Tag: NYC

Can NYC Mayor Eric Adams Continue to Govern While Facing Federal Bribery Charges?

Corruption and politics often go hand in hand.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is the latest name added to this long list. Last Wednesday, he was charged with accepting gifts as “campaign contributions” from foreign nationals. Among these are receiving free or low-cost airfare and extravagant hotel rooms.

These charges are not small potatoes. They call into question not just his character, but his ability to do his job without being partial to one person and or group. If this was not enough to question his ability to lead, several high-profile resignations have occurred within his administration as of late.

There are two questions that must be answered:

  1. Can he do his job while dealing with these serious legal problems?
  2. If he does not step down, can he still run and win next year’s Mayoral election?

It goes without saying that in the eyes of the law, he is innocent until proven guilty. But, the court of public opinion often carries more weight than any legal document or decision.

How the trial and the election pans out is at this moment, unknown to us. But as a citizen and a voter, I have to wonder if Mayor Adams can govern while fighting the charges?

I Would Love to Know How Harassing Patrons at a Kosher Restaurant in NYC Helps the Palestinian Cause

If someone can explain it to me, I would love to hear it.

The closest analogy that I can think of is protesting in front of a Venezuelan restaurant because of the current state of the country’s politics. But we all know that it will never happen.

P.S. As she did always did, the late Joan Rivers never shied away from the truth.

P.S. This second addendum is added on September 7th. It has been 11 months and 101 human beings are still being held hostage. While we hope that they are all still alive, their fate remains unknown.

When Riding the NYC Subway…

Daily writing prompt
Write about a random act of kindness you’ve done for someone.
View all responses
  1. Let other people off before you go in and do not block the doors.
  2. Give your seat to a person who is disabled, elderly, or expecting. Unless you are sick, you can stand for a few minutes.
  3. Use only one seat. You are not at home and your bags did not pay for the extra seat.
  4. Please use some sort of headphones. I don’t want to know, nor do I care about what you are watching or listening to.

Emma of 83rd Street Book Review

I have a complicated relationship with Emma Woodhouse. As much as I laugh and can see where she goes wrong, I can’t relate to her as I do with other Austen heroines. As good-hearted as she is, she can also be a snob.

Emma of 83rd Street, by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding, was published last year. It is the first book in the For the Love of Austen series. Like her regency counterpart, this modern Emma has grown up with a comfortable life. She lives with her widowed father in Manhattan’s Upper East Side and is in her final year of grad school.

After matching her sister with Ben Knightley, Emma is bored. The house feels empty now that Margo is married and has moved downtown. A new challenge comes in the form of Nadine Pittman. Nadine and Emma are classmates. A transplant from Ohio, she is naive and wide-eyed.

Emma’s next-door neighbor and brother-in-law by marriage, George Knightley seems to take pleasure in pointing out her faults. He knows that she is smart and can do anything once she puts her mind to it. But he is concerned that she is more concerned with frivolous pursuits. Knightley also notices that Emma is now a woman with whom he is developing an un-ignorable attraction.

I loved this book. It is one of the best modern Austen adaptations that I have read in a long time. It was charming, funny, and adorable. It is the perfect mix of the original text and the contemporary world that we inhabit. It also helped that the book was set in NYC. I was easily able to identify some of the locations from within the narrative.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely.

Emma of 83rd Street is available wherever books are sold.

The Breakaway: A Novel Book Review

It has been said that when mortals plan, the creator laughs.

The Breakaway: A Novel, by Jennifer Weiner, was published in August. After all of the shit that Abby Stern has been through, she has finally gotten to a place in life where she is content. Living in Philadelphia, her career path is not exactly steady, and she has yet to make her apartment feel lived in, but that’s okay. She has her friends, her bike, and her boyfriend Mark Medoff. After meeting at summer camp (i.e. fat camp) years earlier, their reunion has become a settled relationship.

But even with all that, that small nagging voice has yet to fade. It could be the one-night stand she had with Sebastian two years ago. She was in NYC for a bridal shower and met him in a bar. If it was supposed to be just drunken sex, why can’t she just forget him and that evening together?

When a last-minute job opportunity comes to lead a cycling club from New York City to Niagara Falls, Abby jumps at the opportunity. It is supposed to be her time to get away from life for a couple of weeks.

Two surprises are waiting for her: Sebastian and her mother, Eileen. Eileen has never been shy about fat-shaming her daughter. Sebastian has been on quite a few first dates, but not a lot of second or third dates. Over the course of the trip, revelations will change lives and decisions will have to be made.

I liked this book. Though I was initially thrown off by the chapters in which we followed the members of the cycling club, her choice of narrative structure made sense. Abby is likable, relatable, and easy to follow. She is a heroine that I was immediately hooked on and was rooting for.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely.

The Breakaway: A Novel is available wherever books are sold.

NYC Immigration News: Eric Adams Complains & the Question of Non-Citizens Voting

America is a country built by immigrants. For many Americans (my own relations included), New York City was the port of entry to the American dream.

In the last year or so, hundreds of thousands of Central American immigrants have come to the city, looking for opportunities and a new life. Recently, Mayor Eric Adams has been complaining about the strain on the resources of the city and its residents. While his frustration is understandable, he forgets that without immigration, NYC would be nothing. There has to be a way to work with what is currently available (with the hopeful help of outside organizations) to support everyone while not sending the city’s coffers into a negative tailspin.

Back in 2021, the NYC council voted for a bill that would allow non-citizens to vote in local elections after reaching certain criteria. Last year, a judge ruled that the law was unconstitutional. While the ruling is still on appeal, two members of the council are asking their colleagues to stop the appeal.

I hate to say it, but I agree with them. On many issues, I disagree with Nicole Malliotakis. But in this case, we stand on the same side. Voting is a privilege that comes with becoming a citizen. I understand the process is long and complicated. I also understand that non-citizens pay taxes and contribute to the five boroughs. But until their citizenship is formalized, they cannot and should not vote.

Just another day in New York City.

Your Place or Mine Movie Review

*The image below is not mine. I am borrowing it. It can be found at fineartamerica.com.

The best romances often start as platonic friendships. The complication comes in when that relationship becomes more than friends.

In the new Netflix romantic comedy, Your Place or Mine, Debbie (Reese Witherspoon) and Peter (Ashton Kutcher) have been besties for twenty years. Debbie is divorced, a single mother, and lives in Los Angeles. Peter is single and lives in New York City.

For one week, they switch lives. Peter travels to LA to take care of Debbie’s son. Debbie flies to New York to fulfill her educational dream. While temporarily living in each other’s houses, they discover new things about the other person. They also realize that they are in love with one another.

I loved this movie. It is romantic, funny, charming, and the perfect way to relax after a long week. The lead actors have fantastic chemistry and the narrative is pitch-perfect. The cherry on top is that the portrayal of NYC is the way it’s supposed to be. The chaos, the beauty, the people, it’s all there.

My favorite scene is the one in which Debbie has arrived in the city and is walking to Peter’s apartment. He tells her to stop. She is in DUMBO and is standing in front of the bridge. Her mouth drops at the sight. It is one of my favorite places in Brooklyn. Every time I see the bridge framed by the building, my heart stops. No matter how many times I see it, I am awed by its beauty.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely.

Your Place or Mine is available for streaming on Netflix.

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Republican Fuckery Part IV: Ted Cruz in NYC and Lauren Boebert’s Thoughts on Women

Part of the game of politics is working with someone who likely has a different opinion or perspective. That being said, it is impossible to work with another whose views are so extreme that they are on another planet (figuratively speaking).

Last weekend, Lauren Boebert referred to women as “lesser vessels” compared to men.

Her rationale is the following:

“We are created equal, we’re not the same. Women are the lesser vessel and we need masculinity in our lives to balance that, that so-called weakness. Just us being more frail and needing that strength in our lives.”

I have two questions for the Congresswoman: if she is “lesser” than her male opponents, what gave her the idea that she had even a slim chance of winning her election? And then, where did she get the idea that she would be respected by her male colleagues and staffers?

What Boebert does not realize is that she is undermining feminism while taking advantage of the opportunities that the movement created. She can’t have it both ways. Either use it or don’t. Simple as that.

Meanwhile, Ted Cruz was in NYC earlier this week to promote his new book (which shall remain nameless on this blog). The highlights of his trip were an appearance on The View and going to a Yankees game.

Upon entering Yankee Stadium, New Yorkers told Cruz exactly what we think of him. If you shit on us, we shit on you right back.

Warning: this video contains language that might be offensive to some viewers.

Just another day of Republican fuckery and another reason to vote them out on November 8th.

P.S. Did you see how Biden reamed out Cruz, MTG, and others on the right for taking PPP loans while deriding his plan to help out with student loan debt? It was beautiful.

Letitia James and Fani Willis may be the Ones Who Save Us From You Know Who

It has been said that where there is smoke, there is fire. If that is true, there has been smoke coming out of a famous NYC building owned by you know who for a very long time.

Earlier this week, New York state Attorney General Letitia “Tish” James announced that she has filed a lawsuit against he who shall not be named, and his three eldest children. In short, it claims that their namesake organization and its leadership have been committing financial fraud as a standard business model for years.

Of course, his response was a racist slur. Which we have learned over the years is par for the course.

In Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has pulled together a grand jury investigation. The purpose is to determine if he and his supporters violated state laws in an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential election.

Starts at 1:15

As pointed out in yesterday’s episode of the podcast The New Abnormal (which starts at 5:19), both James and Willis are African American women. I think it speaks to where this country is going politically. These women understand that if they don’t stand up for what is right and the rule of law, there is a chance that no one will.

The only way to shut down a bully is to beat them at their own game. The former President is a bully. Until it is made crystal clear that he and his cronies are not above the law, they will continue to act with impunity.

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