AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR RENT
Stately Apartments
37 UNITS AT 110 North Corn Street Ithaca, NY 14850
Application Due: June 8, 2026
Amenities: Public transport, central air conditioning, refrigerator, dishwasher, oven, elevator, community room, laundry, storage spaces.
Income Restrictions Apply – No Application Fee – No Broker’s Fee
Applicants will not be automatically rejected based on credit or most background check info Priority admissions: Mobility disability (6 units); Hearing/Vision disability (3 units) More Information: www.ArborLeasing.org
Application Due Date: June 8, 2026
Must be postmarked June 8, 2026 by this date. Sending more than 1 application may disqualify you. How to Apply:
Online: www.ArborLeasing.org
Request Application By Phone or Email: 866-992-7267 or Bpierce@arbordevelopment.org By Mail or In-Person: Arbor Housing and Development, 26 Bridge St., Corning, NY 14830. Include your address & the name and address of the building where you want to apply. Website: HousingSearch.ny.gov
Lottery Date & Location: June 23, 2026 11am https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88375268457
The lottery will determine which applications will be reviewed for tenancy
• If you have experienced housing discrimination: https://dhr.ny.gov/journey-fair-housing or call 844-862-8703
• Learn about how your credit and background check will be individually reviewed: https://on.ny.gov/3uLNLw4
Español (Spanish) 中文 (Simplifed Chinese)
Vivienda asequible disponible
Fecha limite de entrega de la solicitud: June 8, 2026
Debe entregarse por internet o por correo postal a más tardar en esta fecha. Si envía más de 1 solicitud podría quedar descalificado. Para Obtender La Solicitud:
Para obtener la solicitud por internet: www.ArborLeasing.org
Por telefono o email: 866-992-7267 or Bpierce@arbordevelopment.org
Por correo postal o en persona: Arbor Housing and Development, 26 Bridge St., Corning, NY 14830. Incluya su dirección y la dirección del edificio en el que quiere presentar la solicitud.
Fecha y lugar de la loteria: June 23, 2026, 11am, https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88375268457
La lotería determinará cuáles aplicaciones se analizarán para el alquiler
可提供經濟適用房
申請截止日期: June 8, 2026
請務必在此日期前線上提交申請或透過郵寄提交申請。提交超過 1 份申請將 使您失去資格
申请
欲獲得申請線上: www.ArborLeasing.org
透過電話或電子郵件: 866-992-7267 or Bpierce@arbordevelopment.org
透過郵寄或當面索取: Arbor Housing and Development, 26 Bridge St., Corning, NY 14830.
請提供您的地址和您想要申請的建築物地址 抽籤日期和地點: June 23, 2026, 11am, https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88375268457
- 將透過抽籤決定對哪些租賃申請進行審核
Governor Kathy Hochul • HCR Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas • www.hcr.gov/lotteries • NYHousingSearch.gov
N ews line
Election Results: Voters Pass Ithaca’s School Budget,
Elect New Board Members
By Maddy Vogel
On Tuesday, May 19, voters approved the Ithaca City School District’s proposed 2026-27 school budget, along with three other ballot propositions regarding capital reserve funds and capital projects. Voters elected one new member, one incumbent, and one former member to the board of education, according to preliminary results.
Ithaca’s proposed $177.6 million school budget was approved by 75% of voters, with 2,669 ‘yes’ votes and 864 ‘no’ votes. The proposed budget reflects an $8.6 million, or 5.09%, increase in total costs from the current operating budget (202526). The budget also contained a tax levy increase of $3.9 million, or 3.4%, a figure that will establish a projected tax rate of $15.48 per $1,000 of assessed value.
In the second ballot proposition, voters approved a measure to purchase lowemission propane buses and renovations at Cayuga Heights Elementary School. As detailed in the proposition, the cost, which will be paid from the district’s capital reserve funds, is not to exceed $2,346,308. The proposition had a 76% approval rate, with 2,682 ‘yes’ votes and 827 ‘no’ votes.
Voters also approved Proposition 3, which allows the district to establish a
new capital reserve fund with a maximum value of $10 million for future purchases, construction and repairs. The proposition was approved by 78% of voters, with 2,752 ‘yes’ votes and 749 ‘no’ votes.
The fourth ballot proposition authorized the district to undergo a capital project with a maximum cost of $43.9 million. The district will initially pay for the project by issuing bonds and later pay the bonds in annual installments with funds levied from local property taxes. The project will include the construction and reconstruction of various school district buildings and facilities, which can include various site improvements, transporta-
T ake n ote
X TCAT Moves High-Traffic Route 10 Stop Away From Dewitt Mall
By Lorien Tyne
Since the Seneca Street Garage closed on April 10, the TCAT bus stop across the street, Seneca at Commons, has also been closed due to safety concerns of falling concrete debris.
TCAT routes that stop at Seneca at Commons have been stopping instead outside Dewitt Mall. At the May 6 Common Council meeting, the owners of Dewitt Mall and Moosewood restaurant shared their frustration with TCAT stopping outside their building.
City Manager Dominick Recckio said that reopening the bus stop and sidewalk outside the garage will take time because it requires several concrete panels to be removed from the garage and scaffolding to protect pedestrians.
As of May 18, TCAT relocated its high-frequency route 10 bus stop, Cornell to the Commons, to the 200 block of Tioga Street, according to a city notice. That block, in front of the Ithaca Town Hall, is now for bus use only and is prohibited for parking. During the school year, Route 10 stops at Seneca
tion infrastructure upgrades and original furnishings, equipment and machinery. The project was approved by 75% of voters, with 2,632 ‘yes’ votes and 866 ‘no’ votes.
In the board election, four candidates were vying for three seats, including incumbents Garrick Blalock and Madeline Cardona, along with challengers Sara Garner and Jill K. Tripp. Garner, Tripp, and Blalock received the highest number of votes, with 2,924, 2,739, and 1,944, respectively. Cardona, who was first elected to fill a one-year seat in 2025, was not reelected, receiving 1,241 votes.
The board certified the results at a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 20.
Street 65 times per day, but as of May 24, TCAT’s summer service has started and the route has decreased to about 45 daily trips.
“Route 10’s move to Tioga Street will significantly ease but not entirely eliminate bus congestion at the temporary stop farther west on Seneca Street toward the Cayuga Street intersection,” TCAT General Manager Matthew Rosenbloom-Jones said in the notice.
All other routes that would typically stop at Seneca at Commons will continue to use the temporary stop on Seneca Street in front of Dewitt Mall.
“The City of Ithaca recognizes the impact this bus stop relocation has had on downtown businesses, residents, and visitors and is committed to clear communication and timely next steps,” the notice said.
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S te V e l aw R ence , s P orts c olu M nist stevesportsdude @ gmail com
l i S a e lli n , a dv E rtising & M ark E ting lisa e @ ithacatimes com
f r EE lanc E rs : Barbara Adams, Charley Githler, Stephen Burke, Bill Chaisson, Ross Haarstad, Steve Lawrence, Marjorie Olds, Peter Rothbart, Austin Lamb, Clement Obropta, Jake Sexton, Kira Walter, Vasant Alex Laplam, and Ceili Ayoung
THE ENTIRE CONTENTS OF THE ITHACA TIMES ARE COPYRIGHT © 2026 BY PATHWAYS TO EQUITY, LLC. All rights reserved. Events are listed free of charge in TimesTable. All copy must be received by Friday at noon. The Ithaca Times is available free of charge from various locations around Ithaca. Additional copies may be purchased from the Ithaca Times offices for $1. SUBSCRIPTIONS: $139 one year. Include check or money order and mail to the Ithaca Times, PO Box 27, Ithaca, NY 14851. ADVERTISING: Deadlines are Monday 5 p.m. for display, Tuesday at noon for classified. Advertisers should check their ad on publication. The Ithaca Times will not be liable for failure to publish an ad, for typographical error, or errors in publication except to the extent of the cost of the space in which the actual error appeared in the first insertion. The publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising for any reason and to alter advertising copy or graphics deemed unacceptable for publication. The Ithaca Times is published weekly Wednesday mornings. Offices are located at 109 N. Cayuga Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 607-277-7000, FAX 607277-1012, MAILING ADDRESS is PO Box 27,
Voters hit the polls on Tuesday, May 19, and approved the Ithaca City School District’s 2026-27 budget. (Photo: Maddy Vogel/Ithaca Times)
By Mark Syvertson
QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
“WHAT DOES YOUR ‘HAPPY PLACE’ LOOK LIKE? ”
NOTE: If readers wish to participate in the Ithaca Times’ Inquiring Photographer column, contact Mark Syvertson at marksyvertsonphotography@gmail.com
TCAT Launches Microtransit Program to Fill Transportation Gaps
By Lorien Tyne
Starting June 1, Tompkins County Area Transit (TCAT) is launching eRide Ithaca, a new electric microtransit pilot program with the goal to address transit gaps by providing flexible service in some of Ithaca’s underserved neighborhoods.
The goal of the program is to aid local residents who are dependent on public transit and may struggle to find transportation to work, school or other locations, according to an announcement from TCAT. While there are TCAT routes to West End, West Hill and the Flats, TCAT’s program announcement says many people living in those areas need transit when regular buses are not running.
“There are times when the demands of everyday life such as medical appointments, non-traditional work schedules, school events, just to name a few, do not line up with our fixed route schedules,” TCAT Assistant General Manager Tiffany Walker said in the announcement. “Those without any other mode of transportation frequently lose out on so many opportunities or even a way to obtain essential goods and services. This on-demand service will help address some of those deficits.”
The fleet of four ADA-accessible vans and four cars will be operated by trained drivers on call from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends.
Riders can request a trip by using the eRide Ithaca mobile app, available on Google Play or the Apple Store, or by calling the 2-1-1 call center. In the coming weeks, workshops are scheduled for riders to learn how to use the eRide Ithaca mobile app.
Trips are $5 per ride, plus $1 for each additional passenger. Riders that meet income guidelines can receive discounts off the $5 fare through GO ITHACA, the county’s nonprofit transportation manager. More details about the discount is available on GO ITHACA’s website.
Trips must begin or end in a service zone, including West Hill, the West End and Ithaca Flats. Riders can travel to and from drop-off zones covering southwest Ithaca shopping centers, professional offices, parks, medical facilities including Cayuga Medical Center, and schools within the Ithaca City School District. An interactive map of service and drop-off zones are available on TCAT’s website.
To help eRide users take advantage of TCAT’s regular routes, eRide Ithaca will also coordinate with the bus system by giving riders free bus transfers and dropping them off at specific stops. The select stops include TCAT’s main hubs at Green St. Station and Seneca Street as well as Elmira at Spencer bus stop for route 67 to Newfield, the Seneca at Fulton bus stop for route 20 to Enfield and route 21 to Trumansburg.
TCAT is celebrating the launch by hosting an eRide kick-off event at Lehman Alternative Community School’s gymnasium from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 30. The event is open to the public and attendees can see part of the new electric fleet on display in the parking lot.
The project is supported by a $7 million award from the New York Clean Transportation Prizes pro-
gram, administered by the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA) in partnership with the NYS Department of Public Service (DPS) and the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
The eRide Ithaca program is part of the Ithaca Electric Transportation (IETA) Project, which is led by TCAT with help from community partners, including GO ITHACA, 2-1-1 Tompkins Cortland of the Human Services Coalition of Tompkins County, Ithaca Bikeshare, the city of Ithaca and Golden Aspen Consulting.
“Anywhere I’m with my friends.” – Rushika
“Lost in the music of Bach.” – Josh
“My happy place is at the pipe organ.”
En-Hua
“The home of my very dear friends.”
Isaiah
Ride Ithaca drop-off zones (purple) and service areas (orange). (Map: TCAT)
Ithaca Mayor “Disappointed” as Asteri Conditions Fail to Improve
By Mikayla Rovenolt
At the County Legislature meeting on May 19, City of Ithaca Mayor Rob Cantelmo shared an update on the state of the Asteri Ithaca building in which he said conditions have not improved.
Cantelmo said the city is in regular conversation with Vecino Group, the Asteri property management group, and Homes and Community Renewal leadership at the state level to address the issues at Asteri.
Asteri Ithaca, a high-rise housing development at 118 E. Green St. that has received numerous public complaints since opening in 2024. Community members and county o cials have reported human blood, used needles and other biohazards in the building’s stairwells and shared spaces. In March, the city deemed the residential tower’s conditions, speci cally broken windows in the shared stairwells, posed immediate threats to safety and issued an immediate evacuation order. Residents of the building’s 181 housing units were displaced for two weeks.
Cantelmo said he noticed that the door leading into Asteri across from the Cinemapolis entrance does not latch despite Vecino assuring the city that it would, prompting him to contact Asteri management. He was then invited to do a walkthrough of the building with management in late April.
“I really wish that I could be here before all of you tonight telling you that I think conditions have materially improved,” Cantelmo said during the legislature meeting. “I do not think that is the case.”
Cantelmo described meeting Asteri building security o cers at the door and being brought to upper oors in an elevator with no working lights, stating that security sta turned on cellphone lights as they traveled up to the management oor.
Cantelmo said there are at least 40 units with individuals that require supportive services in the building and that the lack of lighting was a recode violation. He said he was told by management that the short-term solution was to tie GoPros with lights to the ceilings, though he was unsure if this was sarcasm or not. Cantelmo said he also saw a number of damaged units including one that had been “ripped down to the studs” a er an e-bike exploded in the unit.
e mayor added that a number of units had front doors kicked in, and there was signi cant damage and waste material in common spaces. He noted that the stairwell “reeked of urine.” When he asked about the smell and cleaning routines, the mayor said he was told during the walkthrough that the property manager “can’t clean everything.”
Cantelmo said he also inquired about a proposed solution for a new camera system, one that would be similar to Wegman’s models, and asked how Vecino is going to ensure new security technology remains operational.
Cantelmo said he was told that Vecino anticipates that there will not be tampering with cameras.
“Overall, I’m very disappointed,” Cantelmo said. He said he immediately went to the city’s Director of the Building Division's o ce following his tour and was informed by that o ce that Asteri managers have not been responsive to any inquiries and followup inspections from city sta .
“We plan to be as strict as we can, to the letter of law, in enforcing all code violations,” Cantelmo said to the legislature following his recollection of events. “We owe it to our community, and especially the members of our community that live in that building, to have at least a baseline standard of quality of life that is not being delivered at this time.”
e mayor also said there are only 3 active leases in the building, which has 181 total housing units.
UPS DOWNS&
Ups
Nowhere Special Libations Parlor and Via's Cookies are collaborating to encourage more foot tra c in downtown Ithaca. Saturdays from 12-4 p.m. Via’s will have fresh, warm cookies and the rst 20 customers on May 30, the launch day, will get a free cookie.
Downs
Tompkins County Whole Health released a notice reminding the community that Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) are known to appear on Cayuga Lake and other water bodies throughout the summer and fall and to take precautions. Blooms have already been reported this year in the northern parts of Cayuga Lake.
Tompkins County Health Commissioner Jennie Sutcli e and Whole Health Environmental Health Director Skip Parr said that together, they have been working with Asteri management for almost two years, addressing sanitary needs and biohazards within the building.
In April, Parr’s team moved forward with a $40,000 penalty a er non-compliance with Commissioner Sutcli e’s orders from January that included a solid waste management plan, registry for guests, security and more. Asteri’s management was given until the end of April to comply.
Parr’s team completed 5 inspections, beginning May 1, and checked to see if the Board of Health’s orders were implemented. Parr told the legislature that Asteri “met some and missed some of those” and that he and Sutcli e will make recommendations to the Board of Health in June on how to proceed.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Do you consider Cinemapolis your go-to theater?
Q
: Do you attend Ithaca Festival every year? Visit ithaca.com to submit your response.
HEARD SEEN
& Heard
New York State Parks announced that service will start this summer for a new shuttle bus at Taughannock Falls State Park. The bus will loop from the Park O ce on the South Point to the North Point parking lot and will make stops at the Regional Headquarters building, the Overlook parking lot and the Black Diamond Trailhead parking lot on Gorge Road. According to the announcement, the service aims to assist visitors in experiencing the park and trail as well as to address capacity constraints in the lower park that have caused temporary entrance closures.
Seen
The Tompkins County Legislature declared May 2026 Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Paci c Islander (AANHPI) American Heritage Month, recognizing the contributions of AANHPI residents in the county. The legislature also proclaimed May 2026 as Older Americans Month, recognizing the contributions of older community members as well as the work of the Tompkins County O ce for the Aging, Lifelong and Foodnet Meals on Wheels in supporting older residents.
IF YOU CARE TO RESPOND to something in this column, or suggest your own praise or blame, write editor@ithacatimes. com, with a subject head “U&D.”
Ithaca Mayor Rob Cantelmo told Tompkins County Legislators that conditions in Asteri Ithaca have not improved. (Photo: Nathan Ellison/Ithaca Times File)
Ithaca Festival Celebrates 49 Years With This Year’s Downtown Disco Theme
By Mikayla Rovenolt
The annual Ithaca Festival will kick off with a parade on Thursday, May 28, in downtown Ithaca and will run through May 31.
The theme of this year’s festival, which many organizations will center their floats on, is Downtown Disco. The theme was chosen by the board of directors, according to Selena Hodom, who has been the festival’s executive director since 2020. She said the theme helps connect everyone, from the parade to performances, under one thing.
“It brings a sense of community,” Hodom said. “I think having a cohesive theme gives people a fun and active way to participate in the festival, and have one aligned vision for the event. Some people often will dress up, or they'll theme their floats in the parade, or they'll theme their performances around the festival theme, which is really kind of a fun way to do it, and it also brings everyone closer together.”
Hodom said the festival is more than just a theme. It is a celebration of the arts and the artist in everyone. She said Ithaca Festival is meant to bring everyone out within the community for a weekend
filled with arts and entertainment and reconnect them for the summer.
Hodom also said that within the Ithaca Festival there are a lot of arts workshops that people can participate in. This is part of “bringing out the artist in everyone.”
Ithaca Festival, which started in 1977, has always been about community and takes place the week after college students leave town to help reconnect the yearround members of the community.
“It has stayed consistent through time,” Hodom said. “I think through different iterations, different aspects of community were brought out, but I think having the community groups perform, having the art classes, the local artisans with their crafts, and the local food trucks, have been
kind of a mainstay of the festival and the lifeblood of the festival.”
Hodom said planning the festival has its own unique challenges. Planning for each year starts as one year’s festival ends. This cycle keeps Hodom busy, but she said she loves planning the festival each year and has been generally involved since 2014. Applications to take part in the Ithaca Festival typically open in December each year.
“It really is just a celebration of all things Ithaca, and I think that is such an important community tradition.”
— Nan Rohrer, CEO of the Downtown Ithaca Alliance
“There’s a lot of moving parts and pieces, hundreds of vendors, and creative groups, artists, and performers, as well as all the safety and security,” Hodom added. “I've always directed festivals and I really truly enjoy it. It's something that I can give back to the area. [...] It’s a way to give back to the community, a way to celebrate.”
(Map: Ithaca Festival of the Arts)
GIAC marches in the 2025 Ithaca Festival parade. (Photo: Mark Syvertson/Ithaca Times)
To keep the festival running and free to the public, it takes a team of around 40 volunteers every year, Hodom said.
“It’s a huge community effort to pull it off,” Hodom said. “We appreciate anyone who is willing to help lend some of their time to support what we're doing.”
As executive director for the past six years and as a longtime community member involved with the festival, Hodom said that the Ithaca Festival is important to her on many levels.
“It means so many things,” Hodom said. “I think I would say this is live art and community, be it music or physical art forms. I think it’s so important to have that in your life, and I think the whole purpose is to bring everybody together.”
Ithaca and downtown remain an important part of our community.”
“This is live art and community, be it music or physical art forms. I think it's so important to have that in your life, and I think the whole purpose is to bring everybody together.”
Parking for the festival is available on some side streets and in the Green Street Garage, operated by the City, and the Cayuga Street Garage, operated by Premium Parking. Street rates are $2.50 an hour and garage parking is $2.25 per hour. Sunday parking will be free. The Seneca Street Garage will remain closed, and a number of streets around the commons, including Cayuga Street from Green Street to Court Street and West State Street from the Commons to Albany Street.
— Selena Hodom, Executive Director of Ithaca Festival of the Arts
Hodom concluded that the festival brings togetherness and reconnection with one another as well as the arts.
Nan Rohrer, the chief executive officer of Downtown Ithaca, said this festival is a longstanding tradition in Ithaca and gives people an opportunity to experience both “local flavor and other vendors.”
“They get to celebrate everything that is all things Ithaca, whether it's during the parade on Thursday evening or during the performances throughout the weekend,” Rohrer said. “It really is just a celebration of all things Ithaca, and I think that is such an important community tradition. The organizers and board and those who participate deserve a lot of credit for continuing to ensure that the celebration of
“I think we bring a lot of art and celebration to a community,” Hodom said.
“I think, in modern times especially, you kind of lose that close contact with your neighbors and the people around you, and I think [the festival] is a good way and a good platform to celebrate all the fun and interesting, quirky, and creative things that are about Ithaca.”
The Ithaca Festival is a nonprofit and relies on volunteers and donations to operate. To learn more about the festival or volunteering can visit https://ithacafestival.org/.
Hodom said next year will be the 50th anniversary of the festival so they are looking to go “all out” with a big celebration.
Tompkins County Public Library workers celebrate during a past Ithaca Festival parade.
(Photo: Mark Syvertson/Ithaca Times)
Ithaca Fest returns to downtown May 28–31.
(Photo: Mark Syvertson/Ithaca Times)
Ithaca Festival celebrates 49 years of community in 2026.
(Photo: Mark Syvertson/Ithaca Times)
The Talk
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
By Ithaca Times Readers
RE: Two Cornell Students Say University President Struck Them With Vehicle in Altercation After Israel-Palestine Debate
“It is with great pleasure that I see Cornell President Kotlikoff cleared of wrongdoing in the April 30th altercation case. What I saw in the video was a mob engaging in threatening behavior, Kotlikoff gingerly trying to escape, and no evidence of anyone being ‘run over’ and injured. I’m not associated with Cornell in any way. Just an interested observer. I’m disappointed that no disciplinary action was taken against the ‘students’ involved. They ought to be expelled from the University. And any non-students should be criminally charged. Calling yourselves ‘Students for a Democratic Cornell’ is shameful. You are rabble-rousers, plain and simple.” — Norman Adelewitz, Town of Ithaca NY
RE: Voters Pass Ithaca’s School Budget, Elect New Board Members
“When reading today’s article on the Ithaca School Board election results, I noticed that propane buses were referred to as “Low-emission” vehicles. This is not factually correct. I want to briefly run through why and provide some links for you to look into this further.
Propane is a fossil fuel that is derived from natural gas or oil. Burning propane
produces fewer nitrogen oxide emissions compared to diesel or gasoline. Proponents of propane powered buses argue that they aren’t as harmful to children because of these reduced nitrogen oxide emissions. And sure, that is correct. But calling a propane bus lowemissions misses the bigger picture of the harm we are causing our children. Propane buses produce a significant amount of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide emissions compared. Burning propane continues to contribute to climate change. The school board usage of this wording is a classic example of greenwashing and further perpetuates the confusion that many of us are feeling while we navigate the climate crisis.” — Patrick Adams
“The 5.08 percent budget increase that Ithacans voted for on May 19th will double the school budget for a preschooler by the time she graduates HS. This level of increase, if maintained, will far outpace wage gains for the masses. The also optically harmless use of ‘fund balance’ to grow the budget is dangerous and deceptive. The mailer indicated that the median home would see a $160 increase in its school tax bill. The reality is that we start next year at a higher, unaccounted for, level. The result is more like a $250 increase. This adds $1000 to the median household school tax burden in just 4 years and compounding percentages will logarithmically continue from there.
I got a normal 3% wage increase. If I were a 19-year old kid just entering the work force, my life would have been negatively impacted with nothing but further degradation every 3rd Tuesday in May.
I'm not worried about myself, but the kids will have a tough row to hoe.
If people continue to vote for seemingly innocuous tax increases, the only
result can be more and more people trading a normal paced life for that of hustle and bustle to placate the tax man.
More 8th grade math — less emotion.”
— Joe Lonsky, Danby NY
Environmental Concern Regarding Fireworks
“After reading that our local institutes of higher education included a celebratory fireworks display I am compelled to share my thoughts. (May 13, 2026, Tompkins Weekly Vol.21, No. 19)
My concern surrounds the toxicity of fireworks and subsequent impacts on our Finger Lakes Watershed and beyond. Fireworks emit heavy metals and other problematic wastes into the air, onto the land, and into our waters. Staging fireworks is counterproductive with these institutions’ commitment to our environment, community members, and to the Ithaca Green New Deal. Aside from spewing lethal chemicals, the unsafe decibels explosives and far-reaching flashing lights have negative impacts on folks with PTSD, wildlife habitats, and house pets.
My concern also surrounds the institutions’ decision-making process whereby these real risks were unilaterally imposed on our community. Do not their curriculum programs aim to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals? Choosing fireworks to celebrate scholars’ achievements seems counter intuitive. Were the
risk factors discussed by the planning committee?
Where in the decision process were the priorities of Health and Well Being, Clean Water, Life Below Water, Life on Land, Building Sustainable Communities for Peace and Justice? (sdgs.un.org/goals)
Communities can responsibly host celebratory events without reliance on outdated traditional harmful fireworks, and in doing so protect our human and natural resources.” — Gertrude Noden, Cayuga Lake Watershed Resident
RE: Two Cornell Students Say University President Struck Them With Vehicle in Altercation After Israel-Palestine Debate
“A university president should not, when pulling out of a parking space, hit campus protestors and drive away.
A university president should not weaponize campus policies regarding assembly, speech, and student and faculty conduct for the purpose of squelching dissent.
A university president should–always–recognize and stand against genocide. A university president should not smear as ‘undemocratic’ legitimate, nonviolent protest, specifically protest against genocide and/or the university administration’s own repressive conduct–regardless of how fierce the protest may be.
Diane Cohen’s Mission to Reuse, Restore, and Rebuild Community
By Marjorie Olds
Diane Cohen grew up in a bustling family with two sisters and two brothers in Bethlehem, NY, just outside of Albany. Arriving at Ithaca College at 17, she savored political science and art. These were good years inspired by remarkable faculty—Nancy Ramage (Art History), Linda Finlay (Philosophy) and Zillah Eisenstein (Politics), as well as good friends who still show up for her today.
After college Diane led a colorful life working at the much loved Nines, where she cooked and bartended before joining Peter Cooke’s contracting company, where she learned how to paint professionally, repair roofs, and helped build three additions on houses in the Ithaca area.
For years, Diane was also a regular presence behind the bar at the storied Rongovian Embassy throughout the 90’s, where she mixed with all kinds of folks and fell in love with the scene. She became the master of the Rongovian Pizza, which was baked a floor below, and delivered to the staff by a homemade dumbwaiter (a funky system maintained by engineering wizard Greg Perreault, self-appointed MOD, which translated into The Master of Disaster).
Diane eventually headed west and traveled all over the country, working twice in Alaska before returning to the Rongo to become the manager. Back at her favorite spot, and loving music, Diane also booked the bands. (She was the first to book Plastic Nebraska, whose drummer, Brian Dudla, would someday create the ReUse logo. And also the first to point out to owner and brilliant musician Eric Ott that it was his band, the Lost Sailors that were the top grossing band for the prior year. Those deadheads do like a good party!)
Diane said,“I learned a lot about ‘community’ as well as business working at the Rongo. Owners Mary and Eric Ott and their three beautiful kids created a welcoming, inviting atmosphere, where people of all sorts could hang out together, eat delicious homemade food, listen and dance to music, and have a great time together. Community joy, sometimes chaotic, made hard work fun.”
After other colorful adventures in NYC and beyond, Diane had many ideas percolating. When she heard about an opportunity to reduce waste through building material reuse, Diane immediately applied. Accepting the lead role of Historic Ithaca’s Significant Elements, Diane began building
the program to effectively reduce waste, while offering employment options for people in need of a good break, to work somewhere and be supported and recognized for the best they could be, despite whatever deal Life dealt them.
This reporter met Diane when the reporter was a judge presiding over a treatment court. An elderly man, in need of housing, medical care, eye glasses and hearing aids was required by the court rules to do community service. Diane Cohen accepted this chap to do his mandatory service at Significant Elements, and he returned to court with a letter regarding his service.
When the defendant stood beside the judge in court, the judge read the letter aloud. Diane described this gentleman’s service and praised him in her letter. As the judge continued reading the letter, slowly the treatment court defendants, and their families, and their probation officers, and community volunteers and religious leaders in the court room, all rose to their feet en masse and clapped. And clapped. The defendant became teary and the clapping continued. This reporter, then the judge, felt the universal yearning that we all have to be welcomed, to be acknowledged, to be appreciated. Powerful lesson in what we could share. Something essential Diane Cohen practiced as she saw the best in people and helped them inch toward that person in a supportive atmosphere where work included fun.
Part of Diane’s Significant Elements salary was funded by Tompkins County, so that she could address the reduction of solid waste, which she had given much thought to as she travelled far and wide. She began attending meetings with City and County staff, and she met the remarkable Lynn Leopold, who with husband Carl, were champions for the protection of our increasingly littered environment. Diane knew that if we love our environment, we must alter our throwaway habits and learn to reuse and recycle. Lynn inspired Diane when she reported on the progress that was being made with their reforestation project in Costa Rica on land that had been denuded …”after only 8 years, the trees were 90 feet tall! And the next year, the monkeys came back!”
Diane was disturbed by the wasteful, largely invisible practices and scale of building demolition.
“I remember visiting a clean, sturdy lake house, slated to be torn down, to make way for a new, more fashionable house on the lake,” she said. “The house was in perfect condition, but was not ‘current’… Tearing down a home creates a huge amount of waste materials” even if in a usable condition when demolished.”
“I spoke with the director of Tompkins Solid Waste and Recycling in July 2005 and said we need to create a ReUse Center as it is must be a key part of our county 20-year plan. Barbara Eckstrom was a staunch supporter of a ReUse Center… We brought together Cooperative Extension, EcoVillage, Cornell, Ithaca College and others. I thought about where such a center could be located. How would it be funded? I spoke with George Ferrari of the Community Foundation, John Rogers, Jon Jensen of the Park Foundation, Joanne Florino of Triad, and more.
I pictured how a reuse center could also provide rich employment training and work opportunities for people who had faced obstacles to garnering an education, a job. People who had been exposed to drugs and alcohol, homelessness, poverty, violence before they were even born. People tangled in the criminal justice system, adults without a GED, newly arrived immigrants, people who had not succeeded in jobs, and had lost hope of “fitting in” somewhere.
As I attended meetings and read about projects starting around the country, I imagined that with a steady flow of reusable donated equipment, tools, furniture, clothing, housewares and more, we could be primarily self-supporting through sales of donated merchandise. And I’m proud to report that throughout our first 17 years, we have been 60%-80% selfsupporting, but we still need 20-40% of our expenses covered from community partners.”
So…after years of thinking, listening, and observing Diane believed, with enough board, community, and government participation and support, a reuse center could reduce the waste stream, while providing training and jobs, which would also enhance people’s self-esteem and expand their independence.
And, as it turns out, Diane was right.
Diane Cohen at the Ithaca ReUse Center.
(Photo: Provided)
The Enduring Voice of Anna Howard Shaw — 1915
Curated by Roy Allen: Director of Strategic Partnerships — Ithaca Times, Finger Lakes Community Newspapers, www.ithaca.com
Many voices have helped to shape the nation we call America. This week we feature Anna Howard Shaw, an early 20th century women’s suffrage leader, physician and Methodist minister. She became the first woman to receive the Distinguished Service Medal for her efforts in World War 1 leading the Women’s Council for National Defense.
CURATOR’S NOTE: The following are excerpts of her speech. The complete speech (over 9,000 words) can be found online at www.americanrhetoric.com.
Anna Howard Shaw: The Fundamental Principle of a Republic — Ogdenburg, NY 6/21/1915
When I came into your hall tonight, I thought of the last time I was in your city. Twenty-one years ago I came here with Susan B. Anthony, and we came for exactly the same purpose as that for which we are here tonight. Boys have been born since that time and have become voters, and the women are still trying to persuade American men to believe in the fundamental principles of democracy, and I never quite feel as if it was a fair field to argue this question with men, because in doing it you have to assume that a man who professes to believe in a Republican form of government does not believe in a Republican form of government, for the only thing that woman’s enfranchisement means at all is that a government which claims to be a Republic should be a Republic, and not an aristocracy.
Now what is a Republic? Whenever a Republic prescribes the qualifications as applying equally to all the citizens of the Republic, when the Republic says in order to vote, a citizen must be twenty-one years of age, it applies to all alike, there is no discrimination against any race or sex. When the government says that a citizen must be a native-born citizen or a naturalized citizen that applies to all; we are either born or naturalized, somehow or other we are here. Whenever the government says that a citizen, in order to vote, must be a resident of a community a certain length of time, and of the state a
certain length of time and of the nation a certain length of time, that applies to all equally. There is no discrimination. The only reason men do not see as fairly in regard to women as they do in regard to each other is because they have looked upon us from an altogether different plane than what they have looked at men; that is because women have been the homemakers while men have been the so- called protectors, in the period of the world's civilization when people needed to be protected. Now this old time idea of protection was all right when the world needed this protection, but today the protection in civilization comes from within and not from without.
A gentleman told me that he and his wife had lived together for twenty years and never had a difference in opinion in the whole twenty years and he was afraid if women began to vote that his wife would vote differently from him and then that beautiful harmony which they had had for twenty years would be broken, and all the time he was talking I could not help wondering which was the idiot because I knew that no intelligent human beings could live together for twenty years and not have a difference of opinion.
Now what does it matter whether the women will vote as their husbands do or will not vote; whether they have time or not; or whether they will vote for prohibition or not. What has that to do with the fundamental question of democracy, no one has yet discovered. But they cannot
argue on that; they cannot argue on the fundamental basis of our existence so that they have to get off on all of these side tricks to get anything approaching an argument. So they tell you that democracy is a form of government. It is not. It was before governments were; it will prevail when governments cease to be; it is more than a form of government; it is a great spiritual force emanating from the heart of the Infinite, transforming human character until some day, some day in the distant future, man by the power of the spirit of democracy, will be able to look back into the face of the Infinite and answer, as man can not answer today, “One is our Father, even God, and all we people are the children of one family.”
Then they tell us that if women were permitted to vote that they would take office, and you would suppose that we just took office in this country. There is a difference between getting an office in this country and in Europe. In England, a man stands for Parliament and in this country he runs for Congress, and so long as it is a question of running for office I don’t think women have much chance, especially with our present hobbies. There are some women who want to hold office and I may as well own up. I am one of them. I have been wanting to hold office for more than thirty- five years. Thirty-five years ago I lived in the slums of Boston and ever since then I have wanted to hold office. I have applied to the major to be made an officer; I wanted to be the greatest office holder in the world, I wanted the position of the man I think is the most envied, as far as the ability to do good is concerned, and that is a policeman. I have always wanted to be a policeman and I have applied to be appointed policeman and the very first question that was asked to me was, "Could you knock a man down and take him to jail?"
If women vote, will they go to war? They are great at having us fight. They tell you that the government rests on force, but there are a great many kinds of force in this world, and never in the history of man were the words of the Scriptures proved to the extent that they are today, that the men of the nation that lives by the sword shall die by the sword. When I was speaking in North Dakota from an automobile with a great crowd and a great
number of men gathered around a man who had been sitting in front of a store whittling a stick called out to another man and asked if women get the vote will they go over to Germany and fight the Germans? I said, “Why no, why should we go over to Germany and fight Germans?” “If Germans come over here would you fight?” I said, “Why should we women fight men, but if Germany should send an army of women over here, then we would show you what we would do. We would go down and meet them and say, “Come on, let’s go up to the opera and talk this over.” It might grow wearisome but it would not be death.
I would know that years before a woman whose heart beat in unison with her love and her desire for motherhood walked day by day with her face to an open grave, with courage, which no man has ever surpassed, and if she did not fill that grave, if she lived, and if there was laid in her arms a tiny little bit of helpless humanity, I would know that there went out from her soul such a cry of thankfulness as none save a mother could know. And then I would know, what men have not yet learned that women are human; that they have human hopes and human passions, aspirations and desires as men have, and I would know that that mother had laid aside all those hopes and aspirations for herself, laid them aside for her boy, and if after years had passed by she forgot her nights of sleeplessness and her days of fatiguing toil in her care of her growing boy, and when at last he became a man and she stood looking up into his eyes and beheld him, bone of her bone and flesh of her flesh, for out of her woman's life she had carved twenty beautiful years that went into the making of a man; and there he stands, the most wonderful thing in all the world; for in all the Universe of God there is nothing more sublimely wonderful than a strong limbed, clean hearted, keen brained, aggressive young man, standing as he does on the border line of life, ready to reach out and grapple with its problems. You read your paper again and the second headlines read, “It Costs Twenty Millions of Dollars a Day,” for what? To buy the material to slaughter the splendid
(Photo Source: Archive Women’s Political Communication)
Ithaca’s Shea Baker Part of Historic Launch of Women’s Lacrosse League
By Steve Lawrence
She seemed okay with the trade off... sit through a few bad dad jokes, and walk away with a nugget of useful perspective.
After spending decades interviewing players from the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, US Olympic Team, the Major and Premier Lacrosse Leagues, I finally had an opportunity to sit down with a player from the WLL. That is because the Women’s Lacrosse League just launched its inaugural season, and 2021 Ithaca High graduate Shea Baker — after helping to win an NCAA National Championship with Boston College and a World Title with Team USA’s U-20 squad — was a part of the historic moment.
Shea was in Ithaca for a few days, going through concussion protocol after taking a hard shot to the left side of her head in the 4th quarter of the Boston Guard's opening game. (The four teams in the WLL are the Boston Guard, the California Palms, the Maryland Charm and the NY Charging.)
We talked about her path to this monumental time in the history of women’s sports, and Shea started listing the names of people who made it possible. (We got about a dozen names deep, and I realized that we were sure to leave some out, so apologies in advance.) Shea’s mom, Cristin, joined us, and she offered a glimpse into the early years.
“Shea’s dad (and Cristin’s husband), Todd, grew up Cooperstown, and of course, baseball was the main focus,” Crisitin said. “Then, he went to Keuka College and walked on to the lacrosse team and loved the sport.”
As fellow girl dads, Todd and I have talked about how fortunate our daughters are to grow up in a time when those who came before them worked so hard to open so many doors. We have joked that in Ithaca, it’s almost a rite of passage to introduce kids to hockey and lacrosse, and that’s what Todd and Cristin did, signing the Fabulous Baker Girls — Reed and Shea — up to play both sports. Todd wanted to be a coach, so he very resourcefully teamed up with go-getters like Leigh Lasda, Lyn Reiten-
bach, Laurie DeLuca and Michelle Tambroni. (Lacrosse fans will recognize a lot of Division 1 connections on that list.) The mentors saw that there was a robust feeder system for boys lacrosse, there was none for the girls, and Little Red Lax was born. “They recognized there was a lot of talent,” Cristin said, “and they wanted to help the girls develop it.”
I could fill an entire column listing the titles Ithaca High girls lacrosse has won, or the number of players who have gone on to play collegiate lax, but back to the Little Red’s first professional female lacrosse player. She said, “I never really played with girls my own age... my sister, Reed (who went on to play at Nazareth) is three and a half years older than me, and I played with her age group.” Cristin added, “Given their dad was a coach, he needed players to fill in a lot of gaps, so Shea went along for the ride and they both played all positions.” Shea expressed her gratitude that, “My older sister was part of the group paving the way.”
Shea played JV for the Little Red in grades 7-9, then put in 4 years on the Varsity squad, and during that time moved up to an elite club team. When they won the state title, she decided that “lacrosse could offer a lot more options,” and hockey became less important. At that time, a teammate
named Jamie Lasda (whose brothers both played Division 1 and international hockey) was drawing a lot of attention, and was, in Shea's words, “My biggest inspiration from very early on.” (Jamie would go on to have a great career at Ohio State, and other teammates like Alicia Nicholson. Mackenzie Rich and Quinn Howe would also play at the D-1 level.) In Shea’s words, “It helped a lot, playing with them and having so many college coaches on the sidelines.”
After committing to Boston College, Shea played for the “Baby Eags,” a team made up of future Eagles. Playing against other teams of commits to Ohio State, UNC and Stanford, her confidence that she belonged at that level grew.
While at Boston College, Shea also played on Team USA, and called it “a big step forward” when her U-20 team won the World title in Hong Kong. (Her dad and I laughed about that when I told him “And you thought the road trips to Boston felt long...”) Shea had transitioned from a midfielder to an elite defender, and after helping B.C. win the NCAA title in 2024, she set her sights on making the National Team, and did so last summer. She called those developments “telltale signs that I could play in the WLL.”
During her B.C. Career, Shea played in front of goalie Shea Dolce, and “the two
Sheas” — now WLL teammates — made a name for themselves. Baker's first professional game did not end the way she had envisioned (she suffered her concussion with 5 minutes left to play), it was a great experience. “The PLL is running the WLL, and we partner to play back-to-back games,” she offered, As a result of that savvy planning, “There were 8 or 10,000 fans there, and it was really encouraging to see so many young girls lined up for an hour to get our autographs!” (Yes, I got one...)
At this point, the pro salaries for women are — while generous for the number of games being played — not enough to live on, so Shea will also do some coaching, run some camps and clinics and make it all work. The finance major told me, “I see myself staying in the lacrosse world until at least 2028.” Asked why that year is significant, she replied, “I want to play for the U.S. Olympic Team in Los Angeles. That is my dream.”
As we were wrapping up, and Shea said she felt lucky to be where she is, I reminded her that “Luck is when preparation and opportunity converge.” She said “I like that. I am writing that down to use when coaching young players.”
See? A nugget of useful perspective… not a bad trade off for a few bad dad jokes.
Shea Baker, leaving Ithaca High on her way to an NCAA title and professional lacrosse. (Photo: Provided)
Arts&Entertainment
Cornell Cooperative Extension Unveils Thriving Futures Murals
By Mikayla Rovenolt
Community members and o cials came together on May 21 to celebrate the completion of a mural at the Hammerstone School at 720 West Green Street.
Titled “Rising Ahead,” the mural by Bethany Parisi is one of 18 murals completed in counties throughout the Southern Tier as part of the 2025 riving Futures Mural Initiative. e project is sponsored by Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) Smart Energy Choices in collaboration with Ithaca Murals. e Smart Energy Choices program is a New York state-funded program for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), and the program has funding to help homeowners and renters connect to existing programs that will help them make home energy improvements. e program also connects people with clean energy jobs and workforce training.
Bethany Parisi is a self-taught folk artist from New England that now calls Ithaca home. She enjoys wood-carving and said she applies those techniques and visuals to her mural painting.
According to Parisi, “Rising Ahead” is inspired by resilience and the power of skilled labor. e mural depicts a group of non-traditional tradespeople; women, non-binary individuals, workers with disabilities, and people of mixed heritage, collaborating to construct a phoenix from reclaimed materials.
“When this opportunity became available the rst time, I applied for the food equity project and was able to paint an electrical box and it was so much fun and I enjoyed all of it from start to nish,” Parisi said. “When riving Futures two became available and it was a larger canvas I got really excited and the fact that I had the ability to speak with Maria at Hammerstone, it was a perfect t. e tradespeople building their own phoenix made sense to me to have here at Hammerstone.”
ree additional murals in Tompkins County by Margalo, Meira Robinson, and Terrance Vann were honored at the unveiling. e murals all depict di erent visions of what a “thriving future” could look like, covering themes such as clean energy, environmental equity, and strong communities.
“For us organizing murals, it’s not a beauti cation program,” Caleb omas, director of Ithaca Murals, said. “It’s about strengthening and building our community stronger and building social movements and supporting people doing good work. For all of these 18 mural projects, all doing incredible things in their own communities, it was really powerful, watching each other and supporting each other and inspiring each other; the artists weren’t just working alone, but as a cohort, as a movement.”
Karim Beers is the regional clean energy hub director for CCE and omas said Beers brought the idea of a “thriving futures” project forward. He said that the rst iteration of these was a few years ago with the painting of electrical boxes using the “thriving futures” theme. He said the project went so well, that he and Caleb, and others at CCE, wanted to see the project grow.
Leigh Miller, a community energy educator for CCE, said there were special project funds from NYSERDA that could be used to create another “thriving futures” project.
“Some of this special funding was used to ask artists across the Southern Tier to generate murals around the theme of thriving futures,” Miller said. “ e goal of this was to use the arts and collaborate with artists as a way to bring ideas and messages into the communities of the Southern Tier and bring both beauty and inspiration and motivation around the themes of clean energy.”
Beers said it was important that there was a community element to this project because a “thriving future” does not exist without building community.
“We incorporated this component of community engagement,” Beers said, “So the artists not only had a vision of what they wanted to represent, but how would they engage with community members around these concepts of a thriving future of where people living environment thrive, where cultural expressions contribute to that, where there is justice and environmental protection. e artists came up with great ideas, and they had interesting ideas about how the public can be involved with that.”
Mary Keefe, who is also a community energy educator for CCE, said that the Smart Energy Choices program is here to help people through resources like workforce training and various weatherization programs.
“There are thousands of dollars in grant funding from the state and other sources to help people weatherize their homes and upgrade their systems,” Keefe said. “There are also programs for all income tiers, and there are programs for homeowners and renters, and over time those programs and that work can help people save energy and save money over time.”
Another mural unveiling will take place at 3 p.m. on June 4 at 5176 Searsburg Road in Trumansburg.
“To get to that future will require — I don’t know if all of us, but de nitely most of us — working together towards common goals and consulting,” Beers said. “‘How do we address this? Where do we build that? How do we shi from this to that? How do we ensure people have jobs during this big transition in our human history?’ We wanted to incorporate that component of community engagement and discussion and thinking together into this, because we see it as such an important part of any kind of solution addressing not only climate and environmental issues, but any other social issues as well.”
For more information and a full list of murals and artists, visit smartenergychoices.org/thriving-futures2.
The “Rising Ahead” mural by Bethany Parisi on West Green Street. (Photo: Mark Syvertson/Ithaca Times)
“I Love Boosters” Critiques the Fashion Industry with a Communist Fever Dream
By Clement Obropta
There’s no director doing it like Boots Riley. America’s premier communist hip-hop artist and filmmaker, Riley is known for his absurdist calling card “Sorry to Bother You,” which starts with LaKeith Stanfield playing a telemarketer who uses a “white voice” to speak to his non-Black clients and ends with a vast corporate conspiracy that involves Armie Hammer trying to use cocaine to turn people into centaurs. So when I say that “I Love Boosters” is ostensibly a film about shoplifters, it should come as no surprise that it eventually involves Chinese garment factories, car chases, police tanks, teleportation devices, and demons that suck people’s souls out through their unmentionables.
Keke Palmer stars as Corvette, an aspiring fashion designer and “booster” who lifts high-end clothing from racks and resells it at a third of the cost. Despite the good her resold clothes do for her community, she feels disconnected and lonely — crashing in an abandoned Bay Area chicken shop probably doesn’t help. Still, fancy clothes aren’t going to steal themselves, and Corvette and her “Velvet Gang” accomplices — Sade (Naomi Ackie) and Mariah (Taylour Paige) — have set their sights on Christie Smith (Demi Moore), the science wunderkind, CEO, and fash-
Rated R
Directed by Boots Riley
Currently playing at Cinemapolis and Regal Ithaca Mall
120 E Green St., Ithaca and 40 Catherwood Road, Ithaca
A NATION SPEAKS
continued from page B11
results of civilization of the centuries. Men whom it has taken centuries to build up and make into great scientific forces of the brain, the flower of the manhood of the great nations of Europe, and we spend twenty millions of dollars a day to blot out
ion designer who lives in a lopsided San Francisco skyscraper and rants against the Velvet Gang in racist, classist tirades via Instagram reels.
From “Mother Mary” to “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” 2026 is a big year for fashion in cinema. But few films so adore fashion and the art of clothing design while also abhorring the industry that produces them as “I Love Boosters.” Where the latest Hollywood commercial for haute couture only pays lip service to the reality that the fashion industry is built on the back of cheap, expendable overseas labor, “I Love Boosters” takes us directly inside a factory in Qingdao, where the employees who spend their days sand-blasting Demi Moore’s denim are overworked, underpaid, and dying of cancer at alarming rates. The more the film ties the Chinese workers’ unrest to the Velvet Gang’s disruption, the more the film’s thesis, that there’s no greater force for good in the world than collective action, comes into even clearer focus.
The eerily recognizable dystopia of “I Love Boosters” is best exemplified by Metro Design, the fashion store that hawks Christie Smith’s latest wares. The employees are each dressed head to toe in Christie Smith, which naturally comes out of their paychecks, the music is kept at an eardrum-shattering volume at all times, and store clerks are only given 30 seconds for lunch, which is announced via a gunshot like they’re running for track and field. Each store is also only allowed to stock one color at a time. (“You want a different color?” Christie says. “Go to a different store.”)
all the results of civilization of hundreds and hundreds of years. And what do we do? We lay a mortgage on every unborn child for a hundred and more years to come. Mortgage his brain, his brawn, and every pulse of his heart in order to pay the debt, to buy the material to slaughter the men of our country. No, we women do not want the ballot
(Photo: IMDb/Neon)
Appropriately for a film whose second half revolves around a scheme to teleport American clothes back to China, Riley’s fever dream communist fantasy extends to nearly every aspect of the production. From the casting of Don Cheadle as pyramid scheme purveyor Dr. Jack to the musical score from Tune-Yards, which oscillates from classical Chinese symphonies to “Higglytown Heroes” carnival anarchy, “I Love Boosters” relishes not just subverting your expectations but exploding them entirely. The film’s only major fault is its final third, which backloads many of Riley’s sillier instincts with a “Blues Brothers”— inspired police chase through a mall and hastily tries to resolve a dozen subplots in about five minutes.
Though this isn’t the kind of film that prioritizes strong character arcs, Riley’s cast is completely game for his overwhelming, cartoonish vision. Palmer, who has been riding a career high since starring in Jordan Peele’s “Nope,” is a real highlight here. She finds a vulnerable, believable core to Corvette, a character who imagines all of her anxieties following her
in order that we may fight, but we do want the ballot in order that we may help men to keep from fighting, whether it is in the home or in the state, just as the home is not without the man, so the state is not without the woman, and you can no more build up homes without men than you can build up the state without women. We are needed everywhere where
like a massive snowball of eviction notices and unpaid bills. The whole cast is also decked out in Shirley Kurata’s indelibly expressionistic clothing — Kurata previously won an Oscar for her work on the similarly madcap “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
Like “Sorry to Bother You,” it’s impossible to imagine the pitch meeting for “I Love Boosters,” or that any studio, indie or otherwise, would have enough guts to release such an experimental, bizarre, absurdist work of communist fiction into 1,750 theaters nationwide. But it’s also a necessary film. Boots Riley creates indelible, trippy images and stories that respond to our anxieties about class and capital in real time. As a result, “I Love Boosters” might be a messy and polarizing work of art, but it also feels like perhaps the only possible direction American cinema can go next, a fiercely meta descent into our capitalist hellscape that not only knows exactly how we got here, but also how we can fight our way out.
Clement Obropta is a film columnist for the Ithaca Times.
human problems are to be solved. Men and women must go through this world together from the cradle to the grave; it is God's way and the fundamental principle of a Republican form of government. Next week, we will celebrate Steve Jobs, Founder of Apple Computer and read his Commencement Address at Stanford University in 2005.
Sade (Naomi Ackie), Mariah (Taylour Paige), and Corvette (Keke Palmer) sell clothes in a Metro Design store.
Fifth Annual Book & Zine Fair to be Held at Buffalo Street Books
By Mikayla Rovenolt
On Sunday, May 31, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., the fifth annual Ithaca Book & Zine Fair will be held at Buffalo Street Books as a part of the Community Arts Partnership’s Spring Writes Literary Festival.
The event celebrates publishing as an art, craft, and DIY activity, said Laura Rowley, who owns and operates Illuminated Press and created the event. Over 40 local and regional independent publishers, zine-makers, artists, DIYers, and writers will show and sell their creations.
Zines are a small-batch, self-published booklet, usually created in a DIY format. According to Purdue University, zines are written, designed, and distributed by independent creators outside of mainstream media and are frequently photocopied, folded, and stapled, embracing a highly personalized, rustic format.
The fair first started in 2021 during the pandemic as a way for people to connect with one another around shared interests, and to discover new ones.
“I really have been getting into attending book and zine fairs around the Northeast,” Rowley said. “I thought I would start one in Ithaca, so I can see some of my friends, maintain friends, and get things going, and also support Buffalo Street Books, which is an amazing indie bookstore. All of those things were motivations to start.”
Rowley said one of the most important things about the Book & Zine Fair is the community it builds and brings to the area.
DIANE COHEN’S MISSION
continued from page B10
Over the last decade, Finger Lakes ReUse has been largely self-supporting, bringing in $19 million dollars’ worth of donation of items; it has drastically reduced the stream of waste. Our ReUse has created stores where basic and luxury items are affordable on any budget and the shopping is fun. Each donated item which is not sent to the landfill, and is instead cleaned up and neatly displayed until
“Number one is building community around books and DIY things, which focuses so much on freedom of expression,” Rowley said. “These days, with publishing, it can be incredibly difficult to get your work or art published, but with zines you have total freedom. Just go in your room or studio, or whatever, and make books in an afternoon or an evening. It's so accessible, so providing space for people to share is really powerful, and there’s also an economic opportunity.”
Rowley added that it is important to her that there is an event for artists and DIYers to sell their work at because it can be difficult to reach potential buyers. Having the opportunity to attend the fair connects makers with people who may be interested in their work.
Buffalo Street Books is a relatively accessible location, according to Rowley, which is partially why they choose to have the fair there. It is also a local business that plays a part in the book and zine culture of Ithaca.
Rowley shared that further than the event’s physical accessibility is the accessibility of zines. They can range in price from free and tradeable to $10, making them easy for a wide audience to afford. She added that zines can be made cheaply or through more expensive print methods so there is a way for many people to create, not just buy, zines.
“There are zine makers both locally and regionally,” Rowley said. “When we can get together, it’s really special because you see these people in Rochester, Buffalo, further. You can see their work and that sense that other people are making too, at least
sold, makes all of us more prosperous and protects our environment. An amazing win-win! And for people ashamed of not finishing high school, who now hold respected positions, we gain a more confident, more comfortable fellow traveler on our shared journey through life.
Last year ReUse donated more than $150,000 of gift cards, distributed through more than 40 human service agencies for more than 1,000 families who need a boost, struggling families, who have the same needs as more prosperous
for me, is really inspiring and motivating to keep making, despite everything, despite all of the pressures that society puts on us to work and of all of our obligations, having a sense of community really keeps you going.”
Rowley added that this event is made
families. Those gift cards will go a long way, since a charger plus an adapter for one of our kid’s gizmos costs $3.00 total at ReUse. And if you are a Super ReUser, it will cost a little less. And ReUse has everything displayed in such a quirky, fun, yet accessible manner.
So on your way to have a good time and shop at one of the two Finger Lakes ReUse locations, when you pass some newish furnishings and clothing left on a sidewalk, getting wet and ruined, thank Diane, and thank our lucky stars that we
possible in part with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant program from the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the office of the Governor and NYS Legislature, and administered by the Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins County.
live in a community which loves Mother Nature’s environment and knows it is suffering, and we can do some things to protect our community.
Finger Lakes ReUse is an incredible accomplishment, fueled by the visionary who years ahead of us, yearned to reduce waste. She did the hard work, day after day, and continues with support for her colleagues, her trainees, her workers and her customers. And she is still having fun, despite the challenges facing all living creatures these days.
Caleb Harrington of Caleb Clayton’s creative card company and Cynthia Cratsley at last year’s Book & Zine Fair.
Highlighting ose Who Solve Problems and Change the World for the Good of All
Bill Foster: A Legacy of Advocacy, Stewardship and Education through Discover Cayuga Lake
By Roy Allen
Bill Foster has become widely recognized as a persistent advocate for placing Cayuga Lake—and the Finger Lakes’ water resources more broadly—at the center of community life. While many know him through his work with Discover Cayuga Lake, the deeper story of his impact is rooted in relationships: between people and place, residents and visitors, education and stewardship, and communities and the waterways upon which they depend.
Raised in Ithaca, Foster developed an early appreciation for the region’s gorges, lakes, and State Parks through time spent outdoors with family and friends. at connection to place eventually shaped both his education at Cornell University and his professional path in resource management as an engineer with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Yet a er years focused on environmental management at a broad scale, Foster returned home with a more personal question in mind: how could people build stronger, more meaningful re-
lationships with the natural resources around them?
at question gained new direction through a pivotal partnership with Dennis Montgomery, former owner of the Ithaca Boating Center and the tour boat MV Haendel. As the Floating Classroom concept began to take shape aboard the vessel, Montgomery posed a deceptively simple question that would profoundly in uence Foster’s work: “What if everyone could enjoy this lake?”
For Foster, that question revealed larger issues of access, education, belonging, and stewardship. It eventually helped shape the mission of Discover Cayuga Lake: “to cultivate informed and equitable relationships between people and the waterways upon which they depend.” Education, environmental stewardship, and public access all became essential parts of that vision, but Foster consistently viewed relationships as the true foundation.
Over the years, his work has focused on improving Ithaca’s relationship with Cayuga Lake in ways both practical and deeply human. During the contentious debates surrounding
Lake Source Cooling, Discover Cayuga Lake hosted public cruises aboard the Haendel that allowed residents with opposing viewpoints to discuss
the issue while physically experiencing the lake together. Removed from the tension of crowded public meetings, people found common ground
Bill Foster is an advocate of lake access, education and the importance of relationships. (Photo: Provided)
not through argument, but through shared perspective and conversation.
Other moments revealed how disconnected some residents had become from the lake itself. During Discover Cayuga Lake’s first operating season, children from downtown Ithaca boarded the MV Teal and remarked, “We didn’t know we were allowed on the lake.” For Foster, experiences like that underscored a critical truth: communities cannot be expected to care for places where they do not feel welcome. Expanding access and fostering belonging became inseparable from environmental stewardship.
Education has remained central throughout Foster’s work. Concerned by the disappearance of many traditional field trips and hands-on learning experiences, he helped create opportunities for local students to engage directly with Cayuga Lake as a living classroom. Middle school life science students collecting water samples often expressed amazement at discovering plankton and aquatic life in the lake itself—transforming environmental science from an abstract concept into something immediate and personal.
Visitors experience similar moments of discovery. Tourists boarding Discover Cayuga Lake cruises are frequently surprised by the biodiversity, ecology, and interconnected stories of the Finger Lakes watershed. Foster and his team encourage guests not only to learn about Cayuga Lake, but also to reflect on the waterways in their own lives, creating connections that extend beyond tourism alone.
Tourism itself evolved naturally within Foster’s broader mission. Initially viewed simply as a practical means of sustaining nonprofit programming, it took on greater significance through his collaboration with
colleague Astrid Jirka, whose interest in ecotourism helped shape Discover Cayuga Lake’s approach. Together, they advanced a model of tourism that seeks to benefit both visitors and local communities by connecting recreation, environmental awareness, sustainability, and regional identity.
That philosophy also extends to youth leadership development. Interns and high school Youth Guides working with Discover Cayuga Lake learn not only about ecology and local history, but also how to speak confidently about their home region with visitors. In doing so, they gain knowledge, pride, and a stronger sense of connection to the place they inhabit.
ecotourism economy in the Finger Lakes. His work with electric boats and environmentally conscious waterfront initiatives reflects the same long-term perspective that has guided his efforts from the beginning: ensuring that access to Cayuga Lake
opportunities for others—inviting people onto the lake, fostering dialogue, empowering students, and helping communities rediscover connections to their waterways.
Today, Foster continues helping build partnerships between tourism organizations, watershed advocates, educators, and sustainability-focused groups to imagine a more thoughtful
remains sustainable, inclusive, and meaningful for future generations.
What makes Foster’s contributions especially significant is that they rarely center on recognition or personal credit. His leadership has often taken the form of creating
In that sense, Bill Foster exemplifies the spirit of an unsung changemaker. His legacy is not simply one of tourism development or environmental advocacy, but of helping people see Cayuga Lake differently: not just as scenery, recreation, or infrastructure, but as a shared resource capable of shaping identity, community, education, and belonging.
Perhaps his most enduring contribution is this simple but transformative idea: people protect what they feel connected to. Through decades of quiet leadership, Foster has worked to ensure that more people can form that connection with Cayuga Lake—and carry it forward.
Discover Cayuga Lake promotes learning about the biodiversity, ecology, and interconnected stories of the Finger Lakes watershed. (Photo: Provided)
50 Years Later, Ithaca Faces a Different Housing Crisis
By Jake Sexton
On May 23, 1976, the Ithaca New Times hit shelves across the community with a headline whose echoes ring surprisingly loud 50 years later: “The Fight Against Dilapidation,” by Jennifer Sprague. Per her article, the first half of 1976, both community activists and city leaders alike feared that parts of Ithaca, primarily the southern and northernmost neighborhoods, had begun slipping into a visible decline. Suburban blocks were littered with homes sitting quietly in varied states of disrepair, landlords had minimal incentive to improve properties, and lower-income homeowners couldn’t keep pace with rising maintenance and rehabilitation costs. Matters were complicated even further with a growing pressure many Ithacans still feel today: expanding university student populations placing additional strain on the housing market and reshaping neighborhoods across the city. Jennifer Sprague’s article opens with a cutting exchange of dialogue between neighbors quoted from a separate housing story in The New York Times from that same year. “I’ve lived here four years,” one man says defensively. “Nobody tells me when to paint my house.” His neighbor fires back: “I’ve lived here 40 years. Paint your damn house.” Ithacans found
themselves at a collapsing crossroads between personal freedoms and a shared responsibility as neighbors, between one’s private property and sense of neighborhood identity.
While the visible “dilapidation” described in 1976 may no longer dominate the local zeitgeist, Ithaca faces a new, far greater anxiety: whether longtime Ithacans can afford living in the community they’ve called home their entire lives.
Today, Ithaca still wrestles with many of these same tensions. Over fifty years in the future, Jennifer Sprague’s “The Fight Against Dilapidation” and the myriad of pressures outlined within continue to shape life in Ithaca. But the origins of these pressures have shifted: What was once a discussion around deteriorating homes surrounding Ithaca’s neighborhoods has become a conversation of affordability, displacement, and the increasing strain placed upon the housing market. Amid Cornell’s work with the city to house an ever-growing student population, the debate of where to draw the line on annual rent increases has ultimately fallen upon the resident.
Per Sprague, city officials warned that the growing student population of Cornell University had begun flooding the local housing market, and their brief, yearlong leases discouraged landlords from improving their aging properties in early 1976. Today, a similar dynamic remains prevalent to debates surrounding Ithaca’s housing market, one that has consistently evolved throughout the eras over the last half-century. Per the 2017 Tompkins
County Housing Strategy, the region was continuing to struggle with low vacancy rates, rising rent, and an inability to meet the demand of the housing market. Cornell University acknowledged the housing issue in its 2017 Housing Master Plan, noting that limited access to student housing was causing “upward pressure on rents in Collegetown without a corresponding
increase in the quality of housing,” per a September 2017 article from the Cornell Daily Sun. In 2026, this “upward pressure” has extended its grasp far beyond Collegetown. Research conducted by Samantha Puzzi and published by Cornell University’s
A view of Ithaca’s College Ave. in the early 1970s.
(Photo: The History Center in Tompkins County)
Trumansburg Hosts May Day 5K and FunRun
By Mikayla Rovenolt
On Saturday, May 30, runners, their families and spectators will gather at the Trumansburg Elementary School to take part in the May Day 5K and Fun Run.
According to the event website, the community event highlights fun, fitness, and families. Melanie McKaney, director of the Trumansburg May Day 5K Run/ Walk and FunRun, said proceeds directly benefit the Trumansburg Parent Teacher Organizations (PTO), as well as the Trumansburg Education Foundation (TEF).
“The whole community comes out,” McKaney said. “Right now we have about 320 participants signed up and the majority of them live in Trumansburg.”
The May Day 5K will also host the Trumansburg Girls on the Run Team to wrap up their season. McKaney said this is Girls on the run’s third year participating in the May Day 5K. The club has been around for a number of years and is for girls from third through fifth grade.
“We have a committee, people from the PTO and the TEF,” McKaney said. “There's a group of eight of us, and we've
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
continued from page B9
been meeting since about October, starting the planning, solidifying the date and the permit [...] It definitely takes a good amount of peers and a lot of time and effort to put it on.”
McKaney said there are 40 to 50 volunteers needed for the event, especially at intersections, and that she is still seeking volunteers. There are a variety of volunteer opportunities from medical to food help. Signup information is available on their website https://mayday5k.org/.
Following the race, there will be food and drinks available and award winners will be announced. The awards are divided by age groups and gender that include an eight and under category while adults are split up by decades — 20s, 30s, and so on.
McKaney said there is also a student band playing music after the event.
“All the proceeds go directly to the Trumansburg Education Foundation and the PTO, which supports students and teachers in many different events and things throughout the year, but we really couldn't do this race without our sponsors,” she said.
This year’s sponsors include Trimmers Ice Cream, Shurshave, Synergy Physical Therapy, The Spotted Sandpiper,
FingerLakes Running Company, Hart and Homes, Erhart Energy, Little Venice, Centralus Health, Maguire, Visions Bank, The Gemm Shop, Wegmans, Trader Joe’s and Gimme! Coffee.
Online registration for the race closes
And in a case where a university president, when pulling out of a parking space, does hit campus protestors with their motor vehicle, they should stop, get out of the car, and confirm that no one is hurt or needs medical attention. And too, they should reflect publicly, with humility and honesty, on their own conduct, rather than telling the world it was all the fault of the protestors.
The Academic Council of Jewish Voice for Peace is appalled by the conduct of Cornell University president Michael Kotlikoff. Most urgently, the Council is
50 YEARS LATER
continued from page C18
College of Arts & Sciences posits that rising rates of rent and student expansion have increasingly pushed lower-income residents out of traditionally affordable neighborhoods throughout Ithaca. For instance, rent across Ithaca increased 37% during the 2010s, with an additional 18% increase between 2015-2019, that Puzzi partially attributes towards Cornell’s “extremely limited housing options” for undergraduate students, with approximately
50% being forced to live off-campus and within Ithaca neighborhoods as of 2021. While the visible “dilapidation” described in 1976 may no longer dominate the local zeitgeist, Ithaca faces a new, far greater anxiety: whether longtime Ithacans can afford living in the community they’ve called home their entire lives. Although the obstacle has changed, the city continues to grapple with the same integral question poised in 1976: how to balance community growth and institutional expansion while fostering an affordable city that’s running out of room to grow.
“The Fight Against Dilapidation” feels less like a historic relic of Ithaca’s past and more like returning to a previous chapter in a story the city has yet to close. The names of our neighborhoods remain familiar, and so do the pressures shaping them. Since 1972, Cornell’s growth continuously influences the housing market. As found in the 1972 Housing Assistance Plan quoted by Sprague, Cornell’s student population has continuously “forced families to compete for higher rents, while keeping the vacancy rate in the city extremely low.”
Wednesday, May 27. In-person registration is available Friday at the elementary school from 3 to 6 p.m. and Saturday the morning of the race. For more information visit https:// mayday5k.org/.
appalled by Kotlikoff’s refusal to recognize the humanity of Palestinians and the injustice of Israeli state apartheid, occupation, and genocide.” — Jonah Rubin, organizing manager for Jewish Voice for Peace
In 2020, the Ithaca Tenants Union (ITU) was formed to protect the over 74% of Ithacans who are renters. ITU has pushed legislation such as the Emergency Tenants Protection Act in 2025 to increase rent stabilization efforts and protect Ithacans from exuberant price hikes. ITU’s formation and efforts to protect Ithaca’s tenants is a reminder of the rent and community restoration crises of the 1970s. It’s a reminder that Ithacans continue to balance affordability and personal liberties with preserving the collective identity of the neighborhoods they call home.
The Trumansburg May Day 5K celebrates fun, fitness, and families. (Photo/Cory Vogel Moore)
LansingArea PerformanceHall
will be provided. Curious about what we’re watching?
World Cinema at Lifelong - Spring 2026 Film Series | 1:30 p.m., 6/2
Tuesday | Lifelong, 119 W. Court St. |
World Cinema Spring 2026 – 12-Session Film Series: April 7 – June 23, 2026 - 1:30 PM – 5:00 PM
Cinemapolis
Bars/Bands/Clubs
5/28 Thursday
Howard Kraskow / The Prettymakers | 6 p.m. | Danby Food and Drink, 1843 Danby Rd | Free 49th Annual Ithaca Festival | | Ithaca Commons
Cypher Circle Poetry Open Mic | Treehouse Studio and Lounge, 119 S. Cayuga St 3rd Floor 7:00pm
5/29 Friday
Destination After Dark live at Treleaven Wines | 4 p.m., 658 Lake Road
5/30 Saturday
Rocco Rich Live | 4 p.m. | Brewers Taproom, 10 Pinckney Rd
6/02 Tuesday
Jazz Night At Tavern On The Commons | 8 p.m.|130 E Seneca St 4 p.m. Concerts/Recitals
5/29 Friday
School of Rock Concert! | 6 p.m. | ONCO Fermentations, 397 NY RT 281, Suite O
Musica Spei Celebrates 30 Years! | 7:30 p.m. | St. Mary’s Church (Auburn), 15 Clark Street | $10.00
THIS WEEK Music
Muriel Anderson | 8 p.m. | Center for the Arts of Homer, 72 S Main St
5/30 Saturday
Chad J Dean School of Drumming: 2026 STUDENT SHOWCASE | 1 p.m. | Rose Hall, 19 Church Street
Stone Cold Sober | 5 p.m. | Eldridge Park, Eldridge Park Road
Beak & Ski | 7 p.m. | Beak & Ski Apple Orchards, 2708 Lords Hill Road
An Evening With Cake | 7 p.m. | Beak & Ski Apple Orchards, 2708 Lords Hill Road
Martin Sexton - Live Wide Open Tour | 8 p.m. | Center for the Arts of Homer, 72 S Main St
5/31 Sunday
Three Bears Historic Marker Dedication | 1 p.m. | Three Bears, 7175 Main Street | Free Briz - The Original Songs | Sunday Afternoon Live in King Ferry, NY | 3 p.m. | Northville Arts Center, 999 State Route 34B | Free
Stage
Sip, Step & Spin | 6 p.m., 5/28 Thursday | Beak & Ski Apple Orchards, 2708 Lords Hill Road | 6-8pm at the newly renovated 1911 Established Tasting Room
Sunset Music Series Presents Jon Lamanna | 3 p.m., 5/29 Friday | Wagner Vineyards, 9322 State Route 414 | Join us for our Friday Night Sunset
Music Series at the Vantage Point at Wagner Vineyards Estate Winery. Enjoy our beautiful sunset views, dinners for purchase, and live music!
CC-13 Rocks Alive After Five | 5 p.m., 5/29 Friday | Wisner Park, N Main W. Church Sts | CC-13 is an original band specializing in several genres of music. Also covering some of your favorites like Janis Joplin, Pink Floyd and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Sunset Music Series Presents Evan Dillon | 5 p.m., 5/29 Friday | Wagner Vineyards, 9322 State Route 414 | This week’s featured band is: TBA Music will be between 6:30pm - 9:30pm. Join us for our Friday Night Sunset Music Series at the Vantage Point at Wagner Vineyards Estate Winery to enjoy our…
LSoD Recital 2026 | 1 p.m., 5/30
Saturday | Clemens Center, 207 Clemens Center Parkway | Leslie School of Dance end of the year shows.
Participatory Contra, Square, and Circle Dancing | 7 p.m., 6/1 Monday | Ithaca Commons |
Spring Improv Showcase 2026 | 6 p.m., 6/2 Tuesday | Auburn Public Theater, 8 Exchange St. | Our Spring Adult Improv Class has been hard at work to put together their nal performance. Come support our improv team’s showcase!
A Bronx Tale The Musical | 7:30 p.m., 6/3 Wednesday | Merry-GoRound Playhouse, 17 William St, 2nd Floor | Jersey Boys meets West Side
Story meets Saturday Night Fever! |
$43.00 - $84.00
Art
Science Together: Ramp Painting | 10:15 a.m., 5/27 Wednesday | Sciencenter, 601 1st St | Let’s paint with gravity! Make patterns and test ideas while we roll paint-covered balls down ramps.
Stephen Alexander Clark + Harry Littell | 11 a.m., 5/27 Wednesday | Corners Gallery, 903 Hanshaw Rd. Suite 101A Suite 101A | LAND / MARK features paintings by Stephen Alexander Clark and photographs by Harry Littell. | Free
Lin Price: How To Get From Here To There Exhibit | 12 p.m., 5/28
Thursday | The Gallery at South Hill, 950 Danby Rd., Ithaca, NY at the South Hill Business Campus | Free Clay Studio 2 | 10 a.m., 6/2 Tuesday | Lifelong, 119 W. Court St. | At Lifelong, $5 drop in fee. Membership required, with membership $40/ month unlimited Creative Arts activities eligibility.
Film
Teen Film Fridays | 4 p.m., 5/29 Friday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St | Join us in the Digital Lab on the last Friday of every month and enjoy a free movie screening! For teen patrons ages 13-18 only. Snacks
120 E Green St, Ithaca
New movies opening the week of May 27. Contact Cinemapolis for showtimes and continuing lms.
The Warrior Tradition |The Warrior Tradition tells the astonishing, heartbreaking, inspiring, and largelyuntold story of Native Americans in the United States military. Why would Indian men and women put their lives on the line for the very government that took their homelands? The lm relates the stories of Native American warriors from their own points of view – stories of service and pain, of courage and fear.| NA 60 mins
Tuner| A gifted piano tuner's meticulous skills for tuning pianos lead him to discover an unexpected aptitude for cracking safes, turning his life upside down.| NA 90 mins
Backrooms |A strange doorway appears in the basement of a furniture showroom.After a therapist's patient disappears into a dimension beyond reality, she must venture into the unknown to save him.| NA 110 mins
Pressure| In the tense 72 hours before D-Day, and the fate of the free world hanging in the balance, Pressure follows General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Captain James Stagg as they face an impossible choice-launch the largest and most dangerous seaborne invasion in history or risk losing the war altogether.| NA 120 mins
Manas| Island of Marajó, Amazon rainforest. Marcielle (Tielle), 13, lives by the riverbanks with her father, mother, and three siblings. Prompted by her mother's words, she idolizes her older sister who supposedly escaped her reality by " nding a good man" on the barges that ply the region. As Tielle matures, her idealized visions shatter, leaving her trapped between two abusive environments. Increasingly worried about her younger sister and the bleak future they face, she decides to confront the oppressive system that controls her family and the women in their community.| NA 106 mins
Too Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar | CELEBRATE PRIDE MONTH with a lm inspired mini drag show with games all hosted by Tilia Cordata and featuring other local performers.Elite Manhattan drag queens Vida Boheme (Patrick Swayze) and Noxeema Jackson (Wesley Snipes) impress regional judges in competition, securing berths in the Nationals in Los Angeles. When the two meet pathetic drag novice Chi-Chi Rodriguez (John Leguizamo) one of the losers that evening the charmed Vida and Noxeema agree to take the hopeless youngster under their joined wing. Soon the three set o on a madcap road trip across America and struggle to make it to Los Angeles in time. PERFORMANCES AND GAMES HOSTED BY TILIA CORDATA AND OTHER LOCAL PERFORMERS WILL START AT 8PM| Followed by Too Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar at 8:30PM.| NA 108 mins
GO ITHACA Open Hours | 2 p.m., 5/28 Thursday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green Street
EUROPA — “CELEBRATING THE MUSIC OF CARLOS SANTANA”
FRIDAY, MAY 29 AT 7:30 P.M.
The Hangar Theatre | EUROPA is a high-energy 7-piece group celebrating the iconic music and spirit of Carlos Santana. With powerful Latin percussion, soaring guitar melodies and dynamic improvisation the group brings Santana’s greatest hits to life. With songs spanning Carlos’ career from “Oye Como Va”, “Black Magic Woman”, and “Evil Ways” to the wildly successful “Smooth” and “Maria, Maria”, Europa’s musicians, from the Latin, Rock, R&B, Jazz, and Jam Band genres, play them all with authenticity, re and passion! (Photo: Provided)
FOURTH ANNUAL ARTHAUS RESIDENTS & ALLIES EXHIBITION
SATURDAY, MAY 30 FROM 1 TO 5 P.M. AND SUNDAY, MAY 31 FROM 1 TO 5 P.M. Cherry Gallery, 130 Cherry St. | The Residents and Allies Exhibition brings together artists of all ages living at the Ithaca Arthaus, artmakers who attend the Cherry Open Art Hive, and community members ranging from unhoused neighbors, to established artists, to sta and volunteers working in the community. Please join us in celebrating the creative resilience of art making in our community!
| Our program makes sustainable commuting accessible and a ordable for everyone.
Ithaca Festival | 6 p.m., 5/28 Thursday | Downtown Ithaca, Cayuga Street, State Street, Center Commons | The Ithaca Festival returns May 28–31, 2026 to Downtown Ithaca, kicking o with a parade at 6 PM on May 28 followed by a celebration at the Bernie Milton Pavilion, and continuing all weekend with live music, art, food vendors, and family-friendly activities. | Free 49th Annual Ithaca Festival | 5/28 Thursday | Ithaca Commons | Get ready for four days of art, music, community, and celebration at the 49th Annual Ithaca Festival, May 28–31, 2026! Our theme this year is Downtown Disco and we couldn’t be more excited!
Vintage T-Shirt Sale at Ithaca Festival | 10 a.m., 5/29 Friday | Community Arts Partnership, 110 North Tioga Street | Vintage Shirt Sale for Ithaca Festival Friday and Saturday, May 29-30, 10 AM - 6 PM It’s time to get all dressed-up for Ithaca Festival!
Live Music - Go Gone | 6 p.m., 5/29 Friday | Hopshire Farms & Brewery, 1771 Dryden Rd. | Come on over for captivating music with GoGone!
Spring Fun Cookie Class | 11 a.m., 5/30 Saturday | Upstate Brewing Company | Interested in learning more about decorated sugar cookies?! The Magician’s Kitchen is here to help!
Beak & Ski | 7 p.m., 5/30 Saturday | Beak & Ski Apple Orchards, 2708 Lords Hill Road | DSP Shows Presents:
Books
28th annual Spring Writes Literary Festival. May - Sept, Live and Zoom | 11 a.m., 5/31 Sunday | Downtown Ithaca and Zoom | The Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins
County (CAP) is proud to announce our 18th annual Spring Writes Literary Festival with over 40 literary events: reading s, panels, multi - genre | Free Ithaca Book and Zine Fair | 11 a.m., 5/31 Sunday | Bu alo Street Books, 215 N Cayuga St, Ithaca, NY 14850 | This event celebrates publishing as an art, craft, and DIY activity. Discover local indie publishers, zine-makers, artists, and writers. Free to attend and all ages welcome. Made possible in part with funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, administered by the Community Arts Partnership. | Free
Code Your Own Adventure! | 4 p.m., 6/2 Tuesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green Street | Join Rachel Fomalhaut for a workshop that’s equal parts coding and creative writing! Rachel teaches Interactive Fiction in Digital and Data Studies at SUNY Binghamton.
Teen & Tween Graphic Novel Book Club | 4 p.m., 6/2 Tuesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green Street | Join us on Tuesday June 2 for Teen & Tween Graphic Novel Book Club!
Comic Book Club of Ithaca | 6:30 p.m., 6/2 Tuesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green Street | The Comic Book Club of Ithaca -- the oldest continuously running comic book club in the country -- is a registered non-pro t organization.
Open Mic Night! | 7 p.m., 6/2 Tuesday | Center for the Arts of Homer, 72 S Main St | Want to play music to a live audience? Have you crafted a poem or short story you’d like to share or want to tell some jokes? Come join us Tuesday nights for a weekly Open Mic!
Kids
Science Together: Ramp Painting | 10:15 a.m., 5/27 Wednesday |
Sciencenter, 601 1st St | Let’s paint with gravity! Make patterns and test ideas while we roll paint-covered balls down ramps.
Story + Craft | 4 p.m., 5/28 Thursday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green Street | Story + Craft is our weekly reading + creating event for children! Join us for a read-aloud, followed by art-making or a guided craft.
ICG Drop-In Discovery Days | 10 a.m., 5/30 Saturday | Ithaca Children’s Garden, 121 Turtle Lane | A free Saturday Summer series designed for nature explorers of all ages. Materials and sta will be available to support your exploration as you enjoy handson, themed activities at your own pace. | Free
Math Fun with MathHappens! | 10 a.m., 5/30 Saturday | Sciencenter, 601 1st St | Join us for playful, informal math learning with the MathHappens Foundation! Families and kids can explore hands-on activities that make math fun, creative, and connected to everyday life.
Little Sparks: Flowers and Grass | 11 a.m., 5/30 Saturday | Family Play and Resource Center, 323 Owego Street| Free
Greek Peak: Enchanted Royal Breakfast at The Lookout | 9 a.m., 5/31 Sunday, 2177 Clute Rd, Cortland | Step into a storybook morning lled with sparkle, smiles, and royal magic at the Enchanted Royal Breakfast at The Lookout at Greek Peak Mountain Resort!
Science Connections: Light Play |
2 p.m., 5/31 Sunday | Sciencenter, 601 1st St | Explore lights, shadows, and color mixing.
First Mondays with WSKG Kids | 4:30 p.m., 6/1 Monday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green Street | Kick o each month with curiosity and creativity! Join WSKG
5TH ANNUAL ITHACA BOOK & ZINE FAIR
SUNDAY, MAY 31 FROM 11 A.M. TO 5 P.M.
Bu alo Street Books, Dewitt Mall | The fth annual Ithaca Book and Zine Fair will be held at Bu alo Street Books as a part of the Community Arts Partnership's Spring Writes Literary Festival and Ithaca Festival! This event celebrates publishing as an art, craft, and DIY activity. 40+ local and regional independent publishers, zine-makers, artists, DIYers, and writers will show and sell their wares.This event is free to attend, and all ages are welcome. (Photo: Provided)
This
Education Outreach for First Mondays, a fun, hands-on STEAM series for children and families.
Teen & Tween Graphic Novel Book Club | 4 p.m., 6/2 Tuesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green Street | Join us on Tuesday June 2 for Teen & Tween Graphic Novel Book Club!
Read to Dogs | 3 p.m., 6/3 Wednesday | New eld Public Library, 198 Main Street | Children are invited to the New eld Library to practice their reading skills by reading to one of Cornell Companion’s volunteer therapy dogs! | Free
LEGO Club | 4 p.m., 6/3 Wednesday | Cortland Free Library, 32 Church St | Come join our Lego club & have some building fun! Each session we’ll have a challenge & a game. LEGO Club meets on the rst & third Wednesday of each month at 4 p.m.
Notices
T he Midweek Session | 4 p.m., 5/27 Wednesday | NRE Space, 402 W. State St | The Finger Lakes CannaMarket is adding Wednesdays. Starting April 29, join us from 4–9 PM for a free midweek 420 market where growers, enthusiasts, and the community connect. | Free Yappy Hour | 4 p.m., 5/27 Wednesday | Canopy By Hilton, 324 E. State St | Sip, socialize, get to know some adoptable pets from Stay Wild Resue. We will have drink specials, pet games, treats and more. All wellbehaved pets are welcome to join.
LGBTQ+ Youth Group | 4:30 p.m., 5/27 Wednesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St | Join us at LGBTQ+ Youth Group to do crafts, play games, and socialize. Whether you’re lesbian, gay, bi, trans, questioning, or just trying to gure things out - we’re here for you!
Kitchen OPEN | 4:30 p.m., 5/27
Wednesday | We’re excited to share that Hopshire is now o ering a limited menu!
Pet Clinic | 6 p.m., 5/27 Wednesday | Southside Community Center Gym, 305 S Plain St | Pet Clinic
Special Committee on Wrongful Discharge and Labor Protections | 6 p.m., 5/27 Wednesday | Council Chambers, 3rd Floor City Hall |
Karaoke with Elephant Sound | 8 p.m., 5/28 Thursday | 23 North Restaurant and Bar, 23 Cinema Dr | Show o your singing chops every Thursday night during “Karaoke Night” at 23 North in Ithaca! Great food, great drinks, great FUN! | Free
Timeless Treasures Sale | 9 a.m., 5/29 Friday | CCHS at Grace Street, 9 Grace St | Are you always on the hunt for the perfect piece to add to your collection? Perhaps you’ll nd exactly what you’re looking for at our Timeless Treasures Sale! | Free
Vintage T-Shirt Sale at Ithaca Festival | 10 a.m., 5/29 Friday | Community Arts Partnership, 110 North Tioga Street | Vintage Shirt Sale for Ithaca Festival Friday and Saturday, May 29-30, 10 AM - 6 PM It’s time to get all dressed-up for Ithaca Festival!
Saturday Market | 9 a.m., 5/30 Saturday | Ithaca Farmers Market Art, 545 3rd St | Our Saturday Markets are now outside at the pavilion. Find us each week at Steamboat Landing.
Native Plants for Healthy Watersheds | 10 a.m., 5/30 Saturday | The Plantsmen Nursery The Plantsmen Nursery, 482 Peruville Road | Join the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network and the History Center for a special event at The Plantsmen Nursery!
Trumansburg May Day 5kTrumansburg, NY | 10:30 a.m., 5/30 Saturday | Trumansburg Central School, 100 Whig Street |
Green Saturday | 12 p.m., 5/30 Saturday | NRE Space , 402 W. State St | Get ready for a fun- lled day at the free FingerLakes CannaMarket in
Ithaca, NY! Join us from 12 to 5 pm at 402 W State St for giveaways, great conversations, and the chance to meet top cannabis businesses. Celebrate cannabis culture in the heart of the Finger Lakes region! | Free
Sunday Market | 10 a.m., 5/31 Sunday | Ithaca Farmers Market Art, 545 3rd St | Join us down at the pavilion for a visit with all your favorite vendors. Meet artisans, farmers and chefs who make, grow and cook their products from within 30 miles of the pavilion.
Senator Lea Webb’s Satellite O ce Hours | 10 a.m., 6/1 Monday | YWCA Cortland , 14 Clayton Ave | Please join the O ce of New York State Senator Lea Webb for “Satellite O ce Hours” on January 5th, 2026 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM at the Cortland YWCA located at 14 Clayton Ave, Cortland, NY, | Free Supporting Tompkins County Youth: From Data to Action | 5:30 p.m., 6/1 Monday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green Street | Parents, caregivers, and community members are invited to be part of an important community conversation about youth well-being in Tompkins County.
Growing Well Together | 5:30 p.m., 6/2 Tuesday | Ithaca Community Gardens, Cayuga Park Lane | Meet at the Ithaca Community Gardens pavilion to enjoy a free yoga class, learn how to grow your own vegetables, or join a walking group! | Free Community Line Dance | 7 p.m., 6/2 Tuesday | Foundation of Light, 391 Turkey Hill Rd | Community Line Dance lessons
Tabletop Role-Playing Game Brainstorming Group | 6 p.m., 6/3 Wednesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green Street | A gathering of the gaming community to support each other’s creativity.
MANAS
SUNDAY, MAY 31 AT 2:30 P.M
Cinemapolis, 120 E Green St. | GLOBAL LENS returns with MANAS on May 31, at 2:30 PM! The rst narrative lm by Brazilian documentarian Marianna Brennand Fortes brings us into the heart of the Amazon. Drawing from years of extensive research, Brennand delivers a harrowing and captivating lm of survival and resilience in the face of violence. Island of Marajó, Amazon rainforest. Marcielle (Tielle), 13, lives by the riverbanks with her father, mother, and three siblings. Prompted by her mother's words, she idolizes her older sister who supposedly escaped her reality by " nding a good man" on the barges that ply the region. (Photo: Provided)
resilience Island
Classifieds
800/Services
HYPNOTHERAPY & SHAMANIC HEALING IN ITHACA
End old habits. Heal the mind and spirit. Create positive change in your life! Devin Ryback is a healer and certified clinical hypnotherapist with 14+ years experience. Book your free consultation today. Call or Text: (845) 238-8673 Book Online: devinryback.com
ITHACA LOCAL ECONOMY LAB PODCAS
End stage capitalism got you down?
Learn how Ithaca’s radical experiments in community and economics are making a real difference today!
IthacaLocalEconomyLab.com on iTunes and Spotify
830/Home
DO YOU NEED A ROOF OR ENERGY EFFICIENT WINDOWS & HELP PAYING FOR IT?
YOU MAY QUALIFY THROUGH NEW RELIEF PROGRAMS (800) 944-9393 or visit NYProgramFunding.org to qualify. Approved applications will have the work completed by a repair crew provided by: HOMEOWNER FUNDING. Not affiliated with State or Gov Programs. (NYSCAN)
Who’s Your Neighbor?
A Local Directory of Faith Communities, Faith-Related Services and Interfaith Activities
Many Ithacans are seeking connections that might accurately be called faith. Some return to their roots while others seek roots they may never have experienced.
We hope our directory will provide a resource residents, students and visitors find useful in their journey.
FAITH COMMUNITIES
Agape Bible Church agapeithaca.org
Bahá’í Community of Ithaca ithacabahais.org
Bethel Grove Bible Church bg.org
Bread of Life Anglican Church breadoflifeithaca.org
Cedar Cabin Sangha (Buddhist, Plum Village Practice) cedarcabinsangha.blogspot.com
Christ Chapel christchapelithaca.org
Christian Community Church Ithaca cccithaca.org
Christ the King Fellowship Presbyterian Church ctkspencer.org
Church of the Epiphany epiphanytrumansburg.org
Congregation Tikkun v’Or (Ithaca Reform Temple) tikkunvor.org
518 Yoga Gathering suzannejanene@gmail.com
All Eyes and Ears on Racism AEER aeerforjustice@gmail.com
Catholic Charities of Tompkins/Tioga catholiccharitiestt.org
Finger Lakes Anam Cara fingerlakesanamcara.com
Area Congregations Together breedlovejami@gmail.com
Greater Lansing-Ithaca Interfaith Community LansingUnited.org/events
Danby Community Church danbychurch.org
First Baptist Church in Ithaca firstbaptistithaca.org
First Congregational Church of Ithaca fccithaca.org
First Presbyterian Church of Ithaca firstpresithaca.org
First Unitarian Society of Ithaca unitarian.ithaca.ny.us
First United Methodist Church of Forest Home foresthomechapelumc.org
Hillside Alliance Church hillsideithaca.org
Ithaca Quakers (Religious Society of Friends) ithacamonthlymeeting.org
Lansing United Methodist Church LansingUnited.org
Living Hope Fellowship LHFithaca.org
New Life Presbyterian Church newlifeithaca.org
FAITH-RELATED SERVICES
Forest Hermitage staceysmithhypnosis.com
Integrative Mental Wellness psychologytoday.com/profile/1449445
Moonlight Epiphanies moonlightepiphanies.org
Namgyal Monastery Institute of Buddhist Studies namgyal.org/
INTERFAITH ACTIVITIES
Ithaca Dances of Universal Peace idancepeace.org
Ithaca Kitchen Cupboard ithacakitchencupboard.org
Ithaca Sunday Squares (585) 451-4288
Sacral Transformations and Braided Root Waters Healing Sanctuary sacraltransformations.com
St. Catherine of Siena Church stcathofsiena.org
St. James AME Zion Church facebook.com/Stjamesamezionithaca
St. John’s Episcopal Church stjohnsithaca.org
St. Luke Lutheran Church and Lutheran Campus Ministry stlukeithaca.org
St. Paul’s United Methodist Church stpaulsithaca.org
Temple Beth-El tbeithaca.org
The Twelve Tribes twelvetribes.org
Trinity Lutheran Church trinityithaca.org
Vineyard Church of Ithaca ithacavineyard.org
Pure Essence Vibrations pureessencevibrations.com/ Second Wind Cottages secondwindcottages.org/
Willow Glen Christian School willowglencs.org/
Wisdom's Goldenrod Center for Philosophic Studies wisdomsgoldenrod.info
Shared Journeys sharedjourneys.net
The Foundation of Light thefoundationoflight.org
For more information, visit www.whoisyourneighbor.org and www.madeofclay.org
Please share our Who’s Your Neighbor? newsletter with your friends and send any ideas or stories you wish to share to: Roy@ithacatimes.com.
Copyright 2026, Pathways to Equity, Inc. All rights reserved.
ATTENTION ALL ITHACANS
Become a Friend of the Times
A Community Initiative Supporting Freedom of Speech & the First Amendment
Friends of the Times is a new community support initiative of the Ithaca Times dedicated to strengthening local journalism, protecting freedom of speech, and upholding the principles of the First Amendment through meaningful community engagement.
We believe local stories matter. Through volunteer support and community donations, Friends of the Times will help fund reporting and feature stories that celebrate the people, culture, businesses, arts, and everyday life that make Ithaca unique.
We are currently seeking:
● Volunteers to assist with community outreach, events, and fundraising efforts
● Community supporters and donors who believe in independent local journalism and positive storytelling
● Residents, organizations, and local leaders interested in helping share stories that reflect the spirit of Ithaca
Together, we can help ensure that local voices continue to be heard and that community produced journalism remains strong for future generations.
For more information or to get involved, please contact: Roy@ithacatimes.com
Friends of the Times
Supporting Local Journalism • Celebrating Ithaca • Defending Free Expression
Ithaca Times • Trumansburg Free Press • Lansing Ledger • Groton Independent • Dryden Courier Candor Chronicle • Interlaken Review • Ovid Gazette • Newfield News • Spencer Random Harvest 109 North Cayuga Street • P.O. Box 27 • Ithaca, New York 14850 • (607) 277-7000, Fax (607) 277-1012
BackPage
http://www.allaboutmacs.com
Don’t Let Ithaca Lose Its Storytellers
Imagine the sharpest, most passionate young journalists you’ve ever met (the ones who stay late chasing a story because they believe in this town) slowly packing their bags. Not because they want to leave… but because local rents force them out.
That’s the quiet heartbreak happening right now. Our best new writers, the ones who grew up here or fell in love with Ithaca in college, are being pushed toward cheaper cities just to survive.
The Rising Star Fund rewrites their story into a happy ending by sponsoring a simple monthly housing stipend (a hand up, never a handout) so they can keep living here, keep writing here, keep falling deeper in love with Ithaca… and keep telling the stories that make this city our home.
When a young journalist can afford to stay in Ithaca, you get:
● Fresh, fearless voices loyal to your local paper
● Someone at every city council meeting who believes local news matters
● The next great Ithaca story written by someone who actually lives here
● Your $25, $50, or $100 a month doesn’t just pay their rent.
● It keeps storytellers in our community and stops local brain drain.
● When our younger generation thrives, Ithaca’s future stays bright.
Keep local talent in Ithaca by donating today to the Rising Star Fund (an initiative of Pathways to Equity, Inc a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization)
For more info: roy@ithacatimes.com