SUNDAY--BOROUGH PRESIDENT DIAZ LAUNCHES THE 23rd ANNUAL TOUR DE BRONX!

   Tomorrow, Sunday, October 22, 2017, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., in conjunction with The Bronx Tourism Council, the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx Lebanon, St. Barnabas Hospital and Mercy College will host New York State’s largest free bicycling event, the 23^rd annual Tour de Bronx.

Thousands of cyclists will take part in the event, which features a 25 and 40 mile route. Following the ride, cyclists are invited to the Tour de Bronx Festival at the New York Botanical Garden featuring live entertainment and refreshments.

WHEN:

Sunday, October 22, 2017

 

WHERE:                  

REGISTRATION/LAUNCH

East 163^rd Street & Grand Concourse

Bronx, NY

 

POST-RIDE FESTIVAL

New York Botanical Garden

2900 Southern Boulevard

The Bronx

 

TIME:                      

9:00 a.m.: Cyclists arrive

10:30 a.m.: Tour begins

2:00 p.m.: Festival begins at New York Botanical Garden

Three New Jersey Men Charged In Manhattan Federal Court In Telemarketing Fraud Scheme Targeting The Elderly

  Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the unsealing of a Superseding Indictment charging CHRISTOPHER WILSON, a/k/a “Eric Fields,” JACK KAVNER, a/k/a “Bob Wiley,” a/k/a “Phil Powers,” and DANIEL QUIRK, a/k/a “Lou Epstein,” a/k/a “Bill Huckabee,” a/k/a “Josh Newman,” with conspiring to commit wire fraud and money laundering.  WILSON also is charged with destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in a federal investigation.  WILSON, KAVNER, and QUIRK were arrested this morning and will be presented and arraigned this afternoon before U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein in Manhattan federal court.

Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said:  “These three defendants, together with their previously charged co-defendants, allegedly targeted the elderly in a callous telemarketing scheme.  They allegedly lured their victims into making ‘investments’ in businesses, then just stole their money.  Together with HSI and the NYPD, we will continue to investigate and prosecute all those who target victims who are vulnerable because of their age.”

According to the allegations in the Superseding Indictment[1], a Complaint filed against co-defendants, and other statements in the public record:

Beginning in at least October 2013 through at least September 2016, WILSON, KAVNER, and QUIRK operated telemarketing companies (the “Telemarketing Companies”) that engaged in a fraudulent scheme (the “Telemarketing Scheme”), by which they promised to earn victims’ (the “Victims”) money in exchange for particular Victims making an initial cash “investment” in business development, website design, grant applications, or tax preparation services.  Many Victims, the majority of whom are over 70 years old, “invested” thousands of dollars with the Telemarketing Companies, but did not earn any of the promised returns.  When Victims of the Telemarketing Scheme sought refunds, or fought credit card charges, the Telemarketing Companies provided explanations and documentation to the credit card companies falsely representing that the Victims had received the promised services. 

WILSON, KAVNER, and QUIRK participated in the Telemarketing Scheme by, among other things, operating the interrelated Telemarketing Companies as set forth in the below chart:

Telemarketing Company			Defendants
Olive Branch Marketing   CTO Consulting			CHRISTOPHER WILSON, a/k/a “Eric Fields”
Carlyle Management Group   Vanguard Business Solutions			JACK KAVNER, a/k/a “Bob Wiley,” a/k/a “Phil Powers”   DANIEL QUIRK, a/k/a “Lou Epstein,” a/k/a “Bill Huckabee,” a/k/a “Josh Newman”

Six other individuals were previously indicted in this case, which is scheduled for trial on April 16, 2018.

WILSON, 32, of Teaneck, New Jersey, KAVNER, 31, of West New York, New Jersey, and QUIRK, 33, of Little Ferry, New Jersey, are each charged with one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiring to commit money laundering, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.  WILSON also is charged with one count of destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in a federal investigation, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.  The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.  

Mr. Kim praised the outstanding investigative work of HSI and the NYPD.  He added that the investigation is ongoing.

The charges contained in the Superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

If you have any information regarding WILSON, KAVNER, QUIRK, or victims of the Telemarketing Companies, please report it by phone at (917) 480-7167 or by email at christopher.bastos@nypd.org 

        

[1]   As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Superseding Indictment, and the description of the Superseding Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.

MAYOR DE BLASIO AND SPEAKER MARK-VIVERITO ANNOUNCE 90 PERCENT DROP IN CRIMINAL COURT SUMMONSES UNDER CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM ACT THAT SENDS MINOR OFFENSES TO ADMINISTRATIVE COURT

In first 16 weeks under the Criminal Justice Reform Act, 50,000 fewer criminal court summonses were issued citywide – reducing the number of unnecessary warrants and arrests

  Mayor de Blasio and Speaker Mark-Viverito announced today that the City’s enforcement of certain minor offenses, specifically giving officers the option of issuing a civil ticket instead of a criminal court summons under the Criminal Justice Reform Act (CJRA), has led to a historic 90 percent drop in criminal court summonses being issued while crime has continued to decline citywide. This steep reduction in criminal court summonses means thousands of New Yorkers will never face the threat of arrest for failure to appear in court for a low-level offense.

“Nobody’s destiny should hinge on a minor non-violent offense,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “This summer’s results of record-low crime, paired with record-low summonses, show that we can smartly enforce key low-level offenses without sacrificing New Yorkers’ quality of life or safety.”

"Making New York City a more fair and just place for all people has been the guiding force of this City Council since I first became Speaker," said Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. "The Criminal Justice Reform Act has provided fairer and more proportionate outcomes for tens of thousands of New Yorkers in just the first few months of its existence.  This historic decrease in criminal summonses is proof that meaningful criminal justice reform is possible without any cost to public safety or order. I thank the NYPD and the de Blasio administration for working with the Council on necessary reforms to make our City more responsive to the needs of all New Yorkers."

“The City of New York is experiencing a continued, historic decline in crime,” said NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill. “Accordingly, arrests and criminal court summonses are also down, and the statistics from today’s announcement show that NYPD officers are exercising their discretion to issue civil summonses to address quality of life offenses like littering, public urination and unreasonable noise. The Department worked closely with the Mayor, the Speaker and the Council on the legislation that gave officers this additional tool, so I want to thank them for their collaborative efforts. This is one of many steps that the NYPD has taken to fine-tune precision policing and strengthen the bonds between the police and the communities they serve.” 

During the first sixteen weeks between when CJRA took effect on June 13 and October 1, 2017, there were 50,854 fewer criminal court summonses written than during the same period in 2016 for offenses covered by CJRA (55,224 vs. 4,370).

Additionally, during this same period, preliminary data shows a corresponding uptick in civil enforcement. Between June 13 and September 30, 2017, the number of civil tickets for offenses covered by CJRA amounted to 26,154. While the increase was not perfectly proportional to the decrease in criminal summonses, a dip in enforcement is common during a transition to new policies.

The Criminal Justice Reform Act (CJRA), first proposed by the Council last year and signed into law by the Mayor, went into effect on June 13, 2017. By creating the option for officers to issue a civil ticket in response to low-level offenses, such as littering, appropriate low-level cases bypass the criminal system altogether, avoiding the possibility of a warrant for failure to appear for a criminal summons.

In addition, these civil summonses are adjudicated by the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) rather than in the summons part of Criminal Court. Preliminary figures show that for the OATH summonses covered by CJRA, 56 percent were paid, with 40 percent admitted to and paid prior to the hearing.

In 2016, prior to CJRA, a majority of the 267,000 criminal summonses issued were for low-level offenses, and 39 percent of litigants failed to show up for their Summons Court appearance, which led to tens of thousands of warrants. Police retain the right to issue criminal summonses, but give preference to civil tickets unless the offender has two or more prior felony arrests in the past two years, three or more unanswered civil summonses in the past eight years, is on parole or probation, or there is another legitimate law enforcement reason, approved by a supervisor.

OATH is the City court where nearly all enforcement and regulatory agencies file their summonses for hearings, including the Departments of Sanitation, Buildings, Fire, Consumer Affairs, Health and Mental Hygiene, Environmental Protection and the Taxi and Limousine Commission, among others, but OATH is not where parking tickets or traffic tickets are heard.  In 2016, OATH received approximately 840,000 summonses from these City agencies. In 2016, approximately 38 percent of all summonses filed at OATH for hearings were admitted to and paid prior to the hearing.

OATH allows litigants to contest charges by phone or online, offers litigants who received a summons covered by the CJRA the option of performing community service in lieu of a fine, and is piloting extended evening and weekend hours. This preliminary data suggest CJRA has advanced the administration’s goals of preserving public safety and building stronger and safer neighborhoods while reducing arrests and lightening the touch of low-level enforcement.

OATH has Help Centers at every hearing location throughout the five boroughs, where self-represented litigants can receive assistance navigating the hearing process, filling out forms and getting access to computers and public City records. With more options for adjudicating tickets than exist in Criminal Summons Court, OATH allows recipients of tickets to admit or fight the charge online, by phone, by webcam, by regular mail, or by going to an in person hearing at OATH.

For the quality of life summonses covered by CJRA that are responded to in person, OATH offers an option to perform community service instead of paying a fine so that financial hardship does not lead to non-compliance. As of September 30, 2017, 249 people had accepted community service as the penalty in their case after admitting to the charge or being found in violation after a hearing in person. The community service programs are administered to respondents at the OATH hearing office location where the respondent appears and educational group programs, which can be completed the same day as their appearance. OATH will also be offering an e-learning video module as an option to complete the required community service. The curriculum taught is aimed at changing the personal behavior for which the respondent was cited and making sure the respondent understands that they may be issued a criminal summons in the future if they are caught repeating that behavior.

Croton Facility Monitoring Committee Meeting (CFMC) - Agenda

Monday, October 30, 2017 – 6:30 PM

DEP Office – 3660 Jerome Avenue, - (718) 231-8470

I Welcome & Call Meeting to Order -

Bill Hall, Chair

II Consider, Adopt October 30, 2017 Agenda -

CFMC Representatives

III Consider, Adopt Minutes from June 19, 2017 CFMC Meeting -

CFMC Representatives

IV Update on Project to Construct Pedestrian Bridge over Major Deegan Expressway to Connect Sections of Van Cortlandt Park -

Department of Design & Construction Representatives

V Croton Costs Report & Construction Update - 

Bernard Daly, DEP

VI Old Business - 

CFMC Representatives & Public

VII New Business -

CFMC Representatives & Public

VIII Select Date for Final 2017 CFMC Meeting & Adjourn

MAYOR DE BLASIO AND NYPD ANNOUNCE PLANS TO CRACK DOWN ON IMPROPER USE OF ELECTRIC BIKES

NYPD “e-bike” enforcement up 170% year-to-date; City to fine businesses that operate illegal bikes

  Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York City Police Department announced that the City will take heightened enforcement action against electric bicycles, otherwise known as “e-bikes,” with a particular focus on the hazardous operation of e-bikes and businesses who use them or permit employees to ride them.

“E-bikes are illegal to operate in New York City and the NYPD is stepping up enforcement,” said Mayor de Blasio. “Those at the top of the food chain need to be held accountable. That’s why instead of merely targeting riders, we’re going after businesses that look the other way and leave their workers to shoulder the fine.”

“E-bikes are too often a danger on the City’s streets and sidewalks,” said NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill. “They’re illegal to operate here, but it seems like you can spot them everywhere – and that’s where our increased enforcement comes in. Officers are confiscating e-bikes from riders and issuing summonses that carry a stiff fine, and enforcement is up dramatically this year. Soon businesses will be held accountable too, because most e-bike riders are acting on their employer’s behalf. The NYPD is committed to keeping City streets safe for everyone and e-bike enforcement is an important part of the plan.”    

E-bikes are illegal to operate on New York City streets. According to the City Administrative Code, an “e-bike” constitutes a “motorized scooter” and “no person shall operate a motorized scooter in the City of New York” (19-176.2.(b)). So far this year, the NYPD has seized 923 e-bikes compared to the 341 it confiscated this time last year, an increase of more than 170 percent. Nearly 1,800 civil and moving summonses have been issued to e-bike operators year-to-date.

Businesses that enable e-bike use and turn a blind eye to employees who operate them are also at fault. City law states that “a business using a bicycle for commercial purposes shall not possess any motorized scooter and shall not permit any person to operate a motorized scooter on behalf of such business” (10-157-(k)).

Beginning in 2018, the NYPD will issue a new department directive and provide officers with the necessary forms and training to execute civil enforcement against businesses much more efficiently by allowing officers to issue civil summonses to businesses through the mail. While the NYPD will continue confiscating e-bikes and issuing summonses to riders -- particularly those riding in a hazardous manner -- officers will step up enforcement activity against businesses that too often put their employees in a position to break the law.

Currently, riders caught operating an e-bike are subject to a civil summons, confiscation and fines of up to $500. Beginning next year, businesses that utilize e-bikes or allow employees to operate them will receive a civil summons and a $100 fine for a first offenses and a $200 fine for each subsequent offense (10-157-(g)).

MAYOR DE BLASIO ANNOUNCES PLANS TO EXPAND SELECT BUS SERVICE TO 500,000 MORE BUS RIDERS, SPEED BUS ROUTES CITYWIDE

DOT “Bus Forward” report targets more than 21 new bus corridors, will almost triple the number of commuters served by faster SBS, commits to expanding bus-priority treatments to local routes across the city

  Mayor Bill de Blasio today announced that New York City would dramatically expand Select Bus Service (SBS), pursuing upgrades on more than 21 new routes over the next ten years, reaching a half-million more bus riders each day.  The City and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will also expand bus-priority improvements to make buses faster on key non-SBS corridors in all five boroughs. The Mayor made the announcement after riding an MTA M23 SBS bus to Chelsea Piers in Manhattan. 

The DOT report on the planned expansion, Bus Forward, is available here.

“Bus riders deserve faster, more reliable service -- and the growing number of riders on SBS buses has found that they are getting to work on-time, and getting home to family faster,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “With even more Select Bus Service routes coming on-line in the years ahead and a commitment to bring SBS-style treatments to other routes, more communities in every borough will see their bus service improve. These improvements have been proven effective, by reducing travel time, increasing bus reliability and helping us meet the goals of major initiatives – both for a safer city under Vision Zero and a more equitable one under OneNYC.”  

“Select Bus Service has been a truly great partnership for the DOT and the MTA, as hundreds of thousands of daily riders citywide enjoy its real benefits that make buses faster, more reliable, and more convenient,” said DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. “But as the Mayor notes, our success means we now have much more to do, and so we will now tackle other corridors in neighborhoods around New York City where we believe the addition of SBS and the expansion of our bus-priority treatments on local bus routes could make a major difference. Whether it’s all-door boarding, dedicated bus lanes, or bus countdown clocks, hundreds of thousands of riders have come to rely on the innovations of SBS that we want to bring to even more routes.”

A joint initiative of New York City DOT and MTA New York City Transit, SBS has expanded dramatically over the last four years, increasing ridership as travel times on those routes have improved by as much as 30 percent. Right now, 12 percent of bus rides are taken on an SBS route, and with the Mayor’s commitment that number will rise to 30 percent -- nearly one in three bus riders. The Mayor has provided $270 million for Select Bus Service, and in 2014, the Administration introduced the first-ever baselined funding to deliver SBS upgrades, support that will now enable SBS on the following targeted corridors and areas, where DOT expects to work with the MTA:

Select Bus Service began in 2008 on the Bx12 route along Fordham Road in the Bronx, bringing bus rapid transit to New York City for the first time. According to data collected by DOT on each of the established routes, Select Bus Service’s signature features – all-door boarding, dedicated bus lanes, and signal priority -- have led to faster travel times, increased ridership, more reliable service, and safer streets. The rate of SBS expansion has grown dramatically under Mayor de Blasio -- from 6 routes at the start of 2014 to 14 currently. In the next year, Select Bus Service is expected to arrive on at least two more corridors that serve nearly 50,000 daily bus riders: Woodhaven/Cross Bay Boulevard in Queens and Flatlands Avenue/Kings Highway in Brooklyn. 

Additionally, the City and the MTA have worked together using MTA Bus Time GPS data to identify locations around the city where bus routes are slow and unreliable. The agencies will work together to create a new program focused on improving local bus speed and reliability -- applying treatments in the SBS toolbox that include dedicated bus lanes, transit signal priority, better bus stop spacing, fare-collection improvements, and other tools to improve bus service for the majority of MTA bus riders who ride local buses. Over the next decade, two or three major corridors will be tackled per year. New bus-priority projects have been and will be undertaken this year on Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan, Fulton Street in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, and along Main Street in Flushing, Queens – targeted improvements that will speed rides for more than 130,000 daily bus riders.

SBS Routes are currently active along the following corridors: 

Fordham Road/Pelham Parkway (Bx12)

First/Second Avenues (M15)

34th Street (M34/M34A) 

Hylan Boulevard (S79) 

Webster Avenue (Bx41) 

Nostrand Avenue (B44) 

125th Street-LGA (M60) 

86th Street (M86)

Bronx-Flushing-Jamaica (Q44) 

Woodside-Jackson Heights Airport Connector, LaGuardia Link (Q70)

Utica Avenue (B46)

23rd Street (M23) 

79th Street (M79)

Washington Hgts-Crosstown Bronx (Bx6)

For more information about Select Bus Service, please visit www.nyc.gov//brt

MAYOR ANNOUNCES DRAMATIC DROP IN ENERGY USE AND CARBON EMISSIONS IN LARGE BUILDINGS CITYWIDE

Fifth benchmarking report shows that between 2010 and 2015, emissions from 4,200 consistently benchmarked properties dropped by 14 percent, energy use decreased 10 percent

  As part of Mayor de Blasio’s ambitious goals to create more energy efficient buildings and align the city’s emissions reduction goals with the Paris Climate Agreement, the Mayor in partnership with Urban Green Council and NYU’s Center for Urban Science and Progress released New York City’s Energy and Water Use 2014 & 2015 Report, a comprehensive analysis of energy and water usage of large buildings in New York City.  

The analysis in the report finds that between 2010 and 2015 greenhouse gas emissions from 4,200 regularly benchmarked properties that missed no more than one benchmarking period, dropped by 14 percent, while energy use decreased 10 percent.

"This new analysis demonstrates that we can continue to achieve substantial reductions in emissions from the largest source in our city, our buildings, and keep New York City on-track toward our 80x50 target,” said Mayor de Blasio. “‎This sets the stage for even more dramatic reductions that will be achieved through mandatory retrofits for the largest, most polluting buildings across the five boroughs. When Trump pulled out of the Paris Agreement, we knew we had to accelerate our local climate actions, and that's exactly what's happening.‎"

“We’re glad to work with the city for the second year to analyze the biggest cache of large building data in the U.S.” said Russell Unger, Executive Director of Urban Green Council. “The report highlights encouraging improvements, and the findings give us direction on how to move further to reduce carbon and deliver on the City’s 80x50 goals.”

"This year's report represents another significant step forward in using data analytics to address the serious urban challenge of climate change," said Constantine E. Kontokosta, PhD, PE, Professor of Urban Informatics at NYU CUSP and Tandon, Director of NYU's Urban Intelligence Lab, and lead data scientist for the report. "New York City continues to lead on climate action, and data-driven, evidenced-based policies are necessary to achieve the Mayor's ambitious goals to reduce the City's carbon emissions and energy use."

The report was produced in partnership with Urban Green Council and NYU’s Center for Urban Science and Progress. It is part of a nearly decade long effort to better evaluate and manage energy use in buildings citywide, which contribute nearly 70 percent of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions. Seven years ago, as part of its efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions from buildings, the City of New York launched an initiative to determine how much energy its largest buildings use. Since then, Local Law 84 of 2009 (LL84) requires owners and managers of buildings that occupy at least 50,000 square feet to report the amount of energy and water these buildings use each year. This information can be used to compare the buildings’ energy performance against that of similar buildings. This process of reporting and comparison, known as benchmarking, has since been adopted by many major cities, including Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and Chicago.

While the simple exercise of benchmarking can raise building owner awareness and often lead to actions that reduce energy and water use, it also remains clear that to achieve the City’s ambitious climate goals to accelerate greenhouse gas reductions, more action will have to be taken. The report illustrates that half of the emissions declines are due to a cleaner electrical grid and more efficient district steam generation. Now that most New York State electricity generation from coal and oil has transitioned to natural gas, building owners will have to dig deeper into energy efficiency to keep up the pace. Benchmarking, in coordination with plans announced earlier this fall to mandate cuts in greenhouse gas emissions from the city’s largest buildings will be vital to accelerate this work and deliver on the City’s promise to deliver on the Paris Agreement’s stretch goal of limiting a global temperature increase to l.5° Celsius. 

 “The facts are clear. Benchmarking can help buildings use less energy, contribute fewer greenhouse gases to our atmosphere, and save money,” said Daniel Zarrilli, Senior Director for Climate Policy and Programs and Chief Resilience Officer for the Office of the Mayor. “Now is the time to take that even further by requiring the city’s dirtiest buildings to retrofit their systems to achieve even deeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. These efforts by New York City demonstrate the type of leadership that is necessary to achieve the Paris Agreement and fill the void of federal climate leadership.”

“Thanks to the data and analysis within this report, we can continue to target areas and policies that will aggressively reduce our energy consumption and accelerate greenhouse gas emissions reductions to get us closer to our climate goals.” said Mark Chambers, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability. “This report and policy tool is yet another example of what is possible when public and private partnerships work together towards a more sustainable and just city.”

“The City requires buildings larger than 50,000 square feet to perform annual energy audits – and we continue to see dramatic improvements in sustainability simply by ensuring that building owners get the information they need on how much energy they use. To further reduce both emissions and energy bills, we’ll be expanding the program to mid-size buildings next year,” said Buildings Commissioner Rick Chandler. “Expanded benchmarking will play a pivotal role in achieving Mayor de Blasio’s vision to reduce our carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050.”