What is the Truth About 2500 Williamsbridge Road, and When Did the Community Board Know the Deal Was Axed?

 There was a proposal by Carnegie Hill Institute for a drug treatment center at the vacant 2500 Williamsbridge Road site previously occupied by Eastern Abstracts. At the Community Board 11 Leadership Committee meeting of October 17th  it was determined to have a Town Hall meeting on Thursday November 7th. The place to hold the Town Hall meeting would be the nearby Institute for Special Education located at 999 Pelham Parkway North.

 On the way to the November 7th Town Hall meeting a couple of things happened. Certain people associated with one Community Board 11 member said not to worry that there would be no drug treatment center at 2500 Williamsbridge Road. Councilman Mark Gjonaj was quoted on October 25th "The Deal was killed" regarding the 2500 Williamsbridge Road site in a Bronx newspaper. Gjonaj was quoted again "Now they want to put it on Esplanade" referring to a long vacant Jewish Synagogue and community center at 2440 Esplanade Avenue. No  official agenda for the Town Hall meeting ever went out from Community Board 11. 

November 7th came with an estimate of 700 people attending on a rainy night. There had to be two sessions due to the capacity of 300 people. The outcome of the Town Hall meeting was that the 2500 Williamsbridge Road site was not going to Carnegie Hill Institute, and Councilman Gjonaj said that he wants to restore 2440 Esplanade to a community center. Since Councilman Gjonaj was quoted saying 2500 Williambridge Road was not going to happen weeks before, why was 2440 Esplanade all of a sudden added to the meeting, and why did the Town Hall happen if the property was killed weeks prior to the Town Hall. Why was the meeting not cancelled? 

Upon checking with the District Manager of CB 11 his answer was that the community board was not notified of any change in 2500 Williamsbridge Road only to find out at the Town Hall meeting. He said 2440 Esplanade was a rumor to which the DM could not remember when the board was told, adding since there was no formal notice to the board. Also that the flyer with a different CB 11 member on it which I received at the board office was from a private citizen and not the community board.

UPDATE: After the Pelham Parkway Neighborhood meeting November 12th Councilman Gjonaj told me that CB 11 knew about 2500 Wiliamsbridge Road two weeks before the town hall meeting. Members of the community want to know why Community Board 11 held the Town hall meeting when they were told the outcome by Councilman Gjonaj two weeks ahead of the meeting? 

PUBLIC ADVOCATE WILLIAMS RESPONDS TO BLOOMBERG 'STOP AND FRISK' COMMENTS

"Forgive many of us for questioning apologies a decade late and on the eve of a presidential run. It is not nearly enough to erase the legacy of the systemic abuses of stop, question, and frisk on the people whose lives were harmed by over-policing, nor the communities criminalized by it. 

"As recently as this year, Mayor Bloomberg was defending this position, and while apologizing for wrongs is a necessary quality in strong leadership, a more meaningful action would include developing and advocating a real plan for restorative justice in those communities and aiding officers whose careers and lives faced challenges because of their public opposition to the policy. As I said in fighting the abuses of stop and frisk, in ultimately overriding the Mayor's veto, we can have better policing and safer communities at the same time, and the years since then have proved it. 

"Stop and frisk was just one of many tactics pursued by the Bloomberg administration which had a detrimental impact on lower income New Yorkers and communities of more color. On housing, on education, and more, the question of those years is not just 'were they good policies' but 'who were they good for.' I expect a deep reflection on those policies in the coming weeks and months."

Drug Dealer Sentenced To More Than 17 Years In Prison For Selling Fentanyl That Caused Overdose Death Of Public School Teacher In The Bronx

  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that KASHAWN LYONS was sentenced to 210 months in prison in connection with his sale of the fentanyl that resulted in the death of Matthew Azimi, a public school teacher in the Bronx.  LYONS pled guilty to narcotics conspiracy on January 14, 2019.  As part of his guilty plea, LYONS stipulated that he sold the drugs that resulted in the death of Mr. Azimi.  U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr. imposed today’s sentence.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “Kashawn Lyons admitted to selling a fatal dose of fentanyl to Matthew Azimi, a public school teacher in the Bronx, who overdosed inside of his schoolhouse at the age of 36. The tragic death of a public educator is a reminder of the pervasiveness of the opioid epidemic and its destructive effect on our society. Today’s sentence serves as a reminder that lengthy prison terms will result from dealing deadly opioids.”

According to court documents and statements made in open court:

On November 30, 2017, Matthew Azimi, age 36, was found dead inside a faculty bathroom at a special education public school in the Bronx (the “School”) where Mr. Azimi was a teacher.  The New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) responded to the School and began investigating Mr. Azimi’s death.  An autopsy conducted following Mr. Azimi’s death revealed that he died from a lethal dose of fentanyl.  NYPD officers recovered a syringe and a pink glassine bag with no stamp or other distinctive marking next to Mr. Azimi’s body.  NYPD also recovered Mr. Azimi’s cellphone.

The NYPD was able to trace the last three completed calls that Mr. Azimi made before he overdosed on November 30, 2017 to a cellphone used by LYONS.  Through surveillance, the NYPD learned that LYONS continued to sell fentanyl and heroin in the vicinity of the School.  In February 2018, the NYPD made undercover buys of fentanyl and heroin from LYONS in close proximity to the School.  The fentanyl and heroin purchased from LYONS was packaged in the same unique pink glassine bags as the one that was found next to Mr. Azimi’s body.

In addition to the prison term, LYONS, 33, of the Bronx, New York, was sentenced to five years of supervised release.   

Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the NYPD in this case.

Leaders And Members Of Mafia Family Convicted Of Murder, Racketeering, And Other Crimes

  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that MATTHEW MADONNA, STEVEN L. CREA, CHRISTOPHER LONDONIO, and TERRENCE CALDWELL, were convicted today, after a six-week jury trial, of murder, conspiracy to commit racketeering, and other felonies.  Fifteen other defendants have previously pled guilty to related charges.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “The violent and disturbing acts of these four organized crime figures included the brutal murder of associate Michael Meldish. Fittingly, all four defendants have been found guilty of their heinous acts of fraud, extortion, and murder on the six-year anniversary of Meldish’s death. Thanks to the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and NYPD, we will continue our commitment to making organized crime a thing of a bygone era.”

According to the evidence presented at trial, and other court documents:

Until his arrest in this case, MADONNA was the Acting Boss of the Luchese Family of La Cosa Nostra, one of the “Five Families” that constitute the Mafia in the New York City area.  In 2013, MADONNA became displeased with Michael Meldish, a longtime organized crime associate who had refused to collect debts owed to MADONNA.  MADONNA ordered Meldish killed, leading to Meldish’s murder on this date six years ago.  As the Acting Boss of the Family, MADONNA also received payments from a host of other illegal activities, including the extortion of labor union members, loansharking, illegal gambling operations, and drug-trafficking.

CREA is the official Underboss, or second-in-command, of the Luchese Family.  As the Underboss, he participated in MADONNA’s decision to kill Meldish, and relayed the order to lower-ranking members of the Family.  As a member of the Family’s leadership, or “administration,” CREA also profited from the same illegal activities as MADONNA.  CREA was personally involved in several criminal schemes, including fraud and extortion in a large construction project at a public hospital, the extortion of one of his subordinates, and ordering the assault of a relative.

LONDONIO is a made member of the Luchese Family.  Acting under the orders of MADONNA and CREA, LONDONIO helped setup Meldish—a personal friend of LONDONIO’s—to be killed, and acted as the getaway driver for the murder.  LONDONIO also carried firearms and other weapons, beat an associate of a rival crime family with a baseball bat, and personally participated in extortion, operating illegal gambling businesses, and drug-trafficking, among other crimes.

CALDWELL is an associate of the Luchese Family, who participated in its crimes but was not formally inducted as a member.  On May 29, 2013, CALDWELL ambushed a member of the rival Bonanno Family in Manhattan.  CALDWELL fired several shots into the victim’s car at close range and struck him once in the chest, but the victim survived.  On November 15, 2013, CALDWELL carried out MADONNA’s and CREA’s orders to kill Michel Meldish.  CALDWELL met Meldish and drove with him to a Bronx neighborhood to meet LONDONIO.  As Meldish got out of his car, CALDWELL shot him once in the head, killing him instantly.  CALDWELL then drove off with LONDONIO.

MADONNA, 84, of the Bronx, New York; CREA, 72, of Crestwood, New York; LONDONIO, 45, of Hartsdale, New York; and CALDWELL, 61, of Manhattan, New York, were each found guilty of one count of racketeering conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, which carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison; murder in aid of racketeering, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison; and use of a firearm in furtherance of murder in aid of racketeering, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.

CREA was acquitted of one count of attempted murder and assault in aid of racketeering and one count of use of a firearm in furtherance of attempted murder and assault in aid of racketeering. 

LONDONIO was also found guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute narcotics, which carries a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison.  LONDONIO was acquitted of one count of attempting to escape from the Metropolitan Detention Center.  

CALDWELL was also found guilty of one count of attempted murder in aid of racketeering, which carries a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison, and one count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of attempted murder in aid of racketeering, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI, the NYPD, the Department of Homeland Security Homeland Security Investigations, the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, and the Bureau of Prisons.

Former Employee Of Hospital Charged With Compromising Dozens Of Coworkers’ Email Accounts And Stealing Their Confidential Information

  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced the arrest of RICHARD LIRIANO for installing a malicious software program known as a “keylogger” on dozens of his coworkers’ computers at a New York City area hospital, obtaining unauthorized access to his victims’ email, social media and other online accounts, and using that unauthorized access to steal private and confidential files.  Using his victims’ stolen credentials, LIRIANO repeatedly compromised their password-protected online accounts, and pilfered their sensitive personal photographs and other private documents.

LIRIANO was arrested yesterday and arraigned in federal court before United States Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker. 

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “Richard Liriano, an information technology professional at a New York hospital, is alleged to have installed a ‘keylogger’ program onto dozens of his coworkers’ computers in order to spy on and steal personal information from them.  Liriano allegedly used the access he gained through the malicious software to steal photos, tax records, and other personal information from his coworkers and people associated with them.  As information technology increasingly becomes an integral part of our workplaces, ensuring the integrity of those systems becomes even more critical.  The arrest of Liriano should serve as an error message to any information technology professionals seeking to capitalize on their trusted access to information:  As in this case, you will be caught and prosecuted.”

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. said: “Whatever alleged motivation the subject in this case had, hacking into his co-workers lives, albeit extremely disturbing, wasn't the most egregious act.  He allegedly installed a harmful program on computers that house vital and critical healthcare information for hospital patients, without a thought to what he could be compromising in his attempts to spy on people.”

According to the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court[1]:

From at least in or about 2017, up to and including at least about in or about September 28, 2018, LIRIANO misused administrative access provided to him as an information technology employee at a New York City-area hospital (“Hospital-1”), to log in to employee accounts, and copy other employees’ personal documents, including tax records, and personal photographs onto his own workspace computer for his own personal use. 

To further his efforts to steal personal information from Hospital-1’s employees, LIRIANO, without authorization, secretly installed a malicious program known as a keylogger on the accounts of other, primarily female, employees.  This program recorded and sent victim employees’ keystrokes to LIRIANO, which included the usernames and passwords those employees entered to access their personal web-based email accounts.  Through the course of this conduct, LIRANO stole usernames and passwords for at least approximately 30 email accounts belonging to Hospital-1 employees or persons associated with those employees (the “Compromised Accounts”). 

LIRIANO then used those stolen usernames and passwords to log in to the Compromised Accounts and obtain unauthorized access to other password-protected email, social media, photographs, and online accounts to which the Compromised Accounts were registered.  Among other things, LIRIANO conducted searches for personal photographs in the Compromised Accounts.

LIRIANO, 33, of Bronx, New York, is charged in three counts.  The first count charges him with transmitting a program to a protected computer that intentionally caused damage, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.  The second count charges him with intentionally accessing a protected computer without authorization and recklessly causing damage, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.  The third count is aggravated identity theft, which requires a two year prison term to be served consecutive to any sentence imposed on the computer intrusion charges.  The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Berman praised the extraordinary work of the FBI and the New York City Police Department.

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

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

Comptroller Stringer “Making the Grade” MWBE Report Reveals Systemic Barriers to Competition, Exclusionary Contract Language, Unresponsive City Agencies

City Awarded $20.5 Billion in Contracts in FY 2019; Only $1.007 Billion (4.9 Percent) Awarded to M/WBEs.

After Four Consecutive “D+” Grades, City Finally Earns First “C” Grade in FY 2019 for M/WBE Spending

 New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer today announced the results of a first-of-its-kind survey of more than 550 Minority/Women Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBEs), which revealed systemic barriers to competition M/WBEs face when navigating City contracting – including unresponsive City agencies, opaque procurement processes and exclusionary contract language. The Comptroller also announced that the City earned its first passing ‘C” grade after four consecutive years of “D+” grades on the Comptroller’s “Making the Grade: New York City Agency Report Card on M/WBEs.”

“If we want a strong economy with real, local community wealth creation, we need an inclusive economy. That’s why my office proposes recommendations every year on how the City can level the playing field and increase access and opportunity for M/WBEs,” said New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer. “Accountability leads to improvement – and while today’s report indicates modest progress by the City, we cannot rest on our laurels until all City agencies make the grade. We know that there is more work to be done to dismantle the systemic barriers M/WBEs face when navigating City procurement and contracting. We must do more to ensure that the M/WBE community has the tools, resources, and capacity to compete and thrive in our economy.”

“Making The Grade” assesses 32 City agencies – and the City overall – on progress in spending with minority and women-owned businesses (M/WBEs) and is a diagnostic tool for agencies to improve performance and transparency in M/WBE spending, increase competition in City procurement and save taxpayer dollars.

Highlights in the 2019 “Making the Grade” report include:

Improvements:

• The City earned its first “C” grade in FY 2019 for M/WBE spending after four consecutive years of “D+” grades. For the first time, no agencies received an overall “F” grade.
• The City spent $911.9 million with M/WBEs in FY 2019, an additional $180.8 million from FY 2018.
• 30 out of 32 agencies improved or maintained their grades from last year.
• 92 percent of the City’s top 50 competitive contracts (about $1.7 billion) had M/WBE goals.

Problem Areas:

• There is significant room for increased spending with every minority group. The City earned a “B” grade on spending with Asian American-owned businesses and a “C” grade with Hispanic American owned businesses. It maintained its “D” grade with women and its “F” grade with African American-owned businesses from FY 2018.
• The City awarded $20.5 billion in contracts in FY 2019, of which only $1.007 billion (equal to 4.9 percent) were awarded to M/WBEs.
• 17 percent of City-certified M/WBEs received City payments in FY 2019, a decrease from 20 percent in FY 2018 due to an expansion of more than 2,000 firms in the M/WBE program.

Each year, this report also puts forth recommendations meant to reduce barriers and increase access to opportunities for M/WBEs. The Comptroller’s Office conducted a survey of over 550 M/WBEs to help inform these recommendations. Survey findings included:

• 82 percent of respondents expressed the need to improve criteria on how vendors are selected for City work.
• 69 percent of respondents found agencies unresponsive when they reached out to Agency Chief Contracting Officers, M/WBE Officers, or other related liaisons with meeting requests, phone calls. As a result, 75 percent of respondents stated that agency responsiveness needed some or major improvement.
• 38 percent of respondents who did not compete for contracts were not aware of procurement opportunities and said the process was too time consuming and hard to understand.
• More than 80 percent of respondents that served as prime vendors/subcontractors waited more than 30 days to be paid for their first invoice on average.

The Comptroller’s “Making the Grade” report made a series of recommendations, including:

• The City should require agencies to conduct market analyses and address solicitation language that creates unnecessary barriers to competition.
• The City should conduct a workforce disparity study and create a workforce diversity program.
• The City should expand the role of M/WBE Officers to serve as advocates for M/WBEs and to address agency responsiveness and contracting issues.

To Hold Corporate Executives Accountable for Misconduct, Comptroller Stringer and the NYC Retirement Systems Call for Clawback Policy at Gilead, Inc.

For years, Gilead has been embroiled in controversy for potentially engaging in anti-competitive practices that kept the HIV prevention drug, Truvada, unaffordable for millions

New shareholder proposal calls for a “Clawback” policy that would hold corporate executives financially accountable for misconduct – such as anti-competitive practices – by giving the Board of Directors the ability to recoup profits made as a result of wrongdoing

Clawback policies ensure misconduct is not rewarded and help companies limit risks and foster long-term sustainable growth 

Following a class-action lawsuit alleging that Gilead, Inc., a pharmaceutical company engaged in anti-competitive practices to delay generic alternatives to HIV prevention and management drugs in order to charge exorbitant prices, today New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer and the New York City Retirement Systems (“the Systems”) announced a new shareholder proposal to hold senior Gilead executives accountable for potential misconduct. The shareholder proposal submitted to Gilead’s board of directors would, if adopted, give the board the ability to recoup or “clawback” compensation paid to senior executives as a result of misconduct or failed oversight – and help companies limit reputational and regulatory risks while fostering long-term sustainable growth. This is the first year that Comptroller Stringer and the Systems are calling for this reform at Gilead, Inc and comes as part of the partnership with Investors for Opioid and Pharmaceutical Accountability.

“Ethics matter – and companies should hold their employees accountable when they commit misconduct. There is strong evidence that suggests Gilead purposefully raised drug prices to exorbitant levels – and that people living with HIV were denied the medicine they need to survive. It’s outrageous and now the company is facing long-term consequences,” said New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer. “When Wells Fargo defrauded customers, a clawback policy held executives accountable. Money made as a result of misconduct should not pad the pockets of bad-actors – and clawback policies ensure that misconduct is not rewarded. As long-term shareholders, Gilead must prove to investors that they have substantive measures to hold executives accountable. It’s not just the right thing to do, it’s a smart policy to help set a proper tone at the top for ethical conduct and thereby promote long-term sustainable growth.”

The Comptroller and the NYC Retirement Systems’ proposal specifically urges the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors to adopt a policy “to provide that the Committee will (a) review, and determine whether to seek recoupment of incentive compensation paid, granted or awarded to a senior executive if, in the Committee’s judgment, (i) there has been misconduct resulting in a violation of law or Gilead policy that causes significant financial or reputational harm to Gilead and (ii) the senior executive either committed the misconduct or failed in his or her responsibility to manage or monitor conduct or risks; and (b) disclose the circumstances of any recoupment if the circumstances of the underlying misconduct are public.”

In 2013, the Comptroller’s office successfully negotiated an expanded clawback policy at Wells Fargo. Three years later, following a letter from Comptroller Stringer, the board of directors used the expanded clawback policy to recoup $60 million from the company’s CEO and another executive in the aftermath of the Wells Fargo fake account scandal. Since 2014, the Comptroller’s office has filed 18 clawback-related proposals, which were enacted by 11 companies.

Comptroller Stringer serves as the investment advisor to, and custodian and a trustee of, the New York City Pension Funds. The New York City Pension Funds are composed of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, Teachers’ Retirement System, New York City Police Pension Fund, New York City Fire Department Pension Fund and the Board of Education Retirement System.