Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang has been collecting old hymnals for years. What he likes about them, he says, is that each one represents a community, singing about what matters to them. So for his own choral work, called Poor Hymnal, Lang pieced together texts from the Bible, Tolstoy, Barack Obama, and other sources that talk about what’s ultimately at the heart of any community, namely taking care of each other. He wrote the piece for the Grammy-winning choir The Crossing, led by Donald Nally. They give the Lang piece its New York premiere on Dec. 21 at Alice Tully Hall. 

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Mayor Eric Adams’ high-stakes meeting with President-elect Donald Trump’s border czar was brokered by a surprising celebrity: Dr. Phil.

Adams’ sit-down at Gracie Mansion with incoming immigration official Tom Homan on Thursday came as New Yorkers prepare for what Trump has vowed will be “the largest deportation operation in the history of our country.” The mayor has signaled a willingness to work with the incoming administration, while at the same pledging to “be true” to the city’s immigrant roots.

In an interview that aired after the meeting, Homan praised Adams – and revealed that their talk came together last week, while the immigration hardliner was on Dr. Phil’s private plane.

“I’ve called him out this past year many times about being more of a politician than police officer,” said Homan, who was a police officer in a small town in the North Country before joining the federal government’s border patrol. “I was wrong. He came through today as a police officer and a mayor that cares about the safety and security of his city.”

Homan added to Dr. Phil: “Thank you for making it possible.”

Dr. Phil’s eponymous talk show ran for more than two decades, and the daytime television personality launched his own Merit TV network in the spring, largely focusing on right-wing fixations. Speaking to Homan, he referred to the incoming border official’s concerns about sanctuary cities as “nonpartisan issues.”

Merit TV anchors credited the network’s founder with making essential progress on policy priorities.

“ You had a hand in getting Mayor Eric Adams and Donald Trump’s incoming border czar to not only get into the same room together and discuss policy, but to agree on policy,” one anchor said.

“ I had the privilege of introducing Tom Homan and Mayor Eric Adams on an airplane, on FaceTime,” Dr. Phil responded. “We were actually about to take off and I had to call the tower and pull over because Mayor Adams FaceTimed me…

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The Indonesian percussion orchestras known as gamelan were originally associated with the royal courts of Java and Bali, but that doesn’t mean they stood on ceremony all the time. The New York-based Gamelan Kusuma Laras is doing its annual Klenengan program on Dec. 14– an informal affair, or as they put it, a “Javanese gamelan jam.” It’s the kind of event where listeners can come and go, munch on Indonesian snacks, and get swept up in the rhythmic energy of the music. Gamelan Kusuma Laras plays two sets on Dec. 14, one at 4PM, and another at 7PM at the Indonesian Consulate. 

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Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday said he would issue an executive order to amend the city’s sanctuary laws during a fiery 10-minute press conference that followed his meeting with Tom Homan, the incoming ‘border czar’ for the Trump administration.

The mayor began his remarks by accusing the press and others of distorting his comments. In recent weeks, Adams has suggested that undocumented New Yorkers are not entitled to due process. He later walked back the statement. He said on Thursday that the city would not be a “safe haven” for those who have “committed crimes,” but neglected to specify whether he was referring to people who had been convicted of a crime, or just charged with one.

“About 170 crimes currently allow us to communicate and collaborate with ICE after a conviction,” he said, referring to the circumstances in the city’s sanctuary laws that allow local officials to work with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. “We need to examine them.”

Adams, who’s faced repeated questions about his stance on sanctuary laws, has been unclear about exactly what additional crimes and circumstances he believes should allow city officials to cooperate with federal immigration officials. On Thursday, he mentioned using executive orders to target repeat offenders.

Many Democrats, including challengers seeking to unseat the mayor, have attacked Adams as being anti-immigrant and seeking President-elect Donald Trump’s legal favor while battling federal corruption charges.

“Today, as Mayor Adams talks with Trump’s border czar, New Yorkers are left wondering: is his goal at the meeting to advocate for us or to advance his own personal agenda and curry favor to get a pardon?” wrote Scott Stringer, a Democratic mayoral challenger, on X.

The post contained a list of compiled statements from Adams over the years that showed conflicting stances on immigration and Trump.

State Sen. Jessica Ramos, another mayoral candidate, also attacked Adams for making…

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Representatives from the nonprofit Billion Oyster Project (BOP) visited the Salt Marsh Nature Center on Sunday, Dec. 8, to engage visitors with their goal of getting one million people to restore one billion oysters to the New York Harbor by 2035.

“This is a brief introduction to the Billion Oyster Project,” BOP Senior Stewardship Community Coordinator Zeke King Phillips said.  “We’re also going to talk specifically about a project in Jamaica Bay, the waters nearby in Paerdegat Basin, and then I will briefly talk about the work that is going on at the Salt Marsh.”

The Salt Marsh Alliance, Inc. (SMA), formed in 2002 to support the Salt Marsh Nature Center, sponsored the event. The center, located at 3301 Avenue U, was established in 2000 and is the largest of New York City’s five nature centers. It is a part of Marine Park, the largest park in Brooklyn that covers an impressive 798 acres — 530 acres of which are a Forever Wild Reserve consisting of pristine grasslands and a salt marsh nestled along the western shoreline of the Jamaica Bay inlet.

“I wanted to make sure that everyone understood the connection between the goals of the Billion Oyster Project and the goals of what we’re trying to do here in the Salt Marsh and how they work together,” SMA Program Director Debra Sturm said. “Because you can’t have the environment you have here without clean water and someplace like the Salt Marsh to do all the great things that you talk about.”

Along with BOP Stewardship Community Coordinator Marcel De Bernardo, they gave a brief history of the…

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New bus lanes and pedestrian safety upgrades are now in effect on Manhattan’s 96th Street, city transportation officials said on Tuesday.

The redesign is one of 37 projects the Department of Transportation is implementing ahead of congestion pricing, which is scheduled to launch in January.

The changes span 96th Street from Second Avenue to West End Avenue, aimed at improving conditions for the majority of residents who depend on public transit. Nearly 75% of residents along the corridor do not own cars, and 68% commute by walking, biking or using public transit.

As one of the city’s busiest crosstown routes, 96th Street connects Manhattan’s East and West Sides, serving tens of thousands of commuters weekly. The M96 and M106 buses, which carry thousands of riders across the city, are among its key transit routes.

“96th Street is one of the city’s busiest crosstown routes, where bus speeds during rush hours can be as slow as walking. The addition of dedicated bus lanes will dramatically enhance service for the 15,500 weekday riders who depend on this corridor, making their commutes faster, safer, and more reliable,” Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said in a statement.

The new bus lanes run in both directions between West End Avenue and Central Park West, and from Madison Avenue to Second Avenue. These lanes are designed to reduce delays by separating buses from general traffic, improving travel times, officials said.

The bus lanes will operate 24/7, except for the eastbound curbside lane between Lexington and Third Avenues, which will be active from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Stop times for the M96 and M106 buses have also been extended.

Other updates include Neighborhood Loading Zones between Amsterdam Avenue and Central Park West, reserving space for deliveries, as well as left-turn bays and hardened center lines at intersections to enhance pedestrian safety.

“Simply put: when you prioritize walkers and micro mobility and mass transit, more people…

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On Tuesdays and Fridays The Moth’s podcast feed presents episodes of the Peabody-Award Winning Moth Radio Hour and original episodes of The Moth Podcast.

Since its launch in 1997, The Moth has presented thousands of true stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. Moth storytellers stand alone, under a spotlight, with only a microphone and a roomful of strangers. The storyteller and the audience embark on a high-wire act of shared experience which is both terrifying and exhilarating. Since 2008, The Moth podcast has featured many of our favorite stories told live on Moth stages around the country. For information on all of our programs and live events, visit themoth.org.

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