I chose my friends poorly, and your friends have a tendency to rub off on you. And so I started making poor decisions. The next night I made a plan of how to do it, and I did it. And I didn't get caught doing it, [but] I got caught afterwards.
"It's been in continuous disrepair and derelict circumstances. There were reported firearms, individuals walking out onto the street with assault rifles, drug paraphernalia that you can even find today, a lot of drug use."
When asked what his favorite thing about cannabis was, Maryjane General Manager Kepler's answer was simple: The impact. He recalls a time when two parents came to the Lenox Hill shop with their son, who had Attention-Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD.) Maryjane was able to provide them with a strain that would help. When the parents came back for a second dose, they quickly expressed this was the happiest and calmest they've seen their son.
Most people leave doctor visits with prescriptions, but still feel unsure—instructions make sense, but no one asks about their life. In contrast, when a provider knows your name, remembers your story, and explains care in a way that fits you, the experience feels different—and that difference matters.
Despite expert treatment, Andrew's illness led to multiple organ complications and extensive treatment in the ICU, where he is still receiving treatment over 6 weeks later.
Most nonprofits begin with passion, and for good reason. A founder identifies a critical need and brings together a team that cares deeply enough to act. That kind of energy is what makes the early days possible. It drives long hours, resourceful problem-solving and a deep commitment to impact.
The labor of this kind of organizing was invisible and deeply exhausting. In a precarious workplace, where a so-called 'performance review' could amount to job loss, organizing meant building a bridge while standing on it.
Most for-profit companies still confine nonprofit relationships to corporate philanthropy. Donations flow through foundations, annual reports highlight community contributions, and nonprofit engagement is framed as evidence of corporate responsibility.
"Are you okay?" These were Alex Pretti's last words, said to a woman after ICE agents had tackled and pepper-sprayed her. Videos from bystanders show Pretti holding up a phone, attempting to document what was happening before he himself was pepper-sprayed, wrestled to the ground, and killed by those officers. He lost his life not for committing violence, but for documenting it, and stepping in to protect someone facing it.
Losing staff could be detrimental to the projects we worked on, and there was a growing dissatisfaction with how meetings were run. These mostly one-sided discussions left the quieter half of us feeling pushed aside, like our thoughts didn't matter much. If things stayed this way, I worried the good people on our team would start quitting one by one.
