Now Every Wednesday Todos Los Miercoles
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MARCH 31 - APRIL 06, 2021 • VOL. 22 • NO. 13 WASHINGTON HEIGHTS • INWOOD • HARLEM • EAST HARLEM NORTHERN MANHATTAN’S BILINGUAL NEWSPAPER EL PERIODICO BILINGUE DEL NORTE DE MANHATTAN NOW EVERY WEDNESDAY TODOS LOS MIERCOLES 2 MARCH 31, 2021 • MANHATTAN TIMES • www.manhattantimesnews.com The auxiliary space has been challenge to have people in there during dubbed “Recirculation.” Covid,” Liu said. The store has conducted online sales Stacks throughout the pandemic and hosted curbside pickups, which were paused in January when coronavirus cases began spiking again. and To maintain financial stability, Word Up has continued to raise money through a GoFundMe online campaign that has so far procured more than $32,000. Funds earned through the campaign Racks are used to help cover the store’s rent and utilities, payroll for the three-person staff Treasure trove becomes and facilitate special programming. Most of the titles donated by Burgess community gift have been brought to a temporary pop- up site at 160th Street at Riverside Drive. By Gregg McQueen A first-floor commercial space that had been vacant for many years, the space is well-suited for new pandemic protocols. t is a literary largesse, “It’s a much larger space. [And] it has Imonumentally. Word Up staffers and volunteers have windows that open,” Liu said. “It’s spent months emptying Burgess’ units. definitely useful during the pandemic When Tom Burgess passed away in “It’s a massive task,” Liu remarked. when things need to be done in a safer June 2020 due to Covid-19, the Word Up “We’ve rented 10-foot trucks to move way.” Community Bookshop volunteer left the everything and we’re trying to sort through Word Up currently has an agreement nonprofit with a posthumous gift in his it.” to use the space through the end of May. will. Since its founding in 2011, the volunteer- Though Liu said she would welcome an “Tom had a one-bedroom apartment in led bookshop has become far more than just extension from the building owner, she Inwood that was stocked floor-to-ceiling a source of books for local residents, serving stressed that the space is intended to be with books and records. He also had as a multilingual outlet for education and temporary and is not considered a second four separate storage units filled with the social justice causes. It is also a sought-after location for Word Up. same,” said Word Up founder Veronica hub for community events. “We have no intention of moving from Liu, who estimated the collection of titles When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Word the space on Amsterdam,” she said. to number in the “tens of thousands.” Up shut the doors of its 2113 Amsterdam The pop-up space at 160th and “These were items he collected Avenue location. The site remains closed Riverside will be open on Wednesdays throughout his life and left all of it to us. for in-person shopping. Tom Burgess passed We couldn’t believe it,” she said. “Our windows don’t open, so it is a away in June 2020. See TREASURE p16 Montones y estantes Tesoro se convierte en regalo para la comunidad Por Gregg McQueen como un medio multilingüe para la educación y causas de justicia social. También es un s una generosidad literaria, centro deseado para eventos comunitarios. monumental. Cuando la pandemia de Covid-19 llegó, E Word Up cerró las puertas de su ubicación Cuando Tom Burgess falleció en junio de en el No. 2113 de su ubicación en la avenida 2020 debido a laCovid-19, el voluntario de Ámsterdam. El sitio permanece cerrado para la Librería Comunitaria Word Up dejó a la compras en persona. organización sin fines de lucro un obsequio “Nuestras ventanas no se abren, por lo póstumo en su testamento. que es un desafío tener gente ahí durante la “Tom tenía un apartamento de un Covid”, dijo Liu. dormitorio en Inwood que estaba lleno de La tienda ha realizado ventas en línea durante la pandemia y ha organizado libros y discos del piso al techo. También La librería ha sido una organización dirigida por voluntarios desde su fundación. tenía cuatro unidades de almacenamiento recolecciones en la acera, que se detuvieron separadas llenas de lo mismo”, dijo la en enero cuando los casos de coronavirus fundadora de Word Up, Verónica Liu, quien comenzaron a aumentar nuevamente. está destinado a ser temporal y no se estimó que la colección de títulos asciende Para mantener la estabilidad financiera, considera una segunda ubicación para Word a “decenas de miles”. Word Up ha seguido recaudando dinero Up. “Estos fueron artículos que recopiló a a través de una campaña en línea de “No tenemos ninguna intención de lo largo de su vida y nos lo dejó todo a GoFundMe que hasta ahora ha recaudado movernos del espacio en la avenida nosotros. No podíamos creerlo”, dijo. más de $32,000 dólares. Ámsterdam”, dijo. Personal y voluntarios de Word Up han Los fondos obtenidos a través de la El espacio emergente en la calle 160 y pasado meses vaciando las unidades de campaña se utilizan para ayudar a cubrir el pandemia. Riverside estará abierto los miércoles de 5 Burgess. alquiler y los servicios públicos de la tienda, “Es un espacio mucho más grande. [Y] p.m. a 8 p.m. y los domingos de 3/00 pm a “Es una tarea enorme”, comentó Liu. la nómina del personal de tres personas y tiene ventanas que se abren”, dijo Liu. 6 p.m. “Hemos alquilado camiones de 10 pies para facilitar programación especial. “Definitivamente es útil durante la pandemia Aunque los voluntarios se encuentran mover todo y estamos tratando de clasificar La mayoría de los títulos donados por cuando las cosas deben hacerse de una principalmente en el sitio para clasificar los títulos”. Burgess se han llevado a un sitio emergente manera más segura”. el tesoro que dejó Burgess, Liu dijo que a Desde su fundación en 2011, la librería temporal en la calle 160 yRiverside Drive. Word Up actualmente tiene un acuerdo para los clientes se les permitirá entrar con una dirigida por voluntarios se ha convertido Un espacio comercial en el primer piso que usar el espacio hasta finales de mayo. Aunque capacidad limitada para mirar los artículos. en mucho más que una simple fuente de había estado desocupado durante muchos Liu dijo que agradecería una extensión del libros para los residentes locales, sirviendo años, es adecuado para nuevos protocolos de propietario del edificio, enfatizó que el espacio Vea TESORO p16 MARCH 31, 2021 • MANHATTAN TIMES • www.manhattantimesnews.com 3 cannabis industry in New York State. This could provide significant economic Historic opportunity, Cuomo said, through $350 million in tax collection and creation of 30,000 to 60,000 new jobs. An equity program will engage High individuals disproportionately impacted by cannabis enforcement, and establish a goal of granting 50 percent of licenses to dult-use cannabis in New go to a minority or woman owned business AYork State has been made enterprise, or distressed farmers or service- legal. disabled veterans. Stewart-Cousins called the legislation “a Governor Andrew Cuomo signed momentous first step in addressing the racial legislation on Wed., Mar. 31st. disparities caused by the war on drugs that The bill signing comes after Cuomo, has plagued our state for too long.” State Senate Majority Leader Andrea “This effort was years in the making Stewart-Cousins and State Assembly and we have finally achieved what many Speaker Carl Heastie announced on March thought was impossible, a bill that legalizes 28 that an agreement had been reached on marijuana while standing up for social the legislation. equity, enhancing education and protecting Effective immediately, New Yorkers 21 public safety,” she said. and older can smoke or consume marijuana New Yorkers 21 and older can smoke or “Passage of this bill will mean not just and related products. consume marijuana and related products. legalizing marijuana, but also investing in The legislation will allow people with education and our communities, and it brings medical conditions to access medical “This is a historic day in New York — one the tireless advocacy of so many for helping to an end to decades of disproportionately marijuana and permit home cultivation of that rights the wrongs of the past by putting make today’s historic day possible.” targeting people of color under state and cannabis for patients. an end to harsh prison sentences, embraces The bill establishes a new state agency, federal drug laws,” said Heastie. “I thank Penalties have been eliminated for an industry that will grow the Empire State’s the Office of Cannabis Management, Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes for possession by adults of less than 3 ounces economy, and prioritizes marginalized which is tasked with creating a regulatory her years of advocacy and efforts to make of marijuana. Greater quantities can be communities so those that have suffered the framework and will eventually issue licenses this bill a reality. My colleagues and I knew possessed inside the home if stored in a most will be the first to reap the benefits,” for marijuana producers, distributors and it was important to do this the right way — secure place, away from children. Cuomo said. “This was one of my top priorities retailers. in a way that would include those targeted In addition, the bill creates automatic in this year’s State of the State agenda and I’m Legal sales of cannabis could take up to and frequently excluded from the process. expungement of criminal records or proud these comprehensive reforms address two years to begin, as the agency creates its Now, this legal industry will create jobs resentencing for anyone with a previous and balance the social equity, safety and rules.