Home Blog Page 76

New York vs Boston

Editor, Our Time Press
-
0
New York vs Boston

By Eddie Castro

For the second straight year, the New York Knicks have punched their ticket into the second round of the NBA playoffs after putting away the Detroit Pistons last Thursday. In what could be considered one of the most physical playoff series in some time. The team will now face another challenge in the Boston Celtics. This will mark the 15th time the two franchises will meet in the playoffs, with the last meeting coming back in 2013 when Carmelo Anthony led the team to a series victory in six games versus a Kevin Garnett Celtics team.


As we fast forward to today, this series is expected to have a nostalgic 90s feeling to it. Knicks star Jalen Brunson looks to steal home court from the Celtics. Let’s keep in mind that in four meetings during the regular season, New York is 0-4 against the Celtics. On Monday night, led by the heroics of Brunson’s clutch scoring and Mikal Bridges’ sensational defense, the Knicks were able to come back after being down by 20 points to secure a Game 1 103-100 victory in Boston.


This current Celtics team could very well be better than last year’s championship team. During the regular season, Boston was just one of two teams to finish in the top 5 in both offensive and defensive rating (the other team was the Oklahoma City Thunder). A few key plays led to New York’s comeback win. 1. The Celtics got too comfortable from beyond the arc. After Celtics star Jayson Tatum drained two big three-pointers in the third quarter, the team as a whole got a bit too three-pointer-happy going into the fourth.

They ultimately stopped attacking the paint, which was proving to be beneficial to Boston’s offense, especially after Karl-Anthony Towns left the game during the third quarter due to foul trouble, which relegated him to the bench. 2. New York’s defense displayed another gear. Tatum’s primary defender during Game 1 was OG Anunoby, who not only dropped 29 points along with Brunson, but his defense was a problem for Boston as he deflected a huge Tatum pass attempt, which was intended for Al Horford.

Anaouby finished the play with a dunk, completing the 20-point comeback and tying the game at 86. Bridges also made some key plays on defense, especially in overtime. Tied at 100 at the time, the Celtics’ Jaylen Brown drove to his left and passed Towns, who received help-defense from Bridges, who got his hand on the ball and saved it from going out of bounds. Bridges was able to throw the ball to Anaouby, who was able to beat Tatum down the floor for the dunk and foul, putting a bow on a 103-100 victory.

As we go to press, we will be either discussing the Knicks’ surprisingly stealing two games on the Boston home court or the Celtics4 being able to grab one game to tie the series before heading to Madison Square Garden for Game 3 on Saturday afternoon. The Knicks now know they can beat Boston. However, it needs to be a 4 quarter-effort on both ends of the floor. Brunson needs a Robin to complement his Batman-like leadership.

On defense, the Knicks need to prevent Boston from getting second-chance points. Boston’s ability to grab offensive rebounds is one of the many strengths they have. If the Knicks can prevent the Celtics’ shooters from getting one shot per possession, it may very well favor New York as the team is one of the best when they can get in transition. The New York crowd is going to be insane come Saturday, like it always is when it comes to any New York-Boston rivalry in sports.

Sports Notes: (Basketball) The New York Knicks return home on Saturday afternoon to battle the Celtics in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference matchup. (Baseball) The Mets welcome the Chicago Cubs Tomorrow night to begin a three-game set at Citi Field. The Yankees will begin a six-game West Coast trip on Friday as they head to Sacramento to play the Athletics.

Grassroots Rising, Claiming Space

Editor, Our Time Press
-
0
Grassroots Rising, Claiming Space

Attorney General James, NYCHA, and Trees New York Announce $750,000 Tree Planting, Workforce Development, and Environmental Education Project at Public Housing Campuses

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and Trees New York today announced a $750,000 initiative to plant nearly 400 new trees on and around NYCHA campuses, with direct input from NYCHA tenants. The NYCHA Tree Planting, Workforce Development, and Resident Stewardship Demonstration Project (Trees for NYCHA) is funded by settlements negotiated by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and has brought hundreds of new trees, workforce development programs, and environmental education opportunities to public housing communities throughout New York City.

Launched in late 2023, Trees for NYCHA was designed as a two-year project to restore lost tree canopy and shade on NYCHA campuses, many of which experienced severe damage from extreme weather events such as Superstorm Sandy. The program has focused on NYCHA campuses and communities with notably low tree cover and on engaging residents in all planting efforts.


“Our Trees for NYCHA project is a model of what we can do when we invest directly in our communities,” said Attorney General James. “With hundreds of new trees, job training for young adults, and environmental education for students, this initiative has brought real change and environmental justice to neighborhoods in New York City that are far too often left behind. I am proud and grateful to have been able to work closely with NYCHA and Trees New York to put our settlement victories to work in service of our communities.”


“Trees for NYCHA will not only add hundreds of trees to NYCHA’s natural canopy in areas that have been affected by severe weather events, it will invest in public housing residents through a variety of meaningful workforce development programs and environmental education trainings and activities,” said NYCHA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt. “We extend our sincere appreciation to our partners, Attorney General Letitia James and Trees New York, for their commitment to improving the lives of NYCHA communities across New York City.”
“The power of a tree’s work for the public good is extremely inspiring,” said Nelson Villarrubia, Executive Director of Trees New York. “The 399 newly planted trees will help reduce energy demand, mask unsightly views, muffle sound, and absorb dust, wind, and excess stormwater. Additionally, the Trees For NYCHA project showcases how large-scale tree planting projects can serve as workforce development opportunities.”


The Trees for NYCHA project was made possible by funds from three OAG settlements with polluters, including:
$663,738 from a 2007 Clean Air Act settlement with American Electric Power Service Corporation;
$59,500 from a 2023 settlement with Reliant Transportation over unlawful bus idling; and $26,762 from a 2022 settlement with Verizon over practices contributing to the spread of Legionnaires’ disease.
The project has a total of four elements: tree plantings, workforce development, tree stewardship, and youth environmental education.
Tree Planting: 340 trees are being planted across NYCHA properties, and 59 additional trees are being planted in adjacent communities near NYCHA campuses.
Workforce Development: In partnership with Green City Force, the project has trained young adults from low-income communities in environmental and green job skills.
Tree Stewardship: Volunteers have been trained to care for the new trees, ensuring the sustainability of the expanded canopy.


Youth Engagement: Public school students near NYCHA campuses have participated in hands-on environmental education and tree care activities, linking ecology to academic enrichment.

NYCHA is the largest Public Housing Authority in the nation, housing one in 17 New Yorkers. NYCHA is also the second largest owner of open space in the city, owning over 2,400 acres and supporting approximately 1,000 acres of tree canopy. In New York City, there is generally less tree canopy cover in areas with lower-income housing and higher proportions of people of color. In neighborhoods with clusters of NYCHA developments, these developments are often the primary source of canopy cover in the neighborhood. In recent years, resource constraints and climate-driven damage have led to canopy loss. Trees for NYCHA has helped reverse this trend while empowering residents as partners in environmental restoration.
The OAG would like to thank NYCHA and Trees New York for their partnership and collaboration.


This project was handled for the Office of the Attorney General by Policy Advisor Peter C. Washburn of the Environmental Protection Bureau, under the supervision of Bureau Chief Lemuel M. Srolovic. The Environmental Protection Bureau is part of the Division for Social Justice, which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux and overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.

Black Agenda Democratic Mayoral Candidate Forum at Medgar Evers College

Mary Alice Miller
-
0
Black Agenda Democratic Mayoral Candidate Forum at Medgar Evers College

By Mary Alice Miller
A standing room only crowd packed the DuBois Bunche Center auditorium at Medgar Evers College to witness the Black Agenda Democratic Mayoral Forum. The event was hosted in collaboration with the Brooklyn Democratic Party’s Black District Leaders and a coalition of Democratic clubs.


Eight Democratic candidates for mayor attended.
“As we all know, the most loyal voters to the Democratic Party are Black people,” said District Leader Henry Butler as he opened the event. “I think it’s time that the Democratic Party, particularly this Mayoral race, tell us Black people of Brooklyn and New York City what is your agenda for the Black community, the most loyal voters for this party.”


L. Joy Williams, president of the New York State NAACP Conference, reminded attendees about “the power of our vote when we vote collectively, and with purpose and strategy. Our real power is not invested in a particular candidate or particular campaign. Our real power lies within us and our vote and our ability to hold those who are elected to serve us accountable. It lives in what we demand, what we organize around, and what we are willing to fight for beyond Election Day. The Black Agenda is not a wishlist; it’s a blueprint for the survival and prosperity of Black New Yorkers.”


Former comptroller Scott Stringer said he wants to add 3,000 police officers to address overtime costs. He wants to extend the school day to 4:30 pm and suggested that the business community should contribute to the cost of early child care “because they get the benefit of people, mostly women, staying in the workforce and enhancing their companies.” Stringer said he would take fire trap buildings with rat infestations from landlords at fair market value and use eminent domain to rehab those buildings and build the next generation of affordable housing.


Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani suggested free buses and municipal grocery stores paid for by taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and corporations. He wants to create a Department of Community Safety separate from the police department that would deal with homelessness, mental health crisis, gun violence, hate violence, and victim services.


Former Assembly member Rev. Michael Blake called Trump a “fascist, sexist demogogue” and said he was the first in the race to say “anytime they try to cut off our funds that we need to withhold sending our taxes to D.C.” Regarding housing and homeless shelters in Black communities, Blake said “We need a Local Median Income because AMI (Area Median Income) is not working for us.”


City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams acknowledged endorsements from DC 37 and Attorney General Letitia James. The Council Speaker said she is suing the Adams administration over a Mayoral executive order allowing ICE to establish a presence on Riker’s Island. She said the City Council has been Trump-proofing New York City by setting aside $2 billion to protect our finances. Adams commissioned a steering committee on Black maternal health to address systemic racism.


Regarding gentrification Speaker Adams said, “We are making sure that we have opportunities that our Black and brown communities are upfront on these developments plans from the first meeting with developers. We are screening these developers and we are ensuring that until and unless they are working on behalf of our communities they get nowhere. Under my leadership in the Council we have sponsored 120,000 new units of housing. We have ushered through the mayor’s proposal for the City of Yes which the council turned into City for All because I insisted on an additional $5 billion… provisions to help out infrastructure for our flooding zones.”


New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said “My office did the first study of the racial wealth gap in New York City and what we found is it is 15 to 1 median household net worth: for a white New York family — $277,000 median household net worth; for a Black New York family — $17,000. Lander said his office has grown the pension funds to be the third largest in the country. “We’ve grown the funds managed by Black and Latino asset managers by 40%, by $6 billion.


Assemblywoman Jessica Ramos said she wants to “make the Summer Youth Employment Program year round so that young people stay busy” and she supports violence interruption programs to address gun violence. Ramos spoke about the “discrepancy in the way property tax is applied in New York City. There are several judicial decisions that say so. We need a mayor who’s going to deploy the Department of Finance to apply the law fairly. Regarding the disproportionate placement of homeless shelters in communities of color, Ramos said, “Our goal should be to make every single shelter obsolete. We are wasting taxpayer dollars in a shelter system that is extremely expensive instead of leading with a Housing First approach.”

Candidate for Mayor, Council Speaker Adrienne Adams

Nayaba Arinde
-
0

By Nayaba Arinde
Editor-a-large

Mayoral candidate City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams told Our Time Press that she has been standing in the gap created by a issue-preoccupied Mayor Eric Adams for months now.
The Queens representative was elected to the City Council in November 2017, and became the Speaker of the New York City Council in January 2022, leading “the most diverse and the first women-majority Council in New York City history as the first-ever African American Speaker.”


While Mayor Eric Adams is now running as an independent in the November mayoral election, the June 24th Democratic primary has several declared candidates including former governor Andrew Cuomo, and fellow frontrunner Assemblyman Zohan Mamdani.

Candidate Adrienne Adams
Photo by Nayabe Arinde


Saying that the City deserves a focused mayor, Speaker Adams told Our Time Press, “I have actually been doing a lot of this work for three years now. What really made me get into the race, though, was on the day that I saw four deputy mayors resign at the same time. That is unheard of, and for me, that was like watching the brains jump out of the computer.

Here are the four essential deputy mayors who have worked with our City Council, and they really did hold things together in the mayoral administration. It was unfathomable to me to see the 4 of them see something so wrong with the Mayor and his leadership and the direction the City was going–I could not sit back and do nothing.


“There has to be a voice for the people and the City of New York. I love this city. I love the work that I do, and I was born to do this work, and I’m ready to take it to another level.”
The last few months of 2024 saw City Hall in turmoil, with the mayor facing five federal charges for bribery and corruption. “Remember, our mayor was under indictment,” said the Speaker. “All of us in New York have been traumatized because of that. Myself included as the Speaker of the City Council.”


She said the relationship between the mayor and the City Council has been strained over the years. “…wanting to collaborate with a mayor who has not wanted to collaborate with the City Council. So it’s been adversarial.


“I still had hope that things were going to get better, but then when the scandal came, when the pieces of corruption from some of the people that he had put into place to take leadership positions from a police commissioner to other folks… “ it solidified her decision to run. “and quite frankly some of the people that got swept up into that were very brilliant people, who were innocent of ever doing anything wrong, and they happened to get caught up in this major’s scandal.”


Leaving her “Heartbroken. The ones who did not deserve any of this. The top person who comes to mind is David Banks, the best chancellor for the DOE that this City has ever had. He loves being an educator and our children, particularly our Black children, more than anything. This is a man who would put education over anything, and he would put our children first.

When it came to the DOE, he was breaking through barriers under his leadership, and together with my funding from the City Council, we put forth the first Black studies curriculum.
When I was the co-chair of the Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus alongside the City Council, under my leadership, I provided over $27 million to ensure that the Black Studies Curriculum is available in every single school.”


With last week’s endorsements from DC37 and AG Tish James, Adams declared, “It’s given us quite a boost.”
As for the DC37 nod, Speaker Adams said, “It means boots on the ground. It means a lot of support with our Get Out The Vote campaign.”

Motivation
“ I love what I do and was born to do this work. So now, my aspiration to be the first woman mayor of the City of New York pushes me even further. I am a wife, I’m a mother, I’m a grandmother. I want to make sure that this city is affordable. That it is safe for my children and my grandchildren. I do this thing unashamedly…I legislate the way that I live. I want my children to stay in New York City. In the city that they love. We all want this as New Yorkers. We don’t want our children leaving us. I want my grandchildren to open the front door when they go to high school every morning, and know that they are getting on safe platforms when it comes to public transit.”

About NYC housing
‘We have to make sure that our city is affordable. I have a Guaranteed Basic Income program that we have piloted for women in particular.”
With her Guaranteed Basic Income program and her Bridge Project, Adams said that she is successfully taking 161 women who have “experienced homelessness due to domestic violence or care taking situations etc., have left them without permanent housing previously, and giving them guaranteed income for 3 years, gives them stability and preventing homelessness and creating affordability by giving people a leg up rather than continuously keeping them down in our shelters with no place to look and no hope.”


Adams is a mother of 4 in a blended family, and grandmother of 11.
As for schools, Adams said, “The DOE has the largest budget in New York City, and [we have to look into] how the resources are being allocated right now. Who’s getting the funding? Where’s the money going?
“Our children are golden. There is a larger percentage of Black and brown students in our public school system. I am not a micromanager, but as a mother and a grandmother, I am going to have to be hands-on.”

Immigration
“We are a city of migrants and we are better for it,” said Speaker Adams. “We can provide pathways to work for them. They want to be an integral part of this society and make a living. We must protect our migrant population. We see that the federal government is now kidnapping people off the streets, and that’s something else that I have been combating as of late, where we have had a mayor who has wanted to bring ICE back onto Rikers…I am suing…and we got the judge to issue our Temporary Restraining Order. I do not believe that ICE has any business on Rikers Island.”


Adams challenged the “obvious deal made between this mayor and the Trump administration…in exchange for his case being dropped.”
The Speaker surmised, “Trump will be rounding up people in his mass deportation agenda.”
Mayoral chances?


‘I’m the only candidate in the race that has already successfully negotiated three city budgets successfully, and is now working on the fourth… I don’t need a handbook or a manual–I’ve been doing this work already.”

Dr. Thomasena Ellison, GYN: A Sisterhood Advocate from AKA Sorority to Women’s Healthcare

Fern Gillespie
-
0
Dr. Thomasena Ellison, GYN: A Sisterhood Advocate from AKA Sorority to Women’s Healthcare

By Fern Gillespie
Whether it is being active in community service with the Brooklyn Links and AKA sorority or reaching out to her patients as Associate Director of Gynecology at Maimonides Hospital, Dr Thomasena Ellison, MD has a theme of “sisterhood” in her personal life and professional career.


Dr. Ellison grew up in Flatbush-Crown Heights, inspired by her mother, who was an educator, and her father, who worked in construction and plumbing. When she graduated from Stuyvesant High School’s math and science program in the 1970s, she was determined to be a physician. At age 17, she entered Duke University. Unlike most pre-med majors, at Duke, she majored in engineering after being persuaded by her mother to have a skilled science degree.

In her freshman year, her life changed. She pledged AKA. For medical school, she attended HBCU Morehouse School of Medicine. She is married and has two adult children who hold undergraduate degrees from Morehouse and Spelman. Our Time Press spoke with Dr. Ellison on pregnancy and GYN issues facing Black women and the importance of community service.

OTP: Medical studies have reported that Black women are more than likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women. Why?
Dr. Ellison: Most women, white, black, purple, green, will go in and have their baby and will come home and be perfectly fine. We don’t want to scare women into not conceiving or having their pregnancies, or thinking that they are going to go into the hospital and die.
Of the women who have complications of their pregnancy, if you are a Black or Brown woman, the probability is that you are not going to have a good outcome. That is a 3 to 4 times higher rate of having an adverse outcome because of the complications. So that means blood transfusions, admission to the ICU, losing a uterus, additional surgery and hypertensive crisis. White women who have similar types of situations usually don’t have those complications. We need to do better at this.

OTP: What can be done to deal with the situation and create a better outcome for Black women who are pregnant?
Dr. Ellison: There are a bunch of things that need to be done. It’s a major shift at how we provide healthcare. Having a woman who is pregnant show up in the office for prenatal care, I ask, was it a planned pregnancy? What was your healthcare like prior to becoming pregnant? When was the last time you saw a primary care doctor? Were you on multiple vitamins or any supplements? What was your diet like? How heavy were you prior to starting your pregnancy? Have you been tested or evaluated for diabetes or hypertension? If I hear No ” or No, I did not or this was not a planned pregnancy, we’re already starting at negative points.
Then I’m trying to catch up to see all those things that may be undiagnosed or not addressed with this woman. To try while she’s pregnant to optimize her health. Because ideally, you want to have a planned pregnancy. Not a pregnancy that plans for you. You want to be in the best health that you possibly can be. If you’re diabetic, I want to make sure your sugar is under control. If you have hypertension, you want to have good control of your blood pressure. If your weight is way out of range you, you want to try to lose weight or get your body weight to where it won’t interfere with your pregnancy.

OTP: Why is it important for women to see their GYN doctor, not just for pregnancy or pap smears?
Dr. Ellison: Women need to go to their gynecologist. Things happen besides pregnancies. Pap smears are screenings for cervical cancer. But, there are other changes that happen with a woman’s body a primary care doctor may not be evaluating. They are menopausal changes. I give out referrals to colonoscopies and mammograms. There are bone density tests. These are important to your overall health.

OTP: You are the president of a major Brooklyn AKA sorority chapter. Also you are active in the Links. Why was it important for you to get involved with these historically Black women organizations that focus on positive impact on their community?
Dr. Ellison: Both the AKAs and the Links are community service-oriented. The AKAs will always be my ultimate sisterhood. I am president of Psi Lambda Omega, the newer AKA chartering group in Brooklyn. There are two AKA chapters in Brooklyn. I’ve been a AKA member for 47 years. I attribute my growing up and maturing to Alpha Kappa Alpha. It affords me the ability to do sister service to my community. I’m able to pass on to my younger sorority members my experience and my leadership capabilities. It allows me to guide them and navigate them to also grow up in the organization and provide leadership. The Links are also a sisterhood that focuses on service. It’s an organization of women with professional careers who have excelled. In the Links, I serve as the chair of the health committee. That also helps me provide leadership toward things that we as professional women of color need to focus on to better our community.

OTP: What has been the impact of returning to Brooklyn after earning your medical degree in Atlanta?
Dr. Ellison: Coming back to Brooklyn from med school in Atlanta I was matched to Kings County Hospital and Downstate in Flatbush. It was in walking distance from where I grew up. It was the best thing that happened to me personally. I got to come back to the community that I grew up in and serve the community. It’s a privilege to do that.

1...757677...1,292Page 76 of 1,292