The Gary Baumgarten Report

Suspect Camwren Cole He was dripping in blood and carrying a hammer when he burst into a pediatrician’s office looking for Jews. Cops arrested him and he faces assault charges. But he’s not been charged with a hate crime. Americans Against Antisemitism founder Dov Hikind wants to know why he hasn’t. If you like my postings please subscribe. There’s no charge. Thanks! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit garybaumgarten.substack.com

Citizens working with police. That’s what Citizens for a Safe NYC is all about. Working with police to let them know about problems in neighborhoods. But making sure local City Council members, and even the mayor’s office, is kept in the loop. Teaming up with a safety app called GPost. Which even includes a panic button with a geo-locater should you be in real trouble. Citizens for a Safe NYC founder Ruth Katz tells us in this interview why she started the organization and how they are working to foster better police-community relations. And to pressure politicians and candidates to commit to abandon the defund the police movement - and to instead make the streets of New York City safe once more. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit garybaumgarten.substack.com

Hundreds of flights at Spirit and American Airlines canceled for consecutive days. Why is this happening? And how can you avoid getting stranded at the airport? Chris Carley, whose Eye of the Flyer blog is a must-read for anyone planning to fly, gives us a behind-the-scenes look at what’s going on. And tosses in some travel tips as well in this interview. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit garybaumgarten.substack.com

Shy Arkin is the Israeli Arthur Lejwa Professor of Structural Biochemistry at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Institute of Life Science - a lead coronavirus researcher. And he feels the frustration many have about how the pandemic is ramping up because of the Delta variant. In this interview, Arkin explains why the vaccine, which did so well against the original Alpha variant, is struggling with the Delta. But why it’s still so important for everyone to be vaccinated because it’s still safer to get jabbed than not. And why folks 60 and older are being given boosters in Israel. The good news: science is rapidly responding to COVID variants. The bad news: COVID adapts so quickly that yesterday’s strategies don’t always work today. And today’s probably won’t always work tomorrow. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit garybaumgarten.substack.com

No matter the neighborhood you’re likely to find homeless people making do on the streets of Los Angeles. Some live in tent cities, like this one near Hollywood and Vine. Of course these encampments have no amenities. They are often surrounded by garbage including the product of defecation. So they become a public health issue both for the homeless people and those who live or work nearby. You can pay $30 to park to go to the Hollywood Bowl. Then leave your car and walk through this encampment on the way to the venue. Some people are lucky enough to live in campers and vans. This one is operable and moves from location to location. Others are broken down and remain in one location permanently. If you like my postings, please consider subscribing so that they appear in your email inbox whenever I publish something new. There’s no charge. And thanks for listening! All photos copyright Gary Baumgarten This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit garybaumgarten.substack.com

He’s doing it in conjunction with and to honor our Olympic boxers. Recording artist DICI is donating the proceeds from his new single “Five Rings” to 17-hundred USA Boxing clubs nationwide. The Clubs were hard hit by the pandemic. Some 300 were unable to reopen. In this interview, DICI says he hopes inner city youth who would otherwise be forced into gang life will instead take advantage of the boxing programs he’s helping to fund. You can download the track here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit garybaumgarten.substack.com

When I met Empire State Properties founder Suzanne Miller at a New York City steak house recently she told me something that kind of blew me away. The residential real estate market in New York City, she said, is “on fire.” How can that be? Just a few months ago we all were reporting about record vacancies and sinking prices because of the pandemic. I met with Suzanne at her Midtown New York City offices to get her perspective on how the residential real estate market is, not just rebounding, but has already returned. If you like my postings, please consider subscribing so that they appear in your email inbox whenever I publish something new. There’s no charge. And thanks for listening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit garybaumgarten.substack.com

Traditionally people have moved in order to find work. But since the pandemic, so many workers have relocated that some companies are chasing their employees. Tom Stringer is managing director at BDO where he advises companies on where to locate their new and expanded businesses. In this interview, Stringer says there can be a financial benefit to a company that moves to be close to its workforce if it results in a reduction of its overhead. But some are financially challenged by the prospect of relocating if they are already locked into long-term leases in high rent cities like New York, Chicago and San Francisco. If you like my postings, please consider subscribing so that they appear in your email inbox whenever I publish something new. There’s no charge. And thanks for listening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit garybaumgarten.substack.com

The organizer of the Great American Clean Up headed down to Del Rio Texas where an army of volunteers will conduct a massive anti-trash and litter campaign in September. John Rourke went there this week to finalize logistics. But he was shocked to see how open the border is along the Rio Grande. And he found a humanitarian crisis far more severe than many of us realize. Meeting and talking to people who walked 45-hundred miles from Brazil to get to the United States. (Not all of them were from South or Central America by the way). Now his efforts are expanding from a garbage clean up to a humanitarian relief effort. After listening you may very well want to help, either with goods or money. Or by volunteering for the event which will take place on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. To help, go to www.travelingtrashmen.com. If you like my postings, please consider subscribing so that they appear in your email inbox whenever I publish something new. There’s no charge. And thanks for listening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit garybaumgarten.substack.com

As the pandemic begins to wane and cruise ships prepare to sail the owner of the world’s largest art gallery is gearing up too. Park West Gallery sells art on hundreds of cruise ships. In this interview, owner Albert Scaglione tells us how he’s kept his business afloat during the pandemic. And how hundreds of employees are anxious to return to work. If you like my postings, please consider subscribing so that they appear in your email inbox whenever I publish something new. There’s no charge. And thanks for listening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit garybaumgarten.substack.com

A Republican candidate for New York City Council says her posting asking for donations was taken down by Facebook, she believes because of her conservative views. But Inna Vernikov says in this interview that while Facebook censors her, it lets hateful speech remain. If you like my postings, please consider subscribing so that they appear in your email inbox whenever I publish something new. There’s no charge. And thanks for listening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit garybaumgarten.substack.com

More international pressure is being put on China for its treatment of Uyghurs. But is it enough. The prime minister of the East Turkistan Government-in-Exile, Salih Hudayar tells us in this interview that the increased pressure is helpful. But that it’s just a beginning. If you like my postings, please consider subscribing so that they appear in your email inbox whenever I publish something new. There’s no charge. And thanks for listening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit garybaumgarten.substack.com

“New York will NEVER come back.” How many times have I heard people utter those words? But maybe they (and at times a pessimistic Gary, too) are wrong. Jonathan Stravitz is a major player brokering commercial real estate deals in New York City. Not only is he bullish on the city’s ability to recover, he can point to examples of companies investing big time in Manhattan real estate. He tells us all about it in this interview. If you like my postings, please consider subscribing so that they appear in your email inbox whenever I publish something new. There’s no charge. And thanks for listening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit garybaumgarten.substack.com

Miles Jackson is an American in the Philippines. Living on one of the country’s more than 7,000 islands. Trapped. Unable to leave the island with his Filipina wife and their daughter to come to the United States because of COVID restrictions. Ironically Jackson and his wife are travel writers and consultants. So while they can book trips for clients, they can’t book passage for themselves. In this interview he talks about his specific conundrum. But also about confusing and often contradictory rules in the Philippines, the nation’s struggles with getting people vaccinated and how this global pandemic continues to disrupt the lives of millions in the less affluent nations of the world. If you like my postings, please consider subscribing so that they appear in your email inbox whenever I publish something new. There’s no charge. And thanks for listening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit garybaumgarten.substack.com

A New York Bar Association report cites Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s directive transferring COVID patients from hospitals to nursing homes as the cause of COVID deaths. The task force report concludes the order should have been reverse sooner. And led to what it calls “additional deaths.” Long Island attorney John Dalli, who represents nursing home patients and their families, was a member of the task force. In this interview, he discusses the process they followed to reach their conclusions. And where this all leaves grieving families. If you like my postings, please consider subscribing so that they appear in your email inbox whenever I publish something new. There’s no charge. And thanks for listening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit garybaumgarten.substack.com

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is calling on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to remove Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Incensed over her comparing the United States and Israel to terrorist groups Hamas and the Taliban. But McCarthy isn’t the first person to urge Omar’s removal. On May 20, 2019, Joe Diamond kicked off an effort to remove her from the sensitive position with a Times Square rally and the rolling out of a billboard calling for Pelosi to strip Omar of the committee assignment. Diamond was motivated by what he and his followers then saw as anti-American and anti-Semitic statements. In this interview Diamond welcomes the renewed pressure on Omar. If you like my postings, please consider subscribing so that they appear in your email inbox whenever I publish something new. There’s no charge. And thanks for listening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit garybaumgarten.substack.com

Does former New York mayor and personal attorney to then-President Donald Trump Rudy Guiliani’s endorsement of Curtis Sliwa for mayor of New York help or hurt Sliwa? On the one hand, Guiliani is given credit for cleaning up the city when it was infamously known for its runaway crime rate. And if anything, New Yorkers recognize there’s been a backward slide in fighting crime in the past year. They want a repeat of the Guiliani crime fighting years so they can feel safe on the streets again. But on the other hand, New York City is not only overwhelmingly Blue, but there’s a distinct distaste for anything Trump here. Although Republican Sliwa has been a crime fighting leader for decades, his endorsement by a man so closely aligned with the former president could be seen as a negative for the candidate. Enter my guest, Elliott Gordon. Who offers the unique perspective of having worked on Guiliani campaigns for mayor and was an aide to then Mayor Guiliani. And who now is working on the Sliwa campaign. Gordon has heard it all before. The argument that a Republican can’t become mayor of New York. Listen to what he says about the campaign, Sliwa’s chances and why he thinks the Guiliani endorsement can do nothing but help. If you like my postings, please consider subscribing so that they appear in your email inbox whenever I publish something new. There’s no charge. And thanks for listening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit garybaumgarten.substack.com

For the first time in 12 years Israel has a new prime minister. But the coalition that was put into place to replace Benjamin Netanyahu consists of political enemies. And raises lots of questions about the stability of a government in a post-Netanyahu Israel. Israel analyst Boaz Frankel joins me to discuss the probable political mortality of the coalition and what it means for Israel’s security and its relationship with the United States. And what the probable future holds for Netanyahu. If you like my postings, please consider subscribing so that they appear in your email inbox whenever I publish something new. There’s no charge. And thanks for listening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit garybaumgarten.substack.com