samhexum

I am attending a focus group in a hotel in Brooklyn that does not have parking, so NOT THIS ONE!

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As @MysticMenace might say:

These dinners are so quick, you can make them on any night of the week. In just 25 minutes, you can whip up one of these tasty anti-inflammatory dinners, from a veggie-packed salad to a plate of creamy pasta. Whatever you choose will include plenty of nutrient-dense ingredients like salmon, broccoli and beans that can help you reduce chronic inflammation. Following an anti-inflammatory diet can help with digestive distress, healthy weight management and even mental clarity. Recipes like our Sheet-Pan Balsamic Chicken & Asparagus and our Marry Me White Bean & Spinach Skillet are perfect last-minute options to help you feel your best. https://www.aol.com/20-anti-inflammatory-dinners-25-152335182.html

Train game: Take nostalgic trains to the Mets and Yankees home openers this season Yankees’ fans can ride in classic style aboard a vintage train to Yankee Stadium for the team’s opening game on March 27, while Mets’ fans can enjoy a nostalgic ride to Citi Field for the Queens-based team’s home opener on April 4. Each ride costs $2.90, the same as standard subway fare. The Yankees’ home opener ride will run non-stop from the uptown 4 train platform at 42 Street-Grand Central to 161 Street-Yankee Stadium. Step back in time with the museum’s redbirds, riding across the scenic 7 line, leaving from 34 Street-Hudson Yards at noon on Friday, April 4, and making several stops on the way to Mets-Willets Point. The Mets’ home opener ride will run from 34 Street-Hudson Yards on the 7 line to Mets-Willets Point, with stops at Times Square-42 Street, 5 Avenue, Grand Central-42 Street, Vernon Blvd-Jackson Avenue, Hunters Point Avenue, Court Square, Queensboro Plaza, 61 Street-Woodside, Junction Blvd, and Mets-Willets Point. More information is available online at nytransitmuseum.org.

BOO! HISS! City Council votes overwhelmingly in favor of $8B Metropolitan Park casino zoning changes Train game: Take nostalgic trains to the Mets and Yankees home openers this season Yankees’ fans can ride in classic style aboard a vintage train to Yankee Stadium for the team’s opening game on March 27, while Mets’ fans can enjoy a nostalgic ride to Citi Field for the Queens-based team’s home opener on April 4. Each ride costs $2.90, the same as standard subway fare. The Yankees’ home opener ride will run non-stop from the uptown 4 train platform at 42 Street-Grand Central to 161 Street-Yankee Stadium. Step back in time with the museum’s redbirds, riding across the scenic 7 line, leaving from 34 Street-Hudson Yards at noon on Friday, April 4, and making several stops on the way to Mets-Willets Point. The Mets’ home opener ride will run from 34 Street-Hudson Yards on the 7 line to Mets-Willets Point, with stops at Times Square-42 Street, 5 Avenue, Grand Central-42 Street, Vernon Blvd-Jackson Avenue, Hunters Point Avenue, Court Square, Queensboro Plaza, 61 Street-Woodside, Junction Blvd, and Mets-Willets Point. More information is available online at nytransitmuseum.org.

Roomba vacuum cleaner maker iRobot, a former $1.4 billion buyout target of Amazon, raised concerns on Wednesday about its ability to stay in business. Shares of the company fell more than 35%, extending a multi-year decline from its pandemic-era peak. “Given macroeconomic and tariff-related uncertainties, there is substantial doubt about iRobot’s ability to continue as a going concern,” iRobot said in a statement. The loss-making company was once valued at $3.56 billion in 2021, driven by pandemic-fueled demand. It is now worth less than $200 million. The company’s net loss for the fourth quarter ended December 28, 2024, widened to $77.1 million from $63.6 million a year earlier. Its revenue declined by 44% in the fourth quarter. The company’s cash reserves dwindled to $134.3 million in 2024, compared to $185.1 million in 2023. The debt stood at $200.6 million as of December 28, 2024, its annual filing showed. The vacuum cleaner maker is having a hard time keeping up with Chinese rivals such as Ecovacs Robotics, which offer advanced features at lower prices. The company said it was exploring options, including a potential sale or debt refinancing, just a day after it launched eight new Roomba models in its biggest product rollout. In August 2022, iRobot had agreed to a $61-per-share takeover by Amazon, a deal some analysts viewed as a lifeline for the company and a potential enhancement for Amazon’s smart home division. However, strong antitrust objections to the merger and privacy concerns over the spatial data collected by the devices led to the deal’s collapse in January last year. With the takeover scrapped, founder Colin Angle stepped down as CEO in January last year, suggesting that a leader with turnaround expertise might better serve the company. In May last year, the company appointed Gary Cohen as CEO to head its recovery efforts.

Wendy Williams was spotted leaving a New York City hotspot after she was hospitalized and subjected to a psychiatric evaluation. The TV personality appeared in good spirits as she smiled wide for the outing at Max Tucci’s Tucci restaurant in NoHo on Wednesday night. She kept it casual, wearing a green and orange bomber jacket, black top, tights under jean shorts and black fur boots. “She had a super time, she kept writing in her journal, she looked great,” an insider told Page Six. “Tomorrow she is going on ‘The View.’ Guests inside the restaurant respected her. She was with her niece and a young man.” Williams’ outing reportedly got her into trouble, as the assisted living home she lives in allegedly filed a police report after her niece Alex Finnie violated the law by taking her to eat, according to TMZ. Per the outlet, Finnie was spending time with her famous aunt at the facility when she “evaded staff” by leaving for dinner with Williams. After a psych evaluation, Williams, 60, was ruled to be “alert and oriented” and received a “10 out of 10” score on a “capacity test,” according to TMZ. The outlet reported that the results would be used in the court case seeking to end the former talk show host’s guardianship, which she has been in since 2022. Williams is also waiting to be retested for frontotemporal dementia after denying she suffered from the condition earlier this year. She was diagnosed with the disease in 2023. Williams called in to “Good Day New York” on Tuesday and admitted her no. 1 priority was ending her guardianship. The media personality — who declared she passed her psych test with “flying colors” — explained that she currently resides in the memory unit of the NYC assisted living facility, which is for people who “don’t remember anything.” “In order to go to the gym, which is on the third floor, I have to be permitted,” she said. “In terms of how much it costs, it has to be approved by my guardian person. My money is, like, in the air.” Williams, who previously referred to the facility as a “prison,” shared she looks forward to continuing to live in NYC and working after her guardianship ends. Williams’ guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, clapped back at claims that Williams was living in a “prison” via a statement from her lawyers sent to TMZ on Wednesday. The attorney referred to the allegation as “untrue” and “inaccurate,” saying Williams can call and visit family when she wants. Morrissey, however, is also reportedly being investigated by Adult Protective Services for elder abuse after allegedly sending the TV mogul to visit family in Florida without money in February, per the US Sun.

A furious Tennessee husband has been accused of stabbing to death an 18-year-old boy he found in bed with his wife. Jonathan Belk, 41, is accused of killing Billy Jean Floyd early Saturday after coming home and finding the teen with his 31-year-old wife, Jada Gholston, who was also hospitalized with several stab wounds. The body of Floyd — who had turned 18 just three days earlier — was found stuffed in a garbage can in his mistress’s home in Dunlap. The cheating wife initially told police that a “man had jumped on her boyfriend while they were in bed,” police wrote in an affidavit. When cops arrived, they found Belk “standing in his doorway covered in blood” with cuts on his hands — and only then found out he was the caller’s husband. His biggest concern appeared to be that the deadly attack might ruin his marriage. “I am worried about my relationship with my wife due to the fact that I offed him,” he allegedly told investigators. He’s being held on criminal homicide charges ahead of a bond hearing scheduled for March 21. Floyd was known as “Lil Bill” little Willy Willy won't go home and “enjoyed hunting, fishing, four wheelers and working on everything,” including Jada.

Bucks legend and minority owner Junior Bridgeman died after suffering a medical emergency in Louisville on Tuesday, WHAS11.comreports. Bridgeman, 71, was speaking during an event at the Galt House in downtown Louisville when he collapsed. He was heard telling someone he thought he was having a heart attack.

Happy 118th birthday, dad!

I loved their sides, especially their rice pilaf. There was a location with a drive-thru near where I used to work so it was convenient to occasionally pick up dinner on my way home. I'm sure it was the loss of my business that did them in.

Wendy Williams says she passed her competency tests with "flying colors." One day after being rushed to a New York hospital, the former daytime television host spoke with Rosanna Scotto on a live segment of "Good Day New York" on Tuesday to discuss the outcome of her competency tests. Williams said she is currently in the hospital and passed her tests with "flying colors." "Everybody knows factually that Wendy is not incapacitated," Ginalisa Monterrosa, a caretaker for Williams, told Scotto. During an appearance on "The Breakfast Club" that same morning, Williams further explained why she pleaded to go to a medical facility and get evaluated by an independent doctor. "The police showed up. I'm exhausted. I wanted to go to the hospital to talk to the doctor," Williams, who has been under a court-appointed guardianship since May 2022, told the hosts. Monterroso said that they have been laser-focused on trying to get "some kind of motion" into the TV personality's guardianship case. "We were pretty stuck at one point waiting for the lawyers to break through and get some type of trial," Monterroso said while on "The Breakfast Club." "I did two things. I wrote a letter to the Adult Protective Services and explained to them Wendy's situation. She was isolated and needed an investigation." "Yesterday morning, during our morning calls, I told Wendy, 'We will be calling the police and telling them that you're isolated.' I pleaded with the police as if Wendy was my child. ‘Please you need to get her off this floor. She is confined.’" Williams said during her chat with law enforcement, she told them "I am not incapacitated as I've been accused [of]." "This floor that I live on is the memory unit," Williams explained. "The people who live there don't remember anything, unlike me. Why am I here? What is going on? It's a cry for help." When officers visited Williams at the current facility she is residing in, Monterrosa said the TV host began to feel "a little bit of anxiety." Monterrosa explained that she advised Williams to ask police officers to take her to a hospital and ask for an independent doctor to conduct a medical evaluation. Monterrosa said the facility was giving them a "hard time," but they were eventually able to get Williams to a local hospital. "When I got to the hospital, I got checked in," Williams said. "They checked me for the heart palpitations, they did all kinds of scans." Moterrosa explained that both Williams' guardian and attorney were both present at the hospital, but shared a "difference in opinion" about how to proceed with the evaluations. After the doctor cleared her evaluations through the hospital's legal department, Williams took two competency evaluations, said Monterrosa. "She passed both tests," she said. "On Monday, the NYPD responded to a welfare check at 505 West 35 Street," the New York Police Department said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. "EMS responded and transported a 60-year-old female to an area hospital for evaluation." According to the New York Post, Williams had thrown a handwritten note that read "Help! Wendy!!" out the window. Fox News Digital has reached out to Williams and Monterrosa for further comment. Earlier this year, Williams denied she was cognitively impaired and admitted during an interview with "The Breakfast Club" that her guardianship felt like a "prison." "I am not cognitively impaired but I feel like I am in prison," Williams said in January. "I’m in this place with people who are in their 90s and their 80s and their 70s. .... These people, there's something wrong with these people here on this floor. I am clearly not." "Where I am… you have to get keys to unlock the door to press the elevator to go downstairs, first of all. Second of all, these people here, everybody here is like nursemaids, so to speak," she said. Williams admitted she isn't privy to what medication she's given. "Excuse me, doctor, can you tell me what this pill is for?" In February 2024, Williams' team announced she had been diagnosed with both progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia.

Oscar-winning singer Buffy Sainte-Marie has had two more awards rescinded amid revelations about her heritage and nationality. Canada’s prestigious Juno Awards, which recognize musical achievements, and the Polaris Music Prize on Friday announced their respective decisions to revoke the recognitions they’ve bestowed upon the singer over the decades, citing the 84-year-old’s recent confirmation that she is an American citizen, rather than Canadian. This statement to the Canadian Press, which was issued March 4 in response to the termination of her appointment to the Order of Canada earlier this year, said she had “made it completely clear” she was not Canadian when she was awarded the honor in 1997. In the aftermath of the statement, the Polaris Music Prize said in a March 7 blog post, “Buffy Sainte-Marie released an updated statement confirming she is an American citizen and holds a U.S. passport. … Based on Sainte-Marie’s statement, Buffy does not meet Polaris Music Prize’s rules and regulations. “Given Buffy’s statement regarding her citizenship, Polaris Music Prize will be rescinding all awards including her 2015 Polaris Music Prize and 2020 Heritage Prize.” Polaris “requires all nominees to be Canadian citizens or permanent residents, with proof of status provided through government-issued documentation, including passports, birth certificates, permanent resident cards, and/or Secure Certificates of Indian Status,” the post explained. It added, “We understand that not all Indigenous people have access to government-issued paperwork, and we acknowledge that this does not diminish their identity or connection to their communities and should not impact their ability to be nominated for the Polaris Music Prize.” That same day, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences said in a news release: “Following a thorough review, consultations with the CARAS Indigenous Music Advisory Committee, and in light of recent information, including Ms. Sainte-Marie’s confirmation that she is not Canadian, CARAS will revoke Buffy Sainte-Marie’s JUNO Awards and Canadian Music Hall of Fame induction in accordance with its eligibility requirements.” The statement added, “Buffy Sainte-Marie has been a strong supporter and advocate for Canadian music, and we acknowledge the past contributions she has made to our organization. However, CARAS’ mandate is to educate, develop, celebrate, and honour Canadian artists.” In her statement last month to the Canadian Press, Sainte-Marie said that when she was a young adult she was adopted by a Cree family in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. She also said she has “lived with uncertainty” about her heritage. In the past Sainte-Marie was described on her website — which touted her “Indigenous leadership” — as a “Cree singer-songwriter.” Her website’s bio in 2023 also claimed “she became the only Indigenous person to win an Oscar” at the time with her 1983 Academy Awards recognition for best original song (“Up Where We Belong” from “An Officer and a Gentleman.”) These statements have since been removed from her website. In October 2023, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation published an investigation that uncovered her birth certificate, which showed a birthplace of Stoneham, Massachusetts. According to the CBC, she was born Beverly Jean Santamaria on Feb. 20, 191, to a white couple, Albert and Winifred Santamaria, whom she’s claimed were her adoptive parents. “For many years, Sainte-Marie claimed she was born on the Piapot First Nation” located within Saskatchewan, the report said. But Sainte-Marie’s lawyer, Josephine de Whytell, told the outlet in a statement at the time, “At no point has Buffy Sainte-Marie personally misrepresented her ancestry or any details about her personal history to the public.” In the 2018 novel “Buffy Sainte-Marie: An Authorized Biography,” for which Joni Mitchell wrote the forward, Sainte-Marie explained her understanding of her Native heritage to author Andrea Warner. “I was told that I was adopted. I was told that I was just born ‘on the wrong side of the blanket.’ In other words, one of my parents was my parent and one wasn’t. I was told that we were part-Indian, but nobody knew anything about it,” the book quotes her as saying, according to the CBC. Emile and Clara Piapot of the Piapot First Nation adopted Sainte-Marie into their family in the early ’60s, several family members confirmed in the CBC’s report, saying, this “holds far more weight than any paper documentation or colonial recordkeeping ever could.” For 60 years, I’ve shared my story with the world as honestly as I know how. I am humbled my truth is one so many others have connected with. Unfortunately, some wish to question my truth. So here it is – as I know it. From me to you. Big love, Buffy The day before the CBC investigation was published, Sainte-Marie took to social media to share both a video and a lengthy statement about the “deeply hurtful allegations” that were set to come out. “I am proud of my Indigenous-American identity, and the deep ties I have to Canada and my Piapot family. What I know about my Indigenous ancestry I learned from my growing up mother, who was part Mi’kmaq, and my own research later in life,” she wrote on Oct. 26, 2023. “My mother told me many things, including that I was adopted and that I was Native.” Sainte-Marie wrote that she has struggled to pinpoint her ancestry and said her “Indigenous identity is rooted in a deep connection to a community which has had a profound role in shaping my life and my work.” “For a long time, I tried to discover information about my background. Through that research what became clear, and what I’ve always been honest about, is that I don’t know where I’m from or who my birth parents were, and I will never know,” she wrote. “Which is why, to be questioned in this way today is painful, both for me, and for my two families I love so dearly.”

HERE YOU GO: you're welcome!

My heart My lungs My stomach My blood Some form of chocolate

Wendy Williams was taken away from her New York assisted living facility by ambulance Monday after cops were called in for a wellness check when the ex-talk show queen tossed a handwritten note out the window begging for help. “Help! Wendy!!” the note said. The call came in at about 11:15 a.m. soon after the 60-year-old — who has been diagnosed with dementia — tossed the note from the window of her fifth-story room. Soon after, Williams silently walked out of the facility — escorted by a handful of cops — and was helped into the waiting ambulance. Williams planned to make an appearance on ABC’s “The View” on Friday — her first daytime appearance since taking a leave of absence from her “The Wendy Williams Show” four years ago. It wasn’t immediately clear if the appearance was going to be filmed in person or just over the phone. Williams, who has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and aphasia, has been embroiled in a high-profile battle to end the guardianship she’s been under since 2022.

Wasn't interested when I heard about it, even less so after seeing the preview.

Carlota America Ruiz stood outside Congregation Beth Jacob Ohev Sholom with a locksmith and a court order. Ruiz had prayed at the Williamsburg synagogue since the 1980s. It’s where she completed her Jewish conversion, and where her husband served as the board president for years. But a few weeks earlier, she said, a group purporting to be the temple’s board had locked her and other long-time worshippers out of the modest brick building and secured the doors with padlocks and chains. On this sweltering September afternoon, Ruiz was back with permission from a judge to re-enter the sanctuary. Police, bodyguards and feuding worshippers lined the sidewalk outside the shuttered entrance. As officers studied the court papers and deliberated with each side, Ruiz and the other ousted members were anxious to see their beloved sanctuary. The last time they were inside, the walls had patches of peeling paint, but the room was airy and bright, with 20-foot ceilings and multi-colored stained glass windows. There were rows of vintage oak pews dedicated to congregants who donated to the synagogue over the years, some of whom were Holocaust survivors. Israel Leichter, the synagogue’s secretary, urged police not to open the door for Ruiz and the other locked-out worshippers. He said they weren’t true members and that they could bring their grievances to court. But after two hours of deliberations, the NYPD allowed a locksmith to slice off the padlock, and Ruiz and other long-time members rushed into the sanctuary. There, they found the benches demolished into a pile of jagged planks. A woman knelt on the floor and cried. “I have no words,” Ruiz said . “It’s not the benches. It’s the lack of humanity.” Beth Jacob Ohev Sholom is the oldest Orthodox synagogue in Brooklyn and the only one in Williamsburg that isn’t Hasidic, according to long-time members. The congregation’s building stands on the dividing line between drastic gentrification to the north and an insular Hasidic Jewish community to the south. Until a few months ago, the synagogue followed Orthodox customs, like separating male and female worshippers, but not all of the practices observed at nearby Hasidic congregations. Unlike the many Hasidic synagogues in the neighborhood, the congregation has historically been known for welcoming different kinds of Jews to pray. Hundreds of worshippers used to pack into Beth Jacob Ohev Sholom’s sanctuary on major holidays, Ruiz said. But as many of those congregants died or moved away in recent years, a small group of Hasidic Jews started to pray alongside the mostly non-Hasidic, long-time members. While the two groups co-existed in relative peace at first, in the last few years they have become estranged. Now, the mostly non-Hasidic long-timers and the Hasidic newcomers are suing each other for authority over the synagogue and its building. On Friday, a judge is expected to hear arguments in the case. But the legal dispute is likely to continue for months to come. The specifics of the strife range from petty arguments over hoarded water bottles on a hot day to profound disagreements about what it means to be a Jew. But the patterns at play in this case underscore broader questions about the fate of New York’s revered houses of worship, as religious membership dwindles and property values soar. At the center of the dispute is the congregation’s most valuable asset: its building. Each side is accusing the other of plotting to sell the property, raze the temple and construct condos in its wake. Selling or renting a house of worship can offer monetary salvation for a congregation struggling to stay afloat, like Beth Jacob Ohev Sholom. But such deals can also invite predatory redevelopment and displace or dissolve sacred communities. Dozens of churches, synagogues and other religious institutions from the Upper West Side to Flatbush have sold their properties in recent years. Sometimes the congregation doesn’t survive the real estate sale. At Beth Jacob Ohev Sholom, the Hasidic members said they tore up the benches last summer because they leased the sanctuary to a religious school and wanted to renovate the room to better serve students. But some long-timers alleged in court papers that the Hasidic group’s real goal is to shut down prayer services so they can steal the congregation’s property. They say the group shouldn’t be trusted, because at least two of its leaders have been convicted in fraud schemes in the past. The Hasidic group, meanwhile, says the mostly non-Hasidic long-timers are the ones with plans to sell. The Department of Finance estimates that the synagogue’s corner lot across the street from the subway is currently worth about $1.5 million, but its value could skyrocket if it were converted into housing. The value of a similarly sized property across the street increased tenfold when it was flipped into a luxury high-rise. For months, the two warring factions have been stuck in limbo while their legal challenges slowly play out in the courts. In the meantime, the Hasidic group has claimed that the court case has disrupted classes for the yeshiva renting out part of the building, while several long-time members say they’ve lost their sanctuary. Both groups have spent an exorbitant amount of time litigating the case. Ruiz said the legal battle has also been expensive. “It’s coming from my savings, my loans, and getting loans and loans to pay for the lawyers,” Ruiz said. “But I’m not giving up.” Several members of the Hasidic group declined to comment for this story or did not respond to phone calls. Abraham Rubin, who said he used to work in real estate but is now retired, said he helped to facilitate the lease with the yeshiva and is now a congregant of the synagogue. He denied any plans to sell the building or stop holding services. “You will have your place, the yeshiva will have our place,” he said. “No big deal. It’s big enough.” Ruiz and her husband, Martin Needelman, attended services at Beth Jacob Ohev Sholom for more than 40 years before they were barred from the property last year, they said. Now, the group who kicked them out is arguing that Ruiz doesn’t even have the right to call herself Jewish, according to court documents. Ruiz is an Ecuadorian immigrant with a Catholic mother and agnostic father who came to the United States to study economics at Columbia University’s graduate school. In 1980, she was teaching a Spanish class for professionals to earn some extra money, and Needelman, a lawyer, was one of her students. She said Needelman kept inviting her to explore the city with him. A year later, they were married. Needelman grew up Orthodox in East New York. Ruiz said she started to study every week with a rabbi so she could convert to Judaism and raise their future kids in the Jewish faith. Little by little, she said, their growing family became more religious. They sent their son, Joseph, and their daughter, Laura, to a Jewish school. They kept kosher and observed the sabbath. They also remarried each other twice, each time in more observant Jewish ceremonies. When the couple decided to join an Orthodox synagogue, Ruiz said, Congregation Beth Jacob Ohev Sholom’s rabbi at the time, Joshua Fishman, embraced them in spite of her unconventional background. Needelman felt unwelcome at other synagogues for his own reasons. He worked as a prominent tenants’ rights lawyer in Williamsburg, often advocating for Black, Latino and other non-Jewish residents who accused the local Hasidic community of housing discrimination. Many Hasidic Jews in the neighborhood resented his work, he said. But not the rabbi at Beth Jacob Ohev Sholom. “ That's why we came here,” Ruiz said. “It was the only place that accepted us.” Over the years, Needelman, 78, and Ruiz, 76, became leaders at the synagogue. Needelman was the president of the congregation until 2020 and served as the first vice president before that, according to court papers. Ruiz used to be the treasurer. Ruiz said the congregation wanted to extend the welcoming spirit when, several years ago, a small group of Hasidic Jews asked if they could pray at the synagogue. At the same time the number of Beth Jacob Ohev Sholom’s non-Hasidic congregants was diminishing, Ruiz said, Williamsburg’s population of Hasidic Jews — who speak Yiddish and follow strict religious doctrines — was growing. Even though Hasidic Jews have different customs, she said, it seemed like this group wanted to help to revive the shrinking congregation. “We trusted anybody who came, and we were open to anybody who came here,” she said. Ruiz and other long-time members now worry they may have been too open. They say the Hasidic group co-opted board elections to put their allies in power and remove those who disagreed with them. At one election in 2022, Ruiz said, they wouldn’t let several long-time congregants cast their ballots, including Needelman, because he didn’t bring a utility bill. “Who walks on Sundays out of your house with a utility bill,” Ruiz remembered thinking in disbelief the day of the vote. The same group that she welcomed into the synagogue is now accusing her in court papers of not being a real Jew, which they say makes her ineligible to be a member. They say she and Needelman are “impostors” and shouldn’t have any power over the building, because they pose an “imminent threat and immediate danger.” Today, there are two rival boards claiming to govern the congregation — one representing the Hasidic group, the other represents the mostly non-Hasidic long-timers. Each refuses to recognize the other’s legitimacy. The Hasidic board claims a yeshiva is renting the sanctuary for $5,000 a month, according to court records, and giving the space “major upgrades and a facelift.” “It’s very run down,” said Rubin, who said he helped to bring in the religious school. He said the Hasidic group wanted to stop rain water from leaking through the ceilings and walls. “They figured, very peacefully, very normally, that they will rent out the upstairs and the yeshiva will put in money,” he said. Each side has lobbed a slew of allegations at the other during contentious meetings, in legal papers and in various Brooklyn courtrooms. The accusations range from vandalism and mismanagement to violence and embezzlement. But the central dispute is over the building, which the congregation owns, according to property records. “The location is prime real estate,” said Keith Kohn, a non-Hasidic member who was removed from the board last year after the Hasidic group accused him of conspiring to sell the building, which he denies. “So, it’s become a target.” An attorney for the Hasidic group did not respond to questions about why long-time worshippers were removed from the board and barred from the building, or whether the board plans to sell the building. The lawyer also did not respond to questions about whether yeshiva students have actually been studying at the synagogue. The Hasidic group claims classes have been in session since last summer, while the long-timers say there’s no evidence that students have been in the building. For many congregations grappling with declining membership and mounting costs, selling their building to a developer can cover their expenses for decades to come, said architect Esther Sperber. “ They own this incredibly valuable real estate, but many of them are very cash poor,” she said. “If their air conditioning system breaks, they don't always have the funds to just fix that. And any kind of upgrade that the building needs even beyond basic maintenance is not something that they have the funding for.” Dozens of religious organizations across the five boroughs have sold their buildings in recent years, including at least 68 in 2024, according to data from the New York attorney general’s office. A luxury condo building with a fitness center and a pet spa replaced Lagree Baptist Church on West 125th Street in Harlem, which sold its building to a developer for $28.5 million. Other houses of worship, like the Bronx Pentecostal Deliverance Center in Soundview, have been transformed into affordable housing. Sperber advocates for an option she calls the “SynaCondo”: a condo building with a synagogue or other religious space inside. Several congregations have opted for this model, including Shaare Zedek on the Upper West Side, which now occupies the bottom floors of a luxury condo building on 93rd Street. But Sperber said these redevelopment deals come with risks. The Fort Tryon Jewish Center in Washington Heights, for instance, sold its building to a developer who defaulted on a loan after partially demolishing the synagogue. The congregation now meets at a nearby church. Sperber said others may struggle to keep congregants engaged without a regular gathering place while they wait years for construction to be completed. New York not-for-profit law aims to address disagreements amongst congregants and prevent misconduct. The law requires congregations to seek approval for long-term leases and property sales — first from the institution’s board, and then from either the state attorney general’s office or the local supreme court. But Jason Lilien, former chief of the attorney general’s charities bureau, said the state doesn’t have the capacity to get involved in every argument between worshippers. ”Unfortunately, neither the law nor the regulatory system, as it's currently set up, is capable to address all these issues,” he said. In most cases, he said, religious organizations are expected to work out their disputes amongst themselves. Often, as in the case of Congregation Beth Jacob Ohev Sholom, those conflicts end up in court. Congregation Beth Jacob Ohev Sholom, established in the 1860s as Beth Jacob, is a relic of Williamsburg before Hasidic Jews descended on the neighborhood after the Holocaust. Property values skyrocketed in later decades, as artists, hipsters and young professionals moved into the neighborhood. The synagogue’s current building, constructed in 1956, is a rare holdout of both pre-Hasidic and pre-gentrification Williamsburg. Ruiz said members of the Hasidic community have expressed interest in the synagogue’s building for years. She said the long-timers have considered selling the yard next to the building or leasing out the basement, but so far those options haven’t come to pass. While the Hasidic group that's taken control of Beth Jacob Ohev Sholom denies any plans to sell the building, some long-time worshippers worry about its leaders’ histories. Several people at the center of the deal with the religious school have been accused of wrongdoing and at least two have been convicted of crimes in the past. Elozer Porges, the namesake of the yeshiva, pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal charges that he stole millions of government dollars that were supposed to be spent on student lunches at a different yeshiva. Rubin, who said he advised with the lease negotiations, pleaded guilty to two counts of making false statements to lenders after federal prosecutors indicted him and several relatives in a scheme to fraudulently obtain loans, including for mortgages. Jacob Jacobowitz, who claims to be the leader of the yeshiva renting out the sanctuary and denied comment for this story, has been accused in civil court of trying to lease one of the religious school’s other properties without authorization and then locking the tenant out. At least two civil cases related to the dispute are still underway in Sullivan County Supreme Court. Porges did not respond to a phone call seeking comment and his attorneys did not respond to emailed questions. Rubin said his criminal history shouldn’t cast doubt on his credibility for the rest of his life. “I’m very trusted in the community. Very much. People trust me with everything,” he said, adding that there’s “no reason to believe” anyone on his side wants to shut down religious services. “We need it to stay a synagogue and a Jewish place, not to sell it, not to make money, not to make a profit,” he said. With each side accusing the other of allegations they wholeheartedly deny, Justice Richard J. Montelione will soon decide which group he believes. If Needelman and Ruiz prevail in the legal battle, there will be challenges ahead for Beth Jacob Ohev Shalom. They’ll need to find a way to repair the building. They’ll also need to repair a ruptured holy community. And like many worshippers at congregations across the city, Needelman and Ruiz are getting older. Needelman is recovering from a heart attack he suffered the day after the Hasidic group secured a restraining order against him. The couple won’t be able to keep the temple going by themselves. But Ruiz said she’ll keep putting all her energy into saving the synagogue. For her and Needelman, she said, there’s no other option. This is the only place in Williamsburg where they can pray. “I have faith,” she said. “God is not going to allow this synagogue that has lasted for so many years to be destroyed.” Carlota America Ruiz, right, and her husband, Martin Needelman, speak with friends at a Shabbat lunch in their home in January. At a historic Williamsburg synagogue on valuable land, dueling groups fight for control - Gothamist GOTHAMIST.COM Congregation Beth Jacob Ohev Sholom is a rare holdout of both pre-Hasidic and pre-gentrification Williamsburg.

An adorable 4-year-old boy called authorities on his mother — for the crime of eating his ice cream — leading to a frosty surprise from a pair of local cops last week. The tot, who lives in the village of Mount Pleasant, dialed 911 Tuesday in hopes of getting his dessert-swiping mother in the clink. “My mom is being bad,” he told a Racine County dispatcher, according to audio obtained by WCAX. “Come and get my mommy, come get my mommy.” As the dispatcher tried to figure out what the problem was, the boy’s mother grabbed the phone and explained why she was in trouble. “I ate his ice cream so that’s probably why he’s calling 911,” she said as the boy complained in the background. Following the call, Mount Pleasant police officers stopped by the house, where the youngster had a change of heart. He told them he was still peeved he didn’t have any ice cream, but didn’t want to see his mother go to jail for it. The next day, the officers visited the house again — this time with some of the icy treat. A photo released from the village department shows the two cops standing with the child as he held a couple of cups of ice cream with blue sprinkles.

MOST WANTED & INTERNATIONAL have been cancelled.

SPOILER ALERT! Wouldn't it be fun if Chris hit it off with Nigel?

I've had no adverse reactions from the shots, they are free, and I have never gotten Covid, though admittedly I don't spend much time in crowds, so why not keep getting them?

Apparently, a few people are... Beyond the Gates 78% Bigger Audience Than The Talk

Red Robin considers closing 70 locations amid financial woes The chain on Wednesday announced it is weighing plans to potentially close 70 locations once their lease expires, as it attempts to turn around its operations. The company has already closed one location in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, and recorded a loss of $32.4 million in the quarter in large part from the “review of underperforming restaurants.” The company plans to sell three properties during the first quarter of fiscal 2025. The sale of those locations is expected to generate $5.8 million, which the company anticipates will be used in part to repay its debt. While financial results for fiscal 2024 “fell well below” the company’s original expectations, CEO G.J. Hart said the company has made “substantial improvements to the guest experience” to try and drive traffic back to its restaurants.