Hundreds protest Amazon summit to demand the tech giant cut ties with ICE

Hundreds of protesters demanded that Amazon cut any ties it may have with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Thursday protest outside the Amazon Web Services Summit at the Javits Center was sparked by leaked documents showing that Amazon Web Services is willing to provide ICE with its Rekognition Video system. The system identifies people, objects, text, scenes, and activities in images or videos and provides “highly accurate facial analysis and facial recognition on image and video.”

Team USA’s 4th World Cup win ‘good for our country,’ fans say

Hundreds of New York fans excitedly screamed and chanted with every feat of footwork during the U.S. women’s soccer team’s fourth World Cup win on Sunday. The U.S. beat the Netherlands 2-0 in the final in Lyon, France, after going into half-time with only zeros on the scoreboard. Megan Rapinoe scored the first goal at 61 minutes with a penalty kick and Rose Lavelle found the net for the second score only eight minutes later.

‘Close the camps’: New Yorkers demand an end to immigrant detention centers

Roughly 450 New Yorkers gathered at four emotional Close the Camps rallies on Tuesday, demanding that Congress put an end to immigrant detention centers. The protests, part of more than 180 happening nationwide, took place at Middle Collegiate Church in Manhattan and in Brooklyn at Rep. Carolyn Maloney’s office, Rep. Max Rose’s office and at Prospect Park West.

Park Slope’s own Knuffle Bunny gets a permanent home at the library

Park Slope-based children’s book character Knuffle Bunny was welcomed to a permanent spot in Brooklyn on Thursday. A bronze statue of the stuffed bunny from Mo Willems’ picture book, “Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale,” now sits in the garden outside of the Brooklyn Public Library’s Park Slope branch. Children, their parents and Willems himself celebrated the unveiling of the bunny on Thursday with a reading by the author.

Rent Guidelines Board approves increases for one- and two-year stabilized leases

The Rent Guidelines Board voted Tuesday that landlords may increase rent 1.5% for one-year leases and 2.5% for two-year leases on rent-stabilized apartments. The board’s 5-to-4 vote impacts rent-stabilized leases signed starting October 1. There were about 966,000 rent-stabilized units in the five boroughs in 2017, according to the most recent results of the city’s Housing and Vacancy Survey.

E-cigarette imports must undergo more scrutiny to protect kids, Sen. Schumer says

Sen. Chuck Schumer called on the federal government on Sunday to crack down on unregulated electronic cigarette products imported from China.

Schumer requested that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and border control target websites that do not verify the age of customers and that sell illegal pods, which he said come in flavors designed to appeal to kids, such as bubble gum and gummy bears, and mimic Juul’s products. The Senate Democratic minority leader also demanded more vigorous inspections at ports and airports and enhanced monitoring of stores for improperly imported pods, which Schumer said may contain particularly high levels of nicotine, tar or other chemicals that the FDA is not able to regulate. 

NYC students’ nutritional health should be top priority: Advocates

As a food journalist, lawyer, and mom of two, Andrea Strong is passionate about children having access to healthy food and nutrition education. On Sunday, she led more than 100 people at the March for Healthy School Food in NYC. The founder of the NYC Healthy School Food Alliance said that many schools are not doing enough to provide proper nutrition and nutritional education programs to students — especially to those who are low income. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 13.7 million young Americans between 2 and 19 years of age are obese in the U.S.; the most impacted of those are in low- to middle-income households.

See LGBTQ history through a photographer’s lens

The significance of Pride Month can only truly be understood in the context of the moments that led to the LGBT rights movement in the United States. While it isn’t possible to go back in time, the Museum of the City of New York is helping to bring the Stonewall riots of 1969 to life in a new exhibit.

Title X marks the spot where New Yorkers need help, advocates say

SoHo used to be one of the few places in New York City that Clara Williams felt safe walking through. But as she neared the Planned Parenthood clinic on Bleecker Street one Saturday morning in 2016, the hot pink letters of her safe oasis disappeared behind a kaleidoscope of anti-abortion signs and pamphlets swirling in front of her eyes.

Homeless LGBTQ college students in NYC major in survival

As he anxiously sat alone with a worn backpack in the library while groups of coffee-fueled students whispered about their weekend plans, Victor Manuel Markhoff kept his eyes lowered to his high-top Converse, focusing on the only subject he can afford to meticulously study — survival.

SNAP benefits for March will be released early to ease lingering shutdown pain, Cuomo says

Twenty-one days after the federal government reopened, New Yorkers are still struggling to make up the so-called “SNAP gap” created by the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

All immigrants deserve driver’s licenses regardless of status, City Council says

Cheers of “Si se puede – Yes we can” echoed on the steps of City Hall Wednesday as City Council members and organizations urged the state to guarantee driver’s licenses for all, regardless of their immigration status.