"Rage and hope live side by side"
New York as a safe haven, jazz in Queens, and some flowers in this week's newsletter
Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court this morning – and New York is stepping up as a “safe haven” state, I reported with my colleagues at THE CITY.
New York City officials spoke passionately Friday on the steps of City Hall, where the city’s five female deputy mayors shared their personal abortion stories and how access to safe medical care helped to get them where they are now. Mayor Eric Adams also shared his experience with abortion: at 15, his girlfriend Linda told him she was pregnant, he told the crowd.
"She made the decision that was smart for both of us,” he said. “She made the right call because she was empowered, she was in control."
The mayor also warned that this could be just the beginning of the rolling-back of other protections, like same-sex marriage and consensual sodomy.
Deputy Mayor Anne Williams-Isom reminded New Yorkers to take care – and to be ready for a fight.
“For me, rage and hope live side by side,” she said. “I want you to rest, because we have a lot of work to do.”
You can read more at THE CITY.
Other reads
With all the talk of a decline in subway ridership, there are some places where there are nearly as many straphangers as before COVID. One major place: the Junction Boulevard stop on the 7, where the working-class residents never had the option of remote work. My colleagues Jose Martinez and Suhail Bhat crunched the numbers and then went to Corona to talk to the people riding the 7.
We can’t have enough reminders of the ways COVID sharpened inequality across New York City and amplified so many of the existing problems. And our individual experiences with the virus all vary so differently.
Alongside great photos from Hiram Alejandro Duràn, we can see how the people in what I consider to be the heart of New York City are still keeping it alive.
Read it here.
And one more: “Queens was the place where jazz slept.”
my weekly Queens Perennial flowers
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Thanks for reading!