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Liberty Clash With Connecticut as WNBA Season Winds Down

BQE Admin on September 2, 2025

Stewie Scores 19 in return to lineup

Breanna Stewart was immense on both ends of the court against Connecticut (Photo: Brandon Todd, New York Liberty)

By Noah Zimmerman

noah@queensledger.com

Breanna Stewart made her return from injury as the Liberty took on the Connecticut Sun at the Barclays Center on Monday. After missing 13 games, Stewart made an instant impact with a team-high 19 points in a 81-79 win.

“I wanted to push it while I was out there and see how I felt,” Stewart said about playing 20 minutes in her return. “It was good to be back with the team.”

Connecticut had no answer in the first quarter as 18 of NY’s 27 points came from inside the paint. The ball was flying around as the Liberty tried to tap back into their swagger, picking up 11 assists in the opening frame. New York led by as much as 17 in the early stages of the game.

Connecticut muscled their way back into the game ahead of halftime, outscoring the hosts 21-10 to finish the half. The Liberty ball movement stagnated as they only managed two assists in the second quarter. Connecticut were able to seize the advantage early in the 3rd and the game remained tight the rest of the way.

New York found their passing touch once more in the final frame. With the ball flying around the Liberty opened up countless looks from the perimeter with some crafty backdoor cuts to the rim. They finished with 25 assists on 29 made field goals, adding to their league-leading assist percentage (73% of Liberty baskets have come from passes).

Still, they were unable to pull away even with a late scoring flurry. In the final possession, Connecticut opted not to foul and managed to force a turnover. On a fast-break in the last seconds Sabrina Ionescu and Kennedy Burke raced down to smother what would have been a game-tying layup to preserve the win.

Marina Maybrey was huge for Connecticut down the stretch, leading the way with four three point shots. In a tough matchup she and Aneesah Morrow kept hitting deep shots to keep the Sun in the game against all odds. Rookie Laïla Lacan added a game-high 22 points, showing some serious potential for a team that had significant struggles early in the season. Despite being outmatched in size, Connecticut played a physical and gritty game to match one of the best teams in the league.

“They’re young and they’re athletic. [Lacan] was a handful for us, we had a hard time containing her,” said Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello postgame.

Jonquel Jones put up yet another double-double, still undefeated when doing so for New York.

Jonquel Jones finished off yet another Liberty double-double with 11 boards and 18 points. It’s her 101st career double-double and 33rd with the Liberty who are undefeated in those games. She added a pair of threes, played strong defense, and picked up 6 assists in a terrific all-around performance.

“Obviously we win when I have a double-double, but watching the other games it’s a point of emphasis to be a little more aggressive and get the rebounds,” said Jones.

While the scoring has been phenomenal all season, the best metrics for Liberty success are found in the assist and rebounding numbers. In their 15 losses this year, 12 of them involved either losing the rebound or assist battle.

It’s been a brutal summer with tough losses and injury issues for New York, causing them to slip to 2nd in the East and 5th overall in the league. The top 8 teams will qualify for the WNBA playoffs starting in mid-September.

Guard Natasha Cloud is expected to return to the lineup on Thursday night as the Liberty take on the Mystics after she was diagnosed with a facial fracture. It’s their second to last regular season game at the Barclays Center, with the final home game also against DC on Tuesday, September 9.

A Happy 20th to the Torches!

The Timeless Torches celebrated their 20th Anniversary in style, drawing the loudest cheer at the Barclays Center all night!

The Timeless Torches, a senior dance team for the NY Liberty celebrated their 20th anniversary during Monday’s contest with Connecticut. Composed of dancers between the ages of 40 and 80 the Torches have been a crowd favorite at Liberty games since their days at Madison Square Garden.

In the second quarter, they took the floor to celebrate their milestone with a new routine. Dressed in black, the Torches lined up in formation and quickly had all eyes on them. The Barclays Center erupted as the Torches marched onto center court. By the end of a stunning routine the crowd was on their feet, roaring in support of a truly timeless performance.

It was the loudest the arena got all night, even as the Liberty and Sun faced off in an intense matchup. The Torches have truly cemented themselves as an iconic part of every Liberty home game, and for good reason. They bring an unmatched level of energy that lifts the arena’s spirits without fail each night.

TikTok Adds YouTube Music as an Option to Save Songs From Videos

BQE Admin on August 27, 2025

TikTok is taking its role as a music discovery platform to the next level by introducing YouTube Music as a new destination for saving songs featured in videos. This update gives users another major streaming service to connect with, alongside existing options like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.

How the New Feature Works

Whenever a song plays in a TikTok video, users can tap the “Add Song” button displayed next to the track’s name. From there, they now have the option to save directly to YouTube Music. After the first time, YouTube Music became the default platform, though users can always change it in their TikTok settings. Once saved, tracks automatically appear in a special playlist called “TikTok Songs” inside YouTube Music, ensuring that every discovery is organized and easy to find later.

Expanding TikTok’s Music Reach

TikTok first launched its “Add to Music App” feature in late 2023, initially supporting just a few platforms. Over time, the feature expanded globally, reaching more than 160 countries and adding services such as Deezer and SoundCloud. The success of the feature has been undeniable — with hundreds of millions of track saves and billions of streams generated across partner platforms. The addition of YouTube Music marks another milestone in TikTok’s growing influence on the music industry.

Why This Update Matters

For creators, this integration means greater exposure and a higher chance of having their music streamed beyond the app. For users, it creates a seamless journey from discovering a catchy tune in a short video to enjoying it as part of their personal playlists. With YouTube Music on board, TikTok strengthens its position as the go-to hub for music discovery — transforming viral moments into lasting fan engagement.

Brooklyn History: Gowanus Oysters, Turtle Soup

BQE Admin on August 19, 2025

Oyster stands in Fulton Market, 1870. New York Public Library.

By Cole Sinanian

A lunch guest at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in Madison Square at the turn of the 20th century could’ve ordered their oysters however they desired. The menu offered the supposed aphrodisiac in virtually every way it could conceivably be prepared: Raw, stewed, fried, broiled, Baltimore broiled, cocktail, steamed, Boston stewed, box stewed, cream broiled, roasted on shell, roasted on toast, a la poulette…

In a city of pizza, halal, bagels and Michelin stars, the oyster’s special place in New York gastronomy may seem an afterthought today. But not long ago it was ubiquitous as lamb over rice or a summer hot dog in the park. In the late 1800s, Delmonico’s restaurant was serving local oysters on its dinner menu. In colonial times, locals were pulling enormous oysters from the muck of Gowanus creek to be canned, pickled with allspice, vinegar, and nutmeg, and exported throughout the colonies. Also on Delmonico’s dinner menu: a stew of terrapin meat (a small marsh turtle) simmered with cream and Madeira wine. It was among the historic restaurant’s priciest dishes, costing what today would have been $75. According to New York Public Library’s “What’s on the menu” project, a more traditional Lenape-style terrapin, which is roasted over an open fire, was a cheaper alternative that was once common in the city’s taverns. 

Two perhaps bizarre sources of protein by today’s standards, the terrapin and the oyster earned their place on the menus of the city’s most exclusive restaurants through sheer abundance. Long before the tangle of cranes, bridges, towers and container ports clogged the horizon, New York Harbor was a lush estuarine paradise. The story of Henry Hudson’s first sighting of New York Harbor in 1609 is well known: Upon entering the bay in his ship, the Half Moon, he saw breaching whales, otters, enormous schools of fish, rays, turtles, and tens of millions of oysters arranged in vast, stony oyster reefs. They were huge, some up to a foot long, and so plentiful they could be plucked like fruit from the shallow brackish water. 

The Lenape had done this for thousands of years. Resource-wise, they were maybe the richest of North America’s First Peoples. They grew corn, beans, and squash from Mesoamerica. They picked wild fruits and berries from the lush deciduous forest of their Northeast woodland home. They collected eggs, nuts and acorns, and hunted forest animals for meat. They spearfished for eel, herring and bony fishes of all sorts. And of course they harvested the oyster beds to their stomachs’ content. There were 220,000 acres of oyster beds in New York waters at the time of Hudson’s arrival, which, by some estimates, constituted half of all the oysters on planet Earth. 

But the abundance was short-lived. Colonization brought about rapid industrialization and drove nearly all the Lenape from their ancestral homelands. Yet native traditions endured, oyster-eating among them. New York’s population exploded, breaking 100,000 by the early 1800s, and everyone, it seemed, was addicted to oysters.

In the book, “Gowanus: Brooklyn’s Curious Canal,” by Joseph Alexiou, a Dutch missionary named Jasper Danckaerts describes pulling giant oysters from the Gowanus Creek. The oysters are “large and full, some of them not less than a foot long, and they grow sometimes ten, twelve and sixteen together” Oyster stalls and taverns began popping up everywhere. They made their way into the cityscape. Trinity Church was built with a paste of crushed oyster shells. Pearl Street owes its name to them. They were early New York City’s preferred street food. Mark Kurlansky details this in his 2006 book, “The Big Oyster”: “Before the 20th century, when people thought of New York, they thought of oysters,” he wrote. “This is what New York was to the world—a great oceangoing port where people ate succulent local oysters from their harbor.”

This, of course, was unsustainable. By the early 1900s, the shellfish had gone scarce. Nearly a billion oysters were being harvested from New York waters each year. Meanwhile, the oysters that remained were sick with pollution. The last New York oyster beds were closed in the 1920s. Now, the Gowanus is filled not with oysters but foul smelling “black mayonnaise.”

Under the relentless forces of capitalism and industrialization, the Lenape were dispossessed of their waters and the waters of their oysters. Terrapins, too, have been listed as “vulnerable” to extinction by the IUCN. But there’s hope for New York’s oyster and turtle lovers. Terrapins have been making a comeback. In 2011, dozens of the reptiles migrating from Jamaica Bay caused delays at JFK. And oysters have once again found a friend among humans. The Billion Oyster Project has restored some 150 million oysters to New York waters to help prevent flooding and erosion. In 2018, a group called the River Project found an oyster that was 8.6 inches long and nearly two pounds, the largest recovered in more than a century. Although it may be another century before New York’s oysters are edible again. 

 

Political Whisperer: New York’s Threat to Re-Redraw Congressional Lines

BQE Admin on August 12, 2025

By Robert Hornak

One of the great traditions of American politics is for both political parties to try their best to gerrymander the lines of the political districts in their states. There is nothing new about this or unique to either party. 

There has been recent attention brought to this process, sparked by two recent Supreme Court decisions. In 2019, the court ruled that issues related to partisan gerrymandering – the process where district lines are drawn to favor one party over the other – are “beyond the reach of the federal courts” changing how past voting rights cases, that advantaged democrats over republicans, would be considered by the court. 

Then in 2024, the SCOTUS ruled in favor of a South Carolina district that was challenged as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. Writing for the majority, Justice Alito stated, “inferring bad faith based on the racial effects of a political gerrymander in a jurisdiction in which race and partisan preference are very closely correlated” would no longer be accepted as a basis for challenge by the court, recognizing the difference between political and racial gerrymandering.

Now there is talk about drawing new lines in certain red states where partisan gerrymandering in the past had been thwarted by the courts as being racially, not politically based. Texas is leading the charge, looking to redraw their congressional lines to increase partisan advantage, as democrats have already done in many states, looking to fight fire with fire. 

Democrats, naturally, are up in arms, screaming about how unethical this effort is, while trying to cover their Cheshire cat grin for having done it themselves so successfully in states like Illinois, California, and Massachusetts. 

But nowhere were they more blatant about this than in New York. In 2014, NY voters approved a referendum to make the redistricting process “a fair and readily transparent process by which to redraw the lines of state legislative and congressional districts” according to the NYC Independent Redistricting Commission. The newly created IRC would draw the lines of new districts with strict constitutional limitations on gerrymandering to advantage either political party. However, the legislature must approve the final maps, a legislature now dominated by democrats. 

Unlike Texas, the NY Constitution mandates that district lines be redrawn once and only once a decade. The IRC submitted their constitutionally required plan for redistricting for the 2022 elections, but they were not gerrymandered enough for the Democrats in Albany. 

Unable to get the 2/3 vote required to pass their own gerrymandered lines, the process was handed to the courts. A non-partisan expert was engaged and the court set the new lines. Lines that were generally seen as fair by just about everyone – except the Democrats in power who were highly displeased that Republicans gained three seats that election. 

So, committed to finding a better way to gerrymander within constitutional boundaries, Democrats pledged to draw new lines for the 2024 election. And they did. Republicans, who had 11 seats after the 2022 election but lost one in the special election to replace George Santos, went from 10 seats to 7 after 2024.

So now Texas is effectively doing what NY did just a year ago. But not to be outdone, NY Democrats are declaring themselves the masters of gerrymandering and telling Texas Republicans you ain’t seen nothing yet. 

While Democrats around the country yell foul and claim that Texas is violating the constitution (although without challenging Texas’ authority in court and with Texas creating three new majority Hispanic districts), NY Democrats are threatening action and pledging to once again redraw NY’s lines and gerrymander them even more with the explicit goal of eliminating five more NY Republicans. 

Democratic Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris said very bluntly, “We can come up with lines that comply with constitutional criteria that still accomplish our goal” just as they did in 2024. Only one thing stands in their way, the NYS Constitution. They need to change the state constitution to allow mid-decade redistricting. All this depends on a positive outcome for their referendum in a future election with an electorate that has already expressed their disapproval of partisan gerrymandering.

Robert Hornak is a veteran political consultant who has previously served as the Deputy Director of the Republican Assembly Leader’s NYC office and as Executive Director of the Queens Republican Party. He can be reached at rahornak@gmail.com and @roberthornak on X.

JJ: “Panic & Stress Is Contagious For NY Baseball in 2025”

BQE Admin on August 12, 2025

By John Jastremski

I think it’s fair to say for a month plus, the narrative around NY Baseball and panic has been front and center around the New York Yankees. Totally fair, totally justified might I add… 

However, over the past month. The New York Mets have basically said to their crosstown rivals, “Hold my beer.”

The Mets were a team that at one point in the season was 20 plus games over .500 and basically found themselves in a dead heat with the Philadelphia Phillies for first place in the NL East. 

The past month around the Mets has changed that narrative quite significantly. The Mets have fallen on some very hard times as a team. They have lost 7 consecutive games entering Tuesday’s game against the Atlanta Braves. 

After the sweep at the hands of the Brewers, the Mets have stunningly lost 11 of their last 12 games and now cling to the 3rd Wild Card spot in the NL Playoff Picture and find themselves 6 games back of Philadelphia for first place in the NL East. 

The pressing question is how in the world has this happened? A couple of different reasons. 

The Mets cannot get any length out of their starting pitchers. For the past two months, their starters have averaged less than 5 innings a start. I don’t care if it’s the modern day game in 2025, that is 100 percent unacceptable. 

The Mets inability to get length out of their rotation has compromised their bullpen dramatically. 

The Mets also have seen their stars struggle mightily. Francisco Lindor was the conquering hero of the 2024 team. He has been dreadful for the past two months, where you have to wonder if indeed he is 100 percent right? 

Juan Soto falls under that microscope too. Yes, his numbers on the surface look solid, but much of the damage Soto has done was during a red hot month of June.

In the biggest of spots so far in 2025, Juan Soto has come up too small. Soto was the king of the moment a year ago for the Yankees. The Mets need him to meet the moment over the final two months of the season. 

The Mets schedule is very tricky after the next two weeks. It is imperative for the Mets to beat up on the Atlanta Braves, and yes I realize how weird it was typing that exact sentence. 

Yes, the Braves have been a thorn in the Mets side for years. However, the Braves are a hot mess in 2025. 

They are well under .500 and it’s been a lost season. Time to punish a team that wants to be put out of their misery. 

The Mets have time to get their season back on track, but if the stars don’t play like stars and the rotation doesn’t find a way to give them some length, the problems and the misery will continue.

You can listen to my podcast New York, New York on The Ringer Podcast Network on Spotify/Apple Podcasts every Tuesday & Friday. You can watch me on Honda Sports Nite following Mets postgame on SNY. 

Nets and Cam Thomas at Standstill Over New Contract

BQE Admin on August 12, 2025

By Noah Zimmerman

noah@queensledger.com

The dust has largely settled across the NBA, but one big question still looms for the Brooklyn Nets. Young starlet Cam Thomas is due for his next contract, but a difference in valuation has led to a standstill.

The 23-year-old is reportedly seeking a deal worth well over $30M, hoping to outearn players like Immanuel Quickley, Jalen Green, and Tyler Herro. A lack of landing spots make a deal that large doubtful this offseason, as Thomas is increasingly likely to take the qualifying offer and seek a long-term deal as an unrestricted free agent after the 2025-26 season.

Thomas remains one of the best pure scorers from the 2021 draft, where he was selected with the 27th pick. Back in 2023-24, Thomas set a NBA record with three consecutive 40-point games before the age of 22. In November against the Knicks, he dropped 43 points at The Garden. It was his 9th career 40-point showing, a hallmark of his young career. 

His immense scoring ability has made him a fascinating player despite shortcomings on defense and ball movement. Despite injuries cutting his last season short, Thomas set career highs in points, assists, and rebounds per game.

If the Nets look beyond Thomas, there are a number of interesting Free Agents who could land in King’s County. Among them are former Thunder and Bulls guard Josh Giddey and Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga, both drafted before Thomas in 2021.

Chicago and Golden State can’t match a contract offer in ranges either player is seeking, as Brooklyn is the only team in the league capable of offering a $30M deal to the restricted Free Agents.

Brooklyn holds the most cap space in the NBA entering the 2025-26 season, and are poised to lead the league again in 2026-27. Regardless how the offseason ends, it should be an interesting season in Brooklyn as the Nets continue to rebuild.

Alonso Passes Strawberry as Mets All-Time Home Run Leader

BQE Admin on August 12, 2025

By Noah Zimmerman

noah@queensledger.com

There’s finally company atop the New York Mets all-time HR leaderboard. On Sunday, Pete Alonso launched home run #252 in orange and blue to draw level with the great Darryl Strawberry.

Straw’s swatted 335 homers over his career, with the first 252 as a Met. He was named Rookie of the Year in 1983 and made the All-Star Game in each of his next 7 seasons in Queens.

“The Polar Bear” had a similar start to his career, winning the 2019 NL ROY with a MLB record 53 homers as a first-year player. Alonso cleared the 40-HR mark in three different seasons, something Strawberry never did in his 17-year career (Strawberry hit 39 in 1988 and finished 2nd in MVP voting). Alonso was also recently named an All-Star for the 5th time in his career, coming up with a clutch 3-run homer in Atlanta last month.

Since Alonso first made the big league roster in 2019, he has led MLB with 679 RBI. Only Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber have hit more homers in that span, with 269 and 254 respectively.

As a consistent power and RBI threat, Alonso has cemented himself as a vital piece of the Mets lineup and will have rightfully earned the title of club HR leader the next time he clears the outfield wall.

Unfortunately the current season has taken a turn and Alonso’s next contract is still looming. Pete and the Mets agreed to a 2-year/$54M contract after lengthy negotiations last offseason, but it’s expected that Alonso will utilize his player option to test Free Agency once more.

Under his current contract, only Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is earning more at first base. Bryce Harper, Kris Bryant, and Freddie Freeman are all earning between $25M and $27M a year on long-term deals, painting a picture for Alonso’s contract hopes for his age 31 season and beyond.

Whether or not Alonso will be a Met for life is yet to be seen, but regardless he’s etched his name into New York baseball lore. 

Perhaps someday Alonso’s #20 will hang near #18 above the left field stands at Citi Field. For now, Alonso will look to help turn the current Mets season around as they hunt another playoff run.

Editor’s Note: This article was published on Tuesday afternoon before the Mets vs Braves game. Pete Alonso would go on to hit HR #253 and #254 to become the standalone franchise leader.

Conquer Pickleball: NYC’s Premier Youth Pickleball Program Changing the Game

BQE Admin on August 6, 2025

Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country—and in New York City, Conquer Pickleball is leading the way by empowering the next generation through movement, mentorship, and meaningful community impact.

As the only youth pickleball program in NYC actively partnering with schools and community centers, Conquer is redefining access to the sport. From after-school initiatives to community pop-ups, the program is introducing kids and teens to a game that’s fast, fun, and full of life lessons.

Thanks to partnerships with Franklin Pickleball and Swiftnet, Conquer delivers top-tier equipment and professional-grade experiences. Young players get to train with the same paddles and nets used by the pros, elevating both the quality of play and the pride that comes with it.

“Our mission is simple—give kids access to something powerful, something that builds confidence, teamwork, and joy,” says Kristian Carabello, Head of Brand Partnerships at Conquer Pickleball.

“Pickleball is more than a sport to us—it’s a tool for growth and connection, and we’re proud to bring that to communities all over NYC.”

Whether it’s a school gym in Queens or a weekend tournament in Brooklyn, Conquer Pickleball is creating something bigger than the game: a movement of youth, energy, and opportunity.

Op-Ed: Take Fears About Battery Storage Facilities Seriously

BQE Admin on July 18, 2025

Guest Op-Ed by Michael P. Mezzacappa

Dozens of Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) facilities are currently proposed or being built in some of New York City’s tightest-knit communities. As policymakers prioritize climate goals over the health and safety of neighborhoods like Middle Village and, most recently, St. Albans, residents are right to be concerned.

The push for battery storage centers is born out of the desire to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The New York Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (NYCLCPA) calls for cutting emissions 40% by 2030 and 85% by 2050. However, this law totally disregards the reality of fire science, which is within my area of the practice of law.

Toxic Chemicals Forced Fire- fighters to Let Fires Burn Out

While the FDNY is the best and most experienced in confronting fires and fatalities from small-scale lithium-ion battery fires – 277 toxic fires in 2024 – it’s entirely different on an industrial scale. Lithium-ion batteries burn hotter and faster, requiring much more water to extinguish. In fact, incidents involving these are more akin to an explosion, followed by a fire. Putting aside the fact that harvesting lithium has grave environmental consequences, including emitting 15 tons of carbon dioxide for every 1 ton of lithium harvested, New York is rushing too far, too fast down this road. Consider what happened this past January at the Moss Landing Power Plant, about 90 minutes south of San Francisco. While the facility has now caught fire on five separate occasions, the scale of the January 2025 blaze was incomparable. Due to the emissions of hydrogen fluoride and other toxic chemicals, firefighters were forced to let the fire burn itself out, rather than risking severe damage to their own lungs along with that of members of the surrounding community. Upwards of 1,200 people were forced to evacuate and in the days that followed, community residents report- ed feeling unwell.

While that west coast power plant had the benefit of being over half a mile from any built-up residential areas, imagine such a fire in a crowded New York residential neighborhood like St. Albans, where the latest planned BESS center is set to go up across from the St. Albans Veterans Hospital, on the site of a former gas station, where the underground gas tanks have been left in place for decades.

The borough is already home to 16 other functional BESS centers, only accounting for a minuscule 11.9 megawatts, the equivalent to power less than 12,000 homes. At least 14 more are planned for the borough, putting our homes and schools in the shadow of these potentially hazardous facilities. The FDNY deserves credit for its successful crackdown on illegal manufacturing and battery repair sites, and their ingenious use of specialized fire blankets to smother lithium-ion fires. Having litigated dozens of cases involving building infernos that resulted from lithium- ion batteries, I can personally attest to the insurance underwriting nightmare these massive scale facilities pose.

Most Batteries are From China – Companies Uninsured

What the BESS sponsors might not tell you is that the U.S. currently gets most of its lithium-ion batter- ies from China. It’s relevant because the producers responsible for mak- ing these batteries never respond to a single court summons and are, in the majority of cases, completely uninsured. Also, attorneys often cannot obtain jurisdiction over the manufacturer or the supplier of the batteries due to laws that, in many instances, favor foreign countries more than our own citizens. When something goes wrong, buyer beware!

Directly Across From PS 128

Yet while most new commercial, industrial or residential buildings here are required to have sprinkler systems, there is no current fire suppression technology capable of confronting industrial-sized lithium-ion battery fires.

While the FDNY has specialized fire blankets that can cover an electric vehicle, is it even possible to deploy one to cover an entire industrial building? The countless families in Middle Village, where a BESS facility is planned directly across from K-8 school PS 128, should be rightly concerned, as should those living near the 250-bed St. Albans VA Medical Center.

While New York City law prohibits smoking within 100 feet of a school building, why on earth can it be sensible to put a building packed full of materials that can emit toxic fumes when set alight, adjacent to a school, or a hospital serving our veterans?

As New York recklessly gallops ahead with building more BESS facilities, it should heed the concerns of its citizens before it is too late. The instability of lithium-ion batteries will simply not go away because they want it to. The time has come for a moratorium on any further construc- tion of BESS centers, near schools and residential neighborhoods.

Michael Mezzacappa, a partner and general counsel with New York-based Coffey Modica, represents insurers, property owners, managing agents and other professionals in major litigations that include lithium-ion battery explosions and fires.

JJ: “New York Baseball Midseason Report Cards”

BQE Admin on July 18, 2025

By John Jastremski

We have officially reached the midway point of the 2025 NY Baseball season. All things considered, it’s a good thing that if the season were to end today, the Mets and the Yankees would both be a part of the postseason.  The bad news is that both would be lined up to play in the Best of 3 Wild Card Round. 

So at the halfway point of the season, step into the grading room of Professor Jastremski of the Newhouse School. He knew plenty about getting A’s in broadcasting and history classes. Math and Science classes, eh not so much. Let’s give some grades for both teams, shall we? 

Pete Alonso: A

Pete’s first half has been arguably the best half of his big league career. He’s gotten a ton of big hits and it appears he’s bet on himself in a much better way than he did in 2024. 

Max Fried: A

I’ve always had an appreciation of Fried from a distance watching him with the Atlanta Braves, but he’s been even better than advertised in his first year pitching in pinstripes. His significance and importance to the 2025 Yankees went up exponentially after Gerrit Cole was lost for the season. Fried has been every bit the ace the Yankees have needed. 

Clay Holmes: B+ 

The Mets have dealt with a whole lot of adversity in their rotation throughout the first half of this season. One of the major questions in the rotation has been anything but for the first half of this year. Clay Holmes transitioned into being a starter for the first time in his big league career and I had serious reservations about whether or not he was up for the challenge. Holmes has done a very nice job taking the ball every 5th day. The only reason he didn’t earn himself an A is due to his inability to go deep into games. 

Paul Goldschmidt: B 

The Yankees found themselves in a spot in 2024 where first base was an absolute black hole. Paul Goldschmidt has provided much needed stability both offensively and defensively to 1st base. He’s been an absolute pro’s pro. 

Mark Vientos: D 

I had high hopes for the Mets breakout star from 2024. There is no way to sugar coat it, Vientos first half has been an absolute flop. He’s lost playing time, he’s been injured and he hasn’t performed both at the plate and in the field. Perhaps the past few games in Kansas City will be the turning point of getting his season and full season grade back on track. 

Anthony Volpe: D 

The most disappointing Yankees performer by a significant margin, If you take out Volpe’s March/April stats, the numbers of futility are even more alarming. He seems to have no plan at the plate, his confidence is shot and now his defense at shortstop which was supposed to be a strength has become a massive liability. 

The Yankees have a shortstop problem until I see reasons otherwise… 

New York Mets: A-

The Mets have weathered a whole lot of storms especially from a pitching standpoint so far this first half. They are a half game out of first place and will be a major player at the trade deadline. The team is exactly on track to where I thought they’d be preseason. 

New York Yankees: B+ 

The only reason the Yankees didn’t earn themselves an A grade for the first half is due to what happened over the final 4 weeks of June and into July where a massive division lead turned into a minor deficit. The Yankees lineup has exceeded my expectations in the absence of Juan Soto, but can they upgrade a few key spots over the next few weeks to win a very congested AL East…

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