Caribbean American Weekly - Issue 115

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ISSUE 115 VOLUME 20

January 28, 2021

SERVING THE CARIBBEAN AND HISPANIC COMMUNITIES!

Why Biden’s Immigration Bill Is the Boldest in Decades

BY WALTER EWING IMMIGRATION IMPACT

D

uring his campaign, President Biden promised that immigration reform would be one of his top priorities upon taking office. After unveiling the summary of a sweeping immigration reform bill on Inauguration Day, the Biden administration appears to have kept that promise.

If passed, the bill will provide a pathway to legal status for most of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the United President Biden. Editorial credit: Stratos Brilakis / Shutterstock.com

continued on page 15

Former President Obama Remembers Aaron Hank

BY MARY CAMPBELL

F

ormer President Obama issued a statement after the death of baseball legend Hank Aaron, calling him “one of the strongest people I’ve ever met.”

“Whenever Michelle and I spent time with Hank and his wife Billye, we were struck by their kindness, generosity, and grace— and were reminded that we stood on the shoulders of a previous Hank Aaron Editorial credit: Everett Collection / Shutterstock.com

continued on page 4

Kamala Harris Sworn in as Vice President; Caribbean Leaders Welcome Biden-Harris Administration ....2

Knowledge is Power when you use it!

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Call 855-768-8845 AG James Protects Rent-Stabilized Tenants ....11

Brian Figeroux, Esq., Member, American Immigration Lawyers Association

How to File for Unemployment ....6

Jamaican-American Christina Cooper Featured in Forbes ....19

Is the Tik Tok App Safe for Kids? ....12

Dating After Divorce ....23

Why Heart Health is Crucial for Blacks....20

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CARIBBEAN SPECIAL REPORT Caribbean Consulates Anguilla 845 Third Avenue New York, N.Y. 10022 Tel: 212-745-0200 Antigua & Barbuda 305 East 47th Street, Suite 6A New York, N.Y. 10020 Tel: 212-541-4117 The Bahamas 231 East 46th Street New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 212-421-6420 Barbados 820 Second Avenue, 5th Floor New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 212-551-4325 Belize 675 Third Avenue, Suite 1911 New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 212-593-0999 Dominica 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400H New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 212-949-0853 Dominican Republic 1500 Broadway, Suite 410 New York, N.Y. 10036 Tel: 212-599-8478 Grenada 685 Third Avenue, Suite 1101 New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 212-599-0301 Guyana 308 West 38th Street New York, N.Y. 10018 Tel: 212-947-5119 Haiti 815 Second Avenue,6th Floor New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 212-697-9767 Jamaica 767 Third Avenue, 2nd Floor New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 212-935-9000 Martinique 444 Madison Avenue, 16th Floor New York, N.Y. 10022 Tel: 212-838-6887 Montserrat 845 Third Avenue New York, N.Y. 10022 Tel: 212-745-0200 Panama 1212 Avenue of the Americas, 20th Floor New York, N.Y. 10036 Tel: 212-840-2450 St. Kitts & Nevis 414 East 75th Street, 5th Floor New York, N.Y. 10021 Tel: 212-535-5521 St. Lucia 800 Second Avenue, 9th Floor New York, N.Y. 10007 Tel: 212-697-9360 St. Maarten 675 Third Avenue, Suite 1807 New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 800-786-2278 St. Vincent & The Grenadines 801 Second Avenue, 21st Floor New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 212-687-4981 Trinidad & Tobago 125 Maiden Lane, 4th Floor New York, N.Y. 10038 Tel: 212-682-7272 For more Consulate information go to www.cawnyc.com/directory

2

Kamala Harris Sworn in as Vice-President; Caribbean Leaders Welcome BidenHarris Administration

BY CAW STAFF WRITER

J

anuary 20, 2021 is a historic day like no other. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor swore Kamala Harris, the nation's first Latina Supreme Court justice, on a pair of Bibles, one of which was previously owned by Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American to ever serve on the high court. The second Bible belonged to family friend Regina Shelton, whom Harris called a "second mother" to her and her sister.

"Mrs. Shelton would bring her Bible to church every Sunday. Sitting alongside her, I was introduced to the teachings of that Bible," Harris wrote in a Bustle article in 2019.

A series of firsts: Harris, the daughter of immigrants, an Indian mother and Jamaican father become the first woman Vice-President, the first Black woman, the first woman of Asian-American descent. Wow! And, while Harris and Sotomayor exchanged only a few words as they recite and repeat the vice-presidential oath, their presence will mark perhaps the strongest visual signal of a sudden change of course. Together, Harris will join Sotomayor in a small society of women at the government's top echelon.

As she walked into the ceremony, she stooped to kiss her grandniece. She bumped fists with Barack Obama, the first Black President.

As the world watched, Harris raised her right hand during the oath ceremony; face steeled as it was through so many hearings and debates that it became her signature stare.

Then, as Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor read, "so help me God," the stoicism broke. "So, help me, God," Harris repeated, overcome with a smile as her sister, Maya, broke into tears behind her. She hugged her husband. She found Joe Biden waiting, shaking his fists in triumph. Then she walked back to her seat and into history.

Caribbean leaders shared their words of congratulations: Prime Minister Andrew Holness: “On behalf of the Government of Jamaica, I congratulate Joe Biden on his inauguration as the 46th President of the United States of America and Kamala Harris as the first female, first black Vice President. I look forward to working with President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and the new Administration as we continue the vibrant partnership enjoyed between Jamaica and the United States of America.”

Vice President, Kamala Harris swears at the Inauguration ceremony. U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. , Jan. 20, 2021. Editorial credit: mccv / Shutterstock.com Trinidad and Tobago are looking forward to working with new US President Joe Biden. CARICOM Chairman and Trinidad & Tobago's Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley sent a congratulatory letter to Biden, who took the oath of office alongside Vice President Kamala Harris.

His Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr. Amery Browne, said the T&T Government is eagerly anticipating working with Biden on a range of issues and building on "the long history of excellent relations between both nations." Browne added, "The Government of T&T wished the best for the people of the United States and was pleased with the advent of a peaceful and orderly Presidential inauguration in Washington DC." Guyanese President Dr. Mohammed Irfaan Ali posted on Facebook: "Congratulations to the 46 President of the United States of America, Mr. Joseph R Biden Jr, and Vice President Kamala Harris. Your call for unity and democracy are critical components of good governance that we share with you. We pray that God continues to bless the Government and people of the United States. We stand together with you in defense of unity, democracy, and peace."

Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit posted via Facebook: "On behalf of Dominica, I congratulate US President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris on assuming office. I look forward to working with the US in building a stronger and resilient world for all of us.

We stand united in addressing common challenges, whether it is climate-change

or COVID-19."

On Twitter, Prime Minister Timothy Harris of St Kitts and Nevis said, "Sincere congratulations to Joe Biden inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States and Vice President Kamala Harris." In a previous press statement, Prime Minister Harris said: "On behalf of the Government and people of St. Kitts and Nevis, please accept my sincerest congratulations to you on your historic and most significant victory in the 2020 US Presidential elections, held on Tuesday, November 03.

I also extend warmest congratulations to your electoral running mate, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, and your campaign staff for the hard-fought and historic win.

As you accept the mantle afforded to you as the 46th President of the United States of America, allow me to reaffirm the commitment of the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis to continue the longstanding mutual relationship that exists between the Federation and the USA, one that was built on mutual respect and support.

I am confident and optimistic that through your strong leadership, garnered through years of service as a seasoned politician, particularly the years spent as a former Vice President of the United States; the continued partnership between St. Kitts and Nevis and the United States of America will not only continue but will flourish."

God Bless America!l

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3

THOUGHTS

New Leadership Strikes a New Tone for America

TEAM My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. —Hosea 4:6 Publisher I.Q. INC. Managing Editor & Editor-in-Chief

Pearl Phillip Legal Advisor Brian Figeroux, Esq. Assistant Editor Marilyn Silverman Graphic & Website Designers Praim Samsoondar Anvaar Sabirov Contributors Jennine Estes Erin Telesford Janet Howard Mary Campbell Tarsha Gibbons Travis Morales

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris during the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, US,Jan.20,2021 Editorial credit: mccv / Shutterstock.com

BY AMERICAN IMMIGRATION COUNCIL STAFF

A

merica turned a corner today. We not only installed new leadership, but these leaders set a distinctively new tone for the next four years.

A president is a political and policy leader, but he or she is also our conductor-in-chief, coordinating the timing and performance of government agencies and setting the direction and tempo of our public discourse.

On January 20, Joe Biden, the freshly inaugurated 46th president of the United States, spoke with a dramatically different timbre than his predecessor—one filled with humility, empathy, and commitment to service and country. He acknowledged the many challenges we face and asked for our help to rise to meet them.

“We must end this uncivil war that pitches red versus blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal,” Biden said, because we have “much to repair, much to restore, much to heal, much to build, and much to gain.”

There is no doubt he is going to lead by example, and leading by example matters. Improving the tone of our discourse is a critical ingredient to a func-

tioning democracy. If anyone was unconvinced of the power our words carry and our leaders’ role in calling us to our better or worse selves, the insurrection on January 6 was the final proof.

There is a critical need in this country to move our public debates away from the rancor of zero-sum thinking that pits us against each other. Instead, we must move our conversations—whether about immigration, public health or the economy—toward our shared struggles and common aspirations.

Biden’s call for national unity is more than a feel-good proposition. It’s foundational to solving our national problems and ensuring accountability, and that includes addressing extremism and white supremacy.

Biden said, “I know speaking of unity can sound to some like a foolish fantasy these days. I know the forces that divide us are deep and they are real. But I also know they are not new. Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we all are created equal, and the harsh, ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear, demonization have long torn us apart.

“We can join forces, stop the shouting, and lower the temperature. For without unity, there is no peace, only bitterness and fury. No progress, only exhausting

outrage. No nation, only a state of chaos.

This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge, and unity is the path forward.”

There is much work to be done as disagreement about who matters and who belongs in America persists. These problems cannot be solved quickly enough.

However, our progress will be slow if we do not rebuild some common ground and rules for constructive engagement.

President Biden seeks unity not to gloss over injustice or to ignore those things that are unfair, but because he understands that if disagreement leads to disunion, then the conversation ends.

As the poet Amanda Gorman said, “Being American is more than a pride we inherit, it’s the past we step into and how we repair it.”

Now is the time for all Americans to step into each other’s shoes, each other’s pain, each other’s sorrow and build the understanding and connection that will lead us out of the darkness.

“For there is always light if only we are brave enough to see it, if only we are brave enough to be it,” Gorman concluded.l Written by Wendy Feliz, Director, Center for Inclusion and Belonging and Suzette Brooks Masters, Senior Strategist, Center for Inclusion and Belonging.

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4

AMERICAN LEGEND

Hank Aaron/continued from page 1 generation of trailblazers,” Obama said.

Aaron died at the age of 86 after a lifetime of breaking records in MLB. Amemorial service in his honor was held at Truist Park in Atlanta.

According to Wikepedia: Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. He spent 21 seasons with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves in the National League (NL) and two seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers in the American League (AL).

Aaron is regarded as one of the greatest baseball players of all time. His 755 career home runs broke the long-standing MLB record set by Babe Ruth and stood as the most for 33 years before Barry Bonds broke it with 762 career home runs; Aaron still holds many other MLB batting records. He hit 24 or more home runs every year from 1955 through 1973, and is one of only two players to hit 30 or more home runs in a season at least fifteen times. In 1999, The Sporting News ranked Aaron fifth on its list of the "100 Greatest Baseball Players". In 1982, he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

NEW YORK-AUG 5: Emily Aaron (L), Hank Aaron (R) and wife Billye attend the premiere of Lee Daniels' "The Butler" at the Ziegfeld Theatre on August 5, 2013 in New York City. Editorial credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com

Obama remembered Aaron’s time as a child growing up in Alabama during the Jim Crow era.

“A child of the Jim Crow South, Hank quit high school to join the Negro league, playing shortstop for $200 a month before earning a spot in Major League Baseball,” Obama said.

Breaking Babe Ruth’s Record As he began going after Babe Ruth’s home run record, “he began receiving death threats and racist letters—letters he would reread decades later to remind himself ‘not to be surprised or hurt,’” the statement reveals.

Aaron himself downplayed the "chase" to surpass Babe Ruth, while baseball enthusiasts and the national media grew increasingly excited as he closed in on the 714 career home runs record. Aaron

received thousands of letters every week during the summer of 1973, including hate mail; the Braves ended up hiring a secretary to help him sort through it.

Aaron (then age 39) hit 40 home runs in 392 at-bats, ending the 1973 season one home run short of the record. He hit home run number 713 on September 29, 1973, and with one day remaining in the season, many expected him to tie the record. But in his final game that year, playing against the Houston Astros (managed by Leo Durocher, who had once roomed with Babe Ruth), he was unable to achieve this. After the game, Aaron said his only fear was that he might not live to see the 1974 season.

He was the recipient of death threats and a large assortment of hate mail during the 1973–1974 offseason from people who did not want to see Aaron break

Ruth's nearly sacrosanct home run record. The threats extended to those providing positive press coverage of Aaron. Lewis Grizzard, then executive sports editor of the Atlanta Journal, reported receiving numerous phone calls calling journalists "nigger lovers" for covering Aaron's chase. While preparing the massive coverage of the home run record, he quietly had an obituary written, afraid that Aaron might be murdered.

Sports Illustrated pointedly summarized the racist vitriol that Aaron was forced to endure: Is this to be the year in which Aaron, at the age of thirty-nine, takes a moon walk above one of the most hallowed individual records in American sport ...?

Or will it be remembered as the season in which Aaron, the most dignified of athletes, was besieged with hate mail and trapped by the cobwebs and goblins that lurk in baseball's attic?

At the end of the 1973 season, Aaron received a plaque from the U.S. Postal Service for receiving more mail (930,000 pieces) than any person excluding politicians. Aaron received an outpouring of public support in response to the bigotry.

The Braves returned to Atlanta, and on April 8, 1974, a crowd of 53,775 people showed up for the game — a Braves attendance record to see Aaron break Ruth’s record. The Braves played the Dodgers.

Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully

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5

CIVIL RIGHTS

Ordering Equal Access: Biden Acts to Advance Racial, Social Justice on Day One

BY MARGARET HUANG SPL CENTER

O

n his first day in office, President Joe Biden reiterated his commitment to racial justice and to overturning systemic racism and the long-standing inequities in our society.

One of his first acts after taking the oath of office was to sign an executive order outlining his “ambitious whole-ofgovernment equity agenda” to advance racial and social justice for all – including historically underserved communities, such as people of color, individuals with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people and those living in poverty. The order rightly recognized diversity as “one of our country’s greatest strengths.”

The order makes clear that advancing equity for all will be a policy priority across the federal government. It tasked the White House Domestic Policy Council with coordinating the effort to “remove systemic barriers to and provide equal access to opportunities and benefits.” In addition, it dissolved Trump’s “1776 Commission” effort to politicize education and Trump’s order banning

Editorial credit: Funstock / Shutterstock.com

diversity training on racial and gender biases.

The SPLC welcomes Biden’s focus and priority on this work, as demonstrated by his reversal of hundreds of discriminatory Trump-era civil rights rollbacks and attacks. The president’s racial justice and equity executive order outlines a bold vision to reimagine how our nation can be more fair, just and equitable for all.

We are ready to support his efforts and we will urge his administration to keep this work moving forward.

We also deeply appreciate another executive order designed to prevent and combat discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation, and to fully enforce Title VII and other laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of these personal characteristics.

These initial executive actions offer hope – particularly to Black, Indigenous, people of color, LGBTQ+ and other communities – that the new administration will undertake extensive and serious efforts to combat all forms of discrimination.

But these actions must be accompanied by urgent congressional legislation to fund programs that complement the president’s vision and promote more fair, just and equitable communities, schools and workplaces. The SPLC is eager to work with both the Biden administration and Congress to make this vision a reality. l Margaret Huang is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Southern Poverty Law Center

Hank Aaron/continued from page 4 addressed the racial tension—or apparent lack thereof—in his call of the home run: "What a marvelous moment for baseball; what a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia; what a marvelous moment for the country and the world. A black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol.

And it is a great moment for all of us, and particularly for Henry Aaron ... And for the first time in a long time, that poker face in Aaron shows the tremendous strain and relief of what it must have been like to live with for the past several months.”

A Towering Example Over the years, Aaron would be praised for his quiet resolve and dignity in the face of the threats. He would dine with international heads of state and every sitting president from Gerald Ford to Barack Obama, but the negative response from so many of his countrymen was a scar he would carry for the rest of his life.

"It was supposed to be the greatest triumph of my life, but I was never allowed to enjoy it. I couldn't wait for it to be over," he once said. "The only reason that some people didn't want me to succeed was because I was a Black man."

Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to the Aaron family and everyone who was inspired by this assuming man and his towering example,” Obama concluded. l

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6

DIASPORA CONCERNS

How to File for Unemployment

BY MARY CAMPBELL SPECIAL TO CAW

L

osing your job is already one of the most devastating things that can happen to you. And, unfortunately, many people who become unemployed face significant financial difficulties. For example, you may have trouble paying your rent/mortgage, making car payments, repaying student loans, and buying groceries and other necessities.

Luckily, most American workers who lose their job — through no fault of their own — are eligible to receive unemployment compensation to help them get by for a while.

What is Unemployment Insurance?

In the United States, unemployment insurance is a joint federal-state program that offers cash payments to unemployed workers. Typically, the federal government covers the costs of paying benefits to unemployed workers. State governments cover the administrative costs of running their respective unemployment insurance program. Therefore, if you lose your job, you will apply for benefits through your state's unemployment office. If your claim is approved, your payments would be funded by the federal government. The federal government

funds unemployment benefits from a payroll tax that employers pay on behalf of their employees.

Eligibility To qualify for unemployment compensation, you must have been an employee for at least four out of the last five quarterly periods. Furthermore, you must have lost your job through no fault of your own. That usually means a layoff resulting from less business activity.

Unfortunately, millions of Americans are not eligible for unemployment compensation should they lose their primary income source. For example, if you own a business that goes bankrupt or a freelancer who loses your gigs — you can't file an unemployment claim for compensation. Many states impose additional

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requirements like meeting a certain income threshold. You can research your state's requirements for unemployment benefits online.

Partial Unemployment Eligibility As of January 18, 2021, New York State has implemented a new rule that redefines how part-time work impacts unemployment benefits. This change makes New York’s partial unemployment system fairer and more equitable for New Yorkers who have the opportunity to work part-time while collecting regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits.

NYS DOL’s new partial unemployment system uses an “hours-based” approach.

Under the new rules, you can work up to 7 days per week without losing full unemployment benefits for that week, if you work 30 hours or fewer and earn $504 or less in gross pay excluding earnings from self-employment. With this change, your benefits will not be reduced for each day you engage in part-time work. Instead, benefits will be reduced in increments based on your total hours of work for the week.

How to File a Partial Claim If you lost work and you are working part time 30 hours or fewer a week and making $504 or less per week, the following guidelines apply when reporting your part-time work (round up to the nearest hour): •4 or fewer hours of work = 0 days worked: No reduction in weekly benefit rate •5 – 10 hours of work = 1 day worked: 75% of weekly benefit rate •11 – 20 hours of work = 2 days worked: 50% of weekly benefit rate •21 – 30 hours of work = 3 days worked: 25% of weekly benefit rate •31+ hours of work = 4 days worked: 0% of weekly benefit rate If you worked more than 10 hours in one day, you should only report the first 10 hours from that day in your weekly total. The hours cap does not change the $504 gross weekly payments rule – you must still report your total earnings for the week. If you earn more than $504 in weekly gross pay (the amount of money you earned before taxes and deductions are taken out), you will not be eligible for UI or PUA benefits regardless of the number of hours you worked.

Federal Program Extensions The federal government has extended the federal unemployment benefit programs available through the CARES Act for an additional 11 weeks. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) will be available through March 14, 2021, with qualified claimants’ benefits fully phasing out by April 11, 2021. Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) benefits will resume with $300 weekly payments until March 14, 2021.

To receive these extended federal benefits, continue to certify weekly while unemployed. To allow your fellow New Yorkers to reach NYS DOL representatives about regular matters, please do not call the DOL to inquire about the federal program extensions at this time.

1099G Form By the end of January, you will be able to get your Statement for Recipients of Certain Government Payments (1099-G).

This is a tax form. It provides the total amount of money you were paid in benefits from NYSDOL for a specific calendar year, as well as any adjustments or tax withholding made to your benefits.

Benefits paid to you are considered taxable income. You must include this form with your tax filing for the applicable calendar year.

Applying for Unemployment Benefits Every state has its application process for applying for unemployment compensation. You can still apply in person at your local unemployment office in most states. However, many states encourage applicants to apply online because it saves time and paperwork. You will have to search online to find out how to apply for unemployment in your state.

However, you should apply for unemployment compensation as soon as you can because it can take at least a few weeks for you to start receiving benefits.

First, your state will have to review your application. Then, you will be scheduled for a hearing to attend. Your evidence will be presented at the hearing to help determine whether your unemployment claim should be approved or denied. For example, your former employer could attend to lobby against you if they claim you were fired with cause. If your application is approved, you will likely start receiving cash payments in a couple of weeks.

In short, unemployment insurance is intended to help eligible workers who lose their jobs. Unfortunately, since the program only covers W-2 employees, millions of Americans are left out. You will have to check with your state's unemployment insurance program to determine whether you can apply. If you qualify, you should begin the application process immediately after losing your job so you can start receiving compensation sooner.l Resource: NYS Department of Labor

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OR SAFETY TRAINING.

COMPLETE YOUR 40-HOUR SAFETY TRAINING BEFORE MARCH 1, 2021 TO STAY ON THE JOB SITE. As a requirement of Local Law 196 of 2017, workers at major construction sites must complete their 40-hours of safety training by March 1, 2021.

YOU MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR FREE TRAINING. FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT US AT NYC.GOV/NYCSAFETY

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8

IN THE NEWS

Why the Next Major Hurdle to Ending the Pandemic Will Be About Persuading People to Get Vaccinated

BY TIMOTHY CALLAGHAN & MATT MOTTA, THE CONVERSATION

24.1% of liberals) intended to forgo vaccination.

T

Why will some people refuse a COVID-19 vaccine?

Our study provides new insights into the reasons that some Americans do not intend to get vaccinated against COVID19. We found that concerns about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine were the most consistent reasons for forgoing vaccination. We also found that portions of the American public did not intend to pursue vaccination because they lack health insurance, lack the financial resources they believe they need to be vaccinated or because they have already had COVID-19.

Our study also found considerable evidence that the reasons for not vaccinating were not the same for everyone. For example, women were more likely than men to say they would forgo vaccination due to concerns about safety and effectiveness. Additionally, we found that Black people were more likely to skip vaccination than white people due to perceived safety and effectiveness issues as well as concerns related to the cost of vaccinating and a lack of health insurance.

What this all means for vaccine uptake Together, our findings point to two key takeaways as the U.S. pushes to rapidly vaccinate its population against COVID19. First, political leaders and public health experts need to recognize that what appears to be considerable public demand for the COVID-19 vaccine right now may be more modest in the coming months, as more Americans have the opportunity to get vaccinated. In its place, experts will be faced with the new challenge of convincing hesitant groups to get vaccinated in order to reach herd immunity and end the pandemic.

oday, [Jan 27] more Americans hope to receive a COVID-19 vaccine than current vaccine supply will allow. Consequently, although President Joe Biden’s initial promise to dole out 100 million vaccine doses in 100 days would require a ramp-up in vaccine allocation, some consider the promise to be insufficient to meet current levels of demand and put the pandemic’s spread into decline.

The current mismatch between vaccine demand and supply, however, may be short-lived. Despite concerns about lagging vaccine allocation for front-line health care workers and other vulnerable groups, health experts are optimistic that public demand for a COVID-19 vaccine will remain high in coming months as more vaccine doses become available.

While it is clear that many political leaders expect public demand for a coronavirus vaccine to be strong, whether or

not expectations can live up to reality is an open question. In fact, there is some evidence to suggest instead that large segments of both the public and health care workers do not intend to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Figuring out whether or not some people are less likely to get vaccinated – and their reasons for not getting vaccinated – can help political leaders and health professionals better anticipate vaccine

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demand. If some social, political and other demographic groups are more (or less) likely to intend to get vaccinated than others, demand for a vaccine may be higher (or lower) in vaccine distribution networks that primarily service vaccinehesitant groups.

Additionally, understanding why some individuals are more likely to refuse vaccination than others can help inform health communication efforts to increase vaccine uptake. For example, if some Americans intend to refuse to get vaccinated due to concerns that the vaccine is not safe, health communicators can target these groups with easy-to-understand information about how scientists determined that the vaccine is safe.

In a recent peer-reviewed study, we provide important insight into what public demand for a coronavirus vaccine could actually look like, once most Americans have the opportunity to get vaccinated. Just as important, we detail reasons certain Americans do not intend to get vaccinated.

Some Americans more likely to get vaccinated We studied Americans’ COVID-19 vaccination intentions in a large, demographically representative online survey of 5,009 U.S. adults, conducted in June 2020. We measured vaccination intentions by asking respondents whether or not they would pursue getting vaccinated for the coronavirus if a COVID-19 vaccine became available.

Our study found that almost a third (31.1%) of respondents did not intend to pursue vaccination. This is concerning, given that recent epidemiological estimates suggest that up to 70% of Americans must become immune to COVID-19 in order to put the pandemic’s spread into decline.

We also found strong differences in vaccination intention between key demographic groups. Notably, we found that 35.7% of women (vs. 26.3% of men), 42.9% of Black people (vs. 28.6% of white people), and 37.8% of conservatives (vs. 33.4% of independents and

Second, our results demonstrate that in these efforts to vaccinate the hesitant, a one-size-fits-all approach to health communications will be insufficient. While health communications aimed at emphasizing the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine will be important, for some groups, it will be just as important to emphasize that Americans can be vaccinated against COVID-19 for free, regardless of insurance status.

Developing these communications and identifying appropriate messengers to deliver this information will be vital to stopping the pandemic.l Timothy Callaghan is an Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University School of Public Health, Texas A&M University.

Matt Motta is an Assistant Professor of Political Science, Oklahoma State University.

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EDUCATION

10

NYC Teachers are Getting the COVID19 Vaccine. But When Will Schools Return to Normal?

BY ALEX ZIMMERMAN, CHALKBEAT

W

hile teachers across New York City raced to sign up for coronavirus vaccines this week, it could be many months before schools are able to ramp up in-person instruction significantly, public health experts said.

Many variables remain in play: how quickly teachers get shots, whether studies show that vaccinated people can still spread the virus, and what it will take to contain a new, potentially more contagious coronavirus variant, which has now been found locally. How fast parents will feel comfortable sending their children back to school buildings also remains unclear.

For now, only school buildings that include grades pre-K-5, or serve students with significant disabilities, are open. At most, 190,000 out of roughly 1 million students are eligible for in-person instruction, with about 250 schools offering it to all students five days a week.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has hinted the vac-

cine could help clear the way for more inperson learning this spring and allow middle and high school buildings to reopen.

“Do I think we’re going to be able to do big things during this school year, bring back a lot of students? I absolutely do,” the mayor said. “I’m really encouraged, but I need that supply of vaccine, and I need people to want to get vaccinated.”

But public health experts are circumspect about the chances of dramatically scaling up in-person learning before September.

“Opening next fall with something that is normal-ish is something to aim for,” said Anna Bershteyn, an NYU professor and infectious disease expert. Even with the beginning of the vaccine rollout, “I think it will be really difficult to interrupt community transmission during this school year.”

Here’s why it could take a while for city schools to welcome many students back into classrooms — and what to expect in the meantime.

Vaccinating school staff will take time New York officials have prioritized vaccines for a wide swath of education workers — including teachers, day care workers, and bus drivers — putting them in the second wave of eligibility after frontline health care workers and nursing home residents and staff. That could help speed the return of in-person learning, as teachers are more likely than students to become seriously ill from the coronavirus. (The vaccine is not yet approved for children.)

But even as thousands of teachers sign up for shots, questions remain about how much supply New York will have on hand and how quickly officials can manage to vaccinate large numbers of people.

The vaccine rollout has been sluggish and there have been early glitches and confusion with the online process for scheduling vaccine appointments.

At the current rate of supply from the federal government, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has warned that it could take up to 14 weeks to offer vaccines to everyone who is currently eligible, including teachers. Vaccination rates will also depend on how many teachers are comfortable receiving the shot.

It’s not just about giving teachers shots The level of coronavirus spread in the broader community will continue to be a factor in making decisions about ramping up in-person learning in New York City — and some research points to the possible risks of doing so while the virus is spreading rapidly. Vaccinating the broader population will be an important ingredient in reducing that risk, experts said.

“It is critically important that we don’t think of the teachers as an isolated population; they are part of [the] overall community,” said Wafaa El-Sadr, a professor of epidemiology and medicine at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. “So the bigger question is about uptake by [the] overall population.”

Ensuring the broader public has access to the vaccine may also help persuade families — especially those who live in multigenerational households or have relatives at high risk for coronavirus complications — to send their children back to campus.

Questions remain whether students should be vaccinated. Children are less likely to experience severe coronavirus symptoms and deaths are rare.

For now, the Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine is not approved for use in children under 16, and Moderna’s can only be given to those 18 and older, though trials are underway in people 12 and up.

The superintendent of Los Angeles’ school district, the nation’s second

largest behind New York, indicated that if approved for children, the school system would require students learning in person to receive a coronavirus vaccine.

The vaccine is likely to prevent illness.

But can vaccinated people still pass the coronavirus to others?

It’s a question that could have significant implications for interrupting the spread of the coronavirus, though researchers are still racing to find the answer.

“If we do find out that vaccines do prevent transmission, then it’s a little bit rosier of a picture,” said Elissa Perkins, an emergency medicine physician and infectious disease expert at Boston University.

If vaccination does prevent transmission, some experts said it may not be necessary to send home teachers who are exposed to the virus, thus easing staffing shortages. Individual city classrooms have been shut down nearly 5,000 times since September, city records show.

Experts roundly agree that whatever the answer, schools are likely going to need to continue taking precautions such as mask-wearing, regular hand-washing, and ensuring proper ventilation for the foreseeable future.

“Masks are going to be with us for a really long time,” Perkins said, “especially because we know kids are not going to be vaccinated right away and masks are a really strong protective measure.”

How quickly will families flock back to buildings?

New York City has invested enormous effort in reopening school buildings on the assumption that most parents would send their children back to classrooms if given the option, even only one to three days a week.

It turned out that about two-thirds of the city’s students have opted for fully remote learning for the remainder of the year.

It’s unclear how quickly families will begin to trust that school buildings are safe enough to send their children — or even when the city will be able to offer five days a week of in-person learning to anyone who wants it — which means remote teaching could continue to play a significant role.

“It will be important to maintain the remote option for families who haven’t been able to get vaccinated,” said Bershteyn, the NYU professor. “There’s a really important conversation to have about not only when can we take the remote option away, but should we take the remote option away.”l This story was published on January 13, 2021 by THE CITY.

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11

HOUSING

Attorney General James Secures Agreements with Condo Owner, Management Company, and Security Firm to Protect Rent-Stabilized Tenants

Q

UEENS: New York Attorney General Letitia James on January 22, announced agreements with a condo owner, its principals, and a security firm over repeated violations of rent stabilization laws and guidance. The agreements with 132-40 Sanford LLC, the sponsor of the Summit at Infinity 8 Condominium located at 132-40 Sanford Avenue, its real estate management company, Pinnacle Managing Co., LLC, and security firm SW Security Services, LLC, resolves violations relating to the modification of a front door lock of the rent-stabilized building located in Flushing, Queens, which ultimately led to several of the building’s tenants, mostly Chinese tenants, forfeiting their rent-stabilized apartments. Under the terms of the agreements, the companies will implement a series of measures that are inclusive of all tenants, undergo anti-discrimination trainings, and donate $50,000 to nonprofit organizations that focus on tenant organizing in Asian communities.

“Tenants have a right to remain in their homes, and we must do all we can to protect affordable housing,” said Attorney General James. “These companies failed to deliver the pinnacle of service to tenants, and their actions forced individuals — particularly Chinese tenants — out of their rent-stabilized homes. Let this serve as a warning that we will not tolerate anyone or any entity that violates our housing laws and threatens New Yorkers’ right to a safe and decent home.”

In 2017, after acquiring the occupied rent-stabilized rental building at 132-40 Sanford Avenue and submitting initial offering documents to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to convert the building to a condominium, the sponsor hired SW Security Services to change the building’s front door lock system to an electronic access system. However, the sponsor and Pinnacle Managing failed to apply to the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) for permission to change the door lock, in violation of the state’s rent stabilization guidance.

The subsequent key fob distribution process was also overly burdensome on tenants and excluded certain individuals.

Tenants were incorrectly told to present a valid New York state ID or other government-issued ID to receive their new key fob. At the time, only U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents qualified for government-issued IDs, leaving the significant number of non-citizen and nonlegal permanent resident Chinese tenants of the building with the impression that they were not entitled to access their own

homes. According to DHCR guidance, owners must accept any form of identification from tenants as long as it contains a photo of the tenant and it is impermissible for a rent-stabilized owner to require an ID issued by a certain state or jurisdiction.

Additionally, the OAG’s investigation found that in March 2018, when SW Security Services distributed key fobs to tenants, the company’s Director of Investigations impermissibly recorded information from tenant IDs, including the jurisdiction issuing the ID and the address listed. The security company then used the information from the IDs as a basis for recommending 13 private investigations into certain tenants. Ten of the 13 tenants were individuals with Chinese surnames. Both the sponsor and management company authorized those investigations, which resulted in seven of the tenants — six of whom had Chinese surnames — to forfeit their apartments.

As part of the agreement with OAG, 132-40 Sanford LLC and Pinnacle Managing are required to implement a series of measures, including: •Donating $50,000 to nonprofit organizations that focus on tenant organizing on behalf of the Asian community; •Conducting anti-discrimination training for staff through the New York City Commission on Human Rights; •Implementing a form flyer for key fob distribution that does not require a New York ID. Pinnacle Managing is also required to have these flyers (and all applications for keys) translated into languages that are spoken in the building; •Agreeing not to record any data from IDs when handing out key fobs to tenants and their guests. The company will also be required to implement a system for key fob distribution that does not require any ID other than one that proves identity and does not require listing of individuals residing in the apartment; •Agreeing not to hire any security services firm to distribute key fobs; and •Agreeing to comply with DHCR guidance and regulations.

own staff, including: •Requiring investigators to attend antidiscrimination and rent-stabilization trainings; •Implementing policies for interactions with minors; and •Agreeing that investigators will not record any data from tenant IDs when handing out key fobs.

“It seems clear that the owners and operators of the Infinity 8 Condominium and the security firm deliberately

attempted to target members of our Asian American community in an effort force them out of their own homes,” said State Senator Toby Stavisky. “This practice is abhorrent, shameful, and cannot be tolerated. I applaud Attorney General Letitia James for investigating this discriminatory practice and protecting the rent-stabilized tenants.”

“Targeting rent-stabilized tenants with private investigations is despicable beyond words, and I am very grateful to Attorney General James for making sure these condo owners are held accountable for their blatant harassment,” said Council Member Peter Koo. “I sincerely hope others looking to flip our rent-stabilized housing stock by intimidating immigrant tenants take note of this case and know that our community is watching, law enforcement is watching, and there are serious repercussions for playing fast and loose with tenants’ rights.”l

SW Security Services will also implement similar measures pertaining to their

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FAMILY MATTERS

12

Is the TikTok App Safe for Kids?

BY TONY BIRDSONG, MCAFEE.COM

E

veryone’s talking about the TikTok app. In addition to talking, tweens and teens are swiping, laughing, and sharing TikTok videos.

Meanwhile, parents are concerned with one thing: Is TikTok safe?

What is TikTok? Based out of China, TikTok is a videobased social networking app that replaced the Musical.ly app, which ended its digital run in 2017. The app allows users to create an account, make and post short 15-60-second videos, as well as view, comment on, and share videos from other users. According to reports, TikTok has 1 billion active users in 155 countries. Approximately 60 percent of TikTok’s audience is between 16 and 24. Guidelines state that anyone 12+ can use the app, though there’s no ageverification process.

Why Do Kids Love TikTok? TikTok is the latest and greatest digital hangout that has become the main channel for kids to discover new and creative ways to express themselves. They can follow their interests, be entertained, and be rewarded with views, likes, and shares for their artistic efforts. Tik Tok has

built-in editing tools, free music, and dialogue clips, and filters that make creating videos easy for any skill level. Users can share funny sketches, lip-sync videos, and spontaneous, personal raves or rants.

According to app reviews posted by teens, TikTok is also a go-to creative outlet, a place to de-stress, and a confidence-builder.

What are the risks?

Apps aren’t inherently risky. Rather, it’s the way individuals use an app that puts themselves or others at risk. That’s why understanding how your kids engage on TikTok, and how to make the experience as safe as possible, is important. Here are some of the risks your child could encounter on TikTok: Contact from strangers. According to news reports, predators use TikTok to connect with kids. Anyone who follows a TikTok user can privately message them and initiate private conversations outside of the app.

Exposure to mature content and lyrics.

Apps attract users of all ages, which means if your child has a TikTok account, he or she has access to the public video feed. With 1 billion users, your child will likely see videos containing

Editorial credit: Funstock / Shutterstock.com

sexually suggestive or explicit images and hear explicit lyrics (we saw and heard plenty). They may even unknowingly use music clips for their videos that contain explicit lyrics.

Spam and malware. Recent reports reveal software flaws that could potentially open up TikTok accounts to a range of malicious attacks. Researchers say hackers could have exploited the flaws to send legitimate-looking text messages loaded with malware, made private videos public, and accessed personal data.

Excessive screentime. TikTok is a curiosity magnet for kids, which can lead to excessive screen time, lack of sleep, and a host of other negative outcomes from too much time online.

Cyberbullying. TikTok users have been known to create “cringe compilations,” which are videos they deem to be odd, uncool, or cringe-worthy. Several of these cruel compilations have been posted outside of TikTok and have gone viral.

Quest for likes. As with any social network, some users can become preoccupied with amassing views, likes, and followers. This obsession can lead to bad decisions, risky behavior (such as challenges), cyberbullying, and sharing harmful content.

Oversharing. Some kids share their daily activities through TikTok videos and inadvertently expose personal information such as their school, their location, home address, and other personal data.

10 Family Safety Tips Should you allow your child to use TikTok? The answer to that question depends on a few things, including the age of the child using the app and how they use it. Here are a few tips that may help in that decision.

1. Download the app. The best way to understand TikTok is to download it, create an account, and explore. Take some solo time to search a few hashtags, scroll some feeds, and get a feel for the content.

Visit the app’s safety center for an overview of safety tools. Visit the privacy center to see how your child’s data is being used.

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2. Go through the app together. Sit and browse content with your child. Discuss the pros and cons of the content and how it does or doesn’t align with your family’s digital ground rules.

3. Max privacy settings. By making a TikTok account private, only approved followers (known friends) can view your child’s videos or send your child messages. When an account is public, anyone can comment, send messages, or share your child’s videos.

4. Explore restricted mode. TikTok has a Restricted Mode for minors that will allow you to filter out inappropriate content.

5. Explore Family Safety Mode. This TikTok feature allows a parent to link their TikTok account to their child’s to manage screen time, direct messages, set restrictions, and control friend and comment filters.

6. Control interactions. Users can disable comments on a specific video, block people they don’t know from following them, and report abuse.

7. Monitor social circles. Kids can change privacy settings and eventually be wooed into making more connections and getting more exposure. Consider monitoring who your child follows and who is following them. Consider the TikTok influencers they follow and the type of content they share.

8. Monitor screen time. It’s easy to burn through countless hours on TikTok. The app has a digital wellbeing element that alerts users every two hours. Consider filtering software that adds another way to set screen limits.

9. Talk about being an upstander.

Creating and sharing original content online takes courage — and attracts bullies, making TikTok a potentially unsafe environment for kids. Encourage your child to be an upstander online and offer encouragement and support to peers when needed.

10. Block the app. If you determine TikTok’s content isn’t a good fit for your family or that the risks outweigh the opportunities, both Android and iOS have built-in parental controls in Settings that allow you to block any app (consider rechecking these settings weekly).

One look at today’s headlines, and it’s tempting for a parent to want to delete every app like TikTok. Only we know a similar app will soon surface. Another approach is to jump into the digital mix.

Know what apps your kids love and why.

Understand how they use their favorite apps and who they are talking to. And, always remember: It’s never too early or too late to start these critical conversations with your kids. You’ve got this, parents!l Toni Birdsong is a Family Safety Evangelist for McAfee. She is an author, speaker, and cyber savvy mom of two teenagers (much to their dismay). As a family safety evangelist for McAfee, she focuses on online safety and often speaks to educators, parents, and teens about dodging the dangers online.

FAMILY MATTERS

13

5 Reasons ADHD Goes Unrecognized in Girls

D

ifficulties with sitting still, paying attention or controlling impulsive behavior are some of the initial signs or symptoms of ADHD in children. These signs are often stereotyped as typical of behavior of young boys. It's reported that boys are three times more likely to be diagnosed than girls.1 Between not being included in ADHD research and the societal gender norms of female behavior, it has been a challenge to pinpoint this disorder in girls.

Here are some reasons for this difference in diagnosing girls with ADHD. 1) Perception of 'personality traits' The symptoms of ADHD in girls present differently than boys and are most times thought of as characteristics of their personality.2,3 Daydreaming and shyness are common signs for inattentiveness that are missed, while being talkative or crying easily may be a version of impulsivity, but instead these signs may be overlooked and written off.2,3 Due to the conflicting portrayals, it's difficult for parents or teachers to decide if something is a personality trait or a symptom.

2) Lack of inclusion in research Females were never studied exclusively in ADHD research. It wasn't until 2002 that two long-term studies were complet-

ed on ADHD in girls.4 While there appears to be an abundance of information available, more research on gender issues in ADHD is needed to help raise the awareness of the needs of girls with the disorder.

3) Stigma of labels As ADHD goes undiagnosed and may be dismissed as a personality trait, girls in their formative years can be burdened with labels of being a crybaby, lazy, careless or talkative, which can lead to low self-esteem, underachievement, anxiety or depression.4 The sooner parents and teachers identify ADHD, the greater chance for girls to be free of the stigma of these damaging labels that can follow them into adulthood.

4) Girls never measured up For years doctors have used boys' symptoms as the guide for which girls should be measured. The current diagnostic criteria are more appropriate for males as they present more problematic ADHD behaviors that are easier to identify.3,4 Some even believe this disorder does not occur in females at all. This calls for more accurate, gender-specific screening tools to adequately recognize and treat ADHD in girls.

5) Overachievers and overcompensation Since school age, girls are groomed to be more socially conscious and understand the need to do well in school. Many times symptoms of ADHD are missed not only because they may be different than those

seen in boys, but also due to girls masking the signs with coping strategies.2,3,5 Perfectionism is another common characteristic seen in girls and by putting forth so much effort and concentration on things they may be good at, parents and teachers won't think of ADHD when there is an issue with inattention.2,3 The first step to diagnosis is for parents and teachers to acknowledge what they may be seeing at home and in class may be symptoms of ADHD and not rule them out. While ADHD is a common and treatable medical disorder, only a doctor or other healthcare provider can diagnose ADHD. To learn more, visit MoreToADHD.com.(BPT)l References: * "What is attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)?".

More to ADHD. https://www.moretoadhd.com/what-is-adhd/.

Accessed December 21, 2020. * Low, Keath. "20 Signs and Symptoms of ADHD in Girls". Very Well Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/adhd-in-girls-symptoms-of-adhd-in-girls-20547. Accessed January 5, 2021. * Young, Susan, et al. Females with ADHD: An expert consensus statement taking a lifespan approach providing guidance for the identification and treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in girls and women. BMC Psychiatry. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7422602/pdf/128 88_2020_Article_2707.pdf. Accessed January 5, 2021. * Crawford, Nicole. "ADHD: a women's issue". American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/monitor/feb03/adhd. Accessed January 5, 2021. * Connolly, Maureen. "ADHD in Girls: Why It's Ignored, Why That's Dangerous". ADDitude. https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-in-girls-women/. Accessed January 5, 2021.

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IMMIGRATION

14

Biden Took Eight Administrative Actions on Immigration. Here’s What You Need to Know.

BY KATY MURDZA

O

n his first day in office, President Biden took significant steps towards undoing the harm of the Trump administration’s immigration policies—and reforming our punitive and inhumane enforcement system.

In response to years of work by immigrants and advocates, Biden quickly signed a series of executive actions related to immigration. Here is a summary of eight immigration-related changes the new administration just implemented: 1. Scaling back Trump’s unchecked immigration enforcement.

An executive order and a related Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memo rescinding Trump’s enforcement policy that indiscriminately targeted anyone who could be deported. Starting on February 1, interim priorities will focus enforcement on people suspected of terrorism, most people who have arrived to the United States since November 1—and some people who are currently incarcerated and determined to be a public safety

risk.

It will be important to watch how these interim enforcement priorities are applied in practice, especially given the United States’ history of racism in the criminal justice system and anti-terrorism initiatives and excessively harsh immigration consequences for many crimes.

2. 100-Day moratorium on most deportations.

A DHS memo implementing a 100-day moratorium on most deportations, starting on January 22. There are a few narrow categories of people who will still be deported, including people who have recently arrived to the United States and people who are suspected of terrorism.

The State of Texas has filed a lawsuit against the moratorium claiming it violates agreements of questionable legality made by the Trump administration in its final days.

During the moratorium, DHS is required to review its enforcement practices and make recommendations for new priorities. Additionally, the Biden administration has not yet specified what will hap-

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pen to the approximately 15,000 people currently in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention. It is essential that further plans include an end to our country’s cruel immigration detention system.

3. The end of the Muslim and African travel bans.

A proclamation rescinding Trump’s Muslim Ban, which blocked immigrants from certain mostly Muslim-majority countries, and African Ban, which primarily affected certain African countries.

Biden ordered the State Department to immediately resume processing visas for those affected by the bans, and to propose a plan for reconsidering without prejudice the people previously excluded by it.

He also ordered a full review of vetting procedures for people seeking visas to the United States. Trump’s pandemic-related bans for people attempting to travel on immigrant and non-immigrant visas currently still extend through March.

4. Protecting people with DACA. A memo instructing DHS and the Attorney General to “preserve and forti-

fy” the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which was recently restored to its original form by court order.

The Biden administration hopes to strengthen the program to protect it from another pending lawsuit, but has not announced whether the program will be expanded to people outside of the original criteria.

5. Expedited and extended access to green card processing for Liberians.

An executive action ordering the expedited processing of green cards through the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act, a benefit few people have been able to access due to processing delays during COVID-19.

Biden also extended Deferred Enforced Departure, a temporary status that recently expired for Liberians, to provide more time for eligible Liberians to apply for permanent residence.

6. Pausing construction on the border wall.

A proclamation terminating the national emergency at the southern border, which the Trump administration used to direct funds towards border wall construction.

The president ordered a pause in wall construction while DHS reviews all related contracts and creates a plan for the redirection of the funds already appropriated for the wall for 2021.

7. Ending Trump’s unconstitutional census executive order.

An executive order rescinding Trump’s instructions to the Census Bureau to remove undocumented immigrants from census counts. States are now ensured to receive full Congressional representation and federal funding for all of their residents.

8. Suspending new enrollments in the so-called “Migrant Protection Protocols.”

DHS also announced that the agency would stop subjecting new asylum seekers to the Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as the “Remain in Mexico” program. The announcement does not change the situation of the thousands of people already in the program, nor does it end under anti-asylum border policies like the expulsions implemented by the Trump administration.

On his first day in office, President Biden took quick and decisive action to deliver on many immigration campaign promises. And yet, a great deal of work to repair the damage caused over the last four years remains. Further announcements of additional administrative actions are expected in the upcoming weeks.l

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IMMIGRATION

15 leave their home countries.

It would also prioritize keeping parents and children together rather than separating them as the Trump administration did.

Why Biden’s Immigration Bill Is the Boldest In Decades/ continued from page 1 States.

In addition to the legalization component, the Biden administration’s bill also contains three other legislative pillars: reforming the immigration court system, overhauling management of U.S. borders, and addressing the root causes of undocumented migration to the United States.

A Pathway to Citizenship The measure would grant temporary status to qualifying undocumented immigrants for five years. After this period, people could apply for a green card (permanent residence) if they pass a background check and establish that they have paid all outstanding taxes.

Immigrants could then apply for U.S. citizenship three years after receiving their green cards if they pass additional background checks and demonstrate a knowledge of English and U.S. civics.

Some people could skip the five years of temporary status and apply for a green card immediately. This includes undocumented immigrants who came to this country as children (Dreamers), Temporary Protected Status holders, and undocumented farmworkers.

These legalization provisions would apply to any undocumented immigrant who was in the United States as of January 1, 2021.

Changes to the Immigration Court System The bill would create for the first time a requirement for the government to provide counsel for children placed into immigration proceedings who cannot afford a lawyer. The government would also be required to provide a lawyer for certain other vulnerable individuals.

It would restore discretion to government adjudicators, previously eliminated

by Congress in 1996, to give those facing deportation a second chance to remain in the United States no matter their circumstances.

The measure would also expand “alternatives to detention” such as the Family Case Management Program, so people would not have to remain in detention throughout their immigration court proceedings.

Modernizing Border Security Border management under the bill would emphasize “smart technology”—rather than ineffective and costly border barri-

ers—to detect and disrupt unauthorized activities. In fact, Biden has already issued an executive order halting construction of the Trump administration’s border wall.

The modernization of border infrastructure at ports of entry would be a key part of this plan. In addition, the administration would foster greater professionalism and training among border agents, who are notorious for misconduct and abuse.

Border enforcement efforts would be particularly focused on the prosecution of criminal organizations, rather than the people those organizations so frequently exploit.

Address Causes of Migration There is a multi-agency plan to address the causes of poverty, violence, and corruption within the Central American nations that cause many migrants to flee to the U.S. border in search of safety.

Similarly, the bill would also allow displaced persons in Central America to apply for refugee resettlement in the United States without first having to

Streamline the Legal Immigration System The measure also contains provisions to streamline and improve the functioning of the family-based and employmentbased immigration systems.

It would clear application backlogs, reduce wait times, and recapture unused visas from previous years. The bill would also raise the per-country visa caps and eliminate the “3 and 10-year bars” to reentry into the United States for individuals who depart after having previously been in the country illegally.

This marks the first comprehensive immigration reform introduced in Congress since 2013. The Democraticcontrolled Senate passed the legislation, but the Republican-controlled House derailed it.

Although Democrats control both chambers of Congress this time, no votes can be taken for granted. The bill needs to receive the votes of at least nine Republicans in the Senate to pass by the necessary two-thirds majority.

If the Biden administration’s bill does pass, it would be the most substantive overhaul of the U.S. immigration system in decades. It would go a long way in rectifying several longstanding inequities and injustices in U.S. immigration law

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.BLF FZF IFBMUI B OFX ZFBShT SFTPMVUJPO HFU B EJMBUFE FZF FYBN

Make a resolution to learn more.

Every New Year, you make a list of things you will do to stay healthy so you can feel your best.

But, did you realize that feeling your best includes seeing your best too? January is Glaucoma Awareness Month – the perfect time to spread the word about the disease. So, this year, add learning about glaucoma to your list! Your eyes will thank you for it.

1. Glaucoma can cause vision loss and blindness, which can’t be reversed.

Glaucoma causes fluid to build up in your eye, causing pressure that can damage the optic nerve, which transfers visual images to your brain.

But, you can save your vision with early detection and treatment.

2. There are no early symptoms. Glaucoma often has no early warning signs. No pain. No discomfort. No blurry vision. Only advanced glaucoma will affect your vision. Don’t wait for symptoms to visit your eye doctor!

3. In the United States, half the people who have glaucoma don’t know they do. Nearly 3 million Americans have glaucoma. Half don’t know it. Lack of awareness and the absence of symptoms are preventing people from detecting the disease early. You can change that! Find out if you have glaucoma.

4. Some people are at higher risk than others.

African Americans over 40, adults over 60 – especially Hispanics/Latinos, and people with a family history of glaucoma are at higher risk, making early detection especially important.

Are you at higher risk? Talk to your family about glaucoma.

5. There is only one way to know if you have glaucoma. Getting a comprehensive dilated eye exam is the only way to find out if you have glaucoma. During the exam, an eye care professional places drops in your eyes to widen the pupils and looks for signs of the disease in the optic nerve.

Now that you’ve got the facts about glaucoma, make a resolution for healthier vision. Schedule a comprehensive dilated eye exam today! And encourage your friends and loved ones to do the same.

To learn more about glaucoma, visit www.nei.nih.gov/glaucoma.

To learn more, visit www.nei.nih.gov/glaucoma The National Eye Institute (NEI) leads the federal government’s research on the visual system and eye diseases. NEI supports basic and clinical science programs to develop sight-saving treatments and address the special needs of people with vision loss. For more information, visit www.nei.nih.gov.

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MONEY MATTERS

17

What to Know About the Second Round of Economic Impact Payment (EIP)

BY CRISTINA MIRANDA, DIVISION OF CONSUMER & BUSINESS EDUCATION, FTC

T

he US Department of the Treasury and the IRS are working hard to get a second round of Economic Impact Payments (EIP) to people. You might have already gotten your payment direct deposited into your bank account.

That started on December 29th. You might have gotten a check in the mail.

But, like last time, some people will get their payment in the mail on an EIP VISA debit card. Don’t be surprised if the way you get this second round of payments is different than the first time.

Whichever way you get your payment, it’s all money the government wants you to have, and quickly. So: if you qualify for an Economic Impact Payment, look at your bank account for a direct deposit, keep an eye out for a check in the mail, or watch your mailbox carefully this month for an EIP Visa debit card.

With checks, you know the drill: get the check, deposit the check. Since you might not have gotten money on a VISA debit card before, here’s a bit more info.

The EIP VISA debit card will come in an

envelope. The debit cards are managed

by Money Network Financial, LLC and issued by Treasury’s financial agent, MetaBank®, N.A. If you got an EIP VISA debit card in the mail, here’s what to do.

•Activate the EIP VISA debit card right away by calling 1-800-240-8100. To activate your card, you’ll have to give the last six digits of your Social Security number. Once the card is activated, you can use it anywhere that accepts VISA debit cards, including online or in a store, or at an ATM to get cash. You also can transfer the money from the card to your

personal bank account without fees.

Keep in mind that the EIP debit cards will expire after three years. If that happens, call customer service to request the funds be sent to you as a check.

•Got questions about the EIP card? Call the 24-hour call center at 1-800-2408100. You can also visit EIPCard.com for information on using your EIP card, like where to log in to see your card balance, or where to find an in-network ATM to get money out of the card at no charge.

•Got more general EIP questions? The IRS also has an FAQs page in English, or in Spanish.

And one last thing. Like last time, scammers are at work trying to get your money and/or personal information.

Remember that the government will never call, text, email, or ask you to click on a link to activate your EIP card or get your money. If anyone does, it’s a scam.

Don’t give anyone your personal or financial information, like your Social Security or bank account numbers. And never pay anyone to get your EIP funds.

Report any scam immediately to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.l

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continued on page 11 The Law Offices of Figeroux & Associates, 26 Court Street, Suite 701, Brooklyn, NY. Visit www.311bankruptcy.com VISIT WWW.CAWNYC.COM FOR THE LATEST CARIBBEAN NEWS, IMMIGRATION UPDATES, VIEWPOINTS, ENTERTAINMENT & MORE!LIKE US ON FACEBOOK @CAWNYC!

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nHEALTH

nENTERTAINMENT

nRELATIONSHIPS

nRECIPES

nSPORTS

Jamaican-American Christina Cooper Featured in Forbes

nHOROSCOPE

Kitchen Corner Red Velvet for Your Valentine

BY STAFF WRITER, JAMAICANS.COM

J

amaican-American filmmaker, actress, model, business entrepreneur, and fashion designer, Christina Cooper, was recently featured in Forbes for her influence on 2021 Fashion Trends. She cited the cuisine, films, and fashion of Jamaica as inspirations for her film “South Central Love” and her Island Gal fashion and beauty products brand.

Her film explores her Los Angeles upbringing and is meant to communicate a message exhorting an end to gun violence. Cooper was born in Los Angeles to a Chinese mother, May Cooper, and a Jamaican father, Ashton Cooper. The film has been screened on the BET network.

Her fashion career began when Cooper was scouted at the Fox Hills Mall in Culver City, offered a contract with a New York modeling agency, and participated in New York Fashion Week. She was then signed by an agency based in Germany and attended Mercedes Benz Berlin Fashion Week and then went to Italy for Milan Fashion Week.

Her experiences in Milan, where her wallet was stolen, and she had to survive in the city with very little money provided by the modeling agency taught her important lessons in how to budget and how to handle money wisely. She also learned to be independent and to have a positive attitude, elements that she emphasizes in the Island Gal Collection.

Her trips to visit family in Jamaica introduced her to the island’s fashion sense, the materials used, the land, and the oceans; all of these fed her creativity.

Another inspiration for Cooper was model Naomi Campbell, who is also of Jamaican descent. The position Campbell has reached in the fashion industry has served as a positive role model for Cooper as she continued her career in modeling and fashion.

Cooper relies on her personal life experiences to fuel her success in the arts, fashion, and business. Her skin care product line came about because she has very sensitive skin; she created a line of products suitable for all skin types as they are

O Photo Source: ChristinaCooper Instagram

“clean, organic, and vegan.” She drew on the Jamaican tradition of home remedies and keeping things “natural and from the earth” as well. She also said that becoming a model helped her with her fashion sense as she was able to travel around the world and see many styles on display.

Now, when she attends fashion events and premieres, she focuses on what is new and fresh, while keeping things sophisticated and “with an edge.”

Cooper generously shares her experiences with others who want to start their own businesses. She offers online courses through her CCPLA University on how to launch an e-commerce brand, noting that in the age of COVID-19, the online market offers great potential.

Cooper’s Island Gal Collection is designed to empower women through its Caribbean-inspired motifs as well as the confident style exhibited by the people in the Caribbean region. The collection has expanded to include everyday beauty products as Cooper notes that she wants her clothing, organic skincare, and vegan products to promote inner confidence in all women, regardless of race.

Whatever she creates, whether in film or fashion, she strives to make it inspirational, moving to make positive changes, or to highlight “inclusivity within the human race.”l

n the sweetest day of the year, a day full of flowers, love and sweets, Valentine’s Day is the ultimate opportunity to try a different dessert meant for two.

It’s hard to resist a perfectly blended, rose-red, luscious Red Velvet Mug Cake.

It’s the perfect size, with just a handful of instructions, and it’s easily cooked before your eyes in the microwave. That’s right, the microwave.

This mug cake is a simple way to make something delicious and keep the portions small. Whether you have a small party, just you and your loved one or just simply want something easy and small, this quick treat is designed just for you.

Start by mixing all the dry ingredients into a large mug, including flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.

Then add milk, melted butter, vanilla and red food coloring. Use a spoon and stir the ingredients together until blended.

Mix powdered sugar and cream cheese then drop the mixture into the cake batter

and mix once more. Microwave the mug for up to 3 minutes until your cake is baked.

Valentine’s Day means sharing with someone how much you care, and it’s difficult to find a better way than to share something sweet. This dessert has Valentine’s Day written all over it, however, it can be enjoyed anytime throughout the year and is perfect for a late-night snack if you’re craving something sugary-sweet.

—Culinary.net Ingredients Servings: 1 6 tablespoons flour 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon cocoa powder 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup milk 2 tablespoons butter, melted 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 30 drops red food coloring 3 tablespoons powdered sugar 1 tablespoon cream cheese, softened Directions In 12-ounce mug, whisk flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.

Add milk, butter, vanilla and food coloring; mix until blended.

In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and cream cheese until smooth.

Drop cream cheese mixture into cake batter. Press into batter until covered.

Microwave up to 3 minutes until cake is done. (FamilyFeatures) l

Source: Christina Cooper Instagram, Forbes Magazine

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20

HEALTH

Why Heart Health Awareness Is Crucial for Blacks

Reading for Winter

Dear Justyce

W

hen former NBA player Caron Butler was in the league, exercise wasn't something he needed to worry about during his 14-year professional career. These days, in his new role as an assistant coach at Miami Heat, he's learned to be more mindful about incorporating physical activity into his daily routine to help maintain good heart health.

"Now that I'm retired, staying in shape is no longer part of my job," Butler says.

"I have to make sure I set aside time to shoot hoops with my kids or go for a walk during the day—especially while we're spending more time at home."

Butler hopes others follow his example.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States each year, and African Americans are about 20% more likely to die from the condition compared to other racial or ethnic groups. With these statistics in mind, and as you navigate life during the COVID-19 pandemic, it's even more important to be aware of heart health as existing heart conditions can increase the risk of severe illness from COVID-19.

Black men, in particular, face disparities when it comes to heart disease and heart

health. These disparities can include medical procedures and care. A 2018 study in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that Black men were less likely to receive cardiac medical procedures than white men — even when presenting with similar symptoms.

To help increase awareness and encourage action, Butler has teamed up with Astellas to encourage Black men and women to set the screen — make an appointment for a heart health screening.

Set the Screen is a national campaign designed to empower African Americans to prioritize their heart health by raising awareness of some of the known (smoking, alcohol consumption and obesity) and

lesser-known cardiovascular risks, such as genetics.

Butler has experienced heart disease on a personal level with his extended family and is passionate about ensuring Black men know their risk and, importantly, speak with their doctor to help reduce it.

Now that he's not playing professional basketball every day, Butler tries to adhere to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' guidelines that suggest 150-300 minutes of moderate activity or 75-150 minutes of intense activity each week.

Physical activity is vital to heart health, but so is rest. The benefits of a good night's sleep can extend far beyond sweet dreams. Almost one-third of Americans get 7-8 hours of sleep each night, which puts them at a higher risk for heart disease.

As Americans are increasingly aware of their health amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, scheduling a cardiovascular screening virtually or in person is an important step in taking control of your health. "Set the Screen" and make an appointment with your doctor today.

"I am proud to partner with Astellas and the National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA), to help address some of the health disparities that exist in this country today," says Butler. "By encouraging more African Americans to talk to their doctors, I believe we can empower them to make their heart health a priority."

To learn more about how to reduce your risk of coronary heart disease, the most common type of heart disease, visit MindYourHeartFacts.com.l

"A powerful, raw, must-read told through the lens of a Black boy ensnared by our broken criminal justice system."

—Kirkus, Starred Review The stunning sequel to the #1 New York Times bestseller Dear Martin.

Incarcerated teen Quan writes letters to Justyce about his experiences in the American juvenile justice system.

Perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds and Angie Thomas.

In the highly anticipated sequel to her New York Times bestseller, Nic Stone delivers an unflinching look into the flawed practices and silenced voices in the American juvenile justice system.

Vernell LaQuan Banks and Justyce McAllister grew up a block apart in the Southwest Atlanta neighborhood of Wynwood Heights. Years later, though, Justyce walks the illustrious halls of Yale University . . . and Quan sits behind bars at the Fulton Regional Youth Detention Center.

Through a series of flashbacks, vignettes, and letters to Justyce—the protagonist of Dear Martin—-Quan's story takes form. Troubles at home and misunderstandings at school give rise to police encounters and tough decisions.

But then there's a dead cop and a weapon with Quan's prints on it. What leads a bright kid down a road to a murder charge? Not even Quan is sure.l —goodreads.com

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High blood pressure, diabetes & your heart Type 2 diabetes puts you at higher risk for heart disease, but there are steps you can take to lower your risk. Managing your blood pressure is one way to lower your risk of heart disease.

High blood pressure is anything above 120/80 mmHg.

What can you do?

Start simple

What’s the connection?

Ask your doctor to check your kidney function and blood pressure.

Adults with diabetes are

Know your numbers

MORE LIKELY TO HAVE A HEART ATTACK OR STROKE THAN PEOPLE WITHOUT DIABETES.

The combination of high blood pressure and diabetes drastically increases your risks. That’s why it’s vital to keep your blood pressure in a healthy range.

If you have diabetes, there is a lot you can do to manage your high blood pressure.

Talk to your doctor about your next steps.

Keeping your blood pressure and blood glucose in your target ranges is vital for your overall health.

Keep it up Take care of yourself with exercise, healthy diet and taking your medications as prescribed.

You’re not in this alone. Find answers to your questions and join the initiative at: https://KnowDiabetesbyHeart.org/join © 2020 American Heart Association, Inc. and American Diabetes Association, 501(c)(3) not-for-profits. All rights reserved. Know Diabetes by Heart is a trademark of the American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association. Unauthorized use prohibited. Citations available upon request.

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GENERATIONS

22

Getting Your Affairs in Order

N

o one ever plans to be sick or disabled. Yet, it's this kind of planning that can make all the difference in an emergency.

Ben's Story Ben has been married for 47 years. He always managed the family's money. But since his stroke, Ben is not able to walk or talk. His wife, Shirley, feels overwhelmed. Of course, she's worried about Ben's health. But, on top of that, she has no idea what bills should be paid or when they are due.

Louise's Story Across town, 80-year-old Louise lives alone. One night, she fell in the kitchen and broke her hip. She spent a week in the hospital and 2 months in a rehabilitation nursing home. Even though her son lives across the country, he was able to pay her bills and handle her Medicare questions right away. That's because, several years ago, Louise and her son made a plan about what he should do in case Louise had a medical emergency.

Preparing and Organizing Legal Documents for the Future Long before she fell, Louise put all her important papers in one place and told her son where to find them. She gave him the name of her lawyer, as well as a list of people he could contact at her bank, doc-

tor's office, insurance company, and investment firm. She made sure he had copies of her Medicare and other health insurance cards. She made sure her son could access her checking account and safe deposit box at the bank. Louise made sure Medicare and her doctor had written permission to talk with her son about her health and insurance claims.

On the other hand, Ben always took care of family money matters, and he never talked about the details with Shirley. No one but Ben knew that his life insurance policy was in a box in the closet or that the car title and deed to the house were filed in his desk drawer. Ben never expected that his wife would have to take over. His lack of planning has made a tough job even tougher for Shirley.

What Exactly Is an "Important Paper"?

The answer to this question may be different for every family. Remember, this is a starting place. You may have other information to add. For example, if you have a pet, you will want to include the name and address of your veterinarian.

Include complete information about personal and financial records.

Important Legal Documents You May Need as You Age There are many different types of legal

will, you can state what kind of care you do or don't want. This can make it easier for family members to make tough healthcare decisions for you.

•A durable power of attorney for health care lets you name the person you want to make medical decisions for you if you can't make them yourself. Make sure the person you name is willing to make those decisions for you.

documents that can help you plan how your affairs will be handled in the future.

Many of these documents have names that sound alike, so make sure you are getting the documents you want. Also, State laws vary, so find out about the rules, requirements, and forms used in your State.

Wills and trusts let you name the person you want your money and property to go to after you die.

Advance directives let you make arrangements for your care if you become sick.

Two common types of advance directives are: •A living will gives you a say in your health care if you become too sick to make your wishes known. In a living

For legal matters, there are ways to give someone you trust the power to act in your place.

•A general power of attorney lets you give someone else the authority to act on your behalf, but this power will end if you are unable to make your own decisions.

•A durable power of attorney allows you to name someone to act on your behalf for any legal task, but it stays in place if you become unable to make your own decisions.

Help for Getting Your Legal and Financial Papers in Order You may want to talk with a lawyer about setting up a general power of attorney, durable power of attorney, joint account, trust, or advance directive. Be sure to ask about the lawyer's fees before you make an appointment.l — The National Institute on Aging

Wills, Trusts & Nursing Home Asset Protection Learn how to Protect your Assets and Provide for your Loved ones

Get Answers to Start Your Estate Plan

At this consultation, we will discuss issues that include: Nursing home costs- the myth of the 昀ve year look back The advantages of Wills, Living Trusts & Probate How to maintain your privacy and protect your estate if you become disabled (Hint: Not all Powers of Attorney are valid) Why putting property in children’s names may be a mistake Protect one’s spouse when the other needs nursing home care Preserve your estate for your kids if your surviving spouse gets married How Probate works and more importantly, how to avoid probate How you can qualify and use Medi-Cal to pay for nursing home expenses Provide for special needs (disabled) children and grandchildren How you may be able to minimize federal and state taxes

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LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS

23

Dating After Divorce: What You Need to Know

BY JANET HOWARD, 311DIVORCE.COM

S

ome people will be ready to start dating soon after moving out of their house. They may be interested in seeing who else is out there or trying to gain confidence in themselves again through dating. Others may want to take things slower and may not be ready to date for months or even a year or longer after a divorce. Regardless of when you decide to start dating again, there are a few things you need to know to make this process easier and more productive for you.

Have Different Expectations If you are like many dating after a divorce, it may have been years or even decades since you last dated. Things may have changed since you were last in the dating pool. Expect to find some individuals like you who want what you want, whether it is casual dating or something more profound and serious, but you can also expect to find many others who wish to the exact opposite. It can help make your needs and desires clear up-front so that you are both on the same page before proceeding through the dating process

with someone. This will help you avoid wasting your time on incompatible individuals with you.

start dating and feel as though you are not ready after all, please pull yourself out of the dating scene for a little longer.

Give Yourself Time Although you may think that you are ready to date, it can be unnerving or surreal to be on a date with someone new.

The process will get more comfortable for you as you date more, but it can be a rough go at first. Provide yourself plenty of time to ease into the routine. If you

Wait for Intimacy You might also consider waiting for intimacy until you are more serious about an individual. STDs are a serious problem, and they are more common than you might think. Even when you use protection, you are not fully protected. This is because all contraceptives can fail or be

used incorrectly, and they simply will not work properly when this happens. While you still want to use protection when you are intimate with someone you know better, you also may feel more relaxed and comfortable when you are less concerned about STDs. Dating can be a new and exciting experience for you, but it also can be stressful.

These tips can help you navigate these waters more easily with success.l

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24

NYC ELECTIONS 2021

Voter Registration Surge Stands to Shape This Year’s NYC Primary Elections

BY ANN CHOI AND JOSEFA VELASQUEZ THE CITY

Democrats running for Council and mayor seek to win over New Yorkers new to the political scene.

W

hen Sheila Lewandowski moved to Long Island City in the late 1990s, she appreciated the “sense of space and light” in the western Queens neighborhood, once defined by factories, warehouses, and a mix of blue collar workers and creative types like herself.

Now, high-rise buildings erected over the last decade have cast shadows on everything beneath them — and the explosive growth of neighborhood residents is also remaking the political map.

Her City Council district, where 20 candidates vie to succeed term-limited Jimmy Van Bramer, has seen voter registration soar, with 22% more Democrats and 18% more total voters eligible to vote in this June’s primary than the last citywide Council election in 2017.

Queens’ 26th Council District is fastgrowing but not unusual. Even as the city’s overall population slipped, the active-voter rolls surged almost everywhere. The number of eligible voters citywide has risen by 630,000 since 2016 — an increase of 13%, Board of Elections records show.

That net growth in the electorate is

Voting rights advocates register people outside City Hall, Oct. 6, 2020. Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY

more than the population of Baltimore, Milwaukee or Tucson — representing a sea of votes being hotly sought after by candidates running in this year’s crucial municipal elections.

Democrats saw 405,000 of that increase. New Democratic voters — with net numbers up 12% citywide — will be pivotal for mayoral hopefuls looking to distinguish themselves in a crowded primary in an overwhelmingly Democratic city.

Searching for a Match Lewandowski, executive director of the Chocolate Factory Theater in Long

Island City and a member of the local community board, says she hasn’t yet identified anyone in the field who fits her progressive values.

“I’m undecided by looking at candidates supporting social, economic and racial justice who recognize that the economy and soul of the city cannot recover from its history of oppression and segregation without honestly acknowledging and addressing these issues at every level of public policy, communication and interaction,” she said.

One of her new neighbors is Erika Brinley, who moved to a Long Island

26 Court Street, Suite 701, Downtown Brooklyn

City high rise from North Carolina four years ago.

“I have moderate political views,” said Brinley, a mother of four who runs a music school for children in the neighborhood. “Fiscally, I would say I’m more conservative, and socially I’m more liberal.”

She registered without a party affiliation but is reconsidering ahead of the June 22 primary election. “In a very heavily Democratic place, if you really want to have a say in your leaders, it really comes down to the primaries,” she said.

For mayor, Brinley has her eye on Andrew Yang, who entered the Democratic contest last week.

Surging Voter Rolls For his part, Yang has his eye on voters like Brinley.

“We clearly target neighborhoods that have had a surge in Democratic voter registration,” he told THE CITY. “But we’re going to try to fight for every vote in every community.”

His upstart campaign is focusing on engaging New Yorkers who vote in national elections but skip over their local races, the mayoral hopeful said.

Yang’s effort is tapping into a large social media following, ties to national media and an army of volunteers.

He knows a thing or two about that cohort, having never cast a vote in a mayoral election during more than two decades of living in New York City.

Name recognition and Twitter followers won’t be enough to quell a surge of potential voters who are much more interested than previously in local politics, said Tyquana Henderson-Rivers, a senior advisor to mayoral candidate Ray McGuire.

“You have to adjust your tactics for this time, not just because of the pandemic, but because you are in a period of heightened civic engagement,” she said. “Your name is not going to carry you. Your message is going to carry you and how effectively you get your message out is going to carry you.”

Council candidate and technology consultant Julie Won has determined that nine out of 10 of the 11,000 newly registered Democratic voters in the 26th District are under age 50.

Many new western Queens voters lean strongly to the left, as highlighted by the stunning 2018 victory by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley, who was also the county’s Democratic Party boss.

“There have been demographic changes in Queens that have led to Queens essentially becoming the home of progressive politics — western Queens in particular — not just in New York, but in some ways for the country,” said Amit Bagga, continued on page 26

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This Citizenship Program does not apply to anyone who has ever been arrested since getting their Green Card.

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26

CONVERSATIONS Voter Registration Surge Stands to Shape this Year’s NYC Primaries/ continued from page 24 the former deputy director of the city’s Census campaign now running in the same contest as Won. Newly registered voters, whether they migrated from outside or within the city, tend to have no ties to local politics, providing candidates of all stripes a chance to vie for their votes, political consultants say.

“It doesn’t matter where you are — people engage with institutions and leaders who engage with them,” said L. Joy Williams, a political strategist and president of the Brooklyn NAACP. Williams is a consultant for McGuire, a former Citibank executive who is running for mayor.

She sees an opening for newcomers in a landscape where old-guard political clubs are locked into existing relationships with voters — especially as the pandemic curbs in-person events.

“We can be very frank and honest: A lot of establishment or older political institutions in the city, they’re used to the people they’re used to, they organize the people, they’re used to,” she said.

The advent of ranked choice voting this year only increases the urgency for candidates to reach out to broad swaths of the electorate, to score votes on as many

ballots as possible.

Won sees a chance to change who represents her district.

“There has never been a woman or a person of color in this seat,” said Won. “I’m going to prioritize, out of the 17 people, other women and people of color to be my allies. To say, these are the top five people that I align with and I think you should also support.”

Yang described ranked-choice voting as paving a path to his victory over veteran city politicians. “Our polls show that if you don’t have me as your first choice, there’s a reasonable chance you have me as your second choice,” he said. “So we have to get out to voters and let them know to show up.”

An Altered Electorate In Queens, state representatives who had to defend their seats last year have experienced the sea-change firsthand.

Last summer, Democratic Assembly members Aravella Simotas and Michael Miller lost to insurgents Zohran Mamdani and Jenifer Rajkumar.

State Sen. Mike Gianaris (D-Queens), who represents Astoria and Long Island City and held on to his seat, said recognizing the population change and engaging the newcomers proved key to his success.

“The first step is to realize that this change is happening, and a lot of the old guard refused to do that or was in denial about it,” he told THE CITY. “But realiz-

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ing the electorate is changing is important because you can’t make an effort to listen to new voters if you don’t believe that there are new voters to listen to.”

Gianaris’ leading role in the fight against Amazon’s proposed Long Island City headquarters resonated with area residents concerned about housing costs — and ensured he faced no challenge from the left.

Queens Assemblymember Cathy Nolan, who was first elected in 1984, narrowly fended off two primary challengers who split the vote. Her Assembly district has seen a city-leading 26% increase since 2016 in the number of registered Democrats.

Her office did not respond to request for comment.

A New Brooklyn In sheer numbers, Democratic voter rolls have surged most in downtown Brooklyn, another rapidly growing area, by nearly 13,000.

There, newly sworn in Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest defeated incumbent Walter Mosley in the 2020 primary and again in the general election, when the veteran lawmaker ran on the Working Families Party ballot line.

In the north Brooklyn waterfront Assembly district — where registration grew by 20%, to more than 64,000 — political novice Emily Gallagher defeated veteran Assemblymember Joe Lentol.

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THE CITY’s analysis of primary election results found that Souffrant Forrest and Gallagher won seven out of every 10 segments of their Assembly districts that saw the highest voter enrollment growth — far outperforming their overall margins of victory.

Souffrant Forrest’s campaign had been preparing a “massive voter registration” effort, but the pandemic derailed the plans. Instead, the campaign had to pivot to “working with what we’ve got” — finding that young people in the area had begun registering and turning out to vote.

“Demographic-wise, it didn’t matter— Black, white or blue, young people were registering,” said Souffrant Forrest, a nurse. “So we’re like, we’re going to hit the phones. When you hit texting, we’re going to ask people what their concerns were.”

Like Souffrant Forrest, new State Sen. Jabari Brisport ran in downtown Brooklyn with the endorsement of the Democratic Socialists of America, winning by identifying issues that united newcomers and old-timers.

In his race, the seat was open, but he had to defeat the county Democratic Party’s favored candidate, Tremaine Wright.

“We have runaway rents and development in a district without considering the people that are already there,” Brisport told THE CITY. “It’s salient for an elderly Caribbean woman in Crown Heights who was going to the food pantry and salient for a young, white, yuppie dude in Clinton Hill … struggling to pay his rent.”

Reengaging The Bronx Aside from Staten Island, the city’s lone Republican’s stronghold, The Bronx saw the smallest growth in registered Democrats: a little over 40,000 voters, an 8% increase. Republican and other voter registrations in The Bronx went up by 11%.

Democrat Elisa Crespo is running in an upcoming special election to fill the City Council seat vacated by newly elected Rep. Ritchie Torres when he won an open seat in Congress.

She said she’s not surprised to see her party’s voter rolls stagnate in the district, up less than 6% over 2016. The district is home to many green card holders and undocumented immigrants ineligible to vote, she noted.

But voter participation is low even among those who are eligible, she said.

“There are a lot of people who don’t even have the slightest clue that there is a special election happening on March 23,” Crespo said.

In addition to distinguishing herself among a crowd of eight candidates, Crespo is working to engage residents to vote at all.

“So many people in The Bronx in particular, just have really lost their faith in government and believe that the system is not working for them.”l

This story was published on January 20, 2021 by THE CITY.

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