State Democrats’ latest push to take away Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Coronavirus power.
The U.S. is quickly reaching capacity at facilities for children found crossing the southern border.
The Holy Father getting to see an ancient Iraqi book saved from being destroyed by ISIS.
A look at Louis Armstrong’s roots in the Diocese of Brooklyn.
By Jessica Easthope
The calls are continuing from lawmakers across the state and the aisle, saying Gov. Cuomo shouldn’t be this powerful.
“Cuomo stated nursing homes were told that they were to accept COVID+ nursing home patients “if they could.” The 3/25 directive does not have “if they could language,” Democratic Senator Alessandra Biaggi tweeted.
“We must repeal Cuomo’s legal immunity for nursing home executives now,” tweeted State Assemblyman Ron Kim. “No more excuses.”
This comes after a scathing report by the state Attorney General that the Cuomo Administration underreported nursing home deaths due to COVID-19, something the governor has adamantly denied.
“New York State DOH has always fully and publicly reported all COVID deaths in nursing homes and hospitals,” the governor said.
Nearly a year ago when New York began to experience an unprecedented health crisis, the state legislature passed a bill lawmakers thought would help oust the deadly virus. But buried in the bill was a part that allowed Gov. Cuomo to suspend, modify and create laws by issuing directives and executive orders.
Now, a year later, the governor has issued more than 230 executive orders and directives. One that mandated nursing homes to take in COVID-positive patients, resulted in the deaths of more than 15,000 nursing home residents across the state.
“I’ve called for the governor to resign at this point,” said Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis. “This is inexcusable. I mean they purposely mislead the public and then they had a cover up.”
And amid this backlash – another blow to the Cuomo Administration: allegations of sexual assault and harassment by former aide Lindsey Boylan. Gov. Cuomo has denied any inappropriate behavior took place, but now the White House is weighing in.
“When a person comes forward, they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect,” said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. “Their voice should be heard, not silenced. And any allegations should be reviewed.”
New York’s state of emergency expires Friday, but the governor can renew it indefinitely. Currents News reached out to the governor’s office about the call to repeal his emergency powers but our request hasn’t been answered.
Currents News Staff
At a church in Queens, one parishioner is trying to revive the Knights of St. Peter Claver. The historically African-American Catholic service organization at the church used to be really active, but not anymore.
Dr. Anthony Andrews Jr. joins Currents News to educate on the Knights of St. Peter Claver and recruit members.
If you would like to be part of the first virtual national initiation on March 6, head on over to KofPC.org and hit the “join now” button. APPLICATION DEADLINE: Friday, February 26, 2021.
Currents News Staff
Sidra, an Aramaic manuscript that’s at least 500 years old, belongs to the Syriac-Christian Church of Qaraqosh. It contains prayers to be recited between the feasts of Easter and the Holy Cross and is a gem for the Christian community, which is the largest in Iraq.
The book has a noteworthy story. It was objects like these that ISIS targeted. A group of priests managed to hide it, and in 2017, two Italian journalists found it.
It ended up in the hands of FOCSIV, a federation of Christian organizations dedicated to volunteer work. Its members restored the book.
They call it the “Refugee Book,” because it was a silent witness of the persecution of Iraq’s minorities between 2014 and 2017.
Before returning it to its land of origin, those who restored the book wanted to show it to Pope Francis.
“It had many problems. All the miniatures were covered with scraps of paper so they wouldn’t be visible,” they said. “The manuscript has a fascinating story, which we were able to write down.”
“You’ve worked miracles, haven’t you,” asked Pope Francis.
Lucilla Nuccitelli, from the ICPAL organization, which was in charge of the restoration, told the pope that it took 10 months to complete the project.
The president of the NGO that salvaged the book gave the pontiff a gift, with his upcoming trip to Iraq in mind.
“I am giving this to you as a symbol. It’s an apron for the women at our house in Qaraqosh,” they explained. “It’s a shelter for women, where they can receive formation and aid. It’s for refugee women.”
Pope Francis gave them a blessing and asked them for a favor, which has become a staple of his meetings.
“And pray for me, of course. And in favor, not against me,” he said.
“Certainly. Rest assured,” they answered.
In Iraq, the Holy Father will visit the Nineveh plains. He will arrive in Erbil on Sunday, March 7. There he will celebrate Mass. He will also visit Mosul and Qaraqosh.
This city is known as the Vatican of Iraq, as it is home to the country’s largest Christian community. It’s also the city that suffered the most damage from ISIS.
The pandemic has hit us all very hard – working mothers in particular – one Catholic mom shares her story.
The FDA says Johnson and Johnson’s vaccine is safe and could approve it very soon. What this means for controlling the pandemic.
How one priest is using his old baseball cards to help Catholic school students.
By Jessica Easthope
Mornings come fast and seem to last long. For the last year, Brooke DiMeo has been working two jobs: one she doesn’t get paid for, it’s just expected.
“More like Groundhog Day,” Brooke said. “Chaotic but the same, you know, the same chaos: school work, work-work, housework, feeding the kids, entertaining the kids making sure I’m doing enough for the kids, doing enough for my job being as productive as I was prior.”
By 7:30 a.m. Brooke’s getting her kids, six-year-old Grace and four-year-old Tommy fed and ready for the day. But it’s not always smooth – it takes a lot of compromise, like allowing Tommy to watch his current favorite movie and helping Grace to put a little shimmer on her eyes.
Some days Brooke’s slippers get changed to sneakers because Grace and Tommy go to school in-person. But the second Brooke is back home and turns the key in the door -she clocks-in as an account executive at Hanes and only has a few hours to work in peace.
But on the days the kids are home, Brooke is forced to make yet another compromise.
“I’ve cried many times, like sitting at my desk because I have a project,” she said. “I have a deadline but my kids need the school work done. Tommy’s screaming over something and I mean I definitely feel like I’ve been set back a bit in my career.”
According to the Census Bureau, one-in-five working-age adults are unemployed because the pandemic has upended their childcare. Women are three times more likely than men to stay home with the kids. Whereas 9.8 million working American mothers are suffering from burnout, they’re 28 percent more likely to experience it than fathers.
“You’re never able to give 100 percent to one thing because you’re doing, you know, two, three, four things at once,” said Brooke, whose husband Mike works as an elevator mechanic in Manhattan. “So it’s kind of depleting and it’s upsetting. You always feel like you’re failing.”
Along with longer grocery lists, higher bills and shorter days, Brooke says the pandemic has shown just how undervalued mothers are and that their strength is only as strong as the support they’re given.
“When you equate how many hours they’re working as a mother – financial compensation would be nice from the government,” she said. “I don’t think they’ve really supported mothers the right way at all considering how much they’ve taken on during the pandemic.”
But Brooke says she can’t help but count her blessings and that her faith is part of what keeps her powering forward.
“I need that Sunday at church to just like, I don’t know, have a second to reset for the week,” she said, “to be praying and to be a little more spiritual, in that sense, kind of just makes you feel better.”
Both jobs are tough and the pandemic has made them tougher. But for mothers – it’s all in a day’s work.
By Emily Drooby
On a quaint Brooklyn Heights street sits Plymouth Church. Hidden among the pews, are crucial pieces of Black History.
Senior Minister Brett Younger, took Currents News on a tour.
A marker where Abraham Lincoln sat praying for the abolition of slavery, the space where Martin Luther King Jr. preached an early version of his “I Have a Dream” speech.
Major pieces of history, but the most powerful piece is hidden just past the basement door.
“We were the Grand Central Depot of the Underground Railroad,” Brett explained.
Enslaved African Americans stopped at this church for rest and food during their long and terrifying journey. No larger overarching documentation exists of how many or who exactly passed through, only small fragments of information.
Hidden in the sub-basement of the popular church is a windowless room with no lights.
Brett explained while he turned off the lights, which were added later.
“Imagine that you’re spending the night here and you hear someone walking down the stairs and you don’t know if they’re coming to bring you food or coming to take you back to slavery,” he said. “The courage of those seeking freedom is stunning.”
The space feels haunting and hopeful at the same time.
The church’s minister at the time, Henry Ward Beecher, was a well-known abolitionist. Thousands came to hear him speak. He used all kinds of methods to help free slaves, including mock slave auctions. He also bought people’s freedom with money collected from worshipers.
A long history of fighting for what is right is what current church leaders strive to emulate. That includes highlighting complicated parts of their heritage, like a statue that sits on their grounds done by the infamous Mt. Rushmore sculptor, who had racist ties. The sculpture depicts Beecher helping to free slaves.
“You know there had to be people in the church saying ‘Hey, let’s get out of politics, ‘Hey let’s stop breaking the law. We should be working to change the laws,’” said Brett. “And yet, this was a church that understood if you’re not helping the people that need the help the most, then you’re not being a church. So that’s put a lot of pressure on us to try and live up to our heritage.”
The church is now heavily involved in fighting trafficking and fighting for racial justice.
By Emily Drooby
St. Joseph Catholic Academy’s Pre-K program has been reinstated.
After spending months believing the program where his daughter flourished would be closing, Hany Saad was thrilled to discover that New York City’s decision on it had changed, and that it would still be around for his younger son.
“With Maria actually, she learned a lot, she has a lot of friends, she’s happy actually coming to school to learn to play,” he said of his daughter. “I want the same thing for Mark.”
The reinstatement is a big win for the Long Island City school.
“We are thrilled that we will be able to provide the service for local families here at St. Joseph,” said Lucy Alaimo, sthe “Pre-K for All” Program Education Director at St. Joseph Catholic Academy.
Back in September of 2020, the New York City Department of Education announced they were dropping 105 of their free Pre-K for All programs. Five of them, including St. Joseph, were Catholic schools in the Diocese of Brooklyn.
Schools immediately appealed but were left in limbo for months as the city made their determinations. Those decisions were finally handed down this week.
“Our voices were heard,” said Thomas Chadzutko, the Superintendent of Catholic Schools for Brooklyn and Queens. “They did say that the schools were very well established and they were able to find additional financial resources because the areas that were renewed, there was a need for Pre-K for all programs.”
The previously affected Catholic schools whose contracts have now been renewed for the 2021-2022 academic year are Sacred Heart Catholic Academy, Glendale, St. Joseph Catholic Academy, Long Island City, and St. Catherine of Genoa-St. Thérèse of Lisieux Catholic Academy, Flatbush.
Unfortunately, two schools were not renewed: St. Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Academy in Greenpoint and Sacred Heart Academy in Bayside.
While Chadzutko said officials at the Department of Education have been great about working with them during this ordeal, they did not tell them why the two schools were not renewed. They have asked for an answer.
“We know it’s a competitive process, but we also want to know, in any competition, why did we not make it to the finish line and what could we have done differently. So, I think that’s important to note,” said Chadzutko.
St. Joseph credits 1,700 parents and alumni who spoke out to lawmakers.
If it had not gone their way, they would have been forced to cut 10 jobs.
“Words can’t express what that means to me and all the teachers and staff here at St. Josephs,” said Lucy.
The decision was handed down just in time as enrollment for Pre-K for All begins Wednesday, January 24.
The schools that were not renewed will continue to appeal for their program with the help of the Superintendent’s Office and are also looking into other options.
We’ll tell you what’s next for three Catholic preschools allowed to reopen by New York City.
Forced to revaccinate – New Yorkers asked to get their COVID shots again after being given spoiled vaccines.
Christians and Muslims working alongside each other to rebuild Mosul years after it was destroyed by ISIS.
By Jessica Easthope
Forty million people visit Central Park every year, but how many of them know about its past? Buried beneath the park’s enormity and fame is the history of Seneca Village.
“We have historical records of different churches and schools and small plots of land used for agriculture and livestock, a whole thriving community that often gets lost when we talk about the historical narrative of New York City as a whole,” said Urban Park Ranger Jeffrey Vandervennet.
Back when uptown Manhattan was made up of rural farmlands, an area spanning what we know now as 83rd to 89th Streets was home to a thriving community on the fringe of 19th century society.
“Seneca Village provided the true opportunity to make a chance in what you wanted and give your family stability and to pursue the American Dream that was portrayed at that time,” said Ranger Ashley Whited.
In 1845 when there were 13,000 Black Americans living in New York City, owning a certain amount of land meant you could vote, and for many Black Americans Seneca Village presented that opportunity.
“As people bought land that was a deliberate political experiment to gain power and have a voting block of people that could help to implement policy on a societal level,” said Ranger Jeff.
Seneca Village was made up of mostly free Black Americans, but was also a sanctuary for immigrants from Germany and Ireland. Over the years excavations have told the story of what life was like in Seneca Village — a story often skewed by racism.
“This area was labeled as squatters, vagrants, shanty towns, houses that are barely standing up, but as we look at work done by the Central Park Conservancy and New York Historical Society excavations and digs and seeing the foundations of these buildings, it was a stable and thriving community,” said Ranger Ashley.
In the late 1850s the residents of Seneca Village were kicked out so the city could build Central Park. Many were fairly paid for the land they owned.
The rich history of Seneca Village can tell us a lot about the world we live in today.
“Seneca Village can be used as a lens we use to view our current surroundings and what it took to get there, as well as a lens of how we want to see our community and our environment change for the better,” Ranger Ashley said.
Education allows history to be rediscovered and beneath Central Park, more is waiting to be found.