Right now, there are over 550 official gardens in New York City, and of the 137 in Manhattan, 52 of them make up what is known as the Community Garden District. Scattered across the Lower East Side, these community gardens are teeming with culture and comradery. Each space is unique, and they are all managed and maintained by their own board of members.

The garden at the corner of 9th Street and Avenue C, or the 9th Street Community Garden is one of the oldest and largest in the neighborhood. Though it occupies a significant amount of space, an underground stream beneath the lot has kept it from attracting developers.

From April through October, the garden members organize a multitude of events to bring the surrounding community together. They throw holiday parties, host a summer concert series, and provide weekly gardening classes. 

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“How many kids do you want, Audrey?” the surgeon asked. The question jarred her. It was something she had thought about, something she knew the answer to, but it was not a question she was expecting to be asked that day.

 It was August 17, 2015, and Audrey Kingo was in the middle of what would become a more than 5-hour surgery after giving birth.

At 31-years-old, Kingo was happy, healthy and had just delivered the first of what she had hoped would be several children. She and her husband had talked about kids for years and had long known they wanted to raise at least two or three together.

Under the bright lights of the operating room, her medical team had tried hard to avoid performing a hysterectomy. But in end, Kingo was forced to make a choice that day: her life or her ability to carry children.

And Kingo is one of the lucky ones.

New York has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country. According to a study conducted by Merck for Mothers in 2018, the rate has increased by 60% over the past decade. But thanks to legislation recently passed by the New York State Assembly, there is hope that those numbers can change.  

The bill, which is expected to be signed into law this year, will establish a Maternal Mortality Review Board that promises to “review maternal mortality and morbidity, analyze their causes and disseminate strategies for reducing the risks.” 

Assemblywoman Latricia Joyner, who sponsored the bill, is largely responsible for its successful passage.

“Today we are passing legislation that will address the devastating reality that our maternal mortality rate ranks 30th in the nation,” Joyner said when she addressed the Assembly on March 28, the day the bill was voted through. “These startling statistics require our immediate attention, and today is a critical step in the right direction to ensure that women throughout our State will have confidence in our healthcare system.”

Looking back, Kingo believes she survived the birth of her son because, unlike many women, she had access to quality care.  

“I delivered at NYU Langone,” she said. “Luckily, one of the top obstetric surgeons in the country was on call and was able to come in to operate. I’ve had to ask myself lots of times what would have happened if I had been somewhere else.”

In New York, there’s a disparity in maternal mortality rates when it comes to race and ethnicity. The Merck study found that, when compared to white women, black women are 12 times more likely to die during childbirth.

Rodneyse Bichotte, who represents the 42nd District of New York, also stood up to address the Assembly after the bill was passed.

“I cannot express how important this is to me,” Bichotte said. “Because on October 4th in 2016 when I was pregnant, I was rushed to New Presbyterian Columbia Hospital after realizing I was dilating. And even with emotional and excruciating pain, Columbia Hospital turned me away.”

“Because of hospital policies, they said that they had no beds,” she added. “And so, I interpreted it as you’re sending me home to die with my baby. They sent me away. Never once did I tell them that I was an elected official.”

For Bichotte, the passage of this bill means that the constituents of her district, most of whom are of Caribbean descent, will never have to go through what she went through.

“I vote in [support of] establishing cultural competent health care,” she said. “And I vote for this bill to prevent any further discrimination like how I was discriminated [against] at Columbia Hospital.”

Kingo, on the other hand, was admitted to the hospital almost immediately. Though she had planned to give birth vaginally, she was 11 days overdue and her doctors were concerned about the weight of her son. She put up a fight but was eventually convinced to have a C-section. She was holding her newborn son in her arms when she realized something was very wrong.

After giving birth Kingo experienced what is called uterine atony; her uterus did not contract and she began to bleed out. She lost three liters of blood and was several hours into surgery before she began to comprehend that her life was at risk.

She looked up at the anesthesiologist and asked, “Am I going to make it?”

The anesthesiologist told her that her vitals were good, and that she would pull through, and she did.

Now, Kingo is a member of a Facebook group that allows her to connect with and support other women who have experienced similar traumas.

“I think it’s a pretty common thing for people who have near-death experiences to want to do something that helps them find meaning,” said Kingo, who works as the deputy editor of Working Mother magazine. “I want to give back because I was lucky enough to come out on the other side.”

This year, a blessing is at hand. Kingo and her husband are expecting a baby girl who they are having through a surrogate mother. The due date is August 17—the same day her son was born and the five-year anniversary of her near-miss.  

“We were so blessed to be able to find and secure a surrogate,” she said. “She’s 20 weeks now, so halfway through her pregnancy. My son will have a sister come August.”

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The neighborhood of Alphabet City is not known for its curb appeal. The intermittent vibrant, green community garden or eclectic specialty bar breaks up an otherwise drab span of decades-old apartment buildings, dimly-lit bodegas, and vacant retail spaces plastered with “For Rent” signs.

Nestled in the heart of the community, between Tompkins Square Park and La Plaza Cultural, a community garden, a desolate, dilapidated structure epitomizes this state. Cracks run up the tall, but crumbling, red brick walls and the spacious concrete terrace that served as an entry-way is boarded up with scaffolding and poster-plastered plywood.

This is Public School 64, and it has been sitting here, empty, for almost 20 years.

After a reportedly “concerning” crack forced the evacuation of neighboring buildings earlier this month, the current owner and the community are calling for an end to the standoff that has prevented development on the site for so long.

Jason Goodrow has lived in a building adjoining PS 64 for 27 years and was among those forced to evacuate in early March.

“Yeah, we were evacuated,” said Goodrow. “I was coming home from dropping a kid off at school. It looked like Con Edison had noticed the cracks and phoned the fire department who put us and the building on the westside on evacuation for about three or four hours.”

“The spider cracks have been there,” he said. “Now, to me, they look a little worse. But that could purely be me not paying attention. The Department of Buildings decided that it was structurally sound and let us back in.”

Before it was a cracking, boarded-up shell, the former school building was used as a community center of sorts. Rooms were rented out to organizations for meetings, dance companies for rehearsal space, and NYU film students for movie screenings.

Then, in 1998, the city held a public auction and sold the 111,000 square ft property to Gregg Singer. According to Singer, he attempted to keep the building functioning as a community center. He rented the entire building to the same tenant who had held a short-term lease with the city before Singer purchased PS 64, but the relationship turned out to be unsustainable due what Singer says was illegal renting activity.

Soon after evicting the tenant, Singer began developing a plan to convert the building into a student residence, but was met with backlash from the community and city officials.

Goodrow described some of the issues he has had to face for almost two decades now.

“We haven’t had much snow for the past 20 years,” said Goodrow. “But we have had snow, and it did freeze. So I’m walking down there with my kids and it’s an ice field. It’s okay for them, you know, if you’re a pre-teen boy and you slip and fall, it’s just an excuse to yell. But for me, it’s annoying and dangerous.”

The scaffolding that surrounds the building makes natural cleaning of the sidewalk impossible.

“The rain doesn’t wash things clear,” he said. “So when people don’t clean up after the dogs, we have that down there. And a few years back, there was a homeless encampment that got out of hand. He is just in no way acting in good faith.”

Though he is not a fan of Singer, he readily admitted he is ready for the issue to be resolved.

“Something should happen,” said Goodrow. “I think he should be forced to live up to the lease.”

He also pointed out that others in the community have voiced support for Singer’s dormitory, especially those who own businesses in the area.

“There have been a couple business owners come out in support of it [the dorm],” said Goodrow. “A friend of mine owns a cafe on the corner. He got pretty vocal about supporting Singer, but he had to be careful about what he said.”

Just two blocks up the street from PS 64, Gregg Singer peered over his photochromic lenses to blow on his cup of coffee. In a sweater, scarf, and fancy leather shoes, he looked the part of a wealthy real-estate developer. Like Goodrow, he pointed out the potential benefit to businesses in the area.

“You’ll have 500 students living here,” he said. “That’s 500 patrons to bars, restaurants, and other businesses that you didn’t have before.”

PS 64 owner Gregg Singer, and his attorney David Schwartz, stand in the demolished foyer of PS 64, discussing the potential the building holds. Photo by Samantha Springer.

In 2008, Singer circulated a petition of agreement to the renovation to businesses in the area and compiled over 600 signatures. In 2017, he pulled more than 1500 from members of the community.

Both Goodrow and Singer are under the impression that the entire fight is a facade for shady government dealings, but each accused the other side of being the one with dirty hands.

Goodrow said he thought Singer might have made a “backhanded deal with Giuliani” and Singer accused the De Blasio administration and local council members of taking payments from another developer.

While the governments real role can only be speculated at this point, there is no question that Singer has been cast in a villainous role in this situation. “They think I’m the bad guy,” said Singer, but his attorney, David Schwartz, said it’s not a personal vendetta, anyone who bought the building would have ended up in the same boat.

“Now he’s like Darth Vader, here,” said Schwartz. “But what some of these people don’t see is that this would have happened to anyone. Any person in New York could have bought this building and they would be facing the same thing.”

Singer stood in the hollowed out belly of the building, and looked around. The sunlight filtered in in through large dusty windows, illuminating the space.

“Can’t you see it,” he said. “There is so much potential here.”

Singer has a case pending in federal court, but until a ruling is made or an agreement is reached, PS 64 will continue to stand empty, a haunting eyesore on the streets of Alphabet City.

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In the dog days of summer, the John V. Lindsay East River Park is a hub of activity. The air of the long strip of land that borders the east side of Manhattan from 12th Street to Pier 36 is filled with the shouts of youth league soccer coaches and the huff and puff of runners passing by. Everything is green, heat, and motion.

Those August days are a far cry from the dreary cold of February. But even lack of sunshine and breath that hangs visible in the air can’t keep residents of the Lower East Side from using the park. It is a gym, a speedway, and a crucial part of their day to day lives – a part that could be at jeopardy in the coming years.

Recent amendments to a plan to renovate the park have residents of the Lower East Side at odds with the City of New York. These changes involve closing the park for several years and destroying the amenities and vegetation that currently exist in the area.

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy struck New York City, and the Lower East Side took a particularly brutal hit. Severe flooding ruined homes, closed businesses, and wreaked havoc on the park. In response, the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project was launched in 2014 with the goal of redesigning the park to protect the community from future storm surges and the ever-increasing risk of sea level rise, but the original plan did not involve shutting down or destroying the existing park.

Ross Martin’s salt and pepper hair is the only indication that he could be old enough to have lived on the Lower East Side for more than two decades. He and his friend, Marga Snyder, are among those who are not happy with the changes to the project.  

“The main thing is the closure of the park,” said Martin. “What I use the park for most often nowadays is as transportation. Bike, walk, run. It’s a quick way to get downtown. It’s a zero-emissions transportation corridor that they are going to close down for four and a half years.”

For residents of the Lower East Side, particularly in Alphabet City, public transportation options are extremely limited. Martin and Snyder are sitting in a bar that they regularly visit, just a few blocks from each of their homes. From here, the closest subway station is at 1st Ave and 14th Street, a 20-minute walk away.

“The East Side is always ignored in that regard,” Martin said. “We have very little public transportation over here and what we have is very cumbersome. There is no subway this far east, it’s basically a mile walk to the nearest subway stop. The buses are slow and crowded, and the bike lanes aren’t great.”

In spite of their opposition to closing the park, they are not opposed to the project itself. Martin has lived in an apartment of the corner of 9th Street and Avenue C for 24 years and witnessed the destruction wrought by Hurricane Sandy. He got involved with the project at its inception.

“There is a long history to this design,” said Martin. “In response to Sandy, there was a design competition called Rebuild by Design. The team that got Lower Manhattan was called BIG and they did a design called the Big U.”

“We were a big part of the Big U and BIG,” he continued. “The neighborhood was invited and they spent three to four years.. all these town hall meetings, lots of neighborhood participation, lots of outreach, and came up with a design that people were pretty happy with and a schedule and a phasing that we could live with.”

That is no longer the case with the plan the City is proposing now.

“The City has taken over the plan,” said Snyder. “But they aren’t really giving us any… they haven’t done it before and they aren’t citing any practical information. Not many people have done this before, so we want them to hire an outside expert and do more studies.”

The problem is time. Amy Chester is the managing director of Rebuild by Design, a non-profit organization that grew out of the design competition launched to renovate the park. According to Chester, the federal government awarded the City with $335 million after the competition, but it has to be used by 2022. Chester and Martin both agree that the time crunch is behind the amendments, but Chester is not sure the new plan is a bad one.

“Both of the plans will help protect the city from storm surge and sea level rise,” said Chester. “The plan is to use the park as protection for the community behind. There are many many things you could use for protection, like a sea wall, but the idea was to do something that had multiple uses.”

For some, the idea of a renovation in any form is unwelcome. Jennifer Morales has moved away from the Lower East Side, but has deeply rooted ties to the park as it exists now.

“I learned to ride a bike there,” said Morales. “I learned to drive there, fell in love (several times over) there and spent countless summer days tanning, picnicking, watching fireworks, running in the track, roller skating, go to parties and running in the sprinklers.”

The current plan is to raise the park 8-10 feet by building up the sides and piling fill and soil on top of the trees, track, and amenities that Morales remembers so fondly.

“The idea of it being buried like a corpse makes me grieve as if a beloved loved one has been diagnosed with a terminal illness,” said Morales.

Susan Stetzer, the press contact for Manhattan Community Board 3, said that the “community board has not yet taken a position” and that they “may not do so until the final design is brought to the board.”

The Community Board is meeting tomorrow to discuss the project.  

Parks, Recreation, Waterfront, & Resiliency Committee

Thursday, February 14 at 6:30pm — BRC Senior Services Center – 30 Delancey Street

(btwn Chrystie & Forsyth Sts)

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Friends and supporters of Ravi Ragbir gathered on the front steps of the Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan yesterday morning to stand in solidarity with the Trinidadian immigrant who was being forced to present himself for a second yearly “check-in” with ICE.

Led by Rabbi Joshua Stanton, the group also protested what they called the racist policies affecting immigrants and organizations that support them.

“We are here fighting for justice, fighting for the rights of immigrants across our city,” said Rabbi Staton. “And we are here because we are moved by our faith traditions, by our ethical framework, and by our love for a person who has become a true leader in our city in so many ways.”

Ragbir is the executive director of the New Sanctuary Coalition of New York City who legally immigrated to New York in the early 90s. The Coalition works to protect the rights of immigrants and help them oppose deportation. In 2000, Ragbir was convicted of wire fraud, a charge that warrants deportation in most cases, but until recently, he had been granted temporary stays because of his work and family.

This is the second year the group has gathered to support him. Last year he came face to face with the possibility of being deported after being detained at his check-in, but ultimately was not.

The gathering started in a rally-like fashion, with speaker after speaker showing their support for Ragbir and calling for the crowd to join them. Savitri Durkee, an activist with the Stop Shop Choir, led the crowd in singing the freedom song, “Woke Up This Morning” before other choir members took the lead with “We Got the Beat of Freedom.”

“We will sing Ravi-lujah,” said Durkee.

And sing Ravi-lujah they did.

As the echoes of their songs began to fade, Ragbir left the group to face his check-in and Rabbi Stanton called for the crowd to prepare for a Jericho Walk around the building.

“We are going to begin our Jericho walk, showing with our bodies, with our hearts, with our spirits, that we will stand with Ravi,” said Rabbi Stanton. “That we are here today in support of immigrants and that we care.”

A Jericho Walk is a sort of prayer walk derived from the biblical walk that God instructed the Israelites to make around the walls of Jericho in Joshua 6. Today, those gathered formed a single file line and marched, without saying a word, in front of the United States Customs Court and Federal Building and around the entire building.   

The silent line of protestors stretches around the front of the U.S. Customs building  in a “Jericho Walk.”  Photo by Samantha Springer.

In the crisp morning air, they hoped their silence spoke volumes.

Barbara Young immigrated to the United States from Barbados in 1993. This morning, she came out to show her support for her friend Ravi Ragbir, but had to step out of the Jericho Walk after the first lap, her knee replacements preventing her from continuing her march. For her, being here to show her support is personal.

“I know him personally,” said Young. “I was involved with a local organization of domestic workers here in New York, and he was an organizer in the social justice movement. He came to our organization to speak to the women and give the support they needed at that time. Today, I am very sad at what’s going on.”

She is not sure what the future holds for immigrants and others like Ragbir who she, and many of the others gathered, believe are being targeted for their activism in immigration politics, but moments like this morning restore some of her hope in the solidarity of the movement.

“I’m here with a heavy heart,” said Young. “But it kind of lifted my spirit to know, when I see how many people are standing here with him today, to know that I can come out and support him.”

Protestors from an organization in Arizona called No More Deaths also participated. Holding signs that read “Water not Walls” and cardboard cut-outs of water jugs, these men and women demonstrated their outrage at the decision made by a federal court in Tucson on January 18th to convict volunteers who left water in the desert for migrants.

John Washington from No More Deaths took the microphone and spoke of the charges.

“Four of our volunteers…” said Washington, “just a couple weeks ago were charged and convicted of littering for leaving water out on particularly brutal stretches of western Arizona deserts.”

According to Washington, another one of their volunteers, Scott Warren, was charged for allegedly harboring migrants and faces up to 20 years in prison.

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The days of big department stores with glittering windows and endless racks of product may be slowly coming to end. With a few clicks on a mobile phone, consumers can browse, buy, and ship the same product that could take several hours to find in a store. In the face of this digital boom, brick and mortar stores must find new and intriguing ways to bring customers through the door.

“Given the situation, it may be tempting to cue the Don McLean background music, all the while singing, 2018 is the year retail died!” wrote Jon Croy, CEO and co-founder of Point Inside. “But don’t sound the alarm just yet. There is hope for retailers who are willing to adapt to and embrace the many changes that have evolved consumers’ shopping experience.”

In spite of the closing of approximately 3,800 stores across the United States this year, in New Jersey, development is happening. Triple Five WorldWide, owners of the two largest malls in America, has plans to open a new mall in 2019.

This mall, called “American Dream,” is over 3 million square feet and will take a new approach to shopping as we know it. In an interview with WWD Studios, President and CEO Don Ghermezian described this destination as “unrivaled.”

“American Dream is a curated and thoughtfully designed blend of new-to-market retail, unprecedented entertainment, attractions, world-class dining and culinary experiences, artfully presented in an architecturally exciting and elegant environment like no other,” said Ghermezian.

Just under 5 miles from Manhattan, American Dream is set to be be 55% entertainment and 45% retail, with more than 100 dining options. Entertainment includes a ski park, a water park, a theme park, and more.

At the same time as this massive mega-mall is going up, some giants of retail are going down. Toys ‘R’ Us, Sears, JCPenney, and, most recently, New York City’s iconic Lord & Taylor on 5th Avenue are closing and downsizing on a massive scale.

HBC, parent company of Lord & Taylor, issued a press release in October of 2017 announcing the sale of the flagship store to WeWork Companies. The plan was for WeWork to take over the top floors of the building, but allow Lord & Taylor to keep 150,000 feet for a smaller store on the street level.

“Our partnership with the WeWork team creates new opportunities for HBC to redefine the traditional department store by extending those communities and drive additional traffic to our stores, particularly as we add co-working and community space to existing, vibrant retail locations” said Baker.  

But that is no longer the case. Lord & Taylor now plans to close the entire storefront and leave its 5th Avenue home of 104 years for good.

New York City’s iconic Lord and Taylor on 5th Avenue is closing early in 2019. As the holiday season comes to a close, shoppers are scavenging through what is left in the store. Photo by Samantha Springer.

Lord & Taylor is not the only department store in trouble. Sears Holdings Corporation filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in October and announced they will be closing 188 unprofitable KMart and Sears stores by the end of the year.

Macy’s has also taken a body blow. They have closed 81 brick and mortar stores.

This decline has been attributed, in part, to the rise in online shopping.

Since 2010, E-commerce sales in the United States have more than doubled. A report from the Census Bureau states that total E-commerce sales were less than $170 billion in 2010; by 2016 that number had reached just under $390 billion.

The ease of online shopping is a huge driving factor in this uptick.

Emma Manning is an associate of Marketing and Partnerships at Rank & Style, a media site that publishes daily “Top 10” lists in fashion, beauty, and lifestyle. Though the company is relatively new, their site is seeing approximately 14 million viewers per month. Manning attributes this to the time saving service they are providing their visitors.

“With Rank & Style, our readers come to us because they are typically busy, working adults or mothers, who just don’t have the time in their week to go in-store and purchase new items” said Manning.  

Another big consumer draw to online shopping is that you can usually find what you’re looking for.

Ramon Garcia wanted to do his Black Friday shopping in person this year. Even though the online marketplace offered the same discount as the store, Garcia Ramon made the trek to look for his Sonos Beam, but was forced to walk away empty-handed.

Even with what seems to be the upper-hand, this digital boom may not be responsible for the apparent decline in brick and mortar stores. Less than 10% of all retail sales in the 3rd Quarter of 2018 were a direct result of online shopping.

Despite the impending doom of major staples of American commerce, not everyone has lost hope. The success of the mega-mall, American Dream, remains to be seen. But in the meantime, smaller brick and mortar stores may still be able to cash in on customer experience.

In an article for Forbes, market researcher Pamela Danziger said, “The human element in retail is the most important factor in attracting customers and driving sales in-store, not product.”

Stephen Choi, a longtime resident of New York, doesn’t need a waterpark to enjoy the experience of shopping in a store. He likes to be in the moment, surrounded by other people in the same state of mind, and to see and feel the things he may buy.

“I love the buzz,” said Choi. “I love the hustle and the bustle. I like people around me, and it feels like a holiday.”

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As the rhetoric of the Republican Party becomes increasingly divisive, they are looking to their faith to help them decide where they fall on the political spectrum.  

“I grew up under the guise of thinking that the Republican Party was just right about everything because it took the “Christian stance,” said Naomi Jackson. “But the key question for me has become: what is God doing?”

Jackson attends Vox Veniae, a non-denominational and notably progressive church in Austin, Texas. Like any other church, the ambience of the service was set by dimmed lights, bowed heads, and soulful, heartfelt music, but when it was over, Jackson discussed the way the atmosphere of southern religion is changing with her friend, Gina Bastone. The change is particularly focused around influential religious figures like Jen Hatmaker and Beth Moore.

“These white, suburban, middle-class women, evangelicals, are suddenly realizing ‘Trump does not represent me, he does not represent my values,’” said Bastone. “I think that’s a really interesting, shifting demographic that is not what you see in the mainstream media.”

Jason Igkpatt speaks with another member of the congregation during the service at Vox Veniae. Photo by Samantha Springer.

Jason Ikpatt is also a member of the congregation at Vox. For him, the current state of politics in America has made his position abundantly clear and completely absolute. Because he doesn’t want “companies releasing toxins into the air” or for “children detained at the border to have to represent themselves,” he said there is “not much room for nuance to reflect my actual opinion.”

“For me, because things have become so binary in the political sphere, there is really only one option,” said Ikpatt.

Not all southern Christians have always had a liberal inclination, and some still struggle with issues that conflict with their beliefs. Roxanne Van Brown grew up Baptist and attended a Baptist church for almost her entire adult life. She considers herself a radical prayer warrior and has been a staunch Republican for many years, but a paralyzing fear for the future has swayed her political affiliation.

“He is a bully [Trump].” said Van Brown. “He is putting our lives, our national security, in danger, and I can’t support that.”

Van Brown is a member of a Facebook group named “Christians for Beto.” Though she vehemently opposes abortion, gay marriage, and the legalization of marijuana, she will no longer vote Republican.

“For me, the breaking point was when that shooting [Parkland] happened down in Florida.” said Van Brown. “I’m going to vote the way those kids tell me to vote.”

Jillian Myles works for a Texas state Senator. She also finds herself torn when it comes to the issues she cares about, specifically abortion and immigration.

“I have some non-citizen friends,” said Myles. “I care about their well-being, and their status, and their path to citizenship. But on the line of abortion, I have always cared about the unborn, because scripture says God knits us together in our mother’s womb.”

She had not decided who she was voting for yet, but her obligation to her faith plays a bigger role in the way she votes than her occupation does.

“Honestly,” said Myles, “I have just been praying a lot, and trying to look at the big picture… what candidates care about, what they are pushing and hoping for, in line with what scripture says.”

Like Jackson, she is looking to where she sees God and to what will advance his kingdom.

“And that is hard,” she said. “Because I think that both sides of the aisle have good ideas for doing that, so it’s hard to say that one party is going to accomplish it.”

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Paul Rossen and John Burke pose with their protest signs while selling anti-Trump buttons outside Trump Tower in Midtown. Photo by Samantha Springer.

As President Donald Trump arrived in Manhattan today,  two men used the platform of selling anti-Trump buttons to voice their concerns about the president and his policies.

Paul Rossen and John Burke both live in Manhattan and have been taking to the street to publicly oppose President Trump for just over two years.

“It’s a matter of protesting,” said Rossen. “And what the hell, let’s make a little money, too. Anything to blow off steam.”

Rossen made the decision to start protesting in 2016, just after Trump announced that he wanted a Muslim ban.

“I came out here over two years ago when he [Trump] said he wanted a Muslim ban,” said Rossen. “My mom grew up in Germany in the 30s and 40s, so this s*** about banning an entire religion, let alone “media is the enemy” really smacks of the early days of the Nazi regime.”

It is that very echo that motivates Rossen and Burke to spend hours every day standing on the street. Rossen originally started with just a few signs, but quickly moved to methods that got people passing by more involved.

“I was out here for quite a while before doing the buttons, but now it’s a great 1-2 punch,” said Rossen.

Paul Rossen and John Burke  sell anti-Trump buttons for $5 each. Photo by Samantha Springer.

The buttons he and Burke sell bare satirical photos and phrases like, “Dump Trump” and “Cheeto in Chief.” At $5 per button or three  for $10, it’s not about making money, it’s about starting a conversation. Burke joined Rossen about five days after the election in 2016. For him, the challenge people present is fun.

“You get a lot of feedback, a lot of blowback from Trump supporters,” said Burke. “But you know what these people are thinking, you know what they are like, and you know the stereotypical things that come out of their mouths, “get a job, you must be on welfare, oh, you’re a civil servant. They just sort of yell implications at you and you have to laugh.”

Today, Trump came to town for only his third visit to his penthouse suite since taking office. The streets were littered with hundreds of cops and secret service agents, and the sidewalks were all but shut down with blockades, but Rossen and Burke were still there, selling their buttons.

There were no other protesters on the streets, but they didn’t get any outstanding opposition or hate from Trump supporters, either.

“No more than usual, but we still get it,” said Burke. “Got an angry Australian, that was unusual. I just pretended that I couldn’t understand him. That really pissed him off.”

All joking aside, Rossen and Burke are seriously concerned for the future of their country. Rossen pointed out that like Trump, both Hitler and Stalin believed and advertised that the media is the enemy of the people.

“Trump has already indicated he would like to curtail publications he doesn’t agree with,” said Rossen. “People don’t think that can happen, but that’s bullshit, it can happen.”

So, they’ll be back, rain or shine, day after day, to inform as many people as they can of the danger they see lurking on the horizon.

“It’s based on sheer hatred,” said Rossen. “And fear, frankly.”

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Homeless women walked the runway last night in a glittering fashion show that aimed to not only fight the stigma these women face, but give them a voice to define who they are.

“We’re labeled as being drug users, or whatever negative,” said Renee Brooks, a model in the show. “Sitting home all day with soap operas, no education. That’s not true for all of us.”

Brooks and all the models who participated in the show live at Susan’s Place, a 200-bed transitional residence for women who are medically frail or mentally in the Bronx.

They walked the runway at the 6th Annual Health Empowered Beauty Fashion Show and Benefit hosted by Care for the Homeless at the Prince George Ballroom in Kips Bay, Manhattan. The funds raised at the event helps Care for the Homeless support the women of Susan’s Place.

Brooks walked in a candy red evening gown with a black vintage shawl and a felt hat. She added a runway twirl for flourish. Brooks has been a resident of Susan’s Place for just over a year.  A heart condition required her to need a defibrillator, and she was forced to seek out long-term medical treatment from the shelter. She believes the fashion show was an opportunity for people to understand that not everyone’s situation is the same.

“They get to see us in another light,” said Brooks. “They lump us all into one group, one category and that’s not true.”

Brooks hopes to leave the center soon and get a place of her own.

Sylvia Garcia, also a model in the show, is a former resident of the shelter. After nine months of medical treatment and counseling, she was released and now has custody of her four grandchildren, ranging in ages 5 to 14. She also teaches her own crochet class once a week at Susan’s Place.

“I’m proud of myself,” said Garcia. “I’ve done a lot.”

The rhinestones on Zuleyka Cordera’s black, full length evening gown glittered as she crossed the stage with her head held high. Cordero, a native of the Dominican Republic and a resident of Susan’s Place for just under two years, was nervous for the show. She was also excited for the opportunity to thank the shelter for helping her overcome her anger and learn how to use patience to solve her problems.

“Things that are big for me are small for them,” she said. I feel like these people have been my support system.”

Special guest Emmy Award winning and Academy Award nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger told the attendees that his first experiences with “the issues of homelessness” came more than 20 years ago, while he was making a documentary about the lives of people on the street.

“At the time, Giuliani was cleaning up the streets and getting rid of the squeegee men,” said Berlinger. “There was all sorts of policy and debates about what should be done with the homeless, but nobody was dealing with the human issue of what it’s like to be homeless.”

Cheryl Law of the Bronx came to show her support, but she was not always a supporter. When she learned a homeless shelter was to be opened near her home, she joined many of her neighbors in protest. She quickly realized that she had jumped to conclusions about the people who would be there.

“I just assumed it was people who made the choice to live that way,” said Law.

She now volunteers at the center and attends events like the fashion show to support those who are affected by homelessness. She also wants to help others who, like her, have been blinded by the misconception that all homeless people are the same.

“I was wrong,” she said. “It’s not that easy to judge who they are.”

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