https://yanapaskova.com/ 2026-03-16 weekly 1.0 https://yanapaskova.com/about-me 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://storage.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/DSCF9160.jpg https://storage.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Boiko.jpg https://yanapaskova.com/contact 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://storage.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/newspapers_mug.jpg https://yanapaskova.com/copyright 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://yanapaskova.com/helping-women 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://yanapaskova.com/where-women-rule 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://yanapaskova.com/power-of-poo 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://yanapaskova.com/25-years-after 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://yanapaskova.com/communism-relived 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://yanapaskova.com/cuba-bulgaria-layers 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Paskova_Yana_001.jpg This is my father's Army uniform (complete with a five-pointed star — the symbol of Communist rule,) worn during a mandatory two-year service in the Bulgarian military in the 1970s. It is superimposed with Cuban children wearing the uniform of Communist youth as they salute "Votó!" ("S/he voted!") to citizens casting ballots for delegates to the country's unicameral parliament. Voting is not a mandatory activity in Cuba, but frowned upon if not exercised. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. This is my father's Army uniform (complete with a five-pointed star — the symbol of Communist rule,) worn during a mandatory two-year service in the Bulgarian military in the 1970s. It is superimposed with Cuban children wearing the uniform of Communist youth as they salute "Votó!" ("S/he voted!") to citizens casting ballots for delegates to the country's unicameral parliament. Voting is not a mandatory activity in Cuba, but frowned upon if not exercised. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Paskova_Yana_002.jpg Second from left is a young me of the 1980s, wearing the Communist youth uniform mandatory for all school activities, and a young Cuban student wearing the same in front of an office for the CDR (Committee for the Defense of the Revolution.) The CDR is a network of neighborhood watch organizations peppered across Cuba, that report on any activity they deem counter-revolutionary or a threat to Communist rule. My grandfather spent 5 years of his youth in a Communist labor camp after one such organization noted his lack of participation in the party. Elementary schoolchildren in many Communist countries wear scarves as part of the uniform of the children’s Communist youth: blue or red, depending on their age. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. Second from left is a young me of the 1980s, wearing the Communist youth uniform mandatory for all school activities, and a young Cuban student wearing the same in front of an office for the CDR (Committee for the Defense of the Revolution.) The CDR is a network of neighborhood watch organizations peppered across Cuba, that report on any activity they deem counter-revolutionary or a threat to Communist rule. My grandfather spent 5 years of his youth in a Communist labor camp after one such organization noted his lack of participation in the party. Elementary schoolchildren in many Communist countries wear scarves as part of the uniform of the children’s Communist youth: blue or red, depending on their age. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Paskova_Yana_003.jpg A sketch of a woman’s face decorates the view from my parents' college apartment in Sofia, Bulgaria, toward ubiquitous and poorly maintained Soviet-style blocks, on a street that was then named The Red Rose — this, overlapped with similar Soviet-influenced architecture from the Vedado neighborhood of Havana, Cuba. Statistics label 7 out of every 10 Cuban houses in need of major repairs, with the province surrounding the capital requiring approximately 300,000 more inhabitable properties. Infrastructural decay increased especially after the collapse of Communism and the end of Soviet subsidies to both nations. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. A sketch of a woman’s face decorates the view from my parents' college apartment in Sofia, Bulgaria, toward ubiquitous and poorly maintained Soviet-style blocks, on a street that was then named The Red Rose — this, overlapped with similar Soviet-influenced architecture from the Vedado neighborhood of Havana, Cuba. Statistics label 7 out of every 10 Cuban houses in need of major repairs, with the province surrounding the capital requiring approximately 300,000 more inhabitable properties. Infrastructural decay increased especially after the collapse of Communism and the end of Soviet subsidies to both nations. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Paskova_Yana_004.jpg My grandfather (center,) seen walking with Romanian and Bulgarian colleagues in Bulgaria in the 1970s as part of a mandatory work function. The banner in the background reads “Glory to the USSR.” And in Cuba, participants in the First of May Labor Day parade hold posters of Russian Communist leader Vladimir Lenin and German Communist revolutionary Karl Marx. This day, simply labeled Día del Trabajo (Labor Day,) is a call for people of all nations to show support for socialist reform — and in Cuba, for the Cuban Revolution. But in Cuba, as in pre-1989 Bulgaria, while attendance is not mandatory, absences from these marches are frequently noted, discouraged, and often followed with punitive measures (social and professional.) Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. My grandfather (center,) seen walking with Romanian and Bulgarian colleagues in Bulgaria in the 1970s as part of a mandatory work function. The banner in the background reads “Glory to the USSR.” And in Cuba, participants in the First of May Labor Day parade hold posters of Russian Communist leader Vladimir Lenin and German Communist revolutionary Karl Marx. This day, simply labeled Día del Trabajo (Labor Day,) is a call for people of all nations to show support for socialist reform — and in Cuba, for the Cuban Revolution. But in Cuba, as in pre-1989 Bulgaria, while attendance is not mandatory, absences from these marches are frequently noted, discouraged, and often followed with punitive measures (social and professional.) Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Paskova_Yana_005.jpg Propaganda fills the space that lack of advertising leaves on this Havana street: a sign for the Young Communist League, reading "Everything for the Revolution" stretches across a billboard next to the organization's motto "Estudio, Trabajo, Fusil" ("Study, Work, Rifle") and the likes of Cuban revolutionaries Julio Antonio Mella, Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos. While membership to the organization is described as voluntary — and selective, based on a clean record of pro-government only views — belonging to it is highly encouraged for any social and professional success. In the corner is a photo of my father reading a government-controlled newspaper titled “National Youth,” which, like all newspapers in pre-1989 Bulgaria, selectively reported news skewed in tone by Communist propagandist measures. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. Propaganda fills the space that lack of advertising leaves on this Havana street: a sign for the Young Communist League, reading "Everything for the Revolution" stretches across a billboard next to the organization's motto "Estudio, Trabajo, Fusil" ("Study, Work, Rifle") and the likes of Cuban revolutionaries Julio Antonio Mella, Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos. While membership to the organization is described as voluntary — and selective, based on a clean record of pro-government only views — belonging to it is highly encouraged for any social and professional success. In the corner is a photo of my father reading a government-controlled newspaper titled “National Youth,” which, like all newspapers in pre-1989 Bulgaria, selectively reported news skewed in tone by Communist propagandist measures. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Paskova_Yana_006.jpg A bakery features a portrait of Cuba president Raúl Castro in the port city of Mariel, Cuba -- and a married couple poses for a picture under a portrait of former Bulgarian Communist dictator Todor Zhivkov. Zhivkov was the Totalitarian head of state of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from March 4, 1954 until the day after the fall of the Berlin Wall, November 10, 1989, when he resigned under political pressure over the country's worsening economy, human rights repression, and public unrest. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. A bakery features a portrait of Cuba president Raúl Castro in the port city of Mariel, Cuba -- and a married couple poses for a picture under a portrait of former Bulgarian Communist dictator Todor Zhivkov. Zhivkov was the Totalitarian head of state of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from March 4, 1954 until the day after the fall of the Berlin Wall, November 10, 1989, when he resigned under political pressure over the country's worsening economy, human rights repression, and public unrest. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Paskova_Yana_007.jpg My grandmother (center) and grandfather (second from right) walk alongside coworkers during the annual Labor Day march in Bulgaria in the 1970s. In the color photo, a man marching during during the 1st of May Labor Day March in Havana, Cuba, holds onto a makeshift Chilean flag. This day, simply labeled Día del Trabajo (Labor Day,) is a call for people of all nations to show support for socialist reform — and in Cuba, for the Cuban Revolution. But in Cuba, as in pre-1989 Bulgaria, while attendance is not mandatory, absences from these marches are frequently noted, discouraged, and often followed with punitive measures (social and professional.) Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. My grandmother (center) and grandfather (second from right) walk alongside coworkers during the annual Labor Day march in Bulgaria in the 1970s. In the color photo, a man marching during during the 1st of May Labor Day March in Havana, Cuba, holds onto a makeshift Chilean flag. This day, simply labeled Día del Trabajo (Labor Day,) is a call for people of all nations to show support for socialist reform — and in Cuba, for the Cuban Revolution. But in Cuba, as in pre-1989 Bulgaria, while attendance is not mandatory, absences from these marches are frequently noted, discouraged, and often followed with punitive measures (social and professional.) Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Paskova_Yana_008.jpg Because my grandfather refused to join a political party he'd seen seize villagers' property to repay them with imprisonment, violent threats, and beatings in the name of dementing the Communist ideal, he spent 5 tortured years of his youth locked within the brutality of Bulgaria’s Stalinist forced labor camps of the 1950s. Like many lucky survivors, he relished his post-1989 freedom to speak out against oppression, and in support of building a Democratic government as part of the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union party -- after the fall of the Berlin Wall brought on the dissolution of Communism in the Soviet Bloc. In the Cuban half of this image, a tired participant in a march organized by the wives, friends, and relatives of imprisoned political dissidents rests by a tree in front of Santa Rita Church in Havana, Cuba. The political prisoner rights group, Damas de Blanco -- translated to Ladies in White -- endures regular beatings and detainment by both undercover and uniformed Cuban police of the Communist state. Many of their loved ones still languish, imprisoned -- and yet, they march. In Catholic countries, Saint Rita is known as the patroness of impossible causes, or of heartbroken women. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. Because my grandfather refused to join a political party he'd seen seize villagers' property to repay them with imprisonment, violent threats, and beatings in the name of dementing the Communist ideal, he spent 5 tortured years of his youth locked within the brutality of Bulgaria’s Stalinist forced labor camps of the 1950s. Like many lucky survivors, he relished his post-1989 freedom to speak out against oppression, and in support of building a Democratic government as part of the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union party -- after the fall of the Berlin Wall brought on the dissolution of Communism in the Soviet Bloc. In the Cuban half of this image, a tired participant in a march organized by the wives, friends, and relatives of imprisoned political dissidents rests by a tree in front of Santa Rita Church in Havana, Cuba. The political prisoner rights group, Damas de Blanco -- translated to Ladies in White -- endures regular beatings and detainment by both undercover and uniformed Cuban police of the Communist state. Many of their loved ones still languish, imprisoned -- and yet, they march. In Catholic countries, Saint Rita is known as the patroness of impossible causes, or of heartbroken women. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Paskova_Yana_009.jpg Bulgarians' longing to see lands beyond their closed borders festered in a social and economic vacuum during the Communist years. In the corner are a few American dollars on a desk at my parents' college apartment, on a street then bearing the name The Red Rose (a symbol of both the Communist revolution, and Bulgaria’s most famed export.) A Sofia store called Korekom that offered a rare glimpse of Western goods — cosmetics, technology, toys, candy, alcohol, cigarettes and magazines otherwise absent from Bulgaria's isolated market — motivated a strong black market demand for the U.S. dollar. Possession of it without government permission, however, left one open to government investigation, a marked dossier that sharply diminished employment opportunities, and worse, imprisonment in a forced labor camp. The foreground shows a girl in Mariel, Cuba, taking orders in a late-night pizza joint recalling American nostalgia, playing mostly U.S. music from the 1980s and 1990s. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. Bulgarians' longing to see lands beyond their closed borders festered in a social and economic vacuum during the Communist years. In the corner are a few American dollars on a desk at my parents' college apartment, on a street then bearing the name The Red Rose (a symbol of both the Communist revolution, and Bulgaria’s most famed export.) A Sofia store called Korekom that offered a rare glimpse of Western goods — cosmetics, technology, toys, candy, alcohol, cigarettes and magazines otherwise absent from Bulgaria's isolated market — motivated a strong black market demand for the U.S. dollar. Possession of it without government permission, however, left one open to government investigation, a marked dossier that sharply diminished employment opportunities, and worse, imprisonment in a forced labor camp. The foreground shows a girl in Mariel, Cuba, taking orders in a late-night pizza joint recalling American nostalgia, playing mostly U.S. music from the 1980s and 1990s. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Paskova_Yana_010.jpg My father, grandfather and grandmother pose for a picture taken while traveling on one of very few government-approved vacations during the isolation of the Communist years in Bulgaria. And Raymel Medina, 16, (center,) relaxes with friends after an evening dip in the water in the port city of Mariel, Cuba. He says he'd like to learn more about the world, but internet of limited and/or prohibitively expensive access makes this a challenge. Travel outside of the island is also forbidden to most, except to those with government connections, or whose jobs allow it. I remember being young and just as curious about the world beyond the vacuum of Bulgaria's tight borders during the Communist years. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. My father, grandfather and grandmother pose for a picture taken while traveling on one of very few government-approved vacations during the isolation of the Communist years in Bulgaria. And Raymel Medina, 16, (center,) relaxes with friends after an evening dip in the water in the port city of Mariel, Cuba. He says he'd like to learn more about the world, but internet of limited and/or prohibitively expensive access makes this a challenge. Travel outside of the island is also forbidden to most, except to those with government connections, or whose jobs allow it. I remember being young and just as curious about the world beyond the vacuum of Bulgaria's tight borders during the Communist years. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Paskova_Yana_011.jpg This is the Cuban family (sister, nephews, and 93-year-old mother) of a man who fled from Cuba to Florida during the Mariel Boatlift of 1980. The four have been separated from their uncle, son and brother for 35 years. It is blended with a faraway view of the Brandenburg Gate, as close as you could get from East Berlin before the fall of the Berlin Wall — photographed during one of few vacations my grandparents and father were allowed to take in the Communist years. International travel was limited to pre-approved countries within the Eastern Bloc, while Western nations were only accessible via coveted government approval. The merging of these images speaks to both the need for and trauma of immigration. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. This is the Cuban family (sister, nephews, and 93-year-old mother) of a man who fled from Cuba to Florida during the Mariel Boatlift of 1980. The four have been separated from their uncle, son and brother for 35 years. It is blended with a faraway view of the Brandenburg Gate, as close as you could get from East Berlin before the fall of the Berlin Wall — photographed during one of few vacations my grandparents and father were allowed to take in the Communist years. International travel was limited to pre-approved countries within the Eastern Bloc, while Western nations were only accessible via coveted government approval. The merging of these images speaks to both the need for and trauma of immigration. Fraying family pictures from pre-1989 Bulgaria inspired this portion of a long-term project on Democracy + Communism. The parallels between them and photos I'd taken in present-day Cuba surface best when juxtaposed — one image layered on top of the other. And so, I attempt to bridge one country’s past to another country’s present — to show that political ideals, its profiteers and its victims, can remain unchanged by time or geography. https://yanapaskova.com/image-editing-story-concepts 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://yanapaskova.com/liquid-rose-gold 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://yanapaskova.com/everywhere 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://yanapaskova.com/on-red-soil 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://yanapaskova.com/before-times 2026-03-16 monthly 0.8 https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYC_01.jpg Amadou Tandia takes a smoking break from posing for tourist photos dressed as the Statue of Liberty in Times Square in Manhattan, New York on Monday, August 13, 2012. (For The New York Times) Amadou Tandia takes a smoking break from posing for tourist photos dressed as the Statue of Liberty in Times Square in Manhattan, New York on Monday, August 13, 2012. (For The New York Times) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_002C.jpg Felicita Pomares, 9, checks out a 1938 Plymouth Road King vintage car, on the way to the Fourth of July Parade in Montclair, NJ, on July 04, 2017. (For The New York Times) Felicita Pomares, 9, checks out a 1938 Plymouth Road King vintage car, on the way to the Fourth of July Parade in Montclair, NJ, on July 04, 2017. (For The New York Times) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_003B.jpg A swimmer exits the ocean during Coney Island Polar Bear Club's New Year's Day Plunge on January 01, 2017 in Brooklyn, NY. (For Getty Images) A swimmer exits the ocean during Coney Island Polar Bear Club's New Year's Day Plunge on January 01, 2017 in Brooklyn, NY. (For Getty Images) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_004B-resized.jpg A young member of the 49th NYPD precinct Explorers program rehearses the color guard before Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, enters a town hall event in the Bronx, New York, U.S., on Wednesday, April 17, 2019. Ocasio-Cortez met with veterans and registered nurses and discussed protecting the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system from privatization. Photographer: Yana Paskova/Bloomberg A young member of the 49th NYPD precinct Explorers program rehearses the color guard before Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, enters a town hall event in the Bronx, New York, U.S., on Wednesday, April 17, 2019. Ocasio-Cortez met with veterans and registered nurses and discussed protecting the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system from privatization. Photographer: Yana Paskova/Bloomberg https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_004B.jpg Ike Hedberg, 7, son of Mikie Sherrill, a Navy Pilot and former federal prosecutor who is running for Congress, exits the Fourth of July Parade in Montclair, NJ on July 04, 2017. (For The New York Times) Ike Hedberg, 7, son of Mikie Sherrill, a Navy Pilot and former federal prosecutor who is running for Congress, exits the Fourth of July Parade in Montclair, NJ on July 04, 2017. (For The New York Times) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_002B.jpg (L-R) Tenzin Dolkar, Tenzin Norsang, Hussein Khalique, and Tenzin Norgay walk around DUMBO during halftime of a screening of the US-Portugal World Cup game under the Manhattan Bridge archway in Brooklyn on June 22, 2014. The game ended 2-2 in overtime. (For The New York Times) (L-R) Tenzin Dolkar, Tenzin Norsang, Hussein Khalique, and Tenzin Norgay walk around DUMBO during halftime of a screening of the US-Portugal World Cup game under the Manhattan Bridge archway in Brooklyn on June 22, 2014. The game ended 2-2 in overtime. (For The New York Times) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYC_02.jpg New York City Fire Department firefighter Terence O'Donnell rests after working on the scene of a crane collapse on Manhattan's Upper East Side at 91st Street and 1st Avenue on May 30, 2008 in Manhattan, New York. The crane collapsed on top of an apartment building crashing into a penthouse apartment and falling to the ground. (For Getty Images) New York City Fire Department firefighter Terence O'Donnell rests after working on the scene of a crane collapse on Manhattan's Upper East Side at 91st Street and 1st Avenue on May 30, 2008 in Manhattan, New York. The crane collapsed on top of an apartment building crashing into a penthouse apartment and falling to the ground. (For Getty Images) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYC_03.jpg A woman checks her phone at the 49th Street station of the N train in Manhattan, New York on Sunday, December 27, 2009. (For The New York Times) A woman checks her phone at the 49th Street station of the N train in Manhattan, New York on Sunday, December 27, 2009. (For The New York Times) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_004.jpg Film producer Harvey Weinstein arrives to his trial at the New York County Criminal Court in New York, U.S., January 6, 2020. REUTERS/Yana Paskova Film producer Harvey Weinstein arrives to his trial at the New York County Criminal Court in New York, U.S., January 6, 2020. REUTERS/Yana Paskova https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/Yana_Paskova_2020_007.jpg Women sing "El Violador Eres Tu" ("The Rapist Is You,") an anthem created by the Chilean feminist collective Las Tesis, in Times Square after walking in the Annual Women's March on January 18, 2020 in Manhattan, NY. (Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty Images) Women sing "El Violador Eres Tu" ("The Rapist Is You,") an anthem created by the Chilean feminist collective Las Tesis, in Times Square after walking in the Annual Women's March on January 18, 2020 in Manhattan, NY. (Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty Images) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_009B-resized.jpg Members of the media wait inside One Police Plaza before the trial of Officer Daniel Pantaleo on May 13, 2019 in New York City. Officer Pantaleo faces charges of using a chokehold on and intentionally restricting the breathing of Eric Garner, who died as a result of the altercation. (Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty Images) Members of the media wait inside One Police Plaza before the trial of Officer Daniel Pantaleo on May 13, 2019 in New York City. Officer Pantaleo faces charges of using a chokehold on and intentionally restricting the breathing of Eric Garner, who died as a result of the altercation. (Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty Images) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYC_04-resized.jpg Guests mingle at the Conservatory Ball under a tent set up in The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, New York on Thursday, June 06, 2013. (For The New York Times) Guests mingle at the Conservatory Ball under a tent set up in The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, New York on Thursday, June 06, 2013. (For The New York Times) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYC_13-resized.jpg A guest of the Conservatory Ball, set up under a tent in The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, New York on Thursday, June 06, 2013. (For The New York Times) A guest of the Conservatory Ball, set up under a tent in The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, New York on Thursday, June 06, 2013. (For The New York Times) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_012.jpg A participant in the Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade fiddles with his mask in Manhattan, NY on February 25, 2018. A participant in the Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade fiddles with his mask in Manhattan, NY on February 25, 2018. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_010B.jpg Veterans' reflections are seen on the car window of Eve Stollak, wife of army veteran Jack Stollack, as they prepare to participate in the The Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade, the largest in the nation, in Little Neck, NY on May 29, 2017. (For The New York Times) Veterans' reflections are seen on the car window of Eve Stollak, wife of army veteran Jack Stollack, as they prepare to participate in the The Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade, the largest in the nation, in Little Neck, NY on May 29, 2017. (For The New York Times) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYC_05-resized.jpg Eight-year-old Lauren Mulligan, dressed for the warm weather, checks out the holiday storefronts of Bergdorf Goodman in Manhattan, NY on December 22, 2013. The temperatures of the day were projected to reach an uncharacteristic for December high of 70 degrees Fahrenheit. (For The New York Times) Eight-year-old Lauren Mulligan, dressed for the warm weather, checks out the holiday storefronts of Bergdorf Goodman in Manhattan, NY on December 22, 2013. The temperatures of the day were projected to reach an uncharacteristic for December high of 70 degrees Fahrenheit. (For The New York Times) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_008-resized.jpg Kids attend a birthday party at the East River Family Center in Manhattan, NY on August 19, 2016. (For The New York Times) Kids attend a birthday party at the East River Family Center in Manhattan, NY on August 19, 2016. (For The New York Times) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYC_06-resized.jpg A costumed dancer prepares to participate in the 46th annual West Indian parade on Labor Day on Monday, September 02, 2013, in Brooklyn, New York. (For New York magazine) A costumed dancer prepares to participate in the 46th annual West Indian parade on Labor Day on Monday, September 02, 2013, in Brooklyn, New York. (For New York magazine) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYC_08.jpg Nasty Canasta reads from a book, disrobed, at a Naked Girls Reading NYC at the Madame X bar in Manhattan, New York on Thursday, February 17, 2011. (For The New York Times) Nasty Canasta reads from a book, disrobed, at a Naked Girls Reading NYC at the Madame X bar in Manhattan, New York on Thursday, February 17, 2011. (For The New York Times) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/CIP_004.jpg George Lambert hugs his son, police officer Matthew Lambert, 21, after his graduation ceremony at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, New York on December 29, 2014. Tension against police has recently escalated after the killing of several unarmed black men during routine arrests across the country. George Lambert hugs his son, police officer Matthew Lambert, 21, after his graduation ceremony at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, New York on December 29, 2014. Tension against police has recently escalated after the killing of several unarmed black men during routine arrests across the country. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_013-resized.jpg Police watch activists protest in Times Square in response to the recent fatal shootings of two black men by police, July 7, 2016 in New York, NY. Protests and public outcry have grown in the days following the deaths of Alton Sterling on July 5, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Philando Castile on July 6, 2016, in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. (For Getty Images) Police watch activists protest in Times Square in response to the recent fatal shootings of two black men by police, July 7, 2016 in New York, NY. Protests and public outcry have grown in the days following the deaths of Alton Sterling on July 5, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Philando Castile on July 6, 2016, in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. (For Getty Images) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_014-resized.jpg Activists protest in Times Square in response to the recent fatal shootings of two black men by police, July 7, 2016 in New York, NY. Protests and public outcry have grown in the days following the deaths of Alton Sterling on July 5, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Philando Castile on July 6, 2016, in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. (For Getty Images) Activists protest in Times Square in response to the recent fatal shootings of two black men by police, July 7, 2016 in New York, NY. Protests and public outcry have grown in the days following the deaths of Alton Sterling on July 5, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Philando Castile on July 6, 2016, in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. (For Getty Images) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_018B.jpg Thousands of people gather in front of Trump Tower in Manhattan, NY, on August 14, 2017, to protest this weekend's violent white nationalist rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia. (For The Wall Street Journal) Thousands of people gather in front of Trump Tower in Manhattan, NY, on August 14, 2017, to protest this weekend's violent white nationalist rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia. (For The Wall Street Journal) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_020B.jpg Parishioners wait for communion during Sunday service at Our Lady of Peace in Manhattan, NY on March 05, 2017. (For The New York Times) Parishioners wait for communion during Sunday service at Our Lady of Peace in Manhattan, NY on March 05, 2017. (For The New York Times) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_024.jpg A crowd gathers for Hachnosas Sefer Torah in front of 47 Forshay Road in Monsey, NY, on December 29, 2019, where suspect Grafton Thomas, 38, stabbed 5 people at a Hanukkah gathering the previous evening. Anti-Semitic attacks are on the rise around the country — and in New York City, anti-Semitic crimes have risen by 21 percent in the past year, according to the Anti-Defamation League. (For The New York Times) A crowd gathers for Hachnosas Sefer Torah in front of 47 Forshay Road in Monsey, NY, on December 29, 2019, where suspect Grafton Thomas, 38, stabbed 5 people at a Hanukkah gathering the previous evening. Anti-Semitic attacks are on the rise around the country — and in New York City, anti-Semitic crimes have risen by 21 percent in the past year, according to the Anti-Defamation League. (For The New York Times) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_013.jpg New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio gives a press conference at City Hall in New York, New York, on December 21, 2015. (For Washington Post) New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio gives a press conference at City Hall in New York, New York, on December 21, 2015. (For Washington Post) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYC_07A.jpg Fourteen-month-old Ellie Englund watches her bunny-outfitted shadow at the Easter Day Parade on 5th ave. between 49th and 57th st. on March 23, 2008 in New York, New York. The parade attracted hundreds of people who wanted to show off their Easter garb. (For Getty Images) Fourteen-month-old Ellie Englund watches her bunny-outfitted shadow at the Easter Day Parade on 5th ave. between 49th and 57th st. on March 23, 2008 in New York, New York. The parade attracted hundreds of people who wanted to show off their Easter garb. (For Getty Images) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_027.jpg Members of a delegation from Indonesia wait outside of a meeting room during the 2019 United Nations Climate Action Summit at U.N. headquarters in New York, NY, on September 23, 2019. Yana Paskova/Reuters Members of a delegation from Indonesia wait outside of a meeting room during the 2019 United Nations Climate Action Summit at U.N. headquarters in New York, NY, on September 23, 2019. Yana Paskova/Reuters https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_018-resized.jpg Barricades surround Tiffany & Co. (in reflection) on 5th Avenue's luxury shopping strip near Trump Tower in Manhattan, NY on November 18, 2016. (For The New York Times) Assignment ID: 30198910A Barricades surround Tiffany & Co. (in reflection) on 5th Avenue's luxury shopping strip near Trump Tower in Manhattan, NY on November 18, 2016. (For The New York Times) Assignment ID: 30198910A https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYC_12-resized.jpg Thomas Carr enters his home through the window to unlock the front door during a Humane Society rescue call of his cat, Bunny, and dog, King, in Island Park in Long Island, New York, on Wednesday, November 07, 2012. Many residents evacuated in a hurry without the means to take their pets, nor without realizing it may be days before they could return to rescue them. (For The Humane Society) Thomas Carr enters his home through the window to unlock the front door during a Humane Society rescue call of his cat, Bunny, and dog, King, in Island Park in Long Island, New York, on Wednesday, November 07, 2012. Many residents evacuated in a hurry without the means to take their pets, nor without realizing it may be days before they could return to rescue them. (For The Humane Society) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_027B-resized.jpg A line of people awaits entry to the trial of Officer Daniel Pantaleo at One Police Plaza on May 13, 2019 in New York City. Officer Pantaleo faces charges of using a chokehold on and intentionally restricting the breathing of Eric Garner, who died as a result of the altercation. (Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty Images) A line of people awaits entry to the trial of Officer Daniel Pantaleo at One Police Plaza on May 13, 2019 in New York City. Officer Pantaleo faces charges of using a chokehold on and intentionally restricting the breathing of Eric Garner, who died as a result of the altercation. (Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty Images) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYC_22-resized.jpg Five-year-old Aaliyah White sits on a bench inside the Conservatory Garden in Central Park, in East Harlem in Manhattan, New York, on Sunday, May 26, 2013. (For The New York Times) Five-year-old Aaliyah White sits on a bench inside the Conservatory Garden in Central Park, in East Harlem in Manhattan, New York, on Sunday, May 26, 2013. (For The New York Times) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_026B.jpg 775034736YP001_01 The Visions In Motion dance group prepares to march down Eastern Parkway for the West Indian American Day Parade, in celebration of the Caribbean Carnival on September 04, 2017 in Brooklyn, NY. (For Getty Images) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_017.jpg Aude Back de Surany, center, and other passengers are reflected in the back window of an uptown C train traveling through a subway tunnel in New York, New York on January 30, 2015. (For The New York Times) Aude Back de Surany, center, and other passengers are reflected in the back window of an uptown C train traveling through a subway tunnel in New York, New York on January 30, 2015. (For The New York Times) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_018.jpg A pedestrian shields herself from the afternoon sun walking across the Manhattan bridge toward Brooklyn, with the graffitied buildings of Chinatown in the background, in New York, New York, on July 16, 2015. (For The New York Times) (For The New York Times) A pedestrian shields herself from the afternoon sun walking across the Manhattan bridge toward Brooklyn, with the graffitied buildings of Chinatown in the background, in New York, New York, on July 16, 2015. (For The New York Times) (For The New York Times) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_023B-resized.jpg A woman decorates a snowman in Times Square as all cars but emergency vehicles are banned from driving on the roads on January 23, 2016 in New York, NY. The Northeast and parts of the South experienced heavy snow and ice from a slow-moving winter storm, resulting in numerous traffic collision deaths. (For Getty Images) A woman decorates a snowman in Times Square as all cars but emergency vehicles are banned from driving on the roads on January 23, 2016 in New York, NY. The Northeast and parts of the South experienced heavy snow and ice from a slow-moving winter storm, resulting in numerous traffic collision deaths. (For Getty Images) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_019.jpg Children and their parents sled down a hill in Carl Schurz Park in Manhattan, New York, after a significant snowstorm blanketed the Mid-Atlantic States on January 24, 2016. (For The New York Times) Children and their parents sled down a hill in Carl Schurz Park in Manhattan, New York, after a significant snowstorm blanketed the Mid-Atlantic States on January 24, 2016. (For The New York Times) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYC_19.jpg Joe Kowalski (center) checks the darkening clouds during a horse race at the Yonkers Raceway in Yonkers, New York on Tuesday, May 29, 2012. (For The New York Times) Joe Kowalski (center) checks the darkening clouds during a horse race at the Yonkers Raceway in Yonkers, New York on Tuesday, May 29, 2012. (For The New York Times) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_026-resized.jpg A man peers out from his glasses as people congregate in the lead-up to New Year's eve celebrations in Times Square in New York, NY on December 31, 2016. (For Getty Images) A man peers out from his glasses as people congregate in the lead-up to New Year's eve celebrations in Times Square in New York, NY on December 31, 2016. (For Getty Images) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/FET_008.jpg Soccer fans watch the USA-Belgium World Cup game under the Manhattan bridge underpass in Brooklyn, New York on July 01, 2014. Belgium won 2-1 in overtime. (For The New York Times) Soccer fans watch the USA-Belgium World Cup game under the Manhattan bridge underpass in Brooklyn, New York on July 01, 2014. Belgium won 2-1 in overtime. (For The New York Times) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_038B.jpg Park-goers enjoy the snow in Central Park in Manhattan, NY on January 08, 2017. (For The New York Times) Park-goers enjoy the snow in Central Park in Manhattan, NY on January 08, 2017. (For The New York Times) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYC_24-resized.jpg Beach-goers populate Field 6 during a windy day on Jones Beach in Wantagh, New York on May 12, 2013. Beach-goers populate Field 6 during a windy day on Jones Beach in Wantagh, New York on May 12, 2013. https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_029-resized.jpg Swimmers run into the ocean during Coney Island Polar Bear Club's New Year's Day Plunge in Brooklyn, NY on January 01, 2017. (For Getty Images) Swimmers run into the ocean during Coney Island Polar Bear Club's New Year's Day Plunge in Brooklyn, NY on January 01, 2017. (For Getty Images) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_030-resized.jpg A man tans on Orchard Beach in the Bronx, NY on July 03, 2016. (For The New York Times) A man tans on Orchard Beach in the Bronx, NY on July 03, 2016. (For The New York Times) https://cdn.neonsky.app/4bd5ec03b1d55/images/NYers_030.jpg A man rolls around in confetti on New Year's eve in Times Square in New York, NY just after midnight on January 01, 2017. (For Getty Images) A man rolls around in confetti on New Year's eve in Times Square in New York, NY just after midnight on January 01, 2017. 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