Day: May 22, 2025

A collection of topical political cartoons from various artists curated by the Brooklyn Eagle editorial staff.

The post Cartoon Sketchbook: May 22 appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

Meera Joshi, the city’s former Deputy Mayor for Operations, is taking charge of a new group of New Yorkers: the 570,000 permanent residents of Green-Wood Cemetery. 

Joshi, who resigned from City Hall earlier this year over Mayor Eric Adams’ willingness to cooperate with President Donald Trump, has been named president of the cemetery by its Board of Trustees. 

“It is an honor to join the amazing Green-Wood team as we together write the next chapter of this magical institution’s history,” Joshi said in a statement. “From the over 570,000 New York stories of Green-Wood’s residents to the most unique natural green public space in New York City, Green-Wood offers serenity, beauty and adventure for all — a true city and national public gem that everyone, especially, true New Yorkers, must visit.”

After an “extensive search,” the board chose Joshi based on her “exceptional leadership, deep management skills, and comprehensive understanding of how to navigate complex urban challenges,” according to Green-Wood. 

Joshi served as Adams’ Deputy Mayor for Operations for three years, overseeing the city’s infrastructure and operations-related agencies — including the offices for Climate and Environmental Justice, Environmental Remediation, Environmental Protection, Sanitation, Parks, and more. She had previously spent five years as the CEO of the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission and one as a deputy administrator at the U.S. Department of Transportation, and is vice chair of the Hudson River Park Trust Board of Directors. 

She — and three other deputy mayors — resigned in February, after an alleged “quid pro quo” deal wherein Adams agreed to cooperate with President Trump’s immigration policies in exchange for having his federal corruption charges tossed out. Adams’ case has since been dismissed, with the federal judge who presided over it indicating in his ruling that he believed the federal government could attempt to use the charges to influence the mayor’s actions. 

Peter Davidson, chairman of the board at Green-Wood, told the New York Times the graveyard has “a bunch of old systems that you want to bring up to speed,” including green space, monuments, roads, and sewers — all things Joshi has experience with.

“After two decades devoting my career to improving the lives of New Yorkers, I am thrilled to continue serving our city through the further growth of Green-Wood as a hub for climate resilience, culture, restoration, education, public space and a final resting place,” Joshi said in a statement. “Green-Wood holds our city’s history and our future. I look forward to vigilantly protecting and championing both, and I am grateful to my predecessor, Richard J. Moylan, for his vision, passion, and warm welcome.”

The cemetery sprawls over 478 acres, and is a registered arboretum whose thousands of trees and plants help sequester carbon monoxide, soak up stormwater, and provide a habitat for birds and other wildlife. In recent years, the cemetery taken on climate-related projects like building rain gardens, planting thousands of new trees, and “rewilding” some lawns with native grasses and flowers. 

“Green-Wood is one of the oldest and largest green spaces in the city and plays a pivotal role in supporting a sustainable environment, and we are confident that under Meera’s leadership, our commitment to preserving our urban green space will grow even stronger,” Davidson said in a statement. “As a place of sacred remembrance, learning and artistic exploration, Green-Wood will continue to thrive with Meera at the helm.”

Joshi is set to start the job in July, after current president Richard J. Moylan retires. Moylan has held the role for nearly 40 years, and oversaw a “renaissance” at Green-Wood — during his tenure, the cemetery was made a National Historic Landmark, earned international accreditation as an arboretum, expanded its public programming, and restored its grounds. 

“Through my 39 years at Green-Wood, I have been immensely proud to help this incredible place grow, thrive, and connect with new audiences,” Moylan said in a statement. “I could not be more confident in our staff and their unwavering passion for Green-Wood. I am proud and optimistic about this institution’s future under Meera’s skilled leadership.”

A 12-YEAR-OLD boy was found with a BB gun converted into a .40mm pistol in his backpack at Middle School 577 Conselyea Preparatory School.

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THE BLACK MAN’S HEALTH FESTIVAL 2025, hosted by Heart, Body & Soul, Inc., will bring wellness-focused events to Brooklyn on June 6 and 7.

The post Black Man’s Health Festival returns to Brooklyn appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

As a customer, K. Kerimian always enjoyed visiting bookstores, but when they would ask workers about the whereabouts of the queer section, they started noticing a pattern.

“I would be met with, ‘There isn’t one,’ or a catchall of ‘Here is all the marginalized identities,’” said K. Kerimian, who is trans, non-binary, and queer.

Those blind spots helped motivate Kerimian, a self-described “career bookseller,” to take matters into their own hands in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which also coincided with the rise of a new era of mutual aid and widespread social isolation. The era also gave way to disturbing efforts to ban books: In 2022, the American Library Association tallied 1,269 attempts to bar books or otherwise restrict them from libraries, which was nearly double the existing record that was set in 2021.

Kerimian decided to launch the Nonbinarian Book Bike, a mobile service in which they would ride a three-wheeled bicycle around Brooklyn to distribute free queer books to the community. After two years of cycling around the borough, Kerimian opted to open a brick-and-mortar bookstore with a team of volunteers at 1130 President St. in Crown Heights. 

The book bike initiative continued, but it hit a major snag on April 2. Kerimian arrived at the bookstore and noticed the bike was gone.

“It was really kind of a shock,” Kerimian said. “All sides of the bike say our name and it’s kind of like, who would take this? We weren’t inclined to jump to the conclusion of it being a hate crime, but by virtue of it being a community service, it’s not just tangible — it’s what it provides to the community, it’s the symbol of solidarity that people took from us.”

Despite the sudden loss of the bike, the community stepped up in a big way, raising $6,000 through GoFundMe, making it possible for Kerimian to purchase a new book bike.

“Because we commissioned the [original] book bike in 2022, we contacted the same maker and said what happened and basically that we wanted the same thing,” Kerimian explained. “And we were able to crowdfund enough to cover what was the initial quote from the bike in the first place and a little bit of the insurance that came through.”

The new bike will be crate-shipped to the bookstore “hopefully in time for Pride,” Kerimian said.

In the meantime, the brick-and-mortar store is filling the gap left by the temporary loss of the bike. Every book in the store is authored by a queer writer, Kerimian said, and the bookstore is strategically located near the Brooklyn Community Pride Center.

The store has a “gay-what-you-can” policy to allow for a sliding scale for folks who may not be able to afford the costs of books. Kerimian recalled witnessing situations at other bookstores where folks have excitedly sought to purchase a book, only to realize the price is out of reach. Without that access, individuals lose out on the opportunity to share in community and feel reflected.

“Representation is a lifeline,” Kerimian said. “It is not a secret that when we are in community with each other, we have better mental health and stability. We might not be able to afford the future we want to see, but right now, with the future under attack, this is a safe haven.”

The store also gives back to the community in other ways, such as by donating a portion of proceeds to the “book bike fund,” according to the Nonbinarian Bookstore’s website.

The bookstore, however, is limited to its one location, and Kerimian is excited to get back out on the new bike to continue serving communities that may not have inclusive bookstores in the local neighborhood.

“So many people responded to the loss of the bike and you could see how much the bike meant to other people and to people who donated to us,” Kerimian said. “While I can’t say I’m glad this happened, I’m really humbled by the community response.”

This story first appeared on Brooklyn Paper’s sister site Gay City News.