While the promise of the “American dream” still attracts immigrants worldwide, it isn’t necessarily the case with Ukrainians. They already have a home, career, and life, and all of it is now being destroyed. Although they all had to escape their country for the same reason, their lives in the US don’t have the same trajectories. These are five different stories of Ukrainians of different ages and backgrounds adjusting to their new lives. 

 Living in a hotel room

(from left) Anna, Zakhar, and Zlata Kuzmych in their bedroom in a hotel in Jersey City. March 28, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

 When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Anna Kuzmych and her son Zakhar, 10, were in Odesa, visiting Anna’s husband at a military base, where he was working as a soldier. So Zakhar’s older sister, Zlata, 16, experienced the first bombs falling on Kyiv while being home alone. She was terrified, and so was Anna. 

Zakhar Kuzmych with his ukulele in a hotel in Jersey City. March 28, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

 Right away, Anna and Zakhar took a bus back home. Meanwhile, Zlata packed documents and necessary clothes, and Zakhar’s ukulele and her grandpa picked her up. Already in a car, they met with Anna and Zakhar and immediately headed to safer Western Ukraine. 

 “Then my husband called and said that the situation is not looking good and that we need to leave the country.” –Anna Kuzmych

 After Anna’s husband’s urges, they all crossed borders with Hungary and split up. Anna’s dad is now in Teplice, the Czech Republic, whereas Anna, with her kids, traveled through Hungary and Italy and, on March 13, ended up in a small hotel room in Jersey City. 

 The hotel provided the room first as only a one-month help before the family found a temporary place to live. But it turned out, without any relatives in the US and only with tourist visas, it’s nearly impossible to get an apartment. And even though they applied for Temporary Protection Status, which could increase their chances of getting a new apartment and work authorization for Anna, it could take approximately six months before USCIS processes the application. 

 The hotel lets them stay for free even after the first month. However, the three live in a room with two king-sized beds, one desk with a chair, a bathroom, and a tiny anteroom with a wardrobe. 

 “My main task is to go for a walk with kids to get them the fresh air because our windows can’t be open. And we don’t have a kitchen, so finding food is more expensive.” –Anna Kuzmych

 Anna supports Zakhar in learning to play on his ukulele that Zlata packed him at home to keep her kids’ lives as normal as possible. His favorite song is Obiymy (Hug Me) by Ukrainian rock band Okean Elzy, which speaks to resistance and perseverance in times of war. 

 “I’m physically here, but mentally in Ukraine. My husband and other family members are still there. We’re trying to help them morally, but not stress them and bother them too much.”-Anna Kuzmych

 Struggling without healthcare

Lidia and Serhiy Stepanchenko in their daughter Natalya’s living room in Manalapan, New Jersey. April 15, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

Lidia, 82, and Serhiy, 84, Stepanchenko didn’t want to leave their hometown Vinnytsia, west of Kyiv. So two years ago, Serhiy bought two plots at a cemetery on the outskirts of Vinnytsia. When their daughter Natalya, who has lived in the US for over 25 years now, begged them to leave Ukraine, he joked that he is just going to crawl to the grave if anything happens. “I paid for these spots. I want to use them,” he said to her over the phone. 

 When eight missiles destroyed Vinnytsia’s airport on March 5, Natalya realized she needed to get them out no matter what. Serhiy is a bladder cancer survivor and diabetic, so he has a catheter and needs two types of insulin. And if a bomb was to destroy the refrigerator where he keeps his medication, he could die. So Natalya took action – she arranged her parent’s transport to Romanian borders in the town of Siret and flew there to pick them up. 

Lidia Stepanchenko holding a postcard, a necklace, and a blanket they got from volunteers at Romanian borders. April 15, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

Six days after the reunion, on March 15, they all finally landed at JFK airport in New York, thinking they had escaped all the problems. But a new one awaited at the airport. They didn’t know they could apply for refugee status only at US embassies and not after they entered the US and the immigration officer was able to give them only the B-2 visitor visas for six months. 

 “If it were just me, I would sit on the floor in his office and demand an immigration lawyer and fight for it. But I was afraid it was going to make it worse. And my parents were so tired.” –Natalya Schwarz

 Most importantly, they need access to medical care, and refugee status would give them that. For now, they rely on free charity care with minimum month-long waiting for every appointment or lab. Serhiy brought with him two months of insulin supply, but the two months are almost over, and he still couldn’t get more insulin vials which are notoriously expensive in the US. Natalya is now trying to get someone to bring insulin from Ukraine. 

 The old couple also struggles with adjusting to living in a small two-bedroom apartment in Manalapan, New Jersey. 

 So far, Natalya keeps her parents busy. Serhiy knows how to sew, so his job is to adjust the new clothes to fit their needs. And Lidia is cooking. That is, however, sometimes contra-productive. They both crave comfort food, and therefore, that’s what Lidia cooks. But it’s mostly unhealthy, and with Serhiy’s diabetes and refusal to go on walks, he gained five pounds just in three weeks being in the US. 

 “They don’t want to be here, they want to go home, and they’re constantly worrying about the rest of the family in Ukraine.”-Natalya Schwarz

 Parents stayed in Ukraine

Viktoriya Luchkevych at St. George Academy in Ukrainian East Village, New York City. March 30, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

 Viktoriya Luchkevych, 16, left her hometown Ternopil, leaving her parents behind. They both insisted on staying and helping the Ukrainian army fight against the Russians but wanted their daughter to be safe. So Victoriya took only two backpacks with necessities, made it to Moldavian borders, and traveling through Bucharest and Warsaw, she arrived at the final destination – her uncle’s house in Queens, New York. 

 “This was the first time I traveled through Europe, but I didn’t like it. I feel very bad. It’s hard to realize that war started in your country.”-Viktoriya Luchkevych

 Fortunately, she has a permanent residency in the US, so she was able to enroll in St. George Academy, a private high school associated with the Ukrainian church in the Ukrainian East Village, and continue in her studies to potentially achieve her goal for the future – get into medical school. At home, she even used to practice sutures on a special simulator that she could not take with her across the ocean. 

 Although the St. George Academy is a hard school that strongly emphasizes academic performance, she handles the workload well. The Ukrainian education system is strong, and in most subjects, she is taking here, they’re repeating what she’s already learned back home. But the faster and more intense pace of New York City is something that she struggles with. 

 “It was really hard to get used to the subway. Queens is far away, so I got lost a couple of times on my way from school. I come from a small town where I can get to the center in ten minutes.” –Viktoriya Luchkevych

 But the hardest of all is missing her parents. Though she speaks with them every day, and they’re reassuring her that they’re safe, she’s aware that they probably can’t tell her everything. 

 “I’m their child, so they must say to me they’re ok.” –Viktoriya Luchkevych

Maksym Kosar at St. George Academy in Ukrainian East Village, New York City. March 30, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

 In a similar situation is her one-year-older classmate at the St. George Academy, Maksym Kosar. He also came to the US by himself from Irano Frankivs after his dad drove him to the Polish borders and returned to join the Ukrainian territorial defense force. 

 Maksym now stays with his mom, who moved to New York City  seven years ago. She was actually the one who urged him to pack his documents, meds, water, some winter clothes, and electronics a week before the invasion started just in case something happens. 

 “My dad loves Ukraine and wants to save it. I speak with him a couple of times a day. I hope he’s safe.” –Maksym Kosar

 In Ukraine, Maksym attended a public school specializing in English and science as he was preparing himself to come to New York and St. George for his 12th grade and apply for a US college. 

Viktoriya Luchkevych and Maksym Kosar in a chemistry class at St. George Academy in Ukrainian East Village, New York City. March 30, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

 However, since he joined the academy earlier than expected, he’s still finishing his classes in Ukraine online on weekends while going to St. George during weekdays. And though his schedule is quite busy, he still finds time to talk to journalists about his experience to spread awareness about what is going on in his country.

 “I’m doing great in terms of that everyone is really warm. And I’m trying to do everything I can to express my opinion on the war.”- Maksym Kosar

 Tackling time difference while working in Kyiv from Philadelphia

(from left) Alla Pukhteska and Veronika Matviienko in the St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral in Philadelphia. April 23, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

 A few months before the Russian invasion started, Bishop Luke from the St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral of Philadelphia visited the Volodymyr’s Cathedral in central Kyiv. He told the church’s members, Alla Pukhteska, 42, and Veronika Matviienko, 50, that he believed the war was coming and that they could count on his help.

 And when the Russians attacked Kyiv, Alla called Veronika to ask if she knew any other way out, and she said no. So they began arranging their transport to Poland, where they planned to apply for a visa. 

 “We were afraid of tanks and shootings nearby, and when we saw elements of bombs falling from the sky on houses, it was our ultimate internal obligation to escape. Either you escape, or you die.”- Alla Pukhteska

 When they arrived in Warsaw, they contacted Bishop Luke, who helped them with the application process. After three weeks of waiting, they received visitor visas and flew to JFK, where Luke picked them up and drove them to his church in Northern Liberties in Philadelphia. 

 “Of course, it would be desirable to be able to stay here more than six months, because we’re not sure about the situation. As for last week (mid-April), the Darnytskyi District we’re living in was bombed. But visitor visas were the most suitable for the immediate way of escape.”-Alla Pukteska

 They’re now staying at the rectory near the St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral, still maintaining their jobs in Kyiv. Alla is a theology and administrative law teacher and Veronika choir director at Orthodox Theology Academy, and they still lecture and consult with their students using Zoom. With the seven-hour difference from the Ukrainian time zone, they’re teaching early in the morning, and because Veronika teaches singing, it usually wakes up the rest of the house. 

 Apart from Zoom classes, they both help in the church during God’s services and arrange church events, such as the Orthodox Easter celebrations a few weeks back. 

 “It’s the internal feeling of protection. We don’t have to be afraid of bombs falling on us. But personally, when a car is starting near me, I am still scared. Of course, there are also biological aspects impacting us because of the time difference.”-Veronika Matviienko

This is only temporary

Nadia Andreychenko and Timur Plitka in Nadia’s daughter Ira Lysa’s fashion studio in Jersey City. April 10, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

In the first week of the war, Nadia Andreychenko, 56, feared how the situation in her hometown Ternopil could evolve. She lives in an old building with only a tiny basement that provides basically “zero protection” if bombs were to start falling. So she felt that the only thing she needed to do was protect her family and her youngest son Timur, 13. 

 They took just a backpack with some clothes, electronics, and documents and went through Lviv to Poland, where they spent two weeks in Wroclaw and Warsaw with no clue when they were coming back home. 

 “At that moment, you realize that nothing matters. You don’t need anything, just to keep your kid alive.”-Nadia Andreychenko

 However, they knew that they needed to apply for visas and head to the United States. One of Nadia’s daughters, Ira Lysa, lives in Jersey City, and they can stay with her, hoping that they will be able to move back home after the six months that visitor visas allow them to remain in the country. 

 With the time difference, Timur can’t attend his Ukrainian school online, so he uses his free time to explore New York City, visiting all the famous places he knew from movies. It’s his first “trip” abroad, and so far, it feels more like a holiday for him. 

 On the contrary, his mom misses home, friends, and family. At home, Nadia helped Ira with opening a fashion factory in Ternopil. Ira is a fashion designer and building a fashion brand and opening a factory in her hometown was always her dream. But shortly after they bought sewing machines and other equipment, the war started, and they had to close the business for now. 

 Nadia spends time mostly with her son and daughter in the US, not really trying to make new friends. 

 “Timur enjoys the time here. But I miss my home, and I feel like I’m here only temporarily.”-Nadia Andreychenko

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 As I was standing under the famous arch, it felt like I was in the actual park; I could hear birds beeping in nearby trees and cars honking in the streets behind me, and the sounds really came from these directions.

 In front of me, in the middle of the park’s fountain, stood a giant billboard announcing, “Senior Thesis 3D Exhibition Opening.” Professor Fu, a new media artist, created the WSPark metaverse to display her photography students’ final projects to the broader audience available online. Typically, to showcase their student work, Tisch invites people from the art industry to an in-person exhibition, but access to NYU galleries is still restricted due to Covid-19. 

 “The goal was to create space where we can safely gather,” Fu said. Washington Square Park’s location was an obvious choice for her, as an NYU landmark and as a pandemic symbol. In the yellow fever epidemic during the early 19th century, many who died were buried in the park.

 Imagine the metaverse as a digital overlay of the physical world, kind of like the next level of virtual reality with advanced spatial audio and video that allows people—avatars–to interact with others and the surroundings.

Snow Yunxue Fu’s avatar in the Washington Square Park metaverse. Photo courtesy VR WSPark Facebook

The term metaverse dates back 30 years, first used in the science fiction dystopian novel “Snow Crash” by Neal Stephenson, where people use digital avatars to spend most of their time in the online world. Now, Mark Zuckerberg brings this vision to the masses, and has heavily invested in developing and promoting the metaverse, he even re-named his company from Facebook to Meta. 

 When Zuckerberg presented his vision, while being in the metaverse himself, he said, among other things, that the metaverse would bring enormous opportunity to individual creators and artists. Fu has the same approach. Apart from teaching, she’s also a new media artist curious about trying out new tools for creating and exhibiting her pieces. Previously, when she made some artwork digitally using virtual reality, 3D imaging, or post-photo editing techniques and wanted to bring it into physical space, she used projectors or 3D printers to show the artwork in its 3D proportions. 

 Making this jump gets easier with metaverse. Fu views it as “another fruitful and interesting” exhibition method because digitally created artwork doesn’t have to be transformed into a physical environment for people to enjoy it. 

 With the thesis exhibition, though, she did the opposite – she transformed physical pieces shown in NYU galleries into the online world and placed them on brick mazes that she built all around the Washington Square Park metaverse. And to start my metaverse tour, I needed to get from the arch to a map near the fountain to see locations of all the mazes.

At first, I was worried about how I would be able to move around the metaverse when the office I was in, with the headset on, was so tiny. Fu ensured me I didn’t have to move at all and instructed me on how to use a button on a controller in my right hand to teleport myself – hold the button, point at a place I want to be, and release the button. It seemed easy; however, getting used to the new way of the movement took me a while.  

VR headset and laptop conected to the Washington Square Park metaverse in professor Fu’s office. April 28, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

Otherwise, the experience was actually similar to when I visited the same exhibition in the in-person gallery in the lobby of the Tisch building, just three blocks away from the real Washington Square Park. In both cases, I could look at photographs from all angles and distances I wanted. In the metaverse, though, I was probably a bit more focused on “looking,” as my peripheral vision was a bit limited with the headset and therefore, I had to turn my head more frequently and consciously.

 The same thing also noticed Dawson Batchelder, one of the 46 NYU Tisch seniors showcasing final projects. “In the digital show, you have to think about moving around (as an avatar). Whereas in the gallery, you can just walk by and not really notice,” he said, contrasting the in-person gallery experience with the metaverse, when we discussed his images a few days before I tried the metaverse myself.  

 He talked about how the in-person experience can be more seamless too. And that I must confirm. Finding his photograph in the gallery was pretty easy compared to teleporting myself through the WSPark metaverse. But after a while, I finally found the right maze and stood in front of a black-and-white photograph of a sculpture surrounded by shrubbery somewhere in Central Park. Batchelder captured it on his grandpa’s old analog Rolleiflex camera and then digitally incorporated the sculpture into the image after developing the original in the university’s darkroom. 

Since high school, Batchelder has been interested in editing images. He used to play around with reality, for example, by making people fly in his photographs. And last semester at NYU, he took a 3D modeling class, and that’s when he got the idea of using digital sculpture to disrupt the analog photograph of shrubbery. “It’s adding a different layer to the image,” he said. And because he is fascinated by creating 3D digital art and wants to continue doing that after graduating from Tisch, he said that the possibilities of metaverse opened up “literally whole another dimension” for him.  

 For Fu, more options for curating artwork in the digital space is a big plus. “We could do things that would be impossible or very hard otherwise,” she said. For instance, security and changing weather would be an issue in the real-world Washington Square Park. As would setting up mazes and accommodating around 50 projects. In the metaverse, she built the brick mazes to hang the artwork according to the needs of this specific exhibition and can re-use it for potential future ones. 

 On the contrary, a physical gallery limits artists; they must consider restraints such as different sizes or materials of walls. Adam Ryder, an adjunct who assisted students with curating the in-person exhibition, linked the process to a Rubik’s cube: “A huge amount of work goes into figuring out which bodies of work are going where to maximize the wall space available best.”

The metaverse makes the logistics more manageable, too. There is no need to worry about visiting hours and it can accommodate more people than in a physical gallery. In addition, having exhibitions online has the ability to democratize art. As long as people have access to the internet, they don’t have to travel to see the collection; they can be anywhere in the world. 

 On the flip side, the technology infrastructure is not developed enough yet, so if that many people were to participate at once, it would require vast amounts of data that are hard to transmit or store. 

 And, technology is still costly. Snow Yunxue Fu is aware of that, and even though she enjoys utilizing technology innovations in art, not everyone can afford a $300 Metaverse headset. That’s why she made sure that NYU Tisch streams events in the WSPark metaverse on Youtube, Facebook, and Instagram, too, so people can at least watch it. That was my case, too. Before I could come and try out the VR headset at Tisch, I attended the exhibition opening event on the live stream. That was basically me sitting on my couch, looking at the screen of my laptop how Fu’s avatar was moving through the park, without any control of what I see.    

 However, it may not take long, and I’ll have a headset in my living room, too, since big tech companies have invested in the metaverse; Meta bought Oculus, a headsets manufacturer, and cut its headset price by $100. 

 Based on the enthusiasm of the Tisch students, Fu predicts that just as paintbrushes innovated cave paintings, digital art will become mainstream art too. Even now, most of their work goes through computers at some point anyway.

 “Even if the original artwork doesn’t involve any digital altercations, like a painting, it’s probably being consumed through a digital medium,” said Austin Fenn, another Tisch senior showcasing in the WSP metaverse his senior project of a large-scale collage of 16 photographs of popular products such as Heinz ketchup and Coca-Cola with logos deleted in postproduction, a critique of consumerism. 

 He thinks about art as just art, no matter whether it is digital or analog. Even metaverse isn’t new for him, it’s just another online platform to show his work. “I’ll continue exhibiting my work online, whether it be Instagram or a virtual reality space,” he said. 

 While older generations are still trying to understand the digital world and art, said Fu, every year, more of her students consider digital artwork as authentic and valuable as a painting or a photography. “They’re becoming digital natives,” she said. 

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 Oliver Eduardo, a teacher who started the after-school club last year watched as two students, Eileen and Emily, harvested lettuce and red cabbage, putting the leaves into a plastic bag to take home.

Harvested mix of microgreens packed, ready for a student to take home. March 10, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

Emily, a 16-year-old junior, signed up for the club to grow flowers, not lettuce. “This is much better. I can actually eat what I produce. It’s so yummy in a salad,” she said.

 Blake (who uses they/them) and their friend Alexia Leclercq cofounded the nonprofit Start: Empowerment that funds the gardening club with the goal of educating students about climate and food justice. 

 The non-profit contributes to the $5,000 budget for the program mainly used to cover the extra hours that two teachers, Eduardo, and his colleague Xiomara De Los Santos, must stay at work to supervise 20 students two times per week.

 Los Santos teaches Spanish; however, her hobby is growing her plants at home hydroponically because it’s more convenient and it saves water. That’s why Eduardo asked for her help when a student approached him last year with a wish to organize a club where she could learn how to use the hydroponic system.

Tent for hydroponic method of growing microgreens at the Spanish classroom on second floor of The Cecilia Cruz Bronx High School of Music. March 10, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

“We use coco coir, which is a more nutritious type of soil. Containers are in a puddle, so there’s no need to pump in more water. It grows so quickly with this method!” Los Santos said as she was observing two other students as they were putting the coco coir in the pots so they can place it in the tent later. Then, microgreens grow under the lights in the tent for about ten days before they can be harvested and then distributed to students and some staff members.  

 Blake has stopped in this late March afternoon to discuss expanding the club with the school’s administrator Vern Ram. While the kids were wrapping up, cleaning, and sweeping the classroom, Ram and Blake chatted about producing more greens as one way to tackle the food insecurity of the Bronx’s community. Described as a “food desert,” the borough has one of the highest food insecurity rates in the country, according to the Hunger Free America report.

 He hopes to help realize Start:Empowerment’s goal to provide regular packages with vegetables for students from low-income families and even produce enough microgreens for the school’s cafeteria. “It would be healthier, and I think that folks eating it would appreciate the hard work of their classmates,” said Ram, who sees the school rooftop as one of the potential places to expand the gardening project. 

 Funding is needed for a bigger space and Blake told the students to collect and keep track of data about their program as that can be used for future proposals. “These are tedious stuff, and I don’t like it either, but that’s how we get funding,” Blake said and explained that if they can go to a foundation with data showing what they can grow with $5,000, they could request more financial support for potentially even doubling the program.

 So far, Start:Empowerment has consistently partnered with two New York City public schools and one private school with plans to expand to ten schools over the next two years. Its activities are divided between organizing climate-based after-school programming like the gardening club and incorporating climate curriculum into classes. Though the work is shared, Blake manages the fieldwork and cooperation with educators while the curriculum is created by Leclercq, a self-described “nerd, who enjoys sitting in a corner writing things.” 

(from the left) Kier Blake and Alexia Leclercq, Start:Empowerment’s cofounders. Photo courtesy of Start:Empowerment.

 The non-profit started almost three years ago when Leclercq and Blake were both NYU students. Leclercq complained to a school counselor friend that she wished she knew as much about climate justice in high school as she learned in college. The friend encouraged the pair to put together a project as a part of an environmental science class at her school (which happens to be in the same building as Celia Cruz).

 They applied and received funding from the NYU’s green grant to write an intro curriculum. Then through interactive activities, field trips, or school garden, they introduced students to the basics of environmental justice, local politics, and land use. Leclercq noticed that students already knew a lot about climate injustice, not necessarily the terminology, but its effects like asthma, that is a big issue in the area too. 

 After this first experience, they updated the curriculum to make applying Start:Empowerment’s lesson plans even easier. The new version offers a broad-based approach to climate justice with fewer details, so it’s less overwhelming. It allows educators to pick and choose elements they want – from activities to story maps and PowerPoint presentations no matter whether they are teaching social studies, English, math, or science.

 They also want to nudge students to be in charge more. That’s why they’re exploring the possibility of selecting few students from the Celia Cruz gardening club to take care of the microgreens during summer break. “Our purpose is not to have people relying on us, but to give them back their agency,” said Blake. 

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 With only a few personal belongings, including Zakhar’s ukulele, the family arrived in Jersey City on March 15, after Homeland Security’s (DHS) March 1 deadline for granting Temporary Protection Status (TPS) for 18 months to Ukrainians who escaped war. 

Like many Ukrainian families that don’t have permanent residency or green cards in the U.S.,  the Kuzmychs are in legal limbo, which means they are staying here with just tourist visas.  They are not eligible for work and their children cannot attend school. 

“They are not even refugees,” said Oksana Yaremchuk, the head of Ukrainian New Jersey. “But they’re already here.” 

To stay permanently, Ukrainians could apply for asylum, but the system is already overstretched, even with Biden’s announcement on April 1 of the end of Title 42, the Trump-era pandemic restrictions at the US border. 

So Kuzmych and her children are stuck in a hotel room in New Jersey that was provided for them free of charge for one month. Zlata and Zakhar are attending classes remotely as schools in Ukraine went online once the war started. 

 Kuzmych’s main jobs are to feed her children, a challenge without a kitchen, and to get them outside so they can breathe fresh air. 

“Windows in our room can’t be opened,” she said. 

 She also needs to search for a more permanent home. They have just a few weeks before their time in the hotel room is up. But it’s a tough job to find an apartment without having a job. That’s why the organization Ukrainian New Jersey is trying to help them and other families in a similar situation with funding and the search for permanent housing. 

  Yaremchuk believes Biden’s administration should push the TPS’s March 1 deadline.

“It’s ridiculous,” she said as people are still leaving the Ukraine and are even walking to the border to escape the war.

Even though that wasn’t the Kuzmych family’s case, as they left Kyiv in a car, they still traveled for 20 hours just to get to safer Western Ukraine. 

 Consultations about options for Ukrainian citizens to stay in the U.S. are ongoing and expected to bring more developments. 

 Oleksii Holubov, the Consul General of Ukraine in New York, said he is unsure whether the US will push the TPS deadline or even whether it’s going to be extended after 18 months if needed. 

“I’m not Nostradamus,” he said. “I can’t predict the future.” 

 In Manhattan’s Ukrainian Village, Saint George Academy’s principal Andrew Stasiw didn’t want to wait for what politicians and diplomats will agree on, so he’d already provided eight students from Ukraine places at his private school at no cost and is open to accept even more of them. Some don’t have permanent residency or green cards, only travel visas. 

Saint George Academy’s principal Andrew Stasiw in his office. March 30, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

 “I don’t know if they’ll be allowed to stay to study here later. For right now, they need a sense of normalcy,” Stasiw said. 

 He said that these kids are traumatized. They escaped bombs and don’t know if they’ll ever see their relatives again. But sometimes, when they participate in classes, they forget, and that’s when Stasiw sees them smile. 

Saint George Academy in Ukrainian East Village in Lower Manhattan. March 30, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

Yaremchuk said there is an urgent need to get these children in schools. 

“After they arrive in America, Ukrainian mothers worry the most about what would their children do,” she said. 

Stasiw understands that it is illegal for someone on a travel visa to be accepted to the U.S. school.

“It’s not like I’m going to give them transcripts for the full year. Essentially, they’re auditioning classes,” he said. “We’ll figure out the legal status when the time comes. Some of them might return to their country anyway.”

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 Ukrainians have many institutions and businesses in the Ukrainian Village bounded by Houston Street and 14th Street, and Third Avenue and Avenue A is the area where their ancestors originally lived after the first Ukrainian mass immigration wave during 1870-1899. 

 As the war goes on, the community keeps gathering for fundraising events, for instance, in the Ukrainian National Home above the Ukrainian Restaurant or for a prayer for their home and families fleeing the war at St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church. 

 Ukrainian flags are hanging from many windows in the neighborhood. Frequent are also posters expressing support to Ukraine like: “Peace for Ukraine,” or “Close the sky, save Ukraine,” and calls for medical supply donations, which people can bring to the local 9th police precinct.  

 Many New Yorkers support Ukraine by dining in the notoriously known Ukrainian diner Veselka that is now drawing in crowds. Its sales have been up at least 50%, said Veselka’s owner Jason Birchard to Fox Business. 

 To enjoy a plate full of the Ukrainian traditional meal pierogis or a bowl of beet soup borscht considered a symbol of unity, people don’t even mind waiting tens of minutes in a line long across the corner.

New York state governor Kathy Hochul joined American Ukrainians for evening prayer at St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church in East Village and said New Yorkers stand by Ukraine. March 2, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

In the evening after school, students of Saint George Academy, a private high school in East Village associated with the Ukrainian Catholic Church, joined Ukrainians living in New York for prayer at St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church. They wore sunflower, a Ukrainian symbol of peace, on their school uniform. March 2, 2022 Photo by Nikol Mudrová

A bulletin board in the hall next to front doors in Ukrainian National Home with posters and flags showing support for Ukraine. March 5, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

Ukrainian Americans came from a protest at Times Square, where they showed support for Ukraine and demanded closing the sky straight to Ukrainian National Home. They hung their coats on a rack and put signs away to listen to some Ukrainian folk music at a fundraising concert organized by Razom for Ukraine. March 5, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

Oksana Izbyanska, a co-founder of the online Ukrainian marketplace UAartsy, in Ukrainian National Home during a fundraiser for Revived Soldiers Ukraine, a non-profit providing aid for medical rehabilitation of Ukrainian soldiers. Artists donated their artwork made with traditional micro-embroidery techniques and raised $7,539. Ukrainian Drama Theater of New York performed during the event and celebrated the 208th anniversary of Taras Shevchenko’s birth (in the portrait on the left). He was a poet, and his heritage is regarded as the foundation of modern Ukrainian literature and the modern Ukrainian language. March 14, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

A woman stopped by a Ukrainian restaurant in East Village, Veselka. She took a snapshot of a poster with information about an event called #STANDBYUKRAINE that had happened on March 2 in the Ukrainian Museum. March 5, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

Line in front of a well-known Ukrainian diner in East Village, Veselka, is long around the corner most days since the invasion of Ukraine. By dining there, New Yorkers show solidarity with Ukraine. As a result, Veselka’s sales have been up at least 50%, said its owner Jason Birchard to Fox Business. March 5, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

A poster across Veselka restaurant that calls for medical supply donations. All items are collected at the 9th police precinct a few blocks away – at East 5th Street. March 5, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

People stopped by a war memorial in front of St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church in East Village. March 11, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

Ukrainian flag displayed in a window in Ukrainian East Village. March 5, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

Posters with signs supporting Ukraine in the display of a vintage clothing store in Ukrainian East Village. “We love Veselka down the street, and we wanted to support the Ukrainian community,” said Danielle Santa-Cruz, 23, a saleswoman in the shop. March 5, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

Ukrainian flag above an Irish bar located across the St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church in East Village. March 11, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

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 Five years later, after the Global Climate Strike in September 2019, she started seeking information about climate on her own. Then last summer, after extreme heat waves, wildfires, and flooding swept America, Ellery became an activist.  

 She started with education as New York State has no climate lessons in its 24-year-old K-12 framework.  She designed a series of advisory lessons on climate change for the NEST+M High School she attends on the Lower East Side. “I thought other students must be scared too when we were not talking about it,” she said. 

 Concern about the present and looming climate change has given rise to so-called “climate anxiety” among Gen Z. The study, published in December 2021 in The Lancet, found that more than 50% of children and young people globally feel anxious, powerless, and guilty when it comes to climate change. And the study’s authors pointed to a lack of climate change solutions as a vital cause of those emotions. 

 Oren Pizmony-Levy, professor at the Teachers College at Columbia University, wants to tackle that with his ongoing project. With the support of the National Science Foundation, he intends to develop an innovative climate change curriculum for the city’s public schools. 

 Legislation is needed for curriculum changes to be officially implemented among all New York public schools, though.  

 In fall 2021, Ellery saw this bigger picture and joined 14 other students on the Youth Steering Committee of the Climate and Resilience Education Task Force (CRETF). The group connects people from teachers to students, NGOs, and policymakers who advocate for climate education in New York State public schools.  

 On Wednesday, March 2, Ellery and other students zoomed into a listening session organized by the CRETF with five State Senators and Assembly members to discuss five climate education bills pending in the State legislation. Ellery pressed about the most critical issue: how would funding for climate education be distributed equally among the city’s public schools. Because so far, it is not only inadequate but also inequitable. 

 

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 Manhattan Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal explained that a Senate bill that she co-sponsored includes grants for climate education, funded by a new checkoff box on tax returns.  

 While Emily Fano, CRETF manager and Senior Education Manager for the National Wildlife Federation, was skeptical of relying on “unpredictable” appropriations she was also concerned about the lack of teacher training. “Teachers don’t have time to teach about the climate crisis; they’re not prepared because they don’t have proper training and resources,” she said based on the CRETF Survey they conducted in 2021 among New York City PreK-12 teachers. It showed that 52% of them teach about climate change, but only about 1-2 hours per year; 68% of teachers indicated they lacked the time to do so. 

 Pizmony-Levy believes that New York City already has infrastructure for implementing climate education. He points to sustainability coordinators that all city’s public schools are required to have. Their job is to oversee curriculums, train teachers, take care of facilities in energy reduction, recycling, and waste management. However, only one in five indicated they’re “very informed” about climate change in Pizmony-Levy’s survey. “We just need to invest in them,” he said. 

 Once sustainability coordinators have appropriate training, schools will finally be sustainable as a whole. Pizmony-Levy believes there are dozens of everyday activities that could be changed. “Even in physical education, we can encourage kids to walk or take stairs rather than using elevators or cars,” he said. 

 That is essential, according to Pizmony-Levy, because “if you only talk about climate change in class, but then you have lights in classrooms switched on the whole day, it’s giving kids mixed signals,” he said. 

 Pizmony-Levi’s project is based on cooperation between teachers and scientists and brought them together last three summers. Scientists explained issues related to climate change and worked with teachers to put together lesson plans and classroom materials. “We want to create local, relevant materials that would help teachers and students understand how climate change will look like in their specific region,” he said. 

 The locally focused curriculum really could ease the anxiety youth may feel by providing them the opportunity to help tackle climate change. That is why Ellery Spikes got involved in advocating for climate education in the first place. “We (youth) want to be part of the solution instead of just victims of the problem,” she said. 

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“Because it requires a lot of data very quickly, it would likely freeze. It wouldn’t be in real-time. So there would be a big delay,” said Melanie Subin, the Director of Consulting for Future Today Institute. 

 She believes early versions of the metaverse definitely can function on 5G. Right now, most people are entering it through their laptops, and that, without a headset, isn’t immersive anyway. 

 But if we start to see augmented reality or, for example, the simultaneous translation take hold, a 6G network will be needed for it to work well. 

 “While 5G has really improved things over 4G, it’s a long way from being able to deliver two gigabits per second to a lot of people at one time,” said Tom Marzetta, the director of NYU Wireless. His research center at New York University was the first in the world to prove that infrastructure for 5G exists. Now, they research the future of 6G. 

 According to Marzetta, 5G can’t provide service, for example, for 30,000 people in Time Square, all with augmented reality devices strapped on. 

 The bad news is that 6G still doesn’t exist. But on the bright side, it is already in its early research phase, and experts predict that early deployment could occur around 2030. 

 Mahyar Shirvanimogaddam from the University of Sidney told ABC that the speed of 6G could be one terabyte per second. So in about eight years, the internet network would be so fast that one could download 142 hours of Netflix’s top-quality video for the same time as it takes now to download just one movie (and only if it’s already being downloaded on 5G, not 4G).  

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“The bottom line is that 6G will be the world’s first global cellular technology transmitting information over the airwaves at the real-time speed of how the human brain thinks,” Ted Rappaport, the founding director of NYU Wireless, said.

 As Rappaport called it, wireless cognition means that objects can communicate with each other wirelessly at the same speed as the computations of the human brain.  

 This is where Melanie Subin sees metaverse’s potential. No more staring at the screen and typing; people will live more freely, hands down and heads up. 

 “For example, if I’m walking down the street into the train station, I can see the direction set up in front of me in my glasses. When I walk in, the train station recognizes me and automatically charges my card. I’m able to see a text message or hear it in my ears,” she said. 

Bloomberg called the future rollout of 6G a possible next industrial revolution that could deliver real-time holograms, flying taxis, and internet-connected human bodies and brains. 

 Innovations related to 6G and 5G will also lead to societal changes. NYU Wireless’ research showed that 5G, which is now being rolled out, is the first global wireless standard that actually could help bridge the digital divide in rural areas. 

 That is because both 5G and 6G use smaller lamppost-sized antennas to transmit data. 

 “Where we can’t afford to go in and put fiber cable, we could easily put up a little lamppost,” Tom Marzetta said. Such infrastructure would be more pervasive, lower power – therefore greener – and it will connect more devices. 

 It all sounds great, but as Rappaport pointed out, the United States is behind in the 6G research. While China and the EU are already active (China even included 6G in its current Five Year Plan and launched a satellite into orbit that is supposed to text terahertz-frequency radio technology, which in theory will be part of 6G standard), the US lacks fundamental research funding and has no domestic cellular infrastructure manufacturer. 

 “It’s a race for the future economic leadership. It affects all citizens and the quality of life in the country we live in,” Rappaport said. With NYU Wireless, he is trying to push the US government into more significant investments to develop new ideas to make 6G happen. 

 That is also why The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions, the US telecom standards developer, launched Next G Alliance in October last year and put together the Roadmap to 6G. 

 The report suggests areas the US should focus on rural areas coverage, climate sustainability, security, technological education, communication to the public, but it doesn’t include any practical implications. 

 So far, Congress passed the “FUTURE Networks Act” on December 1, 2021, which now goes to the Senate for consideration. If approved, it will direct the Federal Communications Commission to establish a “6G Task Force” that would come up with the US plan to put 6G into practice.

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“Stop Russia Now”

“Save Ukraine”

“No War in Ukraine”

These were just a few of the slogans hoisted and chanted on the streets of Manhattan this afternoon. 

 Hundreds of New Yorkers, some born in Ukraine, Latvia, Kazakhstan, and even Russia, gathered to support Ukraine after the Russian invasion today. From Times Square, they marched to the Russian Permanent Mission at East 67th St, then back to the UN Headquarters. Another rally occurred near the Russian Consulate at 91st street. 

“I have family back in Ukraine, and they’re hiding in bunkers,” Ivanna Sakhno, a 24-year-old actress from Ukraine with short blond hair and a Ukrainian flag painted on her right cheek, said, as she stood in the United Nations Plaza.

Ivanna Sakhno, a 24-year-old actress from Ukraine and her friends voicing support for her country at  the United Nations Plaza. February 24, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

Sakhno said that she currently can’t get in touch with her father.

 “He is trying to help those in need, so he is driving kids of soldiers to the western side of Ukraine,” she said fighting back tears.

“Right now, the most important thing is to keep our head cold, heart warm, and do what’s best for Ukraine, which is to support Ukrainian Armed Forces, donate, spread the word, and demand help for Ukraine by calling your government officials.” 

Friends who came to the protest with her, hugged her after she spoke.

 Arthur Zgurov, a doctor from Odessa, Ukraine, is  determinated to help his home country too. He led the march with a megaphone, shouting, “Stop Putin now.” 

 “How can you feel when your country is invaded.You have two options, Either you panic, or you take all your inner reserves and stand up for your country,” he said.

Zugurov said that Ukrainians decided to stand up and he doesn’t plan to give up hope. He is convinced that he’ll continue to speak up and support Ukraine. 

Since the Russian military pushed into Ukraine by land, sea, and air on Thursday night, the situation has been changing every minute. 

 More than 100 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have been killed as Russian troops moved toward several Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv or Kharkiv, and took control of Chernobyl’s facility.

 So far, the ultimate goal of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin remains unclear. In a video, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian saboteurs had entered Kyiv and that he was “target No. 1” for Moscow. 

 That is also why participants of the protest voiced their message to the President Joe Biden and the United Nations to impose severe sanctions on Russia. 

 Tanya Nosal, an immigrant to New York from western Ukraine, said that Ukraine turned over thousands of nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees from Russia and the US when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. 

 “Russia and the United States promised us that if we gave up our nuclear weapons, they will protect us. So now we hope the US will help us in the fight against Russia,” Nosal said.

 In response to the invasion Biden unveiled a new set of measures targeting the Russian economy which include export blocks on technology, sanctions on Russian banks, and “corrupt billionaires” close to the Kremlin and their families. 

 While Biden refused to answer why Putin himself hasn’t been directly sanctioned yet, people protesting on the streets of New York were sure that Putin is to blame. And there were even Russians among them. 

 “I feel shame for my country and for what our government is doing,” Dimitrii Annekov, a data analyst from Moscow, now living in New York, said. To him, Putin is unstoppable. 

Tiana Vasilijev, born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, apologized. 

 “We’ve created a monster, and I’m deeply sorry. I’m ashamed for my country,” she said and added, “Please, help Ukraine.” 

Tiana Vasilijev, born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, apologized for Russian President Putin in front of the Russian Permanent Mission in midtown. “We’ve created a monster, and I’m deeply sorry. I’m ashamed for my country,” she said. February 24, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

Supporters of Ukraine give out posters with Putin’s portrait with a blooded hand over his face to participants of the protest in front of the Russian Permanent Mission in midtown. February 24, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

Supporters of Ukraine heading down through Lexington Avenue, from the Russian Permanent Mission in midtown to the UN Headquarters. February 24, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

Ivanna Sakhno, a 24-year-old actress from Ukraine and her friends voicing support for her country from the UN Headquarters Plaza. “I have family back in Ukraine, and they’re hiding in bunkers,” she said. February 24, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

People supporting Ukraine at the UN Headquarters Plaza. February 24, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

People supporting Ukraine at the UN Headquarters Plaza. February 24, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

The post New Yorkers rally to support Ukraine appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

The shooting was the first time two city police officers had been killed in the line of duty since 2014. 

“He lived his dream, although too short a time,” Reverend Robert J. Abbatiello, pastor of Sacred Heart in Yonkers said to the mourners.

Rivera always dreamed of becoming a police officer. As a kid, he was “obsessed” with watching cops’ TV shows, said his older brother, Jeffrey Rivera.

“He would wake up in the middle of the night policing,” Jeffrey Rivera said. 

Many speakers, including Mayor Eric Adams, said that Rivera was a hero. Keechand Sewell, the police commissioner promoted him to detective first-grade, the highest rank for a detective, which is customary when an officer is killed on duty.

“He was everything the city and NYPD needed him to be,” Sewell said.

NYPD officers waiting in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue for a funeral of killed NYPD officer Jason Rivera. January 28, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

NYPD officers lined up in honor of slain NYPD officer Jason Rivera outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where Rivera’s funeral took place. January 28, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

NYPD officers lined up in honor of slain NYPD officer Jason Rivera outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where Rivera’s funeral took place. January 28, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

NYPD officers lined up in honor of slain NYPD officer Jason Rivera outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where Rivera’s funeral took place. January 28, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

NYPD officers lined up outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral for the final procession with Officer Rivera’s casket. January 28, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

NYPD officers saluting their slain colleague Jason Rivera as the final procession with his casket goes through Fifth Avenue. January 28, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

NYPD officers coming back on Fifth Avenue in direction of the St. Patrick’s Cathedral after a proccession, which ended Jason Rivera’s funeral. January 28, 2022. Photo by Nikol Mudrová

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