Desi Talk

www.desitalk.com – that’s all you need to know Community Op-Ed: “We Outside Summer” June 2, 2025 D espite all the rain we have been getting recently, summer just unofficially began in NewYork City with Memorial Day. The days are getting longer and warmer, our beaches are open, and, for the first time in the city’s recorded history, there were no shootings on the Sunday before Memorial Day — further proof that our administration’s approach to keeping New York City the safest big city in America is working. Last week, we kicked off the “We Outside Summer,” a series of investments, announcements, and programming across the five boroughs to ensure NewYorkers have a safe and fun summer in our parks, playgrounds, and everywhere else outdoors. We’ll continue to roll out announcements throughout the summer, but here’s some of what we an- nounced this past week as we continue to make NewYork City the best place to raise a family. We know that as the weather warms, NewYorkers are eager for more outdoor space. But for too many fami- lies, green space is out of reach and too far from their neighborhoods and communities. This is exactly why we kicked off work last week to transform vacant, abandoned lots into parks and put more greenspace within walking distance of thousands of additional NewYorkers who don’t currently have access to them. We’re starting in East NewYork and Cypress Hill in Brooklyn, as well as Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst, and Corona in Queens, and we will expand from there. Our “Vacant Lots to Parks” initiative is a great example of government working to cut red tape and think cre- atively about delivering more green spaces to areas most in need. It also builds on the work our administration has done to expand access to parks. Since taking office, we have added over 86 acres of parkland across NewYork City, putting tens of thousands of additional NewYorkers within walking distance of a park. But we’re not stopping there; as part of “We Outside Summer,” we also announced the completion of a $23 million project to transform public spaces and play- grounds at six NYCHA developments. Not only will these new public spaces serve NYCHA residents, they’ll also serve those who live in the neighborhoods around them. All of these projects together have helped increase the total percentage of NewYorkers now within a 10-minute walk of a park to more than 84 precent. We know we also need to give our young people stimulating activities for the summer months when they are out of school. We need to reach them before they fall into the rivers of violence, because by the time someone has a gun in their hand, it is often too late. That’s why we announced $13 million in permanent funding to support at-risk youth, justice-involved NewYorkers, and people living in neighborhoods with high rates of violence. And for the second straight summer, we are investing $2 million to offer extended hours at select Beacon, Corner- stone, and Saturday Night Lights programs, especially in NYPD precincts with the highest levels of gun violence. These programs give our kids a safe place to gather and thrive. We are additionally ensuring our young people have on-ramps to success right from the start through our Summer Rising program that has supported a record 100,000 summer job opportunities annually for young people. We know that if we invest in our young people during the summer months and give them alternatives, we can keep them safe and on the right path. Finally, we are making the world’s most iconic green space even safer! Central Park is NewYork City’s backyard but issues like illegal vending, overflowing trash, exces- sive noise, substance use, and more have persisted for far too long, and they often spike in the summer months and need to be addressed. This past week, we announced the “Central Park Community Link,” a multi-agency response aimed at addressing public safety and improving the quality of life in and around Central Park. We know that NewYorkers and tourists are fed up with quality-of-life concerns, and I want to be clear, our administration does not tolerate an atmosphere where anything goes. We prioritize working hand-in-hand with communities to keep our neighborhoods safe, clean, and comfortable so that you can enjoy summer in the greatest city in the world. This is just the start of the “We Outside Summer,” and as the weather heats up, we’ll keep sharing more ways we’re working to deliver a safe and fun sum- mer for all. By NewYork City Mayor Eric Adams “Didi Krishna’s Path To Peaceful Prosperity” Packs New York’s Marble Collegiate Church M ore than 1,000 people from the tri-state region, and from as far as Los Angeles and London, Eng- land, filled Manhattan’s land- mark Marble Collegiate Church on May 28 for Path to Peaceful Prosper- ity, an evening of music and meditation hosted by the Sadhu Vaswani Center for World Peace (SVCWP). Marble Collegiate Church held sym- bolic value as Dada J.P. Vaswani was a fond admirer of the church’s minister Dr. Nor- man Vincent Peale in the 1900s. Although Dada never got the chance to visit the church, this gathering served as a heartfelt tribute to that wish, making the moment even more meaningful, organizers said in a press release. Television personalities Monica Vaswani and Brian Benni welcomed the crowd. – Consul General of India in NewYork Bi- naya S. Pradhan gave the opening remarks, praising SVCWP’s forthcomingWorld Peace Center in New Jersey as “a monumental gift of meditation, study, and compassion for America.” Grammy-nominated kirtan artist Krishna Das lifted spirits in the candle-lit hall with a thunderous “Om” and “Om Namah Shivaya,” drawing the audi- ence to its feet. A hush descended when Grammy award winner and philanthropist Chandrika Tandon shared how the writings of Rev. Dada J. P. Vaswani guided her through life’s most difficult chapters, calling the evening “a beacon of light for NewYork.” Well-known spiritual leader Didi Krishna Kumari presented what she called “the secret pathway to prosperity.” Redefining “PEACE as Prosperity Emanating As Conscious Expansion”, she gave a definition to each alphabet in the letter peace and offered them as instrumental keys and practical “soul tools” to unlock prosperity. She then guided the jampacked hall to a ten-minute guided meditation. Attendees described the night as “a milestone for Indian spirituality in NewYork,” organizers said. Other special guests at the event were global rep- resentatives of Indiaspora including Shoba Viswa- nathan, Shiv Khemka, Sunil Wadhwani, Ramola Motwani, as well as community leaders Ranju and Ratan Batra, and Sunil and Sharmila Sani, filmmak- ers, authors, vegan ambassadors, physicians, artists, and faith leaders. The event was organized entirely by the youth wing of the Sadhu Vaswani Mission, Bridge Builders NYC. SVCWP’s full 24-member committee attended with their families, underscoring the project’s community-driven spirit. The next public program is “Secrets to a Happy Home” scheduled forWednesday, 4 June 2024 – 6:30 p.m. at the Sri Venkateswara Temple, Bridgewater, NJ. The evening will feature a family-focused talk by Didi Krishna Kumari, cultural performances by chil- dren of the Sadhu Vaswani Gurukul and the temple community, and a complimentary VIP darshan of the temple. Registration: bit.ly/HappyHomeNJ. By a StaffWriter L–R: Didi Krishna, Ravi Batra, Ranju Batra, Binaya S. Pradhan Consul General of India in New York. PHOTO:SUNIL SINGH Didi Krishna arousing the fully packed hall with her cry of “Om” at the May 28 event held at Marble Collegiate Church. L–R: Ashok Lalwani (president SVCWP), Eddie Datwani (Chairman SVCWP), Grammy Winning Artist and Philanthropist Chandrika Tandon, Chandru Mahtani (Advisor SVCWP), Dilip Chauhan – Deputy Commissioner of International Affairs from Mayors Office of NY. 5 CITY VIEWS June 6, 2025