Day: November 18, 2025
Young people living in foster care in our city need help building a strong future where they are set up for success. As an administration committed to uplifting all our city’s youth, we are here to make sure those young people connect to college and career opportunities more easily. That is why, last week, we expanded multiple programs through the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) that support children in foster care.
First, we are expanding ‘Fair Futures,’ which provides one-on-one coaching and tutoring for our young people in foster care — ages 11 to 26 — helping them plan for the future and giving them a head start in life. In Fiscal Year 2024, our coaches, working in partnership with New York City Public Schools, helped a majority of 9th graders in foster care enroll in high schools with above average graduation rates. They also helped 116 high school-age youth who dropped out of high school successfully re-engage and re-enroll in a best-fit academic setting. And while the numbers are important here, they do not tell the full story: the story of those individual lives that are changed when they get support, guidance, and the first and second chances they need to succeed.
Fair Futures began in 2019 and, thanks to the courageous and effective advocacy of youth in our care, was later expanded by our administration to include young people involved in the juvenile justice system. Over 4,000 young people who have been in foster care or the juvenile justice system now have dedicated coaches, a number that will expand to approximately 6,000 young people by Fiscal Year 2027 — a 50 percent increase.
In addition to coaching, Fair Futures provides a range of academic, career development, housing, and independent living support systems for young people in foster care or in the juvenile justice system. This is a program that does more than just open doors — it transforms lives.
We are also expanding the ‘College Choice’ program, which we launched in 2022, and that provides kids in foster care with robust support systems, including financial support, as they head off to college. The program covers the tuition, room and board costs of a two-year or four-year college, in addition to providing young people with a daily stipend. The program is expanding from serving 400 young people to 500 youth, a 25 percent increase.
Building off the success of College Choice, we are launching our new ‘Career Choice’ program that will connect young people in foster care who are in vocational, trade, or workforce development programs with financial and social support because college may not always be the right path for every young person. Overall, the Career Choice program will serve approximately 400 youth.
These expansions and innovations are part of a $163-million investment we announced at this year’s State of the City address that will help us reach 8,000 total participants across five popular ACS programs — including the three mentioned above, as well as GirlsJustUs and Assertive Community Engagement & Success — that serve youth in foster care and those involved in the criminal justice system. Together, these programs will help connect more New York City youth with counseling, college opportunities, careers, and more.
This is a city of opportunity, and we are committed to helping young New Yorkers fulfill their potential. We are all invested in the success of our young people because as I often say, ‘if we don’t educate, we will incarcerate.’ And education doesn’t simply stop the day you graduate from high school, as every young person needs some help choosing the right path to take, whether that is enrolling in college or learning a trade.
Since we launched the Fair Futures and College Choice programs, more young people in foster care have had the opportunity to finish high school and attend college. By expanding these programs and adding in support for those attending vocational and trade schools, we are proud to support the next generation of New Yorkers while ensuring they have every opportunity to afford to live and thrive right here in our city.
The warehouses on September 17th, the night of the fire.
The September blaze destroyed decades of artwork and inventory. Now, low-interest loans are available to help people rebuild. [ more › ]
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November 18: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
Notable people born on this day include “The Handmaid’s Tale” author Margaret Atwood and “Crooklyn” star Delroy Lindo.
The post November 18: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.
By: Helen Cherlovsky – Jewish Voice News Newly leaked internal correspondence suggests that the British Broadcasting Corporation—the taxpayer-funded media institution long regarded as a pillar of neutrality—was repeatedly warned by its own female journalists that its coverage had been overtaken by an aggressive and ideologically driven “trans agenda.” According to a report that appeared […]
By: Chaya Abecassis
The Brooklyn woman who barreled down Ocean Parkway in a speeding Audi and plowed into a young mother and her children—killing two of them and grievously injuring a third—secured a sharply reduced plea deal last month over the objections of prosecutors, igniting widespread anger across the borough’s tight-knit communities. According to a report that appeared on Monday in The New York Post, 33-year-old wigmaker Miriam Yarimi quietly pleaded guilty to manslaughter after Judge Danny Chen offered a sentence of just three to nine years, far below the 15-year maximum Brooklyn prosecutors had sought.
The plea agreement, which emerged from court records reviewed by The New York Post, stunned both legal observers and residents still reeling from the horror of the March crash that claimed the lives of 7-year-old Diana Saada and 5-year-old Deborah Saada, leaving their 4-year-old brother Philip severely injured. Their mother, Natasha Saada, was also struck as she walked with her children along the broad boulevard that has long been notorious for reckless speeding.
In a statement carried prominently in The New York Post report, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez condemned Yarimi’s conduct with unsparing language, saying, “The lives of Natasha Saada and her young daughters were stolen by the callous choices of a chronically reckless driver on Ocean Parkway.” While acknowledging the court’s plea offer fell short of what prosecutors had fought for, Gonzalez insisted the case would nonetheless deliver a strong message that “reckless driving that ends in tragedy will be met with serious penalties.” His office is preparing a detailed letter, to be submitted ahead of Wednesday’s sentencing, laying out the grounds for seeking a stiffer term than the judge’s proposed deal.
The March crash, which The New York Post report described as “horrific” and “devastating,” sent shockwaves throughout South Brooklyn’s Jewish community, where the Saada family was well known and deeply connected. The tragedy also reignited longstanding fears about Ocean Parkway, one of the city’s most infamous speed corridors. Residents and local leaders have repeatedly called for stronger enforcement measures, pointing to a pattern of fatal crashes involving motorists traveling far beyond the posted speed limit.
At the center of this firestorm is Yarimi, a wigmaker whose vanity license plate “WIGM8KER” became a grim symbol of the case. According to data reviewed by The New York Post, Yarimi had amassed more than 93 traffic violations over recent years—including 20 speeding tickets—and had racked up over $10,000 in fines. Worse still, she was operating her Audi A4 on a suspended license when she tore down Ocean Parkway, slammed into an Uber vehicle, and ricocheted into the Saada family.
Her record, prosecutors argued, revealed a pattern of unchecked recklessness and defiance of traffic laws so extreme that allowing her back on the road constituted a clear and present danger. The New York Post report emphasized that this record was central to the prosecution’s push for the maximum allowable sentence—but ultimately did not persuade the judge.
In the immediate aftermath of the crash, witnesses and first responders described alarming behavior from Yarimi, who reportedly made wild, incoherent claims that she was “possessed,” that she “had the devil in me,” and that she bore no responsibility for the carnage she had caused, according to sources cited by The New York Post. When confronted by police, she insisted: “I didn’t kill anyone. I didn’t hurt anyone. Prove it. Show me proof.”
Those unhinged statements were not isolated incidents. Friends and acquaintances told The New York Post that Yarimi had long exhibited erratic behavior—behavior that seemed to simmer beneath the glamorous persona she cultivated online. Her social media accounts showcased luxury fashion, high-performance cars, and exotic vacations, creating an image of flash and confidence. But those same platforms, The New York Post reported, were also riddled with paranoid conspiracy theories, disturbing rants, and videos that suggested emotional volatility. One 2024 clip showed her in a bikini, raging at police officers as they attempted to carry out a psychiatric arrest.
Yarimi’s personal history, too, is marked by turmoil. According to court documents reviewed by The New York Post, she secured a $2 million settlement in 2023 after alleging she had been coerced into sex by an NYPD officer when she was just 14 years old. That traumatic chapter, her friends suggested, was part of a broader picture of instability masked by an outward, curated lifestyle.
For the Saada family and the broader community, however, the focus remains on accountability for the deaths of two little girls and the shattering of their once-ordinary walk along Ocean Parkway. The New York Post has chronicled the ongoing grief of neighbors and community leaders, many of whom have questioned how a driver with such an egregious record was allowed to remain behind the wheel at all. The crash prompted renewed calls for automated speed enforcement, redesigning dangerous intersections, and harsher consequences for serial violators—issues that have haunted the city for years but seemed freshly urgent in the aftermath of the tragedy.
As Yarimi awaits sentencing, prosecutors hope their forthcoming letter will persuade Judge Chen to impose a tougher penalty than the proposed deal suggests. Activists and family members have expressed outrage that the plea offer came despite the prosecution’s objections, a dynamic that The New York Post report noted has become a flashpoint in debates about judicial discretion and public safety.
For now, the community clings to the hope that Wednesday’s hearing will bring some measure of justice for Diana and Deborah, two young girls whose lives were cut short by what prosecutors have called “chronically reckless” and utterly preventable choices. And as The New York Post report observed, the case stands as a stark reminder of the human cost of unchecked dangerous driving—and of the fragility of life on one of Brooklyn’s busiest and most perilous streets.
The post Brooklyn Wigmaker in Deadly Ocean Parkway Crash Receives Controversial 3–9 Year Plea Deal as Community Outrage Mounts appeared first on The Jewish Voice.
By: Fern Sidman – Jewish Voice News
Anti-government demonstrations in Mexico City took a jarring and deeply disturbing turn over the weekend, erupting into open antisemitism that targeted the country’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, and sending shockwaves across Mexico’s political, cultural, and Jewish communities. As The Algemeiner reported on Monday, protesters defaced the gates of the historic National Palace with hate-filled slurs attacking Sheinbaum’s Jewish identity — a moment that many leaders described as a dangerous escalation of political extremism in the country.
On Saturday, demonstrators spray-painted the words “Jewish whore” across the entrance of the presidential residence, a profanity-laced attack that quickly became the defining image of the protests. According to local media and reports highlighted by The Algemeiner, the demonstration was organized by youth groups demanding government action over rising violence, widespread corruption, and the intensifying grip of drug cartels on communities across Mexico. But what began as a political protest swiftly devolved into a torrent of antisemitic chants, imagery, and targeted harassment.
Witnesses described scenes of chaos as police moved in to disperse protesters, triggering clashes that left dozens detained or wounded. Amid the disorder, demonstrators directed their rage toward the palace walls, chanting antisemitic insults and drawing a crossed-out Star of David — a symbol whose meaning, in this context, left little ambiguity regarding their intent.
These scenes, documented widely online and verified in The Algemeiner report, ignited immediate and widespread condemnation across Mexico’s political spectrum, as well as from international Jewish organizations and Israeli officials. For Mexico’s Jewish community — roughly 50,000 strong and historically well-integrated — the imagery recalled some of the darkest moments in global Jewish history, and underscored fears that antisemitism, long present but often dormant, is entering a newly emboldened and dangerous phase.
In a joint statement published shortly after the incident, Mexico’s Jewish communal leadership denounced the demonstrations as a blatant eruption of hatred that must be confronted forcefully by national authorities. “Antisemitism is a form of discrimination according to our constitution and must be rejected clearly and unequivocally,” the statement read, according to The Algemeiner, underscoring the constitutional protections that, in theory, should prevent such acts from going unpunished.
International voices echoed this alarm, with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar issuing a forceful condemnation of the antisemitic and misogynistic slurs hurled at Sheinbaum. In a message posted to X, Sa’ar declared: “Israel strongly condemns the antisemitic and sexist slurs directed at Mexico’s President [Claudia Sheinbaum]. There is no place for such attacks in political discourse. All forms of antisemitism, in any context, must be rejected unequivocally.” His comments were widely circulated and cited in The Algemeiner report, reflecting the seriousness with which Israel views the targeting of a head of state based on Jewish identity.
The eruption of antisemitic rhetoric during a national protest is deeply concerning on its own, but The Algemeiner report emphasized that this incident does not stand in isolation. As in numerous countries across the globe, Mexico has witnessed a significant spike in antisemitic actions and incendiary anti-Israel sentiment following the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. In the months since that attack — which triggered a vast war in Gaza — Jewish communities worldwide have faced increasing hostility, much of it influenced by viral online conspiracies and politically manipulated narratives. Mexico has not been exempt from this troubling pattern.
Earlier this year, The Algemeiner report highlighted the findings of Voice of the People, a global initiative launched by Israeli President Isaac Herzog to examine the concerns of Jewish communities in dozens of countries. The study revealed that fear of rising antisemitism now tops the list of challenges confronting Jews internationally. For Mexico’s Jews, the concern is especially acute: 84 percent of respondents in the country reported deep anxiety about the escalating hostility they face in public life. This weekend’s events appear to confirm that those fears are not unfounded.
For Mexico’s political establishment, the attack on Sheinbaum represents more than a personal insult — it represents a test of democratic principles and the country’s capacity to confront the rise of hate-based political messaging. Sheinbaum, who made history as Mexico’s first female president and first Jewish president, has rarely highlighted her Jewish identity during her political career. Yet antisemitic rhetoric — long relegated to fringe voices in the nation’s political landscape — was swiftly mobilized against her during moments of tension, suggesting that age-old prejudices remain embedded below the surface.
Political analysts cited by The Algemeiner argued that antisemitism in Mexico, though historically less pronounced than in parts of Europe or South America, has gained new oxygen in the current climate of polarized discourse. Social media, especially viral misinformation campaigns, has amplified conspiratorial narratives linking Jewish communities to political corruption, financial manipulation, or perceived “foreign influence.” These narratives, which draw on recycled tropes dating back centuries, have surged since October 2023.
The protest organizers, who initially framed their march around legitimate civic concerns — rising homicide rates, cartel violence, and government accountability — quickly lost control of the messaging as extremist voices hijacked the demonstration. The transformation from political dissent to antisemitic display was disturbingly swift, and for many observers, indicative of how vulnerable public discourse has become to radicalization.
Mexico City officials have not yet disclosed whether those responsible for the antisemitic graffiti will be prosecuted, though leaders across the country are urging swift justice. Under Mexican law, discriminatory acts of this nature can theoretically be prosecuted — but in practice, accountability for hate speech remains inconsistent. Jewish leaders, as quoted in The Algemeiner report, insist that allowing such violent expressions of hatred to go unpunished would set a dangerous precedent.
The burning question facing Mexico following this episode is whether its institutions are equipped — or willing — to confront antisemitism head-on. The flare-up at the National Palace suggests that extremist sentiments can emerge with little warning, especially in moments of political volatility. The Jewish community’s call for vigilance is not merely symbolic; it reflects a growing belief that Mexico, like many democracies, is entering an era in which prejudices once considered socially unacceptable are being reintroduced into the mainstream.
As Mexico continues to navigate rising crime, political upheaval, and public frustration, its leaders face a pivotal challenge: ensuring that the nation’s democratic discourse does not succumb to the corrosive effects of hatred. Sheinbaum’s response — and the response of federal institutions — will likely shape not only the Jewish community’s sense of security, but Mexico’s broader reputation as a society that aspires to pluralism.
For now, the fallout from this weekend’s protests continues to reverberate across the country. With condemnation pouring in from Jewish leaders, international diplomats, and civil society organizations — as covered by The Algemeiner — the incident has placed Mexico at a crossroads. Whether it escalates into a trend or remains an isolated flare-up depends on what happens next: enforcement, accountability, and a public effort to confront antisemitism in all its forms.
But one thing is clear: the graffiti scrawled on the gates of the National Palace has done more than deface a building — it has exposed a wound in the nation’s social fabric, one that Mexico can no longer afford to ignore.
The post Rage and Bigotry Collide: Mexico City Protesters Target Jewish President With Antisemitic Slurs appeared first on The Jewish Voice.