was the greatest of his era, I’m the greatest of my era, ain’t no need to compare me to Floyd or Floyd to me,” Crawford said at the post-fight press conference.

Sports, in general, and boxing, in particular, are about comparing greats from different eras and debating which boxer would win, such as Muhammad Ali versus Mike Tyson. After convincingly defeating Alvarez, we will compare and debate the preeminence for many years.

Jaron Ennis (34-0 30 KOs), who trained and sparred with Alvarez in preparation for his clash with Crawford, will make his super-welterweight debut next Saturday, October 11, versus Angolan Uisma Lima (14-1 10 KOs) at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.

Emmett Howell begins a new coaching chapter at York College

By TYRESE ALLEYNE-DAVIS Special to the AmNews There’s no better feeling than being deeply rooted in your community that you have served. For York College’s new women’s head coach, Emmett Howell, this new chapter in his story is a culmination of all the dedication he brings to so many student-athletes, whom he mentors and coaches, teaching them the many valuable lessons that the game of basketball can give anybody on and off the court.

I first met Coach Howell, also known by many as Coach “Chip,” last summer as he led the youth basketball players of the Bello Youth Sports with his team, taking part in the Be A Community Educator (B.A.C.E) basketball tournament at Roy Wilkins Park in Jamaica, Queens. From the moment I saw Coach Howell passionately coaching on the sideline, it was evident that his love for nurturing the future of

Veteran CUNY coach Emmett Howell will now lead the York College women’s program.

(York College Athletics)

young athletes comes from a genuine place.

Before being appointed to his new head coaching position at York College, Coach Howell was an assistant coach at Queensborough Community College, serving as an assistant with the men’s basketball team for 12 years, where the Tigers saw CUNYAC playoff

appearances, with the program winning the 2022–2023 CUNYAC men’s championship. Howell also played a big part in transforming former Queensborough player Williams Guzman into an elite scorer and CUNYAC All-Region Second Team nominee. Through his training with Coach Howell, Guzman earned an athletic schol-

arship to Queens College.

Coach Howell’s dedication and strong advocacy for youth athletics also led him to create his own program. In 2010, he founded Learn The Game, a Queensbased basketball development initiative that has served as a training ground for athletes across youth, high school, and

college levels. As CEO and head trainer, Howell has overseen everything from skill development and team coaching to scheduling and operations, further solidifying his reputation as both a mentor and a builder of opportunities for young players.

Coach Howell shared what it feels like to start this new journey at York College, personally and professionally: “This means the world to me. To be given a chance to cultivate a program that has great ties to the community. We, as a coaching staff, are elated for this opportunity.”

When leaders like Coach Emmett Howell guide young people toward a positive path — fostering leadership, community, and excellence through basketball — everyone in the community takes notice. Today, Coach Howell reaches even more athletes, sharing his love, passion, and purpose while developing the game at York College, one student-athlete at a time.

30 • January 1, 2026 - January 7, 2026

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS B E S T O F 2 0 2 5

Black History Month must be amplified to educate the youth

By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor In the closing Days of Black History Month, there is a palpable feeling that the period of celebrating the long, arduous, and rich journey of people of African descent, a celebration created

by Carter G. Woodson a century ago, has become a mere superfluous tagline to far too many of our youth, irrespective of their ethnicity — but particularly Black youth.

It is critically important that the inherent lessons of Black History Month be amplified in homes, schools, places of worship, and other community settings at a time this nation and countries abroad are marred by racial division and overt campaigns by right-wing extremists to eradicate historical truths and spread disinformation like a deadly virus.

As a journalist and educator, I have had the honor, pleasure, and obligation of imparting to youth the knowledge and skills which have been instilled in me and nurtured by numerous men and women.

From listening to Martin Luther King Jr. speeches played on my par-

ents’ — David and Elaine Harris — scratched records; taking trips to museums with my older brother and sister, Juanne and David; regularly visiting the now closed Liberation Book Store in Harlem with them, founded by the remarkable Una Mulzac, who passed away in 2012; and watching countless episodes of “Like It Is,” hosted by the legendary Gil Noble, who also left this physical realm in 2012 to rest in power with our ancestors, I devoured the history and culture of the African diaspora, and that of the connected global people.

Among my most memorable and indelible experiences as a young boy was being with my uncle, Howie Evans, the sports editor emeritus of this publication and a seminal figure in New York sports and journalism. Going to the Pro Rucker league at venerable Rucker Park on 155th Street, where he coached, being captivated by his accounts of friendships and interactions with other literal and figurative giants Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Miles Davis, and Huey Newton, was a foundation for my ongoing and insatiable desire to pass his-

not just about sports, but about his battles facing virulent racism as he traveled across Jim Crow America as a Black man born in Panama to a Panamanian mother and Jamaican father and raised in Harlem. I adamantly argue with my bright, opinionated young minds that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar can and should be considered the greatest basketball player ever, invoking his high school days at Power Memorial Academy, also my brother’s alma mater, UCLA, and the NBA as compelling evidence of his unparalleled career. I also never fail to note his social and political activism, and profound intellect. The unwavering consensus of my teenage and 20-something crew is that either LeBron James or Michael Before becoming a six-time NBA champion and six-time league MVP, Jordan holds the title of GOAT. Similar exchanges, with elders Lew Alcindor, who changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in serving as griots, are held everyday 1971, was a three-time NCAA champion at UCLA. (AP Photo) across the world’s expansive landtorical narratives to youth. held in 1939 in Chicago. I recall sto- scape in formal and non-traditionWhen we have sports discus- ries that John, who I am blessed al settings. In Canada, Ireland, the sions and debates, I often speak of to have called a friend and father Netherlands, and other countries, John Isaacs, a basketball pioneer figure, animatedly in his deep, Black History Month is marked on and Hall of Famer, who starred for raspy voice, vividly painted as the calendar. But it began here in the Harlem Rens in the 1930s and we would speak for hours which the United States where it is incum1940s, winning the first World Pro- passed like mere minutes. bent on us to ensure succeeding fessional Basketball Tournament His firsthand recollections are generations build on its meaning.

Harlem native creates community and cultivates skills on the golf course

By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews Founded by Sierra Balgar, City Girls Golf has a singular vision: to create a space where women can learn, embrace, and thrive in the game of golf. Harlem native Balgar knows golf is more than a hobby. It is a way to create community and cultivate skills that can be of tremendous value in the work world.

“I started City Girls Golf a little over two years ago with the mission to bring more women into the game and create spaces for women to feel comfortable and enjoy golf,” said Balgar. “When I was first learning how to play, I didn’t necessarily have a community or anyone to play or learn with. I figured the reason why I can’t find a sister community is because (1) there isn’t one and (2) golf isn’t as accessible for the everyday woman, especially for women that live in the city.”

She named it City Girls Golf to empower more city-dwelling women to learn the sport, dispelling the idea that golf is only for people in the suburbs.

City Girls Golf founder Sierra Balgar.

Women at all ability levels are welcome. There are instructional clinics and curated golf outings that blend recreation with

We get a lot of women who work … They join because there are company outings and they want to learn so they can participate.”

City Girls Golf house membership isn’t cheap, $299 per month, but members get access to country clubs and social clubs nationwide. Individual events, such as the clinics, are moderately priced. Balgar’s vision is to create low- and no-cost programming.

She is particularly interested in developing a sister brand, College Girls Golf, for college-aged women and making it as affordable as possible. In addition to golf, those women would have leadership and professional development opportunities. Balgar is currently planning a College Girls Golf preview day for students from Coppin State University, an HBCU in Baltimore.

“I can envision partnering with colleges in creating opportunities for their students,” said Balgar.

“The goal is to create scholarship opportunities, and to partner networking with the idea to em- volved,” Balgar said. “I think what with companies and make sure power women of color. attracts people the most is the students in the College Girls Golf “We play golf and we host be- community and networking, and program leave with an internship ginner clinics for people to get in- the fact that they can use this skill. or a job offer.”

Women of all golfing levels are welcome to participate in the City Girls Golf program.

(Photos Courtesy of Sierra Balgar)

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS B E S ST P O R F T 2S 0 2 5

January 1, 2026 - January10, 7, 2026 September 4, 2025 - September 2025 • 31 37

How student-athletes use high school reclassification to their advantage

By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor

Alabama sophomore wide receiver Ryan Williams moved up a grade when he was a precocious high school football star in the now common practice of reclassifying. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

The practice of reclassification has existed in primary and secondary education since the advent of formalized schools. According to ancient sources, it dates as far back as the Middle Kingdom period of Ancient Egypt (around 2060 BCE) and the Xia Dynasty in China (circa 2075 BCE).

In modern education, the familiar terms are “skipping” or being “held back.” Traditionally, whether a student advanced or repeated a grade depended on academic proficiency across multiple subjects and, at times, attendance. Today, the more commonly used term is “reclassify” — a word that no longer refers primarily to academics. Instead, reclassification is now deeply entrenched in elementary, middle, and high school athletics.

Students and parents often pursue reclassification to boost athletic opportunities, increase chances for scholarships, and secure NIL (name, image, likeness) deals. For a select few, it’s part of the calculated path toward a professional career.

Two of the most prominent recent examples are basketball prodigies Cooper Flagg and AJ Dybantsa.

Flagg, a native of Newport, Maine, starred at Duke this past season before becoming the No. 1 overall pick in June’s NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks at just 18. Originally scheduled to graduate high school in May 2024, he reclassified in August 2023 to the class of 2024.

Dybantsa, a 6-foot-9 forward from Brockton, Massachusetts,

was initially in the class of 2026 before announcing in October 2023 that he would reclassify to 2025. Now suiting up for BYU, the 18-year-old is widely regarded as the most-watched player in college basketball and a leading candidate to be the No. 1 pick in next June’s NBA Draft. His NIL portfolio already includes Nike and Red

around $62 - $65 million over four years (Flagg signed for $62.7 million). By year five, extensions are projected to approach $300 million. Both players will still be under 24 when those deals come due, assuming they avoid major injury.

Football offers similar examples.

Ryan Williams, now a sophomore wide receiver at the University of Alabama, was so precocious that as a high school sophomore he became the first 10th grader to ever win Alabama’s Mr. Football award in 2022.

He repeated the honor as a junior in 2023, making him the only twotime winner. Williams reclassified from the class of 2025 to 2024, debuted in college at age 17, and immediately held his own against opponents four or five years older.

Still, players like Flagg, Dybantsa, and Williams are rare. The numbers are stark: only about 1% of male Bull, with deals reportedly ex- high school basketball players make it to Division I; for football, it’s about ceeding $10 million.

Why did Flagg and Dybantsa re- 3%. The NBA? Just 0.03%. The NFL? classify? Beyond outgrowing high A mere 0.023%. school competition, their cenNext week, in Part 2 of this featral motivation was financial. Reclassification accelerates their ture, student-athletes, parents, timelines to reach second NBA coaches, and school administracontracts — where earnings sky- tors will share their perspectives on rocket. Rookie deals are capped reclassification.

NASCAR Drive for Diversity program powers first all-Black pit crew

By TYRESE ALLEYNE-DAVIS Special to the AmNews NASCAR has long celebrated groundbreaking moments among its drivers, from Wendell Scott’s historic Cup-level win in 1963 to Bubba Wallace’s Talladega triumph in 2021. Those figures reshaped what fans saw on the track. Now, the arrival of a fully Black over-thewall pit crew highlights that progress is taking hold in every part of the sport.

At the 2025 Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the No 87 Chevrolet driven by rising Trackhouse Racing prospect Connor Zilisch was serviced by the first all-Black pit crew: Kenyatta “Kap” Houston, Ray Revels, Merrill “Bud” Noel, Jordan Ferguson, and Deonte Wilson. Zilisch, who made his Cup debut earlier in the year at the Circuit of the Americas, is viewed as one of NASCAR’s brightest young drivers. He started additional events at Charlotte and Atlanta, and was scheduled for Watkins Glen before a post-race celebration accident left him with a broken collarbone. His development under-

College athletes take part in NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity Pit Crew Combine.

(NASCAR photo)

scores how NASCAR is investing in future talent behind the wheel, just as the all-Black crew signals investment in new pathways on pit road.

Each member of the crew brought unique sporting backgrounds that shaped their success.

Houston and Ferguson both played college football, carrying over the explosiveness and strength needed for tire-changing and jack duties.

Revels and Noel had roots in track and field, where precision, agility, and speed were daily require-

ments that now translate to rapid, synchronized pit stops. Wilson’s foundation in structured strength training outside motorsports gave him the stamina and conditioning essential for the rigors of pit road.

Collectively, their athletic pedigrees illustrate how disciplines from football stadiums and track lanes can adapt to the split-second intensity of a NASCAR stop.

The chance for these athletes came through NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity Pit Crew Develop-

ment Program, operated with Rev Racing since 2009. The program recruits from college and pro sports, and immerses candidates in technical drills, mental conditioning, and team-based practice to prepare them for national series competition. More than 60 graduates now work in the Truck and Xfinity Series, while more than 20 hold full-time Cup Series positions with elite teams such as Trackhouse and 23XI Racing. Alongside this, Rev Racing’s Drive for Diversity

Driver Development Program has produced rising drivers, including Nick Sanchez, who captured the 2022 ARCA Menards Series championship and advanced into NASCAR’s higher tiers.

These initiatives created opportunities for both drivers and pit crew members from underrepresented communities who once had no defined path into the sport.

The significance of the all-Black pit crew rests not only in symbolism but in execution. Pit road is among the most technical and unforgiving environments in racing. Seconds shaved or lost can decide an outcome, and watching this unit deliver at NASCAR’s crown jewel event proves that diversity efforts foster true high performance. Members of the crew have noted how their presence can inspire athletes from outside motorsports to see NASCAR as a realistic career. The Charlotte debut should be viewed not as a one-time spectacle, but as the start of a consistent presence, showing that when pipelines are cultivated and talent is nurtured, NASCAR’s future can be faster, stronger, and more inclusive.

32 1, 2026 - January 7, 202631, 2025 42 • January December 26, 2025 - December

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Sports The Harlem Jets shape decades of brotherhood, growth and opportunity

By TYRESE ALLEYNE-DAVIS Special to AmNews If you walk by Harlem River Park on any given weekend in the fall, you’ll likely hear the sharp clap of shoulder pads, coaches barking out in­structions, and unified chants as young boys run laps together.

The heartbeat of the field, the youth football program Harlem Jets, has served as a life raft for hundreds of Harlem’s youth.

Jamel “Coach Mel” Wright and a group of committed fathers launched the Harlem Jets in August 2005 fielding just four teams and under 100 youth. Since then, the Jets have blossomed into what their website describes as “a trans­formative two-generation sports and develop­ment organization” grounded in the belief that sports can be a powerful catalyst for personal growth and academic achievement.

Over the last 20 years, more than 5,000 chil­dren aged 5–13 have passed through the program, earning spots at prestigious high schools such as Cardinal Hayes, Stepinac, Iona Prep, Bergen Catholic, and Don Bosco Prep before competing at the collegiate level.

A record 19 alumni are committed to college foot­ball for the 2025 season at Georgetown, Penn State, Duke, and Rutgers, to name a few.

Notable alums include Ajani Cornelius, a standout offensive lineman at the University of Oregon and now a rookie with the Dallas Cowboys; Justin Joly, a senior tight end for North Carolina State who this week was named preseason All Atlantic Coast Confer­ ence by USA Today; cornerback Elijah Jones of the Arizona Cardinals and Sanoussi Kane, now a safety for the Baltimore Ravens.

Kane still remembers the exact feeling of putting on a Harlem Jets jersey. “The camaraderie we had as a team — that bond is unforgettable,” he said to the AmNews. “Those guys are still my brothers to this day.”

Kane’s story embodies what the Harlem Jets are about: belief, effort, and perseverance. “I wasn’t the best guy when I was younger,” he admitted. “But hard work and dedication pushed me over the top. I had a great sup­ port system, and that started with the Jets.”

He credits Wright with changing his life.

“Coach Mel’s belief in me meant everything.

That’s like my uncle — we went through a lot together. I can’t thank him enough. Some of us went to the NFL. Others became producers, news anchors — you name it. I’m just one testimony of his impact.”

Kane has paid it forward, mentoring Jets players, not because he has to, but because he wants today’s youth to believe they can follow in his footsteps. “When I was growing up, we didn’t have NFL players come

AM News

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Harlem Jets coaches and alumni, with founder Jamel Wright (standing in all-gray (center left) and players kneeling during practice (photo 11/27/25 below), have become one of the most effective youth sports programs in the country. (Sean Doyle photos)

I grew up with,” he told me. “It gave us a pro­ductive outlet, but more importantly, strong men to look up to.

AM News “Coaching is twofold,” he said. “You teach the technical side — but you also share 12/4/25 your story, your mistakes, your lessons. You give them a blueprint.”

Every Harlem Jets coach, from Massoud and Mazur, to Wright himself, carries that same torch. “Football teaches you to get AM News knocked down and get back up. That mir12/11/25 rors life,” Wright said.

Today, the Harlem Jets run eight teams from ages 6U through 13U, in addition to cheerlead­ing, wrestling, lacrosse, a summer camp, and a youth employment program.

The organization remains proudly rooted AM News in Harlem River Park, the field where it all 12/18/25 began — now renovated and buzzing with activity thanks to the pro­gram’s community advocacy and growth.

In an era where youth sports can feel trans­ actional, the Harlem Jets remain AM News transforma­tional. “Ten years ago, nobody thought we’d have three NFL players come 12/25/25 back. If these kids see me, someone from something I love.” out of this pro­gram,” Kane said. “Now we do their pro­gram who lived around the corner, He personally checks report cards, holds — and more are coming. The sky’s the limit.” they’ll be­lieve they can do it, too.” players accountable in the classroom, and That belief is also what fuels Coach Bob teaches life lessons one huddle at a time.

Mazur, a retired attorney who joined the “Even when it’s tough, they stick with it.

AM News Harlem Jets in 2009 after searching for a That’s growth. That’s what we’re here for.” youth sports program to support. “FootWright’s philosophy is echoed by former 1/1/26 ball rewards effort,” Mazur said. “Some Harlem Jets quarterback and current coach kids who might not thrive in other sports Sofian Massoud. “The Harlem Jets changed can become essential players here. That’s my life — and the lives of so many people

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