The search is on for nominations for this year’s FLAG Award for Teaching Excellence. 

New York City’s newest award is a chance to celebrate local public school teachers who use creativity to enhance their teaching.

The FLAG Award for Teaching Excellence aims to recognize New York City’s Pre-K through elementary public school teachers. To date, the award has recognized 122 teachers and conferred $1.13 million in cash prizes. This year’s award will present $25,000 cash prizes to six outstanding elementary school educators, and there will be one grand-prize winner in each NYC borough plus one winning PreK-5th grade teacher. 

Glenn Fuhrman, co-founder of the private investment firm MSD Capital, funds the FLAG Award through his philanthropic organization, the Fuhrman Family Foundation. Fuhrman and his wife, Amanda, created the FLAG Award because they have had family members who were teachers and they felt today’s teachers weren’t being as appreciated as they should be.  

FLAG Award winners can choose how to use their awards, and will also receive $10,000 for their schools. Finalists will receive $10,000 each for personal use, and their schools will get $5,000 to establish an arts-based initiative. Semi-finalists will receive $1,000, as will their schools.

“The money that goes to the teacher is totally unrestricted,” said Risa Daniels, co-president of the FLAG Foundation for Excellence in Education. “Teachers can use it to…pay for their kids’ college. They can go on vacation. They can do whatever they want. The money to the school—the idea behind that is that it should be used in some kind of creative way, with some kind of arts focus, with input from the winning teacher, so if the winning teacher is an art teacher, they can use it to buy art supplies. If the winning teacher is a science teacher, maybe they use the funds to create some kind of science project that uses clay or paint, or they create dioramas. It’s pretty broad: The whole idea is just that there is some kind of creativity infused in the use of the award money.”

Full-time New York City public school teachers of grades PreK through 12 can be nominated for a FLAG award by students, parents, school staff, and community members. The online form for nominations is available at https://flagaward.org/nominate-your-teacher. Nominations are open until November 23, 2023. 

The qualifications of award nominees will be measured by an independent panel of judges, including Dr. Betty Rosa, commissioner of education and president of the University of the State of New York; Michael Driskill, chief operating officer, Math for America; Bob Hughes, director of K-12 Education, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Nisa Mackie, deputy director of learning and engagement the Museum of Modern Art; and Jessica Abrams, a previous FLAG Award winner.

Nominees are assessed “based on their ability to challenge and inspire students, impact the school and community positively, embrace their role as educators, acknowledge the full spectrum of student potential, act as role models, and engage in self-improvement.”

Semi-finalists for the FLAG Award will be announced in January 2024, and the six winners will be named before the end of the academic year.

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Governor Kathy Hochul announced last week her official backing of Mayor Eric Adams’ move to legally suspend the city’s right-to-shelter law. In opposition, housing advocates rallied for a statewide right-to-shelter law, investments in rental assistance and tenant protections, and social housing for all.

New York City’s right-to-shelter law was enacted 44 years ago during the Callahan v. Carey case. This lawsuit was initiated in 1979 when homelessness in the city was at an all time high, said the Coalition For the Homeless (CFH). Lawyer Robert Hayes, who co-founded the CFH, sued the city on behalf of homeless men in New York State Supreme Court. Robert Callahan, who was a houseless in Manhattan with chronic alcoholism at the time, was a lead plaintiff in the lawsuit.

Hayes argued that there was already a right-to-shelter responsibility in the state constitution. The courts ruled in his favor, then in 1981, the case was officially settled under a consent decree. It said that the city and state had to provide single-night placement, safety, shelter, basic health services, and board for all homeless adult men. Homeless single women were added in 1982 during the Eldredge v. Koch case, and homeless families with children years were added to the decree years later during the McCain v. Koch case that technically ended in 2008. 

CFH said that sadly during litigation, Callahan died while sleeping on the streets on the Lower East Side. 

As of now, the city said it has received about 126,700 asylum seekers since last year with about 64,100 migrants still here. City officials started sending 30-day notices to adults in the shelter and emergency shelter system recently, and declared this month it will begin sending 60 -ay notices to families with children seeking asylum shelters. “For over a year, New York City has led the response to this national crisis, but significant additional resources, coordination, and support are needed from all levels of government,” said Adams in a statement. “With over 64,100 asylum seekers still in the city’s care, and thousands more migrants arriving every week, expanding this policy to all asylum seekers in our care is the only way to help migrants take the next steps on their journeys.” 

Adams has also been prying away at the established right-to-shelter law since May. He filed an application on behalf of the city asking for a “modification” and “relief” from the law because of the asylum seeker crisis. 

This is not the first time a mayor has tried to modify the law. Under former Mayor Rudy Giuliani in 1999, said the CFH, the city attempted to modify the Callahan consent decree to allow denying shelter to homeless adults who wouldn’t comply with social service plans and rules. And in 2011, under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York City tried to propose new shelter eligibility rules for homeless single adults. 

Adams has finally swayed the state to at least back his play to suspend the law since Hochul refused to institute a statewide right-to-shelter order to help. Hochul’s attorney reportedly filed with the Manhattan Supreme Court last Wednesday and, in a letter, said that the state agreed with the city’s argument for “flexibility” when it comes to the migrant crisis. Hochul also plans to expand inpatient psychiatric beds at state-operated psychiatric centers. 

The city’s advocates have been in a huge uproar ever since. 

Rob Robinson is a formerly homeless community organizer with Partners for Dignity and Rights and a teacher at the New School. He was homeless on the streets of Miami for about 2 years and spent 10 months at the now closed Open Door shelter in New York City. He’s proposed that homeless individuals and newly arrived migrants form a coalition as opposed to fighting over resources, and has circulated a petition to keep the right-to-shelter law.  

“I believe our constitution doesn’t look at me as a human being. It values property rights over people and that’s problematic. I do think we need to band together in humanity and support one another,” said Robinson. “Everybody deserves a decent place, a dignified place, an affordable place to live with security and tenure. I don’t care if you’re just migrated here or you didn’t.”

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who was at a rally last week with Assemblymember Marcela Mitaynes as well as housing and immigrant activists, was appalled. 

“Right to Shelter is a statewide obligation. The governor has not only failed to uphold that right, she’s refused to acknowledge it exists,” said Williams in a statement. “Meanwhile, the mayor has been steadily trying to strip away the right to shelter since before the first bus arrived. New Yorkers have a right to shelter. It’s been a moral right throughout our city’s history, and a legal right for over four decades—it doesn’t disappear in the face of a crisis. The right to shelter isn’t failing, our leaders are.” 

VOCAL-NY’s Housing Campaigns Director Adolfo Abreu said in a statement that the suspension of the right-to-shelter law will have “devastating consequences” in the long-term.“We need leadership that stops fighting, resisting, gaslighting, lying, and ignoring homelessness prevention initiatives that have broad support from New Yorkers,” said Abreu. “True leadership would ground their policies in permanently rehousing all New Yorkers experiencing homelessness.” 

Additionally, President of 1199SEIU Union George Gresham said that he found the new 60-day notice rule to homeless families in shelters “deeply alarming” and especially “cruel and inhumane” to do as winter approaches. He said that the union is vehemently opposed to attempts to blame migrants for the city’s financial problems.

“There is another way to respond to the current humanitarian crisis: working together with all levels of government and community-based organizations to assist both newcomers and others in need to exit the shelter system, find jobs and affordable housing, and get back on their feet,” said Gresham. “The resources currently being dedicated to this effort can be spent much more efficiently and effectively on both emergency aid and long-term solutions, and we join in the call for additional support, especially from our federal government.”

Meanwhile, the Legal Aid Society almost immediately filed a response to the city and state’s filings to suspend the right-to-shelter law, arguing that not only is winter coming but life-sustaining shelter protects the most vulnerable New Yorkers. In their letter, Legal Aid predicts that if the mayor and governor are successful, there will be an epidemic of homeless encampments, deaths, and bodily harm to homeless individuals. 

“Modification of Callahan, as proposed by the city defendants, would set a dangerous

precedent,” said Legal Aid in the letter, adding that it would “call into question similar decrees that offer protection from the elements to especially vulnerable populations, such as families with minor children.”
Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her 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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As complex and terrible the situation is in Israel/Palestine and ongoing military conflict with Hamas, President Biden’s visit was exacerbated by an explosion that damaged a hospital and, according to Palestinian sources, killed at least 471 people and injured countless others.

While both sides have blamed the other for the tragic incident, Biden said in a press conference in Tel Aviv that, based on information compiled by U.S. defense sources, Hamas unleashed the rocket and is responsible for the explosion. He said he was “outraged by the explosion of the hospital in Gaza yesterday.” 

“And based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team [Hamas]

not you [Israel], but there’s a lot of people out there not sure, so we’ve got a lot—we’ve got a lot to overcome. A lot of things,” Biden said.

Biden did not present the evidence that brought him to this conclusion, but it coincides with the findings of several experts at the BBC who believe the rocket misfired, consistent with the Israeli view. Key to this analysis, the experts asserted, was the trajectory of the rocket and the fact that it wasn’t destroyed by Israel’s Iron Dome. But as Biden noted, there’s a lot to investigate, which may take years.

If there’s any good news from this battlefield of carnage, Biden said that Israel agreed to allow humanitarian aid to begin flowing in from Egypt. Such aid is critically needed, with people suffering from wounds and hospitalization, including a desperate need for medical supplies, food, water, and a resumption of electricity.  

Even so, a multitude of issues besets these beleaguered Gazans. Troubling, too, is the danger of the war expanding, particularly to Lebanon.

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The Knicks and Nets played their final preseason games last night (Wednesday) and will continue their preparation for next week’s opening night when play takes on greater significance.

The Knicks hosted the Washington Wizards at Madison Square Garden and the Nets were in Miami to take on the defending Eastern Conference champion Heat. The Knicks and Nets were both 1-2 before their final games.

The Knicks lost twice to the Boston Celtics, including a 123-110 defeat on Tuesday night on the road and the Nets fell to the Philadelphia 76ers 127-119 on Monday evening at the Barclays Center. Nets star forward Mikal Bridges did not play but the team’s potential X-factor, Ben Simmons, logged 29 minutes, while posting 8 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds.

The glaring flaw was the 27-year-old Simmons’ eight turnovers playing his usual point-forward role.

An encouraging sign for the Nets is that he appears to be healthy after dealing with back injuries for the past several seasons. He was limited to 42 games last season with a nerve issue in his back and since being drafted No. 1 overall by the 76ers in 2016, he has played in only 317 regular season games out of a possible 574.

At highest level of play, Simmons has earned three All-Star game selections (2019-2021), All-NBA Third Team honors (2020), two NBA All-Defensive First Team spots (2020, 2021) and was named the 2018 Rookie of the Year after missing the entire the 2016-17 season due to a broken right foot.   

Along with Simmons, the Nets as a whole were careless with the basketball versus Philadelphia, committing 27 turnovers to the Sixers 10. Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn was also disturbed by what he viewed as a lack of collective sustained intensity.

“I said to some assistant coaches earlier today is I really want this team to be known for playing hard, and that starts now,” said Vaughn. “It doesn’t start versus Cleveland the first game of the year…I should never have to go into one of our huddles, timeouts, talk about effort and playing hard.”

The Nets will start the regular season at home next Wednesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Knicks will also be at home next Wednesday to begin the regular season when they’ll face the Celtics. Three of their four preseason games have been at the Garden. Last Saturday at MSG, the Knicks took a 121-112 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

RJ Barrett, who like Simmons could be the difference in the Knicks taking a step up and becoming a serious threat to the East’s top teams—currently the Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks– or being stagnant, led them in points and minutes played with 23 and 26 respectively.

In Tuesday’s loss to the Celtics, Quentin Grimes was the Knicks’ top scorer with 22. He and Robinson were the only two regular starters that saw time. Barrett, Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson were held out by head coach Tom Thibodeau.   

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Newark, N.J., is part of a growing push to establish a guaranteed basic income for people who need financial support during desperate times.

The city established an experimental guaranteed basic income program for its residents in 2021. Under the auspices of the Newark Movement for Economic Equity (NMEE), some 400 residents have each received $500 a month over the past two years.

The cash payments, which came with no pre-conditions about how they had to be spent, were designed to aid Newark families who faced housing or other financial problems.

Mayor Ras J. Baraka will host an event designed to look at NMEE’s impact this coming Tuesday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m. at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s (NJPAC’s) Victoria Theater. The event will feature a roundtable discussion with NMEE recipients and Marc Levin, director of the documentary film “It’s Basic,” which features profiles of mayors from cities across the nation who have implemented guaranteed income policies. 

The evening will include a screening of the documentary film and a discussion about the group Mayors for a Guaranteed Income (MGI), which is behind the nationwide push for steady cash payments for people in need.

The progressive nonprofit Economic Security Project reported that there are currently more than 100 guaranteed basic income programs in operation in cities across the United States. Newark has joined the MGI movement alongside cities like Trenton, Paterson, and Hoboken; Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minn.; Birmingham, Montgomery, and Little Rock, Ala.; Los Angeles, Oakland, Compton, San Diego, Palm Springs, and San Francisco, Calif.; Atlanta, Ga.; Baltimore, Md.; and the New York-based cities of Hempstead, Rochester, Mount Vernon, and Ithaca. 

“The idea behind a guaranteed income is that while most of the folks [who] are in the movement would also support raising the minimum wage and increasing folks’ salaries to match the cost of inflation, …[it] is recognizing that a lot of folks are just experiencing poverty,” said Sukhi Samra, executive director of MGI.

“Most of the folks who can work, do work. But there are also folks who are experiencing poverty, who are unable to work––whether those are folks who are disabled, the elderly, and the retired, or people who are doing the unseen labor of eldercare or childcare. We’re wanting to use guaranteed income as a tool to recognize the care work that folks do, which is most often done by women, but these are folks who don’t have an income floor. We think of this as supplementing rather than replacing; this would be one more way to add to the social safety net.”

Funds for necessities

More than 1,200 Newark residents had applied to take part in the NMEE program when it was initiated in 2021. To qualify, participants had to be housing-insecure and earn an income at or below 200% of the federal poverty line. Participants were randomly chosen.

In September 2022, Newark released statistics showing how NMEE basic income fund recipients were spending their cash infusions. The report said, “The majority of the funds were spent on necessities like food, household goods, and transportation”:

–   40% at retailers and discount superstores for things like food, clothes, household goods, and hygiene products.

–   26% at grocery stores.

–   10% on transportation costs like gas and car repair.

–   12% for housing and utilities

Other expenses included loan repayments, medical expenses, and tuition.

Particpant profiles included:

–   77.75% of participants are women, 21.25% men, and 0.5% non-binary.

–   82% of participants are single.

–   Two-thirds of participants have children in the household.

 – The average participant household size is three, with an average of two children.

 – 81.50% of participants are non-Hispanic, a majority of whom are African American.

 – 18.50% of participants identify as Hispanic.

 – The average household income for participants is $8,749.

The “It’s Basic” documentary reminds viewers that, during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, the Black Panther Party had called for “…the federal government…to give every man employment or a guaranteed income” in its Ten-Point Program to empower the Black community, and Martin Luther King Jr. was a strong advocate of a basic income to combat economic insecurity.

“We do know, anecdotally, that more often than not, people are using the guaranteed income to set themselves up for positions of future success,” Samra told the AmNews. “They know that the program is time-limited, so they use the funds to do things that will set them up for success in the long term. Whether that’s putting a downpayment on a house or paying down credit card debt or using that income floor to sign up for an internship that will help them get a better-paying job in the future, we’ve seen folks using that money to invest in themselves so that when the program is over, they’re in a better position than they were when the program started.”The October 24 “Guaranteed Income Works” event is free and open to the public. To attend, register at https://www.njpac.org/event/its-basic-documentary-premiere-with-mayor-ras-j-baraka/ or call 888-696-5722.

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