Photos by Mali Gibbs

After years of advocacy, residents helped preserve the abandoned building as a community asset through a Community Land Trust, a model designed to promote affordability, sustainability and long-term community stewardship. The HEArts Center will provide accessible, affordable space for organizations serving Mott Haven and Port Morris while honoring the site’s legacy of community-led health and activism. The groundbreaking on Sept. 23 and Community Celebration on Sept. 26 marked major milestones in the project and its broader push for community self-determination and equity. The site is also being considered for historic designations that could formally recognize its significance, including potential recognition as a National Historic Place.

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Weekday construction for the Manhattan borough-based jail will extend to midnight as pressure mounts for the city to finish four new detention facilities to replace Rikers Island and ensure its legally-mandated closure, according to an upcoming announcement. An NYC Department of Buildings permit now allows builders to continue working on the project located on 124-125 White St. past 6 p.m. and until 12 a.m., although the noisiest work will stop by 10 p.m.

The city expects the polarizing Chinatown-based facility to open in early 2032, which falls nearly five years after the legally-set deadline to close Rikers Island by next summer. Close Rikers czar Dana Kaplan told the Amsterdam News the additional hours are required to prevent further delays.

“This is part of our broader commitment to close Rikers Island on the fastest timeline possible,” she said. “It is a legal requirement for the city but it’s also a moral imperative for us that we move ahead with the closure as quickly as we can and bring on-line this borough-based jail system that will have significantly improved conditions for people in custody and the staff who work there everyday. Beginning the after-hours work allows us to be on the fastest timeline possible towards completion.”

Beyond the after-hours construction, start time remains at 7 a.m. on the weekdays and adds Saturday work between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The city also pointed to noise-mitigating measures like sound blankets, equipment mufflers, and temporary sound barriers. The Brooklyn borough-based jail is also under after-hours construction.

Rikers Island is where the majority of the city’s jails are and overwhelmingly hold people on pretrial detention who remain “innocent until proven guilty.” Most people in custody are also Black or Brown. Proponents vow the new jails will provide significantly more humane conditions and allow for faster transport to court hearings, with most adjacent to a corresponding municipal courthouse.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani inherited the Rikers closure plan from the de Blasio administration and setbacks from the previous Adams administration. From one side, he faces opposition from local Chinatown advocates who have protested the jail for more than half a decade. Meanwhile, criminal justice reform advocates fear the city is severely off track from the Rikers closure plan and regularly raise concerns with low-level enforcement outpacing releases, as the four facilities combined are scheduled to hold just more than 4,000 beds (Rikers regularly hovers around 6,000 people in custody).

Kaplan, who worked on the plan under de Blasio, joined the Mamdani administration as a foremost expert on the issue and to identify how the city could get back on track as all four jails are scheduled to open after 2027. For years, she served on the Independent Rikers Commission and called on the Adams administration to implement measures to speed up construction and safely reduce the incarcerated population on Rikers Island.

In April, Documented reported how the city initially paused after-hours construction plans. The Mamdani administration mentioned ongoing conversations with the local Chinatown community, which frequently staged protests against the new jail.

Opponents of the jail range from frustrated residents and local business owners to abolitionist activists and critics of the multi-billion dollar price tag. Some say keep Rikers open. Others want the city to move the jail to a nearby site, where an empty federal detention center sits. And from the left, some organizers want the city to close Rikers without opening any replacement facilities.

But the Mamdani administration maintains it will “comply with law” in regards to the borough-based jail plan, which most criminal justice reform organizations around the city support. According to Kaplan, the city will address environmental concerns when rolling out after-hours construction. “They’re concerned and we are putting in place a comprehensive plan to address them,” she said. “Our focus is being able to address the neighborhood’s concerns while remaining focused on closing Rikers Island as quickly as possible.”

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New Hampshire at North Carolina A&T
Saturday, 12 p.m., Greensboro, N.C.

Robert Morris at Morgan State
Saturday, 12 p.m., Baltimore, Md.
Morgan State Homecoming

Bowie State at Winston-Salem State
Saturday, 1 p.m., Winston-Salem, N.C.

Clark Atlanta at Fort Valley State
Saturday, 1 p.m., Fort Valley, Ga.

Concord at West Virginia State
Saturday, 1 p.m., Institute, W.Va.

Franklin Pierce at Delaware State
Saturday, 1 p.m., Dover, Del.
Delaware State Homecoming

Lincoln (Pa.) at Elizabeth City State
Saturday, 1 p.m., Elizabeth City, N.C.
Elizabeth City State Homecoming

Livingstone at Virginia State
Saturday, 1 p.m., Ettrick, Va.
Virginia State Homecoming

Savannah State at Morehouse
Saturday, 1 p.m., Atlanta, Ga.
Morehouse Homecoming

Shaw at Johnson C. Smith
Saturday, 1 p.m., Charlotte, N.C.

Tuskegee at Central State
Saturday, 1 p.m., Wilberforce, Ohio
Central State Homecoming

William & Mary at North Carolina Central
Saturday, 1 p.m., Durham, N.C.
North Carolina Central Homecoming

Arkansas Baptist at Alcorn State
Saturday, 2 p.m. CT, Lorman, Miss.
Alcorn State Homecoming

Benedict at Allen
Saturday, 2 p.m., Columbia, S.C.

Lane at Albany State
Saturday, 2 p.m., Albany, Ga.
Albany State Homecoming

Southern at Prairie View A&M
Saturday, 2 p.m. CT, Prairie View, Texas

Virginia-Lynchburg at Norfolk State
Saturday, 2 p.m., Norfolk, Va.
Norfolk State Homecoming

UT Martin at Tennessee State
Saturday, 2:30 p.m. CT, Nashville, Tenn.

Florida A&M at Alabama State
Saturday, 3 p.m. CT, Montgomery, Ala.
Alabama State Homecoming

Jackson State at Grambling State
Saturday, 4 p.m. CT, Grambling, La.

Bethune-Cookman at Alabama A&M
Saturday, 6 p.m. CT, Huntsville, Ala.

Florida Memorial at Keiser
Saturday, 6 p.m., West Palm Beach, Fla.

South Carolina State at Charleston Southern
Saturday, 6 p.m., North Charleston, S.C.

Howard at Penn
Saturday, TBA, Philadelphia, Pa.

Miles at Kentucky State
Saturday, TBA, Frankfort, Ky.
Kentucky State Homecoming

Mississippi Valley State at Texas Southern
Saturday, TBA, Houston, Texas

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The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) New York State Conference is celebrating 90 years of history and impact while looking toward the future with its upcoming Generations of Justice Gala, an evening honoring the many generations who shaped and contributed to the future of civil rights and equity in New York.

The gala will take place Oct. 9 at Capitale NYC, with the blue carpet beginning at 5 p.m.

For 90 years, the New York State Conference has been an essential part of the NAACP’s efforts to push the fight for freedom and equality forward.

“This period is particularly heavy and we’re inundated every day with a new challenge, a new thing that we have to combat or fight against. Next Friday evening is a time for us to celebrate and to remind ourselves of the great legacy and history that we come from being Black New Yorkers, and to celebrate the individuals, but more importantly, the collective of those who’ve come together, and said, let us fight for justice and equity together,” L. Joy Williams, president of the New York State NAACP Conference, said.

The event will honor pioneers from diverse industries, including fashion designer Brandon Blackwood, healthcare executive Andrew L. Davis, MBA, Tony Award-winning producer Lamar Richardson and labor leader Candis Tall, while also bringing together various leaders, partners and changemakers from across New York.

“I thought it was important to have that representation, and also have a diversity of industries and impact,” Williams said. “It’s going to be amazing to highlight this diversity, not only repeating it back to ourselves, but to the larger New York community, then demonstrate that we are everywhere, and collectively, we help elevate the New York story and the American story by our unique diversity and culture that we bring to the table.”

In addition, the evening will feature inspiring storytelling, tributes to changemakers and rising leaders, live performances and entertainment, as well as a time capsule containing important historical artifacts and items from the past 90 years.

Williams said the time capsule will spotlight the legacy left by Black New Yorkers across the entire state.

“I am looking forward to people rediscovering that Black New Yorkers come from all parts of New York, not just New York City, and highlighting the incredible legacy that we have across the state from Brooklyn to Buffalo and Albany.”

Attendees will also be able to participate in a silent auction and the Generations of Style VIP Lounge Experience, hosted by television personality and businesswoman Bevy Smith.

“The theme is generations of justice, but also accompanying that we have our blue carpet, that’s hosted by Bevy Smith, that [shows] even while we were fighting injustice, even while we were investing in our communities and public education, expanding economic opportunities, we do so with style and to celebrate the incredible style that we bring to our culture, in addition to celebrating the incredible organizers and justice work. I think it’s a testament to who we are,” Williams said.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to Brandon Blackwood as Brandon Blackwell.

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NEW YORK (AP) — Egyptian authorities on Thursday accused six journalists detained this week of membership in the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, saying they produced fabricated news for an online outlet in exchange for funding from abroad.

The arrests swept up the entire editorial team of Matsadaash, Arabic for “Don’t Believe,” one of Egypt’s few independent outlets, which started eight years ago as a fact-checking platform and has since expanded into investigative reporting in Egypt and other Arab countries.

“The claims are false,” said Abdelrahman Mansour, one of the founders of Matsadaash. He noted that after two of its editors were arrested in 2023, State Security investigators found no affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood. The editors were released after 36 hours and never charged.

“It’s very difficult for us to understand why this is happening,” he said.

Egypt is among the world’s worst jailers of journalists, according to the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists. The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights says 26 journalists are now behind bars in Egypt.

Rights groups call for the journalists’ release

Matsadaash, founded in 2018 as an online platform, has gained credibility and a large following in Egypt, where independent media are stifled and government censorship and oversight over newspapers and TV networks are the norm. The Matsadaash website is blocked in Egypt, but its Facebook page has more than one million followers.

Over 80 international and regional rights groups, civil society organizations and independent media called on the Egyptian authorities to release the journalists, condemning what they called an escalating crackdown on independent media.

“Matsadaash has operated openly for years and has built a reputation for credible and accurate reporting on a range of public interest issues across Egypt,” the petition, signed by groups including Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders, said. “Egyptian authorities’ failure to allow free exercises of expression to thrive flies in the face of a purported commitment to dialogue, transparency, anti-corruption, and regional leadership.”

In a statement Thursday, Egypt’s Interior Ministry described Matsadaash as an unlicensed page managed from abroad by a “fugitive Brotherhood member” it identified as Mansour.

It said the six detained were part of a Brotherhood “media committee” that prepared false and fabricated news for Mansour to publish. Only one of the six is a member of the Journalists’ Syndicate, the statement said. It said legal measures have been taken but did not specify charges.

Accusing critics of membership in the Brotherhood is common in Egypt, which designated the group as a terrorist organization in 2013, after the military ousted then-President Mohammed Morsi, a senior Brotherhood figure. Since then, authorities have frequently accused journalists and critics of belonging to the group or spreading false news.

The journalists’ whereabouts are unknown

The first arrest occurred Monday about 9 p.m. when authorities went to the home of Abdallah Qadry, Mansour said. The other five members of staff were arrested Tuesday, starting with Mohamed Abu Emaira, who was taken from his home about 1 a.m. According to Mansour, Emaira’s library and internet router were destroyed during the arrest.

Omar Helal was arrested in Port Said and Islam Barakat in Gharbia Governorate. Two other members of Matsadaash’s newsroom, Mohamed Mahmoud and Mohamed Adel, were arrested in Cairo.

All had their cellphones and computers confiscated.

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, a prominent advocacy group, said the whereabouts of all six remain unknown.

“They have not been allowed to contact their families or legal team,” EIPR said, adding that it was the first time an entire newsroom had been arrested in Egypt.

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On September 23, City Councilman Yusef Salaam, developer Bruce Teitelbaum, and other city leaders gathered for a public forum at the National Urban League to discuss the controversial One45 housing development coming to Harlem, in an attempt to “demystify” some of the information. However, community members in attendance who were concerned about issues, such as the affordability of the proposed rental rates, said much of the event was disappointing. 

The project, which has been in the works for several years, has garnered attention in recent months as groups like Defend Harlem, also known as the NY Interfaith Commission for Housing Equality, sounded the alarm.

Others on the panel included Assemblyman Al Taylor; Malcolm Hunter, president of HCCI and coordinator of the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) for the project; and Jelani Deshong, deputy director of intergovernmental affairs for the Mayor’s Office.

One by one, concerned Harlem residents addressed the panel, asking about the project and how they can maintain life in Harlem despite not qualifying for its income ranges. 

“This project marks a milestone as the first major development of this size dedicated to creating affordable housing for northern Manhattan in more than a generation,” Salaam said. “No project can address 100% of the problem.” Salaam had negotiated the terms of the project with Teitelbaum, paving the way for its approval by the City Council in July 2025. 

At the closing of the event, Kai Cogsville, a leader of Defend Harlem, shared a statement directed toward Salaam, discussing the issues with the project, including the income levels starting at $71,280 for a single person and $101,760 for a family of four, while the median household income in Central Harlem is roughly just $52,000 a year. 

“The One45 project as currently proposed does not serve Harlem residents … The city, state, developer, and other development partners must come together and use every available financing and policy tool to close the gap,” Cogsville said. “As currently proposed, the One45 project will not help longtime Black and Latino families remain in Harlem. It risks accelerating their displacement — and we have an opportunity to change that. This is a chance to be on the right side of history and ensure that the people who built Harlem can continue to call Harlem home.”

Cogsville also requested a meeting with Salaam “to identify a path forward to increase significant affordability for this project.”

The development is set to be 1,000 units in three buildings — the first two with the vast majority being market rate, which is more than double the income of the surrounding area and Central Harlem. Construction is expected to begin by December or at the start of the new year, and slated to be completed within 24 months. The third building is set to be fully affordable, with 90 units for seniors, but won’t start construction until 2031, because demolition and cleanup of the garage currently at the space will take longer. 

Salaam noted the first building would be 502 units, with 160 affordable family-sized units at 60% of Area Median Income (AMI) for a two-partner household, which amounts to $82,000 or $41,000 per person. The second building would have 408 units, with 122 family-sized units at 80% of AMI, amounting to $108,000 or $55,000 per person. The goal for the third building would be at 50% of AMI.

Community members expressed frustration with some of the metrics.

“The numbers don’t add up,” said June Moses, a longtime Harlem resident in attendance. “If you have to be making $55,000 and I have to make $55,000, then it is not affordable.”

In response to the claim that Salaam negotiated down from 50% affordability established under a deal with previous City Councilperson Kristin Richardson Jordan, Salaam told the Amsterdam News that it is misinformation.

“The former councilmember stepped away from negotiations,” Salaam said. “It’s disingenuous to say, ‘Why did you negotiate less than what she got?’ If she got it, it would be on the record, but she didn’t get it.”

Fight over rental rates for majority of units

After discussing the timeline for the project, Teitelbaum said he previously requested subsidies from the Adams administration for the project to make more affordable units, but was rejected. 

“It’s not possible to build housing at the AMI level or as low as you’d like without getting the city subsidies,” Teitelbaum said. He also said he is open to making the third building more affordable and potentially adding units.

When questioned about flexibility in lowering the rental rates for the majority of units that are currently set at market rate, Teitelbaum declared that it was too late. 

“The project is fully baked. It’s been done. It’s been finalized. The answer is no, at this point, because the previous administration did not provide the subsidies,” Teitelbaum said. “It’s not as if you can just wait around for 10 months, 15 months … for some magic subsidy. It doesn’t work that way.”

Through the CBA, the project will include economic resources, including a 23,000-square-foot technology center providing workforce training for Harlem residents and a 30,000-square-foot commercial retail and community space with 20% set aside for Harlem businesses and another 10% for Minority and Women-Owned Businesses. 

However, Nicky Sunshine, co-owner of Comedy in Harlem on St. Nicholas Avenue, highlighted issues with the project for surrounding small businesses. “This project will raise surrounding rates … I’m talking about surrounding businesses and our cultural institutions,” she said. She asked what more can be done to protect them.

Throughout the year, Defend Harlem has rallied to raise awareness and push to make the project more affordable by getting Mayor Mamdani’s attention. 

“We have a mayor that has had some incredible strategies around affordable housing and affordability in general … I think this would be a great project for him to get involved with,” Cogsville said. 

Despite what was said, Cogsville does not buy that nothing can be done to make One45 more affordable for the majority of units. “I understand from [Teitelbaum’s] standpoint,” he said. “He’s been working on this for almost a decade now, so he’s probably exhausted in trying to just get a return on his investment. In New York, things are always changing … until the building is up and people are living in it, there’s a bunch of things that can be done for sure.”

Salaam gave his card to Cogsville, but Cogsville said he has yet to hear back from Salaam’s office.

“We have nothing but respect for our elected … I’m not going to badmouth Yusef Salaam or any of these people. I’m simply asking to have a time for us to have a dialogue,” Cogsville said. “Harlem leadership and the Harlem community [are] just a little bit too siloed; I think we really need to kind of come together and deliver an actionable win for the community.”

The post ‘It’s been finalized’: Harlemites share frustration about controversial One45 Project at forum with Bruce Teitelbaum, Yusef Salaam appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

The Jets are 1-2. Their former coach Bill Parcells, who won two Super Bowls with the Giants, famously said, “You are what your record says you are.” Both things can be true at once.

Yes, the Jets have a losing record going into their Week 4 road matchup against the 2-1 Chicago Bears this Sunday. However, they have the elements of a team that is rising. After a 23-10 seasoning opening road win over the Tennessee Titans (0-3), the Jets relinquished a 10-point lead in Week 2 at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and lost to the Green Bay Packers (1-2) 20-17 in overtime. Last Sunday, they went toe-to-toe with the Lions (2-1) in Detroit, but ultimately took a 31-24 defeat.

Still, the signs are evident that the Jets possess the tools to build a strong foundation to become a playoff contender. It’s unlikely they’ll reach that level this season, but an eight- or nine-win campaign is achievable. Better in-game decisions by the coaching staff, led by second-year head coach Aaron Glenn, and more precise execution by the players in all three phases of the game — offense, defense and special teams — will increase their probability of winning close games.

“Right here, it’s this gap we have to close, and that’s from a coaching and players’ perspective,” said Glenn, using his fingers to illustrate a small separation after the Lions game. Glenn was the defensive coordinator for Detroit from 2021 to 2024 prior to being hired by the Jets in January 2025.

“These guys are going to fight, and it’s a belief system also,” Glenn added. “Our guys believe all the work that was put in in OTAs and training camp, man. We’re right here and our guys know it’s this gap right here that we got to close.”

With veteran Geno Smith having stabilized the quarterback position, throwing for 321 yards while connecting on 31 of 37 pass attempts against the Lions, the Jets finally have a signal caller who instills confidence that the offense can manufacture enough production and points to be consistently competitive. The defense currently is second in the league in yards allowed per game at 258.3. The Jets still have 14 games remaining in the regular season and a long and grueling path ahead. Nevertheless, there is plausible reason for optimism from their fans.

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Elected officials rallied at the Horizon Juvenile Center in the Bronx on Tuesday, Sept. 22, to call attention to the need for New York City to address the harmful conditions and overcrowding that Black and Brown youth in juvenile detention are facing.

“They think these kids are not human,” said Violetta King, 68. She is mother to Mary King, 46, and grandmother to a 15-year-old who is at Horizon.

Councilmember Althea Stevens, who chairs the youth committee and the Black steering committee, along with fellow electeds, completed a tour of Horizon Juvenile Center. They spoke with juveniles and staff at the center about complaints involving overcrowding, few sleeping spaces, lack of or limited access to education, programming, bathrooms and showers, being denied basic needs, and missing communication with their families.

The Legal Aid Society said that Horizon and Crossroads youth detention centers had approximately 374 young people with a certified capacity of 244. The coalition of electeds, parents and advocates called for the city to decarcerate the youth facilities and release at least 150 young people to their communities by December with access to services and legal support.

Among these complaints about housing conditions are more serious allegations of instances of violence. King alleged that Williams was beaten, didn’t receive medical attention, was left in solitary confinement and without schooling or access to a social worker following an incident with an officer. She made five separate complaints against the facility, which were returned “unfounded,” said King.

“The lawyer didn’t tell us about the court date. They came to my house; they removed my son from the house because they said he had a bench warrant because he failed to come to court,” said Laquasia Tatum, 36, a city worker whose son is currently at Horizon. “My son didn’t come from a troubled home at all. It’s simply his lawyer failing to reach out.”

Tatum alleged that while her son was held at Horizon, he was attacked and injured by other juveniles and staff.

“We cannot normalize these conditions that these young people are living in,” said Stevens.

Raise the Age falling short?

According to state statistics, Black and Hispanic youth made up 33% of 16- and 17-year-old youth statewide, but 72% of all arrests in that age group in 2018. After several years of advocacy, Raise the Age legislation was signed into law by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2017. The law removed youth who have committed a crime from the adult criminal justice system, like Rikers Island, and placed them in age-appropriate youth detention centers.

It was seen as a meaningful step toward rehabilitation for nonviolent youths of color who have made mistakes. Horizon was also newly renovated at the time, having had both city and state money invested in its education and counseling programs.

However, in practice for less than a decade, the law seems to be falling short.

“When we were supporting Raise the Age, we had a different hope. We had a vision for rehabilitation that was going to take our kids and provide mental health support, provide them a path to a different future, but that’s not what we’re experiencing today,” said Councilmember Pierina Sanchez at the press conference.

“There’s a reason why we didn’t want them at Rikers Island. We didn’t want them to lose hope,” said Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who joined the visit. “It’s also not lost on me that every one of those kids are Black and Brown. That’s it, not even one that fits another description. And I believe that if it looked a little different, we probably wouldn’t be having these conversations.”

Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been in favor of closing Rikers and decarceration, as well as shifting policing through the city’s lofty goals outlined in the Racial Equity Plan. The Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice recently announced this September a partnership with the Administration for Children’s Services and the Department of Probation aimed at reducing the number of young people in the city’s detention centers, investing in workforce development, less restrictive alternatives to incarceration, and reducing case delays. ACS added that it is currently renovating existing facilities, enhancing security measures, onboarding additional staff members, developing updated staff training, and increasing youth educational and employment opportunities.

“ACS is committed to providing a safe and supportive environment for youth and staff in our secure detention centers,” said an ACS spokesperson. “We were pleased that members of the City Council and the Public Advocate had the opportunity to see our secure detention facility, meet with staff and young people, and learn more about the ways in which we are working to improve conditions of care and reduce the number of young people in secure detention.”

While the electeds praised Mamdani for his stance on decarceration so far, many at the press conference vowed to hold him accountable if he doesn’t follow through. Stevens plans to hold a hearing through the youth committee in October to closely examine the current conditions of the city’s juvenile justice system.

“These are children,” said Stevens. “We have to take this as a failure. We failed them.”

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Last month, the Legal Aid Society, the country’s oldest public defense organization, found that the city paid out more than $53.5 million for NYPD misconduct claims in the first half of this year. The total payouts since 2018, when the city started disclosing the data, now approach $1 billion in taxpayer money.

Amanda Jack, the director of policy for the Legal Society’s Criminal Law Reform Unit, says investing in public services and resources will prevent these lawsuits and save taxpayer money later on. She specifically points to investing in behavioral healthcare and education, commending recent emphasis on the city’s Summer Youth Employment Program.

“It goes without saying at this point that we all know that the safest communities aren’t the most policed,” said Jack. “They’re the most well-resourced… There are countless investments that have been identified over and over. And then, the big promise that [Mayor Zohran Mamdani] made that we have yet to see come to fruition is to start to really build out a crisis response that doesn’t include the police.”

Since 2022, the city has paid out more than $100 million annually, with a staggering $206 million awarded in 2024. The lawsuits themselves are often undisclosed due to settlement agreements, but more sizable payouts potentially stem from use-of-force injuries or false imprisonment. This most recent analysis shows the city is again on pace for another nine-figure year of payouts.

The legislation disclosing how much the city paid to resolve NYPD misconduct cases passed in 2017 and was enacted the following year under former mayor Bill de Blasio, who long championed police transparency while serving as public advocate. Data now comes out twice a year, with Legal Aid Society analysis usually not far behind.

While these numbers likely carry over from incidents and allegations that occurred under past mayors like de Blasio and Eric Adams, Jack called on Mamdani to deliver on several campaign promises regarding police reform, including abolishing the Criminal Group Database, which almost exclusively surveils young Black and Brown men as alleged gang members, and the Strategic Response Group, a unit often named in misconduct suits regarding protests and other First Amendment activity. Legal Aid also pointed to continued “quality of life” enforcement against lower-level offenses under NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who was retained from the previous Adams administration.

Jack, however, also credited Mamdani for appointing Jennifer Jones Austin as chair of the Civilian Complaint Review Board, which investigates NYPD officer misconduct and recommends discipline to the police commissioner. Previously, the watchdog agency went without a permanent head for more than half a decade.

Divad Durant, a member of the police reform organization Justice Committee, called for pivoting away from criminalizing poor people and against upholding “broken windows policing,” a disproven policing strategy involving prevalent low-level enforcement. He believes these practices lead to unnecessary NYPD encounters that can mutate into a misconduct lawsuit.

“[The] Justice Committee has worked with families since the ’90s who have dealt with the issue of trying to hold police accountable because of police abuse and police harassment,” said Durant. “We need to see real discipline, and if we don’t, it fuels this cycle of impunity where New Yorkers pay the price, and we will continue to see those same numbers, if not higher, if there isn’t real discipline.”

He specifically mentions Lt. Jonathan Rivera, who remains in the NYPD despite Justice Committee efforts to remove him from the force after killing Washington Heights resident Allan Feliz in 2019. Mamdani himself called for the officer’s firing last year while serving as an assemblymember. Despite an internal NYPD ruling that Rivera, who was named in multiple lawsuits, violated NYPD rules with a fireable offense, Commissioner Jessica Tisch, whom Mamdani retained from the previous Adams administration, overrode any discipline against him.

This week, an independent monitor tasked with NYPD oversight after the landmark Floyd v. City of New York lawsuit — which found the department liable for racially profiling Black and Brown New Yorkers — found that stop-and-frisks remain more than a decade later. Samah Sisay, a staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, which brought the original case, expressed her disappointment in a statement over Legal Aid’s findings.

“Officers continue to racially profile individuals and engage in unconstitutional stop, question, and frisk, among many other constitutional violations,” said Sisay. “It is time for Mayor Mamdani to listen to the community members who elected him and ensure that NYPD officers and supervisors are disciplined and, if warranted, fired for engaging in racist and unconstitutional policing practices.”

The NYPD did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

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The economic system of capitalism is manifestly premised on social order and hierarchy. Those who control the vast amount of riches seek to limit its distribution and dictate its fundamental utilization.  

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States, posited: “The liberty of democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself.”

Federal legislators, compelled largely by college administrators and coaches, who represent the private power FDR noted, have moved to reverse the liberty of college athletes through the Protect College Sports Act (PCSA) — with an implicit emphasis on Black athletes. The federal bill stridently pushed by President Donald Trump was passed on Monday by a Senate vote of 77-22. It now moves for consideration to the House of Representatives, a 435-member body that is in recess until after next month’s midterm elections.

If passed by the House, which as of today is dubious, President Trump has guaranteed he will sign the bill and make it law. Among other guidelines, the PCSA will grant the NCAA a circumscribed antitrust exemption, defenses against student-athletes unionizing, restrict the amount of money student-athletes can receive from NIL (name, image and likeness) deals, and limit the number of times they can transfer to another school.

In reality, the Protect College Sports Act is a misnomer. It should be more aptly named the Protect The Power Of Coaches And Administrators Act. It is essentially designed to suppress the agency of college athletes, such as Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who reportedly makes roughly $6.5 million via NIL. It denies young stars the opportunity to maximize their earning potential, the ability to seek more favorable athletic and monetary circumstances through the NCAA’s transfer portal, and not be beholden to the coaches. Prior to the advent of NIL in July 2022 and unlimited transfers, coaches practically held athletes hostage by weaponizing playing time and threatening to revoke their year-to-year athletic scholarships.

The NCAA is in name only a nonprofit that regulates student athletics for over 1,100 colleges and universities. For the fiscal year 2024, the most recent period the AmNews was able to obtain data, the organization generated nearly $1.4 billion in revenue. Over a period of the past four decades, college athletes and their supporters fought exhaustive court battles to secure the right for student-athletes to benefit from this country’s capitalistic system by leveraging their ability and value to earn money. Now, that it is in danger of being retracted through government regulation.

The hypocrisy of it all was illuminated this past Tuesday at the White House when President Trump hosted a lunch attended by nearly 20 of the wealthiest and most powerful people in the world — almost exclusively white men. Tech giants including Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, and Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, are at the forefront of the race to be the leaders of AI (artificial intelligence) development, which President Trump is endeavoring to rename super intelligence.  

A growing concern among many AI experts and the general United States population is that the technology, which has the increasing capability to be an existential threat to society, is lacking the necessary guardrails that would provide requisite security. But unlike the proposed federal bill to contain the capitalistic aspirations of college athletes, Trump said he subscribed to “tremendous self-regulation” for tech titans literally holding the future of the world at their fingertips.

What that means is esoteric, but it reaffirmed the inherent classism and racism of America’s economic machine.

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