The AmsterdamNewsassumes no responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. Photographs and manuscripts become the property of The Amsterdam News. Published weekly. Periodicals Class postage paid at New York, N.Y. POSTMASTER: Send address corrections to NYAmsterdamNews,2340 Frederick Douglass Blvd., New York, NY 10027.
MAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS INFORMATION
What will racial justice look like for NYC Mayor Mamdani?
By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff
Mayor Zohran Mamdani has promised to uphold the city’s ideals of racial justice and equity beyond mere political platitudes. Apparently his first step will be rejuvenating the mayor’s Racial Justice and Equity Office.
The impetus behind the racial equity office can be traced back to the nationwide reckoning over George Floyd’s murder in 2020. The city was charged up and demanded structural changes be made at the administrative level that might actually address systemic issues impacting Black and Brown New Yorkers.
Mamdani has tapped Afua Atta-Mensah, executive director of Community Voices Heard, to be the next racial justice chief equity officer and commissioner. She has previously held roles including chief of programs at community change, executive director of Community Voices Heard, and director of litigation and policy at the Urban Justice Center. She says she is humbled and a little nervous by the appointment, but above all laser-focused on succeeding where the last administration stumbled.
“What I want to make sure we’re doing is moving with deliberate speed, to be talking across all the agencies, continue to gather information, and to release this in a manner that is digestible and clear with the eye to-
wards implementation,” said Atta-Mensah.
In March 2021, former Mayor Bill de Blasio greenlit the formation of the first Racial Justice Commission (RJC) and appointed 11 commissioners, including Jennifer Jones Austin, CEO and executive director of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA), who was chair. Following seven months of public forums and interviews, the RJC published a report and put together three ballot proposals that passed in 2022. The proposals stated that the city’s constitution
would strive for “a just and equitable city for all” ; create a permanent office of racial equity and chief equity officer; and promised a “true cost of living” measure for essential needs like housing, food, or childcare.
The NYC Mayor’s Office of Equity and Racial Justice (MOERJ) and the NYC Commission on Racial Equity (CORE), which is a 15-member independent oversight body for MOERJ, launched in October 2023 under former Mayor Eric Adams.
See RACIAL JUSTICE on page 29
Mamdani backs Bronx-based supportive housing project for formerly-incarcerated patients
By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News Staff
Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the city has “restarted” plans to build the Just Home supportive housing development on NYC Health + Hospital’s Jacobi Medical Center campus in the Bronx’s Morris Park neighborhood. He stopped by the site to deliver the news on Jan. 19, a busy Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Standing next to Helen Taylor, a supportive housing advocate, Mamdani pointed to the project as an early victory in his ambitious housing plan. Just Home boasts a planned 83 new apartments, all under affordable housing rates, with more than half going towards supportive housing for formerly incarcerated individuals with significant medical needs. All by repurposing an unused residence hall on the Jacobi campus.
“It feels fitting, frankly, that we are celebrating this progress on the day set aside to remember a man who dedicated his life to fighting for the downtrodden,” said Mamdani. “Because make no mistake, as we reactivate the Just Home Supportive Housing Project, we are not simply creating 83 new apartments and supporting those who are struggling — we are advancing the cause of justice.”
He likened the project to Dr. King’s “Three Evils of Society” speech, which argues “true compassion” goes beyond basic charity like “flinging a coin to a beggar” and requires addressing poverty’s societal root causes. So
supportive housing tackles not only shelter but homelessness’s broader contributors like mental health conditions and substance abuse. The model pairs affordable rents with wraparound services including medical care and addiction recovery, often all under the same roof through a nonprofit provider.
“Having my apartment, my very first apartment I ever had in my life, has made a difference in my life today because it is a step closer to fulfilling my mission to live better in life,” added Taylor. “It’s not just a place to live, it’s a tremendous amount of support that may exist. Acknowledging I am a part of a community, my story should not be unique.”
Taylor is regarded as the “mama bear” of
the Harlem-based Castle Gardens supportive housing development, which Just Home is modeled after. Reentry service provider, the Fortune Society manages both. But the nonprofit’s president and CEO, Stanley Richards, says Just Home stands out from other supportive housing for formerly-incarcerated people by specifically addressing complex medical needs like cancer and heart disease.
“They don’t need hospitalization, they don’t require hospice care, and they can’t be cared for in-shelter because of the complexity of their medical needs,” Richards told the AmNews. “So this will be a home for some of New York’s most vulnerable people.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani at the Martin Luther King Day event at National Action Network (NAN) on Monday, January 19, 2026. (Ariama C. Long photo)
Supportive housing advocate Helen Taylor (center) joins Mayor Zohran Mamdani at Jacobi Medical Center. (Tandy Lau photo)
Former NYC Public Housing Liaison Tony Herbert facing numerous corruption charges
By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff
Anthony ‘Tony’ Herbert, the former Citywide Public Housing Liaison at the New York City Mayor’s Office under Eric Adams, was formally indicted last week with federal charges of committing bribery, kickback, and fraud offenses.
“He allegedly took advantage of his role to line his pockets by offering unfair advantages to certain businesses,” said Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Special Agent in Charge Harry T. Chavis Jr. in a statement on Tuesday, January 13.
A criminal justice organizer, Herbert, 61, is a long-time affiliate of Adams’s. He previously ran unsuccessfully for State Assembly in 2014 and Public Advocate in 2021. He moved up from the Mayor’s Community Affairs office for Brooklyn to New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) liaison from 2022 to 2025. However, he was fired in September 2025 when he posted a video on social media saying that the shooting of farright Republican Charlie Kirk was “karma.”
This marks another person who was in Adams’s orbit that has been arrested and indicted. This includes other former aides and Brooklynites like the Mayor’s former Chief Advisor, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, and Bishop Lamor Whitehead in 2024.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Herbert allegedly “abused” his position with NYCHA by soliciting $16,000 in kickbacks, or an illegal payment for a favor. Herbert promised to sway city officials to award a security company with city contracts and approve payments to a funeral home director, said the office. An executive with the security firm reportedly recorded their conversations.
Herbert also allegedly submitted a $20,418 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) small business loan application for a fake baked goods company in 2021.
“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Herbert told CBS New York after court. He maintained that he has longstanding relationships with community members involved with the case and was well within his purview. Herbert was arrested on Jan. 13 and present-
ed to a judge, where he pleaded not guilty.
“As charged, he allegedly filed false financial disclosures with the city, omitting the payments he received to conceal his criminal conduct,” added Department of Investigation (DOI) Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber. “I thank the IRS and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York for their partnership on this investigation and for their commitment to hold accountable City employees who abuse their position for their own gain.”
“New Yorkers deserve honest and competent public officials,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “As alleged, at a time when Anthony Herbert was serving as City Hall’s liaison to the City’s public housing residents, he engaged in blatant pay-to-play schemes to enrich himself. The women and men of the Southern District of New York are committed to holding accountable government officials who abuse their positions of trust to benefit themselves.”
Herbert’s next court date is scheduled for Jan. 30.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat endorsed by Congressional Black Caucus PAC in reelection bid
By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff
Incumbent Congressmember Adriano Espaillat, in a fight to keep his seat in New York’s 13th Congressional district race, recently got a boost in the form of an endorsement by the Congressional Black Caucus Political Action Committee.
Espaillat, 71, is the first DominicanAmerican to serve in Congress. He was first elected in 2016 and currently chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC). His district encompasses East Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill, and parts of Harlem and the north-west Bronx.
“I feel really good. The Congressional Black Caucus, they call it the conscience of the House of Representatives,” said Espaillat. “And as chair of the CHC, we have been doing a lot of work with the tricaucus — which is the Asian and Asian Pacific Caucus, Black Caucus, and Hispanic Caucus. We’ve been doing a lot of work together. It’s a real honor and a privilege to get their endorsement.”
Espaillat has been working overtime with his colleagues, collaborating with other caucus members to highlight the injustices of President Donald Trump’s deportation agenda. On Jan. 16, he testified that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should be immediately “dismantled” and retrained to prohibit deadly force at a congressional hearing in Minneapolis after the
shooting of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-yearold mother and wife who was killed by an ICE agent who approached her car.
“ICE is an aggressive, violent weapon. It has turned [out] to be a deadly weapon,” said Espaillat in the hearing.
Espaillat hasn’t had a competitive race in his district for a decade, but with the 2026 congressional primaries several months away, many candidates are looking to challenge entrenched Democrats like him and capitalize on voter discontent with career politicians. He’s being challenged by eight political hopefuls at the moment, including Oscar Romero, Jaliel Amador, Theo Bruce Chino-Tavarez, former congressional staffer Megan C. Rodriguez, newcomer from East Harlem Darializa Avila Chevalier, and LGBTQ activist James Felton Keith. His challengers have diverse backgrounds and ethnicities, but Espaillat wasn’t surprised to be chosen by the CBC over a Black candidate.
“I’m Afro Latino, and there [are] several African American candidates and Afro Latino candidates in the race, and so I’m sure they looked at the record and they’re convinced that I could continue to represent the district in a strong way,” said Espaillat. “I think that for endorsements, everybody has to go up and make their case and present their accomplishments.”
Espaillat has long-standing relationships with New York members of the CBC.
“Congressman Adriano Espaillat reflects the kind of leadership that our caucus and its members have long championed,” said
Congressmember Gregory Meeks, who chairs the CBC PAC, in a statement. “At a time when working families are being priced out of neighborhoods they’ve called home for generations, Adriano has been on the front lines of the fight to make New York City more affordable.
“That commitment is rooted in lived experience, moral clarity, and a deep commitment to economic justice and civil rights,” Meeks continued. “From standing up to the administration’s draconian immigration enforcement policies to delivering tangible investments that create jobs and strengthen communities, Adriano has been and will continue to be a powerful and effective advocate for those too often left behind.”
However, in the past, Espaillat has had a rocky history with members of the CBC, in particular the late Congressmember Charles Rangel and his wouldbe successor, Manhattan Democratic Party boss Keith Wright. Espaillat ran against Rangel unsuccessfully twice, once in 2012 and again in 2014. On his third time running in 2016, Espaillat finally bested Wright, his Harlem rival, to take over Rangel’s seat upon his retirement. The CBC
had endorsed Wright then. “I got to develop a strong working relationship with these groups, including Congressman Rangel before he passed. We became really good friends,” said Espaillat.
Anthony ‘Tony’ Herbert at public advocate candidate forum in 2018. (Bill Moore photo.)
Congressmember Adriano Espaillat at the Martin Luther King Day event at National Action Network (NAN) on Monday, January 19, 2026. (Ariama C. Long.)
A year after the Eaton fire, Black Altadena is fighting to stay
By ANISSA DURHAM Word in Black
For decades, Altadena functioned as a rare constant in the Los Angeles area: a place where Black families owned homes and passed something on to their descendants. That all changed with the Eaton Fire. One year after the fire tore through Altadena and neighboring communities, destroying thousands of homes and displacing families who had lived there for generations, the neighborhood remains in flux. Rebuilding has been slow, uneven, and expensive. Some residents are pressing forward. Others, finding it too difficult, have left. But collectively, their decisions may determine whether one of Los Angeles County’s most stable Black enclaves endures.
Altadena advocate Zella Knight understands that uncertainty all too well.
“Though the physical fire is over, the remnants of that fire still continues,” she said.
Knight lost her family’s Altadena home in the Eaton Fire. The house had been in her family for decades. It was the first place her parents moved after migrating from Jim Crow Mississippi in the 1960s. In Altadena, they found a neighborhood where Black folks were able to buy and own their homes. Knight, who is 62 and now lives 20 minutes west in Sun Valley, had already endured profound loss before the fire. Her mom died in 2022 and her father followed in 2024. Exactly five months later, fire decimated their family home.
Knight is one of four siblings. Her younger brother, Robert, who lived with a disability, had been living in the family home with in-home care support. The arrangement, Knight says, was meant to give him a sense of independence.
On January 7, 2025, Robert was evacuated from the house. Two days later, the home the family knew and loved was ash. In the months that followed, Robert lived with Knight. And then, in August 2025, Robert died.
“Given the fact that he couldn’t go back to the only place he knew … he was very distraught and upset about that,” Knight said. “It created a lot of trauma and stress and I think that was a contributor to his passing.”
The remnants remain
For much of the 20th century, discriminatory housing policies dictated where Black people could live in Los Angeles County. In the 1960s, Altadena was a 95% white and 4% Black community, due to redlining and racially restrictive covenants. But, during the Civil Rights Movement, these racist laws became unenforceable. The unincorporated community in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains became one of the few places offering home loans to Black and Brown people.
By 2022, the Black homeownership rate in Altadena was about 30% higher than other parts of the county. There was also nearly a year over year increase from 2018 to 2022 for homeownership in the community. Ac-
cording to the Associated Press, more than 81.5% of people owned their homes in Altadena in 2023 — an outlier in a region defined by housing insecurity and rising rents. Many of those homes were held by families like Knight’s that had lived there for decades.
Churches, schools, and organizations reflected long-standing friendships and relationships. Neighbors knew each other. Families stayed.
The Eaton Fire disrupted all that. The official cause of the Eaton Fire has yet to be determined. But the U.S. Department of Justice has blamed Southern California Edison for the fire. And the Los Angeles Times reported that the utility provider did not repair aging transmission lines.
More than 14,000 acres were burned, 19 people died, and more than 9,000 homes and structures were destroyed in Altadena.
The fire took 25 days to extinguish. A year later, the demographic consequences are tougher to measure and it’s unclear how many Black residents remain.
Gov. Gavin Newsom requested $33.9 billion in federal disaster aid, but the money has been slow to reach Altadena residents.
According to reporting from the Associated Press, as of late 2025, fewer than 12 homes have been rebuilt in the area burned by the Eaton Fire. And a recent report from Redfin shows investors are scooping up nearly half of the lots in Altadena.
Last year in the aftermath of the fire, Vickie Mays, professor of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles, told Word In Black she was worried about what
will happen to the Black residents of Altadena. It’s understandable that people want to stay with their close-knit community, she said, but Altadena residents are going to experience a new normal.
“Not everybody has the stomach to rebuild in the same place. Some people don’t have the money,” Mays said. “So, what you’re looking at is, your neighborhood as you knew it, is probably not going to be your neighborhood of the future.”
The cost of rebuilding
William Syms lost his home in the Eaton Fire and currently lives in Glendale, a former sundown town just east of Altadena. The 41-year-old spoke with Word In Black last year just days after losing his home when he was still absorbing what had happened. One year later the husband and father of two young children, says the loss brought his family closer together but he admits it’s taken a toll. Nevertheless, he’s still determined to rebuild the house that burned down.
To him, Altadena is a community he plans to continue to raise his children in.
Syms is busy submitting plans for approval to rebuild his home. Fingers crossed, he hopes to get the green light by the end of January. He anticipates the construction will take place between June and December of this year. In an ideal scenario, the family would celebrate Christmas 2026 in their new Altadena home.
“Life is good because we’re here and we have the chance to create another chapter in the legacy of this family and communi-
ty,” he said.
In the meantime, life has been tough. Though the Syms family eventually secured long term temporary housing, for months they’ve shuffled bags between homes, often keeping clothes in different places. He never thought of himself as homeless, though, he says. And even though his children are exhausted, they’re some of the most resilient people he knows.
One of the biggest challenges? A lack of affordable and available housing. “Prices, mysteriously, overnight got astronomical,” he said. And dealing with insurance companies has been a slow trickle. While they have been responsive, Syms says, it’s an arduous and cumbersome process.
“It almost feels like the apparatus is situated to push you out or make you quit,” he added. “The rebuilding process of just finding housing has been a barrier. But having the community around us has allowed us to push forward.”
In recent months Syms has run into community members at church and other events that have reinforced his belief in the power of Altadena. A few weeks ago, a beloved tradition continued in Altadena: Santa Rosa Avenue, affectionately known as “Christmas Tree Lane,” had its annual lighting — the mile-long stretch of road is home to the oldest large-scale outdoor Christmas lighting display in the United States.
“My commitment to the community, my love for the community, has deepened because of how we’ve come together,” Syms said. “We aren’t going anywhere. Community can heal. But we still need help.”
Ellaird Bailey kisses the forehead of his wife Charlotte after Los Angeles County approved their rebuilding plans, months after the Eaton Fire. (Jae C. Hong/AP)
Dr. Rashidah Ismaili — Remembering the power of the Black arts movement
By JASON PONTEROTTO Special to AmNews
Dr. Rashidah Ismaili says her age is between 85 and 90, “depending on whose calendar you use.” Her apartment in Harlem reflects that of a PanAfrican museum, with decor including artifacts, sculptures, paintings, and literature all connected to the diaspora.
What her home slowly reveals is a life that tells the story of Black culture in New York over the course of many important years. Ismaili is revered for her work in poetry, essays, and fiction writing, which stretches back to her involvement in the Black Arts Movement, centered in the Lower East Side in the 1950s to 1970s.
Since the beginning of Kwanzaa, Ismaili has hosted house gatherings in celebration of the holiday, usually on January 1, Imani, the final day. Several guests have come to her Harlem apartment for the event since she and her son, Daoud, moved there in the early 1980s. Ismaili appreciates the Pan-African ritual aspect of the celebration.
Black
New Yorker
been very prominent in my life,” Ismaili said. She also remembers visiting the bioscope, where films would play that inspired her to go home and write about what she saw, beginning her connection to writing.
THE URBAN AGENDA
By David R. Jones, Esq
Mamdani’s Strong Moves on Child Care Campaign Promise
Of the issues Mayor Zohan Mamdani promised to address to help New Yorkers afford everyday basics – rent, groceries, health care and new homes – one rises above all, and there is universal agreement that something must be done.
Child care is the Mount Everest of economic policy challenges. It’s a financial burden that cuts across all races, neighborhoods and income brackets. Day care is unaffordable for nearly everyone. It is without doubt the most worthy of Mamdani’s attention in the early days of his administration.
Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul deserve credit for announcing an initiative to provide free child care for 2-year-olds in New York City, and strengthen early childhood education. It is the first step, they said, toward universal free child care statewide for children ages six weeks to five years old. They want to join New Mexico, which was the first state to offer all families free universal childcare.
more than in-state, four-year university tuition. In New York City, clearly, those prices mean child care is out of reach for low-income families, immigrants and essential workers.
We need government to support the care and education of young children, for the good of families and all the societal advantages that flow from stable homes and supportive environments for children and working parents. It improves the parents’ ability to find meaningful work and benefits care providers, who overwhelmingly tend to be Black women. The absence of child care also undercuts hard-fought gains for women in the workplace.
Over the years, the gathering has become something that friends of Ismaili and others look forward to annually. The rituals remain the same: reciting of the principles of Kwanzaa; lighting the candles representing each of the seven days; ending with Imani, meaning “faith” and pouring libations. Books are also provided for children as gifts. She hopes the ceremony is both communal and intergenerational.
“I think that rituals are very important in socializing and the development of a community,” Ismaili said about the Kwanzaa rituals she shares with guests each year.
Ismaili was born in Contonou, Benin, which was then known as Dahomey, in West Africa, and raised primarily by her grandmother in her early years. Living her whole life in the Muslim faith, she said the experience of going to a Catholic missionary school and dealing with physical and mental abuse had a deep impact on her as a child.
“They were horrible,” Ismaili said of the Catholic missionaries who she recalls enforced the idea that Africans were inferior and meant to be slaves, “saved” by white Christians. “The whole notion of a missionary is very colonial, and by its very existence, is, to me, not religious.”
Around this time, Ismaili was introduced to Italian opera singing by a nun, which stuck with her. Her uncle had introduced her to jazz music from African Americans, which became a lifelong love, with admiration of artists like Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington, and Jimmie Lunceford.
“The love of both opera and jazz has always
After moving to New York in 1957 at age 17 with her then-husband, Imsaili grew to learn the ways of the big city. “Everything was so different,” Ismaili said. “If someone said something to me, I assumed that it was true.”
Ismaili attended New York College of Music, earning a BFA in singing. One of her classmates was Cecil Taylor. She later studied musical theater at the Mannes School of Music. She said it was a magical time, being immersed in arts and culture. She recalled the vibrant theater scene, including the Negro Ensemble when it was originally on the Lower East Side, and attending off-Broadway shows.
She also received her master’s from New School for Social Research and finally her PhD in psychology from SUNY.
Ismaili said this period was self-defining as she was raising her son. She also got involved in other forms of art, such as dancing at the Sylvia Fort studio, where she connected with figures like Alvin Ailey, Max Roach, and Abbey Lincoln.
In the early 1960s, Isamili was inspired to find her voice and began writing poetry. “Literature was very alive,” she said. “I guess there was something that drew me to writing.”
Through a friend, artist and cartoonist Tom Feelings, Ismaili was able to get one of her first poems published in The Liberator, a Black consciousness magazine popular in the ‘60s. In 1962, he connected her to the Umbra Collective, made up of several Black writers and visual artists who produced Black avant-garde poetry, and she became a member. Prominent members included Amiri Baraka, Ishmael Reed, Steve
Mamdani has made child care a cornerstone of his affordability push. Several of his appointees and top campaign aides worked in early childhood education or helped secure funding for former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s universal prekindergarten program. They know universal child care will take time and have no illusions about the challenges ahead.
Governor Hochul deserves credit for committing to work with the new mayor on such a difficult issue ahead of what may be a tough reelection run next year. She has already launched a multi-year effort to rebuild the state’s child-care infrastructure decimated by the COVID pandemic. Universal child care could cost as much as $15 billion, which requires the solid backing of the governor as well as the state legislature.
Let’s acknowledge the obvious: This will not be easy. The program Mamdani envisions faces significant financial hurdles. How to pay for it remains an open question. In New York City alone, universal child care could cost as much as $6 billion. Then there are logistical issues, like seats for students with disabilities and a mismatch between child care supply and demand across neighborhoods.
Finding a solution for New York, however difficult, is worth the risk. The average childcare expense for families in the city is around $26,000 for infants and toddlers, according to the Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York. That’s fourfold the seven percent of household income that the federal government deems affordable. Unfortunately, child-care costs continue to rise faster than overall inflation in most U.S. states.
In New York and 40 other states, the average annual price of center-based infant care costs
The strategies embraced nationally to address the child-care crisis include federal tax credits to offset costs, boosting wages to attract and retain child-care workers, encouraging businesses to provide on-site day care, and grants that help licensed providers cover rent, utilities and operating costs to keep their doors open. Still others call for new federal child-care and education savings accounts.
President Donald Trump calls affordability “a fake word.” But economic data and public polls show that Americans are struggling: Income is barely keeping up with persistent inflation, as day-to-day basics are getting more expensive. Food, transportation and housing are increasing, and child-care and elder-care costs have skyrocketed.
The affordability crisis turned into a political calamity for former Mayor Eric Adams, after he cut funding from the city’s popular preschool program. In his final year in office, Adams was forced to reallocate $167 million to permanent early childhood funding and $10 million for a universal child care pilot program after pushback from city lawmakers and parents. Mamdani should extend the $10 million pilot, which offers free child care to parents in high-need areas with children up to age two.
Taking on child care in such a conspicuous way says a lot about the type of mayor Mamdani intends to become. Elected leaders repeatedly come face-to-face again and again with the same choice: do the right thing or do the expedient thing for the right reasons.
The mayor’s campaign promises inspired many, and he appears to not be cynically retreating from his child care ambitions in the face of unfavorable budget math. To do otherwise so early in his term would be hollow and damaging.
Now is the right time for serious political consideration of new funding and delivery models for child care.
David R. Jones, Esq., is President and CEO of the Community Service Society of New York (CSS), the leading voice on behalf of low-income New Yorkers for more than 175 years. The views expressed in this column
Rashidah Ismaili (Jason Ponterotto photo)
New year marks new victim compensation reforms in New York state
By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News Staff
A state law lowering barriers to access victim compensation went into effect on Jan. 1, notably allowing survivors to file a claim with the Office of Victim Services (OVS) without requiring a police report. The reform stems from findings by the NYCbased advocacy organization Common Justice suggesting Black, Brown and Indigenous assault victims were less likely to be awarded compensation than their white counterparts.
“Survivors of violence have been denied support because of systemic barriers rooted in bias, mistrust, and outdated requirements,” said State Assembly sponsor Demond Meeks in a statement. “The Fair Access to Victim Compensation Act is about removing those barriers and making sure help is available when survivors need it, not months or years later. This law expands access to victim compensation without forcing survivors to rely on law enforcement or meet unrealistic deadlines while they are still healing.
“It also acknowledges the painful racial disparities that have existed in the system and takes meaningful steps to address them. Survivors deserve a process that treats them
with dignity, compassion, and respect.”
Now survivors can go through a victims service provider or licensed medical professional for documentation towards compensation instead of police. Additionally, the law expands the claim window from one year to three years from the incident.
“When we think about survivors, we want to make sure that we’re being trauma informed and compassionate — not saying that’s not law enforcement, but just for some survivors, that wasn’t where they found that,” said Common Justice senior
policy manager Tahirih Anthony. “The bill also allows survivors to report their harm now with up to three years. Originally, the current law was one year. We recognize that healing just isn’t linear.”
The legislation piggybacks off of other victim compensation reforms walked through by Gov. Kathy Hochul in the last budget, which went into effect on Nov. 5. Those changes include eliminating contributory conduct — ostensibly legal victim blaming — from influencing victim compensation claims in homicide cases. Ac-
cording to Anthony in a previous interview with the AmNews, cases involving Black victims make up roughly half of contributory conduct denials.
Additionally, the state doubled funeral reimbursement from $6,000 to $12,000 to reflect growing costs. The state will also allow anyone who pays for crime scene cleanups to file a victim compensation act, including landlords.
Support for reforming victim services also drew rare bipartisan support from state lawmakers, aligning the likes of Brooklyn democratic socialist Julia Salazar and conservative Long Island Republican Dean Murray across the aisle.
Common Justice’s findings, which spurred the reforms, employed OVS data on claims between 2018 and 2020 obtained by public records requests and cross-examined with NYPD data on assaults. The organization found Black New Yorkers were 37% less likely to file victim compensation applications. And they were 17.5% less likely to receive reimbursement if they did make a claim.
“This is really just a major win for all New Yorkers, but especially for Black and Brown New Yorkers … I think what really made this difference was hearing directly from survivors,” said Anthony. “[On] what’s going on and just really what they need.”
NYS Raise the Age law remains in full after new executive budget
By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News staff
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive budget unveiled on Jan. 20, excluded rollbacks against the state’s Raise the Age law, which prevents the state from prosecuting 16 and 17-yearolds as adults for nonviolent offenses. The Raise the Age Coalition, the 220 organizations supporting the law, commended the governor, who resisted calls by Republican state lawmakers last year to scale back the legislation in her budget.
“We welcome this announcement from Gov. Hochul, and we urge the Administration and the Legislature to leave Raise the Age untouched throughout this session,” wrote the advocates. “Since its implementation, Raise the Age has been a proven success, moving New York away from the dubious distinction of having the lowest age of automatic adult criminal responsibility in the nation — a distinction previously shared only with North Carolina.
“Raise the Age reflects what we know to be true: adolescents are children, and prosecuting and placing them in the adult criminal justice system does not work for young people or make communities safer.”
The news follows a City Hall rally last
vices promised when Hochul’s predecessor and former running mate Andrew Cuomo signed the bill in Harlem back in 2017.
“We’ve tried our best to arrest the children that we’ve arrested 20 years ago and that hasn’t worked,” said Public Advocate Jumaane Williams during the rally. “And it’s not going to work…the things we’ve been talking about are proven. They’re based in data. They’re not pie in the sky, they’re real.
“Everytime we try to do something, they tell us the sky is going to fall open: Black and Brown kids will fall from it and destroy the city. But that has never happened.”
He pointed to how criminal justice reforms often serve as sin-eaters for public safety concerns, even as the city touts falling crime numbers. Raise the Age is just one of many scapegoated laws passed following Kalief Browder’s suicide after he was held on Rikers Island as a minor over ultimately dropped charges for a stolen backpack. Notably, Hochul rolled back bail reform laws in the FY24 budget.
Last month, the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice dropped a report finding youth felony recidivism for 16 and 17-year-olds tumbled since Raise the Age went into effect — the legislation activated for 16-year-olds in 2018 and for 17-year-olds in 2019.
rollbacks
Raise the Age laws, as well as adopting the Youth Justice Innovation Fund to dedicate at least
$50 million of the $250 million set aside each year to support Raise the Age towards the youth intervention and treatment ser-
Advocates rally at City Hall to protect Raise the Age laws on Jan. 14. (The Bronx Defenders)
Assemblymember and FAVC Act sponsor Demond Meeks (Courtesy of the New York State Assembly Majority)
NAACP New York focuses a keen eye on Gov. Hochul’s policies after State of the State address
By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff
Just a day after Gov. Kathy Hochul delivered her 2026 State of the State address, the NAACP New York State Conference held its first legislative briefing of the year on Jan. 14. Held online, the civil rights organization’s briefing featured NAACP leaders Chris Alexander and L. Joy Williams, who outlined the organization’s legislative priorities and responded to the governor’s proposals.
In her State of the State, Hochul promised that her administration’s efforts this year will protect New Yorkers from harmful Trump administration policies, improve affordability, and help New York’s economy progress. “Statewide… we’re promising universal pre-K for every single four-yearold by 2028,” Hochul said. “And this year, we’ll pilot community-wide childcare to provide year-round, full-day, affordable care for newborns to three-year-olds. And we’ll build on that proven success of our state childcare assistance program and our voucher program so tens of thousands more families can access high-quality care for no more than $15 a week.”
Hochul also said her administration plans to reduce the costs of housing development: “This year, we’re going to invest
an additional $250 million into affordable housing and $100 million to scale innovative manufactured housing that lowers costs and speeds construction,” she said. Hochul also spoke of efforts to expand behavioral health services for veterans and people with disabilities, protect children from online predators, and regulate artifi-
cial intelligence that targets youth. Williams, the NAACP New York State Conference president, and Alexander, its executive director, said they attended Hochul’s speech in Albany so they could meet with elected officials and make sure their organization’s legislative agenda was being represented.
Williams characterized Hochul’s speech as even-keeled enough to keep the governor out of major political fights. “It definitely was a highlight reel of … the investments that were made: ‘Crime is down, and, you know, we’re investing in housing, education, our children.’ Like, these are all the things that people have at the top of their list in an election year,” Williams said.
The NAACP New York State Conference says it strongly supports increasing the state’s housing supply and wants to see it done without harming existing communities. But Williams also stressed that the organization wants to make sure that state investments in affordable housing and homeownership are equitable. “It’s about defining affordability, and from our perspective, we want to make sure we’re advocating on behalf of Black New Yorkers, particularly Black New Yorkers who have been told for generations that the way to build wealth in this country is through homeownership. You have a swath of Black folks who, you know, did what America told us to do, right? Invest and save and build wealth by having housing. And we’ve done that. But now there are all of these changes that may happen that may impede upon people’s American dream of homeownership.”
Closing the crypto loophole: Sen. Myrie, D.A. Bragg push for regulation
By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff
Sen. Zellnor Myrie and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg are working together to combat illicit activity after a number of high-profile cryptocurrency scams in New York City. The Cryptocurrency Regulation Yields Protections, Trust, and Oversight (CRYPTO) Act, a state senate bill sponsored by Myrie, adds serious jail time for those who break the law.
The idea behind digital money being transferred anonymously online is actually not as new or high-tech a concept as some might assume. The practice goes back to the early 1980s, with the establishment of eCash, and took off with the launch of Bitcoin in 2009. Nowadays, the market cap for crypto globally has grown over the years to about $3.1 trillion.
“For those doing it the right way, virtual currency gets rid of some of the obstacles and barriers in our traditional finance system. One that we know has been imperfect and that has not allowed for access for certain segments of our population,” said Myrie, who chairs the Senate Codes Committee. “But I think the bad actors have been drawn to cryptocurrency because of some of the pseudonymity attached with it.”
Japanese Yen.
Many operators within the crypto space are indeed legal and regulated. However, the criminal element of crypto in New York has become a hotbed of fraud, scams, and other
financial crimes as of late, said Myrie. Overall, $51 billion in crypto was received by illicit addresses in 2024, up from $11 billion in 2020, according to the Chainanalysis Crypto Crime Trends report. In 2025, Chainanalysis saw significant concentrations of stolen fund victims in the U.S., Germany, Russia, Canada, Japan, Indonesia, and South Korea.
“Now under New York law, the crypto license has civil penalties but you shouldn’t be able to just price in and pay the fine,” said Bragg. “What this bill would do is add criminal penalties so that we can hold people accountable.”
Under the CRYPTO Act, if businesses operate without a crypto license and deal in amounts of $1 million or more, then they could face a tier of charges, starting at an A misdemeanor (maximum of 1 year in jail), up to a C felony (maximum of 5-to15 years in prison). Similar criminal crypto laws have been implemented in 18 other states. In 2025, Myrie also introduced the R.I.P.O.F.F Act, which increases penalties for fraud in financial systems and broadens the definitions of bribery.
Typically, money laundering investigations rely on banks and financial institutions that are required to verify their
is a virtual and public encrypted financial system that is not governmentbacked. This differs from traditional “fiat” currency like the U.S. Dollar or
See HOCHUL on page 11
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg (left) and Sen. Zellnor Myrie (right) held a cryptocurrency conference on January 15, 2026. (Contributed by Myrie’s office)
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul delivers the 2026 State of the State address, Jan. 13 in Albany. (Darren McGee/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul via AP)
Divine Nine News
Whitney Museum hosts second Divine Nine Sunday
Last month, the doors of The Whitney Museum of American Art opened in Manhattan welcoming attendees to Divine Nine Sunday. This program took place thanks to a partnership between the National Pan-Hellenic Council of NYC and the Meatpacking Business Improvement District. According to I.D. Aruede, deputy director of the Whitney Museum of American Art, “Divine Nine Day at the Whitney Museum was an extraordinary celebration of community. It was exciting, and our galleries truly felt electric. We’re proud to partner with the National Pan-Hellenic Council of New York City to welcome members of the Divine Nine. As an HBCU graduate (Morgan State University), it was particularly meaningful to me to see fraternities and sororities whose impact spans generations gather with us on a Free Second Sunday. On the second Sunday of every month, the Whitney offers free, all-day admission and programming for visitors of all ages. It’s an opportunity to come together and experience the Whitney and American art without barriers. And, it’s a part of our broader commitment to expanding access for all audiences, including on Free Friday Nights every week from 5 p.m. to 10
p.m., and free admission anytime for visitors age 25 and under.”
Divine Nine Day (Dec. 14) offered free admission, family programs, and community activities. Attendees had access to all exhibitions during the Free Second Sundays program. Exhibitions included “Sixties Surreal,” “Untitled” (America), and “High Wire: Calder’s Circus at 100,” celebrating the centennial of one of the most beloved exhibits in the Whitney’s collection. Museum goers participated in guided tours, artmaking, and Sunday story time with Latanya DeVaughn, CEO of Bronx Bound Books.
Maya E. Latimer, president of the National Pan-Hellenic Council of NYC, said, “Divine 9 Sunday at the Whitney Museum is an important event because it allows people who
do not normally see us get a small glimpse of our culture and unity. We are blessed to have all nine organizations represented in our ouncil who are committed to scholarship and service in the five boroughs. We would like to thank everyone who helped to make this event possible.”
The National Pan-Hellenic Council of NYC serves as an umbrella organization for historically Black fraternities and sororities that are collectively known as the Divine Nine and are referred to as Black Greek Letter Organizations.
Free Second Sundays at the Whitney helps to connect more people to the Whitney Museum and its mission of celebrating contemporary American art and artists. Second Sundays is made possible by a generous
three-year grant from the Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All Program, which supports increased access to museums nationwide and fosters engagement with local communities by focusing on common barriers to access. This program and Free Friday Nights, another Whitney initiative, aim to reduce barriers to access to the arts, removing admission fees and offering programs that are entry points for anyone interested in visiting.
Read more about 2024 Divine Nine News: A D9 day at the Whitney.
Do you have ideas for the Divine Nine News column? We welcome your submissions at d9@amsterdamnews. com and https://amsterdamnews.com/ d9news.
Here’s a photo that was taken on Divine Nine Sunday at The Whitney Museum of American Art. Members of all Divine Nine Organizations are represented. (Photos by Lia Chang for The Whitney Museum)
Brothers and Sisters: Members of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. pose with members of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.
Here are the men of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. during Free Second Sundays at the Whitney Museum
KAYLYN KENDALL DINES, MBA
The men of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. visit exhibits at The Whitney Museum and pause for a photo. (Photos by Lia Chang for The Whitney Museum)
This member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. is all smiles at The Whitney Museum of American Art.
Here are two of the ladies of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. posing on Divine Nine Sunday.
No progress in strike talks as New York State nurses walk the picket line for a second week
By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff
Striking members of the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) reached their second week on the picket line in below-freezing temperatures. The union has still not come to contract agreements with Montefiore Medical Center, Mount Sinai, and New York-Presbyterian, and negotiations toward a deal remain at a standstill.
The nurses are looking for contract agreements that would offer them comprehensive healthcare coverage, better, enforceable staffing ratios, enhanced workplace safety, protections for vulnerable patients, preservation of ongoing pension plans without reductions, and the development of a model AI language system to guarantee that patients are consistently attended to by a qualified nurse at their bedside.
Union representatives met with NewYork-Presbyterian management on Thursday, Jan. 15, and with Mount Sinai management on Friday, Jan. 16, alongside federal mediators in bargaining sessions that extended past midnight.
NYSNA says it presented revised contract proposals to improve safe staffing and on-the-job safety and to maintain health benefits, but that its proposals were not accepted. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital representatives offered no counterproposals.
Mount Sinai Hospital, which did offer a counterproposal, said in a press statement, “[T]he parties spent most of the day exchanging proposals on immigration, construction and renovation, and substance abuse treatments, but did not make substantial progress on any issue.
“Mount Sinai West and Mount Sinai Morningside negotiators shared two proposals that had already been agreed to at The Mount Sinai Hospital, one on artificial intelligence and the other on support for nursing mothers, and the union did not agree to either one. In the case of Mount Sinai’s AI proposal, NYSNA’s negotiators sent back a counter and said they would never agree to elements of
the proposal, even though it was identical to what was already settled at Mount Sinai’s other bargaining table.”
Both negotiations were described as making “very little progress,” and no additional bargaining sessions were initially scheduled. Representatives from Montefiore Health System had not yet met with NYSNA to negotiate. The union claimed the hospital did not answer the mediator’s call to meet on Friday, January 16. But hospital reps said no such meeting was ever planned.
The back-and-forth between Montefiore and NYSNA has remained sharp. The hospital has publicly said the union’s demands are drastic. “Until they can back away from their reckless and dangerous $3.6 billion demands,” a Montefiore spokesperson has stated, “progress overall will not be possible. In the meantime, we continue to provide the world-class care our communities deserve.”
But NYSNA reps announced on Jan. 21 that, at the urging of Governor Hochul and Mayor Mamdani, negotiations will resume with Montefiore, Mount Sinai Hospital, and NewYork-Presbyterian on Jan. 22, even as picketing continues.
NYSNA members, meanwhile, have been very visibly out on the picket line to take part in the largest nurse strike in New York City history. They participated in a speak-out in front of Mount Sinai Morningside in Upper Manhattan on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, alongside Rev. Al Sharpton and other civil rights leaders. And then, on Tuesday, Jan. 20, they were joined by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Mayor Zohran Mamdani in front of Mount Sinai West.
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans dismissed claims by the hospitals that say they cannot afford new union contracts. “You have the richest hospitals saying they cannot afford our medical coverage; they cannot afford to give us work violence protection,” she told the throng of nurses outside Mount Sinai West. “Lies! But they are willing to spend $100 million on replacement nurses that are
not as qualified as us!
“My message to you, greedy cor-
porates — Mount Sinai, Montefiore, New York-Presbyterian — spend the money in the community! Spend the money on your nurses!”
Striking members of NYSNA reached their second week on the picket line. (NYSNA photos)
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans came out to talk with striking union members on Jan. 20, with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Mayor Zohran Mamdani, at Mount Sinai West.
Hochul’s strongest position, according to Williams, was her strong stance against the Trump administration’s policies — specifically, what she described as unlawful actions by ICE. Even that stance should, logically, get strong support, Williams suggested, following ICE’s killing of 37-yearold Renee Good and the protests that have subsequently erupted in Minneapolis. “I think we have to be particularly careful
when you have a hostile federal government; we need state executives and local executives to exert their power in protecting the people who live and work within their state.”
New York State’s NAACP is working in coalition with advocacy organizations like the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), Immigrant Defense Project (IDP), Make the Road New York, Brooklyn Defenders, Legal Aid Society, Immigrant Advocates Response Collaborative (I-ARC), and local chapters of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) to speak
said Bragg.
customers and transactions. But crypto has several loopholes that make it ideal for moving money for illicit activity, like drugs, guns, or vehicles, undetected through people that aren’t registered, said Bragg.
In 2024, Victoria Jacobs was convicted of using crypto to support “terrorist” training groups in Syria and was sentenced to 18 years in prison. She laundered $12,000 by receiving crypto as well as Western Union and MoneyGram wires from supporters around the globe and sending the funds to Bitcoin wallets they controlled. “We were able to detect it, in part, because the defendant was also using traditional banks. So those banks had obligations to report,”
Robert Taylor was also convicted in 2024 for an illegal Bitcoin ATM business in at least 46 locations across the city, where he essentially advertised criminal activity on social media. Between 2017 and 2018, he converted more than $5.6 million of his customers’ cash into Bitcoin while charging them enormous fees.
Myrie added there’s also a proliferation of crypto scammers using other technology — like generative AI, voice generators, fake videos, and fraudulent websites — to prey on everyday New Yorkers and vulnerable populations, like the elderly or romantic hopefuls.
“There is a particular shame that is attached to being scammed in this way,” said Myrie. “Because under normal circumstances, it’s hard for many people to come
out against ICE raids. It’s part of the civil rights groups’ strategy to stop what they term federal overreach.
“We all have to stand against this,” Williams said, calling on people to speak out against ICE because of the danger we find ourselves in. She said ICE has to be confronted by people she calls occupants of the office of the citizen. “You have the office of the president, the office of the mayor, you know, all of those kinds of stuff. But the office of the citizen is the most important office in this country. The Constitution says so. And if you are trou -
to law enforcement if they have been a victim of a crime. But imagine a crime that you can’t talk to your family about because you are ashamed that you were taken advantage of. These are the types of circumstances that we are facing now.”
Adams and the NYC Token
Former Mayor Eric Adams’ NYC Token cryptocurrency is quite possibly his most controversial business venture. A hard feat considering there was a time Adams was indicted by the federal government and facing bribery and corruption charges (now dropped). Adams launched the digital asset on Jan. 14, with its market capping at about $600 million. Within hours of the launch, $2.5 million was pulled in liquidity. While $1.5 million was later returned to the account, investors and the general public
bled by what is happening in our streets and how you are being governed, it is our right to stand up and say we do not want this; this is not how we want the federal government to act. This is not how we want states to comply.”
Alexander said the NAACP plans to hold more briefings in the months ahead and give updates on legislative activity, track endorsed bills, and share feedback from both lawmakers and community members. This, he said, will give people the opportunity to stay engaged with the legislative session as it unfolds.
rapidly slammed Adams for allegedly scamming people.
Myrie said he’s unclear about all the details surrounding Adams’ token and can’t for sure say that it was criminal activity that would fall under the CRYPTO Act.
“But it did look like what we have seen in other spaces, where we have seen people pump up a particular currency or a token and then quickly remove that liquidity, leaving a number of people holding the bag as the creators make off with some money,” said Myrie. “And our laws, as they currently exist, do not penalize that type of scheme. That’s what we are trying to do with this law, to discourage this type of activity.”
Bragg declined to comment directly on Adams’ crypto scam allegations, but said that the situation does “speak to how large the scope of the industry is.”
After the MLK holiday, it’s clear we need his inspiration more than ever
Donald Trump delivered a good example of disingenuousness with his late recognition of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on Monday.
He called on Americans to “recommit themselves to Dr. King’s dream.” The proclamation did not come until the end of the day, and only after a deluge of criticism from the NAACP and other civil rights groups. Derrick Johnson, national president of the NAACP, released a statement that said, “Donald Trump has zero interest in uniting this country or recognizing its history and diversity.” Moreover, Johnson added, “he wants to pit against each other so that we won’t pay attention to the fact that his net worth has more than doubled while families lose their health care and access to essential services.”
Johnson could have extended his critique to include a raft of distractions, but his point was spot on. Trump’s outrageous interest in gaining control of Greenland, his threat to invoke the Insurrection Act, to say nothing of the 1,500 National Guard soldiers ready to be deployed to Minneapolis and anywhere else; his manic impulse overall.
And no doubt, he’s gloating this morning upon learning that a judge will allow his administration to block lawmakers’ access to ICE facilities. Thus, our situation remains in a quandary — a pattern of one step forward and then two steps back when understanding the “Trump world order.”
Many of Trump’s moves on tariffs, deportation, and the obfuscation of the Epstein files are directly related to this year’s midterm elections. The hope for those elections becomes bleaker each day, particularly with the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Louisiana v. Callais case hanging in the balance. We have never been more in need of Dr. King’s inspiration.
A precedent for Mamdani: Another NYC mayor who also balked at the unjust apprehension of people
By STEVE LIPMAN
A man who had come to New York City from another area finds a job as a porter in lower Manhattan. One day, a pair of men deputized by the U.S. government surprise him at his work place, handcuff him, and take him into custody. They claim that the man, who is married and has three children, is here illegally. At a hastily-called hearing, a federal magistrate gives the arrested man little chance to defend himself, and orders him sent back to where he had come from. The man’s wife is not informed of the proceedings. In response, several members of the arrested man’s ethnic group marched on City Hall, insisting that the mayor take action to prevent such an arrest from taking place again. The mayor promises that New York City police will not participate in future apprehensions of people from out of the area who lead tenuous lives in the city.
The 2020s scenario is from 1850. The arrested man, James Hamlet, was not an “illegal alien” from South America, but a Black man, a one-time slave from Baltimore, Maryland who had come North two years earlier, settling in the city of Williamsburg (present-day Brooklyn), with a large Black population. The mayor was Caleb Woodhull, elected earlier that year as a member of the Whig party.
Elinor R. Tatum: Publisher and Editor in Chief
Damaso
Editor
Yorkers. This is the same political risk that newly-inaugurated Mayor Zohran Mamdani, opposed to NYPD cooperation with ICE, faces.
In 1850, some 13,000 Black people lived in the city; that figure included “free Blacks,” and a substantial number of fugitive slaves, who, as part of the Underground Railroad, existed surreptitiously and were often on their way further North, some to Canada. Similarly, the city’s current population of about 760,000 migrants — including an estimated 500,000 “illegal” ones — constitute an integral part of New York.
The case of Hamlet, about 30 years old — he claimed to be the son of a freewoman but had lost the manumission papers that proved his status — was typical of Black people, and of political officials who faced the same decision-making choices as Woodhull in the North after the approval of the Fugitive Slave Law. The legislation required law enforcement officials to arrest people accused of escaping enslavement, and provided imprisonment and a fine for people who offered aid to fugitives.
Just as New York’s status as a “sanctuary city” where people seeking asylum in the United States — often as undocumented residents — is dividing New Yorkers, the city in the decade before the Civil War was split on the issue of protecting or abetting the seizure of fugitive slaves.
The state had banned
slavery in 1827 (New York, like the rest of the North, was long complicit in enslaving Black men and women and supporting Southern states that had strong economic ties with businesses here). But, following the passage of the 1850 “Fugitive Slave Bill” by Congress, and its signing by President Millard Fillmore, slave-catchers who traveled here on the trail of Blacks who had fled enslavement often found willing accomplices among New Yorkers.
For reasons of ideology (belief in the slavery system), avarice (enslavers offered generous rewards for the return of their human “property”), or apathy (taking a stand against the arrest of strangers was timeconsuming), many white residents of New York were willing
to acquiesce in, or to take part in, the identification and apprehension of Blacks who had come here as a safe haven. The abolitionist movement, which had many adherents in the city, especially among the Quaker population, was by no means universally supported. Hamlet’s arrest was the first under terms of the recently passed Fugitive Slave Law. Which made Woodhull the first local political leader to take a no-police-arrests-on-mywatch stand. His stance, which he largely followed, lost him support among some New Yorkers — just as former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s non-cooperationwith-ICE policy was controversial, gaining him support in his liberal Democratic base as well as the opposition of many New
Eleven years later, the Civil War began.
Postscript: Several thousand people, both Black and white, gathered at City Hall Park to protest Hamlet’s arrest. They, in cooperation with the National Anti-Slavery Standard newspaper, raised $800 — about $33,000 in 2026 U.S. dollars — to purchase Hamlet’s freedom from his “owners” in Baltimore. A week after his arrest, he was back in New York City, as a free man. Mayor Woodhull, whose action to order the police to not cooperate with the apprehension of fugitive Blacks was unpopular in many circles, lost his race for re-election to City Hall.
Steve Lipman was a staff writer at the New York Jewish Week from 1983-2020.
Mayor Caleb Woodhull (Public Domain photo)
Clearing the airwaves on addressing injustice
By HERB BOYD
There are two dates on the calendar that I can reliably expect calls to deliver my meager insights: Black History Month and Martin Luther King Jr.’s national holiday.
Both opportunities this year came with an appearance on Jeff Santos’ radio show sharing the airwaves with Mel Poindexter, a prominent political stalwart in Massachusetts, and earlier on Dennis Dillon’s Zoom presentation. Each was very rewarding.
Poindexter and I agreed that we need to return to those days when we had boots on the ground to address the various issues that threatened our democratic rights. His words of wisdom coincided perfectly with those of Derrick Johnson, current NAACP president and CEO, whom Poindexter served with as vice president in Massachusetts, on the predicament that United States President Donald Trump has dumped on us and the rest of the world.
My session with Dillon
was joined by some 70 other participants, but the good minister allowed me special space to lead the discussion. Of considerable concern to Dillon was the impact the Trump administration is having on Majority World countries, particularly Nigeria and South Africa.
This is nothing new to our readers here, since we have delved into them on a number of occasions. What Dillon and Poindexter have in common is a genuine passion for correcting the indignities in-
flicted on marginalized communities, both in the United States and abroad.
We all agreed that we shouldn’t have to wait for special moments of the year to share our views, and we promised to find ways to continue our discussions and to at least stay in touch during these tough times. Commemorating and celebrating the legacy of King is dutiful, but more important is not waiting to communicate, galvanize, and share our energy throughout the year.
Backlash of turmoil between the U.S. and Venezuela means a crisis in Cuba
By SABRINA DE LA ROSA
On Jan. 3, 2026, the United States captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and began seizing the country’s oil. Cuba, one of the South American nations’ closest allies, now faces a lamentably bleak economic crisis as its decades-long trading partnership ceases overnight.
Cuba’s struggle for survival without oil
Cuban citizens are no strangers to the ongoing humanitarian crisis. The island has weathered hardships since the 1990s. Amid severe shortages of basic necessities, including food and medicine, oil imports from their allies are the latest to take a significant hit. With the abrupt loss of the country’s lifeline, citizens are having to endure the aftermath alone.
Every month, four tankers carrying oil are sent from Venezuela, with each shipment accounting for a daily supply of 30,000 to 35,000 barrels reaching Cuban shores, according to Jorge Piñón, a Cuban energy expert at the Uni-
versity of Texas at Austin’s Energy Institute and coauthor of “Cuba’s Energy Future: Strategic Approaches to Cooperation.”
In exchange, Cuba provides the now overtaken nation with medical support and military and security forces, 32 of which were casualties during the U.S. capture of Maduro. Piñón said “The White House’s severing of the island nation’s partnership with Venezuela accounts for 50% of the economy’s deficit. Mexico once supplied Cuba with 22,000 barrels of oil a day before it dropped to 7,000 barrels after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Mexico City this past September. Additionally, Russia is a significant trade partner of Cuba and has the means to fill the gap.” Yet neither country has made any public strides to provide Cuba with additional aid. Residents across Cuba are bracing for the challenging period ahead. Persistent outages, dangerously low food rations, imminent inflation, and deadly illnesses continue to spread. As perceived pressure mounts, many citizens are looking
for Cuban military forces to remain steadfast in the face of U.S. imperialism. Nene Castro, a Habana taxi driver, expresses the daily struggle, stating, “I am spending hours on end today; however, it is usually days with no end waiting for petroleum just to go work so my family and I can eat. I eat and live with the hope of tourists coming, as it is a main income source for all Habana taxi drivers, but we need more than tourists to keep the country afloat; we need support.”
Washington’s dilemma: engaging or isolating Cuba
Hours after Maduro’s capture, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel held a rally steps from the understaffed American Embassy in La Habana. To showcase his support of the Venezuelan leader, Díaz-Canel condemned the U.S. actions on the soil in Caracas as “an act of terrorism against the state, a breach of the zone of peace between the two countries, and an unacceptable attack on international right.” This reprimand comes just 48 hours prior to President
Putting off that
doctor’s
visit? Make a change for 2026, make the appointment
CHRISTINA GREER, PH.D.
It’s the beginning of the year and no better time than to make all of your doctors’ appointments if you are able. I usually hound my friends about making their various appointments because I want all of us to live long, healthy lives and use doctors’ offices to prevent any long-term serious illnesses and catch any issues ahead of time.
Donald Trump releasing statements suggesting that Cuba is “ready to fall and unable to survive,” highlighting the growing friction between the nations.
Shifting tides: a moral call for Cuba-U.S. re-evaluation
The humanitarian crisis affecting the island nation highlights the need to understand how U.S. policies, such as sanctions and diplomatic pressure, impact not only Cuba but also regional stability and international relations. Understanding this is crucial for informed policy discussions to continue developing worldwide.
The 90-mile stretch of the Atlantic Ocean between the two nations remains a symbol of how close and far progress can be. With the diminished role of Venezuela, an urgent need for international intervention skyrockets as the potential of a worsening human crisis is on the horizon.
Sabrina De La Rosa is an independent journalist with a B.S. in Journalism, specializing in Global Africana and Latino Studies, and was born and raised in Harlem.
Far too often, African Americans use doctors to cure as opposed to help prevent. I know not everyone has insurance and I also know it can be daunting and quite frightening to see a doctor if you have let many years pass. However, now is the time to make that appointment with a doctor or clinic to check on things before it is too late.
First, the dentist. I had no idea just how many people feared the dentist. Going to the dentist can be a painful and expensive experience, but letting cavities lead to multiple root canals can be expensive, painful, and dangerous for your heart health. Getting a proper cleaning is also a way to maintain your overall health — not just for your teeth, but for your gums as well.
Second, I am always encouraging my female friends to get their annual mammogram. It can be an uncomfortable experience, but the discomfort only lasts five minutes. That is a relatively short period of time to have yearly peace of mind. Sadly, Black women have higher proportional rates of dangerous breast cancers because we are less likely to have annual breast exams.
Third, if you are older than
45, you need to schedule that colonoscopy. Yes, the rumors of the nasty sludge you must drink before your colonoscopy are somewhat true. However, once you fast for a day and have a procedure, you will know if you have any potentially cancerous polyps that need to be removed from your colon. A colonoscopy is once every 10 years, and the 24-hour preparation and 25-minute procedure are well worth it. Also, more and more doctors are using other ways to clear out your colon before the procedure, so the sludge is being phased out by some physicians.
Lastly, have a checkup with your primary care physician to help direct you to the proper doctors to check on everything from ovaries for some and prostate for others. Checking our blood pressure (especially during this administration) is imperative, and making sure bloodwork is done for diabetes, cholesterol, and STDs can put the mind at ease. I know many people do not like seeing doctors, but please let them do their jobs to help prevent illness as opposed to finding miracles to cure. And please spread the word to friends and family and other loved ones to do the same.
Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Fordham University; author of the books “How to Build a Democracy: From Fannie Lou Hamer and Barbara Jordan to Stacey Abrams” and “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream”; and co-host of the podcast FAQ-NYC.
Caribbean Update
Caribbean governments react to visa pause
By BERT WILKINSON Special to the AmNews
Caribbean Community governments have begun to react to last week’s decision by the U.S. to pause processing of immigrant or permanent visas, with some urging locals to turn their home states into a local paradise while others hinted about simply being bullied by the U.S.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness was perhaps the most insightful, telling Jamaicans that the world has changed and that anti-immigration sentiments are rising in many corners of the globe.
He and the others were reacting to the announcement from Washington late last week that paused the visa processing for a dozen countries in the 15-nation bloc, barring Guyana, Trinidad, and Suriname — all resource-rich countries flush with oil and gas. For Guyana and neighboring Suriname, the governments of these two nations had made no secret of their support for the U.S. military action against Venezuela and its fatal attacks on alleged drug-fetching boats, saying the time had come to fight organized Narco trafficking, as well as human and weapons smuggling, among other crimes.
Surprisingly, included in the visa pause were nations like Barbados, Belize, and St.
Kitts, where authorities argued that the visa overstay rate and dependency on U.S. welfare programs are negligible compared to other countries. Processing of normal tourist visas are continuing even though many applicants in the smaller Eastern Caribbean island nations say the rejection rate has skyrocketed in recent weeks.
Still, PM Holness wants Jamaicans to wake up to the new reality, urging them to switch focus to making the island a home paradise.
“The Jamaican public, I think, needs to understand that we are in a different era of geo-political, geo-economic, and geomilitary politics and it requires a certain smart[ness], a certain foresight and thoughtfulness to manage the process to keep Jamaica safe. There is a growing public view in many developed countries that you are seeing a growing public trend to stem immigration. We will pursue diplomatic channels but we are going to pursue even more making our country the place of choice to live, work, do business, raise families, and retire in paradise. That is a greater objective and we must do it,” he said, reacting to the announcement.
The pause affects citizens from the entire Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) sub-group, as well as Jamaica, Barbados, Belize, The Bahamas, and Haiti, and
by extension restricts applications from Cuba and nearby Brazil until a permanent decision is made. It also comes after citizens of Dominica and Antigua were barred last month from applying for tourist visas, a development that has placed severe pressure on the two governments. The U.S. had cited high overstay rates and its discomfort with the sale of passports and citizenship to foreigners,citing their alleged inability to properly scrutinize the background of applicants.
Meanwhile, Antigua’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne said that while relations are good with the U.S., the federation with Barbuda is beginning to feel that it is being regarded as inconsequential.
“The relationship must be grounded in mutual respect. We’re not going to jeopardize that relationship, but at the same time, we should be able to pursue our own development without being threatened, or being ostracized, or for that matter, to be bullied or anything of that nature. We’re no longer an insignificant state. Antigua and Barbuda is now literally engaging in global advocacy on a number of issues,” he told a weekend radio program. “The U.S. is our most important trading partner, but we also have to ensure that we protect our sovereignty and our right to develop.”
Most of the other member states say they are engaging the State Department on the
The deaths nobody’s marching for
The killing of Renee Good, a 37-year-old American citizen and Minnesota mother, by a U.S. ICE officer has rightly ignited national outrage. But while cameras remain trained on the most visible flashpoints, people are also dying — quietly, repeatedly — inside America’s immigration detention system.
In the first 14 days of 2026 alone, five migrants died in U.S. immigration custody. In December, seven more died. And in 2025, Reuters reported at least 30 deaths in ICE custody — the highest number in two decades.
These are not allegations. They are U.S. ICE disclosures, released, briefly noted, then dismissed with the familiar phrase that the “official cause of death remains under investigation.” But who is checking the conclusions?
The most recent death occurred on Jan. 14 in El Paso, Texas. Victor Manuel Diaz,
a 36-year-old immigrant from Nicaragua, was found unresponsive at Camp East Montana, a tent detention facility at Fort Bliss. ICE reported a presumed suicide.
Diaz entered custody on Jan. 6 after agents in Minneapolis arrested him for an immigration violation — not a criminal offense. He was processed for removal on Jan. 12. Just two days later, he was dead.
That same day, another detainee died, also reportedly by suicide.
Heber Sanchaz Domínguez, a 34-yearold Mexican national, was found hanging in his sleeping quarters at the Robert A. Deyton Detention Center in Georgia. He had been in custody for only six days.
Like Diaz, Sanchaz was not a criminal. He was arrested for driving without a license, transferred to ICE, and was awaiting a hearing before an immigration judge when he died.
These two men — someone’s sons — are among at least 12 deaths in less than two months. Their deaths come as the Trump administration accelerates a detentionfirst immigration strategy built not only on deportation, but on pressure: pressure to give up, to waive rights, to stop fighting. New data shows roughly 73,000 migrants
issue, as Dominica and Antigua have been doing regarding the pause on tourist visas. Fitz Bramble, St. Vincent’s foreign minister, urged locals not to feel the federation was being punished for any particular reason.
“It is important to recognize that St.Vincent and the Grenadines is not being uniquely targeted; rather, we are part of a broad administrative recalibration of U.S. border policy. We are one of 75 countries globally, and one of 12 Caricom members, included in this adjustment,” he said in a statement.
Regional leaders are due to meet in St. Kitts for the first of their two main annual summits late next month; but, officials say they are likely to caucus on the issue long before the conference.
Fleshing out the issue, Jamaica’s PM Holness said that efforts to ameliorate the situation will continue.
“We do have an obligation to pursue diplomatic channels, but we must always bear in mind that it is a sovereign decision by a sovereign country. We will use our diplomatic efforts to restore normalcy but bear in mind the position that we must build our own country. This is now reality. It is easy to say go and lobby but you also have to bear in mind that sometimes these things are called negotiations. What are you going to give, what are you going to get?”
are currently detained nationwide, the majority of them non-criminals. The detention system is expanding at a pace that could rival the federal prison system by the end of the president’s term, fueled by billions in new funding.
A January 2026 report by the American Immigration Council, Immigration Detention Expansion in Trump’s Second Term, found that daily ICE detention increased 75% in one year. Even more alarming, the number of people with no criminal record held in detention surged by 2,450% — a seismic shift in who is being swept into custody.
Human rights groups have warned about Camp East Montana for months. In December, advocates urged ICE to shut the facility down, citing interviews with more than 45 detainees who described beatings, sexual abuse, medical neglect, and hunger. One teenager reported being beaten so severely that he required hospitalization.
If this is what emerges from sworn declarations and outside reporting, we must ask what remains unseen. Many deaths never become national stories. They become line items. Press releases. Statistics. As the American Immigration Lawyers Associa-
tion warned, “The problems with conditions in ICE detention are likely to grow only worse over the next four years.”
What makes these deaths uniquely haunting is that immigration detention is civil, not criminal. People can end up in custody for overstaying a visa or for minor infractions. Yet the conditions described — tent camps, isolation, fear — look less like administrative processing and more like federal punishment.
The United States should be capable of enforcing immigration law without building a system where people routinely die, sometimes within days and sometimes amid alleged brutality. We cannot claim “pro-life” values while shrugging at these deaths as if they were not human. If five immigrants can die in ten days, two from suicide, the real scandal is not that it happened. The real scandal is how quickly we are being trained to accept and dismiss it.
Felicia J. Persaud is the founder and publisher of NewsAmericasNow.com, the only daily syndicated newswire and digital platform dedicated exclusively to Caribbean Diaspora and Black immigrant news across the Americas.
By BILL BARROW and REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press
Donald Trump’s administration said Jan. 20 that it will end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants from Somalia, the latest move in the president’s mass deportation agenda.
The move affects hundreds of people who are a small subset of immigrants living in the United States with TPS protections. It comes during Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, where many native Somalis live and where street protests have intensified since a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent killed a U.S. citizen who was demonstrating against federal presence in the city.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that affected Somalis must leave the U.S. by March 17, when existing protections, last extended by thenPresident Joe Biden, will expire.
“Temporary means temporary,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, adding that the decision puts “Americans first.”
The Congressional Research Service last spring said the Somali TPS population was 705 out of nearly 1.3 million TPS immigrants. Trump has ended protections across multiple countries in his second presidency.
Homeland Security secretary says conditions in Somalia have changed Noem insisted circumstances in Somalia “have improved to the point that it no longer meets the law’s requirement for Temporary Protected Status.”
But the Council on AmericanIslamic Relations (CAIR), which advocates for fair treatment of Muslims in the U.S., criticized the latest rollback as a “bigoted attack” that will send some Somalis back to a war-torn, unstable nation.
“This decision does not reflect changed conditions in Somalia,” CAIR said in a statement released jointly with its Minnesota chapter.
“By dismantling protections for one of the most vulnerable Black and Muslim communities, this de-
International News
Trump administration says it is ending deportation protections for some Somali migrants
cision exposes an agenda rooted in exclusion, not public safety.”
Located in the horn of Africa, Somalia is one of the world’s poorest nations and has for decades been beset by chronic strife exacerbated by multiple natural disasters, including severe droughts. Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabab controls parts of the country and has carried out truck bombings and other assaults in the capital, Mogadishu, in recent years that killed dozens of people.
Congress established the Temporary Protected Status program in 1990 to help foreign nationals who’ve fled unstable, threatening conditions in their home countries and are living in the U.S. It allows the executive branch to designate a country, generally in 18-month increments, for the protected status.
Citizens of that country who are already in the U.S. and qualify for protection can apply toHomeland Security for the designation.
If approved, recipients can legal-
ly work and are protected from deportation but there is no pathway to a green card or U.S. citizenship and they are reliant on the government renewing the TPS designation every few years.
Critics say that while these designations are supposed to be temporary, they are renewed so often that they essentially become permanent.
Somalia’s designation traces to the elder Bush’s administration Somalia first received the designation under President George H.W. Bush amid a civil war in 1991. The status has been extended for decades, most recently by Biden in July 2024.
The 2025 congressional report stated that Somalis had received more than two dozen extensions because of perpetual “insecurity and ongoing armed conflict that present serious threats to the safety of returnees.”
Trump has targeted Somali immigrants with racist rhetoric and accused those in Minneapolis of massively defrauding federal programs, charges he renewed — again Tuesday — speaking in Michigan. He promised, without a clear legal basis, to “revoke the citizenship of any naturalized immigrant from Somalia, or anywhere else who was convicted of defrauding our citizens.”
In December, Trump said he did not want Somalis in the U.S. at all, saying they “come from hell” and “contribute nothing.” He made no distinction between citizens and non-citizens or offered any opinion on immigration status.
Temporary status widened during Joe Biden’s presidency Biden’s administration broadly expanded the number of people covered by Temporary Protected Status but the Trump administration has steadily sought to strip
protections away from various nationalities, including 600,000 Venezuelans and 500,000 Haitians. The actions have prompted multiple court challenges but the U.S. Supreme Court has twice issued emergency rulings, last May and again in October, that allowed the Venezuelan revocations to continue as court cases proceed.
It’s not immediately clear how quickly those Somalis covered by TPS could be removed from the country once their protections expire. Most attempts by the administration to end a TPS designation have ended up in the courts. And people covered by TPS can also apply for asylum or other immigration avenues to stay in the U.S., although the Trump administration has made those options more difficult as well for Somalis, as well as other nationalities. — Associated Press journalist Cara Anna in New York contributed.
(John McCarten photo)
Arts & Entertainment
At Home in Harlem: Peggy Shepard and Charles Loveday
By MICHAEL HENRY ADAMS Special to the AmNews
A doctor’s daughter, former journalist Peggy Shepard, is married to Charles Loveday, a retired medical psychologist and professor. Petite and supremely stylish, she was a founder of West Harlem Environmental Action (WE ACT for Environmental Justice). It was established in March of 1988 to mobilize opposition to the North River Sewage Treatment Plant, which was originally planned to be sited adjacent to Riverside Park, Downtown on the prosperous Upper West Side.
Peggy dared to wonder why the new sewage plant, bus depots, and drug treat-
ment offices were always located somewhere in Harlem. This is all to say that Peggy Shepard, one of those Harlem wonder women you are liable to read about in the Amsterdam News, is among the most notable environmental leaders in the country, and she has an award of merit from the French Government to prove it.
This examination of gracious interiors is the first feature of a new series. Worldwide, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED standard, is a green building certification program that specifies that old stone buildings meet the highest level of sustainability. This is one reason the couple lives in an old house. The other is the beauty of its materials and
the skilled craftsmanship with which it was made. Other houses that were looked at will be new, with a modernist aesthetic. Ultimately, At Home in Harlem (occasionally substituted for, At Home in Brooklyn, Sag Harbor, et al.) endeavors to explore places where Black people live well and with style.
Peggy’s and Charles’ house in Hamilton Heights, adjoining City College, was built in 1906 in the neo-Classical style made fashionable at the École des Beaux Arts University in Paris. It was designed by architects Neville & Bagge. Originally, two servants attended the white family that first lived here. Two things make this place really special. One is a sophisticated color sensibility. This meant that Peggy was not content to make
everything white or neutral, as is so popular. Instead, she created creative harmonies of variant hues, pairing oak woodwork with walls lusciously glazed emerald green or steel gray. Also beneficial is that Peggy’s and Charles’ favorite form of relaxation is world travel. Besides discovering fantastic eateries that only locals know about, what does one do whether in Port au Prince, Tokyo, or Accra? The easy answer is that one seeks out antiques and handcrafted wares. In this house such treasures of travel have not only enhanced a beautiful collection, they also have already, slowly become family heirlooms, some of which Peggy’s grownup daughter already has her eye on.
Friends chat in the elegant parlor of Peggy Shepard and Charles Loveday. (Michael Henry Adams photos)
A rich interplay of blue and brown.
A 2000 portrait of Peggy Shepard and Charles Loveday by Paul Rouchleau from my book “Harlem Lost and Found” graces the parlor mantle shelf.
New York’s eminent environmentalist Peggy Shepard and her husband Charles Loveday.
Far Eastern embroidered silk cushions soften the bench of the oaken staircase.
Lustrously lacquered emerald green, the dining room boasts a handsome quartered oak wainscot and a chimney piece with ionic columns. Enameled peacocks from India surmount the overmantel. Bronze Benin masks.
Don’t miss phenomenal Black art by Faith Ringgold and John Wilson
By MICHAEL HENRY ADAMS Special to the AmNews
Part of becoming a good New Yorker is working to do a better job of availing oneself of more of the cultural riches we fortunate residents might so easily obtain for free or very little. Too often, although trying our best, we fail to make it to see exciting shows that were years in the making.
As I have, have you also missed going to London to see this year’s blockbuster Royal Academy of Art’s once-in-a-lifetime exhibition — examining the 50-year career of Chicago painter Kerry James Marshal — “The Histories?” It concluded on January 18, so we have probably all missed our chance.
Fortunately, then, there is still plenty worth experiencing here at home, even beyond the newly opened Studio Museum. Now, at the last minute, two shows are well worth any effort, whatever it takes to hurry off to them.
Nearly over, closing on February 8, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s special exhibition “Witnessing Humanity: The Art of John Wilson (1922–2015)” is the largest presentation of the output of this great painter, sculptor, and graphic artist to date. At a cursory glance, seemingly somber and sorrowful, a closer study of this carefully curated assemblage rewards with representations of the African American experience, which, for all their pathos, are as poetic as they are powerful. Covering a 60-year career, it features work juxtaposing Nazi atrocity and race-
based violence, as rooted in the same evil. Paris and New York rooftops and subways are seen as synonymous. Wilson’s vision is all about humanity’s kinship. The Black parenthood he depicts, the Black despair he portrays, are each aspects of a universal condition, recognizable to all.
Determined to present what he called “a universal humanity,” disturbed by both the derision and omission Blacks suffer in American art, Wilson sought to rectify both our distortion and our erasure.
A more modest Faith Ringgold show downtown at the Jack Shainman Gallery (46 Lafayette Street, Manhattan; 212-6451701, jackshainman.com), although closing even sooner (January 24), is just as compelling as the marvelous Met offering.
Roughly, Wilson and Ringgold (1930–2024) were contemporaries, so not surprisingly, both artists worked in pursuit of the same justice and dignity that have proved so elusive for people of color. However, where Wilson’s work proves masterful and moving through the use of simple, strong imagery, with vibrant, saturated, joyful color and a deceptively naive sensibility, Ringgold disarms the viewer with the enchanting wonderment of fairy tales. This is the spirit that characterizes perhaps her best-known work: mosaic portraits of deified Black heroes, in flight above Harlem, found in the 125th Street IRT subway station.
Before Black History Month, do not delay in finding your way to see both of these elevating displays of Black creative excellence.
2023: With Ms. Ringgold at the Museum of the City of New York. A brilliant exhibition featuring a giant bust of Dr. King.
A cubist subway, is it Paris or is it Chicago? (Michael Henry Adams photos)
1945: The artist’s sister at her dressing table. This beguiling image was but one of many Wilson made in response to a paucity of positive images in white media during his art student days.
1946: The caption explains, “Wilson’s brother William was stationed in Georgia… “subject to all the indignities of Jim Crow....” (Michael Henry Adams photos)
A young man sees today, pictured “yesterday.”
How capably Ringgold commands Western academic classifications like abstract expressionism, without surrendering her inner spirit’s African origins. This picnic scene is as magical, as sublime as, Seurat’s pointillism reverie.
Dr. King empowered in blooming boughs of his truths.
A mystical mirror of the soul.
CTH presents free staged reading of “magical south” at Harlem School of the Arts on Jan. 26
By LINDA ARMSTRONG Special to the AmNews
Everyone probably knows and appreciates that the Classical Theatre of Harlem (CTH) is always creating a way for Black creativity to be seen and to thrive, so it is no surprise that CTH is presenting a free staged reading, as part of their Future Classics series, of a brand-new play called “the magical south” by Nigerian-American playwright and director Onyekachi Iwu at the Harlem School of the Arts (645 St. Nicholas Avenue) on Monday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m.
The Future Classics is a development series that spotlights bold, emerging playwrights whose work interrogates the social and political realities shaping our world
today. Each reading pairs the playwright with CTH’s resident dramaturge, a professional director, and a cast of actors, followed by audience engagement that helps shape the work’s next life.
This Southern Black horror production promises to blend folklore, satire, and social critique. It follows Ani Campbell, a woman who discovers she has “the Bug,” a virus that causes Black women to cannibalize abusive men. Darkly funny, provocative, and deeply rooted in Black Southern and Nigerian traditions, the play explores themes of Black love, generational trauma, healing, and the bitter aftertaste of revenge.
“Onyekachi Iwu’s ‘the magical south’ captures an ethos of the American south through charac-
ters we might miss,” said Shawn Rene Graham, CTH’s literary director. “The play makes you stop and examine people more deeply. The language and imagery is arresting, and yet, you feel as if you are actually there in this world with them. Ms. Iwu is definitely a unique voice in American theater and, as is CTH’s mission, we want to elevate her voice.”
Iwu’s work explores love, sisterhood, violence, and transformation. Her plays have been developed with Classical Theatre of Harlem, the Public Theater, MCC, New Dramatists, and others. She is currently associate director of the first national tour of Stereophonic.
To RSVP (required) and for more info, visit cthnyc.org.
“BUG” — a Broadway thriller like you've never experienced
BY LINDA ARMSTRONG
Special to the AmNews
Broadway has a superb psychological thriller in “BUG,” making an extraordinary premiere at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (W. 47th Street). Presented by the Manhattan Theatre Club, it is a riveting drama, skillfully crafted by playwright Tracy Letts, that takes you down a rabbit hole of drugs, sex, paranoia, and corruption. Letts brings you into a world where Agnes, a lonely waitress, appears to have a chance meeting with a drifter named Peter — but is it truly by chance?
Each character is dealing with serious issues, and what starts off as a strange connection builds into an emotional dependency that will take them and the audience on a psychological, twisted, tragic thrill ride no one will ever see coming or ever forget.
Everything about this play is intensely written and acted, so it is also felt by the audience on a level you won’t believe. This psychological thriller will have you buying into the characters’ delusions and paranoia at a level of commitment that will keep you grounded in the story — and madness — you are seeing unfold right before your eyes.
The cast is absolutely stupendous! Carrie Coon is stellar as Agnes. She is completely vulnerable, broken, and desperate. Her character has suffered a great
deal of trauma and needs something to believe in, someone to hold onto and trust. Namir Smallwood, as Peter, brings an intense mindset to the role. He takes the audience through every emotion, paranoia, and response that his engrossing character has in reaction to the things he perceives as happening to him through out-
side and inside forces.
The chemistry between these two characters is fascinating to behold. Each cast member plays a vital role in systemically moving this story along. Steve Key is incredible in the role of Jerry, Agnes’s abusive ex-husband. Jennifer Engstrom is poignant as R.C., Agnes’s best friend. Ran-
dall Arney is quite effective as Dr. Sweet, Peter’s doctor.
David Cromer’s direction is unnerving; this play will leave you stunned, fully knowing you have seen something the likes of which you have never seen before on Broadway.
On the technical side, every aspect of the play is in sync with
the intensity of the story, including scenic design by Takeshi Kata, lighting design by Heather Gilbert, sound design by Josh Schmidt, and hair and makeup design by J. Jared Janas.
Let me warn you: This play is strictly for an adult audience. For ticket info, visit manhattantheatreclub.com.
Playwright Onyekachi Iwu. (Contributed photo)
Namir Smallwood and Carrie Coon in “BUG,” playing at Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. (Matthew Murphy photo)
AmNews FOOD
Cozy nights at home call for slow-cooked ragu
By KELLY TORRES Special to the AmNews
For those obsessed with being home and all things cozy, this recipe is for you. Beef short ribs are best slow-cooked because it allows all of the gelatinous fat to slowly melt off and tenderize the meat until it falls off the bone. Once the ribs are falling apart, usually after
about an hour, the beef can be easily shredded. (Your house will smell amazing and you might mentally feel transported to an Italian palazzo as you’re shredding the beef.)
Creating a thick and flavorful tomato sauce using San Marzano tomatoes creates a ragu that is rich, less acidic, and slightly sweeter than when using other species of tomatoes. The versatility of this partic-
Slow-Cooked Beef Short Rib Ragu
Yields 4 - 6 servings
Ingredients:
• 2 lbs bone-in beef short ribs
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, small dice
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 celery stalks, small dice
• 2 carrots, small dice
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 2 - 3 sprigs of thyme
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 42.5 oz (or 1 - 28 oz & 1 - 14.5 oz cans) of San Marzano whole tomatoes
• 1 cup red wine, like nebbiolo
• Parmesan, as garnish
Instructions:
In a deep-set braiser or skillet, heat the extra virgin olive oil. Season the beef short ribs generously with salt & pepper. Dredge in the all-purpose flour, tapping off excess flour.
Sear all sides of the short ribs on mediumhigh heat until evenly browned, approximately five minutes per side. Remove and set aside.
Add the onions, garlic, celery, and carrots. Sauté until the onions are translucent and veggies are aromatic, approximately 10 minutes. Add the bay leaves, rosemary and thyme and mix with the other veggies. In a small hot spot (make space for it, if necessary), add the tomato paste. Allow it to cook, moving it around slightly in the spot, until it turns into a rusty color, then stir in with the soffritto (onions, garlic, carrots, celery) until everything is evenly coated with the tomato paste. Cook for a few more minutes.
Turn the heat off for safety reasons (red wine is flammable). Add the red wine to deglaze the soffritto and release the fond (the brown bits at the bottom of the skillet which has all the flavor). Turn the heat back on to medium or medium-high and reduce the red wine for approximately five
ular ragu is especially helpful if you want to switch it up during the week, enjoying it with a rustic, creamy polenta one day (as seen here), then adding it to al dente pappardelle the next. This beef short rib ragu freezes well in portion-size zip-top bags or airtight containers, making large batches ideal for quick weekday lunches. Simply allow it to defrost in the refrigerator over-
night and heat up in a microwave or stove top when ready to enjoy the following day. Mix with your cooked carb of choice and add parmesan.
Make staying home and cooking your own meals an event in itself. Pair this with red wine or a fancy NA bev and some music (a good movie is highly suggested, but optional). Have fun and enjoy!
to eight minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the beef short ribs and snuggle them in with the veggies. Add the San Marzano tomatoes and mix thoroughly. If using whole tomatoes, keep intact until much later in the cooking process. They will naturally fall apart and break up when stirring. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, which usually happens immediately, turn the heat down to medium-low and cover.
Cook for about five minutes covered and then stir evenly and make sure the short ribs are submerged in the tomato sauce. Turn heat to low. Allow the short ribs to braise in the tomato sauce for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
When the short ribs are tender — they should be falling off the bone — remove them from the sauce and set aside to cool gently. Remove the bay leaves, rosemary
and thyme. Taste the sauce and adjust the flavor with salt & pepper.
When the short ribs are cool enough to handle, remove and discard the bones, cartilage and/or any tough bits. Shred the remaining meat with your hands and add back to the tomato sauce. Reheat the sauce, taste and adjust the sauce with salt and pepper, if necessary. Enjoy with rustic, creamy polenta or al dente pappardelle!
Slow-Cooked Beef Short Rib Ragu (Kelly Torres photo)
Legendary rapper Ghostface Killah comes to Webster Hall Jan. 23
By JOHNNY KNOLLWOOD Special to the AmNews
Rapper and New York City native Ghostface Killah of the Wu-Tang Clan will appear at Webster Hall on January 23 for a solo performance that will include classics from his storied career in hip-hop.
The Staten Island artist, who also owns a coffee brand, Killah Koffee, made waves in the emerging hip-hop scene of the 1990s alongside the members of the Wu-Tang Clan. The group revolutionized the genre with a unique approach that eschewed the jazz-heavy influence that took precedence in the scene at the time in favor of a raw, gritty sound that would influence generations of rappers to come. The group leaned into free-associative lyrics that dealt with kung-fu movies and used ideas from the
Five-Percent Nation.
Ghostface Killah released his latest album, “Supreme Clientele 2,” over the summer on Nas’ Mass Appeal Records. The album is a follow-up to his hit album “Supreme Clientele,” released in 2000, and features contributions from Nas, Redman, and Wu-Tang members like Method Man and frequent collaborator Raekwon. His set, which will include WuTang classics, new material, and solo selections, arrives on the heels of Wu-Tang Clan’s sold-out appearance at Madison Square Garden as part of their Farewell Tour, marking a unique opportunity to continue seeing these songs live.
Stay up to date with Ghostface Killah on Instagram at @GhostfaceKillah, learn more about his coffee brand at killahcoffee.com, and score tickets to his Webster Hall show at axs.com.
Saxophonist Venna to make Jan. 30 Brooklyn stop in support of debut album
By JOHNNY KNOLLWOOD
Special to the AmNews
On the heels of his debut fulllength record, London-based saxophonist Venna Malik, better known as Venna, will stop at Warsaw in Brooklyn for a performance in support of his debut album “Malik,” which was released in the fall of 2025. The 26-year-old musician, who has often collaborated with Yussef Dayes and appeared on Burna Boy’s Grammy Award-winning album, “Twice as Tall,” will bring his unique blend of jazz, hiphop, and R&B to Brooklyn audiences on January 30 as part of a limited run of dates that includes stops in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, and more through February.
“The album MALIK was named by my mother 26 years before the album was made — on the day I was born,” reads a quote on Venna’s website. Venna cites artists like Burna Boy, Beyoncé, and Wizkid as equally influential to his music as jazz. The album features contributions from a host of young but prominent musical voices, including frequent collaborator Dayes; keyboardist Elijah Fox; and bassist Rocco Palladino, son of genremainstay Pino Palladino — all three of whom appeared in his live band when he performed as part of Dayes Fest in Central Park in August. Vocalists, including Jorja Smith, Cari, and Leon Thomas, also make appearances. “I allow myself to be a vessel of music. A stream of consciousness
flows through me when I’m creating — almost like a life force is present with me,” continued the quote on his website. You can stay up to date with Venna on Instagram at @VennaGram and learn more about his upcoming performance at https://www.warsawconcerts.com/.
Ghostface Killah performing with Wu-Tang Clan at Madison Square Garden on July 16, 2025. (Johnny Knollwood photo)
Venna performing at Central Park as part of Dayes Fest on August 2, 2025. (Johnny Knollwood photo)
Free Jazz on Film at MoMA explores work of avant-garde pioneers
By JOHNNY KNOLLWOOD Special to the AmNews
On Saturday Jan. 24, the Museum of Modern Art will present “Free Jazz on Film,” a program that explores the work of avant-garde jazz pioneers Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor, and Archie Shepp through screen and sound. The event, hosted in conjunction with the new Jazz Generations Initiative (JGI), funded by the Mellon Foundation and a part of MoMA’s “To Save and Project” series, will feature appearances by Pulitzer Prize-winning musician Henry Threadgill, historian Manthia Diawara, and Robert O’Meally, the founder of Columbia University’s Center for Jazz Studies and co-director of JGI. The initiative, located in New York City and New Orleans, seeks to “unite artists and listeners with inter-
generational performance opportunities and interdisciplinary jazz studies scholarship,” according to their website, and will host
multiple performances in NYC this season.
“To Save and Project” is “an international festival dedicated to
celebrating newly preserved film treasures from archives, studios, and independent filmmakers,” according to MoMA’s website. The series will offer jazz aficionados a first look at three recently restored films that will give audiences a glimpse into the creative processes of three remarkably unique and forward-thinking musical voices connected to NYC. The first film, “The Magic Sun,” highlights the work of pianist and bandleader Sun Ra, an Afrofuturist trailblazer who lived in New York from 1961 to 1968. The new restoration of the film that originally premiered at Carnegie Hall in 1968 features a new 16mm print and noise reduction. This will precede “We Came Back,” a 1969 Algerian film that highlights the work of saxophonist Archie Shepp who made landmark experimental records
with John Coltrane and “moved American jazz toward a greater Pan-African consciousness,” as described on the MoMA website. He began his storied career working alongside pianist and composer Cecil Taylor, who is the subject of the last film, “Les grandes répétitions: Cecil Taylor à Paris,” a 1968 French title that translates to, “Great Rehearsals: Cecil Taylor in Paris.” Taylor, a Queens native, pioneered avantgarde music with new approaches at sound creation on influential albums like “Unit Structures.” Tickets for the screening and discussion are available at moma. org and students can currently save $4 on the price of admission with their school ID. You can also stay up to date with the Jazz Generations Initiative, who will host performances on Jan. 22 and Feb. 21, at jazzgenerations.org
Bx bassist/composer William Parker blurs lines between art and activism at Winter Jazz Fest
By JOHNNY KNOLLWOOD Special to the AmNews
Bronx bassist and composer William Parker delivered a standout performance at NuBlu in Manhattan on Thursday, Jan. 8, as part of Winter Jazz Fest, which has brought a slew of artists across the jazz pantheon to the Big Apple for more than two decades. Joined by the Pocket Watch Orchestra, Parker and his band blurred the lines between art and activism, delivering a set packed with soul, lots of free improvisation, and some pertinent messaging. Parker first came to prominence in the 1980s as a member of freejazz pioneer and pianist Cecil Taylor’s group before launching a prolific career as a bandleader, releasing more than 60 records in various incarnations, from small groups to large ensembles. While his main instrument has always been the double bass, Parker is no stranger to taking on other roles, playing various horn instruments throughout his career and taking the helm as a conductor at Winter Jazz Fest. “In 2022, I had a stroke, I’m still kind of recovering,” Parker told the AmNews in an exclusive interview via telephone. “For that reason, I started conducting, or guiding the band — leading the band through the pieces.”
Parker’s Pocket Watch Orchestra
featured a host of voices both seasoned and emerging, with multiple generations of creatives standing side by side on the scenic LES stage as bustling attendees gathered in front, behind, and above in anticipation. The orchestra included saxophonists Rob Brown, Alfredo Colón, Aakash Mittal, Devin Brahja Waldman, and Isaiah Barr, with Diego Hernández on trumpet, Colin Babcock and Masahiko Kono on trombone, bassist Colson Jimenez, drummer Juan Pablo Carletti, and keyboardist Hans Young Binter, alongside vocalists Ellen Christi, Kyoko Kitamura, and Patricia Nicholson, who is also Parker’s wife.
“The time is now,” Parker said aloud at NuBlu; it was unclear whether this was directed at the musicians, the audience, or both. Spoken word launched the band into a whirlwind of sound and a familiar tune soon emerged: a rendition of the Impressions’ landmark 1965 hit “People Get Ready” like you’ve never heard before. The song appeared on “I Plan to Stay a Believer,” a 2010 album that saw Parker reimagining tunes by Curtis Mayfield, but the way Parker approaches music does not allow for it to be played the same way twice.
“If we play it on Monday, it has one vibration — on Tues-
day, don’t try to play it like you did on Monday,” Parker said. “See what Tuesday has to bring to your music. Wednesday is another day. You never rely on what you did yesterday; it’s always what’s happening in the moment.”
Parker and his orchestra explored the song for more than 20 minutes, as players, initiated by Parker, pushed past the boundaries of the tune and brought the music into new and exciting directions. The vocalists harkened to figures murdered by authority, paying tribute to Renee Good, who was killed by ICE officers in Minneapolis, and setting the tone for the evening and its messaging.
“Justice is homeless, she is crying,” proclaimed Nicholson, as she delivered passages from her poem, “Hope Cries for Justice.”
“For her children, for her parents, for her brothers, for her sisters, for Renee Good, for each family that’s been seized.”
The audience was made, in these moments, to confront the harsh truths that many Americans face, raising questions about what freedom means and who it is afforded to. “It speaks a lot about what’s happening today in the world, and what has really been happening since 1492,” Parker said of Nicholson’s poems.
Parker led the group through just a few compositions through-
out the evening, including “Get on Board,” a segment from his “Ellington in Mourning” composition that was performed as part of BRIC’s summer concert series. The set was diverse and journeysome — moments of swing were juxtaposed against harsh noise, reggae, and R&B throughout the night. “The intent of all the music we do is to get sound to vibrate, and through sound vibrating, we can get to what I call the ‘tone world,’” Parker explained. “It’s in the tone world that magic or change happens.”
In his performance, Parker illustrated the power of art and music in the face of adversity, raising challenging questions but bringing together community in the process, and giving artists a platform to raise their voices and make noise while still giving the audience the chance to sing along — a truly unique and binding experience. Parker didn’t talk a whole lot throughout the set, but he said much to anyone who was listening. “I want them to be uplifted, with joy and excitement,” Parker told the AmNews. “When you’re in that state, you can see colors, you can see and feel things on a whole other level.”
You can catch William Parker at Revolution Books in Harlem on February 3, and stay up to date with Parker’s work at williamparker.net.
The Sun Ra Arkestra, led by original member and 101-year-old saxophonist Marshall Allen performing at Union Pool on Aug. 24, 2025. The “Free Jazz on Film” program at MoMA will feature visual restorations of films featuring Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor, and Archie Shepp.
(Johnny Knollwood photo)
William Parker at Pocket Watch Orchestra blurred lines between art and activism at NuBlu on January 8 as part of Winter Jazz Fest.
(Johnny Knollwood photo)
Smoke, Sistas’ Place, the Amanuensis, My Dying City
Cyrus Chestnut is one of the brilliant pianists of his generation. He has a definitive tone that ponders the realm of an earlier era, with brushes of ancestral pearly players like Fats Waller and Eubie Blake. He plays in an older spirit, ignited with the stylings of now and tomorrow.
The pianist and composer returns to the Smoke Jazz Club (2751 Broadway) from Jan. 22–25, celebrating his birthday with his outstanding trio featuring bassist Dezron Douglas and drummer Willie Jones III, plus special guest vocalist Carla Cook. They will dive into blues harmonies blending fresh melodies from a melting pot of hipness. For times and reservations, visit smokejazz.com.
Sistas’ Place, Brooklyn’s jazz house of revolutionary spirit (456 Nostrand Ave., Frederick Douglass Square, formerly Nostrand & Jefferson), will welcome the Bradford Hayes Quartet on Jan. 24, with shows at 8 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Bradford Hayes isn’t a household name, but he is an established alto saxophonist who’s earned quite a reputation as a go-to musician, having played with such artists as Gerald Alston, Yusef Lateef, Ted Curson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Joe Lee Wilson, and Jimmy Heath. His latest CD, “The Jazz Life,” boosts five tracks that swing in spirited post-bop straight-ahead seasonings. Well worth a spin, he is sure to let it all swing out during his one-night stand at Sista’s, where burning jazz sounds often rattle the ceiling.
For reservations, call 718-3981766. Visit sistasplace.org for more info.
The playwright, novelist, composer, essayist, and poet Ishmael Reed is known for rendering satirical plays that reflect literary bombs of truth that explode America’s myths. From Jan. 22–24, get ready for an explosive staged reading of Reed’s play “The Amanuensis” at the Eric Firestone Gallery (40 Great Jones St.) on the Lower East Side. He describes the play as “Walt Disney’s adaptation of the Uncle Remus stories, ‘Song of the South,’ that generated millions of dollars for Disney’s studio and brought prosperity to Joel
Chandler Harris, from whom he purchased the rights.
“The problem is they weren’t his to sell. H.L. Mencken called Harris ‘an Amanuensis’ — someone who takes dictation. Harris took dictation from enslaved members of the Turner plantation, especially Aunt Crissy, Old Harbert, and George Terrell. Harris became one of the most beloved men in the United States, while the three former enslaved people whose stories he copied became sharecroppers after the Civil War. In ‘The Amanuensis,’ everything hits the fan, sparks fly when Brer Rabbit and Sister Fox insist they be paid.”
The reading is directed by multiAUDELCO Award-winner Rome Neal, who is also a cast member, along with Jesse Bueno, Robert Fulton, Emil Guillermo, Malika Iman, Joseph La Salle, Carmen Noelia, Jahn Overstreet, Lisa Pakulski, and Monisha Shiva. All shows begin at 7 p.m.
For tickets, call 646-998-3727. Visit ericfirestonegallery.com for more info.
Spirited, gripping, shattered dreams, blame, and self-doubt make for a most intriguing production of “My Dying City, Vol. II (The Social Justice Suicide Hour).”
The production runs Jan. 22–25 at the American Theater of Actors (314 West 54th St.).
The play is based in revolutionary thoughts of the present with extended roots from the 1960s — a heart-wrenching conflict as par-
ents arrive home after burying their son (Edmond), who committed suicide. Once home, the rage, anger, and blame become an emotional mask for facing the
truth, but moving forward is a prominent force. This is a biting play of resistance to stand up and shout against today’s political environment.
Director Dennis Leroy Kangalee wrote a riveting, thought-provoking play for these complicated times. For me, the son’s suicide expressed an urgency in America’s current dilemma. It’s a play of resilience, where to go, and how to get there together as a people. As reflected in the program, “My Dying City, Vol. II” responds to James Baldwin’s belief that consciousness breeds constant rage, drawing inspiration from socially engaged ensembles like the Group Theater, Living Theater, and the Black Arts Movement.
“Workshopping ‘My Dying City, Vol. II’ showed a need for nuanced radical characters; blending Fannon’s philosophy with Chekhov’s drama helped create authentic theatrical portraits. First explored in ‘As an Act of Protest,’ this style merges politics and poetry,” said Kangalee. The in-depth characters were played by incredible actors of the Kangalee Arts Ensemble: Che Ayende, Ward Nixon, Shannon Mastel, Brandon Geer, and Melissa Roth.
For more info, visit kangaleeartsensemble.org.
Cyrus Chestnut will be performing at Smoke Jazz Club Jan. 21-25. (Photos courtesy of Cyrus Chestnut)
Supportive housing
Continued from page 2
The difference with Castle Gardens, 63 of those units are for [the] formerly-incarcerated regardless of medical condition.”
Ultimately, Just Home serves as a fullcircle moment for Richards, who was himself born in Jacobi Hospital. He went on to become both the first formerly-incarcerated person to both lead the Fortune Society and serve as the first deputy commissioner for the NYC Department of Corrections.
Just Home offers a planned 58 supportive housing units, while the other 24 forrent apartments will go through the NYC Housing Connect Portal. Local residents making up to 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI) will receive preference. The last apartment will house a live-in super.
BNY
Continued from page 5
Cannon, Joe Johnson, and Quincy Troupe, among others. She recalled in-depth group meetings and discussions, sharing each other’s works featuring James Baldwin, Sonia Sanchez, and more. Sometimes the group would have street theater, one of the things she said young artists should engage in these days. They would often have gatherings at poet Tom Dent’s apartment. “It was so tight and smoky,” Ismaili said.
Each unit will be rent-stabilized.
Formerly-incarcerated individuals face higher rates of homelessness. And while the city boasts a Justice Involved Supportive Housing program to develop more projects like Just Home, returning citizens previously struggled with qualifying for broader supportive housing due to a requirement for time spent homeless. The city council passed a bill last year to count time incarcerated in jail and prison toward such a threshold.
The long road home for Just Home stems from opposition due to the project’s plan to house people leaving Rikers Island. Local resistance spurred ex-councilmember Kristy Marmorato’s campaign. She ultimately upset incumbent Marjorie Velázquez in 2023 and became the Bronx’s first Republican elected to office in roughly two decades. Former Mayor Eric Adams also backtracked
“I had to stay by the window.”
Ismaili has been publishing her poetry for up to five decades, either in anthologies or collective books. By the late 1970s, she was transforming some of her poetry into plays, including “Elegies for the Fallen,” which was adapted as an opera in 2005 with composer Joyce Solomon Morman.
Ismaili became a lecturer in African and African American literature at various colleges, including Rutgers, Pratt, and Drew universities, and has also worked in administration at Essex County College.
his support last year, pointing to similar concerns and suggesting moving Just Home near Brooklyn’s Broadway Junction, casting further doubt on the project.
“For too long, this project was stalled by fear-based opposition that treated people as problems instead of the neighbors that they are,” said Public Advocate Jumaane Williams during the press conference. “Restarting Just Home is a statement that our city chooses humanity over exclusion. Supportive housing works. We know it works.”
To be clear, both NYC Health + Hospitals and the Fortune Society will screen potential Just Home candidates. They can apply during incarceration but can only move in after court release. H + H will pick out patients leaving jail with otherwise “nowhere to live” who will go through the Fortune Society’s own screening process afterwards. Most prospective residents
Since the ‘70s, she has authored several books and plays. In 2014, she published “Autobiography of the Lower East Side,” the first in a series. She is finishing the second book in the trilogy and expects to publish soon.
Looking back on the Black Arts Movement, Ismaili said many of the artists were focused on creating and not necessarily on what would come of it years later.
are over the age of 55.
The City Council approved the Fortune Society’s proposal for Just Home last fall despite opposition from Marmorato, marking a rare departure from deference usually reserved for the local councilmember on land issues. Soon after, she lost her reelection bid to union organizer Shirley Aldebol and is now out of office after serving just two years. Now, Mamdani’s support will reverse any opposition from the Mayor’s Office held by the Adams administration last year.
Next up, Richards says the Fortune Society will need to handle the 99-year ground lease, which allows tenants to develop on rented property. The nonprofit will also begin fundraising. “Hopefully, by the end of this year, we’ll have closed on Just Home and we’ll have [a] shovel in the ground,” he said.
“I don’t know that I was thinking about longevity,” Ismaili said. “I don’t know if I even appreciated my own artistic value at one time. I think that I was so impressed by the work of other people. “I would like to believe … that whatever we all did during that time was of value and significance — that it can be relevant and useful,” she continued.
For 2026, Ismaili is proud to be one of the few still carrying the torch from the Black Arts Movement. She is also looking toward new projects, including holding a salon (a gathering) with other figures like her to discuss the Black experience in the Lower East Side from the movement, because she said not enough is known or documented about their history.
Education
Black students are the fastest growing group of college applicants
By ALVIN BUYINZA Word in Black
At a moment when higher education in the United States is under political and cultural siege, Black or African American students are continuing to apply to college at rates faster than anyone else.
Indeed, the number of students who identified as Black or African American who applied to college in the United States in fall 2025 grew by 11% compared to the year before. That makes them the fastestgrowing group of first-year applicants this admissions cycle, according to a new report from the Common Application. It’s a hopeful surge in the wake of the Supreme Court ending affirmative action, and college tuition and fees rising.
Students who identified as two or more races were the second-fastest-growing group of college applicants, with applications rising 8% year over year. Applications from Asian and Latino students also rose, each by 5%, according to the report.
Altogether, the Common App’s findings are consistent with trends from previous admissions cycles, which show that the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision to end affirmative action isn’t stopping students of color from applying to college. In fact, the share of applicants of color continues to outpace the share of non-applicants of color by 7%.
In the report, the authors note that, “these data suggest that there have been no meaningful deviations from pre-existing trends over the past decade in race/ethnicity reporting or population growth on the Common App platform after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling.” It also echoes their findings from the previous year.
Why are more Black students applying to college?
James Murphy, a senior fellow at Class Action, a higher education advocacy organization, says the trend “confounds, or at least complicates, the expectation that
PUBLIC NOTICE
we would see this chilling effect.”
“Students thinking that they wouldn’t have as strong a chance of getting and just decide not to apply to these, especially to more selective institutions, it doesn’t look like we saw that.”
Bryan Crook, the director of higher education policy at the Urban Institute, says the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action wasn’t really going to affect whether Black students apply to college, but where they would apply.
“Roughly 80% of four-year institutions admit more than half of their applicants and are therefore less likely to have relied on race-conscious admissions practices in the first place,” Crook wrote in an email to Word In Black. “Given the continued economic value of a bachelor’s degree, it is not surprising that college applications among Black students have continued to rise.”
It’s estimated that a Black person with a college degree will earn about $1 million more over their lifetime than a Black person
with just a high school diploma, according to a study from Texas A & M University.
Where are applications growing the fastest?
Applicant growth was fastest in the Southwest. The region grew at twice the rate of the next fastest region, the Mid-Atlantic, according to the report. Texas and Oklahoma both contributed to the large application gains in this region, with 9% and 14%, respectively. Mississippi was the state with the fastest-growing number of applications. Compared to last year, it saw a 31% jump in applications.
Where are applications declining?
But just as applications have increased in certain areas, they have also decreased in others — and the Trump administration’s foreign policies and immigration crackdown may be a factor. Specifically, international student applications fell 7%. There were significant declines in applications from Asia and Africa, by 9% and 14%, respectively.
(Pexels/Yan Krukau)
Health
As insurance prices rise, families puzzle over options
By LYNN ARDITI KFF Health News
New York-based performer Cyndi Freeman, 61, has been trying to figure out how to keep the Affordable Care Act (ACA) health plan that she and her husband depend on.
“If we didn’t have health issues, I’d just go back to where I was in my 40s and not have health insurance,” she said, “but we’re not in that position now.”
Freeman and her husband, Brad Lawrence, are freelancers who work in storytelling and podcasting.
In October, Lawrence, 52, got very sick, very fast.
“I knew I was in trouble,” he said. “I went into the emergency room, and I walked over to the desk, and I said, ‘Hi, I’ve gained 25 pounds in five days and I’m having trouble breathing and my chest hurts.’ And they stopped blinking.”
Doctors diagnosed him with kidney disease, and he was hospitalized for four days. Now Lawrence has to take medication with an average cost without insurance of $760 a month.
In January, the cost of the couple’s current “silver” plan rose nearly 75%, to $801 a month.
To bring in extra cash, Freeman has picked up a part-time bartending gig. Millions of middle-class Americans who have ACA health plans are facing soaring premium payments in 2026, without help from the enhanced subsidies that Congress failed to renew. Some are contemplating big life changes to deal with new rates that kicked in on Jan. 1.
It often falls to women to figure out a family’s insurance puzzle.
Women generally use more health care than men, in part because of their need for reproductive services, according to Elizabeth Tobin-Tyler, a professor at Brown University’s School of Public Health.
Women also tend to be the medical decision-makers for the family, she said, especially for the children.
“There’s a disproportionate role that women play in families around what we think of as the mental load,” said TobinTyler, and that includes “making decisions around health insurance.”
Before the holidays, Congress considered a few forms of relief for the premium hikes, but nothing has materialized, and significant deadlines have already passed.
Going uninsured?
As the clock ticked down on 2025, B. agonized over her family’s insurance options. She was looking for a full-time job with benefits, because the premium prices she was seeing for 2026 ACA plans were alarming.
In the meantime, she decided, she and her husband would drop coverage and insure only the kids. But it would be risky.
“My husband works with major tools all day,” she said, “so it feels like rolling the dice.” NPR and KFF Health News are identifying B. by her middle initial because she believes her insurance needs could affect her ongoing search for a job with health benefits.
The family lives in Providence, Rhode Island. Her husband is a self-employed woodworker, and she worked full-time as a nonprofit manager before she lost her job last spring.
After she lost her job, she turned to the ACA marketplace. The family’s “gold” plan cost them nearly $2,000 a month in premiums. It was a lot, and they dug into retirement savings to pay for it while B. kept looking for a new position.
Because Congress failed to extend enhanced subsidies for ACA plans, despite ongoing political battles and a lengthy government shutdown over the issue, B.’s family plan would have cost even more in 2026 — almost $3,000 a month.
“I don’t have an additional $900 lying around in my family budget to pay for this,”
she said.
B. had already pulled $12,000 out of retirement funds to pay her family’s 2025 rates.
Unless she finds a new job soon, the family’s projected income for 2026 will be less than 266% of the federal poverty level. That means the children qualify for free coverage through Medicaid.
So B. decided to buy a plan on the ACA marketplace for herself and her husband, paying premiums of $1,200 a month.
“The bottom line is none of this is affordable,” she said, “so we’re going to be dipping into savings to pay for this.”
Postponing a wedding
The prospect of soaring insurance premiums put a pause on Nicole Benisch’s plans to get married.
Benisch, 45, owns a holistic wellness business in Providence. She paid $108 a month for a zero-deductible “silver” plan on Rhode Island’s insurance exchange.
But the cost in 2026 more than doubled, to $220 a month.
She and her fiance had planned to marry on Dec. 19, her late mother’s birthday. “And then,” she said, “we realized how drastically that was
going to change the cost of my premium.” As a married couple, their combined income would exceed 400% of the federal poverty level and make Benisch ineligible for financial help. Her current plan’s monthly premium payments would triple, costing her more than $700 a month.
Benisch considered a less expensive “bronze” plan, but it wouldn’t cover vocal therapy, which she needs to treat muscle tension dysphonia, a condition that can make her voice strain or give out. If they get married, there’s another option: switch to her fiance’s health plan in Massachusetts. But that would mean losing all her Rhode Island doctors, who would be outof-network.
“We have some tough decisions to make,” she said, “and none of the options are really great for us.”
This article is from a partnership with NPR.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.
(Pexels/MART PRODUCTION)
Racial justice
Continued from page 2
But in August 2025, CORE filed a lawsuit against the Adams administration for failure to adhere to deadlines in releasing the city’s mandated racial equity plan the previous year. A sign that President Donald Trump’s push for rollbacks to diversity and racial justice initiatives were in full swing. Legal reps for Adams at the time blamed the delays on several lawsuits threatening the city’s federal funding if the report were released.
Mamdani’s team pointedly promised to create and publish the preliminary racial equity plan within his administration’s first 100 days in office, which would be about mid-April.
“I think this work will inevitably be difficult, however, it has to be done,” said Mamdani in a brief sitdown with Amsterdam News
Honoring MLK
The administration’s commitment to racial justice is underscored by its focus on the legacy of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. This comes as Trump has targeted Black history holidays, including remov-
ing King’s birthday and Juneteenth from the National Park Service’s list of free admission days. Trump also announced another attempt to withhold federal funding from “sanctuary cities” starting February 1, a challenge that has previously been blocked in court as unconstitutional.
Mamdani feels that Dr. King’s life and legacy are linked to the history of the city. He recalled visiting Cornerstone Baptist Church in Brooklyn on the campaign trail, understanding that it was where King spoke decades prior.
To celebrate the King holiday this year, Mamdani spent Jan. 19 with politicians and community leaders recounting the works of one of history’s great advocates for social justice, how to defend his commemorative day, and expressing the desire to implement the tenets of the Civil Rights Movement at the city level.
Mamdani added that the work of the racial justice office will focus on pressing issues, such as the exodus of Black and Brown New Yorkers who can no longer afford to live in the city, addressing the city’s gender pay gap and racial disparities in employment rates, building “truly affordable” housing citywide,
and upholding reparations legislation at the city level.
“Oftentimes when we think about Dr. King, we forget a number of different parts of his legacy, and one of the quotes that I hold dear when thinking about him is, ‘what good is having the right to sit at a lunch counter, if you can’t afford to buy a hamburger?’” said Mamdani, ahead of attending the National Action Network (NAN) King Day of Service Public Policy Forum in Harlem.
“The importance of rights are not just that people have them, but that they can also exercise them. And as he would often make clear, racial justice without economic justices is like clapping with one hand. This is an opportunity so that every New Yorker can climb,” said Mamdani.
His office has taken some steps forward already, like rolling out 2-care and more access to 3k universal childcare with the governor’s support; promising to protect peaceful protestors, especially those that encounter local and federal authorities; and standing with striking New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) nurses on the picket line at Montefiore, Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside
and West, and NewYork-Presbyterian hospitals this week.
“I think it only makes our commitment more urgent, frankly. A mark of your belief in a value is not when it is easy to practice it, but when it is hard. And what we see in Dr. King’s legacy is not just a vision for racial justice, not just a vision for economic justice, but also a vision for a country where dissent is not repressed, where it is actually understood as a critical part of the health of a nation,” said Mamdani.
“And I think that we saw, in his own lifetime, the way in which he had to deal with that kind of oppression. And let today be a day where we recommit ourselves to ensuring that the right to peacefully assemble is one that is given to each and every New Yorker, no matter who they are, no matter where they come from, no matter what it is that they’re advocating for.”
MOERJ also incorporates other equity offices, such as NYC Her Future (NHF), the NYC Commission on Gender Equity (CGE), the NYC Unity Project (UP), and the NYC Young Men’s Initiative (YMI), as well as multi-agency bodies like the NYC Pay Equity Cabinet (PEC) and the NYC Taskforce on Racial Inclusion & Equity (TRIE).
Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Racial Justice Commissioner at the Harlem Justice Center uptown on Thursday, January 15, 2026.
(Ariama C. Long photo)
Religion & Spirituality Randy Dupree: Harlem’s Commander of Joy
By MICHAEL HENRY ADAMS Special to the AmNews
“When you were born in 1934 … there was still Jim Crow … There was still plenty of hardship and sorrow … But, there was also joy — Randy was a jovial person … When we remember him, we must remember to live joyfully. Like Randy, we must counter life’s difficulties with the joy that faith provides …” On a snowy morning at the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church, this was the summation of remarks by Rev. Dr. Nicole L. Showell as the officiant at Saturday’s funeral service for Elwood Fentress Dupree, known affectionately as E. Randy Dupree.
Held in high regard in every part of Harlem, he was born April
26, 1934, in Greenville, N.C., he died December 1, 2025, at 91, after a life well-lived and 58 years of marriage.
In 1951, he graduated from Eppes High School before winning a sports scholarship to attend Florida Normal and Industrial College (today, Florida Memorial University). A science student, he became a charter member of the school’s Omega Psi Phi Fraternity chapter. Before college, he was already aware of his future wife, Elois Mae Smith. Her older sister was a high school friend, but, as he once told me, “it wasn’t until after I got back from serving in France, during the Korean conflict, that I really noticed Elois. She had grown up nicely!”
By then, both had moved to New York. During a holiday visit back to Greenville and spying her sitting on her family’s porch, he made up his mind. “That girl will be my wife!” He told me he told himself, and in 1967, he at last told Miss Smith and they married on July 1. Two years later, their son, Randy LeMar Dupree, was born.
Before serving as an army medic, he became a high school science teacher in Florida. Once discharged from military service, he had a series of jobs, in New York, working with youth and became a director of the Police Athletic League in Brooklyn.
Continuing his education, Dupree earned a master’s degree in social work from Columbia
University. During his graduate studies, he was both student body president and leader of Columbia’s Black Student Caucus. At his graduation, he gave the commencement address.
Throughout a fitting tribute, punctuated by solemn prayer and inspiring hymn solos, we learned these particulars of Dupree’s purposeful life. Different aspects came from the likes of elder stateswoman Inez Dickens and New York Attorney General Alvin Bragg (who grew up under Dupree’s tutelage on 139th Street on Strivers Row).
Dupree was deputy director of the city’s bureau of pest control and also worked as assistant commissioner for the city’s Department of Health. Before Bill
Perkins, he was the “rat tsar” of his day, combating rodents so effectively that he was engaged as a consultant by the city of London! Before retiring, Dupree served as assistant commissioner of Health Environmental Community Services for nearly 20 years.
Rather than sit idly after so active a career, he parlayed this vast experience in city government into Dupree Environmental Consultant Inc., providing pest control for small businesses. Some speakers repeated these accomplishments more than twice, and almost all told of the endless enjoyment Randy Dupree offered, in collaboration with his wife, to friends and acquaintances
(Kneeling) Sharay Hayes, David Porter; (standing, left to right, first row) Joe Thompson, Andre Hoffman, Alvin Bragg, Jamila Bragg, Inez Dickins, Paris Brown, Eloise Dupree, Audrey Sherman, Ed Sherman; (standing, second row) Robin Ransom, Jaye Wallace-West. (Michael Henry Adams photo)
Continued from page 30
far and wide. This was in the form of rollicking parties with lots of good things to eat and drink, and excellent live entertainment, held inside and out, across multiple levels of their commodious neoRenaissance style rowhouse designed by Stanford White.
A couple who lauded him did mention, in a perfunctory way, that Dupree was a member, starting in 2004, and then commander of the American Legion Col. Charles Young Post No. 398 in Harlem (a service club established by Black veterans of the First World War to honor an heroic officer, recently renamed to mark Young’s long-overdue posthumous promotion to Brigadier General).
With time running out, it didn’t seem to me that anyone emphasized the full significance this entailed. In discussion with Inez Dickens, I was told, “Then get up and tell them!”
I began, “By now, you probably imagine you’ve heard all there is to know about Randy Dupree, only something important has been omitted. The post has been re-
ferred to, superficially, but neither its momentousness, nor Mr. Dupree’s has been explained.
“[It was a] clubhouse for Harlem war veterans, a place where great food and drinks can be had very reasonably. It’s also one of the best venues there is for intimate
jazz performances. In New York, locals and people in the know are aware of the post, but paradoxically, worldwide, it’s far better known by jazz enthusiasts everywhere! By the busloads they come here from Japan and Europe every year. For the longest time, wel-
coming them, as an ambassador of Black culture, there stood the commander. Like the post, Commander Dupree was known by some of the most discerning connoisseurs there are.
“With our contributions and heritage increasingly under attack,
gatekeepers like the commander are more important than ever!”
Seeing Elois Dupree and her son (called little Randy throughout the ceremony) smiling appreciatively, I was so glad I’d risked speaking up. Hail and farewell, Commander Dupree!
Londel Davis, the well-known restaurateur, and Percy Hall.
Randy Dupree’s widow and son, Elois Dupree and Randy LeMar Dupree, mourn at his Abyssinian Baptist Church homecoming service. (Michael Henry Adams photos) Alpine N’Diaye.
Tanya Canya Coleman, Vicky Rich, and the Hon. Inez Dickens.
Rev. Dr. Nicole L. Showell.
CLASSIFIED ADS
RULES AND REGULATIONS
CANCELLATIONS must be made in writing by 12 Noon Monday.
The forwarding of an order is construed as an acceptance of all advertising rules and conditions under which advertising space is sold by the NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS. Publication is made and charged according to the terms of this card.
Rates and regulations subject to change without notice. No agreements as to position or regulations, other than those printed on this.
Til forbid orders charged for rate earned. Increases or decreases in space take the rate of a new advertisement.
The New York AMSTERDAM NEWS reserves the right to censor, reject, alter or revise all advertisements in accordance with its rules governin g the acceptance of advertising and accepts no liability for its failure to insert an advertisement for any cause. Credit for errors in advertisements allowed only for first insertion.
CLASSIFIED
• Classified advertisements take the regular earned rate of their classification. Four line minimum on all ads except spirituals and horoscopes (14 lines).
CLASSIFIED DISPLAY
• Classified Display (boarder or picture) advertisements take the regular earned rate of their classification. Display (boarder or picture) advertisements one column wide must be 14 lines deep; two columns, 28 lines deep; 3 columns, 56 lines deep. Classified Display (boarder or picture) placed as close to classifications as rules and makeup permit.
CLASSIFICATIONS
All advertisement accepted for publication is classified according to the standard classifications. Misclassification is not permitted.
BASIS OF CHARGE
Charges are based on point size and characters per line. Upon reaching 15 lines the rate converts to column inch. Any deviation from solid composition such as indentation, use of white space, bold type, etc., will incur a premium.
In Case
NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT: NEW YORK COUNTY. NYCTL 19982 TRUST SUCCESSOR IN INTEREST TO NYCTL 2016-A TRUST AND THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON AS COLLATERAL AGENT AND CUSTODIAN, Pltf. vs. KIPS BAY COMMUNITY
ASSOCIATION, INC., et al, Deft. Index #153256/2024. Pursuant to judgment of foreclosure and sale entered June 4, 2025 and order of Hon. Francis A. Kahn, III entered
December 12, 2025, I will sell at public auction in Room 252 of the New York County
Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on February 10, 2026 at 2:15 p.m. prem. k/a
303 East 33 rd Street, Unit CF B, New York, NY 10016 a/k/a Block 00939, Lot 1002.
Approx. amt. of judgment is $6,888.56 plus costs and interest. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed judgment and terms of sale. SOFIA BALILE, Referee. THE DELLO-
IACONO LAW GROUP, P.C., Attys. for Pltf., 312 Larkfield Rd., Lower Level, East Northport, NY. File No. 22000218 - #102686
NOTICE OF SALE
SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK , SMS FINANCIAL NYC34, LLC. , Plaintiff, vs . 11 WEST 34 TH STREET OWNER LLC., ET AL., Defendant(s).
Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered on June 23 2025 , I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at New York County, Supreme Court, Courtroom 130, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on February 4, 2026 at 2:15 p.m., premises known as 11 West 34th Street, New York, New York 10001. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of New York, County of New York, City and State of New York, Block 836, Lot 25. Approximate amount of judgment is $24,352,471.05 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index # 850106/2024. No cash deposit will be accepted.
Mark McKew, Esq., Referee Alston & Bird LLP, 90 Park Ave, New York, NY 10016, (212) 2109400, Attorneys for Plaintiff
NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, Plaintiff AGAINST Naciye Kocak a/k/a N. Kocak; et al., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered October 7, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee, will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse in Room 252, located at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on February 24, 2026, at 2:15 PM, premises known as 432 Park Avenue, Unit 81A, New York, NY 10022. The Condominium Unit (the 'Unit') known as Unit No, 81A in the building (the "Building”) known as 432 Park Condominium and by the street number 432 Park Avenue, Borough of Manhattan., City of New York, County of New York, Block: 1292 Lot: 1439. Approximate amount of judgment $12,187,850.25 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index# 850209/2022. Clark Whitsett, Esq., Referee LOGS Legal Group LLP Attorney(s) for the Plaintiff 175 Mile Crossing Boulevard Rochester, New York 14624 (877) 4304792 Dated: December 1, 2025 87922
Notice of Qualification of ALTA VISTA PRODUCTIONS, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/12/26. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 01/07/26. Princ. office of LLC: 1041 N. Formosa Ave., West Bldg., 4th Fl., West Hollywood, CA 90046. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
Notice of Formation of CROWN ACQUISITIONS VENTURES
LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/04/25. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 73 Spring St., 5th Fl., NY, NY 10012. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
NOTICE OF FORMATION of WEISFUSE & WEISFUSE LLC.
Articles of Organization filed with Sec. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/24/2025. Office location: New York Co. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to 11 Broadway, Suite 464, New York, NY 10004. Purpose: Law
Notice of Qualification of DERBY FIG HOLDINGS 1, LP Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/29/25. Office location: NY County. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 01/14/25. Princ. office of LP: 41 Madison Ave., 40th Fl., NY, NY 10010. NYS fictitious name: DERBY FIG HOLDINGS 1, L.P. Duration of LP is Perpetual. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. DE addr. of LP: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of LP filed with State of DE, Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: To engage in or transact any lawful act, activity or business permitted under the laws of New York.
Notice of Qualification of FORTHILL HOLDER 1, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 06/12/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 05/27/25. Princ. office of LLC: 60 East 42nd St., Ste. 1300, NY, NY 10165. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
Notice of formation of FRANCISCO J. GONZALEZ ARTS LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/09/2025. Office location: New York County (Manhattan). SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to FRANCISCO J. GONZALEZ: 40 W 116 ST A715 NY, NY. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
Notice of Qualification of SKYDANCE SPORTS, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/16/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 12/14/22. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State of the State of DE, 401 Federal St. - Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT: NEW YORK COUNTY. NYCTL 2021A TRUST AND THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON AS COLLATERAL AGENT AND CUSTODIAN, Pltf. vs. ALVIN
WONG, IF THE AFORESAID INDIVIDUAL DEFENDANTS ARE LIVING, AND IF ANY OR ALL OF SAID INDIVIDUAL DEFENDANTS BE DEAD, THEIR HEIRS AT LAW, NEXT OF
DEVISEES, LEGATEES, AND THE ASSIGNEES, LIENORS, CREDITORS AND
SUCCESSORS IN INTEREST OF THEM, AND GENERALLY ALL PERSONS HAVING OR CLAIMING UNDER, BY, THROUGH, OR AGAINST THE SAID DEFENDANTS
NAMED A CLASS, OF ANY RIGHT, TITLE, OR INTEREST IN OR LIEN UPON THE
PREMISES DESCRIBED IN THE VERIFIED COMPLAINT HEREIN, et al, Defts. Index #157000/2022 Pursuant to judgment of foreclosure and sale entered April 25, 2025 and the order of Hon. Francis A. Kahn, III entered December 12, 2025, I will sell at public in Room 252 of the New York Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on February 10,
2026 at 2:15 p.m. premises k/a 1 Irving Place, Unit 17A, New York, NY 10003 a/k/a Block
00870, Lot 1347. Approximate amount of judgment is $110,501.65 plus costs and interest.
Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed judgment and terms of sale. ROBERTA
ASHKIN Referee. THE DELLO-IACONO LAW GROUP, P.C., Attys. for Pltf., 312 Larkfield
Rd., Lower Level, East Northport, NY 11731. File No. 22000009 - #102685
Notice of formation of Aurelius Consulting & Solutions Group. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/07/2025. Office location: New York County (Manhattan). SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to Jay Bracey: 3904 Avenue D, Brooklyn, NY, 11203, USA. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
Notice of Qualification of ADEPTUS ADVISORS GROUP, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/10/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 06/03/25. Princ. office of LLC: 4350 W. Cypress St., Ste. 100, Tampa, FL 33607. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
NOTICE OF QUALIFICATION of CMFH LLC. Application for authority filed with Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 7/6/2022. Office Location: NY County. LLC formed in DE on 5/2/2022. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Company, 251 Little Falls Dr, Wilmington, DE 19808. P/B/A: 2218 Broadway, Num 218, New York, NY 10024. Cert. of Formation filed with DE Secy of State, 401 Federal St, Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity.
Notice of formation of AFS Housing Solutions, LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/20/2025. Office location: New York County (Manhattan). SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to Davia Steeley: 206 East 118th Street, Apt 4D, New York, N.Y. 10035. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
Notice of formation of AI Economics LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/02/2025. Office location: New York County (Manhattan). SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to Robert B Cohen: 90 Riverside Drive, Apt. 12D, New York, NY 10024. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
Notice of formation of SASSY ENTERPRISES EAST 25 LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/11/2025. Office location: New York County (Manhattan). SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to OMRY SASS: 55 W 17th Street, Apt 304 New York, NY 10011. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
NOTICE OF SALE
WILMINGTON TRUST, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE REGISTERED HOLDERS OF WELLS FARGO COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE TRUST 2016-C34, COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2016C34, BY AND THROUGH ITS SPECIAL SERVICER, LNR PARTNERS, LLC, Plaintiff v. 153 ELIZABETH STREET, LLC, 153 ELIZABETH HOTEL LLC, 30 KENMARE MASTER, LLC, EDMOND LI, ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL BOARD OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, THE CITY OF NEW YORK, and PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Defendants, Index No. 850275/2021. Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision and Order on Motion dated August 8, 2024, which was duly entered in the above-entitled action and filed in the Office of the New York County Clerk on August 12, 2024 and December 26, 2024, as amended by the Decision & Order on Motion dated September 24, 2024, which was duly entered in the above-entitled action and filed in the Office of the New York County Clerk on September 26, 2024 (the “Judgment”), I the undersigned Referee in said Judgment named, will sell at public auction to the highest bidder at Room 252 of the Courthouse, located at 60 Centre Street, New York, New York, the premises directed by said Judgment to be sold. The premises will be offered for sale, as one parcel, on Wednesday, February 4, 2026 at 2:15 p.m. The premises therein described are located at 153 Elizabeth Street, New York, New York 10023, also known as Block 479, Lot 29 on the Tax Map for the County of New York, together with the buildings, improvements, fixtures, machinery, equipment, personalty and other rights or interests of any kind or nature located thereon, and more particularly described in the Judgment.
The premises will be sold subject to the provisions of the filed Judgment, Index No. 850275/2021, and the Terms of Sale , all of which are available from plaintiff’s counsel upon request.
The approximate amount of the Judgment, for the property referred to therein, is $35,312,720.52, plus interest and costs, as provided in the Judgment. The successful bidder will be required to deposit 10% of the bid by certified or official bank check, unendorsed, made payable to the Referee.
Scott H. Siller , Esq., Referee ( 516) 644-6769
Herrick, Feinstein LLP, Attorneys for Plaintiff, Two Park Avenue, New York, New York 10016, (212) 592-1400, Attention: David R. King, Esq.
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK
U.S. BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS OWNER TRUSTEE FOR RCF 2 ACQUISITION TRUST, -against-
GIANLUIGI TORZI, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS PRESIDENT
EE FOR RCF 2 ACQUISITION TRUST, -against-
GIANLUIGI TORZI, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS PRESIDENT OF SUNSET U.S. CORPORATION IF LIVING, AND IF SHE/ HE BE DEAD, ANY AND ALL PERSONS UNKNOWN TO PLAINTIFF, CLAIMING, OR WHO MAY CLAIM TO HAVE AN INTEREST IN, OR GENERAL OR SPECIFIC LIEN UPON THE REAL PROPERTY DESCRIBED IN THIS ACTION; SUCH UNKNOWN PERSONS BEING HEREIN GENERALLY DESCRIBED AND INTENDED TO BE INCLUDED IN THE FOLLOWING DESIGNATION, NAMELY: THE WIFE, WIDOW, HUSBAND, WIDOWER, HEIRS AT LAW, NEXT OF KIN, DESCENDANTS, EXECUTORS, ADMINISTRATORS, DEVISEES, LEGATEES, CREDITORS, TRUSTEES, COMMITTEES, LIENORS, AND ASSIGNEES OF SUCH DECEASED, ANY AND ALL PERSONS DERIVING INTEREST IN OR LIEN UPON, OR TITLE TO SAID REAL PROPERTY BY, THOUGH OR UNDER THEM, OR EITHER OF THEM, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE WIVES, WIDOWS, HUSBANDS, WIDOWERS, HEIRS AT LAW, NEXT OF KIN, DESCENDANTS, EXECUTORS, ADMINISTRATORS, DEVISEES, LEGATEES, CREDITORS, TRUSTEES, COMMITTEES, LIENORS AND ASSIGNS, ALL OF WHOM AND WHOSE NAMES, EXCEPT AS STATED, ARE UNKNOWN TO PLAINTIFF, ET AL.
NOTICE OF SALE
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to a Final Judgment of Foreclosure and entered in the Office of the Clerk of the County of New York on December 9, 2025 , wherein U.S. BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS OWNER TRUSTEE FOR RCF 2 ACQUISITION TRUST is the Plaintiff and GIANLUIGI TORZI, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS PRESIDENT OF SUNSET U.S. CORPORATION IF LIVING, AND IF SHE/HE BE DEAD, ANY AND ALL PERSONS UNKNOWN TO PLAINTIFF, CLAIMING, OR WHO MAY CLAIM TO HAVE AN INTEREST IN, OR GENERAL OR SPECIFIC LIEN UPON THE REAL PROPERTY DESCRIBED IN THIS ACTION; SUCH UNKNOWN PERSONS BEING HEREIN GENERALLY DESCRIBED AND INTENDED TO BE INCLUDED IN THE FOLLOWING DESIGNATION, NAMELY: THE WIFE, WIDOW, HUSBAND, WIDOWER, HEIRS AT LAW, NEXT OF KIN, DESCENDANTS, EXECUTORS, ADMINISTRATORS, DEVISEES, LEGATEES, CREDITORS, TRUSTEES, COMMITTEES, LIENORS, AND ASSIGNEES OF SUCH DECEASED, ANY AND ALL PERSONS DERIVING INTEREST IN OR LIEN UPON, OR TITLE TO SAID REAL PROPERTY BY, THOUGH OR UNDER THEM, OR EITHER OF THEM, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE WIVES, WIDOWS, HUSBANDS, WIDOWERS, HEIRS AT LAW, NEXT OF KIN, DESCENDANTS, EXECUTORS, ADMINISTRATORS, DEVISEES, LEGATEES, CREDITORS, TRUSTEES, COMMITTEES, LIENORS AND ASSIGNS, ALL OF WHOM AND WHOSE NAMES, EXCEPT AS STATED, ARE UNKNOWN TO PLAINTIFF; ET AL. are the Defendant(s). I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the NEW YORK COUNTY COURT-
CEPT AS STATED, ARE UNKNOWN TO PLAINTIFF; ET AL. are the Defendant(s). I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the NEW YORK COUNTY COURTHOUSE, 60 CENTRE STREET, Room 252, NEW YORK, NY 10007, on 02/17/2026 at 2:15PM, premises known as 46 MERCER STREET, UNIT 4W , NEW YORK , New York 10013 ; and the following tax map identification, -474-1407 .
THE UNIT KNOWN AS UNIT NO. 4W IN THE BUILDING KNOWN AS THE SOHO APARTMENTS, A CONDOMINIUM LOCATED AT 473 BROADWAY, A/K/A 46 MERCER STREET, IN THE COUNTY, CITY AND STATE OF NEW YORK
Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index No.: 850554/2023 . Mark L. Mckew , Esq. - Referee . Robertson, Anschutz, Schneid, Crane & Partners, PLLC 900 Merchants Concourse, Suite 310 , Westbury, New York 11590, Attorneys for Plaintiff. All foreclosure sales will be conducted in accordance with Covid-19 guidelines including, but not limited to, social distancing and mask wearing. *LOCATION OF SALE SUBJECT TO CHANGE DAY OF IN ACCORDANCE WITH COURT/CLERK DIRECTIVES.
NOTICE OF SALE
SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF New York, CITIMORTGAGE, INC., Plaintiff, vs. NICOLE M. CHRISTIE, ET AL., Defendant (s).
Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered on October 21, 2025 I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at Room 252 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on February 10, 2026 at 2:15 PM, premises known as 300 WEST 135TH STREET, UNIT 7E, NEW YORK, NY 10030. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, City, County and State of New York, Block: 1959, Lot: 1053 formerly part of Lot 31. Together with an undivided .4094 percent interest in Common Elements of the Condominium as described in the declaration. Approximate amount of judgment is $136,087.19 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index # 850043/2024.
If the sale is set aside for any reason, the Purchaser at the sale shall be entitled only to a return of the deposit paid. The Purchaser shall have no further recourse against the Mortgagor, the Mortgagee, the Mortgagee's attorney, or the Referee.
SOFIA BALILE, Esq., Referee Roach & Lin, P.C., 6851 Jericho Turnpike, Suite 185, Syosset, New York 11791, Attorneys for Plaintiff
NOTICE
Notice is hereby given that a license, number #NA-0340-26100462 for Beer, Wine &Amp; Liquor has been applied for by the undersigned to sell Beer, Wine &Amp; Liquor at retail in a Restaurant under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at 37 Market St., New York, NY 10002, New York County for on premises consumption. Bar Chucho LLC, Bar Chucho LLC
NOTICE OF SALE
SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK
U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR STRUCTURED ASSET
INVESTMENT LOAN TRUST MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2006-BNC3 Plaintiff, Against MAY Q. MANGOSING; et al Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale, duly entered 03/13/2025, I, the undersigned Referee, will sell at public auction, in Room 130 at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on 2/4/2026 at 2:15PM, premises known as 240 East 41st Street a/k/a 235 East 40th Street, New York, New York and described as follows:
ALL that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Residential Unit (The "Unit") known as Unit No. 11F in the premises known as the Vanderbilt Condominium and by the street number 240 East 41st Street and 235 East 40th Street, Borough of Manhattan, City, County and State of New York, said Unit being designated and described as Unit No. 11F in the Declaration. Together with an undivided .210026% interest in the general common elements. Block 1314 Lot 1096 Unit 11F.
The approximate amount of the current Judgment lien is $1,281,897.89 plus interest and costs. The Premises will be sold subject to provisions of the aforesaid Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale; Index # 850124/2015
Bruce N. Lederman, Esq., Referee. – Please note: Referee does NOT accept cash.
MCCABE, WEISBERG & CONWAY, LLC, 10 Midland Avenue, Suite 205, Port Chester, NY 10573
Dated: 12/4/2025 File Number: 19-300840 CA
SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK. ONESTONE LENDING LLC, Plaintiff -against- ALTA OPERATIONS, LLC, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated November 17, 2023 and entered on November 27, 2023 , I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 252 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on February 10, 2026 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County and State of New York, known as The Tower Unit 10A in the building known as "One Riverside Park Condominium" together with an undivided 0.3653% interest in the common elements. Block: 1171 Lot: 2508. Said premises known as 50 RIVERSIDE BOULEVARD, UNIT 10A, NEW YORK, NY 10069. Approximate amount of lien $1,027,596.74 plus interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index Number 850198/2020. JERRY MEROLA, ESQ., Referee. The Camporeale Law Group PLLC, Attorney(s) for Plaintiff, 585 Stewart Avenue, 770, Garden City, NY 11530
{* AMSTERDAM*}
NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT ‑ COUNTY OF NEW YORK. 57TH ST. VACATION OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC., BY AND THROUGH ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Plaintiff ‑against‑ JOSEPH L. HUSSAIN, JUDITH ALLEY HUSSAIN, et al Defen dant(s). Pursuant to a Judg ment of Foreclosure and Sale dated November 19, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 252 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on February 4, 2026 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, Coun ty of New York, City and State of New York, being an undi vided ownership interest as tenant‑in‑common with other owners in the Timeshare Unit in the building located at 102 West 57th Street, New York, NY. Together with an appurtenant undivided 0.00986400000% common interest percentage. This is a foreclosure on own ership interest in a timeshare unit, a studio penthouse on a floating use basis every year, in accordance with and subject to declarations. Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions dated October 10, 2008 and October 31, 2008 as CFRN # 2008000426142 as re corded in the Office of the City Register, County, City and State of New York. The Timeshare Unit is also designated as Block 1009 and Lot 37. Said premises known as 102 WEST 57TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10019
Approximate amount of lien $14,380.10 plus interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index Number 850113/2024.
JASON PAUL SACKOOR, ESQ., Referee DRUCKMAN LAW GROUP PLLC
Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 242 Drexel Avenue, Westbury, NY 11590 DLG# 39661 {* AMSTERDAM*} NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT ‑ COUNTY OF NEW YORK. 57TH ST. VACATION OWN ERS ASSOCIATION, INC., BY AND THROUGH ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Plaintiff ‑against‑ SAMUEL HARRIS DUNN, PAMELA DUNN, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated November 19, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 252 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on February 4, 2026 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, Coun ty of New York, City and State of New York, being an undi vided ownership interest as tenant‑in‑common with other owners in the Timeshare Unit in the building located at 102 West 57th Street, New York, NY. Together with an appurtenant undivided 0.00493200000% common interest percentage. This is a foreclosure on own ership interest in a timeshare unit, a studio penthouse on a floating use basis every year, in accordance with and subject to declarations. Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions dated October 10, 2008 and October 31, 2008 as CFRN # 2008000426142 as re corded in the Office of the City Register, County, City and State of New York. The Timeshare
Restrictions dated October 10, 2008 and October 31, 2008 as CFRN # 2008000426142 as re corded in the Office of the City Register, County, City and State of New York. The Timeshare Unit is also designated as Block 1009 and Lot 37. Said premises known as 102 WEST 57TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10019
Approximate amount of lien $15,932.55 plus interest & costs.
Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index Number 850344/2023.
JASON PAUL SACKOOR, ESQ., Referee DRUCKMAN LAW GROUP PLLC
Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 242 Drexel Avenue, Westbury, NY 11590 DLG# 39346 {* AMSTERDAM*}
SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK 57TH ST. VACATION OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC., BY AND THROUGH ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Plaintiff, -againstSTEPHEN W. ANDRASKO, LORETTA A. ANDRASKO, if living, and if they be dead, any and all persons unknown to Plaintiff, claiming, or who may claim to have an interest in, or generally or specific lien upon the real property described in this action; such unknown persons being herein generally described and intended to be included in the following designation, namely: the wife, widow, husband, widower, heirs-at-law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assignees of such deceased, any and all persons deriving interest in or lien upon, or title to said real property by, through or under them, or either of them, and their respective wives, widows, husbands, widowers, heirs-at-law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assigns, all of whom and whose names, except as stated, are unknown to Plaintiff, Defendants. INDEX NO.: 850051/2024 FILED: 12/23/2025 Plaintiff designates New York County as the place of trial pursuant to CPLR §507 TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANTS: YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the complaint in this action, and to serve a copy of your answer, or, if the complaint is not served with this summons, to serve a notice of appearance on the plaintiff's attorney within 20 days after the service of this summons, exclusive of the day of service or within 30 days after completion of service where service is made in any other manner than by personal delivery within the State. In case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the complaint. The foregoing Summons is served upon you by publication pursuant an Order of the Hon. Francis A. Kahn III, a Justice of the Supreme Court, of New York County, dated December 17, 2025 and entered December 18, 2025. Dated: November 24, 2025, Westbury, New York. Maria Sideris, Esq., DRUCKMAN LAW GROUP PLLC Attorneys for Plaintiff 242 Drexel Avenue, Westbury, New York 11590 (516) 876-0800
M/WBE bids sought for 302 West 128th Street, Manhattan, NY construction project. A scope meeting will be held on January 27 Contact bidding@ taxaceny.com for details
Notice of Formation of TALCOTT GARDENS PRESERVATION, L.P.
Cert. of LP filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/01/25. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LP: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. Latest date on which the LP may dissolve is 12/31/2125. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
Notice of Qualification of TALUS GROUP HOLDINGS LLC
Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/05/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 06/05/14. Princ. office of LLC: 110 Greene St., #1202, NY, NY 10012. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
Notice of formation of More Than Zero Holdings LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/29/2025. Office location: New York County (Manhattan). SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to UNITED STATES CORPORATION AGENTS, INC: 7014 13TH AVENUE SUITE 202 BROOKLYN NY 11228. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
Notice of formation of MPS GTM Advisory LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/06/2025. Office location: New York County (Manhattan). SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to United States Corporation Agents, Inc.: 7014 13th Avenue Suite 102, Brooklyn, NY 11228. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
Notice of formation of IMMACULATE MANAGEMENT GROUP
LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/20/2025. Office location: New York County (Manhattan). SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to JAMES BARNES: 1221 E 305th Willowick, OH 44092. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
Notice of formation of Marvelous Well LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/14/2025. Office location: New York County (Manhattan). SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to LegalZoom : 7014 13TH AVENUE, BROOKLYN, NY 11228. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
Notice of Qualification of MOTEK UPPER WEST SIDE LLC
Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/05/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Florida (FL) on 07/21/25. Princ. office of LLC: 2170-2178 Broadway, NY, NY 10024. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the FL addr. of LLC: 2895 Collins Ave., Ste. B, Miami Beach, FL 33140. Cert. of Form. filed with Cord Byrd, State of FL at Tallahassee, the Capital, 500 South Brough St., Tallahassee, FL 32399. Purpose: Restaurant dine-in and bar, catering, third-party delivery.
Notice of Qualification of MATSON, DRISCOLL & DAMICO (US), LLC
Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/12/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 08/18/25. Princ. office of LLC: 10 High St., Ste. 1000, Boston, MA 02110. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St. - Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
Notice of formation of Good Soup Bev LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/09/2024. Office location: New York County (Manhattan). SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to United States Corporation Agents, Inc: 7014 13th Avenue, Suite 202, Brooklyn, NY 11228, USA. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
Notice of formation of STYLE HOSPITALITY LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/17/2025. Office location: New York County (Manhattan). SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to THE LLC: 91 ATTORNEY ST APT 6D, NEW YORK, NY, 10002. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
Notice of formation of Thriving Mind LCSW PLLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the Sec. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/09/2025. Office location: New York County. SSNY designated as an agent of the PLLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to: 45 W 127th Street, #2, New York, NY 10027. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
Notice of Formation of THOMPSON 2E LLC
Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/09/25. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Lindsey Rollman, 300 Park Ave., Ste. 530, NY, NY 10022. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
Notice of formation of Seremony. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/29/2025. Office location: New York County (Manhattan). SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to Kathleen Taboada: 57 w 57th street NY, NY 10019 4th floor suite 412. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
Notice of formation of Bondd Pilates LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/10/2025. Office location: New York. SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to Danielle Daubert: 370 E 76th Street Apt C909, New York, NY 10021. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
Notice of Formation of CPG LIBERTY LANDING LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/05/25. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 116 E 27th St., 11th Fl., NY, NY 10016. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207. Purpose: Real estate investment.
Formation of D’Annunzio – Servidone, JV, LLC filed with the Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/12/2025. Office loc.: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The address SSNY shall mail process to Michael A. D’Annunzio, 3730 Park Ave., S. Plainfield, NJ 07080. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
Formation of KELLUM 1551 LLC filed with the Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/3/2025. Office loc.: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The address SSNY shall mail process to Stephen Liakas, c/o Liakas Law, 40 Wall St., 50th Fl., New York, NY 10005. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
Notice of formation of MIMI
Agency. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/06/2026. Office location: New York County (Manhattan). SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to Gillian Schutzer: Gillian. Schutzer@gmail.com. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
Notice of Formation of POST ROAD RE LLC
Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/17/25. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 31 West 52nd St., 22nd Fl., NY, NY 10019. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
Notice of formation of Eternal Job Lot LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/05/2025. Office location: New York County (Manhattan). SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to New York Secretary of State: New York Secretary of State One Commerce Plaza 99 Washington Ave Albany, NY 12231. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
Notice of formation of Maureen Healy, LCSW PLLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/10/2025. Office location: New York County (Manhattan). SSNY designated as an agent of Professional Limited Liability Company (PLLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to Maureen Healy: 80 East 116th Street, Apt. 305 New York, NY. 10029. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
MTA REAL ESTATE Request for Proposals
RFP#GD011526: Metro-North’s Yonkers Station Retail, 5 Buena Vista Avenue, Yonkers, New York 10701 – 1,600 sf Retail Space. For information on this RFP, please go to https://mta. info/agency/real-estate/
Notice of formation of Yamshon Consulting LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/11/2025. Office location: New York County (Manhattan). SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to Samuel Yamshon: 145 W 67th St Apt 3D New York NY 10023. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
66-74 St. Nicholas Place Owner LLC. App. for Auth. filed with the SSNY on 06/07/24. Originally filed with the Secretary of State of Delaware on 06/05/24. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 515 Madison Ave, 29th Floor, New York, NY 10022. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
Notice of Formation of TALCOTT GARDENS PRESERVATION CLASS B, LLC
Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/01/25. Office location: NY
County. Princ. office of LLC: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
Notice of Formation of MYZI LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/02/25. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to 417 W 120th St Apt 2B New York, NY 10027, USA Purpose: Any lawful activity.
Notice of formation of Hifive Creative LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/03/2025. Office location: New York County (Manhattan). SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to New York Secretary of State: Dept of State, One Commerce Plaza, 99 Washington Ave, Albany NY 12231-0001. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
Notice of Qualification of ESRT 41-55 NORTH 6TH STREET, L.L.C.
Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/16/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 12/08/25. Princ. office of LLC: 111 West 33rd St., 12th Fl., NY, NY 10120. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
Notice of formation of Sugar Hill Pictures L.L.C.. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/22/2025. Office location: New York County (Manhattan). SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to Devin Hill: 447 Broadway Ave., 2nd Floor, #1413, New York, NY 10013. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
Notice of Formation of TALCOTT GARDENS DEVELOPER, LLC
Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/01/25. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
Notice of Formation of TALCOTT GARDENS PRESERVATION GP, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/01/25. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
Notice of formation of limited liability company (LLC). Name: BUBBLEGUM & STRING LLC.
Articles of
Organization filed with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 12/23/2025. NY office location: NEW YORK County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The
SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The post office address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon him/her is The LLC 358 WEST 47TH STREET STE 3E NEW YORK, NY, 10036. Purpose/character of LLC: Any Lawful Purpose.
Notice of formation of Vestry Services LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/21/2025. Office location: New York County (Manhattan). SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to Vestry Services LLC: 244 Madison Ave #1070, New York, NY 10016. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
M/WBE bids sought for 840 Freeman Street, Bronx, NY construction project. A scope meeting will be held on January 27. Contact bidding@taxaceny. com for details
Notice of formation of Hunter Forrest LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 07/24/2025. Office location: New York County (Manhattan). SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to Steven Forrest Hicks Jr: forrest@hunterforrest.com. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
Notice of Formation of LIBERTY LANDING DEVELOPER LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/05/25. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 116 E 27th St., 11th Fl., NY, NY 10016. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207. Purpose: Real estate investment.
Notice of formation of LT UNITED TRANSPORT SERVICES . Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/25/2025. Office location: New York County (Manhattan). SSNY designated as an agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to LT UNITED TRANSPORT SERVICES LLC: 161west 140TH STREET apt 27. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
195 HELP WANTED ELECTRICAL APPRENTICE
We are currently accepting applications and resumes for the position of three (3) Electrical Apprentices. Please call 212–675–2800 or email electricalcontractinginc@ gmail.com to request an application or submit your resume. Applications and Resumes will be reviewed until January 23, 2026.
Notice of Qualification of AP CREDIT SOLUTIONS HOLDINGS (AIV) II, L.P. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/08/25. Office location: NY County. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 12/26/24. Princ. office of LP: Attn: General Counsel, 9 W. 57th St., 43rd Fl., NY, NY 10019. Duration of LP is Perpetual. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the Partnership at the
PSAL hoop product Ashton “Takeoff” Reynolds finds a new home at CCSU
By TYRESE ALLEYNEDAVIS Special to the AmNews
Occupational Therapist Priority Care Staffing. Full time. Bronx. 75,712/year (36.4/ hour) Evaluate patients’ conditions; Develop and implement treatment plans; Demonstrate exercises to help relieve patients’ pain; Evaluate results and progress of occupational therapy on patients; Educate caregivers and family members of clients on patient care. usotjobs@prioritycarestaffing. com.
For Central Connecticut State University freshman guard Ashton “Takeoff” Reynolds, the will to win has been at the core of becoming a Division I player. However, it was his school’s critical loss to Murray Bergtraum High School at the PSAL Championship in 2022, during his sophomore season playing for Transit Tech High School in the heart of East New York, Brooklyn, that set the foundation for the resilience, leadership, and toughness he exemplifies today.
Continued from page 4
“There were 11.5 seconds left on the clock and we were down 2 when we took the ball out. The play wasn’t originally designed for me,” said Reynolds, recalling the moment. “My point guard brought the ball up, but the defense took away our shooter. He drove and kicked it to me in the left short corner. The first thing in my mind was just going up. There was no time to pass. I tried to take a quick float-
leaving a substantial mark on the program, finishing his high school basketball career by setting the school’s all-time scoring record with 1,627 points. Reynolds’s success on the court continued. Wanting to give himself the opportunity to grow and develop to his full potential as a player, he made a calculated move to attend prep school at the Williston Northampton School in Easthampton, Mass., where he helped the program win the NEPSAC Class A Championship last year (their first title since 2016), finishing with a 25-1 record.
new surroundings at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU), a member of the Northeast Conference led by Coach Patrick Sellers. The Blue Devils are 10-7 overall and 4-2 in the conference going into tomorrow’s game versus Fairleigh Dickinson. They are second in the standings behind the Rod Strickland-coached LIU Sharks, which are 5-1 in conference games and 11-8 overall. The 6’4” Ryenolds has seen action in 11 games, averaging 10.8 minutes, posting five points per outing.
er; it bounced off the rim and came right back to me. I went back up, tried to use the backboard, and then I just watched the ball bounce around the rim before it fell out. In that moment, everything happened fast, but my mindset was simply to make a play for my team.”
The emotionally painful feeling that lingered from that loss sparked an even greater hunger in Reynolds. He continued to sharpen both his mind and body under the guidance of Coach Kenneth Hafford. The work in silence and consistency later led to Reynolds
Shannen Hogue, former John Jay hoop star, thrives serving her community
By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews
Members of an athletic family, Shannen Hogue and her brother Doug Hogue are now bringing their competitive spirit to an important shared project, the Hogue Foundation (thehoguefoundation.com). Their family has deep roots in Yonkers where providing opportunities to young people is their mission.
A basketball standout at Roosevelt High School, Shannen was the first female athlete in the school to receive a Division I athletic scholarship. Unfortunately, a knee injury hampered her hoop dreams, but those dreams found new purpose when she was a student at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, where she led the Division III team to one of its most suc-
cessful seasons. Today, she is a detective specialist with the Yonkers Police Department. Meanwhile, Doug received a football scholarship to Syracuse University and went on to play professionally in the NFL for the Detroit Lions and Carolina Panthers. Having earned a bachelor’s degree in education, he became a physical education teacher at a Yonkers public school after his pro career concluded.
“The foundation has become such a big part of my day-to-day,” said Shannen. “In part what I do on the police force is community affairs. Our nonprofit allows my brother and I to really dig in and do some of the necessary work for local kids. We both have a spirit of giving back and some really beautiful and positive adults have helped us.”
Already active as athletic
coaches in the community, the foundation goes beyond sports. For the third year, they’re conducting a college tour planned for Feb. 18–19. They hope to take 25 high school students to visit Syracuse University, University of Albany, and SUNY Cortland.
“Some of what we do as an organization is connected to our own stories,” said Shannen. “We come from humble beginnings. Our parents couldn’t afford to take us around to a bunch of different colleges to visit … Kids should have the opportunity to check out some of the places they might want to consider for college.”
The first year they ran the college tour, Shannen and Doug personally covered all the costs. People saw what they were doing and donations helped fund last year and this year along with some
“Going the prep school route helped me a lot, both as a player and as a person,” Reynolds reflected. “On the court, it helped me define my role, understanding what I should be doing and how I can best help my team. Off the court, being in a new environment really helped calm me down. It was a different energy, more space, and more opportunity for me to lock in and fully focus on basketball and my growth.”
Today, Reynolds is beginning to find his footing in
“I chose Central Connecticut State because I felt comfortable right away with the coaching staff and the players,” he said. “From the moment I got here, I felt like I didn’t need to go anywhere else. It felt like the right choice for me, both for basketball and for my personal growth. I think I’m settling into CCSU really well. I’m finding my space and my opportunities, and I’ve learned a lot so far, and I’m still learning every day. I get more comfortable with my teammates and coaches each day, and they really feel like family.”
grant funding. Exposing kids from marginalized populations to the possibilities of higher education is key.
“Showing our kids that there’s more and they should try to experience as much as possible,” said Shannen. “From each of the first two tours, we’ve had at least one student really enjoy, apply, and attend one of the schools we went to. One kid is even at John Jay and loving it.”
Doug Hogue (l) and Shannen Hogue (r) with Umaina Ghbral, who was awarded a participation appreciation award by the Hogue Foundation. (Hogue Foundation photo)
Central Connecticut State University freshman guard Ashton Reynolds. (CCSU Athletics/Steve McLaughlin photo)
Seattle Seahawks and Sam Darnold look to prove doubters wrong
By JAIME C. HARRIS
AmNews Sports Editor
Once upon a time, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold was anointed as the man who would join the legendary Joe Namath in New York Jets quarterback lore. However, Darnold never attained the enormous promise his talent reflected. He was drafted by the Jets with the third overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of USC, one slot behind Saquon Barkley (who was taken by the Giants at No. 2). In three tumultuous seasons with the Jets from 2018 to 2020, Darnold passed for only an inadequate 49 touchdowns and 39 interceptions in 38 games before being traded to the Carolina Panthers in April 2021. After two unremarkable seasons with the Panthers and one with the San Francisco 49ers, Darnold signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings in March 2024.
It was then that Darnold experienced a reawakening and the rest of the league took notice. Starting all 17 games, he had one of the best statistical seasons of all QBs, passing for 4,319 and yards and 35 touchdowns, both fifth best among all QBs, and leading the Vikings to a 14-3 record.
His playoff appearance in a 27-9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams was shaky, though. Darnold leveraged his 2024 breakout campaign by signing a three-year, $100.5 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks last March and duplicated his results by being named to his second consecutive Pro Bowl, directing a Seahawks offensive unit that was
integral to the team going 14-3 under head coach Mike Macdonald, winning the NFC West, and securing the No.1 overall seed in the conference.
Darnold also became the only quarterback in NFL history to have back-to-back 14-win seasons with two different teams and the second QB ever — the other being Tom Brady — to have back-
New Yorker and former boxing champ Jamel Herring wins BKFC debut at Mohegan Sun
By DERREL JOHNSON Special to the AmNews
This past Saturday, former WBO junior lightweight champion Jamel Herring made his Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) debut at BKFC 86 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., winning a unanimous 50-45 decision over Matt Guymon.
At 40, Herring’s journey back to the ring was more than just a return to competition; it was a testament to resilience, drawing from his years of military service and overcoming long layoffs in his boxing career. That resilience was needed in a heavycontact combat sport.
“Definitely a different experience, but again, I knew what I was getting into,” Herring said of his first BKFC contest. “I know it’s a fast pace and you always
have to stay on your guard because again the minute you slow down, you get hit.”
Herring is now targeting Justin Ibarrola and his BKFC world bantamweight title. As a newcomer to BKFC, though, he’ll have to work his way up to a championship match. Yet, the native of Rockville Center, N.Y., in Hempstead, Long Island, will not be deterred. The former WBO junior lightweight title holder from 2019 to 2021 has gone up against some of boxing’s most recognizable names, such as Shakur Stevenson and Lamont Roach, in his 29 career boxing matches. Seven months after losing to Stevenson in October 2021 by a tenth-round TKO, Herring retired from boxing.
In the BKFC main event, Dustin Pague dethroned welterweight world champion Julian Lane, dropping him once and
surviving a late onslaught from the defending champ in a fight scheduled for five rounds that went to an overtime sixth round. The overtime round is rare in BKFC and is only used in world championship fights where a winner is not definitely decided after five rounds.
On January 31, Newark, N.J., native Stevenson (24-0, 11 KOs) will vacate his WBC lightweight title and move up from 135 to 140 pounds to challenge Brooklyn’s Teofimo Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) for the latter’s WBO and The Ring junior welterweight titles. Lopez, 28, holds the most impressive victory of the pair, having defeated Vasiliy Lomachenko in October 2020.
On the same night, WBO junior middleweight champion Xander Zayas (22-0, 13 KOs) returns to his native Puerto Rico to defend his strap against Abass Baraou.
victories, beginning this Sunday at home in the NFC Championship Game (6:30 p.m EST) versus the No. 5 and NFC West division rival Los Angeles Rams. The Seahawks and Rams faced each other twice this season in two razor-thin margins, with the Rams taking the Week 11 matchup on November 16, 21-19, and the Seahawks edging the Rams 38-37 in OT on December 18 in Week 16 of the NFL regular season schedule.
Darnold expressed gratitude for his first postseason win and current circumstances after the Seahawks’ 41-6 dismantling of the San Francisco 49ers this past Saturday in the divisional playoff round.
to-back 14-win campaigns. The Darnold doubters are still unconvinced, though, that he can carry a team to a Super Bowl victory, subscribing to the unproven premise that past performance is the best predictor of future outcomes.
The same can be said for the Seahawks collectively. Darnold and his teammates can dismiss those naysayers with two more
“I don’t take it for granted whatsoever,” he said. “It’s just a special group. I think that’s the biggest thing, and that’s why it means so much — just the way those guys are in the locker room, ever since I got here. They were tight before I got here, obviously, but just the way that they took me in as one of their own. And that’s what’s so special about this league in general. You make so many great relationships throughout this whole process.”
In the AFC Championship Game (Sunday, 3:00 p.m. EST), the No. 1 seed Denver Broncos will host the No. 2 seed New England Patriots.
Jamel Herring dominates Matt Guymon in his Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship debut at BKFC 86 in Uncasville, Connecticut.
(Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship photo)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (right) embraces San Francisco 49ers cornerback Darrel Luter Jr. after the Seahawks 41-6 win on Saturday in the NFL playoffs. (AP Photo / Lindsey Wasson)
Bobsledder Jasmine Jones makes her first Olympic team after World Cup win
By LOIS ELFMAN
Special to the AmNews
It became official on Monday when USA Bobsled & Skeleton announced the U.S. Olympic team for the upcoming Winter Games, but brakeman Jasmine Jones effectively secured her spot earlier, earning silver with pilot Kaillie Armbruster Humphries in Altenberg, Germany, at the final World Cup race before the Games. The pair also won gold in St. Moritz, Switzerland, on Jan. 11.
Jones’ route to the Olympics follows a path forged by Vonetta Flowers, the first Black athlete to win gold at the Winter Olympics; both women were track athletes recruited to bobsled for their speed and agility. A sprinter at Eastern Michigan University, Jones caught attention during her senior year when a coach submitted her statistics to a talent identification competition. Bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor, now named to her fifth Olympic team, reached out, though Jones wasn’t sure what to make of it at first.
some of the bronze medals I’ve won in races — they saw the type of athlete I am and saw the potential,” said Jones. “They allowed me to … have the support from the military as far as pay and benefits so I can truly focus on my sport. Then, on the back end for my contract, I give my time back, which is fine with me because I want a career in the military.”
Jones said Meyers Taylor is a trailblazer for both her athletic accomplishments and being a mother. “Seeing how she perseveres,” said Jones. “We get exhausted, but she still shows up, and I commend her for that every time. Seeing her reminds me of everything I know I can do. It motivates me to keep improving. I constantly strive to be better.”
With WCAP in place and her daughter in school, this bobsled season, Jones has seen her hard work in summer training translate to results on the track.
The single mother of daugh-
“I thought, let me go see what it’s all about,” Jones said. “I made the change to bobsled.”
ter Jade, 5, Jones needed financial stability while training, so she joined the U.S. Air Force World
Jaida Patrick forges success in her postColumbia basketball days
By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews
When Jaida Patrick decided to transfer from Duke to Columbia University in 2021, she didn’t know what lay ahead. While Columbia’s women’s basketball team had shown promise, their entire 2020–21 season had been cancelled due to the pandemic. She believed she could be an impact player, and that is exactly what she proved to be.
“It shaped me; there had to be a lot of drive and showing up even on tough days,” said Patrick, who was a vital part of Columbia achieving its best-ever record (22-6) at that time. Her senior year, the Lions achieved their first-ever Ivy League regular season title, going 23-5 and making it to the final of the postseason WNIT. She also learned the ins and outs of name, image, and likeness (NIL), which began in July 2021.
After graduating from Columbia in 2023, Patrick earned a master’s degree at the University of Miami, where she served as team captain. Since then, she has ventured into broadcasting, serving in various capacities — commentary, hosting, and sideline reporting — and she has started to make her mark on the world of cosmetics and fashion.
“I love creative roles; I realized that about myself,” said Patrick, who recently finished a public relations and influencer marketing internship with Tarte Cosmetics. “I was doing some broadcasting on-air, which was really cool. I loved doing in-game hosting. I also did media hosting for the Caribbean Music Awards.
“Now, I also want to focus on influencer marketing roles,” she added. “I was working with brands on the influencer side when I was playing basketball. [With Tarte], it was cool to see
the other side of it and see what brands go through in order to launch campaigns.”
Patrick is working to translate her love of media, beauty, and style into a career, for which she also calls on the skills she developed as a Division I basketball player. “Sports helped me learn how to operate within a team and strive for that singular goal,” Patrick said. “Communication is super-important on and off the court. It prepared me very well for the workforce.”
She knows how to thrive under pressure and keep to a schedule. “Being a Division I athlete teaches you how to manage your time and priorities. Also, I’ve met people from all across the world and connected with them on a deep level to make the team successful,” said Patrick, who is pursuing a position in the beauty, fashion, sports, or media industries. “I’m also open to on-air work, bringing my knowledge of sports.”
Class Athlete Program (WCAP).
“WCAP saw what I’d done prior — making the national team and
“I knew that I can make these Games. I can win a medal in a race. I can have these top start times,” said Jones. “It does make me proud of myself to know that I have more of a ceiling to reach as well.”
Brakewoman Jasmine Jones (r) and bobsled pilot Kaillie Armbruster Humphriesstrike a happy pose after capturing gold at the St. Moritz, Switzerland World Cup event. (Viesturs Lacis/IBSF photo)
Jaida Patrick (r) on red carpet at Caribbean Music Awards with “Love Island” show alumna Chelley Bissainthe. (Photo courtesy of Jaida Patrick)
Roster shakeup or chemistry adjustment: What can the Knicks do to course correct?
By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor
Visions of the Knicks winning an NBA title are now blurry. They were much clearer last month when they defeated the San Antonio Spurs to capture the NBA Cup.
Perhaps the trophy is fool’s gold. But the Knicks’ principal decision makers, team owner James Dolan and team president Leon Rose, decided against hanging the tournament’s championship banner in the Madison Square Garden rafters along with the franchise’s 1970 and 1973 league championship banners, an implicit message that while the Cup win was an accomplishment worthy of celebrating, an NBA title would be the true crowning achievement.
Going into last night’s game at MSG versus the Brooklyn Nets, the Knicks’ 2025-2026 season can be analyzed as pre-and postCup. Head Coach Mike Brown’s squad was 18-7 before beating the Spurs and 25-18 prior to facing the Nets, a record of 7-11 since December 16. The Knicks tipped off against Brooklyn seeking to end a four-game losing streak, having dropped nine of their previous 11 games and wobbling as the tenuous No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.
They were seven games behind 31-10, No. 1 seed Detroit Pistons, and 1.5 behind the 26-16, No. 2 Boston Celtics, who have been
without five-time All-NBA superstar Jayson Tatum all season as he recovers from a ruptured right Achilles tendon that occurred last May at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Let’s forgo digging too deeply into statistics and analytics to determine why the Knicks have been faltering. Suspend studying offensive and defensive ratings. Use simple basketball common sense, intuition, and the eye test. The Knicks’ 106-99 home loss to the Phoenix Suns on Saturday, followed by perhaps their most concerning defeat to date, getting rocked by the Dallas Mavericks at the Garden on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday, exposed a seeming lack of chemistry and symbiosis, salient and indispensable team qualities that cannot be quantified.
“There’s been a lot of things to pinpoint, but as a team, we know what we have to do. It’s either we do it, or we care enough to do it, or we don’t,” said Knicks guard Jalen Brunson after falling to the Mavericks.
Center Karl-Anthony Towns minimized emphasizing the timeline of the Knicks’ plunge and instead underscored reversing the trend.
“It doesn’t matter…it matters that it did happen, you know,” he ascertained. “So, we got to figure it out, you know. We have a special team and a special opportunity, and you know, we can’t just let it go to waste.”
So is it just unbalanced chemistry that is plaguing the Knicks or a flawed roster? Do the Knicks need to address their issues externally by fervently pursuing the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo, a force multiplier and arguably the best player in
the world, or fill their fissures internally by their two most prominent players, team captain Jalen Brunson and five-time AllStar Karl-Anthony Towns, demonstrating galvanizing leadership?
The answers will soon come.
Michael Porter Jr. makes All-Star case in the midst of Nets’ struggles
By DERREL JOHNSON Special to the AmNews
After closing out 2025 winning an impressive seven of their last 11 games, the Nets have conversely opened 2026 by losing nine of 11 games before facing the Knicks last night (Wednesday) at Madison Square Garden. They were 12-29 and 13th in the 15-team Eastern Conference.
In the midst of their struggles, a bright spot for Brooklyn has been the play of Michael Porter Jr., who the team acquired from the Denver Nuggets last July, along with a 2032 unprotected first-round draft pick in exchange for swingman Cameron Johnson. Porter Jr. was averaging 25.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists, all career highs, going into MSG to meet the Knicks, numbers worthy of All-Star consideration.
When the final vote count was tallied, Porter was ninth among all East players. The top five vote recipients are starters, and the remainder of the team — seven spots — will be chosen by the conference’s head coaches.
“I think that when an organization believes in you and they reiterate confidence, and there’s positive attitudes and positive vibes, whether you win or lose or whether you have good games or bad games, that can change a whole player’s production, it could change his con -
coach Jordi Fernan -
dez and the Nets’ organization has infleunced his stellar individual season.
“Right now, we have a lot of young players that are shooting the ball well, playing well, and that comes from a coach instilling confidence,” he continued,
“and I think Jordi and the whole Nets organization does a great job of instilling confidence in players. It doesn’t matter if you make or miss a shot; he’s telling you keep shooting.
“He will probably get more upset with you if you didn’t take a shot than if you did, so I think that when you are constantly hearing that message, it can really help your confidence as a player. I mean, I’m in year seven, and I still feel the difference when a coach really believes in me and when they kind of second-guess the shots you take. So I just think that Jordi and the whole Nets organization have done a great job of that with me, and with the whole team.”
Porter Jr. likely will not be an All-Star given the team’s record, but he may have an outside shot at being a replacement player if someone sits out due to an injury. Brooklyn will host the Boston Celtics tomorrow at the Barclays Center, then begin a five-game road trip in Los Angeles on Sunday against the Clippers, followed by the Phoenix Suns next Tuesday.
fidence, especially as young players,” Porter Jr. said when asked by the AmNews how Brooklyn head
Karl Anthony-Towns and his Knicks teammates are searching for answers after losing nine of 11 games before facing the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden. (AP Photo/Heather Khalif)
Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. is averaging career highs in points, assists, and rebounds. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
House v. NCAA . Colleges and universities are now allowed to directly compensate collegiate athletes for their NIL.
All of the iterations of NIL now co-exist. High-profile student-athletes like Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith still receive huge individual deals, alumni fans still get behind their favorite sports, and some student-athletes now get payouts from their institutions, with gaps growing ever larger.
Multiple media outlets reported late last week that former Duke University quarterback Darian Mensah, who signed a two-year, $8 million NIL deal in the winter of 2024 to transfer from Tulane to Duke, and is now in the NCAA transfer portal after having an outstanding 2025 campaign for the Blue Devils, has a proposed package on the table from the University of Miami for roughly $10 million — including a buyout of his Duke contract.
Beginning July 1, 2025, participating schools can distribute up to 22% of average revenue from media rights, ticket sales, and sponsorship, with a cap of $20.5 million per school for this academic year.
“It’s an NIL deal or revenue deal directly with the school,” sports and entertainment attorney Kassandra Ramsey explained to The EDU Ledger . “It’s supposed to be for all the sports at all the schools that opt in.”
Is NIL a pro or a con?
This widens the gap between institutions, sports, and genders. While newsletters like The Gist and TOGETHXR share genuinely good news about the growing numbers of sponsorship deals that individual female student-athletes and teams get, the fact is that there has been massive gender inequality since the onset of NIL in 2021 due to fewer opportunities for women as well as less promotion and marketing.
The majority of revenue-sharing money is going to men’s football and men’s basketball. It is expected that these two sports will receive approximately 90% of that money. Women’s basketball is expected to only get around 5% and all the sports considered Olympic sports or non-revenue generating sports — male and female alike — including swimming, diving, track and field, wrestling, volleyball, and fencing, will get the remainder.
“I’m really concerned that we’re going back to the 1970s and earlier, before Title IX took effect,” Attorney Jayma Meyer, a visiting clinical professor and adjunct professor at the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University, told Ms. Magazine
As of mid-2025, 32 states have enacted laws related to NIL. However, to date, there is no national NIL law. The Student
Compensation and Opportunity Through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act is designed to establish a national framework for collegiate athlete compensation, particularly in the case of NIL. It passed the House Education & Workforce Committee, but has stalled in the House due to various issues, notable among them the lack of reference to Title IX.
A federal civil rights law passed in 1972, the 37 words of Title IX, note: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
“There’s a lack of mention of Title IX and lack of mention of gender in the SCORE Act, which is extremely disappointing and leads to a lot of ambiguity as to any protections,” Dr. Lisa Delpy Neirotti, director of the master’s in sport management program at George Washington School of Business, told Ms. Magazine
The lack of reference to Title IX is not surprising because on Feb. 25, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) rescinded guidance previously issued under the Biden administration that advised institutions of higher education to ensure equal NIL opportunities and resources to male and female student-athletes. OCR indicated that the guidance was “overly burdensome, profoundly unfair, and … well beyond what agency guidance is intended to achieve.”
Members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus have pushed Congress for explicit Title IX protections related to NIL
in the SCORE Act. In a letter to Congressmen Brett Guthrie, Tim Walberg, and Jim Jordan, they wrote, “Women college athletes have been consistently shortchanged in the rapidly growing NIL economy, and that disparity is heightened for Black women.”
Ramsey, who is also president of the Drake Group, an organization that works to educate Congress and higher education about critical issues in intercollegiate athletics, told Ms. Magazine , “I do think Title IX applies to NIL anytime that the school has a close relationship with an NIL collective or, in this case, as the schools are now able to engage in revenue sharing with the athletes.”
There is also the Saving College Sports Act, based on an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in July 2025, which refers to preserving women’s and non-revenue-generating sports. But details on how to do so are not outlined. There is also the Student Athlete Fairness and Enforcement (SAFE) Act introduced in the Senate in September, which largely focuses on athlete welfare.
On Jan. 16, the NCAA announced four new NCAA Championships: acrobatics and tumbling, stunt, Division II bowling, and Division III women’s wrestling. This is the first time four championships have been added at one NCAA convention, which is being credited to the meteoric rise of emerging women’s sports at the NCAA level. It will be interesting to see how these sports fare in the current college sports landscape.
A few months ago, Geno Auriemma, now in his 41st season as the women’s
basketball coach at the University of Connecticut, which has won 12 NCAA Division I Championships, joked on the “Fudd Around and Find Out” podcast that had NIL existed when one of his greatest players, Diana Taurasi (UConn ‘04), was in school, she would have changed institutions every year to get the best deals. No way of knowing what Taurasi, who won three NCAA titles during her time in Connecticut, would have done, but in this era of NIL, transferring has significantly increased.
There are still some programs that see minimal transferring, such as Columbia University women’s basketball, a team that has seen increased transfers coming in but virtually zero outgoing. The Ivy League does not have athletic scholarships, nor has it opted in for revenue sharing, so money earned via NIL can be quite valuable to the players.
“How you show yourself is your brand,” said Columbia senior guard/forward Perri Page, who was named Ivy League Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 5-11. “I think the coaching staff and also our media team, our NIL team, have done a great job of putting us out there and figuring out what our interests are and how we can maximize or utilize potentially our brand.
“The Ivy League doesn’t give us that money,” she added. “I think that’s what makes us special. We’re not in it for the money, but it’s good to have [opportunities]. We’re really building relationships with brands and having the longevity of that rather than just getting a check and moving on to the next.”
(Top row l-r) AJ Dybantsa, Angel Reese, Diana Taurasi, Ed O’Bannon. (Bottom row l-r) Flau Jae Johnson, Jeremiah Smith, and Shawne Alston. (AP photos)
Sports
Why athletes are empowering themselves—and changing the college sports landscape
By LOIS ELFMAN AND JAIME C. HARRIS Special to the AmNews
Before July 1, 2021, studentathletes could lose their eligibility to compete in NCAA competitions if they accepted a free sandwich at their local deli or a Big Mac at McDonald’s, but what a difference a day makes.
After that pivotal date, studentathletes could make personal appearances, endorse products, and earn money for their name, image, and likeness (NIL).
While there are still substantial rules to follow, for the past four and a half years, some past and present student-athletes, like BYU forward AJ Dybantsa, and LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson — both college basketball superstars — have become wealthy, some have earned enough money to help their families, while others have been mostly left out of this new iteration of collegiate sports.
College athletics is a multi-billion dollar business. According to CNBC’s 2025 official college valuation list, the United States’ top 75 athletic programs, fueled by men’s football and basketball, have a combined valuation of $51 billion, a 24% increase from 2024. The University of Texas heads the list at a valuation of $1.48 billion as colleges have adapted professional sports business models and exceeded many major professional franchise’s monetary worth.
For example, the University of Oregon’s athletic program, second on the aforementioned list at $1.35 billion, has the same valuation as Major League Baseball’s Pittsburgh Pirates and a higher valuation than five of the league’s franchises. The rising appraisals have been primarily driven by massive televi -
sion deals and other corporate partnerships such as stadium and arena naming rights.
Until nearly six years ago, college athletes were denied the opportunity to earn a piece of the massive economic pie while attending their respective schools. Their compensation was limited to non-guaranteed athletic scholarships.
But decades of activism from athletes and their supporters, leading to federal court cases, has reshaped the collective infrastructure of athletic programs as athletes are now profiting from name, image and likeness (NIL), a student’s legal right to earn money from their personal brand. The result has been widespread ramifications in how college athletic programs operate and its effect on the Title IX law and sports programs that are not generating revenue.
The through line of today’s college athletics economy can be traced to two landmark federal court cases that successfully challenged the NCAA, the nominal nonprofit that governs Division I, II, and III sports, and its long-standing concept of amateurism.
In the first case, Edward O’Bannon was a former UCLA basketball star and first-round NBA draft pick by the thenNew Jersey Nets. He went on to have a 10-year pro career, and in 2009 sued the NCAA and the Collegiate Licensing Company for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act. He accused them and their corporate partners of using his likeness from UCLA’s 1995 championship team without his permission in the EA Sports video game “NCAA 09,” while athletes were prohibited from being compensated by NCAA bylaws.
O’Bannon v. NCAA , which eventually became a class action lawsuit, was decided in 2015 by the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals after U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken ruled in plaintiff O’Bannon’s favor.
In the second case, Shawne Alston, a running back for West Virginia University from 20092012, and co-plaintiffs, disputed the NCAA’s rules limiting compensation, including restrictions on non-cash, education-related benefits such as internships, fellowships, tutors, and computers.
Alston’s lawyers filed NCAA v. Alston in 2014. Like the O’Bannon case, it was also argued in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and assigned to Wilken, who ruled against the NCAA in March 2019. It was upheld in both the appellate court and unanimously by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2021.
Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the court’s opinion and in a concurring opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh sternly penned that the “NCAA is not above the law.”
The business of being a student athlete
A seismic and seemingly irreversible shift in college athletics occurred exactly one month after the Alston decision.
Since its introduction on July 1, 2021, the landscape for name, image, and likeness (NIL) in college sports has evolved considerably from deals for individual student-athletes to collectives (alumni forming a company with the goal of providing NIL opportunities to student-athletes) to now revenue sharing. The last item was made possible by the House Settlement, which is the result of an antitrust lawsuit,
