OUR TIME PRESS | May 25 – 31, 2017

| From the Villa ge of Brook ly n |

OUR TIME PRESS THE L OCAL PAPER WITH THE G LOBAL VIEW

| VOL. 21 NO. 21

Since 1996

May 25 – 31, 2017 |

Tributes to Our Ancestors From Brooklyn to Alabama and Back One Bed-Stuy extended family traveled to Montgomery, Ala, to explore the history of the Civil Rights struggle and found something more.

At the Racial Justice Museum, Jonathan Kubakundimana (right) of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) explained to the group that each jar is filled with actual soil collected from the exact locations where men, women and children were lynched in America. Each jar bears the name, date and exact location of the lynching. According to group leader Bianca Robinson, "The entire group became emotional including the children."

➔See ➔ page 6.

Photo: Taharka

Roots of Inspiration, Motivation

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(Photo: Courtesy Tribal Truths)

ashion designer Brenda Brunson- Bey, (left) founder and CEO, Tribal Truths’ boutique at 117 South Oxford, Brooklyn blends her grandmother’s stories growing up in the South with African ancestral callings to create her exquisite fashions. “We should wear a part of our history every day - an earring, pin, scarf. It says, ‘I know where I am from.’ We have so much to celebrate.

Our people went through so much for us.

What they went through talks to ourselves as a people.”

Ms. Bey seen here in Fort Greene’s Cuyler Gore Park, the site of the upcoming Saturday, June 17th celebration of Juneteenth she produces and organizes with community advocate and humanitarian Spring McClendon. Now in its 17th year, the festival is open to the public and features culture, art, performances, history and an open mart, and, of course, fashion.

"Magnolia Tree" honors leaders, recalls legends. Page 8

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VOL. 21 NO. 21

African-Americans & Memorial Day

frican-Americans may not have invented Memorial Day on May 1, 1865, but the following narrative from the Snopes Fact Checker gives us an opportunity to imagine that time and place.

In his book, Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory, Professor David W. Blight made the case for Charleston, South Carolina as Memorial Day’s birthplace, as that city was the site of an obscure (possibly suppressed) May 1865 event held at a racetrack-turned-war prison, during which freedmen properly reburied hundreds of Union dead found there and then held a ceremony to dedicate the cemetery: African-Americans founded Decoration Day at the graveyard of 257 Union soldiers labeled “Martyrs of the Race Course”, May 1, 1865, Charleston, South Carolina.

The “First Decoration Day”, as this event came to be recognized in some circles in the North, involved an estimated ten thousand people, most of them Black former slaves. During April, twenty-eight Black men from one of the local churches built a suitable enclosure for the burial ground at the Race Course. In some ten days, they constructed a fence ten feet high, enclosing the burial ground, and landscaped the graves into neat rows. The wooden fence was whitewashed and an archway was built over the gate to the enclosure. On the arch, painted in black letters, the workmen inscribed “Martyrs of the Race Course”.

At nine o’clock in the morning on May 1, the procession to this special cemetery began as three thousand Black schoolchildren (newly enrolled in freedmens’ schools) marched around the Race Course, each with an armload of roses and singing “John

DBG MEDIA Publishers of Our Time Press, Inc. 358 Classon Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11238 (718) 599-6828 Web site: www.ourtimepress.com e-mail: editors@ourtimepress.com Publisher DBG MEDIA Editor-in-Chief David Mark Greaves

The men of Company E, 4th United States Colored Infantry. Theirs was one of the detachments assigned to guard the nation’s capital during the American Civil War. Photo circa 1864.

(Source: United States Library of Congress. Public domain photo) Brown’s Body”. The children were followed by three hundred Black women representing the Patriotic Association, a group organized to distribute clothing and other goods among the freedpeople. The women carried baskets of flowers, wreaths and crosses to the burial ground. The Mutual Aid Society, a benevolent association of Black men, next marched in cadence around the track and into the cemetery, followed by large crowds of white and Black citizens.

All of them dropped their spring blossoms on the graves in a scene recorded by a newspaper correspondent: “When all had left, the holy mounds — the tops, the sides and the spaces between them — were one mass of flowers, not a speck of earth could be seen; and as the breeze wafted the sweet perfumes from them, outside and beyond … there were few eyes among those who knew the meaning of the ceremony that were not dim with tears of joy.” While the adults marched around

the graves, the children were gathered in a nearby grove where they sang, “America”, “We’ll Rally Around the Flag” and “The Star-Spangled Banner”.

The official dedication ceremony was conducted by the ministers of all the Black churches in Charleston. With prayer, the reading of biblical passages and the singing of spirituals, Black Charlestonians gave birth to an American tradition. In so doing, they declared the meaning of the war in the most public way possible — by their labor, their words, their songs and their solemn parade of roses, lilacs and marching feet on the old planters’ Race Course.

After the dedication, the crowds gathered at the Race Course grandstand to hear some thirty speeches by Union officers, local Black ministers and abolitionist missionaries.

Picnics ensued around the grounds, and in the afternoon, a full brigade of Union infantry, including Colored Troops, marched in

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double column around the martyrs’ graves and held a drill on the infield of the Race Course. The war was over and Memorial Day had been founded by African-Americans in a ritual of remembrance and consecration.

Although contemporaneous accounts from the Charleston Daily Courier describe and document the 1865 ceremony that took place there and the event was one of the earliest-known observances similar to what we would now recognize as Memorial Day, whether it was truly the first such ceremony, and what influence (if any) it might have had on later observances, are still matters of contention. Professor Blight termed it “the first Memorial Day” because it predated most of the other contenders, but he noted he has no evidence that it led to General Logan’s call for a national holiday in 1868: “I’m much more interested in the meaning that’s being conveyed in that incredible ritual than who’s first,” he said.

View From Here ■■

By David Mark Greaves

W

hile the Congress, the committees, the special prosecutor and the Fourth Estate looks for the “smoking gun,” Donald Trump and those he has brought to power, who are acting as though they are all Russian agents, promise to wreak havoc on Black and Brown people every which way they can. The only wrinkle is that they wreak havoc on their most fervent believers as well. Unfortunately, it may take a family member having an accident and going bankrupt because of medical bills before they’ll see they’ve been had.

In the meanwhile, the Trump minions will have poisoned the air and water, unleashed microbes in the food supply, increased the collection of heavy metals in animals, fish and people, transferred hundreds of billions of dollars up to the mega-rich, and arrested tens of thousands of Black and Brown people, disrupting families for generations to come. And that’s just here in the States.

In Saudi Arabia, they made him feel so very important with all of the pomp and glitter they could muster to flatter this clownish and ignorant man elected President of the United States. And while he’s killing us slowly here at home, he’s extremely proud of the $110 billion arms sale to the Saudis, allowing this authoritarian, theocratic regime that has outlawed dissent to quicken its own killing.

I am sure he was thoroughly enjoying himself, but maybe not so much fun later in Israel when he tried to hold hands with Melania and she slapped his away. That’s the second time she’s avoided handholding with Trump. She’s given us her opinion of the man before, as in the CNN interview last year when she said, “…I have two boys at home, I have my young son and I have my husband.” Now she’s indicating that not only is he a child, but she agrees he’s an odious one at that. Melania had been so comfortable in New York with the president in Washington and now she’s stuck with him on Air Force One for nine days. It may be starting to get to her – as it would to anyone – but on the plus side, she could be surfing the Net and getting the idea that he doesn’t own her future, she owns his.

VOL. 21 NO. 21

The President’s Budget

First Lady Chirlane McCray

“In the midst of the opioid epidemic, President Trump promised that he would connect those struggling with addiction to the treatment that will help them recover their lives. Instead, he proposes to break that promise and devastate our families.

“President Trump›s budget pays for unsustainable tax breaks for millionaires while one in five Americans suffer from a lack of services for treatable diseases.

These brutal cuts to mental health care,

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which has never been adequately funded, will cause widespread pain, put the lives of people in recovery at risk and exacerbate root challenges in education, public safety, criminal justice and homelessness.

“Mental illness and substance abuse disorders are diseases that can be treated.

We must stand up for our friends, families and communities to fight this cruel proposal and protect health care for mental illness and substance abuse disorders.”

"Aghast" at the Budget

n response to the release of the Trump Administration’s full FY 2018 Budget, Congresswoman Gwen Moore (WI-04) released the following statement: “I am utterly aghast by the flagrant contempt for the welfare of working- and middle-class Americans exhibited in President Donald Trump’s full FY 2018 Budget. The outrageous funding cuts outlined in the president’s budget walk the line between ignorance and indifference while disregarding the needs of seniors, families and children with disabilities.

“While it is clear that our nation’s most vulnerable will bear the brunt of this vicious proposal, no one – regardless of ideology, socioeconomic background or political affiliation – will be immune to its devastating impact. With this budget, the president has shifted his war against the poor to a war against the people, aiming his sights on a series of bipartisan initiatives designed to support all Americans and improve the health and economic well-being of our nation.

“Our shared fight against cancer and life-threatening diseases will suffer in the face of billion-dollar cuts to the National Institutes of Health. Our collective efforts to support America’s rural and urban communities will be hindered as we gut infrastructure projects and eliminate Community Development and Service Block Grants.

And our common goal of creating new career opportunities for those who do not have the means to retire will erode as President Trump dismantles critical skills training programs for today’s modern economy.

“As a former welfare recipient, I simply cannot support such a misguided and cruel budget that targets Medicaid, Social Security Disability Insurance and those trying to escape the chains of poverty. But as Americans, we should all be alarmed by the scope of the damage that will undoubtedly result because of the president’s proposal.

I urge both my Democratic colleagues and those across the aisle to forcefully oppose this budget and put the concerns of the people before those of their party.”

I was e z i l a e tr “ I didn’ l now. i t n u 3 in Zone a plan.” e k a m I must

3 E N ZO

ATTAN H N A Alex M

Visit NYC.gov/knowyourzone or call 311 to find out what to do to prepare for hurricanes in NYC #knowyourzone

Trump Budget a Nightmare for America’s Most Vulnerable Proposed Cuts Reinforce Trend of Gutting Civil Rights Enforcement The NAACP President Trump’s budget proposal in every way possible seeks to cloak a shift of the nation’s resources away from America’s most vulnerable communities and toward unfair tax breaks for the wealthy and major corporations. His budget compounds its animosity toward vulnerable and communities of color by defunding civil rights enforcement.

Despite campaign promises to the contrary, President Trump’s budget provides tax cuts to individuals making over $1 million annually by cutting $1.85 trillion in a decade from ACA and Medicaid. These cuts could lead to loss of health care coverage for millions of individuals including the disabled, children and families, and the loss of subsidies for low-income individuals.

Additional cuts will impact low-income communities, the environment, women, immigrants and others. President Trump’s budget would also defund and cut at least 10 percent of key civil rights enforcement

positions across the federal government.

According to the Center for American Progress, cuts would slash 7 percent of the staff from the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, “despite a 75 percent increase in pending complaints between 2009 and 2015”. Trump’s budget would not only cut 249 full-time positions at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), but would also eliminate the Legal Services Corporation, whose programs served over 2 million low-income individuals with legal representation last year.

“Great nations are known by how they care for the old and the vulnerable, not by how much they can take away from them to give to their wealthy friends,” said NAACP Chairman Leon W. Russell. “I am not sure what is more insidious – regurgitating the sham of old trickle-down theories of economics, or purposely refusing to adequately fund civil rights positions necessary to protect individuals from voter suppression, job discrimination or police brutality,” he added.

Trump Dumps Arts From Variety: President Donald Trump’s budget for the fiscal year 2018 calls for the eventual elimination of funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, a proposal that was expected and will likely lead to a furious round of lobbying to save the agency this summer.

The budget proposal calls for providing $29 million in funding “to conduct an orderly closeout of the agency beginning in fiscal year 2018.” That is just a fraction of the estimated $158 million outlay for the NEA this year.

Trump’s budget also calls for the elimination of funding for the NEA’s sister agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Also on the chopping block is funding for public TV and radio stations via the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The CPB received an advanced appropriation for its 2018 fiscal year but the White House budget calls for cancelling much of its $445 million in funding. It requests just $30 million to conduct “an orderly closeout” of CPB funding.

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WHAT’S GOING ON ■■

By Victoria Horsford

NEW YORK It is hard to keep up with the NYC political landscape. NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio’s reelection prospects look good. His GOP opposition is not dramatic nor compelling.

There is Paul Massey, former real estate mogul whom, to his credit, is not a Trumpeteer, is a good fundraiser who met earlier this week with local business people of color to discuss their concerns about the city’s fortunes beyond 2017. NYC Councilwoman Nicole Malliofakis, a Cuban/GreekAmerican whose positions on immigration is somewhere to the far right of Trump’s.

She has been endorsed by the Conservative Party. The former NY Jets player, now a Harlem clergyman Michel Faulkner was the first Republican to announce his run for mayor and the first to drop out of that race.

He plans to run against Scott Stringer, NYC Comptroller.

Disgraced former NYS Democrat Senator Hiram Monserrate, convicted felon, is considering a run for the NYC Council in Queens.

Whole Foods Harlem, part of the minimall at 100 West 125th Street, announced its opening date for July 21.

BLACK ENTERPRISE Effective January 1, 2017, Radio One, Inc. changed its name to Urban One, Inc. Companies under the Radio One umbrella which includes Radio One, TV One and Interactive One. Radio One, Inc. was founded by media mogul Cathy Hughes, whose son, Alfred Liggins, is Corporate President/CEO. Moreover, Urban One’s Division, iOne Digital, formerly known as Interactive One, which owns Hello Beautiful, News One, Global Grind and new website Cassiuslife. com, recently acquired Moguldom Media websites Bossip.com, Hiphopwired.com and MadameNoire.com. iOne Digital is the largest Black-targeted digital company. And Urban One should be the nation’s largest Black-owned media company. [Visit www. urban1.com] The Black-owned WT Stevens Construction company is one of four contractors who will replace 18,000 contaminated water pipes in Flint, Michigan by 2019.

Rhonda Grayer, VP of Stevens Construction,

an insider role during Macron’s Presidency.

The Brooklyn Academy of Music presents DanceAfrica 2017, the largest festival of its kind in the United States, a celebration of art across many disciplines - dance, music, film, visual arts - which draws inspiration from African culture and its Diaspora.

DanceAfrica runs from May 26 -29. [Visit bam.org/dance/2017/danceafrica] HARLEM: The Mt. Morris Park Community Improvement Association will host its annual House Tour on June 11 from 11 am - 4 pm. The itinerary includes 11 locations, from 119th Street to 123rd Street, from Fifth to Seventh Avenues, including St. Martin’s Episcopal Church and Paris Blues.

MMPCIA Tour 2017 is billed LIVING LEGACY because many of the house hosts are members of families who have owned homes in this district for a few generations.

House tour hosts include: Patricia Eaton, Grace Williams, Ruthann Richert, Jennie Ned, Donald Marquez, Daneen and Pascal Lewis, Deborah Fairfax Clark, Carolyn Adams and Conrad Neblett. The tour is a fleeting adventure into Harlem history and culture and the way we are! [Visit mmpcia.org, mmpciahousetour.com or call 212.369.4241]

SWEET CHARITY

EDUCATION UPDATES The Class of 2017. Congrats to: Stefan K. Edmiston, who graduated from Allegheny College; Satchel Lee, from the NYU Tisch School; Nkechinyere Chidi-Ogbolu, 18, who graduated magna cum laude from Howard University with a BS in chemical engineering. She begins doctoral studies in biomedical engineering at the University of California at Davis while putting the final touches on her memoir about life as a student. Victoria Pannell, HS Sr. and Harlem Community Board 10 member, is en route to Duke University.

ensemble cast is mostly Black and white with one Latino, whose character is central to the narrative. He is blamed for everything from NAFTA to union scabbing when, in fact, he was a man whom the American Dream kept eluding. SWEAT explains why so many Americans voted for Trump last year, people who have already experienced voters’ remorse. Nottage touches on that social tsunami that has afflicted American culture this century which few people understand.

It is not the Latino, the Muslim, the Asian IT geeks who are taking “our jobs”. It is automation and greater profits and soon artificial intelligence. SWEAT is powerful!

FINE ART: An untitled Jean-Michel Basquiat painting executed in 1982 of a skull, sells for $110 million at a Sotheby’s Auction. That sales price puts the late African-American fine artist in a league with Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon and Andy Warhol.

Associated Press editor Amanda Barrett,

VOL. 21 NO. 21

says that Stevens is hiring ex-offenders and young people on the project. Her lawyer and husband, Jeff Grayer, is project manager. A federal judge approved a $97 million settlement for the Flint water crisis which began in 2014.

49, has been promoted to Nerve Center Director, leading the NY hub of the AP global newsroom. Barrett joined AP in 2007.

Her previous journalist creds include NY Newsday and manager of NYNewsday.com and the amNY.com websites, the Orlando Sentinel and the Roanoke Times in Virginia.

Senegalese-born Sibeth Ndiaye, 37, is in

The Apollo Theater will host its 2017 Spring Gala on June 12 honoring Verizon with its Corporate Award and Film/ TV Producer-Director Stan Lathan with its

ARTS/CULTURE/MEDIA THEATER: The Lynn Nottage drama, SWEAT, has earned her a second Pulitzer Prize and is a 2017 Tony nominee. Story is set in Reading, Pennsylvania, a single employer town, between 2000 and 2008, at the local watering hole. It was a time when things started to fall apart at the workhouse.

Employers wanted larger profit margins and smaller paychecks or unemployment for noncompliant workers. Black and white employees/friends who lived harmoniously for decades watched race divisions and disorder emerge. As the order of their mundane lives dissolved, most characters visited the darker sides of themselves with drug and alcohol abuse, and bullying. The 9-member

France’s new President Emmanuel Macron’s inner circle. While studying at the Sorbonne University, Sibeth moved in the right political circles and was named to key political press roles. A major public relations presence during the Macron campaign season, she controlled access to him and helped manage his image. She was ranked 9th of the top 15 people in Macron’s campaign and became a French citizen last year. She expects to have

Trailblazer Award. The evening unfolds at two locations: the Apollo Theater for the Awards Presentation and Concert hosted

by Cedric “The Entertainer”, and will be followed by the Dinner and Dancing Gala Tent on the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Building Plaza. Spring Gala chairs are Robert K. Kraft, Laura and Richard D. Parsons, Ronald Perelman and Anna Chapman, and Karen and Charles Phillips.

Proceeds from the Benefit Gala will support the Apollo Theater’s education and arts programs. [Visit apollotheater.org] A Harlem-based media consultant, Victoria Horsford can be contacted at Victoria.horsford@gmail.com.

Trump Budget Targets Black, Brown and Low-Income Students

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AQE Calls on New York’s Congressional Delegation to Unite and Reject Trump-DeVos Agenda

LBANY, NY (May 23, 2017) — Donald Trump’s federal budget proposal announced Tuesday makes deep cuts in federal funding to public schools as part of his agenda to privatize public education through expansions of charter schools and school voucher programs. The proposed budget for the Department of Education cuts 13 percent of existing funding, or $9 billion, eliminates over 20 programs including beforeand after-school programs, summer programs, community schools and college aid to low-income students.

Cuts to these vital programs will have a disproportionate impact on Black and Brown students, low-income students and English Language learners.

Other cuts include programs for

teacher training and class size reduction, arts education, international education programs and many others.

Trump proposes instead to spend an additional $1.4 billion on privatization including expanding charter schools and vouchers for private and religious schools. Even his proposal to increase Title I funding is actually an effort to redirect dollars away from the neediest public schools to affluent neighborhoods and privately run charter schools, and is a move towards private school vouchers.

His budget is the first step toward his shared agenda with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to defund and ultimately force the privatization of our nation’s public education system.

“Trump’s proposed cuts to federal education funding are a clear threat to our public education

system,” said Zakiyah Ansari, Advocacy Director, Alliance for Quality Education. “Over 95 percent of New York City children attend public schools, and if these cuts are enacted they will result in larger class sizes, fewer after-school programs and a reduction in art classes for our children. The TrumpDeVos budget plan would exacerbate racial and economic injustices in education through the provision of educational opportunities to some, and their denial to others. We need Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and all members of the New York Congressional Delegation to stand strong to protect our most vulnerable children. New York’s nine Republican members of Congress must break ranks with their party leader to reject this proposal.”

VOL. 21 NO. 21

Opposing Visions for the District ■■

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By Akosua K. Albritton

rooklyn Community Board No. 9 (CB9) held its general meeting on Tuesday, May 23, 2017 at MS 61.

It commenced at approximately 7 PM in the middle school’s auditorium and was well-attended. This made the third community board meeting this reporter attended in May. CB9 distinguished itself by its agenda order. It began with a brief introduction of the action items that would be voted on later. Next, reports from elected officials or their representatives were given. This was followed by scheduled comments and notices given by the public. Committee reports and the action items close the meeting. This order may leave a people-driven house impression in some people’s minds. (NOTE: Some names of speakers are missing due to the paper agenda running out.)

Brooklyn Borough Hall Policy Director

Ryan Lynch described the NYPD Shield training. This program trains staff of large performance venues how to effectively respond in the event of a mass assault or lone aggressor.

St. Senator Jesse Hamilton’s representative explained Solarize Crown Heights which installs solar panels on residences’ roofs for free. Solar panel use results in reducing carbon dioxide emissions, lowers consumer electricity charges, and gives a tax abatement. The Crown Heights Central Jewish Community Council has scheduled an informational meeting for Tues., June 20, 2017 regarding Solarize Crown Heights.

Joshua Board for Assembly member Robert Mosley explained Governor Cuomo’s Vital Brooklyn, a $1.4 billion initiative that targets Central Brooklyn’s economy. It will “invest in resiliency and affordable housing, as well as job creation, youth development and community violence prevention”. NYS Assembly member Diana Richardson’s staff

member advised the body about the June 1, 2017 meeting at PS 375 to develop a safety plan for the upcoming J’Ouvert Morning Parade. This meeting is mired by last year’s fatal shooting of three people at the time of this event. Kings County Hospital’s Dr. Daisy Grueso voiced the concern of 12 physicians about patient outcomes within the Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology when physician reduction to two during the night and weekends goes into effect on August 1, 2017. Her written statement that was given to this reporter included, “We hereby put Kings County Hospital and H+H on notice that if negative patient outcomes occur, the responsibility for such outcomes sits squarely on the shoulders of Kings County Hospital and the H+H Administration”.

Community resident and organizer Alicia Boyd presented her concerns and resistance to the upzoning of the community district through the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing Program (MIH). Boyd noted the consistent opposing views held by community residents vis-a-vis Mayor de Blasio: The Bedford

Armory, one city block that every politician in our community…doesn’t support...is still moving forward. Every time this community board has said “No” to something, de Blasio has simply ignored it.

The committee reports followed this section. The two action items were subsequent.

The community board unanimously voted in favor of the renewal of the wine, beer and cider license for the La Nueva Estrella Del Castillo Restaurant at 948 Nostrand Avenue, and voted (unanimously) for the street co-naming at the corner of Lefferts Avenue and Kingston Avenue. The co-name is Barbara “Cookie” Simmons Way. Ms. Simmons was a longtime resident and activist.

The last item of business was the recognition of Kyra-Lee Harry, who became a community board member at age 15. She served on the Youth and Education Committee for three years. Ms. Harry is leaving the community board at age 18 to attend New York University to study Engineering Management. The other community board members gifted her with a bouquet of flowers and a card.

The Brooklyn Hospital Center Community Advisory Board (CAB) Elects New Chair (Brooklyn, NY) – Dr. Kim Best is the new chair of The Brooklyn Hospital Center’s Community Advisory Board (CAB), hospital officials announced.

Dr. Best is a longtime advocate for the community who was elected on April 18th during the annual CAB meeting held at the hospital campus, 121 DeKalb Avenue. Dr. Best works for the city’s Sanitation Department and has a PH.D. in Philosophy.

Mr. Terrinoni gave a brief overview of the latest developments at TBHC, saying he was confident the current operating strategy would

allow the borough’s oldest hospital to provide quality care well into the future.

“I look forward to working with the new CAB members to explore ways on how best we can deliver additional quality health care services to the community,” Terrinoni said.

In addition to CAB Chair Dr. Best, new elected officers included: Vice Chair Dr. Loretta Patton–Greenidge and Recording Secretary Deborah Benson.

Julian Macrone, Program and Development Manager for the Fort Greene Park Conservatory, was also elected as a new CAB member.

TBHC President & CEO Gary Terrinoni and new CAB Chair Dr. Kim Best at annual meeting. Photo: TBHC

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OUR TIME PRESS May 25 – 31, 2017

From These Roots

“Reunion” to Reaffirmation: A Brooklyn Family Journeys to Alabama to Rediscover “Lost Values” … and finds more

C

ommunity residents Taharka Robinson and Bruce Green of the Brooklyn Anti-Violence Coalition organized “The Rediscovering Lost Value Tour” in an effort to -- as they told us -- “enhance awareness of milestones in African-American history.” Traveling with them on this learning experience for all time were family members of all ages. We bring to you this idea because it puts a spin on the notion of getaway.

Following are comments from Mr. Robinson and some of his elementary and middle school nieces and nephews who learned, touched and experienced the struggle to this unique family gathering.

are attributed to being called ‘B’s and Hoes’, victims of sex trafficking and prostitution.

“52 years ago, our people rarely had communication and organized by the thousands.

Today, we have computers, social media, cell phones, all types of access to the media and we can’t get the groups of people needed together on issues that affect our community and in our society ‘Rediscovering Lost Values’.

“We took a journey back to ‘Redirect our Families, Restructure and Rebuild our Communities, to Stop the Self-Hate and Denigration of our women’.

"In order for us to move forward, we must ‘Rediscover Our Lost Values’.”

Rev. Robinson

Shavonnie Adams, 14, Benjamin Banneker H.S.

“52 years ago, we fought for Voting Rights and acquired them. Now we are fighting, stabbing and shooting each other over drugs, money, jewelry and cell phones.

“Our women were dignified ‘fixtures of the Civil Rights Movement’. Now they

Going on this trip, I learned more about African-American history than I could have learned in my United States History textbook.

My eyes and mind have opened up about what my ancestors went through. Before, I

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saw slavery and racism as something in the past and thought it didn’t affect me today.

However, after this trip I am able to see that racism clearly still exists and that it wasn’t too long ago that “Bloody Sunday” and “Turn around Tuesday” happened, and it wasn’t too long ago that Emmett Till was beat to death for a false claim that a white woman made.

It wasn’t too long ago that Black people were beat, lynched and harassed for wanting equality. I see the connection of how those experiences continue to affect Black people today. I learned more about African-American history than I could have learned in my United States History textbook.

Christopher Adams, 12, EAGLE Academy for Young Men Going on the Civil Rights trip I felt a rush of anger run through my body after hearing that lynching was a family experience and event.

I also felt empowered because of the fact that we have been slaves, experienced segregation and we still found a way to vote, get great education and decent job opportunities. I also feel embarrassed because of the bad things that happened to people of color and how we were worked to death, pushed around and don’t forget harsh punishments. Punishments like getting torn apart by horses, bitten by dogs, lynched, burned to death and put in jail for the simplest things that the white man could get

The graves of slaves. Our guide explained that the slave owners must have buried these slaves because most slaves were buried behind the slave quarters. away with, or for things we didn’t even do!

This trip has also made me optimistic because it has allowed me to endure more knowledge to share with my peers and teachers.

Nia Robinson, 13, St. Marks Christian Academy My experience was tremendous. The different exhibits were brutal and not even digestible. The exhibits of lynching that I saw at the Rosa Parks Museum and the Equal Justice Initiative were so mortifying that I cannot even speak or fathom how any person could treat people in such an inhuman manner. To think that this is how people used to treat my ancestors.

Skye Matthews, 14, STAR Early College

In front of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery.

Picture of the family on the porch of the house where Dr. King was raised in Atlanta.

My experience in Alabama helped to gain a clearer understanding of African-American history. The Transatlantic Slave Trade, slavery, the Civil War and Jim Crow occurred in Alabama and in this country and we do not learn about this every aspect in school. There were 363 documented lynchings in Alabama alone. I think it is hateful & ridiculous that white families thought of lynchings as a family activity, it is unbelievable that white children were even excused from school to watch lynchings. Every young person should experience this “Rediscovering Lost Values” trip. It was inspirational.

(Tell us your family experience in 700 words or less for placement consideration in our occasional From These Roots column.

Send images and text with contact information to: roots@ourtimepress.com.)

Seydou, 13, MS 447

Members of the Victory Tour

e boarded the plane and I was frightened as to what i would experience based on the history of the segregated state of Alabama. Our historic journey gave us first hand knowledge far beyond what we could ever get in text books.

On the first day we set out to have an overview of Montgomery Alabama history and the civil rights acts and movements. We saw various monuments and signs representing the building blocks of the civil rights movement. Soon we went back to the hotel so we could make our way to the museum. We explored various art exhibits. and civil war memorials. One of the artwork done by a young child was a sunset which was a reflective piece about the sun setting on the plantation. We then left for selma. A long ride but well worth for the trek. We visited the Voting Rights Museum which gave insight on the Selma march which was located by the historic Pettus bridge. With our tour guide we explored the museum where we heard about the various foot soldiers and the events that went down throughout the march. Conversing about the events that went down on the children’s crusade of 1963.

1. The Adams FamilyLakisha, Shavonnie and Chris 2. Rev. Damon Cabbagestalk 3. Karen Cherry 4. District Leader Darma Diaz 5. Rev. Vivian Donaldson 6. Seydou Diao 7. Serigne Diao 8. Bruce Green 9. Shelby Hudson 10. Evangelist Selma Jackson 11. Chris McLaurin 12. Garvin and Lucita Nixon, Parents of Chanel Petro Nixon.

13. Honorable Annette M. Robinson 14. Robinson Family: Rev. Taharka, Lady Bianca, Nia And Skye.

W

Inside the historic First Baptist Church in Selma, Alabama which served as meeting place for the Dallas County Voters League, and where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph Abernathy and many SCLC leaders spoke to young people. The church was used by leaders to plan the Selma to Montgomery March for voting rights.

On day two we traveled to Alabama State college and Rosa Parks museum to learn the legacy of the bus boycott and rosa parks stand to not get up on the bus. It was a very inspiring experience to be apart of. Including replica shirts from various lynchings. That was quite haunting because you know that young men as young as me were hung from trees. It was hard to be in the same room just looking at all the stuff that has happened in

history. We soon visited the water fountain where slaves were sold and bought. We then traveled to Alabama state university to explore where the bus boycott leaflets were organized and printed.

When we traveled back to Atlanta we visited Martin luther king’s original house and also the museum. It was very inspiring to see where he lived and all that he had to go through to help us gain our civil rights.

VOL. 21 NO. 21

7

OUR TIME PRESS May 25 – 31, 2017

46th Annual International African Arts Festival’s Libation on June 4th

T

he 46th Annual International African Arts Festival (IAAFestival) will host its annual opening ceremony and celebration entitled: LIBATION - A Tribute to Ancient and Modern Ghana. It will take place on Sunday, June 4th from 4-10PM at the festival’s home base – Restoration Plaza. Featured artists will include: Blitz “the Ambassador” (Ghana), Asase Yaa Cultural Arts Foundation, Milagro: A Santana Tribute Band, and the Hearts of Steel, a pan orchestra.

DJ music will be provided by Pure Magic.

There will also be an awards presentation to outstanding members of the IAAFestival community.

The theme for the 46th Annual IAAFestival itself, which takes place from Saturday, July 1st thru Tuesday, July 4th, is LONGER (pronounced longeh) from the Douala people of the Cameroon, meaning “Greatness”.

The act of Libation is to pay tribute to our ancient, recent and not-so-recent ancestors upon whose shoulders we stand, our waymakers. This year’s Libation focus on ancient Ghana is to remind us of its contributions as one of the world’s great civilizations that was based in West Africa from 300 CE – 1240.

It was the first of the 3 famous West African civilizations along with Mali & Songhay.

The fall and disintegration of these awesome empires led to the enslavement of African people, and later, colonization of the continent.

And homage will be paid to modern Ghana under the dynamic Pan-African leadership of

Osageyfo Kwame Nkrumah for its sacrifice, contribution and role in the liberation of the African continent of colonialism, from which Nkrumah said “...[He] knew no peace.”

Kwame Nkrumah led Ghana to independence in 1957, studied at Lincoln University in the US in the late 1930s thru the mid-1940s, and lived in Harlem, of which he said: “I felt immediately at home … and sometimes found it difficult to believe that this was not Accra.” A deep thinker, prolific writer and master organizer, Nkrumah said Ghana’s independence was meaningless if the rest of the African continent was not free. Thus, he gave the other African anticolonial and liberation struggles a base of operation in Ghana, to the chagrin of the United States Government and other colonial powers who would later overthrow his government (1966) while he was on a peace mission for Vietnam. He was a true Pan-Africanist dedicated to African Unity. He worked with African-American leaders like W. E. B. DuBois, Martin Luther King, Jr. as well as Malcolm X. The Libation extravaganza on June 4th takes place at 1368 Fulton Street at New York Avenue, Brooklyn, NY in the Restoration complex. For tickets and other information visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/libation2017-tribute-to-ancient-modern-ghana-f-blitzthe-ambassador-asase-yaa-african-americantickets-33852171757 and www.iaafestival. org, or contact the office by e-mail at info@ iaafestival.org or call 718-638-6700.

• Register to participate in the world’s first social justice / Hip-Hop themed parade on Saturday afternoon, August 12th in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn!

• Promote your art, business, cause or organization by mobilizing your resources to showcase your brand along the more than mile long parade route!

• Friendly competition, for prizes in audio, visual and justice categories, among the registered groups.

For more information: Email: uhhp4socialjustice@gmail.com Phone: 718 635-1801 Facebook: Universal Hip Hop Parade for Social Justice Website: uhhparade.org

Join Me for Central Brooklyn Arts & Culture Weekend!

Instagram: @theuhhp

Sunday June 10-11

Dear Friends: I invite you on Saturday, June 10th and Sunday, June 11th for a weekend of arts, culture, food, and fun at the second annual Central Brooklyn Arts & Culture Weekend. This block party-style celebrates the extraordinary creativity and spirit of Brooklynites whose trailblazers whose diverse work excites our imagination and brings us closer together as One Brooklyn. We are excited to engage our cultural institutions — such as the Brooklyn Aquarium, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Public Library, Jewish Children’s Museum, and Prospect Park Zoo — in this true community effort.

We will start the weekend on Saturday, June 10th, with our Movie Night Under the Stars, held outdoors behind the Brooklyn Museum.

The evening will begin at 6:00 PM with activities including balloon art, face painting, puppet making, and refreshments. On Sunday, June 11th, in partnership with my colleagues State Senator Jesse Hamilton, City Council Member Laurie Cumbo, and district leaders Geoffrey Davis and Shirley Patterson, we will host the festival portion of the weekend along the Eastern Parkway corridor that stretches from Flatbush Avenue and Grand Army Plaza to Washington Avenue. We are grateful for our sponsors, without whom this celebration would not be possible, notably Affinity Health Plan, AlphaCare, Broadway Stages, Emblem Health, Fidelis Care, HBO, Investors Bank and NYC & Company Foundation.

Our festival features fun activities for the entire family! The world-famous Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Arch in Grand Army Plaza will be the site of a day-long dance party with a high-energy lineup of DJ entertainment. The Children’s Playground in Dr. Ronald McNair Park will be home to a near-endless lineup of interactive activities, including bouncy houses, ball pits, ice cream social, martial arts and skateboard

Borough President Eric Adams demonstrations, a gaming truck for kids of all ages, and much, much more! Three different stages in front of our cultural institutions will showcase diverse performances of music and dance. Local vendors sited along Eastern Parkway will offer a tasty array of cuisines as well as original art and handcrafts.

Finally, I am excited to host a “Welcome Back to Brooklyn” ceremony that will bestow engraved pavers along the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s famed Celebrity Path, as well as “keys to Brooklyn,” to two world-famous sons of our borough: multi-platinum hip-hop star Fabolous and groundbreaking abstract artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Honoring local luminaries is one of the great privileges we have as Brooklynites, deepening our pride in the Brooklyn that we love and share.

Join me and the communities of One Brooklyn as we enjoy the Central Brooklyn Arts & Culture Weekend!

Sincerely, Eric L. Adams

8

OUR TIME PRESS May 25 – 31, 2017

VOL. 21 NO. 21

A Night of Honors …

■■ By Priscilla Mensah & Bernice Elizabeth Green

I

t was a night of honors and more at last Friday’s fundraiser for the Magnolia Tree Earth Center of Bedford Stuyvesant, as the conjoined spirits of two great women -- Hattie Carthan, founder of the Center, and Marcia Goldman, its president emeritus – moved through the event, from idea to planning to development.

The selection of the honorees was not a challenging task. The names of education activists Safiya Bandele and Evelyn Castro easily came to mind, thanks to administrative assistant Andrea Brathwaite. The Magnolia Board quickly approved her recommendations..

There was no debate on who should keynote. David Greaves, Magnolia Board chair, and Advisory Board member Bernice Green determined it should be Al Vann – a member (then the youngest) of the famed Hattie’s Angels game-changers.

During planning sessions, the Board, in accordance with Ms. Carthan’s expressed grassroots missions for the Center (that it be a site for neighborhood children and families to learn about ecology, environment, the natural sciences and all that relates to them) worked to incorporate a child into the program. Andrea recalled that the Chair’s granddaughter,

Chelsea Williams, 10, is a crafter, and had inherited fabrics from the the late Marcia Goldman’s extensive bounty. Miss Williams, mentored by artist/art educator Barry L. Mason in his Mt. Vernon studio, designed the award and layout. The final product comprised Ms. Goldman's quiltwork patches; and fallen leaves from the Magnolia Grandiflora so loved

by Ms. Carthan. The spirit of Africa was incorporated in the framed award with adinkra symbols stitched on fabric scraps. Authentic Egyptian bark substituted for background matting.

Mr. Vann’s moving keynote held the audience spellbound as he recalled the broadstrokes of New York City’s 1960-1970s civil and human rights struggles – a period where extraordinary ideas followed by extraordinary action gave rise to such Black institutions as Hattie Carthan’s Magnolia Tree Earth Center.

Known -- like his colleague the Hon. Annette Robinson who also attended the event – as an orator who needs no script nor notes, Mr. Vann made the astute connection between Ms. Carthan’s majesty and the will of Malcolm X, whose birthday anniversary was that day.

“If you want to measure who you are, measure against X,” stated Vann to the audience. “[Malcolm X] told us to stand up. You can’t be ridden if you are standing up.”

The statesman led all in attendance in a “Happy Birthday” shout-out to Malcolm. He

Marcia Goldman

Hattie Carthan

lauded the audience for supporting Magnolia’s fundraising effort and applauded the Magnolia Board for its efforts in keeping alive the legacy of his mentor, Mrs. Carthan. He also exhibited the hum grace he often ascribes to Ms. Carthan and Ms. Goldman, a former close friend, by thanking Mr. Greaves and Ms. Green in a distinct way: “There is a time to be a mover and there is time to move on,” but “the respect that I have for David and Bernice is so profound that it was hard for me to say no.”

It was an evening of giving in the spirit of the times that shaped the need for a place such as Magnolia Tree Earth Center. Quietly, out

of view, at the Silent Auction table, a friend of Ms. Goldman, Mr. Louis McG. Walker, won, at bid, several artworks and one of Ms. Goldman’s handmade quilts donated by her brother, Phil Goldman.

Vanika Mock won a Goldman original king-size plus quilt with accompanying pillow.

Also, the artist and educator Dr. Olivia Cousins, Ph.D, assisted tremendously at the Silent Auction table and then bid and won several Goldman artwork pieces, plus Ms. Green’s copy of the 1969 edition of Ebony with a cover story on Betty Shabazz and Malcolm X.

Magnolia Hosts Fundraiser at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple ■■

By Claudette J. Spence

May 24, 2017 “She raised our consciousness about humanity and responsibility to the planet,” said elder statesman Al Vann as he spoke to the people gathered to celebrate the life and legacy of environmentalist Hattie Carthan.

The occasion was a fundraiser for the center Ms. Carthan (1901 – 1984) founded 45 years ago – Magnolia Tree Earth Center of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Inc. The celebration took place on May 19, 2017 at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple, and was a warm and hospitable evening for old and new friends of Magnolia. People came for various reasons. Some grew up under the influence of Hattie Carthan and wanted to share their memories of her. Some came out to support the recipients of the awards

– Professor Safiya Bandele and Dr. Evelyn Castro. Others came just to support a good cause.

Bandele received the center’s Lifetime Achievement Award and Castro received the Educational Leadership Award.

Bandele is retired from a professorship at Medgar Evers College, City University of New York (CUNY), and also as director of the college’s Center for Women’s Development. She served as an “exceptional role model for students on campus and a tireless advocate for women everywhere,” said the college’s President William L. Pollard at the time of Professor Bandele’s retirement in 2011. She served the college for 34 years. A lead project of her continued activism is the creation and performance of pieces on the late Ida B. Wells-Barnett: educator, lynching abolitionist, journalist

Photo: Joy Grey

Prof. Safiya Bandele with her Lifetime Achievement Award

Photo: Joy Grey

Mr. L. Walker and Magnolia volunteer Marva hold one of two quilts made by Marcia Goldman and donated by the estate for the Silent Auction.

and women’s advocate. And she swims as a new hobby.

Castro is the Dean of Professional & Community Development, Medgar Evers College, CUNY. Her success in prekindergarten through high school public education is a tremendous benefit to the students in New York City. She has extensive experience in the City University of New York, and she has been described by many as an “inexhaustible hands-on and visionary leader.” Dr. Castro received the Educational Leadership Award.

On accepting their award, Bandele and Castro both made reference to their mother and father, respectively, and the influence each parent had on their work.

Vann, in his keynote talk, recalled Bandele from her teenage years and the activism and passion she lived in the upliftment work for the African community. He expressed admiration for the work Castro does to enhance the formal education and training for the African community. Vann also told of his appreciation for the life and

legacy of Malcolm X, whose birthday is May 19. “Malcolm,” he said, “influenced my life. He taught us to stand up. They can’t ride you if you are standing up.”

Eating and dancing together, oneon-one conversations kept us connected affirming our ancestors and our leaders, and artists contributed works for the very successful silent action. Those gathered had fun in the pursuit of living Magnolia Tree Earth Center’s mission of being urban America’s leader in creating community awareness of ecological, horticultural and environmental concerns, and to introduce children who live in the inner city to careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics(STEM).

Claudette J. Spence aka Claudette Joy is a member of the Board of Directors of Magnolia Tree Earth Center of BedfordStuyvesant, Inc. and is the director of CSolutions FB: @changeyourwords43 https://csolutionsinfini.wixsite.com/ sustainablejoy

VOL. 21 NO. 21

9

OUR TIME PRESS May 25 – 31, 2017

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Visit us on the web and find the issues you missed at: www.ourtimepress.com

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OUR TIME PRESS May 25 – 31, 2017

NEW BUSINESS FORMATIONS Notice of formation of PROGRESS THROUGH PROCESS LIFE COACHING, LLC, a Limited Liability Company (LLC).

Certificate of registration filed with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 5/16/2017.

NY office location: Kings County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to the LLC at 671 Monroe Street, Brooklyn, New York 11221.

Purpose all lawful activities.

Notice of formation of BRANKER & BRANKER LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the Sect’y of State of NY (SSNY) on 3/31/2016. Office location, County of Kings.

SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 125 S. Oxford St., Brooklyn NY 11217. Purpose: any lawful act.

LEGAL NOTICES PROBATE CITATION File No. 20151271 SURROGATE’S COURT - KINGS COUNTY CITATION THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, by the Grace of God Free and Independent TO: unknown persons whose names or parts of whose names, and whose place or places of residence are unknown and cannot after due diligent inquiry, be ascertained, distributees heirs at law and next of kin of said Millicent Brown A/K/A Millicent Viola Brown and if any of the said distributees, heirs at law or next of kin of deceased, be dead, their legal representatives, their husbands or wives, if any, distributees and successors in interest whose names and or places of residence and post office addresses are unknown. A petition having been duly filed by Joseph Scantlebury, who is domiciled at 3829 Cullingworth Rd., Burtonville, MD 20866.

YOU ARE HEREBY CITED TO SHOW CAUSE before the Surrogate’s Court, KINGS County, at 2 JOHN STREET, ROOM 319, BROOKLYN, New York, on July 11, 2017 at 9.30 o’clock in the fore noon of that day, why a decree should not be made in the estate of Millicent Brown A/K/A Millicent Viola Brown lately domiciled at 984 Lincoln Place, admitting to probate a Will dated January 5, 2010, a copy of which is attached, as the Will of Millicent Brown A/K/A Millicent Viola Brown deceased, relating to real and personal property, and directing that Letters of Testamentary issue to: Joseph Scantlebury.

Dated, Attested and Sealed, May 19, 2017 HON. Margarita Lopez Torres, Surrogate and Doreen A. Quinn, Chief Clerk Attorney

Notice of Formation of MIYO’s ENTERPRISES LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/17/2017. Office location: Kings County.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to United States Corporation Agents Service Inc., 7014 13th Avenue, Suite 202, Brooklyn, NY 11228 Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of Ackee Jamaican Grill, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on11/28/2017. Office location: Kings County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to United States Corporation Agents Service Inc., 7014 13th Avenue, suite 202, Brooklyn, NY 11228 Purpose: Any lawful activity. for Petitioner Sonja M. Tanksley Telephone Number 914-479-5804 Address of Attorney 377 Ashford Avenue, Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522 NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF KINGS U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS TRUSTEE OF OWS REMIC TRUST 2015-1, Plaintiff, Against Index No.: 509325/14 CARLOS LIRIANO, JASSON LIRIANO, ET AL., Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale, duly entered in the Kings County Clerk’s Office on 4/6/2017, I, the undersigned Referee, will sell at public auction at Room 224 of Kings County Supreme Court, 360 Adams Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201 on 6/29/2017 at 2:30 pm, premises known as 905 Belmont Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11208 and described as follows: ALL that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Brooklyn, County of Kings, City and State of New York and designated on the tax maps of the Kings County Treasurer as Block 4228 and Lot 40. The approximate amount of the current Judgment lien is $506,616.14 plus interest and costs. The premises will be sold subject to provisions of the aforesaid Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale; Index # 509325/14. Dominic J. Famulari, Esq., Referee. STIENE & ASSOCIATES, P.C. (Attorneys for Plaintiff), 167 Main Street, Northport, NY 11768 Dated: 4/12/2017 File Number: 201401018 SLC NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC AUCTION

VOL. 21 NO. 21

SE7EN IMAGES, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 4/11/2017 Office: Kings County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, c/o United States Corporation Agents, Inc. Suite 202, Brooklyn NY 11228.

Purpose: to engage in any and all business activities Notice of Formation of LOPEZ DECORATING LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/13/17. Office location: Kings County.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207, regd. agent upon whom and at which process may be served. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Zombies of Flat Bush, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 4/10/2017 Office: Kings County. SSNY designated as Supreme Court of New York, Kings County.

SRMOF II 2012-1 TRUST, U.S. BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS TRUSTEE, Plaintiff, -against- CLEO CHARLES-PHILLIPS; ROBERT PHILLIPS; CITY OF NEW YORK DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PARKING VIOLATIONS BUREAU; CITY OF NEW YORK TRANSIT AUTHORITY TRANSIT ADJUDICATION BUREAU; NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION & FINANCE; SOPHIA JOHNSON, Index No. 2713/2013. Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly dated, February 21, 2017 and entered with the Kings County Clerk on April 6, 2017, Gregory Laspina, Esq., the Appointed Referee, will sell the premises known as 553 Lenox Road, Brooklyn, New York 11203 at public auction at Kings County Supreme Court, 360 Adams Street, Room 224, Brooklyn, New York 11201, on June 15, 2017 at 2:30 P.M. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Brooklyn, County of Kings and State of New York known as Block: 4845; Lot: 28 will be sold subject to the provisions of filed Judgment, Index No. 2713/2013. The approximate amount of judgment is $1,047,226.32 plus interest and costs. FRIEDMAN VARTOLO, LLP 85 Broad Street, Suite 501, New York, New York 10004, Attorneys for Plaintiff.

File No. 2017-1090 CITATION SURROGATE’S COURT, KINGS COUNTY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, By the Grace of God Free and Independent TO: any and all unknown

agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 736A Flat Bush Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11226. Purpose: to engage in any and all business activities permitted under the laws of the State of New York.

NATALISHVILI LAW FIRM PLLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 3/9/2017 Office: Kings County. SSNY designated as agent of the PLLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 1815 Avenue U, Brooklyn 11229. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Hustlers and Empires Productions, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 3/27/2017 Office: Kings County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 171 Clermont Avenue, # 3I Brooklyn 11205.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose. persons whose names or parts of whose names, and whose place or places of residence are unknown, and cannot, after diligent inquiry, be ascertained, distributees, heirs at law and next of kin of said Lucille Clarke, deceased, and if any of the said distributees, heirs at law or next of kin of deceased, be dead, their legal representatives, their husbands or wives, if any, distributees and successors in interest whose names and/or places of residence and post office addresses are unknown. A petition having been duly filed

by Clayton Harding, who is domiciled at 377 11th Street, Brooklyn, New York 11215. YOU ARE HEREBY CITED TO SHOW CAUSE before the Surrogate’s Court, Kings County, at 2 Johnson Street, Room 319, Brooklyn, New York, on June 20, 2017, at 9:30 o’clock in the forenoon of that day, why a decree should not be made in the estate of LUCILLE CLARKE lately domiciled at 859 Crown Street, Brooklyn, New York admitting to probate a Will dated May 24, 2010 as the Will of LUCILLE CLARKE deceased, relating to real and and personal property, and directing that Letters of Administration c.t.a. issue to CLAYTON HARDING. Dated, Attested and Sealed, April 24, 2017. Hon. Margarita Lopez Torres, Surrogate, Doreen A. Quinn, Chief Clerk. Frank J. Gobes c/o Delbello, Donnellan, Weingarten Wise & Wiederkehr Telephone Number 914-681-0200, One North Lexington Avenue, 11th Floor, White Plains, NY 10601 [NOTE: This Citation Is served upon you as required by law. You are not required to appear. If you fail to appear it will be assumed that you do not object to the relief requested. You have a right to have an attorney appear for you.]

GOVERNOR CUOMO LAUNCHES SECOND ROUND OF “NATURALIZE NY” TO ASSIST NEW YORKERS ON THE PATH TO CITIZENSHIP

G

Initiative Waives Naturalization Fee for 1,500 Eligible Low-Income Working Immigrants

overnor Andrew M. Cuomo today launched the second round of “NaturalizeNY” – the first-ofits-kind public-private partnership to encourage eligible immigrants in New York State with becoming U.S. citizens. The initiative provides comprehensive support

through the naturalization process – featuring free eligibility screenings, application assistance, naturalization exam preparation, and for round two, a lottery for up to 1,500 vouchers for low-income citizenship-eligible immigrants.

NaturalizeNY is administered by the New York State Office for New Americans in partnership with the Robin Hood Foundation, New York Community Trust, universities including Stanford University, George Mason University, and SUNY Albany, and media organizations.

“The New York story is written by immigrants, who come from all over the world seeking a better life for themselves and their families as New Yorkers,” Governor Cuomo said. “In these stormy times, we are sending a clear message – we welcome you into the New York family, where we know that our diversity is our strength.”

NaturalizeNY is administered by the New

York State Office for New Americans in partnership with the Robin Hood Foundation, New York Community Trust, universities including Stanford University, George Mason University, and SUNY Albany, and media organizations.

Governor Cuomo launched NaturalizeNY last July, and through its first six months, has helped more than 3,200 immigrant New Yorkers pursue United States citizenship, including over 2,250 low-income immigrants. Low-income immigrants, with the help of the program, can save on the cost of the federal application fee. The program features a lottery that awards naturalization application fee vouchers.

Nearly 960 immigrant New Yorkers registered for the initial round of the randomized lottery in 2016, and 389 were awarded a fee voucher and submitted their application to the federal government last December. Up to 1,500 vouchers will be awarded in round two of the program. ➔➔ Continued on page 11

VOL. 21 NO. 21

Op-Ed: Yolanda Belcher

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OUR TIME PRESS May 25 – 31, 2017

P.S. 25, Wild About Eubie, Launching Museum

In Honor of namesake, Saturday, June 3, 2017

W

hile Donald Trump continues to segregate the nation into the very rich or poor, Black America needs to learn how to adjust by working together for “common goal” victories.

So, does the Community Board focus on its neighborhood’s issues and specific problems? There are issues with the city of providing standard quality services. Is there anyone on the board willing to tackle issues outside of the “boiler plate” agenda?

Take, for example, my personal concern -- the housing issue. Occupants of co-ops and condos, facing a myriad of housing problems, have yet to be addressed. Is anyone interested in people living in noncity-owned co-ops?

What support is provided to co-op and condo owners running into sponsor abuses of regulations and reserve funding?

On another issue related to Community Boards, are they engaged in elevating and working with young people?

It takes courage to prompt Community Boards -- that accommodate political agendas at the exclusion of addressing issues of concern to the entire village -- to be accountable to those of us in need of real solutions. I believe that the village can solve its own problems, and the problem-solving starts with the village.

By being involved, listening, taking aggressive action and advocating for all community members, Community Boards will have a great value both in our lives and history.

We can look to our Community Boards for support and to answer these questions for us: How do you tackle a problem to line it up for a solution, unpack it at all levels until results are received?

“What basic information (proof) do you need to address an issue? Who ultimately holds the power? And assuming the power is with the people, when will the boards begin putting their power to use?

GOVERNOR CUOMO LAUNCHES SECOND ROUND OF “NATURALIZE NY” TO ASSIST NEW YORKERS ON THE PATH TO CITIZENSHIP ➔➔ Continued from page 10 In the second round, the program will continue to provide the resources to help thousands more citizenship-eligible New Yorkers, who may register for the program at www.NaturalizeNY.org.

A 2015 study conducted by the Urban Institute found that, on average, there is an increase of 8.9 percent in earnings for immigrants who become citizens. The increased earnings lead to higher tax payments and lower reliance on public benefits. For New York City, this would mean that if all eligible immigrants become citizens there would be an increase in tax revenues of $789 million, which, along with a decrease in benefits use, would yield a net benefit of $823 million.

Eubie Blake, February 7, 1883/1887 – February 12, 1983), was wild about Brooklyn when he lived on Stuyvesant Avenue across from Bridge AWME Street church for many years and, today, Brooklyn –especially P.S. 25, the public school named for the late music legend, is wild about Eubie.

Saturday, June 3, 2017, P.S. 25/The Eubie Blake School launches its Eubie Blake Museum in a first floor classroom. Posters, a button and a program have been donated so far, with more to come.

BED-STUY BEAUTIFUL

DISTRICT 16

SCHOOL CRAWL JUNE 3RD 10AM-1PM Bed-Stuy Beautiful DARE TO BE BOLD

OPEN HOUSE

Please join the families and students of Bedford-Stuyvesant in a morning of simultaneous open-houses for our District Schools. Visitors of our open houses will have the opportunity to dine for a reduced fare in neighborhood restaurants. The CRAWL starts at The District 16 office 1010 Lafayette Avenue in Bed-Stuy (Malcolm X and Lafayette) at 10 AM. We look forward to seeing you.

P.S. 5 Ronald McNair P.S. 25 Eubie Blake P.S. 26 Jesse Owens M.S. 57 Whitelaw Reid P.S. 81 Thaddeus Stevens M.S. 267 Math, Science, and Technology P.S. 627 Brighter Choice Community School M.S. 681 Madiba Prep & Brooklyn Emerging Leaders Academy Boys and Girls High School

Bedford-Stuyvesant New Beginnings Charter School Brooklyn Academy of Global Finance Ember Charter School for Mindful Education, Innovation & Transformation

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OUR TIME PRESS May 25 – 31, 2017

VOL. 21 NO. 21