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Brooklyn resident Edgar Telesford was slapped with a $1,000 summons for selling bottled water and pre-packaged chips without a license from the NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY) last June. A former teacher, Telesford was ticketed near the famed Apollo Theater on 125th in Harlem and says the fine is a major setback for remaining financially independent. 

“I have to sell 3,000 bottles of water to be able to pay for that ticket,” he said. “I walk up and down on 125th Street, from 125th to Marcus Garvey [Park], and I may sell about five to 10 bottles of water each time I walk the five to six blocks. And that was my route, and they caught me on my route. 

“You could imagine how many times I would have to walk that route to pay for that ticket, and then pay rent and then buy something to eat.”

$1,000 marks the typical fine for section 17-307 (a)(1) of the city’s health code, which bans individuals from serving as a food vendor without a license. 

Compliance can be tough. Mobile food vendors require both a license for handling food and a permit to set up shop. So after completing the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s licensing requirements, a vendor like Telesford would also need a permit. 

“A lot of people cannot access the permits because there are caps on the number of these permits that goes back to the ‘80s,” said Mohamed Attia, managing director of the Street Vendor Project. “The only change that happened to this cap was really recent in 2021 when the council passed Intro. 1116 which is now known as Local Law 18 [of] 2021. The local law states that the health department should make 445 applications for a new type of license, called a supervisory license. [But] 445 applications doesn’t mean 445 licenses. 

“That means that the agency will send those applications to vendors and wait for the vendors to fill it out, submit it, and go through the whole process, and then they can obtain the supervisory license. Now this supervisory license is different from the old license, which allows the vendor to obtain a permit for their cars or truck immediately. So there is no more waiting time for the permits, but there is a significant wait time for that supervisory license.”

Attia says while the $1,000 fine is a longstanding flat fee, some vendors are double-ticketed for $2,000 due to lacking both a license and permit. He’s also seen both civil and criminal summons issued at the discretion of the officer. 

Telesford started street vending after losing his job in the NYC Department of Education teaching science. Struggling in his job search and too young to retire, he began vending in Manhattan, which he found more accessible than in his home borough of Brooklyn. He typically buys water and chips in bulk from warehouse stores and sells them loose. However, the city requires the same standards for such goods as it would for handling raw ingredients, according to Attia.

DSNY spokesperson Vincent Gragnani said 73 warning signs and fliers were distributed in the 125th corridor before the agency took “any enforcement actions.” He also pointed to enforcement stemming from more than 18,000 complaint calls through 311, business improvement districts, councilmember offices and community boards between last April to the end of this past March. 

Mayor Eric Adams re-established DSNY as the enforcement agency over street vendors last year. 

“We should be clear that the Department of Sanitation did not create street vending laws nor set the fines,” Gragnani said in an email to the AmNews. “We enforce these laws, with a focus on situations where vending has created dirty conditions, safety issues, items being left out overnight, and setups that block curbs, subway entrances, bus stops, sidewalks or store entrances.”

City council members introduced the “Street Package Reform” bill package last year, which includes Intro. 431, a bill increasing the number of licenses. 

Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member who writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.

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* This article was originally published here

Kamala Harris is the first Black woman since 1972 to challenge white male ideology as a prerequisite for becoming an American presidential candidate. 

After President Joe Biden dropped out of the race on Sunday and moved to endorse Harris, the sitting vice president immediately broke records with donor support, racking up nearly $50 million in 48 hours from Republicans and Democrats alike. 

Over the course of those two days, 80,000 Black men and women joined various task force-hosted Zoom calls to voice their support, shock, and steadfast love for Harris.

“It was after midnight before the ladies finally called it a night. The excitement, unity, display of sisterhood and anticipated success was overwhelming,” Veronica McGriff Wallace, a resident of swing state North Carolina, posted on Facebook after the Sunday night Win with Black Women call. “To think that link went out within the day of the announcement and still drew over 40,000 women of color from all walks of life represents who we are.”

Grassroots donors pooled together $1.6 million through individual donations in just three hours during the initial meeting. The next night, 50,000 men joined Roland Martin’s Black Star Network succeeding with the same goal of crowdfunding to propel Harris as a frontrunner in the 2024 election. 

The following days were dotted with rollouts of smaller, more intimate conversations with lawmakers, Black Greek letter organizations, and advocacy groups, a collective display of Harris’ representation of the cross sections of American life and ideals. All six of the nation’s Black attorney generals—one of many titles Harris has held in her trajectory, once in her home state of California—put out a joint statement pledging full support to Harris.

“There is no one more qualified to lead and continue to uphold the values of our nation,” New York Attorney General (and, like Harris, Howard University alumna) Letitia James said in a joint statement on Sunday alongside Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford.

Born to an Indian mother and Jamaican father and raised in Oakland in 1964, Harris holds a vibrant and voracious vision for the nation she has always called home. 

As a Howard graduate, she was steeped in Black-centric curricula rooted in fundamental values of equality, truth, and service. Those morals still guide her today as she now faces former president and convicted felon Donald Trump in a head-on challenge for the position of commander in chief. 

“Before I was elected as vice president, before I was elected as United States senator, I was the elected attorney general, as I’ve mentioned, of California. And before that, I was a courtroom prosecutor,” Harris said, slating her resume at the first campaign event in Wilmington. “In those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds, predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So, hear me when I say: I know Donald Trump’s type.”  

This direct approach at calling out Trump for past discrepancies ignited the audience prompting an emotional response from viewers in person and remotely.

“This campaign is not just about us versus Donald Trump. There is more to this campaign than that,” Harris continued. “Our campaign has always been about two different versions of what we see as the future of our country, two different visions for the future of our country: one focused on the future, the other focused on the past.”

Other Americans strongly agree, citing this election as a pivotal marker in the country’s civil liberties for the next 10 decades. 

“Once the news about Biden broke, it felt like we collectively moved through a natural chain of succession emotions and events—from sadness to pride, and then onto momentum and hope,” Courtney Stockland, a caucasian donor from D.C. told the AmNews. “I was moved to donate to Vice President Harris’ campaign, my first contribution of this cycle, in honor of President Biden’s remarkably brave and selfless act of democracy, and in support of the V.P. Kamala, who is wicked smart, obviously able, and most importantly, a good person. And that’s what we need more of in this country—goodness and progress—not hate and regression.” 

A CBS News poll showed 52% of women voters, 76% of Black voters, and 62% of voters aged 18-29 prefer Harris over Trump. 

“I’m hoping you’ll give every bit of your heart and soul that you gave to me to Kamala,” President Biden told supporters on July 22. 

Democratic leaders like Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-8), Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-11), Jim Clyburn (D-SC-6) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) amongst many more have done just that, encouraging Americans to reflect on the failures of Trump’s four years in office.

“This election is about choices, what do you want for your family, your friends and yourself?” Congresswoman Alma Adams (D-NC-12), a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority shared days after the rally citing abortion bans and the issue of women’s rights as backsliding efforts spawned by Republicans. “We’re rallying behind Harris 100 percent, I am endorsing her 100 percent.”

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* This article was originally published here

This was supposed to be a transition season for the Mets and another World Series or bust year for the Yankees. It still is for the so-called Bronx Bombers, who have lived up to their moniker as one of the top power hitting clubs in baseball, driven by center fielder Aaron Judge, who as of yesterday led MLB with 35 home runs, and right fielder Juan Soto, who was sixth in the league with 25. Collectively, the Yankees were second overall with 147, ten behind the Baltimore Orioles (157), sitting in first place in the American League East division standings.

Before the Yankees hosted the Mets last night in the Bronx, they were 60-43, 1 1/2 games behind the Orioles after losing to the Mets 3-2 on Tuesday night, as Mets’ second baseman Jeff McNeil’s sixth inning, two-run home run was the difference breaking a 1-1 tie. The Yankees and Mets concluded their four-game season series last night, with the Mets sweeping the two games at Citi Field on June 25 and 26. Since June 2, when the Mets were 24-35, they have reversed course and were 52-48 prior to last night’s game and holding on to the third wildcard spot.

The expectations for the Mets were moderate entering the season for many close followers of the Mets after they went 75-87 a year ago. But as of today, Mets owner Steve Cohen has been prescient. “I mean, Arizona got in (to the playoffs) last year with 84 wins,” he said in March in an interview with the monthly magazine Vanity Fair.

“I think we’re going to surprise people this year. I think we’re better than people think.”  Not only did the Arizona Diamondbacks reach the postseason, they won the National League pennant and advanced to the World Series, losing to the Texas Rangers. So while early last month it looked like the Mets would be sellers approaching the July 30 MLB trade deadline, they will now look to strengthen their bullpen.

Last year, they dealt starters Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander after accepting the playoffs were not attainable. Now they are possibly eyeing the Oakland A’s Lucas Erceg and the Miami Marlins’ Tanner Scott, two right handers, to solidify a relief corps that has been leaky all season. The Yankees also have a desire to improve their bullpen, add another starting pitcher, and bolster their flawed lineup around stars Judge and Soto.
It seems counterintuitive that a team tied for the third most wins in MLB at the start of the league’s schedule yesterday would have as many issues to address as they do. But they view their season only through the prism of winning a World Series. And anything short of meeting that goal would be a disappointment.

The Mets begin a seven-game homestand today playing four against the Atlanta Braves through Sunday then three versus the Minnesota Twins next Monday through Wednesday. The Yankees have six straight on the road, going to Boston to face the Red Sox for three games tomorrow through Sunday, and then three in Philadelphia Monday through Wednesday battling the Phillies, arguably the best team in MLB. 

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* This article was originally published here

Three years after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics began on July 23, 2021, 12 months after its originally scheduled start date due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the 17-day Paris Olympics commences tomorrow with the traditional spectacular opening ceremony. It is the third time the City of Light has hosted the Olympics adding to the 1900 and 1924 stagings. 

For the first time since its inception at the 1908 London Olympics, the Parade of Nations—where athletes stride into a venue wearing their country’s matching outfit in a collective display of unity and sportsmanship—will not be held in a stadium. Instead, the procession will take place on the 3.7 mile Seine River route, with competitors being feted while floating on boats and reciprocating to the adoring crowd in what Paris Olympics organizers are promising to be the largest opening ceremonies in the game’s history dating back to the first modern Olympics in Athens, Greece in 1896. Over 300,000 spectators are expected to attend the opening ceremony.

NBA icon LeBron James will be a pioneer as the first men’s basketball player to be the United States’ flag bearer, as selected by his nearly 600 fellow Team USA Olympians. U.S. Open tennis champion Coco Gauff will be the female flag-bearer for Team USA. This will be James’s fourth time playing for the U.S. squad, helping them win gold in 2008 and 2012, and earning a bronze as 19-year-old in 2004.

“It’s an incredible honor to represent the United States on a global stage, especially in a moment that can bring the world together,” said the now 39-year-old, four-time NBA champion and all-time leading scorer last weekend upon being informed of the honor.

“For a kid from Akron, this responsibility means everything to not only myself, but to my family, all the kids in my hometown, my teammates, fellow Olympians and so many people across the country with big aspirations.”

The Paris Olympics is replete with some of the most legendary athletes in history such as James and gymnast Simone Biles, the 27-year-old, Columbus, Ohio native widely viewed as the best ever. She has seven Olympic medals, including four golds, and 23 World Championship gold medals. Yet by the time the closing ceremony ends the Games on August 11, new worldwide stars are certain to have emerged on the sports and cultural landscape. 

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* This article was originally published here

This Saturday, Banfield unveiled his “YEAA-a-a-a- a-ah!” sculpture, honoring one of his childhood influences, Kool DJ Red Alert.

In today’s world, where art can often be produced through artificial means, the genuine human connection behind a piece of art becomes increasingly valuable. This is why the most passionate art stands out and endures over time. For local luminary Sherwin Banfield, this passion springs from a deep “wonderment in the alchemy of art.”

Banfield’s curiosity has always been rooted in understanding the structure and indirect impact of art. His exploration was particularly influenced by hip hop, which provided a cultural gateway after his move to Harlem. As an immigrant from Trinidad and Tobago, Banfield and his brother delved into New York’s history through the lens of hip hop pioneers like Kool DJ Red Alert and the Notorious B.I.G. As he matured, sculpting emerged as Banfield’s chosen medium and his entry into the art world.

Graduating with honors from the Parsons School of Design in 1999, Banfield immediately engaged in various mentorships across New York City. His journey included participation in numerous programs, culminating in an opportunity to attend the Studio Art Centers International in Florence, Italy, in 2007. This international experience allowed Banfield to seek knowledge and refine his artistic skills, deepening his understanding of how to express himself through sculpture. By 2009, Banfield had returned to New York City and joined the Arts Student League of New York, where he began to make his mark as a sculpture artist through multiple citywide exhibitions.

During these early years, Banfield came to appreciate the discipline required to surpass previously perceived limitations. Immersing himself in diverse cultures and artistic expressions enabled him to pour his soul into his work, achieving heights he had once thought unattainable.

“The process of creating art reveals the strength of the mind. Engaging in such a marathon teaches you that there are possibilities beyond excuses,” Banfield tells AmNews. This period was critical for Banfield, solidifying his path as a sculpture artist. His dedication was evident in numerous gallery exhibitions across New York City, where his meticulous attention to detail and creative vision distinguished him. It wasn’t until 2017, however, that Banfield began making notable contributions to outdoor infrastructures through collaborative projects with nonprofit organizations around the city.

As Banfield’s experience evolved, hip hop became a significant source of inspiration for many of his artworks. His installations gained widespread recognition across all five boroughs. Noteworthy pieces include the G.O.A.T. sculpture of LL Cool J, which the Queens native publicly cosigned on network television, and the 9-foot “Sky’s the Limit” sculpture in Cortlandt Park, which pays homage to his childhood hero, the Notorious B.I.G., who recorded a song of the same name on his final album in his lifetime.

Banfield’s work seamlessly integrates various societal aspects into expansive designs. He emphasizes that collaborating with experts from diverse fields feels natural due to a shared commitment to advancing cultural initiatives.

“It’s an organic process. When you are devoted to bringing an idea to life, you encounter people, places, and resources that the universe reveals as valuable assets,” Banfield said.

Today, Banfield continues to expand his impressive portfolio as a sculpture artist. On Saturday, July 20, he honored another childhood idol, Kool DJ Red Alert, with the “YEAA-a-a-a- a-ah!” sculpture, which now stands proudly in Harlem’s Montefiore Park. Cementing his piece in Harlem represents a continuation of the cultural legacy that profoundly influenced his life. He often reminisces about Harlem-based sculptors like Augusta Savage, whom he admires for her perseverance to overcome racism and sexism to leave a lasting impact on her community. Banfield now feels honored to contribute to that legacy.

“Harlem is a magical place with a rich history. Just knowing that I am sharing space with those who helped birth some of the greatest Black talents… being part of that legacy is truly special,” Banfield said.

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* This article was originally published here