Centre Street is named ‘Black Lives Matter
Boulevard’ but not without interruption
BY TODD MAISEL
Centre Street in Manhattan has been
named “Black Lives Matter Boulevard,”
but not without a little raucous
attention from members of the #OccupyCityHall
crowd who crashed the Manhattan
Borough President’s July 9 party.
Brewer gathered with members of Black
Lives Matter New York City and artists who
had painted colorful lettering on Centre
Street in front of the Municipal Building,
Federal Court to the State Supreme Court
near Worth Street. The letter spelled out
Black lives Matter, but it was different in
that it gave a colorful retrospect of people’s
lives and how they live in the city.
Joining Brewer was Nupol Kiazolu,
President, Black Lives Matter of Greater
New York, and the three artists behind the
Centre Street Black Lives Matter mural,
Sophia Dawson, Tijay Mohammed, and Patrice
Payne. Brewer also announced that the
mural, which stretches 600 feet on Centre
Street from Reade Street to Worth Street
will be closed to cars until July 17, thanks to
the Department of Transportation.
“On the 152nd Anniversary of the
ratifi cation of the 14th Amendment in 1868,
which guaranteed equal protection under
the law to all citizens, including former
slaves emancipated by Abraham Lincoln,
I’m proud to announce, with Black Lives
Matter of Greater New York, the name of
Manhattan’s newest street, “Black Lives
Matter Boulevard.”
PHOTO BY TODD MAISEL
Manhattan Borough President Gale
Brewer and other activists joined
in unveiling the new street name. A
demonstrator holds up her own sign
protesting a school district alleged
misdeeds.
While speakers were addressing the
crowd, they were interrupted several times
by members of #OccupyCityHall who were
not invited to the event. The same interruption
occurred on Tuesday when City Public
Advocate Jumaane Williams held his own
press conference at the Municipal Building,
only to be interrupted by members of that
sleep-in group, who were then invited to
stay. Williams did not show for Brewer’s
event, though was invited.
At one point, a man who identifi ed himself
as the uncle of Trayvon Martin, a teen
who was killed on February 26, 2012, in
Florida, by controversial self-styled Good
Samaritan who fatally shot him in a controversial
African American controversy.
“Remember Trayvon, he was my nephew,”
the man said who then went back across to
the encampment.
Then, a larger group of demonstrators
showed up, some carrying signage blasting
police, racism or other topics. Some of them
attempted to disrupt the ceremony, especially
when a DOT deputy commissioner was
speaking about the African Burial Ground
around the corner from the location.
Brewer continued her ceremony with
several speakers, including the artists who
painted the lettering on the courthouse row.
The group then unveiled the sign and announced
they would be going to view the
artwork on Centre Street – the OccupyCityHall
group asked that people come “see
our work.”
Brewer was undeterred saying, “We as a
city and nation must build on symbolic acts
like these. We must ensure that police are
properly trained in de-escalation practices—
and clearly punished when they misbehave.
We must work toward fairly funding our
public schools,” Brewer said.
Ain’t too proud to beg: MTA again rallies
for federal funds while floating service cuts
BY MARK HALLUM
The MTA is heading a coalition of
transit agencies across the U.S. to
demand $36 billion in support from
the federal government as COVID-19 continues
to infect their fi nances. Without that
funding, they claim, the consequences could
be catastrophic.
For New Yorkers, further inaction from the
U.S. Senate could mean service cut, according
to MTA Chair Pat Foye who said in a virtual
rally with other transit leaders that it could
be on the table alongside the cancellation of
consulting contracts, reductions in overtime
and layoffs outlined in their June meeting.
“Everything’s got to be on the table. Sadly,
that includes the possibility of service reductions,
which is absolutely the last thing that
we want to do,” Foye said. “The latter two
alternatives service cuts and layoffs are not
something that we want to pursue, but this
PHOTO BY MARK HALLUM
MTA Chair and CEO Pat Foye.
is the greatest fi nancial challenge and the
greatest fi nancial defi cit that the MTA has
ever faced.”
With the MTA losing up to $700 million
a month and the $3.8 billion in CARES Act
funds about to be fully exhausted by the
agency’s massive operations overhead, Foye
added that knowing when or how the service
cuts would be realized is not clear.
“I don’t want to speculate as to timing or
talk about a hypothetical because our fi rst
objective is to get the funding,” Foye said.
While the MTA faces a $10 billion defi cit,
it is relatively not far off from other networks
such as the BART in San Francisco which is
on track for a $1 billion shortfall.
“Congress needs to act to stop service cuts
and fare hikes that would end New York’s
recovery and destroy millions of livelihoods
around the country,” Danny Pearlstein, policy
director with Riders Alliance, told amNewYork
Metro. “It would be utterly devastating…
The COVID crisis is far from over, even here.”
The coalition of transit agencies issued
a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell and Minority Leader Charles
Schumer asking once again for a stimulus
with federal funds to keep the trains and
buses moving for Americans.
Uptick in new
coronavirus
cases traced
to some
Manhattan
neighborhoods
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
New coronavirus cases among
young adults in the city
have been traced back to
wealthier neighborhoods in Manhattan
and Brooklyn, city offi cials said
on July 14.
Apart from that, the city is unable to
fully explain the reason for the surge
mostly occurring in young adults. On
Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters
that an increase in new cases
was occurring in 30-somethings but
that is particularly worried about cases
showing up in New Yorkers between
the ages of 20 and 29.
During the fi rst week of June, the
city reported about 26 cases for every
100,000 people between the ages of 20
and 29. That number jumped to close
to 35 the week of June 27.
Senior Advisor for Public Health Dr.
Jay Varma told reporters that a lack of
a connection between cases suggests
that the increase is merely the result
of more New Yorkers are moving
throughout the fi ve boroughs, city
predicted that up to 700,000 people
returning to the workforce during
Phase 1 and 2 or reopening alone, and
socializing outdoors.
“It really emphasizes the importance
of strengthening those messages of
wearing face coverings, staying away
from large gatherings, keeping social
distance and observing good hygiene,”
said Varma.
There are over 18,700 confi rmed
deaths in New York City as a result of
contracting the virus and the number
of confi rmed cases has now reached
216, 468, according to city data.
Data also shows that the poor neighborhoods
with large Black and Latino
populations had the highest concentration
cases and deaths for the majority
of the pandemic so far.
Tuesday’s announcement shifts that
paradigm and, according to Varma,
serves as a reminder that the city
and state will constantly be at risk of
new cases being imported from other
states.
4 July 16, 2020 Schneps Media