The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and NYC Parks, in coordination with Via Partnership and Stantec. Artists are invited to join the design team for the proposed 107th Street Pier and Bobby Wagner Walk Reconstruction project, occurring along the East River Esplanade between E94th St to 107th St and 117th St to 124th St,…
Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams face intense pressure to pay for the cost of housing, feeding and caring for thousands of asylum-seekers newly moving into New York City. The crisis has created a series of tough choices for state and city leaders, with no simple solutions. Many of these immigrants have entered the country lawfully, but may lose this status due to immigration processing delays while others may not have any status at all.
Immigrants are an essential part of New York’s heritage and tradition. Ultimately, our communities in the five boroughs and the surrounding area are interconnected. We influence each other’s health and families. For everyone’s well-being, migrants deserve the ability to visit a doctor’s office just like other New Yorkers.
New York has an opportunity to provide more than 200,000 undocumented people with health coverage at no cost to the state. There is a pot of as much as $2 billion in surplus federal money to cover the cost. The governor need only amend her Section 1332 Affordable Care waiver submission in order to cover the cost of providing health insurance to immigrant adults, ages 19 to 64 years old.
However, instead of amending the waiver request to cover immigrants, the state amended its waiver request to direct $59 million in surplus funds to insurance companies so that they can be “made whole.” But the insurance companies are already being paid a reasonable premium for the coverage, while immigrant New Yorkers go without access to health care. The state should make our communities whole by offering immigrant community members quality affordable coverage.
This is an easy solution to part of a multifaceted crisis, which has tensions running high. Homeless shelters and food kitchens are bursting at the seams, and advocates for the poor are struggling to keep pace. Protesters are gathering outside migrant housing. With schools poised to reopen, NYC Department of Education officials expect a huge influx of migrant children. Further complicating matters is the threat of a school bus strike that would affect 150,000 kids in the Big Apple.
Why is NY Turning Down Free Federal Funding?
Federally funded health care is low-hanging fruit for the Hochul administration, which is beseeching President Joe Biden to expedite work authorization permits for migrants and offer New York more financial help in response to the crisis. But her 2024 budget excluded immigrants from her request seeking ACA waiver authority, which means migrant adults cannot go to the doctor. The budget simply gave authority to expand insurance coverage to about 20,000 individuals who earn 200 percent to 250 percent of the federal poverty line — just a fraction of the 1 million New Yorkers without coverage.
It is unclear why the governor took this “skinny coverage” approach to a moral and humanitarian problem. Politics could well be a factor here, with the governor concerned about attacks from the right that she’s too soft on migrants. But free federal money is still free. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has already granted permission to other states to redirect federal funds to provide coverage for undocumented people. New York should follow suit.
Mayor Adams supports New York joining California, Colorado, Illinois and Washington in using 1332 waivers or Medicaid programs to cover immigrants. To not seek the waiver, the mayor said in a March letter to Gov. Hochul, “deepens longstanding inequities based on immigration status by relegating the health needs of undocumented people – the single largest population of remaining uninsured New Yorkers.”
By not authorizing a broad-based waiver, the state is passing up an opportunity to save more than a half billion dollars annually in emergency Medicaid funds spent on immigrant emergency care. New York City and its critical safety net hospitals would also save an estimated $100 million on the NYC Cares program because the target population would be covered by the 1332 ACA waiver.
Opting to fund immigrant coverage through a federal waiver would support our distressed hospital system by yielding relatively rich Essential Plan reimbursement rates and defraying their uncompensated care costs ($1,174 per person covered each year) since more New Yorkers would have insurance.
Federal health care would certainly help ease the crisis, fomented by busloads of migrants mostly from Texas, Florida and Arizona. Since spring, more than 93,000 migrants have entered New York City, according to the mayor’s office.
New York should be a leader on progressive health-care initiatives. Indeed, when Gov. Hochul signed legislation last year protecting New Yorkers from medical debt, which disproportionately impacts low-income Black and brown people in the state, her action perfectly exemplified that vision.
This is another leadership moment. It’s time for the governor to show her mettle and amend her 1332 Waiver. It’s the right thing to do. It’s economically sound. But moreover, it’s morally correct.
David R. Jones, Esq., is President and CEO of the Community Service Society of New York (CSS), the leading voice on behalf of low-income New Yorkers for more than 175 years. The views in this column are solely those of the writer. The Urban Agenda is available on CSS’s Web site: www.cssny.org.
After more than a quarter century with the franchise as a player, scout, and executive, Kenny Williams was fired as executive vice president of the Chicago White Sox last week.
With the White Sox preparing for their 12th losing season in the last 19 years, some may try to diminish his legacy. But Williams’ role in building one of the most successful runs in White Sox history cannot be forgotten.
Kenny Williams is a baseball pioneer
Williams takes his place among pioneers like Bill Lucas, Bob Watson, and Bill White in baseball history and remains one of only two Black general managers to assemble a World Series champion.
Kenny Williams held every job imaginable as he climbed the leadership ladder with Chicago. Following a less than notable career as a player that ended in 1991, Williams rejoined the White Sox as a scout in 1992 before becoming a special assistant to the team’s chairman, Jerry Reinsdorf, in 1994.
Williams showed a talent for identifying players, and in 1997 he was promoted to vice president of player development.
Kenny Williams builds Chicago White Sox World Series winner
In 2000, Williams replaced Ron Schueler as general manager of the Sox following the team’s first playoff appearance in seven years. With Frank Thomas’ career winding down, Williams made the choice to hire another White Sox legend to push the team over the hump.
By bringing in the fiery personality of Ozzie Guillén, and committing to aggressive moves in acquiring talent, Williams was able to completely rebuild the lineup in just over two years.
In 2005, his vision would be realized.
The White Sox finished 99-63, capturing the AL Central title before defeating the defending champion Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels, and Houston Astros to win the World Series for the first time in 88 years.
Over the next seven years, Chicago would remain competitive but failed to match the success of that magical run of ‘05. However, Williams’ loyalty and success were rewarded by Reinsdorf as he was promoted to executive vice president.
And now, that historic tenure has come to an end.
Ken Williams endured and won during his two decades in charge of the White Sox. He dealt with racism, low expectations, and the notoriously tight budget of Reinsdorf over the years. He accomplished what few have in his sport. Making the successful transition from the field to the front office has been rare enough, but even more rare for Black players.
History will not forget Kenny Williams, and as long as that World Series banner flies, his legacy lives on the South Side.
With student-athletes in high school readily availing themselves of name, image, and likeness (NIL) opportunities, Morgan Stanley Global Sports & Entertainment (GSE) has launched a new financial education program, Money in the Making™, designed specifically for young athletes and entertainers. The free program provides information that helps young athletes build and manage their assets as well as make wise financial decisions. Over 44% of student-athletes have expressed a desire to strengthen their financial literacy, and about 49% want tax information. Topics include budgeting, saving, investing, and credit. A high-profile partner for Money in the Making is 17-year NFL veteran Larry Fitzgerald Jr., who shares the keys to his post-football financial successes. Another partner is Parity, a brand sponsorship platform focused on closing the gender income and opportunity gap in professional sports.
History-making bobsledder Dr. Seun Adigun, the force behind Nigeria’s 2018 debut at the Olympic Winter Games, has been working with Parity for a couple of years. “I’m one of the athletes who has benefitted,” said Adigun, who noted that Parity has developed high-impact collaborations for female athletes. “They match us with brands to get visibility as well as being appreciated for being women in sports.”
Adigun, a chiropractor and biomechanist, said financial literacy and awareness are crucial parts of success for female athletes. Also, “understanding what it means to be a brand,” said Adigun, a track athlete before taking up bobsled. “I want to be able to help other women to understand that life is about that balance—how to do your life as an athlete and also how to live your life as a financially healthy individual,” she said.
How to finance her professional education and how to finance the improbable bobsled project was something Adigun learned through trial and error. Helping other young athletes not have to face the same challenges is deeply satisfying for her.
“You can be a professional athlete but also understand that you’re a business and you are a personal brand,” she said. “That’s so much more relevant now in the age of social media.”
“Given NIL, there has been an influx of requests to host financial education sessions,” said Sandra L. Richards, managing director, head of GSE and Segment Sales & Engagement, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. “Money in the Making as a digital financial education platform allows us to scale the resource to reach as many student-athletes, their parents, and anybody else in their ecosystem where they are.”
The Jets and Giants completed their preseason schedule facing each other last Saturday at MetLife, their shared home stadium. The Jets earned the win by 32-24, to finish 2-2 and the Giants ended 1-2. The Jets had an additional game as they opened the NFL preseason schedule playing the Cleveland Browns in the league’s annual Hall of Fame game on August 3.
Preseason is essentially immaterial now to the men who survived final cuts and the coaching staff. While sympathetic feelings may linger for those that grinded through the dog days of training camp and strived to make the teams’ 53-man roster but did not survive final cuts, preseason is immaterial now. The remaining players and coach staffs must now look ahead to Week 1.
The Jets open the regular season on a Monday night, September 11, at home against the Buffalo Bills, the defending AFC East winners. The Bills were 13-3 last season. They weren’t credited with playing 17 games because their contest against the Cincinnati Bengals on January 2 was canceled after safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest on the field after taking a direct hit to his chest.
The Jets did get through the full 17-game slate and were last in the division at 7-10. This season, with the addition of four-time league MVP Aaron Rodgers resolving the Jets’ seemingly perpetual quarterback issues, they enter this season as one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl.
The oddsmakers don’t foresee the Giants having similar prospects as the Jets, but they have the necessities to be a playoff contender and perhaps go deeper into the postseason than they did last January, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round. It was the Giants’ first playoff appearance since 2016.
After going 9-7-1 last season, holding third place in the NFC East and securing a wildcard spot, the Giants will have a difficult schedule as it stands today and two of the league’s leading Super Bowl contenders in their own division to deal with in the reigning NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys. Five of the Giants first six games are versus teams that all made the playoffs last season. The exception is the Arizona Cardinals, who they face in Week 2.
The Giants open the regular season at MetLife on September 10 in the NFL’s Sunday night
(8:20 p.m.) primetime game hosting the Cowboys. They will play the Jets Week 8 (October 29) in a game the Giants are designated as the home team.
This is what it’s like to have a WNBA team filled with All-Stars. While the New York Liberty had very talented players and winning records in past seasons, nothing has compared to this season as Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, Betnijah Laney, Courtney Vandersloot, and Jonquel Jones win the toughest of games—all the while setting records for points, wins, and personal milestones.
This past week has featured three big Liberty victories. Last Thursday, the Liberty defeated the Connecticut Sun 95–90 in overtime in Connecticut. From there, the team headed to Minneapolis, where they drubbed the Minnesota Lynx 111–76, increasing New York’s record of most games with over 100 points.
On Monday, the Liberty returned home for the team’s second regular season victory over the defending WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces (the Liberty also defeated the Aces in the Commissioner’s Cup). The game marked yet another sellout crowd, words that haven’t been uttered in more than a decade.
“Obviously, we wanted to tighten up things and continue to be the best New York Liberty team that we can be,” said Ionescu, the team’s top scorer against the Aces with 25 points. This was the fourth time this month the Liberty and Aces have faced off, with the Liberty prevailing three times. Ionescu likened it to a playoff series in-season. “It was nice to be able to see how we’ve been able to come out every single game and make those adjustments in real time and continue to get better through these games,” she said.
Vandersloot, who contributed 17 points, 10 assists and five rebounds, said she felt confident throughout the game that the Liberty had control. “After our slow start, we came back and we really picked it up defensively. I think we were making things hard for them. We were scoring in transition,” she said.
Head coach Sandy Brondello again noted the depth of the team. When Jones got into foul trouble, Stefanie Dolson was able to step in. She also said the team has gelled over the course of the season. “The chemistry is there,” Brondello said. “The more time we spend together, we can work out how we want to execute.”
The Liberty return to Barclays Center tomorrow night to face the Connecticut Sun and then have a very busy final stretch of regular season play before heading into the playoffs. They face the Sun tomorrow in Brooklyn, the Chicago Sky (Sunday) and Dallas Wings (Tuesday) on the road, and then finish with the Los Angeles Sparks (next Thursday) and Washington Mystics (September 10) at home.
It has been a time of change for Manhattan College athletics. Last spring, the college announced that certain issues within the athletic department had been reviewed for NCAA infractions. After reaching a resolution, information was released. Over a four-year period from 2018–2022, the college did not maintain an academic certification system that incorporated the appropriate checks and balances from both athletics and academic affairs personnel.
With the matter now addressed, the Jaspers are moving forward, and interim director of athletics Irma Garcia is excited to see the fall sports in action. It has also been a time of change for Garcia, the first-ever Hispanic woman to lead a Division I athletic program. Last spring, St. Francis College in Brooklyn, for which Garcia served as director of athletics for 16 years, disbanded its athletic program.
“I love Manhattan College and I’m excited to be here,” said Garcia. “There are a lot of things I can help with. Most of it is just bringing everyone together and believing that we can move on, win, and be successful. The kids are great. The coaches are great. I love being in the grind, being creative, and making this a really special place.”
Garcia has always been a high energy and creative leader. She’s focusing on the present and future. “Success here doesn’t only mean wins and losses,” she said. “You’ve got to win in the classroom and do community service. I love working with the community. Giving back to each other, [and] helping each other get through some tough times.”
All sports continue. Compliance is now a top priority. “Everybody understands what their role is in order to move the college forward,” said Garcia. “It’s going to work as long as we work together, are transparent and communicate.”
The volleyball team began its season last week at the Wildcat Invitational in Utah. Although the Jaspers did not prevail in their matches, there was tenacious play. This weekend, the team heads to the Red Flash Classic in Pennsylvania. The women’s soccer team has played its first two games of the season, winning one. Tonight, the team is on the road playing Loyola University Maryland.
“We’re here to show people that we care and every program is going to feel the energy,” Garcia said. “I see student-athletes ready to compete at a Division I level.”
Michael A. Taylor has been on fire for the Minnesota Twins lately as they fight to stay atop of the American League Central Division. The Twins will have to win the division if they want a shot at postseason play and that is something that Taylor knows. The 32-year-old Taylor has been one of the Twins’ best hitters during the last week and a half. On August 24, he had one of his best performances of the season, going 2-for-3 with two solo home runs as the Twins defeated the Texas Rangers 7-5. He has provided great production at the bottom of the lineup for the Twins. Taylor’s seven-game hitting streak came to an end on Sunday against the Rangers, but his 19 home runs tie a career-best set back in 2017 with the Washington Nationals. In his first year with Minnesota, Taylor has been a versatile addition, filling various needs for the team. The 10-year MLB veteran has been an efficient player throughout his career and has valuable postseason experience, notably as a member of the Washington Nationals World Series team in 2019. Taylor’s defense has been a critical aspect of his all-around play. He has been a lockdown defender winning a Gold Glove Award in 2021. Going into the Twins’ matchup with the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday through 112 games this season playing centerfield, Taylor has a .989 fielding percentage with one assist. Minnesota was 69-63 and led the American League Central Division by seven games over the Guardians, which were 62-70. At the plate, Taylor is not known as a power hitter, but this season, he’s displayed some pop. His 19 home runs as of Tuesday tie a career high. Despite dealing a with slight hamstring discomfort, he has remained a consistent presence in the lineup. With fellow MLBbro Byron Buxton out of the lineup recovering from a right hamstring strain, Taylor’s contribution has been critical to the Twins’ success. If Minnesota continues on its current path to the playoffs, it will be Taylor’s fourth time making it to the postseason. The previous three all came with the Nationals. His last appearance was back in 2019, when Taylor hit .333 through eight games, including two home runs.
Monday was the first official day of the 2023 US Open and a record-breaking single-day total of 72,957 spectators passed through the gates of the spectacular USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens. The night session attendance totaled 30,429, the highest in one single night.
The evening featured a ceremony honoring tennis great and pioneer Billie Jean King and the 50th Anniversary of the US Open becoming the first sporting event to offer equal prize money to male and female competitors. Grammy-Award-winning singer Sara Bareilles sang her hit song, “Brave,” to an approving audience.
Other celebrities in attendance on opening night included Danny DeVito, Rosie Perez, therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Mike Tyson, Alec Baldwin, Gayle King, fashion designer Vera Wang, playwright and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who also spoke at the opening ceremony.
Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle were in attendance to watch 19-year-old Coco Gauff’s defeat Laura Siegemund 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in her first-round match. After Gauff’s victory, Michelle Obama made her way down to the court to participate in a tribute to honor King.
“Billie Jean teaches us that when things lie in the balance, we all have a choice to make. We can either wait around and accept what we’re given, we can sit silently and hope someone fights our battles. Or we can make our own stand,” Obama said.
“Fifty years ago, everything was hanging in the balance. Billie Jean had a choice. She could put her head down, keep winning tournament after tournament and just accept whatever check she was given, or she could dig deep and break serve, she could make a stand.
“If you know Billie Jean, you know what she chose…and thankfully, the US Open had the guts to listen.”
In 1972, Billie Jean earned $10,000 for winning the singles title at the US Open compared to the men’s champion earning $25,000.
“Thank you, Billie Jean, for always fighting for women’s equality,” Gauff said.
“I appreciate you…so that I can live the life that I live today, in women’s tennis and around the world in general.”
Earlier on opening day, Frances Tiafoe won his first round match defeating Learner Tien in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5, 6-1. He played his second match on Wednesday against Sebastian Ofner. Christopher Eubanks also advanced to the second round defeating Kwon Soon-woo in four sets, 6-3, 6-4, 0-6, 6-4. He played his second-round match Wednesday)against Benjamin Bonzi.
Coco Gauff rallied back from a first set 3-6 deficit to beat German qualifier Laura Siegemund Monday night in the first round of the U.S. Open. After winning a marathon 30-point, 25-plus minute game to start the second set, Gauff took the second and third sets 6-2 and 6-4 respectively to advance to the second round at Flushing Meadows.
Once Gauff took the lead in the second set, however, she had to contend with Siegemund’s stall tactics, which seemed designed to slow down play and rattle Gauff. Siegemund repeatedly took her time with her serve and leisurely went to the towel between points on Gauff’s serve, forcing the 19-year-old to wait to play the next point. Although the chair umpire, Marijana Veljovic, warned Siegemund early in the third set, the behavior continued. Gauff finally lost her patience and called Veljovic out in a heated exchange. “She’s never ready when I’m serving, she went over the clock like four times, you gave her a time violation once, how is this fair?…I’m going at a normal speed. Ask any ref here—I go at medium-paced speed…I’ve been quiet the whole match…Now it’s ridiculous. I don’t care what she’s doing on her serve, but on my serve, she has to be ready.” The encounter appeared to temporarily fluster Gauff, who was leading the set serving 3-0 but wound up dropping that game. Gauff later double-faulted three times while serving for the match at 5-2—her only double faults of the entire match. Gauff held on in the final set to take the match, beating Siegemund 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in 2-hours and 51 minutes. When asked during her post-match on-court interview to describe what it was like to play the match, Gauff wryly replied: “Slow.” The No. 6 seed Gauff was scheduled to face unranked Mira Andreeva of Russia yesterday (Wednesday) if the weather permitted as rain was an impediment for matches in Queens.
In other pairings on the woman’s side, former world No. 1 and seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Venus Williams was ousted from the Open in the first round on Tuesday by qualifier Greet Minnen of Belgium, 6-1, 6-1. It was the 43-year-old Williams’s most one-sided defeat in her illustrious career of playing in Grand Slam matches.
Williams is a two-time U.S. Open singles winner (2000, 2001) and two-time doubles titlist (1999, 2009), the latter playing with her younger sister Serena, who retired from competitive professional play after last year’s Open.
