Virtual Wave Hill

 

As we soak up the last days of summer in the gardens, we're also looking towards fall! We have some exciting news and virtual programming coming up the next few months, like the return of onsite Family Art Project! Check out what's new below. 

And a friendly reminder: Wave Hill is open Wed through Sun from 10AM to 5:30PM. Wave Hill House and Glyndor Gallery are also open with reduced hours and limited capacity. The Cafe is open for grab-and-go snacks and beverages. Our shuttle service is still suspended due to social distancing guideless. Advanced reservation is required. Reserve yours here. 

September Salute to the Bees

Our annual Honey Weekend moves online this year to celebrate the hard-working pollinators in our yards, gardens and natural areas. Throughout the month of September, we're offering virtual activities and information you can access on-demand as well as live virtual programs with experts.

Local honey, beeswax products and candle-making supplies are available by mail through The Shop at Wave Hill. And if you plan to visit the garden, take a self-guided tour of pollinator-friendly plants or just enjoy the gardens in their fall glory.

Fall Exhibitions

The first of our Fall 2020 exhibitions have been installed and we are thrilled to be reopening Glyndor Gallery to the public. Visit wavehill.org for most up-to-date hours and visitor policies so you can see these works in person.

Family Art Project

The Family Art Project team is thrilled to be able to begin to welcome families back onsite--carefully–in October, with projects closely tuned to the season. We’ll be exploring plant myths, what it means to love the land and giving special attention to Indigenous People’s Day (October 12) and Remembrance Day for Lost Species (November 30).

As always, the program will be offered Saturday and Sunday mornings, from 10AM to 1PM. While art-making is still the focus, it will be a little more structured than usual, and storytelling will be on hiatus until it is safe for us to offer it again. To assure that we all feel safe and welcomed, special rules will be in effect: 

• Family Art Projects will happen outdoors.
  
• Masks and social distancing are required. 
• The location will be the Conifer Slope, just outside the side entrance to the Family Art Project. Please enter from the roadway that runs along the front of Wave Hill House and the lawn leading down to the Conifer Slope.
• The number of families able to participate at any given time will be limited to about five. If you arrive and capacity is full, program staff will provide a “come back” card so you will have first entry for the next session.
• Shine only. Check the website the morning of for the status of the day’s program.

A 28-acre public garden and cultural center overlooking the Hudson River  and Palisades, Wave Hill’s mission is to celebrate the artistry and legacy of its gardens and landscape, to preserve its magnificent views, and to explore human connections to the natural world through programs in horticulture, education and the arts.

HOURS: Special restricted hours as New York City recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic: 10AM–5:30PM, Wednesdays–Sunday.

Information at 718.549.3200. On the web at www.wavehill.org.

Back to School Giveaway - Friday, September 18

For more information, call 718-991-3161 

DE BLASIO ADMINISTRATION RELEASES MAYOR’S MANAGEMENT REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2020

 

The de Blasio administration today released the Mayor’s Management Report for Fiscal 2020, an analysis of City agencies’ performance from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020. The MMR presents more than 2000 indicators from 45 City agencies that measure the City’s performance in providing services to New Yorkers.

 

“Every year, the Mayor’s Management Report holds us accountable and tells New Yorkers how we’ve performed for them,” said Mayor de Blasio. “This data tells the story of how the City has delivered, despite a year unlike any other. As trust in government becomes more important than ever, we’re proud to maintain our commitment to open access and transparency.”

 

“The Mayor's Management Report is an important opportunity to examine how our City is doing so that we can see what's working and what isn't, especially as we respond to the COVID-19 crisis with the upcoming fiscal constraints," said Jeff Thamkittikasem, Director of the Mayor's Office of Operations. “At Operations, performance and project management are core aspects of our work. I'm proud of the work done on this year's report, and proud of the progress we will continue to make as a City.”

 

This year, in addition to other chapters highlighting inter-agency collaboration on initiatives such as ThriveNYC or Vision Zero, the MMR has a short chapter on the City’s response to the COVID-19 crisis.

 

The MMR, which grew out of the 1970’s fiscal crisis, is a national model for holding City government accountable. Both MMR and Preliminary Mayor’s Management Report (PMMR), which covers the first four months of the fiscal year and is released in January, are mandated by Section 12 of the New York City Charter.

 

To view this year’s report, visit: http://www.nyc.gov/mmr.

 

Key improvements include:

 

SAFER CITY

 

Vision Zero/Street Safety

 

DOT

• Citywide traffic fatalities decreased 3.2% from 218 to 211.
• Traffic fatalities (bicyclist/pedestrians) decreased 5.8% from 137 to 129.
• Overall traffic crashes decreased 27.8% from 223,471 to 161,249.
• Bicycle lane miles installed for the year increased 22.1% from 67.5 to 82.4.

 

Construction Safety

 

DOB

• Construction-related accidents decreased 18.6% from 625 to 509.
• Construction-related injuries decreased 17.3% from 646 to 534.
• Construction-related fatalities decreased 27.3% from 11 to 8.
• Violations issued increased 19.9% from 80,874 to 96,969.

 

Crime

 

NYPD

• DWI-related fatalities decreased 15% from 20 to 17.
• Grand Larceny decreased .8% from 42,956 to 39,524

 

Fire Safety

 

FDNY

• Civilian fire fatalities decreased 20.9% from 67 to 53.
• Structural fires decreased 0.8% from 26,207 to 25,993.

 

PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELLNESS

 

DOHMH

• Syphilis cases decreased 2.5% from 1,974 to 1,925.
• New HIV diagnoses (CY Preliminary) decreased 20.0% from 1,917 to 1,533.
• Adults who smoke (CY) decreased 0.9% from 12.8% to 11.9%.

 

ThriveNYC

• ThriveNYC and DVS launched Mission: VetCheck in which volunteers from the veteran’s community were trained to make supportive check-in calls to veterans; over 12,800 calls to veterans were made between April and the end of June 2020.
• Requests from veterans, family members and caregivers that resulted in a successful connection to care, services or resources (with DVS) increased from 504 in FY19 to 1,402 in all of FY20.

 

MORE SUSTAINABLE AND LIVABLE CITY

 

Zero Waste

 

DSNY

• Tons of refuse disposed decreased by 1.1% from 3.248M tons to 3.204M tons – significant drop toward meeting 3.150M tons goal
• Curbside and containerized recycling diversion rate increased 0.4% from 18.1% to 18.5%.

 

Housing

 

HPD

• Housing starts under Housing NY (HNY) (units) increased 18.6% from 25,321 to 30,023.
• Preservation starts under Housing NY (units) increased 45.4% from 16,180 to 23,520.

 

DOHMH

• Supportive housing units available to persons with serious mental illness increased 5.5% from 9.1 to 9.6.

 

NYCHA

• Applicants placed in public housing increased 5.8% from 3,147 to 3,330.
• Applicants placed through Section 8 vouchers increased 49.0% from 2,438 to 3,632.

 

Quality of Life

 

DEP

• DEP Water main breaks decreased 19.2% from 459 to 371.
• DEP Street cave-in complaints received improved by 18% from 3,767 to 3,104.

 

DOT

• DOT Streets maintained with a pavement rating of "Good" increased 0.2% from 71.6% to 71.8%.
• DOT Pothole work orders decreased 11.2% from 42,960 to 38,151.

 

Sustainability

 

DCAS

• Citywide fleet size decreased 0.8% from 30,755 to 30,502.
• Electric vehicles in the citywide fleet increased 3.2% from 2,662 to 2,747

 

EQUITY AND EXCELLENCE IN SCHOOLS

 

DOE

• Major felony crimes in schools decreased 35.1% from 444 to 288.
• Other criminal activities in school decreased 36.5% from 1,537 to 976
• Other incidents in schools decreased 30.7% from 4,202 to 2,912.

 

IMPROVING SERVICES AND BUILDING POTENTIAL

 

ACS

• Child protective specialist caseload decreased 29.0% from 10.5 to 7.5.

 

HRA

• Child support collected increased 3.9% from $780.8 to $811.1.

 

SBS

• MWBEs that were certified increased 10.7% from 9,063 to 10,034.
• MWBEs awarded City contracts increased 0.7% from 1,528 to 1,539.
• Unique businesses and customers served by SBS increased 6.6% from 21,069 to 22,460
• MWBEs awarded contracts after receiving procurement and capacity building assistance increased 3.3% from 1,022 to 1,056.

 

DHS

• Adult families entering the DHS shelter services system decreased 22% from 1,433 to 1,118.
• Families with children entering the DHS shelter services system decreased 15.7% from 11,965 to 10,087.
• Single adults entering the DHS shelter services system decreased 3.9% from 21,122 to 20,296.

 

Consumer Alert: New York State Division of Consumer Protection Offers Online Safety Tips at the Start of the New School Year

 

Technology is a Key Part of the New Normal when it comes to Learning; Follow Tips to Protect your Child’s Personal Information when they are Online

  The New York State Division of Consumer Protection (DCP) is advising parents, guardians and caregivers to review their online settings during this new school year. Whether your children are going to school in-person, virtually or following a hybrid schedule, the start of a new school year is a great time to ensure everyone’s privacy remains protected while online. 

“Back to school this year may not be what we expected, but it is an opportunity for all of us to reevaluate our home networks as many students continue to learn at home,” said New York State Secretary of State Rossana Rosado. “If you opted for remote or blended learning for your family or if you are working from home, take the start of the new school year to make sure your systems are protecting you and not aiding nefarious actors.”

 With children online more, parents must be vigilant to protect their child’s sensitive information and help prevent identity theft and fraud victimization. Children are 35 times more likely to become victims of identity theft. Children’s identities are especially attractive to thieves because the theft of the child’s identity often remains undetected for years.

 Parents and guardians of children under the age of 16 are legally permitted to place a free security freeze on their child’s credit record. A security freeze prevents anyone from opening a credit account in the child’s name and stops the credit reporting agencies from releasing the child’s credit report to third parties. A parent or guardian interested in placing a freeze can find helpful information on DCP’s by clicking here.

 Here are more precautions you can take to help prevent your child’s information falling into the wrong hands.

 Information Privacy

• Secure your router. If your wi-fi router has the same password that it came with, you should change the password to something only you and your family know.
• Protect passwords. The key to safe passwords is to update them regularly and make them unique. Teach your child to use a passphrase instead of a password and include special characters and numbers. If it becomes difficult to remember so many passwords, try a password manager with two-factor authentication. Most importantly, make sure your child knows to never share their passwords with anyone.
• Check social media logins. Many apps allow the use of social media credentials to create a new account on their platform, but this gives the social media company access to the information in the app. Once a year (e.g. the start of the school year), check the list of apps that are accessed through social media accounts and delete any you do not recognize or are no longer used.
• Be cautious about the information shared on social media. Explore privacy settings on apps and websites with your child and begin a discussion about managing who sees what they post. Caution children never to reveal personal information including full names, addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, or even where they go to school. This information may be used by online predators looking to exploit them or reveal answers to security questions used to reset passwords, making your child a possible target of scammers looking to access accounts or secure information.
• Turn on two-factor authentication. To enhance the security of your child’s accounts, two-factor authentication will require your child’s password and an extra security code to verify their identity whenever they sign into their accounts.
• Don’t watch pirated content. You may have content-hungry kids who found ways to stream content for free, but pirated content is risky. Hackers can embed malware in the videos which will provide them access to your home devices and networks. Simply, don’t view pirated content, and if you have, scan and update the computer’s security software as soon as possible.

 Video Conferencing

• Protect your privacy. The devices and apps we use are generally defaulted to share the maximum amount of data possible. Check the settings and make any necessary changes to limit the personal data that is shared.
• Check your software version. Make sure you are using the most recent version of the software or app. Security updates are released regularly by many conferencing app companies.
• Know the meeting organizer and only use trusted links where the meeting organizer is controlling who enters the meeting. Teach your child to not join video conferences where the link is public and anyone can join.
• Beware of copycat domains. Make sure the link is legitimate (e.g. webex.com, zoom.us, hangouts.google.com) and will go to the location specified rather than bouncing to a different URL. Before clicking on a link, hover over it and make sure the link is for the address you expect.
• Log in on a secured network. Whenever possible, do not log into an online conference with public WIFI. Public WIFI is open for anyone in the vicinity to see what you or your child is doing. Unsecured online conferencing can pass on a lot of information, including passwords and meeting IDs, making it easy for someone to get access to the conversation or other personal information.
• Make meetings “private.” When setting up meetings, schedule them as private so that the only people who are able to join the meeting are those who are invited. Do not post the link on an open forum like social media. Where possible, invite people directly from the application, so only those people on the email invite list can attend the meeting.
• Consider using a “waiting room” and do not allow people in before the meeting organizer arrives. Waiting rooms allow the meeting organizer to screen who is entering the meeting and make sure no uninvited guests join.

 The New York State Division of Consumer Protection serves to educate, assist and empower the State’s consumers. For more consumer protection information, call the Consumer Helpline at 800-697-1220, Monday through Friday, 8:30am-4:30pm. Consumer complaints can be filed anytime online at the Division website, www.dos.ny.gov/consumerprotection. You can also request a presentation at, www.dos.ny.gov/consumerprotection/informing/request_presentation.htm. Follow the Division at @NYSConsumer or www.facebook.com/nysconsumer.

MAYOR DE BLASIO ANNOUNCES NEW YORK CITY’S OWN DEDICATED COVID-19 LAB

 

Mayor de Blasio today announced the launch of the Pandemic Response Lab (PRL), a facility dedicated to processing COVID-19 tests within 24-48 hours for NYC Health + Hospitals. Based in the Alexandria Center for Life Science in Manhattan, the lab is now up and running, and will scale up its capacity to process approximately 20,000 tests per day by November.  

 

“With New York City’s infection rate and hospitalizations at their lowest point since the beginning of the pandemic, we know that our strategy of widespread testing and tracing is working,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “The PRL will build on our city’s reputation as a world leader in making testing available to everyone.”

 

In an effort led by New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and using technology licensed from NYU Langone Health based on research led by Dr. Jef Boeke, a geneticist and founding director of The Institute for Systems Genetics at NYU Langone, Brooklyn-based Opentrons, a robotics company focused on life sciences, worked with diagnostic experts from P4 Clinical, Health + Hospitals, and the NYC Test + Trace team to launch Pandemic Response Lab.  

 

Through LifeSci NYC, a $500 million initiative announced by the Mayor in 2016, NYCEDC has done a significant amount of work to grow New York City’s life science ecosystem.  Building upon this expertise, NYCEDC was called upon by the NYC Test & Trace Corps to support in the identification, operationalization, and coordination of a local lab for COVID-19 testing.

 

As the need for testing across the country rises, PRL will build on existing capacity as part of the overall NYC testing strategy and provide faster results dedicated to serve the City. The City has drastically improved turnaround times for COVID-19 tests, with over 80% of tests coming back within 72 hours or less, according to new metrics.

 

In addition to expanding the City’s lab capacity, PRL is providing New Yorkers with good-paying jobs - clinical lab technologists, customer success representatives, automation engineers, and scientists, among others - by already employing close to one hundred people. That number will climb to approximately 150 by November.

 

This past spring, NYCEDC and City Hall convened a Testing Innovation Council comprised of experts from academia from Columbia, Rockefeller, Memorial Sloan Kettering, CDC, and more. The Council evaluated diagnostic technologies to support NYC’s need for safe testing, including the scientific and operational vetting of options for lab capacity that led to the creation of Pandemic Response Lab.

 

“As New York City continues to re-open and the economic recovery begins, large-scale testing that provides results fast is key to keeping New Yorkers safe and the City moving forward,” said James Patchett, president and CEO of the New York City Economic Development Corporation. “Throughout this pandemic we have seen the extraordinary creativity and innovation of NYC businesses and institutions. Creating lab capacity right here is another example of this City’s ability to meet any challenge.”

 

At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, we committed to leveraging every possible opportunity to expand the City’s testing capacity as a part of our ongoing response,” said NYC Health + Hospitals Vice President of Clinical Operations Kenra Ford. “The Pandemic Response Lab allows us to increase the number of tests we can process daily, to decrease citywide turnaround times, and to immediately ensure expanded access to testing.”

 

“Slow lab results are holding back our city’s recovery. Pandemic Response Lab has been designed to help fix that,” said Opentrons CEO Jon Brennan-Badal. “We have paired experts in genetics and clinical diagnostics with cutting-edge automation and robotics that will allow us to deliver lab results to New Yorkers in 24 hours. Nothing is more important to us than helping our city respond to the pandemic. The pace of our recovery will depend on the speed and accuracy of citywide testing. We are proud to play a role in strengthening that infrastructure and in further democratizing a life science industry crucial to our future.”

 

“Testing is key to controlling the spread of COVID-19 and to guiding the revitalization of our city. Over the past 4 months, a team from Columbia, Memorial Sloan Kettering and Rockefeller, has worked with the Mayor’s Office, the New York City Economic Development Corporation, and Health + Hospitals to build a powerful and inclusive testing strategy,” said W. Ian Lipkin, John Snow Professor of Epidemiology and Director, Center for Infection and Immunity, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. “If we all do our part, schools, businesses, restaurants, sports and entertainment can and will come back to NYC.”

 

“The Mayor’s Office, NYCEDC and NYC Health + Hospitals are providing just the right prescription for what New York City needs to deal with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic—careful attention to data-driven decision making, through the work of the Testing Innovation Council and an extraordinary internal team,” said Robert B. Darnell, M.D., Ph.D. Heilbrunn Professor and Senior Physician, The Rockefeller University, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Founding Director & CEO Emeritus, NY Genome Center.

 

“The city and the NYCEDC had the right vision and initiative to assemble an accomplished team of experts from multiple institutions with hundreds of years of combined experience in order to expand testing for SARS-Cov-2 for the city. The urgency of developing a reliable, safe, affordable COVID-19 test with an actionable turnaround time was unprecedented. We believe these efforts will aid in improving the lives of those living or working in the city and expedite the recovery of the NYC economy,” said Orly Ardon, PhD, MBA, Digital Pathology Scientific Manager at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and member of the Testing Innovation Council.

Governor Cuomo Announces COVID-19 Infection Rate Below 1 Percent

 

0.98 of Yesterday's COVID-19 Tests were Positive

3 COVID-19 Deaths in New York State Yesterday

SLA and State Police Task Force Visits 984 Establishments; Observes 4 Establishments Not in Compliance

Confirms 896 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 447,262; New Cases in 46 Counties

 Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that New York State's COVID-19 infection rate remained below one percent. Yesterday, 0.98 of test results reported to New York State were positive. The number of new cases, percentage of tests that were positive and many other helpful data points are always available at forward.ny.gov.

"No community rose to the occasion like New Yorkers rose to the occasion. We went from the highest infection rate in the nation to one of the lowest infection rates in the nation. That's what the history books are going to say. That happened for one reason: Because New Yorkers stepped up and were loving and believed in community and cared for one another," Governor Cuomo said. "Now our calibration is between managing COVID and managing reopening. We don't want to see the COVID infection rate go over one percent for any period of time, and we are right up against it. There is no margin for error here - this pandemic is far from over: Everyone must keep washing their hands, socially distancing and wearing their masks, and above all, staying New York tough."

Yesterday, the State Liquor Authority and State Police Task Force visited 984 establishments in New York City and Long Island and observed 4 establishments that were not in compliance with state requirements. A county breakdown of yesterday's observed violations is below:

• Brooklyn - 1
• Manhattan - 1
• Suffolk - 2

Today's data is summarized briefly below:

• Patient Hospitalization - 486 (+3)
• Patients Newly Admitted - 72
• Hospital Counties - 33
• Number ICU - 135 (-3)
• Number ICU with Intubation - 68 (+1)
• Total Discharges - 75,962 (+59)
• Deaths - 3
• Total Deaths - 25,413

Governor Cuomo Announces Insurance Fraud Action Against Johnson & Johnson for Leading Role in the Opioid Crisis

 

Part of DFS Action to Recover $2 Billion in Insurance Premium Overcharges for Defrauded New Yorkers

DFS Claim Alleges Johnson & Johnson Fraudulently Mischaracterized the Safety and Efficacy of Opioid Drugs to Expand the Opioid Market, Serving to Promote Both Its Own Opioid Drugs and Opioid Raw Material Business, Spread the Opioid Crisis, and Cause Dramatically Increased Health Insurance Costs for NY Consumers

Read the DFS Statement of Charges for Johnson & Johnson and Related Companies Here

  Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the Department of Financial Services has filed charges and initiated administrative proceedings against Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries Janssen Pharmaceutica, Inc., Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - collectively, "Johnson & Johnson." These charges are the fourth set to be filed against opioid manufacturers arising from the ongoing DFS investigation into the creators and perpetrators of the opioid crisis.

"The opioid crisis has taken too many lives and New York State will continue to take action against those who helped fuel this public health catastrophe and bring a measure of justice to families who have lost loved ones," Governor Cuomo said. "Misrepresentation of opioids to consumers for profit is inexcusable and we will use every tool necessary to help ensure those responsible are held fully accountable." 

Superintendent of Financial Services Linda A. Lacewell said, "The opioid crisis has had a devastating impact on individuals, families, and communities across the nation. DFS remains committed to protecting New York consumers and ensuring the integrity of the insurance industry."

Johnson & Johnson manufactured a number of opioid products in New York State, most notably Schedule II drugs Duragesic, a fentanyl patch, and Nucynta, a tapentadol drug. In addition, Johnson & Johnson controlled a large portion of the raw opioid supply chain through its patented "Norman Poppy," which at one point was responsible for up to 80% of the global supply for oxycodone raw materials.

The DFS Statement of Charges alleges that the Johnson & Johnson Respondents have had a long-standing and multi-faceted leading role in originating, supplying, facilitating, and actively creating a dangerous market for opioids for chronic pain treatment. Their efforts not only supported sales of their own branded opioids but also established under false and fraudulent pretenses an environment that amplified the medical community's acceptance of opioid prescribing, thereby increasing demand for its opioid-related raw materials. 

DFS's allegations against the Johnson & Johnson Respondents include the following:

• Through brochures and third-party publications, they specifically targeted elderly patients as candidates for opioid treatment, while minimizing the increased risks of opioid use to this more vulnerable population;
• Through branded marketing and the support and control of an arsenal of key opinion leaders and front groups, they characterized opioid addiction as a dangerous myth and advanced the idea of "pseudoaddiction" — the false concept that patients showing clear signs of addiction were simply in need of even more opioid medication;
• They received multiple communications from the FDA warning them about misrepresentations in their Duragesic marketing materials. These misstatements included mischaracterizations of abuse data to claim that their opioid products were less addictive than other opioid products; unsubstantiated claims of low abuse potential and enhanced quality of life; and a complete lack of risk information about Duragesic's boxed warnings, contraindications, and side effects; and
• They developed a poppy in the 1990s that facilitated the supply of what would become broadly used opioids, including oxycodone, the main ingredient of OxyContin, which was manufactured by Purdue.

According to the DFS Statement of Charges, the Johnson & Johnson Respondents violated two New York Insurance Laws. Section 403 of the New York Insurance Law prohibits fraudulent insurance acts and carries with it penalties of up to $5,000 plus the amount of the fraudulent claim for each violation; DFS alleges that each fraudulent prescription constitutes a separate violation. Section 408 of the Financial Services Law prohibits intentional fraud or intentional misrepresentation of a material fact with respect to a financial product or service, which includes health insurance and carries with it penalties of up to $5,000 per violation; once again, DFS alleges that each fraudulent prescription constitutes a separate violation.

The hearing will be held at the office of the New York State Department of Financial Services, One State Street, New York, New York, beginning on January 25, 2021.

Read a copy of the DFS Statement of Charges for Johnson & Johnson and related companies on the DFS website.