As a country, we are relatively young. Europe and Britain, which are much older and supposedly our allies, citizens understand something that Americans are just waking up to: the system is broken, bloated, corrupt, and old and is not helping the people it should help. In Europe, they do a much better job of making sure people have homes, food on the table, and education.

All of this has given us Trump. People are so angry that they have nowhere to turn except for something insane. The Republicans have no interest in negotiating with the other side, and they are loving their power. They also all fear Trump. The Democrats don’t seem to realize that they lost the election and completely fucked up. They are operating in a world where they need a new set of leaders who actually have a spine.

There is not a politician who has been around for a while be it a Senator or Governor who doesn’t know where the bloat of corruption comes from but nobody has the political will to do something. They fear for their jobs while trying to make the minority voices happy such as the liberals and progressives which are now bad words.

The government should not be in the business of running programs but funding the non-profit sector to do it. Where is our forward looking leader who understands the future of technology and is willing to get rid of waste and corruption thoughtfully. NYCHA is a perfect example of an organization that should only be concentrating on the buildings they operate, period. There is no doubt that cut in half with leadership and technology, that NYCHA would be more efficient. It is the same with the Department of Education, and the Department of Health, and every Government operation. Where is the next leader who not only understands government, has managed thousands of people, and is willing to say the buck stops here, and do the right thing.  

We need new blood, a reboot, and to rethink everything.

What is happening now is insanity because the only thought process is let’s fuck this place up. Trump has bankrupted everything he has ever touched….just wait.

I get the sales email all the time. I do feel a need to respond politely, “No thanks. ” The hope, of course, is that someone actually reads that and takes me off the list. But no. Oddly enough, if I respond that we are interested, they get back to you, but when you reply no thanks, they continue to come back. So, I hit spam and block it.  

In the old days, sales were called dialing for dollars. You had to get good at creating a personal yet business relationship through a phone. There was no Zoom or FT, no text, and no email.

To me, sales is simple: Listen to the person on the other end and engage. That means you should not bcc a huge group with the same pitch in an email. It means doing your diligence. It means being hospitable. It means knowing the company you are engaging with. It means knowing your name.

Companies shooting off these mundane emails through a software program with zero personality and probably expect returns from their salespeople, thinking technology can help us spend less money and sell more. Or perhaps they understand the conversion rate is good enough. Who knows but I find it hard to believe. I would like to see the numbers of every company that sends me a random sales emails. How can build a significant company with bots and poorly written emails.

I hate to block all these companies hoping to do business with Gotham, but it is my most used button these days.  

We are camped out in LA for two weeks. There are many things I love about LA. The work day ends around 3, the weather is great, the pace of life slows down, and the farmers markets are incredible. We dug in and hit many highlights. Fred was on a golf jaunt, and I showed up last Saturday. First stop, Echigo, for dinner, Bigg Chill for dessert. A move we had perfected over two decades.

On our first afternoon, we drove down to Dover Street for a little shopping and lunch. Cafe 2001, which opened this past February, might have been one of our best meals. It is a brutalist cafe with an atrium in the middle and seating on the second floor, peering downstairs decorated with a mixture of mid-century chairs and tables. The salad of pears, celery, and sunchokes mixed with a country vinegarette was out of this world.

There were other hits; the pork tenderloin katsu sandwich with pickled veggies on the side tasted like Japan.

The star, although the salad comes close, is the lemon tart. It was perfect, with the small dollop of creme fraiche on the side, but the key is the sugar crust, like a creme brulee, took the tart to another level.

We stayed east because the traffic would be unbearable getting back. We went over to Jeffrey Deich and saw Nina Chanel Abney’s work, which reminded me of Derrick Adams’s work.

The next afternoon, we went to the Hammer Museum. The show was of Alice Coltrane’s music, work, and story.

We had dinner in Beverly Hills at Jars, where you can always get a solid meal. We strolled around before on Rodeo Drive. Rodeo Drive was peaking when I interned in LA during the first semester of my senior year of college. The luxury stores are empty of customers, and the assortments are terrible. Sad actually. I saw this sign in one of the alleyways that defines the area.

The purple house is classic. When we lived in Michigan, my father told me he was going to paint the house purple, which I thought was amazing, but of course, that never happened.

The other highlights were having a martini at the Bel Air Hotel, which has such beautiful grounds, and going to Izakaya Hero for dinner. The deboned wings are stuffed with pork.

The fried oysters.

And the warm tofu with fish roe was outstanding.

The next day, we went classic for lunch. Pro tip: the tuna melt is off the menu at the Apple Pan, and it is perfection.

The evening activity was Emily’s birthday party. We picked up the NY-style pizzas from Appolonias. There was a serious line, but ours fourteen pizza pick-up had been pre-ordered.

Sunday is my favorite. We picked up my brother and went to Petit Grain Boulangerie for breakfast treats. This bakery is so good that I am not going out on a limb when I say they make the best croissants and scones ever.

My next stop was the farmers market. The fruits, lettuce, vegetables, and everything else made me smile. It was also such a community event—so many families seeing each other. It is so nice. We do the Mar Vista Farmers Market on Sundays, although the Santa Monica one on Wednesdays is the best of them all.

It is fantastic to be in LA and work remotely in NY. One more week, which is the perfect amount.

The state of NY has done countless things wrong in rolling out recreational cannabis licenses through the Office of Cannabis Management. It is unclear if any state has done it right, although our lawyers suggested that Missouri did the best job and New Jersey isn’t terrible but it has been an utter shitstorm in every state.

There are still ways to make right on some wrongs. Back in 2022, Hochul pitched the idea of creating a $200M fund to help cannabis license holders who had been previously convicted: great idea and the right thing to do, but it wasn’t properly executed.

Instead, the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) partnered with DASNY (Dormitory Authority of the State of New York) for these loans. Bill Thompson, who was the President of DASNY (a government agency that should be shut down), partnered with a private equity firm called Chicago Atlantic. Considering private money was taking a high-risk to loan money to the lucky license holders, they covenants were high and they payback at 13% made the entire deal untenable but that was the deal they landed on.

Fast forward, the people who took that debt were promised by the state that the cannabis license was akin to changing generational wealth, that it was a golden ticket. Wrong. Debt is debt, and running a retail shop with regular margins is hard, and combining that with a 13% interest loan and 280E (cannabis federal taxes), these loaners were screwed the second the ink signed on the paper.

Now, the people who took the deals with Chicago Atlantic are drowning. They have thrown out a lifeline for NY State to help. The government never learns; they should not have been in the business of setting up these deals in the first place: shame, shame on Bill Thompson.

Kathy Hochul should allow NY State to pay off all these loans and refinance them with low interest rates with NY-based banks that the state will back if the company defaults. If they default, the state should take back the license. Do the right thing; the people who took the money didn’t know any better; help them right this mess.

Tamra Cosby, a poet from South Side Jamaica, Queens, and a current resident of Astoria Houses, uses her art to challenge stigmas surrounding residents of public housing. In this powerful audio story, Tamra speaks candidly about her upbringing, the impact of gun violence, and the effects of gentrification while highlighting poetry as a tool for healing and community empowerment. At the Public Housing Community Funds the From Roots to Arts artist-in-residence at Astoria Houses, she is actively creating spaces for dialogue, self-expression, and change.Through her words, she reshapes the narrative of public housing residents, proving that art has the power to transform lives and communities.

The director, Kemi “TRUTHIS” Karim is an interdisciplinary artist, community organizer, and founder of TRUTHIS Studios, a Brooklyn-based creative collective. Grounded in themes of shared spaces and belonging, Karim’s work delves into identity, womanhood, and the lived experiences that shape and define communities. Her practice centers on how individuals represent themselves, uplift one another, and celebrate cultural pride and resilience despite systemic barriers.

Using medium-format digital and film photography, filmmaking, and digital design, Karim captures both individual and collective narratives, fostering spaces for deep conversation, healing, and perspective shifts. Her work is dedicated to education, empowerment, and storytelling that challenges stereotypes while honoring the beauty and complexity of her subjects. She is best known for A GREAT DAY IN BROOKLYN, an acclaimed annual festival celebrating arts and culture in the borough.

Karim currently serves as the Senior Manager of Art and culture at the Public Housing Community Fund, where she spearheads initiatives to bring transformative arts programming to NYCHA communities. She holds a BA in Public Relations from Howard University.

From Roots to Arts: Celebrating NYCHA’s Cultural Heritage is an innovative artist-in-residency pilot program designed to enrich and expand culture, heritage, and art narratives within public housing by placing local artists and residents at the forefront of this endeavor. The program aims to redefine how stories are told and the type of art produced and featured in public housing.

Harnessing the framework of the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) Cornerstone Program across five NYCHA campuses spanning all five boroughs, this 20-month residency endeavor offers dedicated spaces within community centers, fostering an environment where artists can immerse themselves and interact with residents and the community.

After engaging the community, NYCHA residents determined what types of art mediums they wanted to explore and the Fund designed an Open Call looking for artists to work in each community. NYCHA residents, community partners, and the Fund selected five artist-in-residence to serve in each borough: Richmond Terrace Houses, Staten Island; Bushwick Houses, Brooklyn; Bronx River Houses, Bronx; King Towers, Manhattan; and Astoria Houses, Queens.

Working together in NYCHA communities and listening to the residents makes for stronger neighborhoods.

One of the most incredible things about technology is getting things done without being put on hold. Appointments, reservations, and purchases are made by ourselves whenever and wherever we want to make them. It is when you can’t get anyone to help you that the reality of frustration sets in.

Two of the largest companies, Google and Meta, are not easy to navigate when they cut you off. Instagram is not a big fan of the plant, so we always think about it at Gotham. Google is a completely different animal.

It started with our Hudson store. Google Maps currently suspended “due to policy violation” but there was not anything in violation. Our website did not change. Gotham is a legitimate business that has been up and running in Hudson since August and had operated there the year before. We lost the Google Biz page doing a Google search on Gotham Dispensary there. Who would create this false narrative with Google?

The only thing we can do is wait for Google to assess the situation, which means we are in some queue waiting for this problem to be solved. Not being on Google Maps and Google Biz sucks. We have over 400 5-star reviews, and now we have nothing. People can’t find us when they search.

I am so frustrated. Google and Meta own us, and now we are lost in the Google void. I am at a loss. If anyone has a magic wand, please reach out to me. We are a real business that depends on Google, like every other business worldwide.

We purchased our Tesla in 2014. When our parking garage installed electric chargers, Fred, like many of us, jumped on the Tesla bandwagon. After driving an electric car for over a decade, I will never go back to gas.

We are not the only Tesla owners who want to get rid of their cars. Was it Elon’s complete disregard for human beings as he attempts to completely disrupt the federal government like a classic tech dude without a proper understanding of how government works, or was it that awful new cyber truck that looks like something out of Mad Max and looks angry? It is a toss-up.

I agree that the government is bloated and corrupt; there is waste and fraud at every turn, and the worst part is everyone knows it but can’t seem to do anything about it or want to. They are going about it by just creating more mess to be cleaned up with the next administration.

Perhaps rebuilding is easier when there are only embers left. I am not for hiring McKinsey or another private organization that does a complete look from the bottom up, but we are in desperate need. No one has the political will to do that, so what is happening now might be more manageable.

Companies, especially CEO’s, should know who their customers are. Look at what is happening at Target since they went along with the Trumpian way of getting rid of DEI. Huge applause goes to the CEOs who say DEI works and are keeping it as the fabric of their companies; the data shows that diversity is better for the bottom line.

Elon pissed off his customers too, and now they all want to get rid of his car. They also have no interest in buying another because all the car industries have jumped into the electric field, as they should, at prices for a wider audience.

I went to Volvo to buy a new electric car and turn in our Tesla. I have always loved Volvos. They do not crush like a tin can; like most cars, they were built for the winters in Sweden. To put things in perspective of the reality of the Tesla’s worth at this point, Volvo gave us a whopping trade-in value of $2000 regardless of being an eleven-year-old car, the mileage are low and it is electric. $2000, that’s it.

My partner suggested that we take our other Tesla—yes, we had two, now one—and put it in front of Gotham on 4/20. We could give out sledgehammers, let people smash the car, and film it for Instagram. It may go viral.

Each week, my frustration ebbs and flows. I still believe that people always win, but in the world of cannabis, we are still fighting an uphill battle. All good things take time.

We have been forced into the narrative for decades that drugs are bad and alcohol is ok, even though alcoholism is the worst. What is starting to take place, particularly with Gen Z, is that drugs and alcohol are a no-no, but weed is good for a daily puff or an edible to take the edge off. Data is shown, of course it is all fungible, that some of the myths around weed are ebbing, and more Americans are partaking in the plant daily but not in the drink.

There is no doubt that people are out to lunch about cannabis. The DEA debacle has proven to be another government office that is not trustworthy. The DEA appears to be corrupt and misguided. The DEA was created in 1974 merging together the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, the Office for Drug Abuse Law Enforcement, the Office of National Narcotics Intelligence, and parts of the U.S. Customs Service that worked in drug trafficking intelligence and investigation. Think people wanted to keep their jobs and drugs bad? That is exactly what Harry Ainsler did who ran the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. He wasn’t finding much until he made cannabis the scapegoat, which in turn kept Black and brown families in jail even though almost the majority of pharmacy representives objected his desire to categorize cannabis as a schedule I drug.

The good news is Long Island is beginning to wake up to the desire to have cannabis dispensaries in their towns. It is like having a wine store, and it provides worthy taxes for each city. Municipalities are beginning to send public petitions. That is a good thing.

As we move forward with fixing another governmental mess, it is time for politicians to stop using this plant to make the minority of people with big pockets happy and pay attention to the reality of this new industry. It is growing, and more people are using it, which is better for the healthcare system in more ways than we know. Where is the political will here and what is holding everyone back? As always, can someone follow the money?

In third grade, we lived for a hot moment in Arlington, VA. My teacher’s husband was an explorer of Antarctica. When he returned home, he came into our class and showed us movies of his journey. I remember the penguins. They were everywhere.

Another memory is that this teacher asked us a question during our first week in class. We had to write down our names and two favorite colors. Somehow, I knew this was for a gift she gave each student for the December holidays, so I chose the colors green and red. She made tiny felt mittens, and whipped stitch around them with an initial of our names in the middle of the mitten. She took them and slid it over a small hair clip to create bookmarkers. I used mine for years. Such a wonderful gift to a group of eight and nine year olds showing them that we mean something to her spreading her love for reading.

I learned something from that and have shown appreciation to those I work with in other ways. When I was the Assistant Store Manager (ASM) at Macy’s, the holidays were insane, and the one-day sale during December was chaotic. I was 24 years old and responsible for all of women’s ready-to-wear and cosmetics. I wanted all of the people who worked under the managers who worked for me, to understand my appreciation for their hard work. After all, these people can make or break you, and there are always people like me moving through on to their next promotion.

On my one day off during the frenetic December, I baked about 500 cookies, five different types, that I put into boxes with a bow for each stockroom. Baking for all of these people was a joy, and the appreciation from each of them was amazing. Nobody had ever done something like this for them. I got promoted soon after and would return for store visits overseeing the area I was buying for, and I always stopped and chatted with everyone, because I did something special for all of them.

Fast forward, the executive team at Gotham is growing, and every Wednesday, I make lunch. Sometimes, I make sweets on the weekend and bring them in on Monday, but I cook every Wednesday if I am in NY. I love sharing food with others, so I get a lot of joy out of giving the joy of a meal. What happens is everyone eats at the same time which makes for more conversation among different departments.

One thing sorely needed these days is a lot more appreciation for the people in the trenches. If I had time, I’d also make cookies every week for all the store employees.

The most significant return on investment for organizations training others is simply jobs. A job helps someone pay for their life, but in many ways, the most important thing is getting up every day and having a purpose. As the chair of the Public Housing Community Fund, jobs are one of the driving principles behind the programs that we partner with.

The Clean Energy Academy trains NYCHA residents skills with eventual certificates to work with NYCHA contractors who will perform nearly $500 million in retrofit and renewable energy projects at NYCHA developments through 2026. These residents do not need any skills to apply, just a desire to learn and work and the bonus of working in their community. Best part, the ROI is high which is how it should be. This program is in partnership with NYCHA and Laguardia Community College.

Hospitality Pathways is another organization that provides job training, but it is in the cannabis sector. Like the Clean Energy Academy, it helps people secure jobs. Hospitality Pathways came to Gotham Gives for their first cohort. We wanted to see one work before we funded it, and Beatrice did just that. When she returned, we funded the second cohort.

They have had seven cohorts with 112 graduates. Last year, they had over 1300 applications for 60 seats; let that sink in. At this point, 65% of their graduates are employed earning between $20-33 an hour, many have advanced to supervisory and management roles with salaries between $55-$90k. That is game changing, and I know because at Gotham, we have hired many incredible graduates for our stores.

These days, my frustration with the system is at an all-time high. Perhaps it is age and seeing history repeat itself repeatedly. Last week, I watched (not all of it) the state hearing called Oversight—Transparency at NYCHA.” The lack of political ill will was painful to watch, knowing that mismanagement and misuse of funds are the culture, it is plain to see.

NYC is not the only city suffering from a lack of housing and education for those without access to jobs. Artists can’t afford to live here anymore, and as always, it goes right back to real estate—empty buildings, empty NYCHA apartments, empty storefronts, etc., and nobody does anything about it.

Then I go back to Beatrice. You would put money into that program in a heartbeat as an investor. The ROI is absurdly high, and the demand is off the charts. Yet, more than likely, this program will die because there isn’t any funding for “cannabis” even though the jobs market is growing and Hospitality Pathways is needed. It isn’t drugs, it’s pot and it is legal in NY.

I do not want to become tired of shaking my head, but sometimes, I do.