Disability rights activists gather to demand accessible subway stations. Credit: Tywanna Webb
By Tywanna Webb
New York State Supreme Court Judge Schlomo Hagler warned MTA of its obligation to make the subway system accessible for all, during a hearing this Thursday.
“I give you one last opportunity to resolve your differences and put the money where it is necessary,” Judge Hagler stated to the MTA attorneys.
The lawsuit was filed against the MTA in 2017 by a group of disability organizers and disabled residents who say that the New York City subway is one of the least accessible public transit systems in the nation.
Hagler said that he has given the two parties more than enough opportunities to reach a settlement on the matter.
“It’s just plain the right thing to do, to get everyone on board literally, on our trains, our busses, our transportation system,” Hagler said. The judge made it clear that he plans to end the ongoing case at the next court date.
In May 2018, New York City Transit President Andy Byford launched Fast Forward, a plan improve the subway system and make each station fully accessible. This would include installing elevators at most of the 472 station around the city.
“It hasn’t been funded so at this point, it’s just an empty promise,” said Maia Goodell, attorney with the Disability Rights Advocates, who is representing the disability organizers pursuing the suit.
“The importance of the subway can’t be overstated. Ten of thousands of people are excluded from that system because fewer than 25 percent of those stations are accessible.”
Goodell added that the parties have been trying to settle the suit for over a year and she is looking forward to a decision from Judge Hagler.
Ahead of the hearing, a coalition of several disability rights activism groups gathered for a rally in front of the Supreme Court building to call attention to this pressing issue.
“We are here today to share a pretty simple message; elevators are for everyone,” said Sasha Blair-Goldensohn, a disability rights activist with the Elevator Action Group and with the direct action group, Rise and Resist.
“The MTA lawyers, under the direction of Governor Cuomo have been evading their responsibility to build an accessible system for everybody,” Blair- Goldensohn added.
Among those rallying were NY State Assembly candidate Chiedu “Shea” Uzoigwe, of Queens, who said that change can come.
“We want to make sure that we are providing MTA with the funding they need to complete this ten-year plan. Right now the way to do that is by implementing congestion pricing to provide a dedicated stream of funding,” Uzoigwe said in an interview.
Uzoigwe is striving to be elected to represent the district 31 in Queens.
The president of Disabled in Action of Metropolitan NY, Jean Ryan, said that she hasn’t been able to ride the subway in over 25 years due to the lack of accessibility. Ryan, like many other disabled New Yorkers, relies on Access-A-Ride to move about the city.
“It’s so difficult to use Access-A-Ride. The last one that I took arrived over an hour late,” Ryan said. Ryan said that in addition the lateness, Access-A-Ride usually takes routes that tend to make the ride much longer than necessary.
Activist Jennifer Van Dyck urged the MTA to enforce a strict timeline for the Fast Forward plan. “We are all first-class citizens and we deserve a first-class public transportation system. What we have now is subway system that is inaccessible and intolerable,” Van Dyck declared during the rally.
The need for more accessible NYC subways made national news after the January death of Malaysia Goodson. The young mother took a fatal fall while carrying her daughter in a stroller down the steps of a Manhattan station with no elevator.
“Her death was avoidable,” says Christine Coleman, who is due to deliver her first child next month. “It really concerns me and it really highlighted that the subway is not safe.” Coleman is a resident of Long Island City and said that she will have great difficulty taking the subway with a small baby.
The next court date is set for May 7.
By Austin Santiago
On Thursday, Interchurch Medical Assistance (IMA World Health) and Lutheran World Relief hosted a panel in Manhattan to address the response of religious institutions to sexual and domestic violence.
Three specialists discussed the ongoing problem of poor response from religious institutions in regards to sexual assault and domestic violence. In an independent study, conducted by IMA and LifeWay research, a faith-based research company that monitors church culture, it was discovered that out of 1,000 pastors who were interviewed, 90 percent have had to deal with a case of sexual assault or abuse in their congregation. However, only 50 percent felt adequately trained to handle such problems.
“A lot of it depends on when and where you were trained,” said Monica A. Coleman, a professor at Claremont School of Theology. “There weren’t books on this twenty years ago. It was just not something we did in theological education.”
The call for better response from religious institutions comes at a time when the public is questioning beliefs more than ever. In a recent poll conducted by Gallup (and released on Wednesday), 37 percent of Catholics question their affiliation with their church.
Left to right, Jenna Barnett, moderator; Monica A. Coleman; Kirsten Larsen Muth; Dr. Jo Lusi. Credit: Austin Santiago
This is the highest percentage since the Boston Globe broke the news of widespread abuse by priests in the greater Boston area. The poll comes one month after two of Virginia’s dioceses released the names of 58 clergy officials deemed “credibly accused” of sexually assaulting youth.
“The problem of sexual violence is immense,” said Dr. Jo Lusi, founder of Heal Africa. “We have to ask why is this happening in the twenty first century?”
Not only did the panel discuss practical training methods for clergy, but they also discussed scripture and how it can be used to curb sexual violence.
“The Bible is open to interpretation,” said Kirsten Larsen Muth, special advisor at Episcopal Relief and Development. “God cares about our bodily integrity.”
In a written statement from Rick Santos, President and CEO of IMA world health, the organization made its goal clear. “Our next generation of faith leaders need to be prepared to preach about prevention from the pulpit, create a safe space within their churches and lend their voices to the movement of lasting change in our society.”
The pandemic of sexual violence within religious institutions is very real, and it appears there are many in the wide religious community paying attention to the issue, including Pope Francis himself, who has called for “Concrete measures” to deal with abuse in the Catholic church “so that . . . we may lend an ear and listen to the Holy Spirit … and to the cry of the small ones who are asking for justice.”
Thursday’s Conference was a step in the right direction.
By Maya Dower-Johnson
New York City Councilmembers who represent Queens held a press conference at Manhattan’s City Hall on Thursday to discuss egregious conditions of the 7-train line, as well as other horrendous MTA locations in desperate need of repair.
After a piece of debris from the elevated 7-train tracks crashed down onto a vehicle for the second time in two weeks, Councilmember Jimmy van Bramer sprang into action, lashing out at the MTA via Twitter, calling out their failure to fix the dilapidated train station.
“Let me be clear: this is a public health crisis. This is an emergency,” van Bramer said. “When you have beams of wood flying through windshields of occupied cars and you have jagged pieces of heavy metal that could decapitate human beings falling off the 7-train, we as a city should be responding.”
Van Bramer insisted the MTA should be doing everything in its power to make sure that debris falls like those never happen again. They MTA should have expended energy after the first incident to make sure there would not be a second one.
Left to right, Councilmembers
Peter Koo, Corey Johnson, Jimmy van Bramer (speaking), Daniel Dromm, Francisco Moya. Credit: Maya Dower-Johnson.
“If you were there yesterday in Woodside, Queens,” said van Bramer, “you would’ve seen what I saw, which is tons of jagged pieces of metal easily falling down to the street after workers simply touched them. That’s how loose they were. How did the MTA inspect that station and all up and down? And how are we supposed to have confidence that this isn’t going to happen again?”
The councilmember warned that death could be waiting. “The only reason people haven’t died yet is luck,” van Bramer said. “Luck is what has kept people from dying. But we’re not going to keep getting lucky. Next time something falls, it might not crack a windshield, it might crack somebody’s head open on Roosevelt Avenue.”
It is not acceptable, nor is it normal that pieces of this station are continually falling down onto the neighborhood residents. Sadly, this has happened many times before and nothing still has not been done about it.
“The MTA must act before someone dies, before a child is killed crossing the street, before a senior is killed going shopping in the supermarket,” van Bramer said. “That is going to happen unless the MTA gets it right.”
The last time Councilmember Daniel Dromm could remember the 7-train line being painted was in 1981, 38 years ago, which shows the MTA’s neglect, he said. Dromm said he’s reached out to several officials but maintained that no one has paid attention.
“That paint is 44 times the acceptable level for lead paint. It falls down all the time, every day,” Dromm said. “That dust is permeating the air. Western Queens has the highest level of lead poisoning in all of Queens.”
Councilmember Francisco Moya also spoke at the press conference. He said that communities of color have consistently been neglected by the MTA. He also shared that he’s been funding money to the MTA for several years in order to have them paint the train stations in his district of Corona and Jackson Heights. However, instead of doing just that, the money was taken and allocated to other stations, leaving his district still in need of basic maintenance.
“Enough is enough,” said Councilmember Peter Koo. “The MTA needs to fix this failing system and stop putting our residents in danger.”
Newly-elected Public Advocate Jumaane Williams joined in the criticism. “Just because no one hasn’t died yet, doesn’t make it any less of an emergency,” Williams said.
“There is no accountability,” said Council Speaker Corey Johnson, who has been pushing for the city to be given control over the MTA. “The governor controls the MTA, but we need singular responsibility and accountability. When situations like this occur, it shows why this is so important.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio is in the process of introducing his new plan to fix the MTA. That is called congestion pricing. The money would come from charging vehicles that go into lower Manhattan. De Blasio says the congestion pricing would ensure approximately $1 billion and that the money would be used for signaling, track repairs and other needed upgrades.
Left to right, moderator Lori Ann Terjesen, and speakers Denise Kiernan and Gretchen Skidmore. Photo Credit: Tywanna Webb.
By Tywanna Webb
Thursday afternoon the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum presented a program honoring the contributions of women during World War II.
“We are here to tell the stories of women whose contributions impacted our nation’s history,” said moderator Lori Ann Terjesen. Terjesen is the Director of Education for the National Women’s History Museum.
The program is titled: “How Did American Women Act? Heroism on the Home Front.” It included speakers Denise Kiernan and Gretchen Skidmore. Kiernan is a New York Times best-selling author, known for her books The Girls of Atomic City and The Last Castle. Skidmore is the Director of Education Initiatives for the Unites States Holocaust Museum.
The panelists shared stories of women who stepped into heroic, historic roles during the war. They also presented photos and video to further illustrate the contributions of women during WWII. This included the story of Florence Mendheim, who served as an undercover spy for the U.S. government while working as a librarian by day. Menheim took the risk of providing surveillance of American Nazi groups during the 1930s.
Speaker Kiernan said that many people are unaware of the great contributions of thousands of women during the war.
“You would think that the entire Manhattan Project was like 10 guys,” said Keirnan. “But the fact of the matter was that it was tens of thousands of people, many of them women and people of color. When you’re talking about something as significant as this project, don’t we owe it to ourselves to view this from as many perspectives as possible?”
Speaker Gretchen Skidmore said that many women felt obliged to lend their efforts to the war. “They were asked to go and help with something they already cared about,” she said.
Other women honored during the presentation were Katie Strickland, an African-American woman who worked at the K-25 plant to enrich uranium for the atomic bombs; Celia Klemski, who also worked on the Manhattan project; and Lois Gunden, who saved several Jewish children and refugees from arrest.
The program was co-presented with the National Women’s History Museum and the Park Avenue Synagogue Women’s Network. It was held at the United Jewish Appeal Federation in Manhattan.
“So much of this isn’t just women’s history, it’s just history,” said Kiernan.
The timely program came a day ahead of International Women’s Day.
By Charlene Carlies and Austin Santiago
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer held a “big-tent” rally Thursday on the steps of City Hall, showing support for a budget bill that would support the mayoral control of New York City public schools.
The budget bill proposes a three-year extension of mayoral control.
Credit: Austin Santiago
“Mayoral control works because the public can hold the mayor accountable for the school system,” Brewer said. “We want mayoral control for a very long time.”
Mayoral control over the schools was first granted in 2002, during the administration of then Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Prior to that, schools were governed by a Board of Education and 32 elected community school boards.
The Board of Education had seven members; the mayor appointed two, and each of the five borough presidents appointed one. The Board of Education had the authority to select the chancellor. The mayor could also influence the school system through the city budget.
According to statistics, high school graduation rates and national test scores have significantly improved as a result of mayoral control.
“Mayoral control has allowed big changes to happen fast. We went from 20,000 kids in full day pre-k to 70,000 in two years time,” Mayor Bill de Blasio has said.
“There’s nothing more humbling than being responsible for 1.1 million children and their futures.”
Anita Gundanna, a representative of the Coalition for Asian American Children & Families, also spoke out in support of mayoral control.
“Under the leadership of Mayor Bill de Blasio, the city’s public schools are growing stronger.”
By Brianna Mikes
Nassau County Executive Laura Curran on Thursday signed a law banning the non-consensual distribution of intimate photographs.
This law was originally proposed by Legislators Arnold W. Drucker (D – Plainview) and Debra Mulé, and it was unanimously accepted by the Nassau County Legislature on Feb. 25. It makes the act commonly known as “revenge porn” a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. It also empowers victims to seek civil damages.
“[We are] sending a message to these perpetrators that this type of behavior will not be tolerated in Nassau County and has serious consequences,” said Drucker at the signing.
“It is also very important to show our residents that our government can and will work together in a bipartisan manner when it is necessary to protect our citizens. This is clear by the very fact that this bill passed the legislature by a 19 to 0 vote.”
Nassau County Laura Curran signing bill. Credit: Brianna Mikes.
“In an era of ubiquitous social media platforms and permanence on the internet, revenge porn has arisen as a deeply troubling form of harassment, intimidation, and bullying that can cause a lifetime of humiliation,” Curran said. “I fully support this bill and thank Legislators Drucker and Mulé for recognizing the need to provide protection for potential victims and professional ramifications of this malicious practice.”
Mulé said, “[I’d like to] thank County Executive Curran for supporting legislation that immediately protects Nassau County residents.”
Months of research and outreach kick-started a legislative process that began in late January. The measure rapidly gained strong support from Nassau County’s law enforcement leaders, victim advocates and individuals who had been impacted by “revenge porn.”
“This bill would not have been possible without the support and help of Madeline Singas, our District Attorney,” added Drucker. “She has been wonderful and a very passionate supporter of this legislation for a very long time. We are grateful for her support.”
“What a great day for Nassau County,” Singas said. “This is an issue that affects so many people.”
Singas added, “On the day-in and day-out at the district attorney’s office, we have victims coming forward, saying that ‘Someone is threatening to put my pictures out there’ or ‘I have seen my pictures, and they’ve been sent to my employer’ . . . And, I have to tell you it has been some of the most frustrating conversations that I’ve had in my career where I’ve had to say, ‘There’s not so much we can do about it.’ And, today, because of these legislators, because of the vision of Nassau County, there is something that we can do about it, and I’m proud to stand here . . .”
By Jada May
The rumor mill has it that Queens Congressman Greg Meeks will become the next chairman of the Queens Democratic Party, succeeding former Congressman Joe Crowley who stepped down recently as the party chief.
Meeks, an 11-term U.S. Representative, was first elected in 1998, representing the southern part of Queens. He has been known as a passionate supporter of the Affordable Care Act associated with former President Barack Obama.
Congressman Gregory Meeks, from his website.
Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic Party consultant, said in a telephone interview that the Queens Democratic Party in Queens needs to be transformed so that more minorities benefit from the perks of political power, specifically judgeships and other opportunities for lawyers.
“The next Democratic county leader in Queens (should) try to bring some equality (to) who gets what out the courts,” Sheinkopf said. He pointed out that many African Americans, Latinos and Chinese in Queens feel left out when it comes to the court systems, which is controlled to a large extent by Democratic Party bosses.
“Blacks, Latinos, and Asians have not participated, so if real change is on the way that benefits these minority communities, it will be the reshuffling of who gets what . . .” Sheinkopf said.
Congressman Meeks is a senior member of the House of Financial Services Committee, serving as Chair of the Subcommittee on the Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions. He deals with matters pertaining to consumer credit and the stability of the banking system. Queens is one of the most diverse constituencies in the nation, but many have complained that the political leadership has not reflected that diversity.
Last year Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeated Joe Crowley in a surprising upset that changed local and national politics and give new life to progressives and leftists. It is unclear how Ocasio-Cortez would be reacting to Meeks as a successor to Crowley.
Attempts to reach Meeks for a reaction were not successful.
By Austin Santiago
On Thursday, Donovan Richards, chair of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee, was joined on the steps of City Hall by Progressive Caucus members. The rally was a call for the state to ensure that legalized marijuana revenue is directed to communities harmed from its prohibition.
Last week, Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio revealed a 10-point plan to fix the city’s subway system. As part of the plan, legal marijuana tax was listed as tax revenue. The message being sent by Richards and his constituents was simple: No funds from marijuana tax revenue should be put into the MTA before it is put back into the communities most affected by its prohibition.
Councilmember Donovan Richards, left, and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. Credit: Austin Santiago.
“We’re talking about giving money to an agency off the backs of black and brown communities that have been incarcerated, summonsed, and thrown into the justice system,” said Richards, who represents parts of Queens.
“To make matters worse, they want to take tax revenue and put it into an MTA that many of these young black and brown people can’t even get on now, because they can’t get a job, because they have a record.”
Standing with Richards was newly elected city Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who was officially serving his first day in the new position.
“It’s a terrible plan,” Williams said of the idea of giving marijuana tax money to MTA. “It’s based on the type of ignorance we have seen over and over again.”
Also at the rally was Progressive Caucus and City Council member Antonio Reynoso, who did not mince words when speaking about Governor Cuomo. “When it’s black and brown people using marijuana to take care of their home we demonize them, but when it’s Governor Cuomo using marijuana to fix his house, to fix his MTA, we say it’s ok.”
Reynoso cited what he maintained was a disconnect between those in power and the common New Yorker. “The people who made this decision have never experienced what the young black and brown young men in our districts have faced,” he said.
By Charlene Carlies
The Rubin Museum of Art held a media preview of its new exhibit, The Power of Intention: Reinventing the Prayer Wheel, on Thursday, just ahead of its grand opening that was set for Friday night.
The exhibition is an interactive one, featuring contemporary art inspired by Buddhist prayer wheels. It brings together traditional and contemporary art to illuminate the relationship between our intentions, commitments and actions. The Buddhist prayer wheels were ritual objects containing thousands of written prayers and mantras, the intention being to show how we can empower ourselves to create positive change within and around us.
Photo credit: Charlene Carlies.
The first part of the exhibition features an intention wheel in the lobby, where visitors are able to put their intentions into words by typing an intention into the wheel. The intentions then travel up the spiral staircase, where they become part of an immersive installation on the fifth-floor of the museum, where the rest of the exhibition is showcased.
Elena Pakhoutova, curator of Himalayan art and organizer of The Power of Intention, spoke about the significance of the exhibition. “Our intentions can be very small or they can be very grand. . . It depends. The main thing is that we want to say that the power comes from within. You have your own power, and this is intention and commitment to carry through with your intention into action.
“By the turning of this wheel of intentions you are making physical effort to activate it. We think this is more powerful, because it’s not just the wish. You have to have commitment as well. So that’s what we’re exploring. Each section explores various aspects of what it means to have the power of intention. It is inspired by the Tibetan prayer wheels, these ritual items used to create positive karma and good, not only for the person who is turning them, but also for the environment and everybody else.”
Gregory Lasserre gave some insight into his work of art, Metamorphy, a tangible circular membrane that guests can touch, as the membrane creates sounds and emits ephemeral visuals that change, depending on the pressure of the individual’s touch.
Photo credit: Charlene Carlies.
“This work represents the relation to the body, so this work engages the body,” Lasserre said. “You explore different elements and it’s an exploration according to where you touch the work and you will listen to different sounds. You have a mirror in front of the work, so you are physically engaged inside the installation. You are a part of the installation when you interact with it.”
Alexandra Dementieva produced the work Breathless, an interactive light object. One enters the sculpture to engage with notions of power and intention. Guests can go inside and exercise power by breathing into the anemometer, affecting the output.
“The words on the structure represent the media and language,” Dementieva said. “When you go inside, this is also like your own present moment . . . ”
By Alexander Parisel
The Greater New York Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Black History Awards Breakfast at the Hard Rock Café in Times Square.
The event started with a networking breakfast and ended with an awards presentation.
After the breakfast, Mark Jaffe, President and CEO of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce, took the stage and welcomed the six honorees, as well as the different sponsors and guests.
Left to right, top: Dr. Brian L. Johnson, Terrance C. Holliday, Mark Jaffe, Alphonso David, Hazel Dukes, unknown, Denise Richardson. Left to right, bottom: Helana Natt, Major General Nathaniel James, Billy Mitchell. Credit: Alexander Parisel.
“I want to thank T-Mobile, Emigrant Savings Bank, Healthfirst, and Mercy College for making it possible to have such an event,” Jaffe said. After thanking Helana Natt, the Executive Director of the Chamber, for her hard work in organizing the event, he introduced the first awardee.
“The first award we are giving out, is the Bill McCreary Legend Award. It is an award that recognizes leaders of journalism,” said Jaffe. William “Bill” McCreary was a black legendary award-winning newscaster who believed in holding the powerful accountable.
The recipient of the McCreary Legend Award was Denise Richardson, co-host of “The Pledge Drive” on PBS and host of AM 570’s “The Mission WMCA.” After receiving the award, Richardson thanked the Chamber for the recognition and spoke about her career path.
“My show has nothing to do with politics,” she said. “My show is about inspiration. If you are interested in hosting a show, I will let you use my show for $600. I don’t care who you bring or what you talk about. All you need to be is inspirational.”
Richardson ended her speech by saying, “Listen when God taps you on the shoulder.”
The next award, the Community Service Award, was given to the Apollo Theater because of its black arts and culture.
The recipient was Billy Mitchell, who is the unofficial ambassador for the Apollo and has worked for the Apollo for 54 years.
“It is an honor and a privilege to represent the Apollo,” Mitchell said. “I want to thank the Commerce for this recognition. It is heartwarming.”
Given that he has worked at the Apollo for more than a half century, Mitchell gave some interesting anecdotes, such as explaining to the guests who organized the first ever radio show in the Apollo or how he observed James Brown and other artists using the theater as their experimenting ground.
Following Mitchell, was honoree Dr. Brian L. Johnson, who received the Black History Award for his continuous work with the Chamber.
Dr. Johnson is the Vice President of the Mercy College Manhattan Campus, as well as the former president of Tuskegee University. He informed that he was the seventh president of the university.
“Thank you, Mark, and thank you Greater New York Chamber of Commerce,” said Dr. Johnson.
He also thanked the Mercy College and said, “Mercy College is the largest, most diverse private institution in New York State, which is one of the reasons why I chose to work for this school.”
Award honoree Alphonso David is a counsel to Governor Andrew Cuomo, as well as a professor of Constitutional Law at Cardoza Law School.
David thanked everyone the recognition he received. He then explained that he lived in Liberia for 14 years but had to flee the country after his uncle was assassinated in a military coup and his father was sent to prison for a year.
“These experiences taught me about liberty and civil rights and inspired me to fight for the voiceless and the disenfranchised,” David said.
Honoree Major General Nathaniel James is a former Commanding General of the New York National Guard.
“Thank you for keeping history alive,” James said. He added, “I grew up when people did not celebrate Black History Month. I lived in a time where I always put my credentials in my pocket because people would not believe my qualifications for certain positions.”
He then ended his speech by saying that a person once told him that if someone talked longer than three minutes, people lose their interest and start thinking about their own issues. The room was full of laughter and James received a standing ovation due to his services for the country.
The final honoree was Hazel Dukes, who is the President of the NAACP’s New York State Conference.
After thanking the Chamber and the other honorees, Dukes said, “The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is like a beautiful salad. Take all the ingredients together and you have a beautiful salad. Imagine if everyone in NYCHA could register and vote. We can change policies.” Dukes ended her speech saying, “If anyone leaves without being inspired by Black History then that means they missed something. All of these honorees have made history.”
Dukes received a standing ovation and all the honorees assembled together to take group pictures with their awards.
