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Posted inArts

Flushing Town Hall keeps jazz alive 

by Andrea Pineda-Salgado

Queens has long been the home of many prominent jazz musicians, including Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. Flushing Town Hall, a Smithsonian Institution affiliate dedicated to presenting global arts programming, is making sure New Yorkers remember these legends by hosting monthly jazz jams. It has been promoting jazz in Queens for decades and this month it is hosting the 2nd annual Jazz Jam All-Stars Concert, which was paused due to the pandemic.

Posted inCovid-19

Everyone has Covid … again

by Felipe De La Hoz

Where once Covid-19 seemed like an all-encompassing issue — the specter haunting daily life, at the forefront of every conversation, the first question at every press conference, the issue from which all others flowed to the extent that it prompted the launching of this newsletter — it has slowly but surely receded from this everyday dominance.

Posted inClimate

The Dilemma behind the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project

by Angelina Nelson

East River Park looks different than how its neighbors remember it just a few months ago. Trees have been cut down, baseball fields have been closed and construction began in December 2021 for the East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) Project, an initiative aimed at increasing the coastal resilience of flood-prone communities. The project is the largest coastal resiliency project in the city and the largest urban climate adaptation project in the United States. However, the ESCR Project has been controversial and residents of the Lower East Side are mourning the temporary loss of the park for a few years. 

Posted inPolitics

Breaking down SCOTUS’ recent decisions and what they mean for you

by Felipe De La Hoz

Let’s turn to the subject of the moment: the Supreme Court. At this point, you probably don’t need us to tell you that the nation’s highest court has overruled Roe v. Wade, the nearly 50-year-old precedent decision that established a federal right to abortion. You’ve seen the headlines, watched the protests, maybe joined in on some.

What you might not know is that this was just one of a series of consequential decisions this month that are shifting the spectrum of your rights and the government’s relationship to the public.