BY AARON REICHLIN-MELNICK
Three years ago, the Trump admin istration sent fear throughout immigrant communities across the nation with its Public Charge rule, which functioned as a wealth test for green card applicants. This fear had been amplified by a leaked draft of the rule in 2018, which would have punished intending immigrants whose U.S. citizen children received a wide variety of bene fits.Now, with a new public charge rule finalized last week, the Biden adminis
for All continued on page 13 26 Court Street, Suite 701, Brooklyn, NY 11242 Tel: 718-243-9431 Email: immjournal @aol.com Protecting God’s Children From Distant Lands www.theimmigrantsjournal.com Sept 22, 2022FREE The Immigrant’s Journal A Journey for a Better Life & Justice Vol. 174 Immigration Status Will No Longer Be a Barrier for Aspiring Lawyers ....11 Feeling Disconnected from Your Partner? Tips to Rebuild Intimacy and Connection in Your Relationship ....20 Time to Revisit Strategies for Child and Family Mental Health ....6 American Dream: Make the Largest Down Payment You Can Afford ....9 Brian Figeroux, Esq.
BY LINDA NWOKE JOURNAL EXCLUSIVE
census-related issues and other crimi nal charges against big organizations. Speaking on the People, Power & Politics Radio Show, DA Bragg prom
ised,"I
Biden New Public Charge Rule Should End Fear of Trump Wealth Test Attorney Hon Alvin Bragg Discusses Immigration Fraud and Justice
continued on page 12 The Importance of a Living Trust ....19 Know Your Rights: Public Transportation and Bus Accidents ....22 Manhattan DA Hon Alvin Bragg Photo courtesy Manhattan DA’s Office President Joe Biden Editorial credit: BiksuTong / Shutterstock.com
pledge to continue what we've been doing. Manhattan's gun violence and homicides are down compared to last year. We will keep investing in our communities and promoting justice for all, including the historically marginal ized. We've seen very encouraging
Manhattan District
As the borough's first black prosecutor, Manhattan District Attorney Hon. Alvin Bragg is an experienced attorney with over twenty years of experience and is famous for the high-profile cases he supervised. As the state's Chief Deputy Attorney General, he managed cases involving Harvey Weinstein, former President Trump's administration, over
Administration’s
day processing rule.
Adrienne E. Adams and Committee on Immigration Chair Shahana Hanif (D-39), Council Member Brewer is circulating a sign-on letter to Council colleagues addressed to Senator Chuck Schumer, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and the New York City Congressional Delegation asking for their support in implementing a policy change that would enable USCIS to adopt the former rule that required 30day review of applications or allocate resources enabling faster processing times. The letter was sent on Friday, September 16.
“To date, New York City has seen almost 10,000 asylum seekers enter our City. While some are only here as a stopover to a final destination, there are thousands with nowhere else to go who need assistance laying down roots,” said Immigration Committee Chair Shahana Hanif (D-39). “I’m proud to stand with Speaker Adams and Council Member
As of September 8, 2022, New York City has received over 9,800 individuals seeking asy lum. Today, Council Member Gale A. Brewer introduced Resolution 03072022 calling on United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to process I-765 Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) within 30 days and quickly clear the backlog of applications.WithSpeaker
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Councilmember Gale Brewer and Commissioner Manuel Castro, Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs and team members at Port Authority to greet asylum seekers. Photo courtesy of CM Brewer’s Office.
On August 25, Council Member Brewer wrote to USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou requesting the USCIS re-implement a 30-
Brewer to call on the Senate to expedite the processing times for applications for employment authorization. This authori zation is key to helping these asylum seekers find footing in our City and will prevent them from falling through the cracks of our social safety net. There are jobs that need to be filled and people who need economic opportunity to start a life in our City. Let’s get it done.”
“New York City has always been a sanctuary for those seeking refuge. People seeking asylum have arrived at the border of the United States from Central and South America, many of whom are families with children, and they ought to be welcomed and support ed through that process. The government must make policy adjustments that respond to this situation with urgency, like returning to a 30-day review pre views for applications for employment authorization. I thank the Mayor’s office and the New York Immigration Coalition for their steadfast support of the families
CM Brewer calls on USCIS for Faster Application for EADs Processing Times
and individuals coming to our city in buses; I have been at the Port Authority bus station to see the warm response. We need the same support from the federal government,” said Council Member Gale A. Brewer (D-06).
Pursuant to federal law, pending asy lum applicants must file an application for employment authorization in order to attain any form of legal employment. For more than 20 years it was standard process for USCIS to process applica tions from asylum seekers within 30 days. On August 21, 2020 USCIS imple mented a rule that removed that 30-day processing requirement. Local nonprofit providers and community-based organi zations are reporting processing times of 6-12 months for these applications.
On Wednesday, August 17, Council Member Gale Brewer greeted nearly 140 asylum seekers arriving at the Port Authority Bus Station.l
Since then, minorities no longer feel safe in the most protected and organized society in the world, while their vision for the future of their families has notably declined, to the point that that which it seemed they had won a long time ago, like civil liberties, is now part of a new edition of this battle, with other actors as visible as they are vulnerable, like the Dreamers, TPS beneficiaries, and people seeking asylum, among oth ers.President BIden is leading the “United We Stand” summit to bring people’s attention to the “corrosive effects of hatefueled violence on our democracy and public safety,” according to the White House.Infact, the summit follows Biden’s
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The Immigrant's Journal Legal & Educational Fund, Inc. is an organization dedicated to the educational and economic empowerment of all immigrants and immigrant organizations here in the United States. We at the Journal recog nize the enormous contribution of immigrants to this country economically, socially and polit ically. Since September 11, 2001, however, immigrants have increasingly been discriminat ed against and Congress has passed legisla tion curtailing the rights of immigrants here in the U.S., broadly claiming that immigrants are a threat to ''National Security.'' We at the Journal believe that these charges are unfounded, unsubstantiated and exaggerated.
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Legal Advisor Brian Figeroux, Esq.
falsehoods that only serve to privilege a “caste” of white nationalists who have not adapted to the natural diversity in which we live, not only in the United States but around the world.
At least the rest of us have been fore warned about what could be to come.l
AnvarKendrickSamsoondarWilliamsSabirov
speech about the threat that the violence Trump and his MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement represents for U.S. democracy. All this is in the context of the FBI’s search into the Trump resi dence in Florida in order to recoup clas sified documents that the ex-president appropriated and did not want to return. Agents of this federal institution and their families have received threats, and in Ohio a man tried to enter an FBI office with an AR-15 and a nail gun, after pub lishing threatening messages and making a call to arms on Trump’s social plat form.Ata
like the war in Vietnam, the bloody battle for civil rights, Watergate, the Iran-Contra scandal, the impeach ment of Bill Clinton, the 2000 election decided for George W. Bush by the Supreme Court, or the war in Iraq, initi ated by that president on false pretenses, also generated division. And now the nation faces a Trumpism sustained not so much on political differences, but on
Internship positions available throughout the year.
Praim
The Secretary of State candidates are Mark Finchem in Arizona; Kristina Karamo in Michigan; Jim Marchant in Nevada, and Audrey Trujillo in New Mexico.ForTrump’s faithful, it’s not just the Democrats who “conspire” against his triumph now, but also their own Republicans. “Our biggest enemy is our own party,” said Marchant, a business man and former state legislator, one of the most ardent Trump supporters who impugned President Joe Biden’s victory in Nevada in 2020, according to the arti cle. Given this, isn’t it time for the Republicans to distance themselves from this disinformation trash, and once again become a true political option? Their silence—their inaction—is driving them toward destruction as a party.
It’s not necessary to imagine what this ideological ticking time bomb could incite in the short term, but we must pay attention to the damage that it is already producing on a society as wounded and profoundly divided as the U.S., which has not been able to undo the toxicity of a former president who didn’t begin to understand the historic significance of thisAtdemocracy.bottom,there was no widespread fraud in the 2020 elections, but this false idea remains present among Trump, his candidates, and his followers. This mes sage culminated in the violence on January 6, 2021, the assault on the Capitol, and that same message—on top of others about the “invasion” at the bor der and the “replacement” theory white people have about minorities—have gen erated violence and death in various mas sacres around the country.
context, we realize that the moment we are facing as a nation is cru cial. It’s true that the United States has experienced episodes of division and dis cord, like the Civil War, where more than 600,000 people died—more than all of the other wars this country has participat ed
Anti Trump protestors. Editorial credit: Ben Gingell / Shutterstock.com
DC: With less than sixty days to the midterm elections, disinformation on various social platforms, and even some traditional media outlets, is intensifying. In fact, it seems like hand-to-hand com bat—or word-to-word combat, at any rate—is being fought, with every mes sage distorting this important moment for the United States. And what is the central message in this war of disinfor mation? The one that emanates from many Republican candidates who invoke Donald Trump in 2020 is that the U.S. electoral system is “corrupt,” and if they lose it’s because there was “fraud,” which they use to incite more violence.
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The Falsehoods of Trumpism Deepen Violence, Division
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Washington,
Thus, Trumpism’s level of virulence does not resemble previous partisan dif ferences, especially because now the Republican leadership in Congress and the country is mostly aligned with extremists, welcoming their message of hate and normalizing it. The question is, why has U.S. society been so contempla tive in the face of the advance of a “movement” like Trumpism, which is apparently its own weapon of mass destruction, its very suicide as a country.
BY MARIBEL HASTINGS & DAVID TORRES AMERICA’S VOICE
Last weekend El Nuevo Herald report ed via Associated Press that four Republican candidates for state office, who continue to assert that there was fraud in the 2020 elections, say that the electoral system is “corrupt” and even “pointed a finger at mysterious forces within their own party.”
Senior Writer Linda Nwoke
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time when the United States should be discussing topics of greater relevance and for the general benefit of generations both present and future, in a century that promised to take steps forward in the social realm, its leaders have to retreat several decades, to analyze and debate matters that once seemed done deals: division, rejection of “the other,” hate, violence against the nation itself, and the danger that democracy runs in the face of this xenophobic, racist, and anti-immi grant rebirth among a good part of U.S. society.Inthis
The Immigrant's Journal Volunteer Intern Program was introduced to give our volunteers the opportunity to work in an immigrant friendly environment while developing the necessary skills for college or law school. They assist our staff in resolving immigration and other legal concerns through personal interviews, radio, email and telephone contact. They also assist the public with citizenship applications and in researching whether or not children of natural ized U.S. citizens have derived citizenship from their parents. Some of our volunteers assist our legal staff by engaging in legal research and writing letters on other legal issues. Volunteer interns are also assigned various other jobs in our Youth Programs. Hours are flexible. Email your cover letter and resume or any questions to immjournal@aol.com
Contributing Writer
JR Holguin
What can I do if ICE is at my door?
What can I do if ICE is inside my home?
A judicial warrant is a warrant from a court, signed by a judge. For example, judge signatures may have “Honorable/Hon.” “Judge” “Justice” or “Magistrate” in front of them.
• If ICE is looking for someone, you do not need to speak. If you choose to speak, you can ask ICE to leave contact information. While you do not need to tell ICE where the person is located, providing false information puts you at risk.
Know Your Rights with ICE
“I
for
• In an emergency, such as a threat to public safety or a threat to someone’s life, ICE can come in without asking your permission. If this happens, you still do not have to speak to ICE.
• From behind the closed door, you may ask them who they are and to show their badge, ID or business card through the window or peephole or to pass it under the closed door.
If they say No: you can say, want to silent.”remain
“I
If they search you anyway, you cannot physically stop them, but clearly saying it may be important in any future legal case.
• Before you say anything, you can ask, “Am I free to go?”
“I do not want to speak with you.”
• You can ask if they have a judicial warrant:
• If ICE starts to search rooms or items in your home, you can tell them, “I do not consent to your search.” You can continue to repeat this if they continue to search without consent.
“I do not consent to a search.”
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If they say Yes, you can ask them to slide it under the door. To know if it is a judicial warrant, look to see who signed the warrant.
If they say No, you do not have to let them in. You may say,
If approached by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents, you have rights!
If ICE agents try to search your pockets or belongings, you can say,
What can I do if ICE stops me on the street or in public?
• If ICE enters your home without your permission, you can tell them clearly: “I do not consent to you being in my home. Please leave.” Saying this may not always stop them, but it may help any future legal case.
Call 855-768-8845 an ConsultationImmigration
• You do not have to immediately open the door for ICE and you do not have to speak to ICE.
• You can tell them if there are children or other vulnerable residents in your home.
This fact sheet gives only general information. It is not legal advice. Consult an attorney for legal advice. English
If they say Yes: you can say, don’t want to answer your questions”
Technology-based interventions like Citizenshipworks are particularly wellsuited to address many of the barriers to naturalization, including improving access to in-language resources, bridging geographic gaps for applicants who live in rural areas or without adequate access to public transportation, and increasing the availability of legal assistance through virtual interventions.
Editorial credit: Deutschlandreform / Shutterstock.com
of more opportunities and a better life for themselves and their families. As they go through this process, we hope that the new Citizenshipworks tool will be a helpful guide in their quest to achieve cit izenship,” said Secretary of State Robert J. AccordingRodriguez. to the Center for Migration Studies, over 800,000 individuals are currently eligible to naturalize through out New York State. With the launch of this initiative, New Yorkers will now be able to access free and trustworthy assis tance with their citizenship application online and from the comfort of their
In addition to the New York State Citizenshipworks Portal, ONA provides other free support for immigrants going through the naturalization process. Through its statewide network of Opportunity Centers – Civics, immi grants can access free naturalization application assistance and free citizen ship prep classes, to prepare them for the naturalization interview. ONA’s Cell-Ed program also provides virtual citizenship test prep modules, that can be accessed through any type of mobile device. l
In Honor of Citizenship Day, New York State Secretary of State Launches Citizenshipworks Portal to Assist New Americans on their Path to Naturalization
September 17 is Citizenship Day, and in honor of this important occasion, New York State Secretary of State Robert J. Rodriguez announced the launch of the New York State Citizenshipworks Portal. Through Citizenshipworks, eligible immigrants can apply for citizenship for free through an online tool that is secure and simple to use. The New York State Citizenshipworks Portal, in partnership with the New York State Office for New Americans (ONA), also includes access to a virtual ONA Opportunity Center, to support clients of ONA community part ners (e.g., English Language providers, workforce partners, and Community Action Agencies) in need of naturaliza tion assistance services, such as complet ing the citizenship application. Training and technical assistance is also being provided to ONA Opportunity Centers that use Citizenshipworks to deliver nat uralization services.
home.The advantages of citizenship are often life-changing, including economic mobility, the ability to vote and partici pate fully in the democratic process, decreased vulnerability to immigration enforcement, and the ability to receive certain government benefits. Many of these benefits lead to increased social and economic security for immigrant
families and communities. Naturalized citizens are more likely to invest in their future and in their communities and are able to participate more fully in society.
“Many immigrants come here in search
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last two years have been far from normal for children and fam ilies. As households prepare for back-to-school, there can be some appre hension of what the year will bring.
and understanding can be achieved through spending time together engaging in mutually enjoyable activities. Ensuring that there is time to listen to your child talk about their day, process events and emotions from school, and engage in sup portive problem solving is critical.
2. Coaching to cope with big and small worries
continued on page 7
Our research has shown that children, teens and parents have struggled with regards to mental health during the pan demic, where higher levels of pandemicrelated stress corresponded to more men tal health difficulties in families.
rides or commutes, and before bed. There are resources that provide sugges tions for initiating supportive conversa tions with your kids.
Research during the pandemic showed that youth who felt socially connected were protected against poor mental health. Therefore, creating opportunities for children and youth to feel connected within their families and with their peers are critical for promoting well-being.
Natural opportunities for these connec tion times include during mealtime, car
BY NICOLE RACINE, DILLON THOMAS BROWNE & STEPHANIE G. CRAIG THE CONVERSATION
As child psychologists and researchers, we review the scientific evidence for strategies that are associated with positive child and family mental health. These are the strategies that we universally recom mend and share with the children, teens, and families we work with in our clinical practice to inoculate against stress and family challenges.
For children and teens, family social and emotional connections are equally, if not more important as friendships in help ing children protect their mental health. During the pandemic, teens who felt stress at home had more mental health problems.Athome, fostering social connection
Family routines can provide stability during times of stress and are generally important for children’s mental health and have shown to be protective for chil dren’s mental health during the COVID19 pandemic.
Back to School: Time to Revisit Strategies for Child and Family Mental Health
Humans are social beings and over the last two years we have experienced limi tations and restrictions on our ability to maintain and develop social connections.
1. Social and emotional connections
Although there are many aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic that are not in our control, it is important to focus on the things that are. Research shows that neg ative mental health outcomes in the face of stress are not inevitable based on exter nal factors alone. There are important strategies families can use to help pro mote mental health.
Worrying can be a natural response to uncertainty, which has become more prevalent during the COVID-19 pandem ic. One habit that can help mitigate chil dren’s worries from developing further is teaching them to cope with big and small worries as they come.
FAMILY MATTERS 6 VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.THEIMMIGRANTSJOURNAL.COM FOR MORE IMMIGRATION NEWS & UPDATES
The
When listening to your child or teen talk about their day, it is important to listen and understand first before engaging in any problem solving. Often children can feel better after discussing their emotions without needing to problem solve.
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Talking about, labelling and validating worries is an important first step. Next, help them think through how they might respond if their worry came true, how likely their worry is to occur, and evi dence that disproves their worry.
helpful to work back from the time your child needs to wake up and work towards an appropriate bedtime. This can often mean starting a bedtime routine and get ting ready for bed before we think we need
Sleep is fundamental to mental health and well-being. Nearly half of parents reported their child’s sleep worsened dur ing the COVID-19 pandemic in part due to reduced physical activity, increased screen time and heightened anxiety. Guidelines recommend that children get eight to 11 hours of sleep per night, and adults get at least seven hours. It can be
Nicole Racine is an Assistant professor, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa. Dillon Thomas Browne is an Assistant Professor, Psychology, University of Waterloo. Stephanie G. Craig is a Research assistant professor, University of Guelph.
Modelling how you identify, address and cope with your own worries can serve as an important example for your child. In fact, our research demonstrates that coping ability predicted better men tal health for parents throughout the pan demic, as well. There are many resources and free apps available for helping your child to cope with worries and anxiety.
4. Protect good quality sleep for chil dren and family members
3. Schedule time for physical activity each day
bike) can also be an easy way to increase activity.Asthe weather gets colder, consider changing to indoor swim and recreational activities. Year-round outdoor activities also provide an opportunity for safe physical activity and social engagement despite evolving risks with the COVID19 pandemic.
Havingto. a good sleep hygiene regime can help anyone who has trouble getting to sleep. This can include avoiding caf feine late in the day, avoiding screens an hour before bed and having the same routine every night (for example, show er, pajamas, brush teeth, read a story or book, bed).l
Physical activity is an important determi nant of mental health and well-being for both children and adults. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a 20 per cent decrease in children’s physi cal activity levels, particularly among individuals living in countries with cold er climates.Werecommend starting with a small goal to start, such as going for a walk after dinner. Being successful in a small goal helps to increase motivation going forward. Making changes to how you travel to school or extra-curricular activ ities (for example, walking or riding a
Large numbers of immigrant visas went unused after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In spring of that year, U.S. embassies and consulates around the world closed in response to the pan demic. The Trump administration also issued an immigrant visa ban, targeting specific categories of individuals for exclusion who otherwise qualify to come to the U.S. under current law. As a result, roughly 122,000 family-based visas allotted for FY 2020 went unused. That number was added to the employmentbased visa allotment for FY 2021, bring ing the total for that year to more than 262,000.Last year, with the effects of the COVID pandemic still rippling through the system, the Biden administration failed to use 66,781 of the available employment-based visas for FY 2021 and 141,430 of the available familybased visas. The unused employmentbased visas were lost, while the unused family-based visas were added to the
As of August 31, the Department of State had issued 263,510 employmentbased visas, meaning that the agency will close out the fiscal year having issued all
Read more
This arbitrary cap severely limits immi gration from countries with extensive economic and social ties to the United States—particularly family-based immi grants from Mexico and employmentbased immigrants from India and China. For instance, some applicants face expected waits of as high as 46 years.
allotment of employment-based visas for FY 2022. This brought the number of available employment-based visas in FY 2022 to a record high of 281,507.
WANTED:AGENTSESTATEREAL
BY WALTER EWING APPLYNOW!
The Biden administration is close to using all of the employmentbased immigrant visas (green cards) allotted for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022.
Although this is a major improvement over last year, it does not eliminate the enormous backlogs and wait times expe rienced by visa applicants from particular countries. Current immigration law lim its the number of permanent immigrants from any one country to no more than 7 percent of the total number of immi grants who come to the United States in a single year.
www.theimmigrantsjournal.comat
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that as of August 31, a total of 263,510 employ ment-based immigrant visas had been used this fiscal year (FY)—close to the limit of 281,507. This is a dramatic improvement over last year when tens of thousands of available visas went unused. But it doesn’t eliminate the mas sive backlogs of visa applications from someUndercountries.current immigration law, the number of immigrant visas is capped each year at 480,000 for family-based immigrants, 140,000 for employmentbased immigrants, and 55,000 for win ners of the Diversity Visa lottery. However, if any family-based visas go unused by the end of the year, that num ber of unused visas is added to the cap for employment-based immigrants the
available employment-based visas.
However, an estimated 60,000 familybased immigrant visas will go unused this year and will be added to the employment-based visa cap for FY 2023. This will further extend long-growing backlogs in the family-based immigra tion process by further building on the losses from the prior two years.
If anything, the current backlog calcu lations underestimate the overall delays in the system. Another measure of the backlog is the large number of cases in which the Department of Homeland Security has approved an immigrant visa application, but the applicants are wait ing for an interview at the U.S. consulate in their home country. According to the State Department, there were 416,856 such cases as of August 31.
The Biden administration must make enough resources available for visa pro cessing to ensure that each year’s allot ment of immigrant visas is actually used. Congress should also pass legislation authorizing the recapture of immigrant visas that were lost in previous years, which would help reduce the backlog of visa applications.l stories
Biden Administration Close to Reaching Increased Cap on Employment-Based Green Cards
following year. Any unused employ ment-based visas are simply lost.
It's time to make a career choice that you will LOVE. Send equitysmartrealty.comresumeyourtoinfo@
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Four Great Reasons to Make the Largest Down Payment You Can Afford
Your home equity is equal to the differ ence between your home’s fair market value and the amount of debt invested into the home. If you don’t have enough equity in your home and home prices in your neighborhood fall, you may find yourself in a situation where you owe more money on your home than it’s worth
You Can Avoid Useless Insurance Premiums
The less you have to borrow, the less you have to pay back for more reasons than one.When you take out a mortgage, the interest rate applies to the principal amount that you owe and over time, the interest can run on top of interest, quickly outpacing the original sum. Having a larger down payment means the interest applies to a smaller sum. And that means it accumulates slower and ends up being a smaller amount over time.
You’ll Pay Much Less Interest
Offering up a larger down payment is also a great way to make sure you get your dream house, especially if it’s a pop ular property with multiple offers. The seller isn’t just going to consider who offers the most money – they’re also going to consider which buyer is most likely to get a mortgage. After all, failing to get a mortgage is one of the most com mon reasons why real estate deals fail.
If
Although you can buy a house with as lit tle as a five percent down payment, it’s in your best interest to make a much larger down payment if you can. Mortgage insurance premiums can be as high as one percent of the loan’s value, which means until you’ve invested 20 percent of the home’s value in equity, you’ll have to pay an extra one percent every year. If you pay at least 20 percent of the purchase price upfront, you’ll be able to avoid hav
Buying a house isn’t easy, but making the largest down payment you can afford will give you a great financial head start on home ownership. Want to learn more about how to afford the home of your dreams? Contact your local mortgage professional today at 888-670-6791 for practical advice to help you maximize your down payment.l
AMERICAN DREAM 9 Call 888-670-6791 26 Court Street, Suite 701, Downtown Brooklyn
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you’re looking for a new home, you’ve probably heard lots of advice about down payments. About how it’s okay to just have a five percent down payment you’ll still get approved. About how you should make the down payment as small as possible to avoid cash flow problems.
In truth, you’re actually better off mak ing the largest down payment you can possibly afford. Even if you have to slice up other areas of your budget, save for a few more years before you buy, or take a second job on the weekends, it’ll be worth it in the end. Here are just four reasons why you should make the largest down payment possible.
ing to get private mortgage insurance – so you keep more of your money in your own pocket.
If you can show that you’re able to
You’ll Have More Ammunition In A Bidding War
make a larger down payment, you’ll have a better shot at getting a mortgage – and that means sellers will prioritize you over other buyers.
a phenomenon known as negative equity. By making the largest possible down payment you can, you’ll have a great head start on building your home’s equity – which may help you profit if you decide to sell in the future.
You’ll Get A Great Start On Building Equity
BY JOSE MARTINEZ , THE CITY
“It’s key to keep the operation running smoothly,” Ahern said. “We have every body back to work.”l
‘I’ve Seen a Lot Down Here’ Several cleaners at Manhattan subway terminals said they are hoping to stick around as full-time employees.
The Ecuadorian cleaner, who is in his 60s, said he has applied for one of the jobs in hopes that he can stick around full time. He said he currently earns “about $21 an hour” doing similar work in the system through a contractor.
“At least here, I have been able to keep working,” he told THE CITY. “Now, I’ve got experience and I know what I’m doing when it comes to disinfecting the train.”
This story was published on September 12, 2022 by THE CITY.
“The MTA should take us into consid eration, because we’ve got experience at doing a delicate job,” a female cleaner who asked not to be identified told THE CITY in Spanish.
A contract cleaner works as riders leave an E train at World Trade Center. Sept. 2, 2022. Hiram Alejandro Durán/THE CITY
Since
“Who’s going to get on a subway car that’s filthy?” Ahern said. “Cleaning is paramount in bringing ridership back.”
There were nearly 1,900 “soiled car” incidents through the end of August, according to MTA figures. In contrast, there were 1,504 such incidents in all of 2017 and 2,058 in 2018, as THE CITY reported in 2019.
people not coming to work, it was crazy. “And anybody that could walk out the door and retire did.”
In 2020, agency records show, the MTA spent more than $124 million on contractors who hired workers to clean and disinfect trains at terminals and another $68 million for workers to disin fect touch points in stations.
MTA officials said the transit agency’s latest budget plan includes an increase of 845 car equipment and station cleaner positions through early 2024 as it pre pares to transfer COVID cleaning duties to in-house employees and eventually phase out the contracted cleaners.
She said she took the contractor job in the early days of the pandemic and has since been posted at a pair of terminals in Manhattan.“I’veseen a lot down here,” she said. “But the worst thing I have seen is peo ple who have gone to the bathroom on themselves.”Startingpay for the MTA cleaner jobs is $19.03 per hour, according to a July job post, and increases to $31.71 hourly after six years of service.
According to the MTA, the agency’s budget through early 2024 restores some cuts from prior years, along with increas ing
“It was an emergency situation,” Matt Ahern, a Transport Workers Union Local 100 official, told THE CITY. “Between people that had COVID, people who were out because of close contact and
The contract cleaners were hired for jobs that, under normal circumstances, are performed by union workers.
Both MTA and TWU Local 100 offi cials said contract cleaners have been encouraged to apply for in-house jobs as transit
“Anothercleaners.large class started [last month] and they’re preparing for every thing to get transitioned back,” Ahern said. “The contractors will be gone by the end of the year — at this point, it’s a matter of getting the new hires in quickly enough.”Thepush to hire more cleaners comes as the number of cars soiled by urine, waste and other fluids is rising back to pre-pandemic levels — even though weekday ridership only hovers around 60% of what it was.
the height of the pandemic, jobs cleaning the subway offered some New Yorkers a way to col lect a paycheck as other avenues closed. But for many of the mostly immigrant workers who have supplemented MTA station and car equipment cleaners since the spring of 2020, the end of the line is drawing“That’snear.what they tell us,” an Ecuadorian cleaner who asked not to be identified by name told THE CITY in Spanish while waiting for a No. 1 train at South Ferry terminal in Lower Manhattan. “Like with everything else, there is an end — what can you do?”
An MTA spokesperson said the agency paid close to $100 million to third-party contractors in 2021 to back up a work force hit hard by absences, deaths and retirements stemming from COVID-19.
‘Overwhelming’ Response
As their time runs out, many are looking for more permanent, union work with the transit agency.
Fill-In Workers Who Kept Subways Clean in Pandemic Hoping to Get Picked Up
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A mostly Latin immigrant workforce stepped up when COVID-19 threw the MTA for a loop and required more cleaning with less staff.
Transit leaders have repeatedly said they expect that money to be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.Callsfrom THE CITY to several MTA cleaning contractors were not returned.
“Thestaffing.MTA undertook the unprecedent ed effort of disinfecting subway cars and stations daily throughout the height of the pandemic to keep employees and rid ers safe,” said spokesperson Kayla Shults. “The authority is using the les sons learned in ensuring we use best practices in our ongoing cleaning efforts.”Ahern said the initial response to the recent cleaner job postings was “over whelming,” with more than 45,000 appli cants putting in to refill an in-house pool of workers that was depleted during the pandemic.Thein-house positions, he said, are now “being filled as fast as possible.” He added that contract cleaners who apply may have a better chance of being called back, though they legally cannot receive hiring priority.
cation where it was not statutorily required. This opened the door for count less highly educated New Mexicans to enter their dream professions in sectors like education and healthcare. Recently, New Mexico took it a step further. On August 19, the state moved to open up licenses for attorneys, regardless of immigration status.
New Mexico’s latest move is an exam ple of how the state can protect its approximately 5,690 active DACA recip
BY AMERICAN IMMIGRATION COUNCIL STAFF
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ients from suddenly losing the ability to work in their chosen professions if a fed eral judge in Texas rules that the DACA program was not properly put into effect. The Biden administration recently pub lished a rule that helps cement the DACA program and provide a modicum of secu rity for the program’s beneficiaries.
The state’s Supreme Court issued a rule change that effective October 1, citizen ship or immigration status will no longer be a consideration in denying a license to practice law in New Mexico for individ uals who meet other qualifications for admittance to the New Mexico Bar Association. The ruling clarifies that eli gibility extends not just to U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents, but to individuals with work authorization, and importantly, it would benefit people whose work authorization may have changed or who may have been eligible for the DACA program but, for some rea son or another, did not apply.
But questions remain over the effect this new rule will have on the Texas fed eral court’s decision in this case. This pending litigation has hamstrung the government’s ability to grant DACA ben efits to new applicants, and those who need to renew their DACA work permits live in a limbo built by the uncertainty that their lives in the only country
they’ve known can be dismantled at the drop of an unfavorable judge’s gavel.
The ongoing legal challenges and con gressional inaction have left the nation’s roughly 590,070 DACA recipients in legal limbo. State officials can and must continue to take steps to ensure they’re supporting the Dreamers who call their state home. Despite this threat of litiga tion and Congress’s failure to enact legis lation to protect DACA beneficiaries, states can use their authority to remove barriers to professional licenses to ensure that DACA beneficiaries who have con tributed to their communities for years can continue to do so in the professions in which they are trained to serve.l
Some states tried to create unneces sary roadblocks immediately after DACA’s adoption in 2012 to limit recipients’ contribution to their commu nities by proposing restrictive measures, like denying DACA recipients a driver’s license. But other states immediately saw a need to ensure young people with this newfound benefit could fully participate in their Statescommunities.havebroadauthority to regulate professional and occupational licenses, including making these licenses avail able for certain or all non-citizens. While the federal government determines who is authorized to work, many states—from Arkansas to Nebraska—allow for work authorized non-citizens, like DACA recipients, to apply for licensure across a broad range of professions.
Immigration Status Will No Longer Be a Barrier for Aspiring Lawyers in New Mexico
New Mexico has offered conditional legal licenses for DACA recipients since 2017. In 2020, New Mexico’s Senate Bill 137 became law, removing immigration status as a barrier for a license or certifi
Call
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The Biden administration’s new public charge was first announced in February in the form of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The proposal sought to restore the public charge test, which is applied to certain noncitizens seeking a green card, to the system which was used before 2019.
HOW TO A
GET
before.The Trump administration’s rule, for example, declared people “likely to be a public charge” if adjudicators determined that they would use even small amounts of certain supplemental, non-cash bene fits like food stamps. And because the public charge rule is forward-looking, that meant adjudicators were required to predict whether an intending immigrant might in the future, even once they became a U.S. citizen, use small amounts ofInbenefits.practice, this worked out to a wealth test. New immigrants were required to submit credit scores, prove how much money they had in the bank, and expose themselves to intense financial scrutiny by the U.S. government. And because of the fear sent through immigrant commu
The Biden administration’s final rule largely reverts to the 1999 rules. And because the administration has done so in the form of a regulation, it will make it more difficult for a future administra tion to reverse. With the Trump’s rules now entirely dead, the shadow of fear over immigrant communities will hope fully lift in time. But to ensure that hap pens, the federal government and advo cates will have to continue dispelling misinformation and fear left over from the Trump administration. l
Equity Smart Realty 888-670-6791at
Public Charge Rule / continued from page 1 tration has restored the public charge standard that existed for decades before President Trump. This will hopefully assuage the fears of many immigrants who had avoided accessing benefits to which they were lawfully entitled.
nities, many people began refusing to use government services, even those which would not affect their eligibility under the public charge rule. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, some immigrants reportedly were concerned about getting vaccines due to the Trump rule.
For over a century, a “public charge” was considered to be a person who was primarily dependent on government ben efits to survive. In 1999, then-existing Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) declared that the government ben efits which a person would be penalized for were cash benefits that consisted of more than 50% of a person’s income, as well as long-term institutionalization at governmentImportantly,expense.the1999 INS policy was never formalized into a regulation. When the Trump administration took office, it realized that the term “public charge” had never been defined in regulations. It decided to use the leeway given to the executive branch to interpret the law to create a new definition of public charge that went far beyond anything ever done
GREEN CARD 12
HOW TO GET A
The Role of the Criminal Justice Investment Initiative
"We got to hear from the young people, and so it's research-based, and the people talked on behalf of the program. So, we've seen how our youth can respond to people who've had similar challenges that have emerged on the other side. And we are also looking down the road to make some investments in mental health because I think that's a very significant issue that we need to focus on," he added.
Over the years, immigrants have been demonized, especially during President Trump's administration. Recently, the Texas State Governor, Gregory Abbott, exhibited deplorable behavior by sending many immigrants to New York and other states on buses. The ongoing inhumane treatment of immigrants has made them desperate for legalization while striving to survive and feed their families.
Red Flags on Immigration Fraud
One of these methods is the grant award ing event organized by the Criminal Justice Investment Initiative (CJI) event.
continued on page 14 Thursday, Sept 29-Oct 27 from 6pm via Zoom
continued from page 1
Ten youth-related community-based groups, led by various leaders like the clergy, coaches, and mentors, were iden tified and awarded grants to support their programs.
Immigration Fraud
These reasons motivate the use of unconventional methods to get commu nities involved. "We reached out to some of our community partners and thought of creative ways of using the tools in our toolkit to get safety, fairness, and justice for all," he said.
GREEN CARD 13
The Meaning of "One Standard of Justice for All" Campaign Slogan
Photo courtesy Manhattan DA’s Office
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results from the first nine months. Still, we know that there's a lot more work to do, so we'll keep pressing on."
Some ways the DA's office addresses fraudulent immigration schemes range from raising awareness or outreach, enforcing accountability, and increasing knowledge about the process of seeking redress as a victim. "We need people thinking about engaging in fraud to know that we will hold them accountable and there are penalties. We also need people who may have been victims to call us and reach out on 212-335-3600."
DA Bragg
Immigrants should be on guard, especial ly in schemes that ask for money upfront without performing services or when the offer appears too accurate. The DA says, "Maybe it's life advice. Trust your gut. And if you've got a question, that's what we're here for, to help folks navigate. "
He recommends that people should do their research. "There's a registration database. The New York State Court sys tem has a database; you can punch some one's name and see their professional sta tus. We can help people walk through
Protecting Immigrants Against Fraud
As the head of the country's second largest District Attorney's (DA) office, one of their focuses is reducing gun vio lence within the community through pre vention. In alignment with his campaign slogan, the DA has a combined strategy of taking guns from the streets over the past nine months, funding or investing in youth programs, and enforcing accounta bility to achieve the set objective.
These have exposed them to fraudulent
life experiences. I experienced a gun being pointed at me, shot at, and then knowing that we need that kind of accountability, for we can't have that happening on our streets."
"We talk about "one standard of justice and justice for all. We know in Manhattan that gun violence's effects are born in our communities. And so, we've used the approach to get guns off our streets, and hold accountable people for trafficking guns into Manhattan from other parts of the country. Funding pro grams that work with youths at risk for gun violence, so we can prevent these sit uations from ever happening," he reiter ated.The Manhattan DA strongly believes in the 'prevention' of gun violence as he recalls personal experiences, "A lot of my thoughts about the system are born from my time, as a prosecutor, and early
schemes run by criminals who steal from them. In some cases, they are caught and sentenced to prison. The DA says it is one of the issues his office will be "invested in doing more of in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office."
He also shared that sometimes people are paid and asked to pay part of their salary back off the books. And so, your employer is reimbursing you and asking for some of it. He promised the prosecu tion of guilty employers who are not pay ing workers the proper wage. Additionally, violators of the law, those who falsify documents, engage in unem
Hispanic Heritage Month began in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover 30 days. It was enacted into law on August 17, 1988.
Contact Details and Process for Restitution
ployment insurance fraud or worker's compensation fraud.
DA Bragg continued from page 13
For community members, "I want to hear from them about their concerns, what is on their minds, what we can do better. I want to listen and work for you because we are public servants."
For non-union workers, especially the vulnerable, and victims of lack of work place safety and wage theft have been reported. The cases where the employer is exploiting immigrants and sometimes controlling them because they may not have the necessary documents to remain in the country. have been reported for "Andinvestigation.thosewho are paying people crim inally low wages or no wages at all, those cases are critical to me. We are doing a lot of investigations now. Like the one that stole more than $1.7 million from workers on a public-school project."
There are nearly 2.5 million Hispanics in New York City. This month of cultural recognition is a time for Americans who
For individuals who have been defraud ed, DA Bragg explains that they can get restitution by contacting the Manhattan District Attorney's office, where there are experts to assist them. They can start the process by visiting their website (www.Manhattanda.org) and calling the dedicated line, 212-335-3600.
Furthermore, he also encouraged com munity members to reach out and share their thoughts on their expectations and concerns. For various victims, including workers, he says, "We've done a lot of work in the construction industry, and we are now branching out into other indus tries. Whatever the industry or the type of work is, if you feel defrauded or not paid a legal wage, then reach out, and our folks will work with you."
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Hispanic
HOW TO
that if they call the hotline."
Furthermore, immigrants need to know that they should have no fear of their immigration status. They can come to the district attorney's office because "We're not going to ask about that because we are here to serve all New Yorkers."
Thus, the Manhattan District Attorney pledges to continue enforcing gun lawsholding people accountable and prevent ing gun violence, promoting workers' wages and safety, and protecting immi grants from unscrupulous actors regard ing immigration fraud.l
GET A GREEN CARD 14
MonthHispanicCelebratingHeritage
& Latino Heritage Month celebrates the histories, cultures, and contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans past and present. While it’s a month-long celebra tion, it notably crosses over two calendar months – running September 15 to October 15 – coinciding with the Independence Day celebrations of Belize, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua. September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of independ ence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Mexico and Chile also celebrate their independence on September 16 and 18.
identify as Latino or Hispanic to cele brate and share their traditions. But even if your family doesn’t hail from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central or South America, you can still participate in the month by engaging in learning and cul tural experiences that bring you a little closer to these countries and their diverse communities.DuringNational Hispanic Heritage Month, the Chamber Coalition celebrates and recognizes the incredible achieve ments, history, and culture of Hispanic Americans who have shaped New York City and our nation. We salute and honor them!l
Worker Protection
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The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene today announced that, starting tomor row, Friday, September 16, at 4 p.m., anyone who received their first doses of monkeypox vaccine at least 28 days ago can schedule a second dose appointment. The City is also expanding eligibility for vaccinations to people who are under 18 and meet all other criteria. Also, tomor row, over 50,000 new appointments will be made available, for dates between September 17 and October 6.
“We feel confident that we now have enough supply of vaccine to meet current demand, and are comfortable lowering the window of time between first and second doses,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan. “We know that this provides much deserved peace of mind to New Yorkers who have bravely faced this outbreak. Over these many months, they have adapted to the vaccine supply challenges and have suc cessfully slowed the spread of this virus. We are especially grateful to the affected community, who stepped up to protect themselves and one another, as well as
On September 1, the City announced its initial second dose strategy to provide second doses 10 weeks after the first dose. This policy was put in place to ensure adequate supply and capacity for administration of vaccines to all eligible New Yorkers who needed their first and second doses. Now that there is enough vaccine supply to meet the current demand for first doses, the City is mak ing second doses available 28 days after the first dose, as indicated in the FDA prescribing label. Completing the series with a second dose administered any
People who had first doses between July 24 and September 8 will receive notifications to schedule a second dose appointment.Additionally, the new eligibility to New Yorkers under the age of 18 years old will ensure that age is less of a barrier to New Yorkers who need vaccination. With the expanded eligibility, vaccine is now open to people who meet all of the following conditions:
City Shortens Second Dose Monkeypox Vaccine Eligibility to 28-day Interval; Will Open Over 50,000 New Appointments
partner organizations who worked tire lessly to share information.”
time after 28 days is expected to boost the immune protection from the vaccine.
•People who have had multiple or anony mous sex partners in the last 14 days and identify as at least one of the following:
-Transgender, gender non-conforming, or gender non-binary (regardless of the gen der of your sex partners).
-Gay, bisexual, or other man (cisgender or transgender) who has sex with cis or transgender men or transgender women.
-Sex workers and anyone engaging in survival sex or any other types of trans actional sex (including sex in exchange for money, food, shelter or other goods) of any sexual orientation or gender iden tity.Under the law, minors must have parental, guardian or legal custodian con sent, unless the minor is part of a group to whom the law gives the right to con sent to their own care, such as married minors, minors who are parents or preg nant, and minors in the military. For peo ple 16 or 17 years of age, such consent should be provided either in person or by phone, at the time of the vaccine appoint ment. For minors 15 years of age or younger, an adult caregiver must accom pany the minor. The parent or guardian must still provide consent by phone at the time of the appointment or by written statement.l
People wait in line to receive the Monkeypox vaccine. Editorial credit: Ringo Chiu / Shutterstock.com
Drug Enforcement Agency says that “the most common method” of smuggling fentanyl into the country is “through U.S. [ports of entry] in passenger vehicles with concealed compartments or com mingled with legitimate goods on tractortrailers.” Top officials at ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations testified earlier this year that “We predominantly see the drugs coming in through the ports of entry.”Inorder to smuggle fentanyl through a port of entry, cartels hire primarily U.S. citizens, who are the least likely to attract heightened scrutiny when crossing into the United States. In 2018, 77% of all people sentenced on federal drug traf
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Food for Thought
Setting aside the absurdity of attacking a president for an increase in drug seizures, the data offers no support for a link between border policies affecting migrants seeking asylum and drug seizures. Some have argued that high numbers of migrants crossing the border distracts agents from carrying out drug interdiction. If this were true, it would be visible in the data. As migration went up, seizures would go down, and when migration fell, seizures would go up. But Border Patrol drug seizure data does not bear this out, suggesting that there is no correlation between migration and opioid
Once fentanyl is produced in Mexico, it is then smuggled into the United States primarily through ports of entry. The
Despite overwhelming evidence that the vast majority of fentanyl smuggling involves U.S. citizens smuggling it into the country for U.S. citizens to consume, a recent analysis of Republican campaign messaging for the 2022 election found that GOP politicians frequently blame President Biden’s “border policies” for fentanyl overdoses. Politicians have even claimed that rising fentanyl seizures— nearly all of which are occurring at ports of entry or during internal vehicle stops—are a result of “open borders.”
Similarly, when the American Immigration Council analyzed every press release from CBP that mentioned fentanyl over a six-month period, the data was even more clear; out of 89 seizure events that the agency touted, just 3 involved undocumented immigrants.
The criminal networks that produce and distribute fentanyl are vast and hard to pin down. But when it comes to getting their products into the United States, one thing is clear: it’s not migrants bringing it across in backpacks, it’s mostly U.S. cit izens and truckers smuggling it into the country through legal ports of entry.
Forcitizens.example, on August 24, the Tucson Sector Border Patrol stopped a car driv ing on a highway and found 187 pounds
There is no doubt that fentanyl is a major problem inside the United States. Over the last decade, rising availability of fentanyl has caused a spike in overdose deaths across the nation. In 2021, almost 90% of opioid overdose deaths were linked to fentanyl.
Attemptssmuggling.to link fentanyl smuggling to migration exist primarily to convince voters to view the southern border with fear and to stoke political support in favor of a harsh crackdown. After all, fear and anger are a potent political weapon, and who cares if reality gets in the way?l
of fentanyl worth $4.3 million concealed in the vehicle. The drivers were U.S. cit izens, who were likely trying to avoid a checkpoint. The fentanyl seized in this incident was seemingly the only fentanyl seized by Border Patrol that week. Meanwhile, just two days earlier, a single seizure at the Nogales port of entry stopped 104 pounds of powdered fen tanyl and 1.27 million fentanyl pills.
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Fact Check: Migrants Aren’t the Ones Smuggling Fentanyl Into the United States
ficking crimes were U.S. citizens. For example, five out of five drug busts over a single recent weekend at the El Paso port of entry involved a U.S. citizen.
BY AARON REICHLIN-MELNICK
The government’s own statistics bear this out. 95% of all fentanyl seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in Fiscal Year 2021 occurred at a port of entry or a Border Patrol vehicle checkpoint. And most of the Border Patrol seizures that occurred outside of the checkpoint context involved vehicle stops, often involving cars driven by U.S.
When fentanyl first began to emerge as a problem in the last decade, the primary source was China, and the primary method of smuggling was the U.S. postal service. But after China cracked down on the sale of fentanyl pills, Chinese suppli ers instead began producing fentanyl pre cursor chemicals and exporting them to Mexico. The cartels would then manu facture the final product.
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ing reminders for plans, and offering additional support when spending time together.Friends of individuals living with dementia may seek ways to continue enjoying meaningful time together. Sometimes this involves identifying activities that are comfortable and famil iar. It may also involve providing direc tion and encouragement to support the continuation of enjoyable experiences, such as visiting a favorite restaurant. For some, additional comfort may come from hanging out as a group because there is extra support available if needed.
Maintaining Friendships After a Dementia Diagnosis Can Spur Feelings of Joy and Self-worth
ty to say a quick hello and how a weekly trip to the pub enabled some friends to connect and re-connect in a familiar space.People living with dementia and their friends may adapt to changes brought about by the diagnosis in several ways. For example, they may prioritize their friendship by setting aside time for regu lar phone calls and visits. They may alter the way they think about the friendship by being accepting of the changes. They may also use practical strategies, like provid
BY COLLEEN WHYTE, DARLA FORTUNE & REBECCA GENOE THE CONVERSATION
What would our lives be like if we could no longer depend on our most cherished friend ships? The people who know us best, who have been there through our ups and downs, and share a history with us?
Our research allowed us to speak with people who shared a 70-year friendship and couldn’t imagine life without each other. We learned that for some, a neigh borhood walk together was an opportuni
VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.THEIMMIGRANTSJOURNAL.COM FOR MORE IMMIGRATION NEWS & UPDATES GENERATIONS 18 continued on page 19
Open and honest communication is key to maintaining any friendship and becomes particularly important follow ing a diagnosis of dementia. Yet, that may be the biggest challenge.
their social circles.
When people living with dementia can depend on their friends, they continue to enjoy meaningful leisure activities, expe rience feelings of joy and self-worth, and see themselves as valued members of
Our research had us interview friends together, asking them to share tips and strategies for navigating dementia. We heard moving stories of deepened bonds of friendship, genuine acceptance and the joy of simply being together.
Open and honest communication
Adapting to changes
Below are some questions that friends might find helpful to ask over a cup of coffee, on a walk or in a quiet, shared moment:
For many people living with dementia, this is a reality. And a diagnosis often leads to a loss of friendships and social opportunities.Thereactions of friends greatly affect the experience of someone living with dementia. When friends distance them selves because they don’t know what to say or presume they no longer know how to interact with their friend, a person with dementia can experience feelings of iso lation and loneliness.
the things you love
A person who you appoint handles everything that the court would slowly work its way through, transferring ownership to your intended beneficiar ies and following any other instructions. Seek out the advice of an attor ney who specializes in living trusts and wills, so that you can be assured that everything in these documents is legally binding. What if you change you mind? Living trusts are revocable, as long as you’re deemed mentally competent.
•What are the best times and days to plan activities (i.e., morning, afternoon, weekday, weekend)? Are there exceptions?
know how critical it is to create a last will and testament when estate pre-planning. Despite its name, however, a will isn’t the final document you need to ensure a smooth transferal of your earthly posses sions to the next generation. Here’s a look at how a living trust smooths the way for the proper execution of your will.
•How can we make sure we maintain our friendship (i.e., talk on the phone, over the internet, go for cof fee)? How often do you want to connect? How do we need to change our time together? What can stay the •Howsame?can we support each other to continue enjoy ing the leisure activities that are meaningful to us?
The need for friendship does not diminish with age and friendships continue to deeply enrich our lives.
page 18
•What do you value about our friendship? Can I tell you what our friendship means to me?
Without a living trust, you risk sending your surviving family members through a drawn-out legal proceeding known as probate. These hearings first determine whether a will is valid. They then turn their attention to locating and valuing a decedent’s assets. Any outstanding bills and tax debts are paid. Finally, probate hearings make a determination on distrib uting whatever remains to those who are named in your will. Living trusts stream line the process, proving for a designated family member or friend to manage your property. They can then quickly resolve these end-of-life issues.
Get vaccinated and stay up to date with your booster shots.
Appointing Someone
with a very difficult assignment. If you can’t find the right person — or if the intention is to leave out all direct beneficiaries — then you can name a representative from your bank or trust company to handle things.
•Do we need to schedule something in advance (need time to prepare, or get more rest the day before) or can we be spontaneous?
Potential Problems
Most
Here’s something you do that makes me laugh…
“Walking around the city I love is what I missed most during COVID.”
•What is one thing I do that makes you laugh?
continued
The very first requirement is finding an executor who you completely trust to handle this important process in your absence. Your executor should also be someone who is mature enough to deal
Maintaining Friendships from
Your finances will be fixed and approved, allowing everyone else to move on with grieving.l
COVID was tough on older New Yorkers. But can now get back to doing by protecting
There is one notable downside. Living trusts are typically far more costly to set up than the average straight-forward will. In the long run, however, that additional cost will be worth it in your absence since your family won’t have to deal with probate. Be aware that some banks and mortgage companies require that any real estate be removed from the trust before refinancing. A pre-planning professional can walk you through the process. Also, be sure to name yourself and spouse as trustees in your liv ing will, so you’ll remain in control of all assets before your death.
The first step is to trust in the friendship and begin to explore how it can be sustained over time.l
•What do I do if I notice you’re starting to make decisions that are not like you?
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Importance of a Living Trust
Setting Them Up
you
yourself.
•Where do you feel safe and able to be yourself?
•When we are in public and you need me to step in for you, how will I know? What is “our” signal?
•Can I ask you these same questions in a few weeks?
Given that a dementia diagnosis often puts individ uals at an increased risk of social isolation, we must pay careful attention to understanding ways to ensure that friends remain engaged with their net works in personal and meaningful ways.
How Trusts Work
BY HEATHER FRICK
Need some ideas on how to do this? Here are four practical suggestions to help you put down your device:
4.Connect with someone in real life –like your partner.
3.If you are tempted to mindlessly scroll on social media, challenge yourself to do something else first. It may be helpful to create a list of activities to choose from.
3 Actionable Tips to Rebuild Intimacy
Stacy Young Board Certified
Disconnection then happens when each partner deals with the stress independ ently instead of facing it together.
1.Designate the bedroom as a “no-device
Why Does Disconnection Happen?
Feeling Disconnected from Your Partner?
Holistic Health Coach Tel: 917-459-8431 Contact:
Feeling like you and your partner are more roommates or co-parents than lovers? Want to reconnect and rebuild intimacy in your relationship?
During these transitional periods, it is pretty common for couples to feel more strain on their relationship. Some couples are able to more easily adapt to these changes and remain relatively connected
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There can be a number of reasons why you may be feeling disconnected from your partner or feel like you are room mates or co-parents. Certain life stages, like having and raising kids, transitioning to being empty-nesters, or caring for aging parents can result in feelings of loneliness and isolation in general, and sometimes even with your partner. These stages often require a lot of energy or a different kind of energy than previous stages, and normal routines and patterns often get shaken up during these times.
1.) Put Down Your Device
Although social media can be a great way to connect with other people, it may be getting in the way of your relationship with your partner. Take a look at your daily life. How much time are you spending on your phone, computer, tablet, etc.? Are you de-stressing by mindlessly scrolling Instagram or TikTok in the evenings? Does your evening look like dinner in front of the TV, putting the kids to bed, watching a show with your partner while scrolling Facebook and answering some emails, then watching Reels until you fall asleep? This constant screen time may be getting in the way of you being able to connect with your partner.
“I feel like we’re just going through the motions.”“Weact more like roommates than lovers”“Ever since we had kids, it seems like we just co-parent.”
continued on page 21
through them. However, many couples may go into “survival mode” during these times and end up dealing with the stress on their own. Because of this, the relationship can suffer and couples may feel more disconnected from each other. In addition to life stage transitions, some life events can also add additional stress to a relationship. Some examples include getting diagnosed with a chronic or lifethreatening illness, experiencing a preg nancy loss or loss of a child, losing a job, financial strain, being deployed, or going through another traumatic event. These types of life events also bring disruption to the relationship and couples often experience a change in relationship roles.
3 Tips to Connect with Your Partner & Rebuild Intimacy
If being on a device or social media has become a habit for you or a way for you to disconnect from the stresses of life, it may be time to examine your social media use and schedule some time away from your devices. If you are using social media to zone out, spend some time reflecting on what is influencing your need to zone out. Unsure if social media is a problem for you?
2.Schedulezone”. a specific day or time of day without social media.
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Going through life stage changes or difficult life events can be really difficult and lonely. It can be even more disheart ening and painful when you feel like you are going through it on your own. Take a minute to reflect on things that have been happening in your life that may be con tributing to the disconnection from your partner, then continue reading below for three tips on how to reconnect with your partner and begin to feel less lonely.
“I don’t even know who my partner is anymore.”Haveyou or your partner ever had these thoughts or said these things to each other? Regardless of whether you have been together for 9 months, 9 years, or 29 years, I’m here to tell you that you are not alone. It is quite common for roman tic relationships to go through phases where there seems to be very little, if any, romance or feeling of connection. It is also common that, during these phases, connecting with your partner may be moreFirst,difficult.Iwantto validate that feeling dis connected from your partner is often a lonely and painful place to be. The fact that you are reading this means that you
are aware that there is a problem in your relationship and want things to change. This is great! Even if your partner is not on board yet with making changes, you can still focus on making some changes yourself. Keep reading to learn why peri ods of disconnection can happen and learn three steps you can take today to begin feeling more connected to your partner.
Let’s say that you and your partner have been together for 5 years and just had your first child together. Before baby, you would talk about all kinds of topics, from work to family to hopes and dreams. You and your partner felt very
Heather Frick is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT #133352), and works at Estes Therapy. She specializes in EFT, relationship distress, attachment, chron ic illness, pregnancy loss, and grief and loss. Reprinted with the kind permission of Estes Therapy.
Feeling Disconnected continued from page 20
close. After baby, most of your time as a couple is spent caring for baby, and the two of you are lucky to spend 2 minutes at the end of the day checking in. One day when baby is about 1 year old, your partner says to you, “Well, that wasn’t so bad. Ready to try for another?” You are immediately furious because, for you, the last year was extremely hard and the two of you had agreed early on in the relation ship that you both only wanted one child.
Auto-pilot can be a survival mechanism to help you make it through difficult times. However, staying in this mode for too long without addressing the underly ing causes or intentionally engaging in the present can result in burnout, dissatis faction with life, feeling unfulfilled, and emotional disengagement. What does it look like to be intentional? It may look like scheduling a weekly or monthly relationship check-in where you focus exclusively on your relationship and identify areas where you are doing well and areas for growth. Intentionality may also look like talking for 5 minutes before the kids get up in the morning, giving a hug or kiss each time you part ways and come back together, having a date night, going away for a weekend together, or simply putting down your devices in the evening, focusing on your partner, and reconnecting by being curi ous.I encourage you to take some time to think about ways you can put some of these tips into practice in your own rela tionship. Be intentional about the time you spend with your partner. Invest in your relationship. Engage with your part ner here in the present.l
partner had changed their mind about having another child. This response of anger may partly be because you were responding to your partner based on out dated information you had about their opinion on having kids.
3.) Be Intentional
What may have happened here? It sounds like you and your partner had very different experiences of how the first year after baby went. Somewhere along the way, your partner decided that, based on their experience, they would be interested in having another child. You, on the other hand, may be feeling relieved that the first year is over and view the difficulty of the first year as confirmation to only have one child. In the example above, your response of anger and frustration may partly be due to the fact that you had no idea that your
4.What is one thing I could do that would help you feel more connected to me?
3. What are your thoughts on _____?
So, what does it look like to be curious? One way to start is by asking open-ended questions. Here are a few examples to get you 1.Whatstarted:isyour favorite way to spend the 2.day?Ifwe could go anywhere, where would you want to go?
Being intentional means moving away from being on auto-pilot and engaging deliberately. It is easy to slip into autopilot mode when you have young kids or when other areas of life are stressful.
Have you ever heard the phrase “What you feed grows”? Closeness in relation ships does not just happen on its own. Closeness and intimacy take intentional effort and willingness to be vulnerable and open to each other. In other words, love is much more than the instant chem istry seen in Hollywood. Love can actu ally be created by intentionally creating time and space to be open and vulnerable with one another. (Johnson, S. 2013. Love sense: The revolutionary new sci ence of romantic relationships)
2.) Get Curious
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As we get into a routine in a relation ship, sometimes we begin to make assumptions about the other person based on our previous experiences with them or previous experiences in relation ships. It is not necessarily bad or harmful to respond based on assumptions – it may just mean that you know your part ner. However, it can become a problem if you are reacting to your partner based on outdated information you have about them or based on past experiences in relationships. When you respond based on assumptions about your partner or based on past experiences, your partner may feel misunderstood or get defensive. Take a look at the example below:
When you and your partner first got together, you probably spent lots of time together – talking, learning about each other, asking each other questions, hav ing deep conversations, and having fun together. Then, over time as you fell into a routine, this curiosity about each other may have happened less and less. Or maybe the busyness of life began to get in the way of the amount of time you could spend with each other.
Public Transportation and Bus Accidents
In a large and congested city like New York, most people don’t use private vehi cles to move around. Instead, for conven ience, affordability, and swift movement, residents and tourists alike rely predomi nantly on public transport and transit for getting around to their various destina tions. Data shows that 54% of house holds in New York City do not own a car and often rely on the public transport sys tem comprising a network that encom passes buses, trains, ferries, and sub ways.The City’s public transportation net work is managed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and New York City Transit. The operators of the services are required to undergo train ing and acquire knowledge about the rules and regulations of the industry for the protection of the passengers.
An article from the New York Post reports that available statistics over the past three years, MTA buses were involved in more than 21,000 crashes, at an average of 23 bus accidents per day. More than ten people died within the timeframe, and over 2,500 people were injured in bus accidents.
Editorial credit: Leonard Zhukovsky / Shutterstock.com
The number of people using taxis, cycling, or traveling by ferry remains comparatively minimal.
Seeking medical help: When an acci dent occurs, the body’s natural response causes the victim to feel solid and ready for a fight or flight. Adrenaline tends to run high after an accident, and it can sometimes mask the symptoms of an injury. However, injury victims start feeling pain hours or days after an acci dent. That’s why it’s always a good idea to go to a hospital emergency department or see a private doctor after an accident.
Breakdown of Public Transport Usage in New York
New
Among New York City commuters, over 35% use the subway, 11% take the bus, 7% travel by commuter rail, 22% drive alone, 9% walk to work, and 4% carpool.
The impact is often devastating, as in the case of Lance Margolin. He lost his life from the accident on April 8th, 2021, along Eastern Parkway, when an MTA bus struck a traffic camera pole that fell on him leading to his unprecedented death. The force from the weight of the camera pole caused him massive internal injuries and skull fractures.
Inside the bus, there have been cases of people being injured while riding on a bus operated by New York City Transit. In some instances, bus passengers may be injured due to a driver’s negligence, such as a driver failing to make a com plete stop for a passenger’s safe disem barking or onboarding.
Despite the effort, injured individuals on public transportation like a Bus in New York City can become entitled to com pensation for lost wages, medical bills, pain and suffering, and other losses. The authorities behind public transport have a duty of care toward pedestrians, bicy clists, and public transport users. However, if breached, they can be found liable for negligence that caused the injuries or death.
Considering the size and capacity of an MTA bus, any negligence on the part of the bus operator or the bus company can cause serious injuries, including spinal, head injury, burns, internal organ dam age, amputation, disfigurement, and death of the injured victim.
Witnesses: If you can, try and obtain the contact information of any passerby who saw the incident. Eyewitness accounts and statements collected as soon as the event happened are crucial. This can be achieved with a recorded video state ment. Avoid time-lapse as memories fade quickly, and recollection becomes diffi cult.
Call the police or ambulance: If you or the injured victim suffered an injury, an official record of the incident is essential.
Importance of New York Public Transportation and Bus Safety Public transportation is expected to improve road safety by reducing vehicu lar traffic. Therefore, security in transit buses is crucial for passengers’ confi dence in the Public Transport and the companies that operate the services due to its far-reaching effect on the economy andConsequently,beyond. frequent bus accidents increase the cost of operation in an
industry dealing with budgetary short falls and low revenues, leading to a decrease in service reliability, safety, and potential settlements to victims and their families.Busaccidents can affect their opinion and usage from the passenger’s perspec tive, requiring a campaign to raise confi dence, such as the NYC Vision Zero Plan and the most recent ‘Stop Let Them Cross.’
For any injury victim, you should take the following steps to protect yourself if you need to file a claim:
Get legal assistance: In seeking legal assistance, a person injured in this type of situation is wise to identify legal coun sel that has specific experience in pro tecting the legal rights and interests of people hurt in a bus accident and public transportation. Call the Personal Injury Law Firm of Figeroux & Associates at 855-768-8845 or visit www.ask thelawyer.us to schedule an appoint ment.l
Various factors, ranging from inadequate training, reckless driving by MTA driv ers, laxity in MTA’s supervision, fatigue, poor weather conditions, careless pedes trians, can contribute to serious bus acci dents in and around the City, causing injuries or death.
inevitable that accidents will occur. However, it becomes a source of concern when accidents become frequent.
Other accidents can happen when a bus strikes another vehicle or a pedestrian or bicyclist. They can also malfunction due to defective equipment or poor mainte nance. Thus, transit bus accidents fall into organizational Public Transport Related causes and passenger-related causes.
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What to Do If You’re Hurt on NYC Public Transportation
Official records from the police or ambu lance attendant on your account of what happened must be accurately document ed in a police report or ambulance report in case of a lawsuit f to recover damages.
Document: Gather evidence from the scene as photographs or videos, especial ly for evidence in a personal injury case. You or someone can help you achieve this using the camera on your phone.
BY LINDA NWOKE
Bus Accidents in New York City As expected, with such a vast operation and complex service, managing thou sands of buses daily by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in the City, it is
In 2019, over 2 million riders took the bus daily, with 678 million rides annually by January 2020. NYC has around 5900 buses, plying along 234 local, 20 Select Bus Service, and 73 express bus routes within the five boroughs. Manhattan has one of the busiest routes, followed by Bronx and Brooklyn. The longest local bus route is on Staten Island’s S78 between the St George Ferry Terminal and the Bricktown Mall in Charleston.
York City has one of the most complex and extensive public transportation systems across the country, serving over 15 million people.
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