Latest news with #WestSideRag
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
ICE Is So Out of Control, They Tried to Raid a Kids' Baseball Practice
Then they came for the children: even in self-designated sanctuary cities such as Manhattan, apparently no one is safe from the ire of federal immigration agents under the Trump administration. Youman Wilder, a baseball coach for middle and high school students, was leading a group of 11 kids through batting cage practice near 72nd Street in Riverside Park last month when he caught ICE agents interrogating some of the minors. 'I go over quickly and the agents are asking the kids inappropriate things like where they are from, their country of origin, so I say, 'Whoa, whoa,' and I tell the officers that their questions are inappropriate, and that I'm going to tell my kids not to answer them,' Wilder told the West Side Rag. Wilder said the officers identified themselves as ICE agents, were armed with guns and tasers, and had 'ICE' printed across the front of their tactical vests. The coach—who received his master's degree in law—told the kids that they didn't need to answer the agents' questions, instructing them to instead line up on the opposite side of the batting cages. But ICE didn't like that: Wilder said that's when one of the agents raised their voice at him, accusing him of being a 'YouTube lawyer.' 'I said no, I just know how the Constitution works,' Wilder told Eyewitness News. But the agents continued to threaten him, per Wilder, talking about cuffing the coach and openly questioning what the kids would 'have to lose by answering' if they were in the U.S. legally. 'I told them that they still have their Fifth and Fourth Amendment rights, and that they don't have to speak to you or help with any investigation,' Wilder told the Rag. All the kids, according to Wilder, were born in the U.S. and are U.S. citizens, born to parents from Africa, South America, and Mexico. 'It's all about civics. If you don't know your rights, they will trample on them,' Wilder told the Rag. The coach also expressed his shock and dismay at the amount of people who watched the interaction but failed to intervene. 'There were people watching and the agents were telling them to move back, that they would be arrested for interfering, and not to take pictures,' Wilder told the Rag. 'The worst thing is that the six or seven people who were watching, followed their orders!' 'I never in my life thought this was going to happen in the Upper West Side in New York City,' Wilder told Eyewitness News. 'That whole thing, until it happens to you, you're not aware? It happened to us.' Wilder has since changed the location and practice times for his team, but some kids and their parents have been so rattled by the event that they haven't returned to practice. 'I knew that they could arrest me, but I knew that they couldn't keep me,' he said. 'My whole thing is that I'm African American, and most of my kids are Latino and Black, so it was all about how do I get these kids home. I never raised my voice. I just talked about the law. And I was just focused on how can I get these kids to where they need to go, when they are in my care.' Wilder was 'the only thing that stood between those kids in Riverside Park and a Florida detention center buried deep in the Everglades,' Upper West Side Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal wrote in a newsletter earlier this month. Rosenthal told Eyewitness News that Wilder was right to intervene and had the legal authority to do so. Although President Donald Trump has heaped endless praise on the federal deportation agency, ICE agents have reportedly never been so miserable, forced to primarily detain noncriminal immigrants in order to meet their quota: 3,000 arrests per day, per Homeland Security adviser Stephen Miller's demands.
Eater
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Eater
The NYC Restaurant Openings You Should Know About This July
This is Eater's guide to all the new restaurants, bars, and cafes that have opened this week. Throughout July, we'll update the list weekly. When we've been to a place, we will then include an abbreviated number of openings on our heatmap to let you know the ones we like. If there's an opening in your neighborhood that we've missed, let us know at ny@ . Bed‑Stuy: Dolores has opened – a Mexico City-inspired cocktail bar and cantina from Emir Dupeyron and his wife, Cressida Greening, who are behind nearby Winona's. Drinks come from business partner Leanne Favre, who was at Leyenda. 397 Tompkins Avenue at Monroe Street Brooklyn Heights: Fini Patio Bar has opened, an Italian-style patio pizzeria and bar from Sean Feeney, a co-owner of pasta spot Lilia with Missy Robbins. 159 Bridge Park Drive, at Pier 5 East Village: Monkey Sushi has opened, a Japanese sushi spot from Toronto, and the second one in Manhattan. 120 First Avenue, at Seventh Street Elmont: Hundredfold has opened, a French‑American brasserie by Los Angeles chef Timothy Hollingsworth, also behind Chain. 2501 Hempstead Turnpike near Clearfield Avenue Fidi: Fogo de Chão has opened, which is the newest location of the Brazilian steakhouse chain. 40 Courtlandt Way, Tower 3 at the World Trade Center Fidi: The Paris Café has reopened, a historic French-style tavern and bar, a collaboration between Legeard Studio and Opus Hospitality, of which this is its first project. 119 South Street at Beekman Street Greenpoint: Van Leeuwen's Flavor Lab has opened this new location that will also rollout test flavors. 136 Franklin Street, at Greenpoint Avenue Hell's Kitchen: Samsaen has opened from chef Dhanapol 'Oak' Marprasert, a Thai spot that channels Bangkok, named for a district in that city. 480 Ninth Avenue, between 36th and 37th streets Tribeca: Jason and Yvonne Metz behind ramen sushi bar Zutto have opened a casual sit-down spot Wok in Duane, a pan-Asian noodle and wok station. 181 Duane, at Greenwich Street Upper West Side: Tacos Cano has opened, a casual Mexican taco counter with birria and items like 'baby burritos.' West Side Rag reports that the former restaurant in the space for 26 years, Taqueria y Fonda, sold the business to Alexis Cano and his father, Elio. Both families are originally from Guerrero, Mexico, 968 Amsterdam, between West 107 and 108 streets Upper West Side: The U Bar and Grill has opened from Maria Figueroa, who also runs Inwood Bar and Grill in Upper Manhattan. Look for a menu of burgers, sandwiches, salads, pasta, and brunch. 1207 Amsterdam Avenue, between West 119 and 120th streets Upper West Side: West Side Rag talked to co-owner Fay Karoon of Thai coffee shop Typhoon Café, which has opened in the neighborhood. For now, it's drinks-focused. Karoon owns another cafe in Thailand and moved to New York six months ago, but previously lived in Boston and Seattle. 947 Columbus Avenue, between West 106 and 107 streets Williamsburg: Rose Marie has opened, a casual eclectic bar and restaurant from the Tex-Mex Yellow Rose team. 524 Lorimer Street at Frost Street See More:
Time Out
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Why are Mark Ruffalo, Matt Damon and more trying to save this Upper West Side church?
On the corner of West 86th and Amsterdam stands West-Park Presbyterian Church, a hulking 135-year-old Romanesque beauty with landmark status—and a demolition order looming over its red sandstone shoulders. The congregation, down to just 12 members, says they can't afford the $50 million-plus in necessary repairs, and the ink is dry on a $33 million real estate deal with a condo developer. Enter the Center at West Park, alongside a cast of Hollywood heavyweights. The Center, a nonprofit arts group that's been renting space in the church for over a decade, was officially evicted last week. But its supporters, which include Upper West Side resident Mark Ruffalo and a slew of stars like Matt Damon, Christian Slater, Kyra Sedgwick and Kenneth Lonergan, aren't letting the curtain fall quietly. 'I started out in spaces like this as a young actor here in New York City,' Ruffalo told West Side Rag. 'And when I walked in here, it reminded me of that. My humble beginnings, where you could come and work out your talent, where it wasn't really expensive, where other people who are starting out just like you could meet and you can really figure out what you're doing.' Last fall, he and Damon staged a stripped-down benefit reading of Lonergan's This Is Our Youth to raise funds to save the building from becoming yet another 19-story glass box. Despite eviction orders and losing multiple court battles, the Center is vowing to keep its programming going—off-site for now, but still firmly committed to preserving the church itself. Debby Hirshman, executive director of the Center, has said it's raised more than $5 million for critical repairs but claims the church has blocked the work from moving forward. Meanwhile, the West-Park congregation has asked the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission to strip the building's landmark status, citing financial hardship. Without that designation, demolition could move ahead, but that effort was put on hold in early 2024 when the church withdrew its application, citing ongoing legal disputes with its tenant. A new filing could come at any time. The church argues the condo deal would include a 10,000-square-foot space they could use or lease out, effectively trading one performance space for another. But critics, including Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, say losing the Center and the building would be a major cultural blow.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Dead chickens placed in odd position on ritzy NYC block — sparking ‘animal sacrifice' claims
The chickens didn't cross the road — but still made it to the other side. Two slaughtered chickens were found on an Upper West Side median in an odd position that has activists worried they were killed in an animal sacrifice ritual. The birds were found Saturday lined up with their feet facing at West 89th Street and Broadway less than a year after similar fowl play three blocks away on Broadway and West 92nd Street, local publication West Side Rag reported. '[It] appears to be animal sacrifice to me,' John Di Leonardo, executive director of Humane Long Island, told The Post. 'It's illegal for live slaughter markets to sell live birds to the public but we know they do it often,' he said. 'From Buddhists releasing live animals in Central Park who die if not recovered to birds tied to trees for Santeria in public parks to Shaktis killing pigs near Gateway National Park – to whatever this is.' Edita Birnkrant, of animal advocacy group NYCLASS, said 'it clearly was done purposely and placed in a visible spot. 'They look healthier than the birds usually look at live markets,' she added. 'The nearest live poultry market is in Harlem so I don't know [if] that's the culprit.' By Tuesday, the birds had been removed but not everyone was uneasy about the birds. 'I'm almost kind of glad,' said Harold Steinblatt, a self-described 'frequent bench-sitter' and longtime Upper West Side resident who said the incident sounded 'cultish.' 'That means it's not just all rich hedge fund managers here,' he said. 'Or maybe it was a disgruntled hedge fund manager who was the culprit.' Chickens are the most common sacrifice in the Santeria Afro-Caribbean religion, according to the BBC. The Supreme Court upheld the right to animal sacrifice on religious grounds in 1993 — but according to New York laws, aggravated cruelty to animals is a felony punishable by up to two years in prison. Evidence of sacrificial killings have been reported across the five boroughs, with chickens, pigs and even rats killed in 'twisted' religious rituals in parkland surrounding Jamaica Bay in Queens. In Upper Manhattan, whole dead chickens and cows, as well as fish and eggs, have been found as offerings on crypts at Old Trinity Cemetery, according to Scouting NY. Thousands of chickens are also killed each year in the Big Apple ahead of Yom Kippur during the ultra-orthodox Jewish ritual of Kaporos, which involves slitting a chicken's throat, per ABC New York.
New York Post
27-05-2025
- New York Post
Dead chickens placed in odd position on ritzy NYC block — sparking ‘animal sacrifice' claims
The chickens didn't cross the road — but still made it to the other side. Two slaughtered chickens were found on an Upper West Side median in an odd position that has activists worried they were killed in an animal sacrifice ritual. The birds were found Saturday lined up with their feet facing at West 89th Street and Broadway less than a year after similar fowl play three blocks away on Broadway and West 92nd Street, local publication West Side Rag reported. Advertisement '[It] appears to be animal sacrifice to me,' John Di Leonardo, executive director of Humane Long Island, told The Post. 'It's illegal for live slaughter markets to sell live birds to the public but we know they do it often,' he said. 'From Buddhists releasing live animals in Central Park who die if not recovered to birds tied to trees for Santeria in public parks to Shaktis killing pigs near Gateway National Park – to whatever this is.' Advertisement Edita Birnkrant, of animal advocacy group NYCLASS, said 'it clearly was done purposely and placed in a visible spot. 'They look healthier than the birds usually look at live markets,' she added. 'The nearest live poultry market is in Harlem so I don't know [if] that's the culprit.' A pair of dead chickens were bizarrely found on an Upper West Side curb median on Broadway over the weekend. J.C. Rice Advertisement By Tuesday, the birds had been removed but not everyone was uneasy about the birds. 'I'm almost kind of glad,' said Harold Steinblatt, a self-described 'frequent bench-sitter' and longtime Upper West Side resident who said the incident sounded 'cultish.' 'That means it's not just all rich hedge fund managers here,' he said. 'Or maybe it was a disgruntled hedge fund manager who was the culprit.' Advertisement The dead chickens (not pictured) being found occurred less than a year after another pair were discovered three blocks away, as animal activists believe these are sacrificial killings. Hanoi Photography – Chickens are the most common sacrifice in the Santeria Afro-Caribbean religion, according to the BBC. The Supreme Court upheld the right to animal sacrifice on religious grounds in 1993 — but according to New York laws, aggravated cruelty to animals is a felony punishable by up to two years in prison. Evidence of sacrificial killings have been reported across the five boroughs, with chickens, pigs and even rats killed in 'twisted' religious rituals in parkland surrounding Jamaica Bay in Queens. In Upper Manhattan, whole dead chickens and cows, as well as fish and eggs, have been found as offerings on crypts at Old Trinity Cemetery, according to Scouting NY. Thousands of chickens are also killed each year in the Big Apple ahead of Yom Kippur during the ultra-orthodox Jewish ritual of Kaporos, which involves slitting a chicken's throat, per ABC New York.
