As part of many new upgrades, the Metropolitan Transit Authority spent $26.7 million to renovate five elevators at the Yankee Stadium subway station. But that hasn’t stopped MTA riders from dealing with unreliable elevator service.

Including the $26.7 million for the Yankee Stadium stop, the MTA spent a total of $74.8 million for 14 elevators across different stops for renovation. The MTA has planned to redo these elevators to make them more accessible and reliable for riders. They elevators have been under construction since November 2024, but they still seem to have issues with full functionality. 

An analysis of MTA records cited by the New York Post found the new Yankee Stadium station elevators logged 41 outages between April and September. As a result, the elevators are expected to be out of service until January 2027. So far, the plan to increase accessibility has taken a slight hit, and people have to wait longer for functional elevators. 

 Just a few months ago, on July 29th, the MTA and a coalition of Disability Rights Advocates reached a settlement requiring the MTA to be more transparent in its public communication about elevator outages, coinciding with the acceleration of installed lifts. According to The City Reporter, this settlement comes almost a decade after the MTA was sued by New Yorkers with disabilities because of their lack in keeping subway elevators in good shape. 

“Whenever I pass through the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center subway station, I’ve noticed the elevators that haven’t been in use for months and see people who may need to use them as a detour, having to take longer paths just to get to their stop”, said Giovanni Hodge, a daily MTA rider. Currently Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center has two out of service elevators. One is the Mezzanine to the B/Q platform and the other is the Mezzanine to the Manhattan-bound 2/3.

More work for the MTA continues as their renovation of these elevators takes a halt as they have to also have to fix those that are now out of service. The remodeling of these elevators still can be a positive as it can help accessibility for those who need it. However, it has seemingly been shown to also be affecting maintenance and ironically, accessibility. 

Seventy percent of fashion design and development jobs will be eliminated by 2028, the Business  section of Vogue estimates, with major changes in the way brands market their products emerging  in 2026. The latest advertising trend is using generative artificial intelligence for quicker and  cheaper results. Fashion houses are catching up, and are increasingly using AI models for their  promotional campaigns. Creatives in the fashion industry suggest it may not all be positive.  

About You, a German fashion brand, has launched a digital imagery studio that relies solely on AI  generated models, and has cut 90% of production costs. “We are saving so much money,” says  Julian Jansen, vice president of marketing at About You. “You’ve always had this super fast world  of e-commerce, and this super slow traditional world of photo shoots, it didn’t fit together in any  way— and now with AI, it’s a completely different scale.”  

Integrating artificial intelligence into product visualisation can help personalise the product to  each part of the brand’s audience. H&M is using ‘AI Twins’ of real models, while Levi’s is using  generative AI to showcase their clothing on different body types to promote inclusivity. Even high end, luxury brands, that can more than afford an entire editorial team, such as Burberry and  Moncler are part of this new form of advertising. 

AI enables brands to offer ‘virtual try-ons’ on their website, which is a major selling point in the era  of online shopping. AI chat-bots can also help with customer grievances, returns and delivery  related problems. While there may be several benefits of AI integration, fashion professionals are  concerned about overuse.  

Lily Good, a junior consultant for fashion houses, thinks that AI campaigns can have both positive  and negative impact, but “brands rely too much on the sheer grandness of the ‘AI’ part of the  campaign, and less on the actual experience and narrative.” She shares that while AI is great for  data utilisation and organisation, it takes away from the “visual experience” of the product. “What  speaks to me during a campaign is the time, effort, and creativity that took to launch.” says Good,  “With a strictly AI generated final product, those attributes are taken away.”  

With a significantly cheaper alternative available, brands are hesitant to pay for human creatives  to work on their campaigns. H&M, a multinational clothing company from Sweden that sells fast fashion apparel, accessories, cosmetics, and homeware, is one of the most popular retail brands in  the world. According to Forbes, H&M has a profit margin of $1.3 billion annually. Even with this  profit margin, H&M has taken to using ‘AI twins’ of human models to scale product visuals and  maintain consistent content across global markets. “We’re exploring emerging technologies like  generative AI to amplify creativity and reimagine how we showcase fashion.” says Jörgen  Andersson, the Chief Creative Officer at H&M. He says that the technology allows the brand to  “enhance storytelling and find new ways to connect with our customers, while staying true to  H&M’s style-led, human-centric identity.”  

However, consumers have mixed feelings about AI modelling the clothes they are considering  purchasing. A two-page advertisement for clothing brand Guess sparked major controversy last  August, for featuring AI generated models in Vogue magazine. While there is no official number,  hundreds of Vogue readers posted screenshots of their cancelled Vogue subscription on X and  Reddit, emphasising their outrage. TikTok user Payton Wickizer, who creates lifestyle content,  exclaimed that she was “speechless” about “the fact that they are using fake women in their  magazines.” TikTok fashion influencer Marissa Spagnoli also claimed that “this doesn’t make us  want to buy anything.”  

In an interview with Good Morning America, co-founders Valentina Gonzalez and Andreea  Petrescu of Seraphinne Vallora, the AI marketing agency that ‘produced’ these AI models, said  that “The heart of fashion is photography. We will never challenge that.” They claimed to “only  supplement the vision of the client.” Both Guess and Seraphinne Vallora were criticised on the  promotion of unrealistic beauty standards, which can have a negative impact on young,  impressionable readers. “What do people respond to? Beautiful women, things that look surreal,  things that are very stunning,” Gonzalez said, “If you had responded to other types of beauty, we  would have done that.”  

Creatives in the fashion space, including photographers, models and photo and video editors feel  similarly. Kaleigh Zehnder, a digital art and design student at the School of Visual Arts in  Manhattan, says that it “terrifies” her to think of a world where people are unable to tell the  difference between human art and AI generated art, “In every instance where AI is used, the task  or even entire job of a real, human artist is taken away.” Zehnder says that AI generated fashion 

campaigns imply to her that the brand is “cheap”. “AI art screams low quality because it is  inherently the lower effort method, only a few lines of a prompt versus hours of hard work.”  

According to the US Bureau of Labor statistics, the US has lost more than 200,000 jobs in creative  industries over the past four years, the period since the first version of ChatGPT became available  to the public, with almost 50,000 of those losses coming in the last year alone. Overall, creatives  seem to unanimously agree that while AI can have it’s positives, it is overall a threat to artists.  Good says, “I don’t like them. Every time I see them I just think, ‘okay, a human could’ve easily  done this.’ Creativity and effort is noticeable.” 

 For the first time in nearly two decades the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) Artist Grant amount will double thanks to Mayor Zohran Mamdani. For many artists in New York this grant provides them external funding for their creativity. 

   The original grant amount was $5,000 which has now been moved to $10,000. Four out of five borough grants are open. Brooklyn’s grant closed on Oct 11. This year’s grant cycle will help support approximately 350 artists across the city.

  DCLA provides funding to borough based art councils who then distribute the funding to artists, collectives, and small nonprofits.

“Artists are working New Yorkers with the same costs as everyone else. But while rent, grocery bills and child care costs have skyrocketed in New York City, the funding artists rely on has stayed flat,” said Mayor Mamdani in an October press release.

   Artists are given monthly “shopping days”where they can receive free materials to help them with their creative endeavours.

      “The monthly shopping for artists who have received local arts council support will provide them with additional support for their creative practice and engagement with New Yorkers. Artist grantees should book their appointments through their local arts council,” according to NYC Cultural Affairs.

   There are different eligibility requirements which are separated by business and individuals. 

For the Brooklyn Art Grant individuals had to be living in Brooklyn; however, if they are applying for their business, their business must be in Brooklyn.   

A Brooklyn visuals artist who wished to stay anonymous expressed that she would’ve applied if she knew about it. “I just moved to New York about five years ago to pursue my dreams. This grant would’ve really helped. I wish they publicized this information better,” stated the artist. 

   For the 2026 cycle the Brooklyn artist grant rewarded 222 artists providing between $3,500  and $10,000 dollars per reward.

 Many artists in New York struggle between choosing their passion and making bill payments.

Evan Sampson, a recent New York University (NYU) graduate and multidisciplinary artist, talked about wanting to apply and how it can help him in the future.

   “Honestly I am in so much debt from college and I haven’t been able to create as much.I think this grant can help me with allocating my money towards my craft,” he said..

  The  Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) separated their grants into four sections based on the artists creative path; Sampson applied to the Creative Unrestricted grant. 

   “Creative Unrestricted provides unrestricted funding to Manhattan-based individual artists, artist collectives, and nonprofit organizations with budgets under $250,000 creating new work in the performing arts,” according to the LMCC.  

  This Lower Manhattan grant receives funding from individual donors, institutional donors, corporate sponsors, and in-kind partners. The grant money  for this cycle is set to be disbursed  in 2027. 

  Manhattan, The Bronx, and Queens grants have opened with 3 deadlines approaching during the end of October and early November. The last deadline for the artist grants is Jan. 31 for Staten Island. 

Bilingual educators met at Brooklyn College on October 7th to discuss the climate for bilingual students in public schools and how to better equip them. 

Bilingual education is teaching academic subjects in two languages. According to Gitnux, a market research and statistics website, 76% of U.S. students who are English language learners receive bilingual education services in U.S. public schools. These students need different tools, including translated versions of books, assignments, and more.

Carla España, an assistant professor of Bilingual Education and researcher with Puerto Rican and Latinx Studies at Brooklyn College, said, “Most of my students here at Brooklyn College tell me that their first time, their entry point learning about children’s literature, is through this picture book we read.”

Educators at the conference said these books and resources have to be available to bilingual students earlier so they don’t get left behind. Luis Tapia-Alfardo, a Mexican-American Brooklyn College senior, believes these bilingual resources would’ve been useful if he’d had them in his younger years. “My old schools never offered me any bilingual courses or resources.” He added, “It would’ve been helpful if those resources were accessible.”

Teachers are also finding it hard to fit these learnings into the curriculum, and bilingual teaching across different formats seems to be facing pushback. “I think that we are in many ways facing a lot of challenges,” said Emma Otheguy, a bilingual children’s author and historian. “I know many of the teachers mentioned curriculum challenges toward getting these books into their hands. I see on the publishing side serious obstacles to what I would call our book culture.”

Elementary schools may struggle to offer bilingual programs at all because of insufficient staff and curricular materials, according to Ileana Najarro, a writer at Education Week. Without these resources, bilingual students get left behind. However, Otheguy believes solutions exist. 

“I went to back-to-school night, and I met my daughter’s new first grade teacher…She said the most important thing you can do is to be a reader yourself. She told us that she reads from a book five pages every single day,” Otheguy said. “She won’t go to bed until she has finished her five pages. She recommended a book for parents to pick up, and I thought that was one of the most inspiring examples.”  

As schools struggle to provide bilingual students with sufficient programs and resources, parents have to take the initiative and become teachers themselves. 

“As a parent, for my child to have somebody who is modeling, I am bilingual. I’m Latina. I’m part of my culture,” said Otheguy.  “I seek out books that interest me, and I am a reader myself, so that I can model what it means to be a reader for my students.”

Pedicabs are a staple of New York City. These pedal-powered carriages are designed to ferry passengers across the city for a fraction of the cost, usually through areas inaccessible by car. However, these carriages have been faced with heavy scrutiny. Between being operated by unlicensed drivers and overcharging the passengers who use them, New York City is seeking to crack down on the pedicab industry as a whole. NYC Council Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection held a meeting on October 7, where they proposed a litany of bills focused on pedicabs throughout New York City.

Pedicabs are a part of NYC; the meeting sought not to completely eradicate them, but to reform the pedicab industry as a whole. While NYC has an upper limit of 850 licensed pedicabs and only 330 pedicabs in operation, the actual number of active pedicabs could be closer to 1,500. The New York Pedicab Alliance, a nonprofit group founded in 2005 and incorporated in 2024, which seeks to employ legally licensed pedicab drivers in a quasi-union, was in attendance at the council meeting. 

The President of NYPA spoke out about how the oversaturation of the pedicab industry has hurt his workers in more ways than one. The unlicensed drivers have been taking fares from those actually licensed to operate pedicabs in New York, while simultaneously leaving a bad taste in people’s mouths. “For us, protecting this industry means protecting our ability to put food on the table and pay the rent,” said NYPA President Makan Kamara. “We want our passengers to be safe, and we want honest drivers to be able to keep working with dignity.”

One of the bills proposed was a call to incorporate these pedicab drivers into the NY Taxi & Limousine Commission, as the pedicabs fall into a “grey area,” currently falling under the jurisdiction of the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. NY TLC, however, expressed reservations regarding the transfer. “This legislation would be extremely costly to implement, going well beyond existing resources,” said Ira Goldapper, Deputy Commissioner of NY TLC. “I don’t believe it could just be as simple as a copy and paste of how we regulate taxis.”

Another problem plaguing the pedicab industry is the severe price-gouging, primarily targeting tourists. “We have heard that tourists have been charged $500 to nearly $1,000 for rides that are only 20 minutes,” said Gale Brewer, council member for the Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection. “We want passengers to know what they are paying. Right now, you have no idea. You just have to argue.”

In 2025 alone, there were at least 1200 criminal summons issued to these unlicensed drivers. Only 9% of these summons actually had any lasting effect, resulting in some form of criminal punishment. Enforcement of these laws and regulations remain largely ineffective, with one council member stating “If people think a ticket’s meaningless, then there’s no incentive to comply with the law.”

One of the most common violations issued to these drivers was riding in a bike lane, which is prohibited by NYC law. Under NYC Administrative Code § 20-259(b)(3), a pedicab driver may not operate a pedicab “on any bridge or in any tunnel or in any bicycle lane.” This, however, displaces the pedicabs to the streets, where they have to compete with cars and drivers. 

Pedicabs, for what it’s worth, should be able to operate in an area where they aren’t at risk of being struck down by an aggressive driver; it’s why NYPA has found great success in areas like Central Park and Times Square. This issue has come up in past City Council meetings, with a 2009 meeting stating “Pedicabs should not be restricted from using any bike lane or path. It is the safest lane of travel for any bicycle.” Chad Marlow, then-President of NYC’s Public Housing Advocacy Group, also talked about how “forcing the pedicab into regular traffic lanes will only result in more accidents, injuries, and congestion. A bike belongs in a bike lane.”

   Creatives from all around the nation entered Brooklyn Navy Yard on Oct. 3 to hear from New York City’s Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

   CultureCon is a two-day convention curated towards Black creatives within media and technology that is held every year in early October. 

   Every year, the convention is themed, this year’s being, “Museum of Us” which highlights the impact that Black creatives have had within the media and tech industry. 

“The most important work of art is the people in the room. The art is you. It’s Us,” as stated on the Culture Con page.

    For the 10:30am panel, Mayor Mamdani joined Chief Executive Officer and Founder of the convention, Imani Ellis. Ellis asked questions catered to creatives in New York emphasizing the impact of creatives that live in the same city that the convention is held in. 

 “This week we announced, for the first time in close to 20 years, we’re doubling the size of the artist’s grant to up to $10,000 in New York City. And this is a grant that any New Yorker can apply for so long as they’re an artist,” said Mamdani.

  After hearing about this panel, many New York attendees felt a sense of hope, including Bronx native Unique Tomlinson.

  “It took a lot for me to even get to this convention alone, so I feel like Mamdani has been a breath of fresh air when it comes to being able to commit to my craft,” stated Tomlinson. 

  Due to inflation artists, which make up more than 233,500 of the NYC population, have had to choose between their craft and bills.

   “To me, that’s also what it means, because if we just rest on our laurels as being a city where great art was once made, we will forget the fact that we’re becoming a museum where artists today can only afford to come once a month as opposed to live here,” stated Mamdani. 

  “I feel burnt out because I am stuck between doing a job to basically live or being able to fully pursue my passion which literally, sucks you know,” expressed Tomlinson. 

   This convention was piloted in a Harlem apartment by Ellis who previously worked in crisis management for Bravo, as well as VP for NBC. 

   She started this in her living room in Harlem designing this convention around bridging the gap between creativity and action; it expanded to the Brooklyn Navy Yard with a total of 12,000 attendees this year. Mamdani used this as a sentiment when speaking on the panel. 

  Ellis asked about the current climate and many artists not being able to fully commit to their path because they fear failure but also face the reality of what failure means. 

“ […] if you never fail, you will never learn. And so many of the greatest artists that we all admire are artists who had to deal with those kinds of failures. stated Mamdani. “And I would say that what we want is in this city that you feel like you can take a swing at something.” 

The NYC’s Council hosted a meeting supporting multi-language learners in early childhood education programs on September 29. The meeting was chaired by District 34 Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez.

Gutierrez mentioned the Trump administration proposed rule changes for Head Start, a federally funded program providing free childhood education, that includes a new requirement to deliver all instruction in English only. With NYC’s early childhood education increasing in prominence, the subcommittee wanted to understand how the DOE is planning to expand programs and inform families about options.

The subcommittee on Early Childhood Education held the meeting due to 45% of NYC residents from the ages of 0-5 identifying as multilingual with the national average of 32 %.

The hearing detailed the department of education’s ability to identify, educate and support the needs of multi-language learners in preschool programs. 

According to a memo issued by Erica Phillips, Deputy Chancellor for Early Childhood Education at New York City Public Schools, identifying multilingual learners in early childhood differs from English language learners in K-12. The latter identifies English language learners by having families take a home language questionnaire, an individual interview when appropriate, and the New York State English language proficiency assessment. For early childhood settings, families provide their child’s language experience through a survey that specifies which languages are spoken by parents and caregivers, as well as which languages the child understands and uses most often.

“All programs are required to support multilingual learners by using developmentally appropriate practices such as visual aids, modeling, intentional vocabulary development, home-language connections, family partnerships, and culturally and linguistically responsive instruction,” Phillips said. “The goal is to enable children to fully participate in learning while developing English.”

According to Phillips, the Department of Education supports emergent multilingual learners by using data such as home-language information, enrollment, provider information, current Dual Language Bilingual Education Program locations and K–12 Bilingual Education Program data.

 Implementing such support is aimed to enhance the quality of children’s learning experiences to ensure families have meaningful language access and to determine which programs best meet the needs of their children.

Just as with any early childhood program, there may be waiting lists. When a family applies for 3-K or pre-K, they can list an unlimited number of programs on their application. Each student is assigned to their highest ranked program or placed on the wait list. 

There is a massive demand for dual language programs in early childhood and 3-K. Dr. Georgette Branch, Chief of Learning and Partnerships, detailed the exact numbers in terms of applicants. For 3-K, 28 Russian language, and 60 for Spanish. For Pre-K, 17 Arabic, 129 Chinese, 100 French, 47 Italian, 24 Korean, 34 Polish, 60 Russian, and 1574 Spanish. 

To attend to the demand, Branch mentioned that there are 108 teachers who are certified or close to certification to teach in 3K and pre-K dual-language classrooms across NYC. To accommodate teachers, there are instructional coaches, social workers and inclusion specialists. These specialists help teachers in subjects such as literacy, language development, social-emotional learning and inclusive education.

The DOE is continuing to expand its multilingual program. “We cannot do that without investing in the workforce,” Emmy Liss, Executive Director of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Child Care, said. “We need to continue both bringing multilingual educators into the pipeline and supporting those who are already in our system to get their bilingual extension or otherwise develop the skills to support multilingual learners.”

According to Dr. Branch, the public school allocation memorandum for bilingual revitalization disseminated this year shows about $13 million distributed across 93 schools. The schools’  programs average from one to five years of existence. 

The meeting made sure to mention that multilingual children will always be honored and valued in the early childhood system. “We will always prioritize ensuring that they can show up and learn in both their home language and in whatever other languages they might be learning in school, and that we see multilingualism as an asset and a strength,” Liss said.

Churches United For Fair Housing (CUFFH) and Hands Off NYC threw a party Sunday for the Bushwick Latinx community to celebrate immigrant families and generate awareness for constitutional rights. Although the event is usually an outdoor block party, CUFFH moved it indoors to Xanadu Roller Arts due to rainy weather.

The venue was decked up in neon lights, metallic streamers and handmade ‘ICE OUT’ signs. Community members were in their Sunday best, with little girls running around in frilly skirts and adults in traditional South American attire. The organizers provided guests with free lunch, and access to roller skates for a spin on the course. The event welcomed people of all ages, seniors mingling with young adults and families creating memories together.

Gabriel Fantacone, CUFFH’s Deputy Director of Civic Engagement, spoke about how the organization usually throws an annual appreciation party for it’s members, and why it was important to have more this year. “We partnered with Hands Off, who we’ve worked with in the past— and we’re trying to spread more awareness about immigrant rights, have our community members engage with business owners who have been involved with housing advocacy and just overall letting people know they have access to resources.” Fantacone also shared that they had 324 volunteers signed up to work the event, and that both organizations were extremely pleased with the turn out. CUFFH is a grassroots advocacy organization founded in 2009 that provides affordable housing services and integrated social resources.

Hands Off NYC is a coalition that trains organizations, unions, faith leaders, and everyday people to protect their communities from ICE and stop the Trump administration’s consolidation of power. Jim from Hands Off, who preferred not to give his last name, said that gatherings like the ‘Know Your Rights’ party are a major hub for educating people about just how much power they truly hold. “We’ve trained about 2500 businesses in New York City, and each of them have been surprised at the fact that they can actually say ‘no.’” Hands Off trains volunteers free of cost and provides them with supplies such as ‘NO ICE’ cards to distribute to local businesses. The more volunteers there are, Jim said, the more people truly “know their rights.”

Overall, the event was extremely lively, and really felt like a celebration of the community. There were birthday parties going on simultaneously, which only added to the fun. Some independent charities were also invited to set up booths, including a fund selling jewellery to raise money for families affected by the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Most guests belonged to South American and Latinx communities, and CUFFH founder Rob Solano addressed them in Spanish. Fantacone summarised his remarks in English, after which Solano’s five-year-old daughter closed the event with a wave to the crowd.

Council members, parents and advocates came together outside City Hall on September 15 to urge the Mamdani administration to adopt more stringent guardrails on computer technology for public school students, starting with children in classes K- 5 grade ahead of the 2026-27 school year. 

The call to action comes following a drop in test scores.

The rally comes two weeks after Mayor Mamdani and schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels put in a one year moratorium to ban the use of generative AI for children in grades 2K-8. The Department of Education will revisit the policy throughout the school year. 

 Councilmembers Shekar Krishnan, Eric Dinowitz, and  Julie Menin led the rally, calling for bans on YouTube and  gamified learning, and a return to pen and paper testing. “Everything we give our children is evidence based,” said councilmember Dinowitz while calling for the Department of Education (DOE) to show the evidence of education technology or “ed-tech,” and how this is either helping or hurting the students.

Julie Menin took the podium to explain the consequences of too much screen time, sharing that proficiency scores for students in 3 through 8 grade have dropped since 2024. 

Parents were concerned about tech companies’ access to  and information about children through these big ed-tech platforms. “ i-Ready currently has two major lawsuits against them for violation of privacy laws, ” said Kaliris Salas, a mother to two boys and the president of the Community Education Council in District 4 or East Harlem.  Salas states many parents, teachers and students have come into these meetings stating how the children feel as though they are spending more time with the screen than their teachers.

Right now the moratorium includes screen time caps on certain grades. Students in grade Pre-k through second grade will lose their screen time altogether. Students in grades three through five will have 30 minutes of screen and students in grades six to eighth will have 45 minutes. Those in high school can still use AI technology platforms geared towards career placement and development. Although the policy is only for one year, if successful could be implemented into all classrooms. 

“We don’t hate ed-tech,” said Dinowitz. “We just want to see the evidence behind these platforms.”

The 14th annual National Voter Registration Day took place with a block party next to Washington Square Park as the November 3rd General Election approaches. As polls open, races are off to a fast start; in particular, the governor’s race between Kathy Hochul and Bruce Blakeman looks like a potentially competitive contest.

The event was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.; organizations such as Headcount and NYC Votes set up registration tables to encourage eligible voters to register. To spread awareness of other causes, organizations like Oxfam, which fights inequality to end poverty and injustice, and the Civic Engagement Commission, which aims to strengthen civic participation and support less fortunate communities, were also present. 

To draw people in, the event included vendors like Pots on Wheels and Nixie Zero Sugar Beverages, plus registration tables with prizes, including a chance to win a trip to Madison Square Garden to see Harry Styles in October. 

NYC Votes reported that 94.3% of eligible NYC voters were registered in 2025, with 260,195 first-time voters. That’s a 145.4% increase from 2017 and more than double the amount from 2021.

Because the event is held near Washington Square Park, next to universities like NYU and other colleges like City Tech, it is easier to reach youth and keep increasing their participation in elections. 

“It’s part of your right as a citizen of the United States to have your voice heard, to contribute to the civic stature of our country, to make sure that your city and state are represented well, and that funding goes to your cities and your education,” said Julia Bartholomew-King, a project manager working with Headcount at the event.

Some people still believe voting doesn’t matter because they feel their voices won’t make a difference. Lemuel Frett, a senior at City College, is a bit skeptical about registering, as he feels it’s not gonna move the needle. “I’m just reluctant to vote because I feel as though I’m just one person, so it’s not like if I don’t vote that it causes much of a disruption to the races.” 

On the other hand, “It’s really hard to question what’s going on in our country if you haven’t had your voice heard…Especially now, we really need to pay attention and participate in our government,” said Julia. 

With November 3rd’s General Election approaching and election season heating up, organizers continue using different outreach methods to help citizens register by the October 24th deadline. 

The NY Department of Sanitation [DSNY] told the City Council on Sept. 15 that it will reexamine methods to recycle residential textiles, even though previous pilot programs failed. 

“There was a growing realization that we are asking more of our planet and its people than we can endure, and that this economic model, “Take, Make, Waste,” was unsustainable,” said DSNY Commissioner Gregory Anderson. 

Textiles, such as clothing or woven fiber items, make up roughly “5% of NYC’s waste stream”, despite a “robust industry” surrounding textile reuse or second hand stores, according to Anderson. 

Every year, New York State residents and businesses throw away almost 1.4 billion pounds of textiles that could be reused or recycled, according to the NY Department of Environmental Conservation. Textiles include clothing, footwear, belts, hats, handbags, drapes, towels, sheets and other linens.

DSNY is currently seeking to help outside companies boost their efficiency in processing the items, rather than creating a mandate and method themselves.

“For textiles, there are a number of not-for-profit and for-profit entities developing their own operational capacity for sorting and processing, and DSNY is ready to assist as this industry develops,” said Anderson. “[DSNY’s] current textile recycling partnership provides easy and convenient drop-offs for many New Yorkers, but we are interested in working with private sector partners to develop mass market solutions more aligned with our composting and traditional recycling programs.”

Introduction 256, a bill being heard by the City Council, would require Anderson and DSNY to “study the feasibility and potential environmental effects of a recycling mandate for household textiles,” according to the bill.

While DSNY supports the intent of the bill, Anderson reiterated that there are currently, “several programs to divert [textiles] from landfills” in place. 

One such program places a bin to collect residential textiles in various buildings, such as one that has 10+ apartment units, office buildings, commercial industries – like gyms, apparel businesses, and hotels, among others– as well as schools and non-profits. 

Helpsy, a DSNY partner, will empty and transfer the recycling to its proper facility once the bin is full in any one of the 2500 buildings enrolled in the program, according to their webpage.  

“We think it’s a really great program,” said Anderson. “It’s a great additional amenity that buildings can offer their residents.”

The bin program has been “stagnant” for the past few years, according to Anderson. This lack of demand has also been the scourge of past pilot projects by DSNY to recycle household textiles, according to Anderson. 

“We have in two different occasions piloted curbside collection of textiles, and sort of proven out what these challenges look like,” said Anderson. “We had an appointment based program around 2022-2023 where Staten Islanders could make appointments for the collection of textiles. We saw really really low demand for that program.”

Demand isn’t the only problem facing a collection program, according to Anderson.

“The first was a pilot we did, maybe a decade ago in Brooklyn, where we did the curbside collection [of textiles.] We actually sent out these pink bags out to residents and said, ‘put all your textiles in these pink bags. We’re coming on this day, and we’ll pick them up,’” recounted Anderson. “We found a couple of things there; One, if it rains, it really destroys the quality of the textile, and the ability to reuse those textiles, so then you’re automatically downcycling them into lesser products.”

Anderson also said that operational costs create a barrier for the department to maintain a curbside collection program for textiles.

Previously, bins had forms for donators to take as a tax write-off for donating their textiles, which have since been removed. 

“Our prior contract was with Housing Works, which is a non-profit. Our new contract is with Helpsy, which is a B-Corp, so they are not technically a non-profit, so you can’t do the tax write-offs,” said Kate Kitchener, the executive director of resource recovery at DSNY. “[Helpsy does] work with Goodwill and a lot of other partners. A lot of the clothing does end up going to non-profits, but because they have B-Corp status, they can’t actually do the tax donation receipt.” 

DSNY awarded the recent bid to Helpsy because the previous contract, held by Housing Works, would struggle to maintain the project, sometimes subcontracting the collection duties to Helpsy, according to Anderson. 

As Intro-256 moves through the legislative progress, DSNY will continue to study and find additional gaps in current recycling mandates between residents and corporations alike.

“When we are able to do a first commercial waste characterization study at some point in the future after commercial waste bins are fully rolled out,” explained Anderson. “We’ll have a much better understanding of how many textiles there are in the waste stream, where they’re coming from, what the condition is at the time of disposal, and really be able to dive into programs around that.” 

  Every year during Labor Day, people from all over flood Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn for the   West Indian Day parade. On Sept. 6 in preparation for the event, Prospect Park Alliance and Smorgasburg hosted “Islands in the Park: A Caribbean Jam”. The event featured different activities and food vendors to celebrate the Caribbean community.

  Smorgasburg is a food festival that takes place in Brooklyn, with two locations; Williamsburg and Prospect Park. Multiple vendors from various cultural backgrounds serve every weekend in the summer until October. 

  For the event Federation Sound, a popular Caribbean DJ collective, had their member, DJ Danglez, on the turntables playing a mixture of new and old Caribbean hits. 

  Greg Will, also known as DJ Danglez spoke about what these events mean to him as a fellow Caribbean.

  “So I grew up in a house full of DJ’s. My stepfather and his family were DJs before I was born, so I kind of grew up with it,” said DJ Danglez.

   This is Danglez second time deejaying the Smorgasburg event. He expressed how his sets go off of the vibes and how he uses music to cater to multiple demographics.

   “I think you could plug me in any room and I can play a set for whatever the room looks like,” stated Danglez. 

  Many individuals dressed casually wearing flags representing their countries for a pop of color. 

     Lawn chairs and blankets filled the area with different families who relished in the sounds of the Caribbean. New York City (NYC) has a large Caribbean community, concentrated in Brooklyn. An estimated 1 million people gathered at Eastern Parkway for the West Indian parade, from all different backgrounds on the day following Smorgasburg.

  Right outside the tri-state area, a group of friends from Connecticut came out to the Smorgasburg event to immerse themselves in Caribbean culture. 

  Keyla Casildo, who is stationed in Connecticut but originally from the city, attended the event to get a taste of home. She expressed how the cultural scene is different in Connecticut compared to the city.

 “We came for the vibes, great food because we are stationed in Connecticut and the festivals do not hit and we are from the city so we miss it real bad,” stated Casildo.  

   Angela Herrera, another resident from Connecticut talked about enjoying her favorite cuisine and finally being able to enjoy it at this event.  

 “I love oxtail, I had oxtail and cocoa bread from the vendor E Cocoa Bread. It was really good, it was a little spicy but I told them to go light on the spices.” stated Herrera. 

   Oxtail, Jerk Chicken and a variety of other Caribbean dishes were served during the event by multiple vendors. Jerk Chicken is a traditional Caribbean cuisine which features chicken doused in spices and peppers. Oxtail, aptly named, is the tail of an ox that is served with another Caribbean staple, rice and peas and gravy. 

The 59th annual West Indian Day Parade traveled along Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, drawing an estimated million people on September 7 – including Mayor Mamdani – to what has become one of the city’s biggest festivals, and with that come safety concerns that have followed it for years.

The festival was slated to end around 5:30 p.m., 30 minutes earlier than last year, because of safety concerns. However, that didn’t stop altercations from arising.

People wasted no time flooding the streets Monday morning with flags representing different Caribbean nations and memorabilia from their cultures. It didn’t take long for the floats to settle in and the vendors to start selling. “The parade personally means to me that my people have conquered and sacrificed so much to get a day of celebration for all of the hardships we have gone through.” Nathaniel Smalls, a Brooklyn resident representing Barbados and Guyana.

However, this year, as in years past, some violence followed. There were two separate shootings that occurred around the parade, with three people injured. According to Fox 5, a man was shot in the buttocks, and another man and a woman both suffered graze wounds to their legs.

“It was really the same as it is every year,” said Keanu May, a Brooklyn resident celebrating his Jamaican culture. “But I would like the violence to be toned down cause that really lessens the excitement of what we really should be celebrating.”

Last year’s parade saw a similar level of violence. According to NBC New York, at the 2025 West Indian Day Parade, there were four different shootings with seven people shot. In 2024, according to Brooklyn Magazine, at least four people were shot, with one man dying in a shooting along the route of the parade.

Many people still enjoyed the day. “The parade was great as a whole,” said Snalls. “We as people just need to come together more and settle all differences for just 1 day and enjoy life on earth.”

On Sept. 8, Brooklyn College community and faculty members gathered at the Woody Tanger Auditorium to honor Dr. George Cunningham – A Brooklyn College professor for 48 years and a former chair of the Africana Studies Department.

During the memorial, Cunningham was remembered as a father figure who advocated for his colleagues, offered personal support to students and challenged them intellectually. According to his former students, his lectures extended beyond literature into resistance, responsibility and fighting for freedom.

Cunningham, born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Baltimore, earned a doctorate in American Studies from Yale University. In 1978, he joined Brooklyn College’s Africana Studies Department. Along with his service as Deputy Chair and two terms as Department Chair, Dr. Cunningham co-edited Representing Black Men and co-founded the Black Filmmaker Foundation.

Robert Jones Jr., a former student of Brooklyn College, described Cunningham as one of his first Black male professors during his time in Brooklyn College, that fundamentally changed his life. Professor Cunningham believed reading books was one of the most important things in life. Through his course “Reading Race,” he deepened Jones’s love of literature and taught him to approach reading and writing with a critical eye.

“He gave me a passion for resistance that I’ll forever pass on,” said Jones. According to him, Professor Cunningham also taught his students about civil responsibility, literary gatekeeping and the importance of education. He gave the students a path to run free. “Professor Cunningham was one of the very few people who knew the importance of freedom and to protect it, every hour, every minute, every second.” As he fought back tears at the end of his tribute, Jones described Dr. Cunningham as someone who “had his neck pressed bravely on the blade, daring them to cut.”

Former students described Professor Cunningham as a demanding teacher. Despite all other courses, responsibilities and deadlines, he expected all students to read multiple books during the semester and come to class prepared to discuss it all. “Pick up the damn book,” he would joke.

While he demanded rigor, he also offered support. Dr. Cunningham’s efforts continued outside classroom, as he helped his graduates find their direction in life, encouraged them to pursue higher degrees and offered them various job opportunities. “He’d remember to call you on your birthday,” said a former Brooklyn College student, Zinga Fraser, “He called me when my mother passed and talked to me for hours.”

Professor Cunningham shaped the lives and careers of his colleagues as well. The faculty members remembered him as a presence who knew how to light up the room. Linda Day of Africana Studies Department remembers her first encounter with Dr. Cunningham. “Are you an activist?” he asked Day during her interview in Brooklyn College in 1991, and her answer sealed the deal. “Throughout my career, he was the one who fought for my job and made sure I stayed at Brooklyn college,” Day said.

The speakers remembered him as a campus leader that always stood up for his co-workers, advocated for fairness and often took responsibilities nobody else wanted to take. Dale Byam of Africana Studies department mentions “If I needed help, everybody would tell me to call George, and he would always respond “Why not? Let’s do this!”

Cunningham is survived by his four first cousins along with many other relatives and friends. After nearly 5 decades in Brooklyn College, Professor Cunningham’s legacy continues through the students and faculty that he mentored. “He’d fight for you till hell freezes over,” says Fraser, “And when it does, he’ll fight on ice.”

New York City union members gathered in Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan for a Labor Day Rally and then marched to Foley Square to stand in solidarity with one another and to honor those who suffered during the 9/11 attack.

Organized by the New York City Central Labor Council, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, the “Our City, Our Fight, Our Future” Labor Day Rally and March was described by organizers as an opportunity to demonstrate the strength of NYC’s labor force.

While the rally does traditional spotlight unions and their workers, the platform and attention has been used to shine a light on and educate the public on other issues like the growing presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the United States or increased violence and control over women’s autonomy.

There were keynote speakers from many different representatives of the unions present like 32BJ SEIU, NYSNA, and TWU. For many participants, the rally was an opportunity to support their unions and to recognize how different struggles facing New Yorkers can be connected.

Rebecca Lurie, a member of several unions, most notably the Professional staff Congress and Carpenters’ union, said that she attended the rally primarily to show her support for the labor movement. “I’m feeling like all of our struggles are interconnected,” Lurie said.

For Lurie the rally was less about a single issue or even a single union’s goals but about showing the connection and community unity of the workers across NYC.

That same sense of unity was shared by Tamoya Norwood, an administrator and organizer at 1199SEIU United Healthcare. “All the unions come together, you know, and show our union pride”, Norwood said. “to show our union force.”

For some workers, being part of the rally was a way to encourage other union workers to become more involved and make their voices heard. Evelyn Lanzo, a member of the Organization for Staff Analysis, said, “Other union members should come out to represent themselves because I’m only one person, and there’s so many of us”