“If you are white, you enjoy freedom, rights and all the privileges that come with it, Richards said to a group of young people as he canvassed for votes in the neighborhood. “But if you are Black, you have to struggle daily to gain your freedom, rights and justice in this country. The current protests across are a testimony that blacks in the US are still not free,” he said. 

Richards is one of nine candidates running for District 49. 

Richards moved to Staten Island over 20 years ago after graduating from high school in Africa. His father is Liberian and his mother is Ghanaian.  As a child he spent time in a refugee camp in Ghana. He later studied law and has been a public defender attorney for almost a decade in the borough 

Richards said, since declaring his intention to run for office, he has been a  victim of a hate crime.

Through his public defender job he has seen and heard first hand how police have been unfairly treating African Americans in Staten Island. 

“There is a relationship between low education and crime,” he said. “Most of the crimes committed like drugs consumption, gang violence, drunk driving are committed more by high school dropouts. This means, the more educated a Black man is, the less likely for him or her to commit these crimes in the community.”

As he knocked on doors, searching for votes, Richards told African American and African residents that over policing is impacting negatively the community.

“Due to the over policing of black communities, cops will see more crimes in those communities than in the white majority neighborhoods whose population is more than the blacks,” he said. “That’s why my agenda is to reform the criminal justice system and push for the rights of minorities in decision making processes.”

In a 2019 Center survey conducted by Pew research center,  84% of Black adults said they believe that they are treated less fairly.

Richards said African Americans  are also disproportionately affected by the coronavirus.

“Blacks are frontline workers more than other races,” he said.”They are the less privileged and those suffering from poverty and unemployment than all others.”

Richards urged the community to think critically about the next election as the fate of Black America is at stake.

“We can protest from January to December, but if we don’t vote for the right people in the election, our suffering will stay the same,” he said.  

Voter Lassanah Gray, said that Staten Island needs a selfless representative that will be able to deliver the high expectations of  the borough’s African Americans. 

He said he is supporting Richards because of his work in the community defending poor black people in conflict with the law. 

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Dozens of activists gathered at City Hall yesterday to support city council members trying to stop poisonous pesticides from sickening New Yorkers. They held signs that read, ‘Don’t Spray, No Way ’ and chanted, “Parks are for playing, not for cancer spraying.” 

City Council members Ben Kallos of District 5, who represents the Upper East Side and Carlina Rivera of District 2, which includes the East Village and Gramercy Park, are sponsoring a bill to prevent city agencies from using poisonous pesticides in New York City Parks.

The issue was brought to the attention of Kallos by a kindergarten class who had been researching toxic pesticides in the food served at their school cafeteria. 

“I learned something in kindergarten,” he said. “I learned that parks should be for playing, not for pesticides.” 

In a report by NYC Agencies, the city’s most heavily used herbicide is glyphosate which is branded and sold as Roundup. Regular exposure to this pesticide poses a significant risk in developing severe kidney damage and increases the likelihood of developing certain types of cancers. Despite a slight decline in the use of the toxin since 2013, in 2018, an estimate of 41% of herbicides used in New York City still contained glyphosate. The toxin is used to kill weeds in the park.

“Our goal is to ban this [glyphosate]. Straight and simple,” Kallos said.

Savitri D is the Director of Reverend Billy and The Church of Stop Shopping, a radical performance group based in New York City. She and many volunteers begun filing freedom of information requests to see where glyphosate was being sprayed around New York City and mapped thousands of glyphosates spraying events within the city. 

 “Glyphosate is everywhere,” D said. “We know roundup is the cheapest way to kill a weed, and we know there is collateral damage. We also know it is applied more in black and brown neighborhoods and people in those same communities have less access to wellness and medical care.” 

With the help of volunteers, Savitri D, a director at Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir, mapped out where glyphosates where sprayed around New York City. Photo by Bessie Liu.

 According to a report by The Black Institute, a non profit organization that advocates for people of color, estimates that more than 500 gallons of glyphosate was sprayed in the five boroughs of New York City in 2016 and mostly in communities populated by low-income earners and people of color. 

 “Communities of color and low-income neighborhoods are disproportionately impacted by this chemical, particularly young children who happen to use this park.” said Dan Hogle, a campaign organizer for the Black Institute. “Speaker Corey Johnson needs to call this bill to the floor and ban it once and for all.” 

 If the bill, which has been pending since April,  is successfully passed, city agencies must move to use biological pesticides, which are known to be less toxic and more effective than synthetic pesticides. 

 “There are alternatives out there. Smart, better healthier alternatives, and the time is now,” Councilwoman Carlina Rivera said. “We are going to follow in Chicago’s footsteps by embracing alternative, biological pesticides. Those are important alternatives because they derive from naturally occurring substances and are significantly less toxic and break down more quickly in the environment and are often more effective in killing pests.”

 With the support of 34 other Council colleagues, Kallos and Rivera have urged Mayor Bill de Blasio to place a suspension on the spraying of toxic pesticides in New York City until alternative procedures can be arranged.

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Parisa Pena, 24,  immediately noticed the transphobic environment at Kingsborough Community College, where she first came out as transgender to her social groups.  She was so scared of what others reactions would be, so to test the waters, Pena lived her life as a gender non-conforming male.

Last month,  Pena was one of over 100 transgender, non-gender conforming and non-binary (TGNCNB) New Yorkers gathered in City Hall’s Council Chambers. Of the 51 individuals slated to testify before the Committee on Women and Gender Equity, 25 were students, staff, and faculty at  City University of New York (CUNY) schools. Each recounted negative experiences encountered as TGNCNB students, staff, and their allies. Complaints included consistently being misgendered, the lack of restroom facilities inclusive to those of all gender expressions, physical and emotional violence, workplace discrimination, and much more.

The oversight hearing, spearheaded by Helen Rosenthal, District 6 Council member and chair of the Committee, allowed them to talk about their experiences living as TGNCNB people. 

Despite the passage of anti-discrimination laws such as the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA), this year, many needs of TGNCNB community, which hovers around 0.6% of all 798,00 adults living in New York, were still being overlooked.

“It became obvious as a city council body, we have an opportunity to have a hearing and ask the administration, ‘What is going on? What are you working on to address the needs of this community?’ she said.  One of those organizations was CUNY and many of their students weren’t going to go unheard any longer. 

For Pena, who identifies as a Latinx,  non-binary, transgender woman, it took a few years of being at Kingsborough  Community College before she was comfortable to tell her truth about being a transgender woman. When she did, she, like 78 percent of TGNCNB youth nationwide became a victim of harassment from students and even staff members at the school. 

“At times at Kingsborough, I was often sexualized and demoralized for being a transgender woman,” she said.“Students talked about me in the hallways, took pictures of me leaving the bathroom and spread rumors to the student population. Professors refused to use my pronouns,  defaming my gender identity. The student board committee didn’t do anything to protect me. The school just let me know that the student would be talked to and nothing else.” 

Shortly after the picture taking incident, Pena’s most upsetting moment came when school officials essentially did what the student did, and took a picture of her without consent, plastering her picture on promotional material for transgender inclusitivity in the school community. The material was circulated around the school, officially outing Pena as transgender to the entire student body. Being outed,  whether done maliciously or not, can lead to harmful, and sometimes fatal consequences. LGBTQ youth contemplate suicide almost three times the rate that their heterosexual counterparts do and are almost five times as likely to have made a suicide attempt compared to heterosexual youth, according to the Trevor Project. 

For transgender youth, according to  the 2015 National Center for Transgender Equality survey, 40% of transgender adults within the age range of 10-34, reported making a suicide attempt in their lifetime, and for 92% of them, their attempt occured before they turned 25.  

Pena transferred to John Jay College of Criminal Justice, where she is now a senior. While she still faces the occasional microaggression, John Jay has been a safer environment.  But for others like Red Washburn, 38, simply packing up and leaving Kingsborough wasn’t an option.

Washburn, an Associate Professor of English and Director of the Women’s and Gender Studies at Kingsborough, made headlines when they penned a June 2019 op-ed in the Daily News about the abuse they received from the school’s administration after coming out.

  The trouble began when Washburn, who identifies as transgender, non-conforming and nonbinary, came out as transgender to their department in 2017, announcing that they were requesting a name and pronoun change, as well as the fact that they were having male chest reconstruction surgery. Within six months of that announcement, Kingsborough informed Washburn, who has been at the college for six years, that the Women and Gender Studies (WSG) program, was getting defunded. They believe it was because they came out.

 Gender studies programs often serve as safe spaces for queer stiudents.

Dr. Brianne Waychoff, an associate professor at CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community also saw their gender studies department lose funding.

“I think that is how most interdisciplinary programs are at public universities. It’s hard for people to understand what they are,” Waychoff said. 

Despite not having a budget, full-time professors, or even a physical space for the program, Waychoff is remaining positive about its future.

“It’s consistently growing and students are taking the intro class because we have it as general education offering now, she said. “There’s a lot of verbal support for the program and I think that people are generally glad it’s there. There’s just not a lot of tangible support.”

Despite their negative experiences, Waychoff, Washburn and many others have hope that after the hearing, there will be better experiences for the queer  community within the CUNY school system.

“I was really moved and inspired by the testimonies that were shared today, said Washburn. 

 I know it takes a lot of courage to tell your story and speak your truth, but they gave me a lot of hope that things will change across CUNY.”

For Waychoff, change will only happen if there is continuous and consistent effort on all sides.

“Find your allies and work together,” Waychoff said. “Get on every committee that you can and bring this up at every meeting.”

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Donning a black “IAmWithKap” t-shirt under a striped fitted blazer while holding up a red San Francisco 49ers jersey with Colin Kaepernick’s name and number inscribed on the back, Councilman Jumaane D. Williams (D-Brooklyn) led a group of council members in a “Kneel In” on the steps of City Hall yesterday  morning, just days after President Trump called out demonstrations in the NFL.

The group of about 15 city officials joined together to display unity against the president’s tweets, which called the action of kneeling during the presentation of the National Anthem a “disrespect of our country,” and suggested that the NFL owners should get any “son of a bitch,” who doesn’t stand off the field.

“This here today was a protest,” council member Inez Barron (D-Brooklyn) said. “It was perhaps silent but it speaks volume in the action we are taking.”

This form of protest began back in 2016, when Kaepernick chose to kneel during the National Anthem in protest of the recent rise of police brutality against African-Americans in the US. The now free agent became the league’s unofficial symbol for the cause for police reform and civil rights for minorities.

“Protesting is probably the most American thing that one can do,” Williams said. “It is in fact the only thing that has ever propelled this country to move forward. Everything we have enjoyed from this country has come from protesting.”

Jumaane Williams (D-Brooklyn) speaks to reporters about the importance of understanding the reasoning behind Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players protest and kneeling during the National Anthem. Photo by Farnoush Amiri

The city officials demonstrating the right to protest also brought light to the lack of attention the president is directing toward Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. They said  his focus on NFL players’ right to protest is a distraction from more pressing concerns. One council member even alluded to racism being the reason for the president’s hesitation to devote more attention to the Caribbean island.

“The struggle for racial justice, which we are honoring by taking a knee today, is not narrowing about policing because obviously we have systematic racism in our housing, segregation in schooling and now even in our hurricane relief response,” Councilman Brett Lander (D-Brooklyn) said.

Lander, along with Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Queens,) were just a few of the leaders who showed support for their minority colleagues whose cause they said they are able to empathize with.

“I stand as an ally. Obviously I am not a person of color, but I feel that white people, myself included, need to stand up for this cause and need to remember how it all started, which is an action against police brutality and the experience that people of color experience, oftentimes at the hands of police,” Dromm said to the crowd outside City Hall.

Andy King (D-Bronx,) also believes that the president and others who are not directly affected have an obligation to the ones who are.

“I will ask Donald Trump, live a day in a black man’s shoes, live a day in a Hispanic’s shoes, you’ll have different perspective of the world because you were born with a spoon in your mouth,” King said.

For African American councilmembers, this cause is a personal one, but they know that not unlike the dozens of other civil rights marches and causes that have occurred in this country, this one will also begin and end with the act of nonviolent protest.

“When this started months ago, many of us made it clear that this was not about the flag, this is not about patriotism,” Williams said. “This is about a system of supremacy, a system of oppressive policy that has been around a long time, and many people have tried to use patriotism to stop people from protesting and we’ve said that that will not last.”

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Lavish signs in all hues of orange, blue, and green adorn Main Street in Flushing, Queens, showcasing homeland favorites like flaky, pan-fried scallion pancakes and luscious pearl milk tea to Chinese movies and books galore. Most of these signs catch the eye not for their colors or designs, but because majority of them are in Chinese.

“It really makes me feel like I’m actually there – in China,” said Rouen, France native Agnes Rousseau, 37, who was visiting New York with her husband and two young daughters. “But it’s extremely overwhelming and a bit intimidating how nearly every sign is structured in the same way with barely any English translations.”

Last August, Councilman Peter Koo urged inspectors with the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs to enforce a state law passed in 1993 that would require Flushing businesses to have at least 60 percent of their signs in English or face a fine if they did not comply. The law was originally enacted during the Depression to safeguard shoppers from scams in underground stores.

“Ultimately, these bills will help local businesses expand their customer base, increase revenues and be more consumer friendly,” said Koo in a press release. “Additionally, our police, firemen and emergency responders will be able to easily locate an establishment and ascertain what type of business they will encounter when they arrive.”

Koo’s chief of staff, James McLelland, said the bill is still being discussed in general counsel.

The proposition has divided much of the Asian population. Some dissenters believe English signs would not only “alienate” Chinese customers, especially those who do not speak English and rely on the signs for guidance, but also force immigrants to assimilate to American customs. On the other hand, supporters of the law feel that implementing English is something necessary that would not only generate more revenue by attracting consumers of more diverse backgrounds, but also seems proper to incorporate the dialect that U.S. citizens are required to know.

Flushing resident Yu Zhou, 52, does not want the signs to change. They help her feel connected to her native language and culture.

“My language and culture is all I have here to remind me of what I left behind,” she said . “I feel like I would be giving up a part of me if all the signs were to change.”

Zhou, who came to New York with her daughter and son from Shanghai nearly 20 years ago, said she felt the law “may have good intentions,” but being immersed into “so much English” in a city supposedly renowned for its diversity is upsetting.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Asian Americans constitute about 12 percent of New York City’s population, with those of Chinese origin making up nearly half that number.

Maylei Zhou, 24, Yu’s daughter, has been frequenting Main Street’s Tai Pan Bakery for her daily morning roast pork bun and hot milk tea before her commute to Hunter College, where she is studying nursing. She said the bakery, which caters to a mostly Chinese community, makes her relive the few memories she has left of her childhood back in Shanghai.

Maylei Zhou (center), a Shanghai native who has been living in Flushing for the past 20 years, shops for fruits outside the Ou Jiang Supermarket on the corner of Main Street and 40th Road in Flushing, Queens on Saturday. Photo by Alexa Mae Asperin

“It’s like my little piece of China,” she said. “It gives me a sense of connection to the things we left back home. But for others, the menu, the language, it may seem a bit overwhelming.”

Zhou referenced the predominantly Chinese-language menu at Tai Pan Bakery, where she pointed out the minute English descriptions under the large Chinese lettering of menu items, adding that for those unfamiliar with the Chinese language, deciphering the menu could very much be a daunting endeavor.

A few blocks down south at the Maxin Bakery, which also has a menu much akin to the one in Tai Pan, Mai Ling Chen, 45, said most of the regular customers were of Chinese descent and that tourists rarely frequented the eatery. She said the law, if enforced, would not welcome new customers, but rather discourage some of their current patrons.

“When most people think of Chinatown, they go to Manhattan, not Flushing,” said Chen, of Bayside, Queens. “Most of the people that come in here are Chinese and other Asian customers buying groceries or baked goods on a daily basis, not as a one-time visit.”

The New York City Department of City Planning’s 2000 Census states there are over 122,000 foreign-born residents in Queens Community District 7, which includes cities such as Flushing, College Point, and Bay Terrace. Of that figure, about 32,000 people are from China. Additionally, nearly 35 percent of that population does not speak English; Chinese is the main language spoken in 27,031 homes.

Gary Luo, 55, owner of a small electronics store nearby, agreed with Chen, noting that most of his customers are fellow Chinese consumers, many from his hometown of Beijing. Luo said most of the people that visit his store come in because “they feel comfortable asking questions about technical things with someone they know will not judge or criticize them if their language is a little off.”

Luo, who came to Flushing 22 years ago with his daughter and son, said he struggled learning English but knew it was necessary for him to start his business. He added that he felt it was important for him to know English so he could teach his children.

“It was scary at first when we first came to America, learning something new, but it’s part of being an American,” Luo said. “I feel as a Chinese-American that you need to embrace the English language but remember your roots also. You don’t need to give it all up.”

However, he added that the law does not take into consideration differences between the Chinese and English languages.

“That up there in Chinese means Red House,” Luo said as he pointed to a fluorescent orange sign surrounded by other multicolored placards. “But that’s actually a real estate office.”

Lin Chun, 31, of Flushing, left Changsha, China for New York five years ago to pursue a law degree. She has come to Maxin Bakery every morning for her usual coffee and egg tart, which she said instantly “teleports me to the corner bakery in Changsha.” She felt it was a “shame” that the battle for English signs in Flushing was garnering opposition because “equality is something that should be present everywhere.”

“I am proud of my heritage, my culture, my language,” Chun said. “You see all of that here, but I’m not only Chinese. I’m Chinese-American. And that means the English language is a part of me now, too. It’s only fitting that everyone should get the best of both worlds.”

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On Friday afternoon, a young traveler banged through the door of the 33 Gourmet Deli in Midtown, suitcase clattering in tow. She barked a strange lunch order at the cooks behind the counter.

“Where can I charge my cell phone?” she huffed.

The cooks rolled their eyes. The explosion of intercity bus travel has brought huge crowds and their occasionally prickly attitudes to New York’s sidewalks.

In early February, State Senator Daniel Squadron teamed up with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and City Council member Margaret Chin to draft legislation that would bring the sidewalk chaos under control. Their bill intends to implement a permit system for curbside bus operators, who will have to certify their departure and arrival points and work with community boards to ensure that the lines for buses are not safety hazards.

“With no rules to regulate buses, the streets of Chinatown are like the wild west and that doesn’t work for bus companies or the community,” Senator Squadron said in a press release.

The bill arose out of complaints from residents near the curbside bus stops, who grumble about congestion, air pollution and noise.

Kevin Kim, a manager at 33 Gourmet, said the clamor from idling buses is so bad that it affects people who live high above street level.

“Even up on the sixth, seventh floor, they complain,” he said.

Statistics show riders are willing to forgive such problems in exchange for a cheap ticket to a major city. A December 2010 study by the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University found that intercity buses are the fastest growing mode of transportation in the U.S. for the third straight year.

Becca Dunne, a student from Boston, revealed the driving factor behind this explosive growth: price.

“I got this bus ticket I booked two months ago for 13 bucks one way, and compared to flying or anything, it’s a really good deal,” she said while waiting in line for the Megabus.

But even with more passengers creating more foot traffic in front of nearby businesses, some employees say bus lines actually contribute to a decline in sales. Steve Dane, a magician at Fantasma Magic on 33rd Street, complained that suitcases frequently block his store’s sign, preventing new customers from finding the entrance.

He wondered how the rate of growth in the curbside bus industry could go unchecked for so long.

“I can’t believe that the Mayor, or whoever is responsible, would allow a situation like that to happen at such a random place, and whoever happens to be in business suffers the consequences,” he said.

Megabus, Bolt Bus, and Fung Wah—the major curbside bus companies operating in New York— expressed their uniform desire to work with the city’s Department of Transportation to make sure the buses are safe for everyone.

Tim Stokes, a spokesperson for Bolt Bus, said in an email that the company wants to be “good corporate citizens.” He stressed Bolt Bus welcomes the new regulations as long as they are applied evenly.

“As long as each curbside carrier is treated equally in their operations, we are fine with any changes the cities or government deem necessary,” he wrote.

He did not speculate about whether or not the new regulations might make it necessary for curbside bus operators to raise prices.

Though Dane and other employees are frustrated by the chaos, many consider the proposed legislation a step in the right direction.

“I think it sounds like a good first step,” Dane said. “Keeping track of things would be a good idea.”

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