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WHAT’S GOING ON

Victoria Horsford
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RIP: NOVELLA NELSON 

Novella Nelson

Artist extraordinaire Novella Christine Nelson, 77, transitioned on August 31. A Brooklyn, New Yorker, she attended NYC public schools(K-12) and earned a degree at Brooklyn College in theater.   A vocalist and a film and TV actress with a long filmography, Novella had memorable roles in Hollywood feature films like Denzel Washington’s “Antwone Fisher Story”, Chris Rock’s “Head of State”, Spike Lee’s “Clockers” and Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Cotton Club”. In theater, she played off-Broadway productions of “Horseman” and “Pass By”. She performed in a revival of the Truman Capote/Harold Arlen musical “House of Flowers”, which led to a role as Pearl Bailey’s standby in “Hello Dolly” at the St. James Theater.    Her Broadway credits include the original production of “Purlie”, the musical “Caesar and Cleopatra” with Rex Harrison and Elizabeth Ashley, and Hellman’s “Little Foxes”.

Novella, the vocalist, was a fixture in the New York 70s nightclub scene. She packed clubs like the Village Vanguard, Reno Sweeney’s and Upstairs at the Downstairs, to overflow with fans and aficionados. Novella, the director, began at the NY Shakespeare Festival. She directed “La Femme Noire” by Edgar White and “Bailey’s Café” by Gloria Naylor. She worked as a director with NEC and Woodie King’s New Federal Theater.   She worked as a vocalist, spoken word actor with arts and culture czar Ellis Haizlip on a number of his productions, including his TV show SOUL! However, all of the above credits pale by comparison with her greatest production, her beloved daughter Alesa Blanchard-Nelson, who was born in 1977.

Services will be held on Friday, September 8 at 10 am at the Ninth Tabernacle, located at 85-87 Fountain Avenue, Brooklyn. Interment follows at Pinelawn Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York.

 NY, NY 9/12 PRIMARY

Patricia Gatling

BROOKLYN: The District Attorney race is media-centric, attracting a NY1 TV debate. The Democratic Primary will determine who succeeds Brooklyn’s first elected African-American District Attorney Kenneth Thompson, who died last year. Governor Cuomo named Eric Gonzalez, Thompson’s deputy, to complete his term.   Gonzalez faces five competitors, most of them assistant district attorneys: Anne Swern, Vincent Gentile, Patricia Gatling, Marc Fliedner and Ama Dwimoh; the NY Times endorsed Gonzalez.

Laurie Cumbo, City Council Democratic incumbent in the 35th District, has both strong support in her councilmanic, and strong competition from Ede Fox, who comes to the race with endorsements from the Transportation Workers Union and the United Auto Workers. Last week, the two women debated on NY1 Cable News with Errol Louis as moderator. The Council District includes Fort Greene, Clinton Hill and parts of Central Brooklyn.

BUSINESS AFFAIRS

Congratulations to five Harlem liquor store owners – on Lenox and Seventh below 125th Street – in a display of unity who successfully blocked a new liquor store license application for a space on Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard at 118th Street. Liquor store licenses fall within the jurisdiction of the NYS Liquor Authority, which often ignores its guideline regarding spatial relations between liquor stores and churches/schools.  That exemplifies power to the entrepreneurs, most of them Black, Latino and Asian.

Brooklynites looking for affordable housing, please note that 74 new rental units will be available with monthly rates as follows: Studios/$947; 1 bedroom /$1017; 2 bedrooms /$1230. There are income caps in each category. Apartments are housed at 210 Livingston Street, corner of Hoyt, a building under construction.  Visit NYC Housing Connect website. Applications accepted through October 31.

ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

HARLEM: Fashion Week NY runs from September 7 to 13 when designers will present their 2018 spring/summer collections. Traditionally, FWNY venues are midtown, downtown, anywhere but uptown …. until Harlem Fashion Week made its auspicious appearance a few years ago. Produced by fashion dignitaries Tandra Birkett and Yvonne Jewnell, Harlem Fashion Week runs from September 8 to 10, at spaces like the Hamilton Landmark Galleries on opening night and the Museum of the City of New York, where a catwalk show threatens to mesmerize all viewers.

Jonathan Bodrick

The 9/10 Harlem Fashion Week catwalk show proceedings will be followed by a salute to local cultural professionals, including Jonathan Bodrick, the “Godfather of Fashion” in Harlem, Actor B.O.R.N. To Style; Alanna McCatty, Founder/CEO, McCatty Scholars; Ejhadju Cisse aka Cisse, the Senegalese Ponty Bistro owner;   Victoria Horsford, Harlem-based journalist and OTP columnist and real estate entrepreneur; and Tai Abrams, co-founder/CEO Admission Squad, author of the book, WHO AM I. [Visit harlemfw.com]

 

The 48th Annual African-American Day Parade is set for September 17 from 1-6 pm along Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard in Harlem.   This year’s parade is “A Salute to Better Health” and honors African-American health care professionals, many of whom will be grand marshals such as Dr. Jeff Gardere, “America’s Psychologist”; Queen Afua, Holistic Wellness Center; Robert Gore, MD, Kings County Hospital; Carole Brown, MD, Memorial Hospital; Aletha Maybank, MD, NYC Dept. of Health; Camille Clare, MD, Metropolitan Hospital; and Venis Wilder, MD, The Ryan Center. [Visit africanamericandayparade.org]

KENYA ELECTIONS

President Uhuru Kenyatta

The Kenya Supreme Court ruffled some political feathers last week when it invalidated the results of the August 8 election, which projected a reelection victory for President Uhura Kenyatta. A new election will be held within 60 days of a court review. Protests and restlessness ensued after last month’s election.   President Kenyatta took office in 2013.    He has to do battle again at the polls with opposition leader Raila Odinga, who refused to accept an election loss and appealed to the judicial system.

SEPTEMBER CALENDAR

The Imagenation Cinema Foundation and Injoy Enterprises present “BLACK GIRL MAGIC, Celebrating the Flyness of Black Women and Girls”, a multimedia event on Saturday, September 9, 6-10 pm in the Marcus Garvey Park Amphitheater, located off 122nd Street at Mt. Morris Park in West Harlem. The celebration includes a screening of THE FITS, which follows an 11-year-old tomboy who tries to fit in with her peers after joining an all-girls dance team; performances by a female band and by the Uptown Dance Academy.

The MCI (Marketplace Calling International) presents the GLOBAL Marketplace Summit and Expo 2017, which convenes in Johannesburg, South Africa on September 20 to September 29. MCI is a Christian-based networking and empowering platform for business people and professionals from diverse churches and organizations. Keynote speakers include an ecumenical lot like Rev. Dennis Dillon, USA clergyman, and business leaders from Ghana, Zimbabwe and South Africa. [Visit marketplacecalling.com

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A Harlem-based entrepreneur, Victoria Horsford can be reached at

Victoria.horsford@gmail.com.

How it Feels: West Indian Day Parade 2017

Marlon Rice
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How it Feels: West Indian Day Parade 2017

In Brooklyn, Labor Day is synonymous with the West Indian Day Parade. More than 20% of our residents are of Caribbean descent, which means that if you live here, you have been influenced in some way by the culture. This year marked the 50th Anniversary of the parade, an enigma to many due to the annual reports of violence and mayhem along the route. To others, however, myself included, the parade is a ritual, the final ceremony for summer in Brooklyn, and it’s heresy to miss. It’s spiritual. It’s physical. It’s carnal. The parade is as much a part of summer as the beach is, just as germane to a Brooklyn summer as a barbecue or a block party, more so even. Carnival is a complex thing to explain, it’s like trying to reason the beauty in chaos. Most won’t understand because they can’t see past the mess. Why would over a million people convene on Eastern Parkway every year, knowing the violence and dangers that await? Why do so many love it so, even as year after year people are injured and killed while celebrating? Any explanation would be knotty at best, but allow me this column to give you a hint of how carnival feels to me.

The drum is the most important instrument in the universe. It is the heartbeat of Mother Earth, the force of the soul smashing against the spirit to form meaning. Our bodies move like water, seeping and traveling to the point of least resistance when we hear the drum. We can’t help it, none of us. The whole summer, the drum has been the key. It gave us the courage to dance with girls, it straightened our backs and lifted our heads in confidence. Reggae, soca, calypso, it’s all about the drum. The music of the Caribbean gives you permission to let go, to be free in motion.

A million people all moving to the drum, a sea of souls who have given themselves to this ritual. The colors blind you when you arrive on the Eastern Parkway, the flags, the costumes, the sea of moving bodies, even the sound of the music seems to emit color. You walk through the barricades and find yourself in an ocean, the current moving from east to west, like the sun. You smell the roasted corn and the curry. All of the food and fare that you would need on this journey is right here on every block, in abundance. The music is thick, covering this massive gathering like a comforter over a child. Caribbean music is fascinating because it’s religious, defiant and lascivious all at the same time. Dancing to it is like giving praise to our higher selves while allowing our lower selves the freedom of being mischievous. It reveals the truest dichotomy in man, his struggle between being as God, versus being as man.

The parkway is like a dream. You see people you haven’t seen in ages, and some you just saw last night. As you move with the waves, you experience some of the most physically attractive people, skin tones and bodies that define beauty. You also see the uninhibited. Guys selling nutcrackers out of coolers, while others take tokes from a spliff as they move. Carnival isn’t fashioned and polished for mainstream appeal. It’s raw and uncut, and those that enjoy it know that. We know the possibilities, and we accept them in the same way that carnival accepts us, as we are.

At some point, even the most uptight person will let go. Your belly full from the food, your mind free of worry, your body whining on someone you don’t even know, you understand that you are a part of something that is bigger than you. It isn’t about you. It’s about us, every one of us that has ever walked the parkway on Labor Day in the last 50 years. It’s about the 5-year-old kid on his father’s shoulders, the music and the people so terrifying to him. It’s about the 80-year-old man whose son is pushing him through the crowd in his wheelchair while he smiles and remembers. It’s about those whose lives were taken as a result of their attendance. It’s a reconciliation of our time apart, and we prove our love for one another by returning together. Bob Marley sang that “we’ll be forever loving Jah”. Carnival is an expression of that.

After it all, when you finally have had enough and leave the parkway to go home, it is then when you realize that summer is over. You’ve given all you had to the season and it’s given you much in return. You’ve loved, you’ve partied and you’ve survived. You walk home physically and mentally spent, and happy. In most places, carnival ends on Ash Wednesday, a time when the religious give up eating the flesh for Lent. In Brooklyn, the end of carnival also signifies the giving up of the flesh, the physical flesh, the sensuous abandon of the summer, to refocus for the fall. But although we set it aside, next September we will return. We’ll be loving Jah, forever.

The 41st Council District: What do the Top Four Candidates Have to Say?

Editor, Our Time Press
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The 41st Council District: What do the Top Four Candidates Have to Say?

By Margo McKenzie

On September 12, in addition to voting for Mayor, Public Advocate, District Attorney and three referendums, voters in term-limited Darlene Mealy’s district (Brownsville, East Flatbush, Crown Heights) will also vote for City Council (District 41).

Four candidates lead the nine-person race in funds raised. Who are they? What are their qualifications? How do they compare? Read what the candidates have to say about critical issues facing the 41st gathered mostly from phone interviews with minor details culled from their websites. They are listed in alphabetical order.

Background

 Alicka Amprey-Samuel: Wife to Kalonji and mother to a 10-year-old, Ms. Amprey-Samuel was born and raised in Brownsville and was bused to Mill Basin in District 22 for public school. After eighth grade, with the help of her benefactor Dhiren Shah, she attended St. Michael Academy, an all-female private Roman Catholic high school in Manhattan. Mr. Shah remains a mentor today. After graduating from North Carolina A&T, Amprey-Samuel returned to NYC to work under the leadership of Frank Boyland as a case manager for the homeless mentally-ill chemical abusers. She served as a District Leader for the 55th Assembly District. She also attended CUNY School of Law and served as Chief of Staff for Latrice Walker. In her service, as Human Rights Officer in Ghana, Amprey-Samuel wrote two critical reports on trafficking and human rights.

Henry Butler: Currently employed as the District Manager for Community Board 3, Butler has been married fifteen years to Lalena, and is raising two boys: Kevin, 12 and Miles 9. Mr. Butler grew up in the Tompkins Houses and attended Hunter College where he received a Bachelor’s in Political Science. After graduation, he served as a community service case worker, a train conductor for the MTA and later as delegate to Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention. Locally, he supported funding for Utica Avenue Elevator and fought to save Interfaith Hospital, the B25 bus and the Franklin Avenue Shuttle. He is a member of the NAACP and Vanguard Independent Democrats.

Deidra Olivera: The proud mother of one son who is a biology major currently attending Penn State University in the Shreyers Honor College for Research. Ms. Olivera served as administrator for the Amboy Neighborhood Center, the largest family shelter in Brooklyn. Her additional leadership experience includes serving as a business consultant and PTA president and vice president in two schools. She holds the distinction of being the first woman to enter the heavy-duty cement and concrete trade union. She also served as a Community Board member on the legislative, youth, parks and women’s committees.

Cory Provost: Nurtured by Jamaican women going back three generations and educated in the public schools of New York City, Mr. Provost rose to attain a Bachelor’s in Philosophy and a Master’s in Urban Policy and Administration, both from Brooklyn College. Working with state Senator Kevin Parker, he conducted several community outreach and empowerment events. He also served as Brooklyn Field Officer for Secretary Clinton. As liaison for New York City Comptroller’s Office, he brought many services to the community he hopes to lead. One of the youngest delegates from New York State, Mr. Provost’s leadership extended to the national level at the Democratic National Convention nominating Barack Obama for President. He is the proud father of an infant daughter and currently serves as District Leader for the 58th Assembly District.

What qualifies you to be the City Council Representative?

Alicka Amprey-Samuel: I served as a District Leader, attended CUNY Law School and worked for Administration for Child Services as a discharge planner. I also served as a human rights officer for the State Department at the embassy in Ghana investigating how the country treated its citizens. In that capacity, I wrote two reports: trafficking and human rights, which served as policy papers. As senior advisor to NYC Housing Authority, I drafted policy on how HUD funds should be allocated to residents. I was the drafter, author and architect of the commercial card process which resident councils use for micropurchases, so I rose from a resident of public housing to a drafter of policies for public housing.

Henry Butler: Because of my years of experience, I know how government works. I established relationships and obtained capital funding for various projects such as parks and one elevator. Councilmen deal with quality of life issues and write legislation. I am prepared to do that.

Deidra Olivera: My experience in management, business and the trades and educational system qualifies me. I also served as community board member on several committees: legislative, youth and parks. I have a strong history of addressing women’s issues in the workplace and economic development and empowerment.

Cory Provost: The work that I have done and doing–my organizational credentials qualify me. I must also mention my experience in the Comptroller’s Office addressing constituent issues in Central Brooklyn/East New York. I am the District Leader for the 58th Assembly District in tune with the needs of my community.

What are the top three issues you hope to tackle if elected?

 Alicka Amprey-Samuel: 1. The housing crisis. We need a seat at the table to represent what’s needed in the district. The present NYCHA housing stock needs to be made available to residents. We need an affordable housing development policy that makes sense for the district. What’s good for Harlem may not be appropriate for Brownsville. I want to create incentives for landlords to renovate and develop first-time homebuying opportunities similar to the Nehemiah Plan. City workers want to own in the city, and any effective housing plan also needs a job development component using locals in the developing process. 2. Health. Our community needs access to quality food and meals. I opened the first youth market with the Brownsville Partnership. This community needs to be part of the dialogue. I want to ensure that funding allocated to address health issues like obesity, diabetes, cholesterol and asthma are used for that purpose. 3. Education. We need more quality schools. Parents look to charter schools as the alternative, but many are not better.

Henry Butler: 1. Affordable Housing. We have over 100 vacant lots that should be developed through the use of land-trusts by not-for-profits such as Habitat for Humanity as one method for keeping housing affordable costs down. I will explore the implementation of tenant/landlord compromises in rental agreements. Landlords can charge whatever the market will bear, but through dialogue they may be willing to compromise. 2. Education. I will advocate for an increase in the number of Beacon Centers which will keep schools open until 10pm for a variety of extracurricular activities. I will also work to reduce the number of suspensions since we know they increase dropout rates and raise the prison population for children of color. I will advocate for decreased funding for police officers and increased spending for nurses, doctors and leaders in our community. 3. Job creation. As an incentive for business development, I will advocate providing tax breaks to new businesses and to those hiring locals or the formerly incarcerated. More businesses mean more jobs. Toward that end, I will work toward creating more Minority, Women and Business Enterprises (MWBEs) and establish satellite offices for Small Business Services so that owners of businesses have local access for the support needed to complete required paperwork. Finally, I would also promote job training programs linked with private industry so potential employees are trained for positions that exist in the current job market. Adding more job centers in my district will ensure that the appropriate connections are made between industry and employee.

Deidra Olivera. 1. Housing. First of all, we need a mandatory inclusionary component when deciding who is qualified to live in the new housing being developed. What we have right now is unaffordable housing with no oversight by Housing Preservation and Development. I intend on filling this void in leadership so that everyone knows the qualifications needed to work as a laborer in housing or to live as a resident. 2. Economic Investment. I intend on creating jobs and establishing community benefit agreements by ensuring that building development is mutually beneficial to the community. I will push for developers to include hiring from a local pool of qualified candidates to build and we’ll not waver on that. Builders must hire the local workforce and the city should offer tax credits for seniors so they can afford these new developments. 3. Youth. I will promote increased investment in education, STEM programs and career training of skills and trade needed in today’s economy so graduates of these programs are qualified for careers which exist.

Cory Provost: 1. Constituent Services. I will continue to address community constituent services to make lives easier and affordable by better utilizing city resources and repurposing real estate. I will work to increase the number of parks and summer camps since a vast number of children and youth reside in my district. 2. Education. I will support providing 100% free school lunch regardless of income and create more gifted and talented programs in our schools. I also want to ensure the arts programs I helped to fund earlier don’t get diminished. 3. Housing. The biggest missing piece in the discussion is infrastructure. Infrastructure challenges occur because of large-scale development. A fourteen-story building could add 1,000 people to a district adding stress to trains, schools, roads, etc. The 41st cannot absorb higher density without addressing these issues.

What is Your Position on Land Use?

Alicka Amprey-Samuel: This area has lots of open space potential and the community should have input about how it is used. Too many of the same big players obtain contracts because they know people. We must increase the use of nonprofits for developers who build using a community land trust policy, and we should require that all units be affordable.

Henry Butler: I believe we should not overbuild, overdevelop or force out local residents. We should allow not-for-profits to develop and charge rents based on income.

Deidra Olivera: Private sales on public land required a level of transparency regarding which land is available and the cost. I will support providing assistance for local investors. I want to broaden input from the general community regarding what land should be used for.

Cory Provost: Again, this is tied to infrastructure. Some development I can support, but we have to make sure there is community buy-in for new development as was done with the Brownsville Plan.

What is your prospective on affordable housing in your district?

Alicka Amprey-Samuel: Everything that we do should not happen to the community, but with the community. Developers should be not-for-profits, not the same big players.

Henry Butler: Affordable housing should be affordable for this community.

Deidra Olivera: Right now, it’s a sham. There should be a halt to the unaffordable housing plan now in effect. How can we repeat failure? The current housing lottery needs to be scrapped. The set-asides are criminal and that seniors cannot qualify is embarrassing.

Cory Provost: Make sure it’s income-sensitive to current residents who have the highest poverty levels in the city. We have to make the income level make sense for this community.

What is your position on zoning?

Alicka Amprey-Samuel: We may not need to rezone. Let’s optimize what we have and give landlords incentives to renovate.

Henry Butler: Don’t overbuild or overdevelop and force out local residents. I support downzoning and contextual zoning.

Deidra Olivera: Right now, it’s more to the benefit for others and businesses than the residents. This must change. People need to understand zoning and how it affects us.

Cory Provost: Educating the community about zoning laws is critical. I will conduct forums on Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), the application process businesses and individuals use to share with the community how they plan to use the land. I want residents to understand the process and the impact of these plans. If they understand how a community is zoned, they can assess the plan and rally support for their position on a proposed development.

What are your thoughts about eradicating state certification for charter school teachers?

 Alicka Amprey-Samuel: Many teachers have been through a rigorous process to become certified. It’s absurd to start removing certification from the process. What are you saying about our children? It’s a smack in the face. Charter schools are making millions and want to downgrade teachers. There should be a standard process for all.

 Henry Butler: Teachers should be certified. How will we know they are qualified? Everyone should have the same system. Public education is not a private enterprise.

Deidra Olivera: I don’t agree. No organization should become its own checks and balances. It should be external, when it’s internal it doesn’t work, especially since our youth are put at-risk.

Cory Provost: I cannot support eliminating state certification. Rather than lessening requirements, we should make sure teachers are fully capable.

What are the biggest challenges you expect to encounter once in office?

Alicka Amprey-Samuel: Getting people to believe in the system again. In my district, a lot of people have let us down.

Henry Butler: Creating truly affordable housing and preventing the city from assigning more homeless shelters in our community.

Deidra Olivera: The pushback from the previous political establishment will be a challenge because change is hard for a lot of people, but we cannot continue to do things the way we have been doing them. Before might have been good, we need a fresh start. I cannot let the select few benefit while the majority suffers.

Cory Provost: The way this district is laid out means I will deal with a wide variety of people. The 41st is comprised of five community boards and five police precincts, so servicing the entire district at full capacity will be my challenge.

Last Words

Alicka Amprey-Samuel: My passion for this community is in my blood. I love it, and it deserves the best. We have no time for mediocrity. I am the most qualified. Campaign Website: http://votealickasamuel.nationbuilder.com/

 Henry Butler: My long track record of accomplishments separates me from the rest. My experience in government as a community organizer on various boards have provided me with an understanding about how government works. Campaign Website: http://henrybutler41stcouncil.com/

Deidra Olivera: It’s time for a fresh start. I am ready and able to move this district forward to bring about the economic development and change necessary for our district. I care. I listen and will work for the people I represent. Campaign Website: http://olivera2017.com/meet-olivera/

Cory Provost: This district is comprised of many immigrants. I would provide guidance for navigating the immigration process and other legal issues they may encounter. Campaign Website: https://www.coryprovost.com/about-cory-provost/

41st Council District Campaign Finance Summary

Candidate Private Funds Matching Public Funds Spending Balance Outstanding Loan
Amprey-Samuel, Malicka $89,341 $99,456 $67,257 $121,540 –
Butler, Henry $95,095 $66,456 $114,724 $46,827 –
Olivera, Deidre $48,552 $51,356 $47,343 $52,565 $10,000
Provost, Cory $23,629 None

Listed

 Not Available Not Available Not Available

(New York City Campaign Finance Board)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Billie Holiday Theatre presents The Old Settler by John Henry Redwood

Editor, Our Time Press
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The Billie Holiday Theatre presents The Old Settler by John Henry Redwood

 

The First Show of the 2017-2018 Season

“The Old Settler” cast members (left to right) are: Maechi Aharanwa (Lou Bessie), Pauletta Washington (Elizabeth), Denise Burse(Quilly) and Warner Miller (Husband).

(Brooklyn, NY – September 6, 2017) The Billie Holiday Theatre (The Billie) is launching its 46th season in the newly renovated theater with a production of The Old Settler, written by Brooklyn-born playwright John Henry Redwood and directed by Tony Award-nominee Michele Shay.  The Old Settler will feature The Billie veterans Pauletta Pearson Washington (Two Trains Running, Autumn); Denise Burse (Brownsville Song: B side for Trey, House of Payne); and Warner Miller (Luke Cage), as well as newcomer and Juilliard graduate Maechi Aharanwa (An Octoroon).

Set in 1943 Harlem, The Old Settler focuses on two sisters’ struggle to afford their rising rent. Faced with a choice between giving up their apartment and renting out their extra room to a stranger, they decide to take a chance on a boarder, newly arrived from the South. In equal measures funny and poignant, The Old Settler is a glimpse into the heart of an American city.

“The vitality and beauty of this work moves me every time I see it,” said Michele Shay. “Our beloved Maya Angelou said it best: ‘People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’ That’s the all-important sweet spot playwright John Henry Redwood digs into in this humorous, passionate, insightful glimpse into the roller coaster of relationships. The characters’ struggles are our struggles; their desires, ours.  When it was first written in the late 1990s, it became one of the most produced plays of its time because you simply can’t forget how deeply these characters make you feel.  It is a timeless story that rings as true now as it did then.”

The Old Settler will be stage-managed by Carolyn Reich. Lighting will be designed by David Moodey, sound design by Kevin Novinsky, costume design by Niiamar Felder and scenic design and props by Frank Oliva.

General Information

The first full production in the newly renovated theatre, The Old Settler will run from October 20 – November 19, 2017. Tickets are available at TheBillieHoliday.org. Subscriptions to the 2017-2018 season are on sale by calling 718-636-6995 or by visiting TheBillieHoliday.org.

Ready for Some Football?

Eddie Castro
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Ready for Some Football?

By Eddie Castro

This Sunday for both the Jets and the Giants, the 2017-18 NFL season kicks off and both New York squads are looking to make some noise this year. Although the two local teams appeared to be heading in different directions, this year brings a lot of excitement to both crowds cheering for “Gang Green” or “Big Blue”.

For the New York Giants, it’s all about redemption.  Last season, the Giants made the playoffs for the first time since winning it all in the 2011-12 season. Although it was a roller coaster-like year for quarterback Eli Manning and company, he and the Giants got into the playoffs as a Wild Card team, only to fall to a 38-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers. In that same game, Manning and Giants star wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. arguably picked a bad time to have their worst game of the year. Part of that was Manning could not move the chains and apply pressure to Green Bay’s defense. Manning could not spread the ball around to the other receivers and the offense became one-dimensional with Manning time after time connecting with Beckham. This year, the offensive line is healthier and Manning has more options to throw to, taking pressure off Beckham. Former Jet receiver Brandon Marshall signed a 2-year deal with the Giants this off-season. Marshall provides veteran leadership and led the league with red zone touchdowns, a trait Manning and the Giants struggled all year with. The team also drafted talented tight end Evan Engram out of Mississippi, providing yet another target for Manning.

As for the New York Jets, it has been well-documented that the team is in rebuilding mode. The team did some off-season cleaning by releasing players such as Eric Decker, David Harris, Darrelle Revis and Calvin Pryor. The team also traded one of their top defensive players in Sheldon Richardson to the Seahawks last week. The off-season cleanup has been replaced with younger players. Former Jet quarterback Geno Smith is now the backup quarterback to Eli Manning, ironically. The new QB for the Jets is the veteran journeyman Josh McCown. Although it seems like a longshot for the team to make the playoffs considering their lack of experience and Tom Brady is still in that division, it is still an exciting time to see what this Jets team is really made of. It is sure to be an exciting season.

 

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