Lacerte stepping down as head of QBG
Leaves behind a legacy that spans nearly three decades
Grant recipients get chance to say ‘thank you’
Invited to Citi Field for pre-game ceremony with Cohen
The Summer of Blaz
Who had a better summer than Mayor Bill de Blasio? Ever since Governor Andrew Cuomo completed his stunning fall from grace, the mayor has had a whole new attitude.
Maybe it’s just us, but it seems like the mayor is a lot more carefree, despite all of the issues facing the city, including the controversy surrounding school reopenings and vaccine mandates, his decision to send all city workers back to the office, and the mess on Rikers Island.
When he gets questioned on those decisions, he seems a lot more confident and less defensive than he did when Cuomo was constantly calling him out in public.
And what does a mayor whose feeling himself do? He demands a bulldozer and then uses it to crush some illegal dirt bikes confiscated by the police, which is exactly what he did on Staten Island recently.
Now he’s taking on world leaders. The mayor told Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to not bother coming to the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly this week, as the unvaccinated Bolsonaro would be in violation of the city’s vaccine mandate.
“We need to send a message to all the world leaders, including most notably Bolsonaro from Brazil, that if you intend to come here, you need to be vaccinated,” de Blasio said during his daily City Hall news conference.
Of course, de Blasio can’t stop Bolsonaro from coming to New York City, so the demand is futile and the South American leader still gave the first speech of the annual meeting on Tuesday.
But de Blasio could theoretically tail Bolsonaro and his party and keep them from dining in restaurants or entering bars and clubs.
Of course, if Bolsonaro pulls the same stunt as the tourists from Texas who caused a fracas when they were denied entry to a restaurant, there’s not much de Blasio could do: Bolsonaro enjoys diplomatic immunity.
Fall starts this week, so as far as the calendar is concerned, the “Summer of Blaz” is coming to end, but we’ll see if de Blasio can ride his newfound confidence all the way through to the end of his term on December 31.
A political fashion statement
If you’re anything like us, you were probably pretty shocked that you weren’t at the very least invited to this year’s Met Gala to rub elbows with the elite names in fashion, entertainment and politics. Apparently, we are keeping good company with Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, who also didn’t get an invite to the social event of the year.
So the south Brooklyn congresswoman had no reason to break out her fanciest ball gown and adorn it with a political message like Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who emblazoned her white gown with the phrase “Tax The Rich.”
Well, Malliotakis also wants her political leanings to be a fashion statement as well, and you can join her. For just $30, you can have your very own white t-shirt declaring “Stop the Squad,” referring to Ocasio-Cortez and some of her left-leaning colleagues in the House of Representatives.
We can’t wait to see Malliotakis sporting this shirt on the floor of the House sometime soon.
Kelsey Brow, King Manor Museum
As executive director of the King Manor Museum in Jamaica, Kelsey Brow is tasked with preserving the house and former estate of Rufus King, an original signer of the U.S. Constitution.
With public tours and educational opportunities available at the museum, Brow is also in charge of scheduling programming that is meaningful and accessible to the community.
“It’s a real honor and privilege, but also a lot of stress,” said Brow.
Much like King, Brow also places high priority in pay equity, while maintaining quality staff who help uphold the history of an outspoken opponent of slavery.
“So many times, people who work in museums are asked to do it because they love it or they believe in the mission,” said Brow. “But believing in the mission doesn’t pay the bills. People should be compensated fairly for their labor.”
Brow started her role as executive director not too long before the pandemic started, and she recalled what it was like having to maneuver through the past 18 months,
“We were very fortunate to have such a large building and such a good outdoor space,” said Brow. “We did a lot of renovations on the inside.”
The museum recently expanded its viewing tours to include the second floor of the house. The museum has also partnered with South Queens Women’s March (SQWM) to host local food pantries and personal protective equipment giveaways.
Currently, the second floor is hosting a “Made in Queens” exhibit, curated by the SQWM.
“We really wanted to give the space to the community to express what they wanted to express,” said Brow.
Do the math!
Dear Editor,
New York City’s public schools began the fall semester with sharp declines in enrollment and education standards. Enrollment in grades K-12 fell to 890,000, the first time in 20 years that it fell below the one million mark.
Many parents pulled their kids out of public schools offering only remote learning over the past 18 months and put them in private schools with in-person learning. New guidance from the Department of Education (DOE) may trigger another exodus of students.
DOE wants to scrap grades, honor rolls and student rankings that are “detrimental to learners” and “negatively influence future student performance.” This is part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s racial equity program to replace merit with mediocrity.
He wants to level the playing field for minority students, but it is really the soft bigotry of low expectations that sets kids up for failure when they graduate high school unprepared for college or the workplace.
DOE’s guidance is the latest step in an effort to dumb down education that ended academic screening for middle schools and reduced Gifted & Talented programs. These measures cheat students and taxpayers.
New York City spends $28,808 a year for every public school student, more than any other U.S. public school system.
We get a poor return on our investment, based on the results of the state’s English Language Arts & Math tests for students in grades 3-8 in 2019, the last pre-pandemic year in which those tests were given: 45.4 percent of all test takers were proficient in English and 46.7 percent in math.
That means the majority of the city’s elementary and middle school students can’t satisfactorily read, write or perform basic math functions.
A voucher system giving parents funds to send their kids to private schools makes more sense than the mess we now have. I hope that Eric Adams, our likely new mayor, replaces DOE’s woke warriors with responsible educators who value academic merit over corrupt manipulation.
Sincerely,
Richard Reif
Kew Gardens Hills
Get tested
Dear Editor,
September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, and he pandemic has caused many men to avoid getting tested for prostate cancer. Now is the time to get tested.
About one in nine men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime. According to the American Cancer Society, there will be 248,530 new cases and 31,130 deaths from prostate cancer in 2021.
Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths, but it is 99 percent curable if caught early. I know that only too well.
I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2015. I was having knee surgery and needed a physical by my primary doctor, who found my PSA was high and directed me to see a urologist.
At age 66, I had aggressive prostate cancer and required surgery. Today, I am 72 years-old and cancer free. These doctors truly saved my life and I am eternally thankful.
I urge all men over the age of 40 to get tested.
Sincerely,
Frederick R. Bedell, Jr.
Bellerose
