Earthly Treasures: State Senator Kenneth Parker, right, joined the local Bed-Stuy Lions Club, 500 Men Who Make a Difference, and the Magnolia Tree Earth Center of Bedford-Stuyvesant, chaired by Wayne Devonish, at the center’s annual fundraiser, Tuesday evening. Parker gave words of support … and dollars …$250,000 of them, to the pioneering ecology education org. “What (Hattie Carthan) did was never done before,” said Parker of the late Center’s visionary founder, who passed April 22, 1984. We must do what she did, he added, “especially in this moment with attacks coming from all angles: start from where we are and be the leaders we are looking for.” Photo: Althea Smith
Local Candidates Who Submitted Nominating Petitions for June 2025 Primary
By Mary Alice Miller
With New York City campaigns gearing up and the June 2025 Primary a few short weeks away, Our Time Press was tempted to do a sneak peek at local candidates who submitted petitions to be on the ballot. A person wishing to run for office may be nominated either by a political party or through the filing of an independent nominating petition signed by eligible voters.
The current political parties are the Democratic, Republican, Conservative, and Working Families parties. Any person who is not nominated by one of these parties must file an independent nominating petition at a later date.
Aside from the Mayor, candidates and positions of interest to central Brooklyn voters include Public Advocate, New York City Comptroller, Brooklyn District Attorney, City Council, Judges, State Committee, and Judicial Delegates. The candidates listed are derived from the Brooklyn Board of Elections Designating Petition Ledger as of April 17, 2025.
Current NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams submitted designating petitions for the Democratic and Working Families lines. Jenifer Rajkumar, Marty Dolan, Angela F. Aquino, and Theo Bruce Chino Tavarez also submitted Democratic petitions. Gonzalo Duran submitted Republican and Conservative petitions.
Current NYC Comptroller Brad Lander is running for Mayor, therefore his seat is open. Manhattan Borough President Mark D. Levine, State Senator Kevin S. Parker, and City Council member Justin Brannan, as well as Ismael Malave Perez, and Lindsey Royce submitted Democrat petitions. Brannan also submitted Working Families petitions. Danniel Maio, Peter Kafalas, and Ronen Noham submitted Republican petitions. Kefalas also submitted Conservative petitions.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez submitted designating petitions for the Democratic and Working Families lines. He is running unopposed.
Borough President Antonio Reynoso submitted petitions for the Democratic and Working Families lines. Khari O. Edwards and Michelle Joni Lapidos also submitted Democratic line petitions. Janine Acquafredda submitted petitions for the Republican and Conservative lines.
Crystal Hudson, a 35th District Council member, submitted petitions for the Democratic line, as did Hector Robertson, Dion M. Ashman, and Kenny Lever.
Benny Z. Rosenberger submitted petitions for the Republican and Conservative lines.
36th District Council member Chi Ajani Osse and Reginald Swiney submitted Democratic designating petitions.
Council member for the 37th District Sandy Nurse and Lindsey Royce submitted Democrat line petitions. Eleanor K. McArthur submitted Republican petitions.
40th District Council member Rita C. Joseph submitted Democratic petitions. She is running unopposed.
41st Council District member Darlene Mealy, as well as Bianca Cunningham, Clifton A. Hinton, Jamell Henderson, Dante Arnwine, Eli Brown, Lawman Lynch,
Christina Serrano and Jammel Thompson all submitted Democratic line petitions.
Chris Banks, 42nd Council member, submitted Democratic designating petitions. He is running unopposed.
Council member for the 45th District, Farah Louis, submitted Democratic petitions.
Hatem A. El-Gamasy and Joshua Elijah Diaz submitted Republican petitions. Joshua Elijah Diaz also submitted Conservative line petitions.
46th Council member Mercedes Narcisse, Dimple Willabus, and Kenny Altidor submitted Democratic petitions. Athera A. Clarke submitted Republican petitions. Dimple Willabus also submitted Conservative petitions.
Susan Liebman and Janice Chen submitted Democratic Party petitions for Judge of the Civil Court – Kings County Vacancy #11.
Marisa Arrabito and Janice P. Purvis submitted Democratic Party petitions for Judge of the Civil Court – Kings County Vacancy #12.
Sheridan Jack-Browne submitted Democratic Party petitions for Judge of the Civil Court – 2nd Municipal Court District – Vacancy #13.
Duane Frankson submitted Democratic Party petitions for Judge of the Civil Court – 7th Municipal Court District – Vacancy #14.
Independent petitions for any elected position are yet to be determined.
Mayoral hopeful Michael Blake: “The City deserves more. Tomorrow Begins Today!”
By Nayaba Arinde
Editor-at-Large
He has not made matching funds. Yet.
He has no major endorsements.
As of yet.
But.
To hear the former state Assemblymember Rev. Michael Blake tell it, none of those facts are obstacles to his goal of becoming the 111th mayor of New York City.
“It’s non-stop,” Blake told Our Time Press of his campaign. “We have definitely been putting in the work of showing people that there is a new generation of Black leadership, and I can provide.”
He says his political history and proven programs qualify him for more than cursory consideration. These include Raise the Age legislation preventing 16—and 17-year-old teens from being tried as adults, tax breaks for middle-class homeowners, and support for universal childcare.
“We pay too much, and we get back too little,” is the focus of the campaign of the Bronx-born, proud son of Jamaican immigrants.
With a reported $287,000 raised by March, he’s a serious contender. A three-term state assemblyman, he’s a moderate Democrat who worked on both Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns of 2008 and 2012 and was rewarded with a job with the Obama White House.
In 2019, Blake ran for public advocate. A year later, he gambled on himself and his Bronx 79th district seat in the Assembly by running for Congress.
Blake told Our Time Press, “I am excited. I love running. I love serving.”
His trajectory, he hopes, is from the state house to the White House to City Hall.
“That’s the plan,” he said.
With at least a dozen Candidates – Democrats, Republicans, and Independents running for the number one job at City Hall, Blake told Our Time Press, “Two things make me stand out in this race. Number one, I am the only one who has been a part of a team to beat Donald Trump when I was the Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee; and then I am the only person with White House, state house and local experience, and when you are trying to decide who is best prepared immediately to give you a new vision, and a plan, and explain how we pay for it, I am the one laying that out for New York City.”
How do we pay for it?
“Unpaid fees and fines. Especially parking tickets,” Blake replied.
Working folk?
“The people who have incurred those fines. If you have outstanding parking tickets or other tickets, yes, those tickets must be paid. We have to recover that. It’s two billion dollars right there.”
Asked why such a considerable amount is unpaid? He replied, “The city has not focused on it the way it needed to. And an apartment tax for individuals who are not living in New York City as their primary residence.”
And what about the office buildings that have been empty since the pandemic, even though the city now plans to convert some of them to residential units?
“Yeah, same thing. You have to levy a tax on the individual who is clearly trying not to address that issue.”
Blake said that he is hitting the ground running. “Like every moment, you need change, and we’ve had individuals who could have fixed a lot of these challenges, from helping people keep money in their pocket to affordable housing, to quality of life. I am giving people a new vision, someone who has experience–local, to the state house and the White House, that is ready to lead immediately.”
Blake served as Vice Chair at Large of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2017 to 2021, with a key focus on mobilizing young voters. He was also the Associate Director of Public Engagement in the Obama-Biden administration he focused on outreach to African Americans, ‘minorities,’ and women business owners.
Proudly working-class, in his three terms in the state Assembly, Blake focused on his advocacy on behalf of small businesses, education, and social justice, as he worked on the extension of the Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) program; and reforming the criminal justice system exemplified by his efforts to pass the “Raise The Age” legislation.
The campaign touted how he secured “funding for lead remediation in public housing and pushing for more diversity in the medical field through scholarships for students of color.”
Blake is proud of his My Brother’s Keeper Program, which he said has “raised more than $74 million over four years to support young people of color and improve educational outcomes.”
He has been campaigning on his major key points, including addressing the ‘True Cost of Living,’ utilizing strategies like “guaranteed income and incentives to increase wages, especially for childcare and homecare providers, while creating job opportunities by investing in small businesses and creating a fairer economic landscape for all.”
His campaign proposes that he establish a Mitchell Lama 2.0 strategy to address the housing crisis and also “increase affordable housing construction, invest in support services for unhoused New Yorkers and people in mental health crises, and remove credit scores from rent and mortgage applications.”
Blake said that he aims to “invest more in public schools, particularly those in underserved communities, expand access to higher education, and skilled trades.
Does Blake feel the media is engaged in his campaign?
“We all need more press. A lot of it is conversations just around Cuomo. And the reality is that we want people to see that there are other options, and I can give them a new person to be proud of, and showing them all the opportunities like my work with President Obama, my community work as a reverend, as an Apha, as a Prince Hall mason, as a Hundred Black Men, my success as an assemblymember, and now my vision and plan to help the city.”
How does he pivot?
“By showing the experiences and knowledge that I have learned, I can apply it to help all communities, especially Black communities, to thrive.”
How would he calm the nerves of migrants and immigrants who feel that they may be a target?
“ICE has no business in our schools, our places of worship, our community centers.”
Asked if he would work in conjunction with the White House immigration deportation policy, Rev. Blake told Our Time Press, “Absolutely not. It’s unconstitutional. Immigrants are Caribbean, African, Latino, and Asian.
“If someone is clearly in a scenario committing a crime, that is very different. However, people trying to live their lives should not be living it in fear.
“We are not going to collaborate with unconstitutional behavior, so we are just going to deny it, unless there is a judicial warrant, you don’t have to comply. If Trump says he is going to cut off your funding, then we will take funding from our reserves so that we do not align with him.”
Presenting himself as the first choice, he noted that those voters with another in mind should see him as a “strong candidate to be ranked 2nd or 3rd on ballots.”
Blake said he is “Ready to lead New York City into a new era of opportunity and justice. Tomorrow Begins Today!”
Blake has over 15 clergy endorsements, including: Brooklyn’s Rev. Craig Wright – Peoples Institutional A.M.E. Church and Rev. George Haigler – Brooklyn, and the 3 Bridges Dem Club, Emgage Action, and celebrities; Wendell Pierce, Leslie Odom, Jr., and Israel Houghton.
A Protest History of the United States (Beacon)
The launching of Gloria J. Browne-Marshall’s recent book A Protest History of the United States (Beacon) was held at Greenlight Books on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. Christian F. Nunes, president of the National Organization of Women (NOW) moderated the discussion. Gloria J. Browne-Marshall is professor of constitutional law and Africana Studies at John Jay College, (CUNY) and an Emmy Award-winning writer, activist, film producer, and playwright. There was standing room only at the book discussion, reading, and signing.
Browne-Marshall began her discussion by defining protest as civil unrest, that is any action taken to defy, question, or resist behavior which one deems harmful or oppressive to their person, people, and space. Broadly defined in this way, people engage in protests without even realizing it.
Browne-Marshall then read an excerpt from A Protest History of the United States that focused on her family lineage. Her family migrated to Kansas in 1897 as Exodusters. Before migrating they had been enslaved in Kentucky and after the Civil War, they attempted to raise their family, farm their land, and build a community.
However, after Reconstruction ended in 1877, Confederate terrorism ensued and her family, like many from the South, moved north and attempted to survive racial violence, voter suppression, Jim Crow laws, and “legalized genocide.”
A Protest History of the United States underscores the resistance of Black and Brown people and Indigenous people to violence and oppressive acts that attempt to restrict their freedom and erase their culture, religion, and identity. It also addresses and documents protests against racism, sexism, unionism, and the violation of the body.
Browne-Marshall read excerpts from her book that highlighted these issues. Questions arose regarding how to address current issues such as the criminalization of Black men and women and its impact on the family, the denial of citizenship for immigrants of color, the future of the Women’s Movement, and the current Administration’s recommendation to increase the birthrate by paying women to have more babies, a response to the fact that by the year 2045, White people in the United States will be considered a minority.
When asked about the highlights of her extensive research from government documents, archival material, legal records, court cases, etc. Browne-Marshall responded that conducting interviews with families, Indigenous peoples, union workers and visiting the actual places where protests had taken place really helped her to understand the significance and value of protests in the United States. This is a must-read for those who seeks facts and the story regarding the history of protests in this place called America.
– Dr. Brenda M. Greene
Transparency Now: A Community’s Demand for Accountability in Superintendent Mims’ Removal
by Binta Vann
Like many Bedford-Stuyvesant natives whose roots run deep in this community, I am the product of District 16 schools. My father, Albert Vann, attended these schools, as did many of the Vann grandchildren. Our family’s connection to this district spans generations, which is why the sudden removal of Superintendent Mims from leadership has left me profoundly dismayed.
I find myself stunned that at this critical moment in our nation’s history—when our government seems intent on dismantling decades of progress affecting communities like ours—our own city leaders would act with such disregard for community input.
That our mayor and chancellor would unilaterally use their power to disrupt the school term without proper notification or engagement from community members is not just disappointing; it’s a betrayal of the very principles that have sustained our neighborhood through challenging times.
Let me be clear: I am neither a politician nor an educator.
As a community member who has been invested in this community throughout my life, what I do have is a deep commitment to the values that have long defined Bedford-Stuyvesant—community voice, accountability, and transparency. The manner in which this decision was executed—seemingly in whispers, during spring break when educators, parents, and students were away—raises alarming questions about the state of community representation in decisions that directly impact our children’s education.
Have we truly reached a point where the voices of our community are no longer welcome in decisions that affect our children’s futures? This question weighs heavily on my mind as I reflect on the legacy of my father, Albert Vann, who began his career as a teacher before entering politics.
One of his greatest achievements was the Ocean Hill-Brownsville experiment, designed specifically to explore how increased community influence and control could benefit young scholars. That vision of community engagement and empowerment seems sadly distant from the current approach.
I was introduced to Brendan Mims after my father passed. He was interested in modeling a new curriculum centered around civic engagement for his schools. It was clear that he, like my father, wanted to build deeper connections with parents, small businesses, and the broader community with his school district. I was impressed by his passion and vision for District 16 and his desire to bridge the success of the past to the future of education.
What makes this situation even more perplexing is the absence of any clear justification to the community. The performance of schools under Superintendent Mims’ leadership has exceeded most districts across New York City. No one has provided a legitimate reason for this disruptive action. This absence of transparency leaves citizens like me to conclude that this decision is rooted in power dynamics, favoritism, and political maneuvering rather than educational considerations.
Our community deserves better. We are owed an explanation. We have no interest in superficial gestures designed to save face. Instead, we expect our educational and city leaders to demonstrate the integrity necessary to be transparent, acknowledge missteps, and make things right. In the absence of this transparency and efforts to resolve any “undisclosed issues”, Superintendent Mims must be reinstated to his position.
Let us not lose sight of what truly matters in this situation. The Department of Education’s primary focus should always be the education and well-being of our children. When administrative decisions are made behind closed doors without community input, it is our children who ultimately suffer the consequences.
As a community with a proud history of advocacy for educational equity, we must stand firm in our demand for accountability. The legacy of leaders like Albert Vann reminds us that community voice is not peripheral to educational success—it is essential. The unilateral removal of a successful superintendent without cause or community consultation represents a dangerous step backward that we cannot accept in silence.
The path forward is clear: transparency, accountability, and the reinstatement of Superintendent Mims. Anything less would be a continued disservice to the children, families, and educators of District 16.