The Trade Fair Supermarkets are now in the works of violating labor laws against the union workers. These union workers were subject to harassment, intimidation and threats of termination. It has violated their rights and on Friday, May 17th a rally has begun in Jackson Heights.

This rally has shown a lot of passion and emotion to what they were expressing when working for Trade Fair. There was a lockout that began on March 13th and it has been a long process since these workers were on strike. A New York State Senator who is in charge around this area has support for this problem being addressed.

New York State Senator Jose Peralta, who is also running for Queens Borough President was in this rally. He was describing what he wants to do for the workers on this lockout. “It’s about sending a message to Trade Fair and getting back to the negotiations table and thus ending the lockout,” said Peralta. “End the lockout and bring the people back into their previous position in terms of the hours they were working at instead of bring them back on a part-time basis.”

Peralta also said by support them in the public and reaching out Trade Fair to understand what the workers want. This is half of what the plan is and the other half goes into the UFCW Local 342 group. The group is supporting the union workers and one of them wants this to be a process that is well done.

Ed Leche describes his goals and what is need to be done in order for this to be successful. “We have various charges with the labor board and thus by support them in the rally is another step in our plan. I believe we are heavily favor with the charges and it’s not right with what they are doing,” said Leche. “They are doing different positions without training and that is not the American way. Its our job to get these workers back to their previous position and to have justice. These managers and leaders are involved in this problem and whether it is racism or not it’s a crime.”

The plan is in set and only time will tell when it will end, but its far from being over for these workers that want to have fairness.

In John Jay’s College of Criminal Justice, there was a speaker discussing the topic on “Borders, Law Enforcement and the Underworld of Globalization.” The speaker was Alan Bersin who was a former commissioner of U.S Customs and Border Protection. Now he is assistant secretary of international affairs and chief diplomatic officer for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The topic he was discussing was critical in what the department wants to do in order to improve security on the U.S.

Alan Bersin talking to a guest.

He was first talking about how the Department of Homeland Security was built since 2003 on the crisis of the world trade center being attack in 2001. “It could have never happen without the crisis of 9/11 and that leaded to the creation of Homeland Security,” said Bersin. He also describes the main components that are in this department and about its importance.

“The Homeland Security Investigation, Transportation Security Administration, Customs and Borders Protection, Nations Homeland Protection of Programs, Federal Emergency Management Association and the Secret Service,” said Bersin. These components are valuable and necessary to accomplish their goals. The information in these components is vital and is power so they must keep it as a secret.

Bersin wants the citizens to be involved on information about criminals that can present a threat at any given moment. There focus as a unit is important for their growth as Bersin describes it. “We need to focus on the people who present a threat to the American Community,” said Bersin. “We need witnesses to step up on these situations.”

Only time will tell when the Department of Homeland Security will make an impact on the U.S. Law enforcement that detects threats underground are doing their best to take down criminals even if they are in other countries. It’s a big step that Alan Bersin wants and the Department wants to make sure that it’s growth is exponential in the future.

The Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame was established in Foley’s Ny Pub & Restaurant. It has names of players, managers and journalist of Irish descent into this type of Hall of Fame. They were recognized based on impact of the game, popularity on and off the field along with connections to the Irish community. There were 5 names that were inductee in this years Hall of Fame in 2013.

The 5 names were Rusty Staub, Joe McEwing, Peter O Malley, Bill Madden and Dan Shaughnessy. Rusty Staub was a former member of the Mets in 1973 NL Championship team. Joe McEwing, who was also a Met on the 2000 NL Championship team, is now a third base coach for the White Sox. Peter O Malley is the owner of LA Dodgers and was a president before when the team won the World Series in 1981.

Bill Madden is an award-winning Daily news writer who covered 30 World Series in his time and Dan Shaughnessy who is a columnist for the Boston Globe didn’t show up but his son was there and exchange some words about this event.

The 5 inductee into the Hall of Fame

Sam Shaughnessy, the son of Dan Shaughnessy said “It’s a great honor to be here on this induction to the Hall of Fame. My dad would be here if the Knicks extended the series with the Celtics but they lost.  My dad would be happy because of all of the players and journalist that are Irish descent.” He along with others explained how it is to be in this Hall of Fame especially when David Wright was there as well.

David Wright in the picture

Out of all the tears and emotion in this event, Irish Baseball Hall of Fame is famous for its players in any sport along with journalists that won awards. It is also well represented in one of the best sports bars in America and its growth is based on Irish descent sport or media figures that make an impact in the community.

As the NHL Playoffs are approaching, in Madison Square Park there was an event hosted by NBC Sports. It was organized by Howard Cannon and there were a lot of fans at this event. In this event they were giving out cupcakes and it was about giving back to those that lost their homes in breezy point because of Hurricane Sandy. It was more of a way fans can see the Stanley cup and take pictures with friends and family’s along with former NHL players.

There were three former NHL players that represent and help make it a successful event. The players were Glenn Anderson, Grant Marshall and Clark Gilles. Anderson played for the New York Rangers in the 1993-1994 season that won the Stanley Cup. Marshall played for the New Jersey Devils in 2002-2003 season. Gilles played for the New York Islanders when they won 4 out of 5 Stanley cups in the late 70s and 80s. They all were talking about playing on their teams as well as the NHL playoffs.

Gilles was talking about the event as a way of giving back and the Islanders in the playoffs. “Its going to be a tough series against the Pittsburgh Penguins,” said Gilles.”Its great to be here because these group of fans were hurt by Hurricane Sandy and I just wanted to give them some cupcakes and take pictures with the Stanley Cup as the NHL playoffs are coming.”

There was also a Rangers fan name Janet Young who is excited about the Rangers against the Capitals in the playoffs. “I think the Rangers will have a good series against the Capitals,” said Young. They have a lot of young talent and Rick Nash is a huge asset to the team when it comes to scoring.” It was a nice day for NHL fans as they saw the Stanley Cup which is one of the coolest cup in sports and know that the playoffs are here.

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There were three students that were in the Art and Sound of Video Games class doing research on video games. The students are Jonathan Serneo, Kimmy Sarmiento and Adebayo Fayemi. Each of them presented their perspective on video games based on their research.

Jonathan Serneo was the first presenter and he was describing a video game called Catherine. This is a puzzle game that is based upon the story of Dante’s Inferno. He describes the game’s long duration of anyone that plays it. “The game takes about 5 to 6 hours and there are 9 levels,” said Serneo. “There are nightmares and cutscenes that affect the game. They affect the game because the dialogue is changed based upon the choices that are made.” The game is for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and he would rate it an 8.5 out of 10 because of the story and cut scenes along with the puzzles that are kind of challenging.

Jonathan holding a book called “The Art of Video Games”

The next student was Kimmy Sarmiento and she describes it in terms of women in video games. Sarmiento started with a video game back in the 80s called Donkey Kong. The game was about a women being taken by a gorilla and the ‘Jump man’ aka Mario has to rescue her. She said, “Women back then were in danger and were in distress.”

She would like more women in video games or even in-game company’s to do more than just men. “I would love to see more women in video games especially in designers,” said Sarmiento.”One game I found differently was a women being a main character and some consumers like that.” She hopes that in the future the amount of women in video games will increase.

The last student was Bayo Fayemi and he was concentrating on mood in video games. An example he shows was kids playing video games and they are showing different face reactions. He also explains how even music can change a person’s feelings. “The kids change their mood playing video games,” said Fayemi. “My research is more of hands on when looking at a video game and expressing different moods from cutscenes as well.”

These students put the work of researching different concepts in video games. The future of video games is growing and the changes are to be examine carefully for those that like video games.

Jonathan, Kimmy and Adebayo in a group photo

On Thursday evening there was a Yankee game in the Bronx. It was against the Diamond Backs on flower seed packet day. There was deal of 5 dollar tickets that day so a lot of people were at attendance. It was a good game all the way through the 8th inning and beyond that but they loss 6-2. It was their last game before hitting the road and they will be back home next Thursday against the Blue Jays. It was a good experience especially how Yankee Stadium is inside.

Yankee Stadium

Inside Yankee Stadium

One of the legends

Pregame field look

Yankee Stadium from the Grandstand

Brook Lopez on the field

Brook Lopez leaving the field

Robinson Cano

Number 24

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Pitcher vs Hitter

Bases Loaded

Mariano Rivera

Mike Rice, head coach of the basketball team for Rutgers University, was fired based on his behavior toward the team. It was during the practice that he was abusing them and calling them out with foul language as reported by ESPN. But this incident has impact the way coaches are back then and now. Back then coaches such as Bob Knight, who was a former coach for Indiana University, would be screaming at players in practice because the players didn’t listen to the proper instructions that the coach want them to do. They use the term “old school” because it was tough love for the players that play sports. It has changed over time and other basketball coaches have different reactions to the video of Mike Rice in practice.

Coach Ronald St John, head coach of the basketball team for York College, felt as if he has crossed the line. “It was a thin line and he crossed the line when he was cursing out using homophobic slurs and putting his hands on a player,” said St John. I allow the verbal language for frustration, but it has to have some positive influence in it and throwing a basketball at a person is wrong.”

He also felt that the parents will not accept that and would probably want an explanation from this type of behavior toward the kids. Jessica Cherry, assistant head coach of the team said, “Its unacceptable and their might be yelling but it is also going over board. To make them feel sad and injury is just plain wrong”. Both of these coaches understand when there is a line to not cross and to always treat the players with respect. There is a certain way of motivating the players without touching them. Mike Rice will be looking for a job elsewhere, but it won’t be as a head coach.

Photography is one of those skills that most people can learn from. Some like to take photos for memories, while others would want to take it for purpose. Todd Maisel, a staff photographer that works for the Daily News came on March 21. He went to NYU and got his bachelor degree in Journalism. Todd has been doing photography for 30 years.

Maisel went into depth on understanding photos and what they mean to him and to others that see it. When he starts with the tragedy on September 9, 2001, the photos were sad and emotional for anyone that looks at them. I was in shock of the photos he presented based on the terrorist attack in the city. Maisel described his feelings on that day. He said, “9/11 has affected me till this day. I experience post-trauma stress covering 9/11. We all had nightmares and people kept telling me I can’t sleep, I can’t sleep.”

He expressed his feelings toward the photos that he taken. Maisel said, “These pictures gave me purpose and meaning for me to be a photographer. Finding somebody alive really made my day on the disaster.” When he was describing most of the photos, he also explained why people should remember this moment. “Don’t forget it because there were lives lost on 9/11,” said Maisel.

While he was describing these photos, his other works were remarkable and appealing. The Hurricane Sandy photos were on point and interesting to see. His photos were sections of the city being flooded and where the people were being seen. Some of them were in stores and other places that they shouldn’t have been. His other works were also interesting as they were across the city.

Todd Maisel explaining his photos.

When ask about what students should do to be a photographer, he said “Get internships, do local newspapers and blogs”. Maisel also said the prices of cameras are going down in some stores and it’s important to pick the right type of camera. Some cameras are waterproof to the rain, while other cameras can get destroyed or dysfunctional due to the type of weather.

Maisel was also talking about the life of a photographer and how it is everyday. He was describing it as part of a routine. He wants everyone to understand how the person should be when it comes to being a photographer. “There are some routines on an everyday basis, but to be a photographer you have to feel it and be professional about it,” said Maisel.

Maisel standing still

This pretty much sums up the amount of work and dedication it takes to become a photographer. It can be hard and somewhat emotional at times based on the event. The most important component for any photographer is to take the picture that has meaning to you and to others that look at it and understand it’s purpose.

Tyson signing a photo of himself

In Times Square, there was an event in Modells that featured a Knicks star. The Knicks star was Tyson Chandler and he is the starting center of the team. This picture was taken when I was on line and it was kind of blurry but I was really close from where I took the photo. It was really packed because of how the Knicks are playing and what the team is going to do on a 5 game road trip. But when he came there was a lot of talk and excitement of seeing him. So many kids were helping him with the photos that he was presenting to those that were on line. Here is the picture that I got from him that was autographed.

An autographed by Tyson

When I first met him I was shocked and kind of nervous at the same time. He said how I am doing and I respond saying I’m fine. After he signed the photo I told him good luck in the season and he responded “Thank you I really appreciated that”. It was a great moment for me to get this autograph because of the success that this team is having thus far despite the bad start to the road trip. But these are types of events that everyone should go to if you’re a sports fan. The Knicks are a contender with him because he is by far the second most important player behind Carmelo Anthony.

The subject of this story is a basketball game in the world’s most famous arena. It was followed from this link from the New York Times on the Knicks and Heat game http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/knicks/knicks_sizzle_then_let_lead_slip_jxZAwC2T0CXF5VgAS7fKiK/0. This article captures my attention of what I want to do with my blog. It was about the Knicks and Heat for the third time and the Knicks blow a 15 point lead and loss 99-93. It felt like the writer of this piece was descriptive and had good facts being presented. It was descriptive because of how it had quotes and box scores from each team. There were moments in the article where it made me think of how I want to write a story like this when I get the chance to go to basketball games and events in Madison Square Garden.

This writer describes the game well since he was watching the game and understands what is happening during the game. That is something similar to what I want to do in my blog and i want to include pictures from where I am sitting at in the game. It was interesting to me because it was one of the biggest games this season and I am a Knicks fan that hopes to see a champion this year or in the next 2 years on a 3 year plan.

This game was so close when it was in the third quarter and into the fourth quarter became a competitive game. I felt like there were calls that the Knicks should have gotten in the fourth quarter and the referees were being favor on the heat side. It can be said that because they are the NBA Champions they can get away from calls, but that’s not fair unless it goes both sides. When this game was over there was a feeling that the Heat are back and the Knicks are not going to compete with them. But based on this game it feels like this is going to be a 7 game series and that with their motivation and focus the Knicks have a chance even if it’s against the best player in the world.

It’s always about matchups for any team in the playoffs. Lebron James is a mismatch to anyone because of his size and speed along with intelligence. But the Knicks have Carmelo Anthony and his superstar ability to score on anyone including Lebron James. These two have met each other since high school and they been even they face each other. The playoffs are different and anything can happen when teams make adjustments. The season is almost ending and from the look of this game, it feels like they might meet each other in the playoffs and if they meet in the Eastern Conference Finals, then it will be a great series. Even if the Miami Heat is favor to win it all again, the Knicks are built to beat this team and are ready for any challenges in the playoffs.