Thursday, September 1, 2022

CONSUMER ALERT: NEW YORK STATE DIVISION OF CONSUMER PROTECTION URGES NEW YORK FAMILIES TO FOLLOW GUIDANCE TO HELP MINIMIZE THE RISK OF CHILD IDENTITY THEFT

 

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Secretary of State, Robert J. Rodriguez says, “Child Identity Theft is a disturbing trend as children are 35 times more likely to become victims of identity theft than adults” 

National Child Identity Theft Awareness Day was Recently Established to Generate Awareness of a Growing Trend Affecting Families and Children

 In recognition of National Child Identity Theft Awareness Day on September 1st, the Division of Consumer Protection (DCP) urges parents to take preventative actions to safeguard their children’s identities. Child Identity Theft is a growing problem. According to recent data from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), identity theft for those under 19 years old grew 60% in three years. 

“Child Identity Theft is a disturbing trend as children are 35 times more likely to become victims of identity theft than adults,” said Secretary of State Robert J Rodriguez, who oversees the Division of Consumer Protection. “The widespread adoption of technology products has introduced new challenges to parenthood. Parents must now also learn the behaviors that put children more at risk, how to protect them, and what to do when children become targeted.” 

Today’s children have been raised in a digital world and unlike past generations, their exposure to these technologies starts very young and makes them vulnerable to the dangers that lurk in technology’s shadows. The scale of the issue keeps growing under the increasing influence of digital technology, excessive screen time, social media, remote learning, and digital purchases in our lives. Products used by children are not nearly as privacy protected as they should be and contribute to the growing problem of Child Identity Theft. According to the FTC, Child Identity Theft occurs when someone uses a child's personal information to wrongfully get services or benefits, or to commit fraud. 

The Impact of Child ID Theft:

Child ID fraud is expensive and detrimental.  According to a study by Javelin Strategy and Research, fixing child identity theft takes longer to resolve than fraud against adults and costs the average U.S. family $372 out-of-pocket on top of any fraudulent charges. In one year, fraud losses linked to child identity theft totaled $918 million.  The crime of child identity theft may go on longer than other types of identity theft, because young children are less likely to use credit or take steps to help protect their identities. Someone whose identity is stolen as a child can feel the effects for years resulting in financial losses and missed opportunities. As a young adult, they may encounter problems securing a student loan, a first credit card, apartment, or utilities. The best approach is to prevent it and look for warning signs to protect your child’s credentials.

Warning Signs to Look For:

  • Pre-approved credit offers in your child’s name: this is a sign that someone else has used your child’s social security number to fraudulently obtain credit
  • Any communication addressed to your child from the IRS
  • Collection calls or past-due notices in your child’s name
  • Marketing offers for products and services that arrive in your child’s name 

Tips For Parents/Guardians to Safeguard Children’s Identities:

Consider freezing your child’s credit. Security freezes are free but must be placed separately with each of the three nationwide credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). The process varies between credit bureaus, but it’s not difficult and takes far less time and effort to freeze your child’s credit than to remediate a fraud case after the fact.

Make ID theft prevention a habit. Securely store all your child’s foundational identity documents (birth certificate, Social Security card, insurance cards) away from people in your circle. Any paper or electronic record that includes your child’s Social Security number should be stored securely, whether that means in password-protected, encrypted cloud storage or a locked file cabinet or safe.

Set reasonable boundaries around technology and monitor online activities. For many children, the line between the physical and virtual worlds is already blurry. Children with unrestricted and unmonitored internet access are at greater risk of experiencing the exposure of their personal information. Children’s information is collected in many places, including social media platforms, smart devices, video games and mobile applications are also gathering their information. Given the rise of data breaches, children’s identities are increasingly at risk of being exposed on the dark web and online forums where identities are illegally bought and sold.

  • Make sure that kids are registered as under 13 on the sites and applications they use. This limits the data that can be collected on them and the content they see.
  • Take hardware and software seriously. Buy products only from reputable companies, installing software updates immediately when available and restricting data collection to the strictest settings a service allows. 
  • Secure Your Child’s Cell Phone: If you've trusted your child with a smartphone, make sure their device is as secure as possible by adjusting settings for location, screen time, passcodes, and more.
  • Online Games: ensure kids play in disguise with a cool safe game name and don’t share personal information on gaming account profiles
  • Internet Connected Toys: Parents must be present when toys are being set-up. Some toys come equipped with microphones, voice recognition, GPS enabled wearables and artificial intelligence that allow software interaction between the child and the toy. Many can put a child’s privacy at risk. For tips on privacy precautions with technology toys, please see information from this December 2020 Consumer Alert.
  • Social Media: Make sure your social media account is set to ‘private’. Most social media is public by default.

Empower children to practice online safety:

  • Involve kids in routine privacy practices, such as creating safe passwords in a password manager or keeping up with online safety news. 
  • Remind kids that they can come to you when a questionable situation arises when they are online.
  • Talk to kids about keep everything updated: make sure that all devices, software, and firmware are up to date.

What to do if your child is a victim of ID theft:

  • If you notice fraudulent activities on your child’s credit report, don’t waste time. Immediately file an identity theft report with the FTC at identitytheft.gov and your local police department. The police are required to provide identity theft victims with one free copy of the incident report.
  • Contact each credit reporting agency to report the theft and place a freeze on your child’s credit record to prevent further damage.
  • Contact every business where your child’s information was misused, ask to close the fraudulent account and flag it to show it is a result of identity theft.
  • Contact the NYS Division of Consumer Protection’s Identity Theft Prevention and Mitigation Program, which serves to help victims by walking through the steps necessary to recover from the damages of identity theft.

The New York State Division of Consumer Protection provides resources and education materials to consumers on product safety, as well as voluntary mediation services between consumers and businesses. The Consumer Assistance Helpline 1-800-697-1220 is available Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 4:30pm, excluding State Holidays, and consumer complaints can be filed at any time at www.dos.ny.gov/consumer-protection.

For more consumer protection tips, follow the Division on social media at Twitter: @NYSConsumer and Facebook: www.facebook.com/nysconsumer.

Perpetrator Of Catfishing Scheme Charged With Extortion, Cyberstalking, And Interstate Threats

 

 Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced the unsealing of a three-count Indictment charging defendant SAKOYA BLACKWOOD with interstate communications with the intent to extort, cyberstalking, and extortion.  The defendant was arrested yesterday and presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jennifer Willis in federal court in Manhattan.  The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said:  “No one should have to fear public humiliation and financial loss from the release of personal, private information.  As alleged, Sakoya Blackwood created that very fear and sought to capitalize on it for her own personal gain.  I commend the victim for reporting this alleged criminal activity and encourage anyone else who believes they may have been a victim of this scheme to contact the FBI.”    

FBI Assistant Director Michael J. Driscoll said:  "Most people hope for a personal human connection in life, and scam artists twist that desire into illicit schemes to steal more than hearts. We believe Blackwood used tactics we allege in this indictment to blackmail and extort money from other victims.  We are asking those people to contact us so we can help them but also to ensure no one else ever falls victim to Blackwood's alleged deception."

As alleged in the Indictment unsealed yesterday in Manhattan federal court and statements made in court:[1]

The defendant used multiple online identities to target wealthy and high-profile men in a catfishing and extortion scheme.  In particular, as alleged in Count One, BLACKWOOD made threats against the Chief Executive Officer of a publicly traded company, identified in the Indictment as “Victim-1,” and threatened to release sexually explicit photographs and communications involving Victim-1 with the intent to extort.  BLACKWOOD engaged in a campaign of harassment against Victim-1, sending numerous intimidating and threatening text messages.  BLACKWOOD also used threats of economic and reputational harm from the release of the sexually explicit communications and photographs in an attempt to obtain payments from Victim-1.  As indicated in the Indictment, BLACKWOOD targeted multiple other victims as part of this catfishing and extortion scheme.

BLACKWOOD, 34, of the Bronx, New York, is charged with one count of making interstate communications with intent to extort, which carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison; one count of cyberstalking, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; and one count of extortion, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.

The maximum potential sentences in this case 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. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI.

If you believe you are a victim of this offense, please contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL FBI, and reference this case.

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 constitutes only allegations, and every fact described herein should be treated as an allegation.

MAYOR ADAMS, DEP HONOR FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF HURRICANE IDA, ANNOUNCE SUITE OF STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE INITIATIVES TO MAKE NYC MORE RESILIENT TO INTENSE RAINFALL

 

New York City’s Nation-Leading Green Infrastructure Program Now Includes Thousands of Rain Gardens, Bluebelts, Green Roofs, Other Assets Across Five Boroughs

 

Network of Green Infrastructure Expansion, Real-Time FloodNet Sensors, Cloudburst Pilot Projects, Bluebelt Program Expansion, and Porous Pavement Among New Stormwater Management Tools


 New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today marked the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Ida by announcing a suite of stormwater infrastructure initiatives aimed at making the city more resilient to extreme rainfall in the future. Today’s announcement took place in South Ozone Park, Queens, where the city recently completed the construction of 2,300 new curbside rain gardens. For more than a century, New York City’s network of catch basins and sewers have served as the primary drainage tool across the five boroughs. As New Yorkers continue to experience the increasing impacts of climate change, the city is accelerating plans for a multi-layered system of adaptive infrastructure that will make New York City more resilient to Ida-level rainstorms, and an implementation plan to guide this long-term effort is underway.

 

“One year ago, Hurricane Ida brought the heaviest rainfall in our recorded history and flooded our streets, subways, and basements, and, worse, claimed the lives of 13 of our neighbors,” said Mayor Adams. “Our neighbors were victims of climate change, which is bringing longer droughts, stronger storms, and heavier rainfall to places all over the globe, but we will not simply stand by and do nothing. We are taking action to protect our city and prevent future tragedies, by ramping up flood protection with sewer advancements and curbside rain gardens, as well as by building out our cloudburst infrastructure and expanding other flood mitigation options, including the bluebelt drainage system. New York City is adapting to the realities of climate change in real time and doing everything we can to keep New Yorkers safe and honor all that we lost one year ago today.”

 

“Sadly, extreme and unpredictable storms are no longer anomalies — they are our reality. So, we are building stormwater resilience into every aspect of our city infrastructure,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi. “When it comes to flood and storm protection, in addition to upgrading our sewers, we are adding sensors to provide New Yorkers with advance flood warnings and readying more of our green and play spaces to absorb and hold stormwater, so it does not damage property and endanger the lives of New Yorkers.”

 

“Climate change is sending us weather that our sewers were not designed to handle,” said New York City Chief Climate Officer and DEP Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala. “It will take time, but we will make New York City resilient to Ida-level storms through green infrastructure like rain gardens, bluebelts, and cloudburst infrastructure. In the meantime, we need New Yorkers to be aware when there are dangerous storms and to take steps to protect themselves and their property.”

 

“We’re taking bold action to transform, adapt, and prepare our city — investing not only to protect New Yorkers from climate hazards, like extreme rainfall, but also to make our city cleaner, greener, and a better, more equitable place to live,” said Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice (MOCEJ) Executive Director Kizzy Charles-Guzman. “From nature-based solutions like bluebelts and rain gardens to large-scale infrastructure projects, all New Yorkers deserve to benefit from our climate work today and in the future.”

 

“Last year, we experienced a devastating storm, and our city mourned the loss of life due to unsafe, illegal basements. We must use this anniversary as a reminder that we can do more to create safe, legal homes for New Yorkers who are currently living in basements,” said Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz. “We will continue working with the City Council to pass the ‘City of Yes’ Zoning for Housing Opportunity text amendment and with our partners in Albany to finally see successful state accessory dwelling unit legislation. We know future storms will hit our city, and it is imperative we build to weather future storms and protect our neighbors.”

 

“Hurricane Ida’s deadly deluge demonstrated New Yorkers’ vital need for immediate access to real-time flooding information,” said New York City Chief Technology Officer Matthew C. Fraser. “When future storms threaten our city, New York City FloodNet will save lives by informing the safety-related decisions made by city agencies, emergency responders, and residents. My office is proud to have partnered with numerous city government agencies and universities on this innovative tech project that exemplifies Mayor Adams’ mission to ‘Get Stuff Done’ for New Yorkers.”

 

“The Department of Design and Construction is proud to be part of a multi-agency effort addressing the wide-ranging impacts of climate change, including events like Hurricane Ida,” said New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC) Commissioner Thomas Foley. “We are building new sewers in parts of the city that didn’t have them, increasing capacity to handle heavier rainfall events in others, rolling out innovative efforts to divert stormwater away from our sewer system, and installing thousands of green infrastructure projects across the five boroughs. Our work is not done, and we are finding ways to actually accelerate delivery so we can bring these projects online even faster in the future.”

 

“Holistic, resident-informed cloudburst planning is essential to helping the authority mitigate the impact of heavy rainfall events, which can cause serious flooding and threaten the safety of public housing residents,” said New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Chair and CEO Greg Russ. “Today, NYCHA has dozens of stormwater and wastewater management projects in the pipeline, thanks to strong interagency collaboration and the tireless support of a mayoral administration that recognizes the urgent need for multi-purpose resilient landscapes that combat the worst effects of global climate change.”

 

“A year ago, Hurricane Ida left a permanent wound in the hearts of New Yorkers due to the loss of life and devastation in our neighborhoods and homes. It is important that every New Yorker has an emergency plan and access to accurate information to keep them and their loved ones safe as climate change continues to create more and more intense weather events," said New York City Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol. “And, as we adapt to this new normal, our team will continue to strengthen our vulnerable neighborhoods and communities through active preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation efforts.”

 

“Hurricane Ida’s tragic impact on our neighborhoods amplified the critical importance of innovative, sustainable stormwater management,” said New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) President and CEO Andrew Kimball. “NYCEDC is proud to partner with DEP on countless green infrastructure projects across the city, and we will continue to work with our city, state, and federal partners to invest in programs and projects that protect our communities from environmental impacts caused by climate change.”

 

“Hurricane Ida showed us that we must continue to invest in stormwater mitigation and capture, and I’m proud that this administration is taking action to advance this much-needed work,” said New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) Commissioner Sue Donoghue. “In addition to the work we are currently doing, such as water capture infrastructure in new park builds, expanding our green roofs program, tree plantings, and wetland reconstruction projects, these new and ongoing green infrastructure and stormwater management initiatives will make a big difference in our city’s fight to be more resilient towards heavy rain and flooding.”

 

Sewer Infrastructure

DEP is working with the DDC to upgrade and build out the sewer system to modern standards. In Southeast Queens, the city is investing $2.5 billion to install upgraded sewers. DDC is working in Gowanus, Brooklyn to complete a $39 million storm sewer project that will lead to cleaner water in the canal and reduce flooding in that area. Completion is scheduled for November 2022.

 

In the neighborhoods of Woodside, Maspeth, Middle Village, and Glendale in central Queens, the city has completed several projects to eliminate chronic flooding. The city is currently using advanced micro-tunneling technology to double the size of sewers and reduce or eliminate flooding. This $119 million project is expected to be completed in 2023.

 

The city also completed a $47 million project to raise streets and add almost half a mile of new storm sewers to reduce flooding in Broad Channel, Queens — an area frequently inundated by Jamaica Bay during high tides and storms. Phase Two — an $83 million project that will add an additional 3,200 linear feet of new storm sewer on previously unsewered blocks — is anticipated to be completed in 2024.

 

To alleviate flooding in South Beach, Staten Island, the city completed a $98 million project that encompasses 61 individual blocks and includes the reconstruction of over three miles of storm sewers, ranging from 12 inches in diameter up to rectangular sewers that are 8.5 feet wide by four feet high. The work included the installation of 200 new catch basins to better capture stormwater and direct it to new storm sewers.

 

In Southern Brooklyn, the city completed a $166 million project that included the construction of 6.5 miles of new sewers. Building new sewers and separating previously combined sewers creates additional capacity in the drainage system to reduce flooding and cut sewer overflows into Fresh Creek by 189 million gallons annually.

 

To ensure the city’s sewers perform optimally, the city will continue existing data-driven approaches to system maintenance and monitoring. For example, DEP’s field crews are strategically inspecting catch basins before they fill with debris — reducing flooding for New Yorkers and increasing efficiencies for staff.

 

DEP is also currently evaluating other technologies to gain more analyzable insights into the city’s sewer system —– allowing it to target inspection and maintenance efforts to reduce flooding and sewer backups. For example, new technology could help the city develop programs to identify emerging issues in the city’s sewers before they become more severe.

 

While catch basins and sewers will continue to serve as the backbone of the drainage system, in many places, sewers cannot be built any larger than they are. To manage increasing volumes of stormwater, new drainage and absorption tools must be added to increase protection and resilience.

 

Curbside Rain Gardens

 

New York City is investing heavily in curbside rain gardens. Today’s addition of 2,300 new curbside rain gardens is a milestone in the city’s effort to build out the country’s largest and most aggressive green infrastructure program. More than 11,000 installations have already been constructed, and construction is set to begin on 1,000 more rain gardens by the end of this year.

 

More than 70 percent of New York City is covered by surfaces that are not absorbent. As a result, heavy rain can mean tremendous volumes of stormwater streaming towards the city’s catch basins and sewer system. Green infrastructure absorbs stormwater from streets, sidewalks, roofs, and other hard surfaces before it reaches the sewer system and causes local flooding.

 

The 2,300 newly constructed rain gardens are located across Queens and the Bronx. Each rain garden has the capacity to collect and absorb up to 2,500 gallons of water during each storm. It is estimated that newly installed green infrastructure will capture more than 369 million gallons of stormwater annually.

  • In Queens, a total of 1,811 rain gardens and infiltration basins now exist in Kew Gardens Hills, Hillcrest, Fresh Meadows, Utopia, Flushing, Murray Hill, and Auburndale. It is estimated the newly added rain gardens will capture more than 264 million gallons of stormwater annually, helping to reduce the risk of flooding for residents and businesses in the area, while also improving the health of Flushing Creek and Flushing Bay.
  • In the Bronx, 565 rain gardens and infiltration basins were installed in Belmont, Crotona, West Farms, Van Nest, Westchester Square, Morris Park, Pelham Gardens, Pelham Parkway, Allerton, Laconia, Williamsbridge, and Olinville. Modeling shows these assets will manage approximately 105 million gallons of stormwater annually, reducing the risk of flooding while also improving the health of Westchester Creek and the Bronx River. 

 

FloodNet Sensors

 

NYC FloodNet is a new, innovative flood data collection program that will provide real-time street-level flood information to city agencies, residents, emergency response teams, and researchers. The information provided by the sensors can give critical information on the need for road closures or travel bans, inform residents of the need to deploy sandbags and flood barriers, validate existing flood models, and provide data for future drainage investments.

 

The city has already installed 29 sensors this year alone and will install 50 this year and 500 FloodNet sensors in priority areas citywide over the next five years. These areas are and will continue to be determined by an analysis of stormwater risk, tidal flooding risk, storm damage, environmental justice history, social vulnerability, critical infrastructure, and proximity to wireless network connections.

 

FloodNet is a cooperative of communities, researchers, and New York City government agencies working to better understand the frequency, severity, and impacts of flooding in New York City. FloodNet is a collaboration between The City University of New York, New York University, MOCEJ, and the New York City Office of Technology and Innovation.

 

Cloudburst Management

New York City has been partnering with the city of Copenhagen to share best practices for stormwater management. An outgrowth of that work in New York City are pilot cloudburst projects to help manage extremely intense cells of rainfall that can impact portions of the city during a storm. These intense rain events can drop a large amount of water over a short period and can overwhelm the city’s sewer system capacity.

 

A “cloudburst” is a sudden, heavy downpour where heavy rains fall in a short amount of time. Cloudbursts can cause flooding, damage property, disrupt critical infrastructure, and pollute New York’s rivers and harbor. Cloudburst management implements a combination of methods that absorb, store, and transfer stormwater to minimize flooding. The city’s new cloudburst projects will seek to utilize open spaces to store stormwater until the rainfall event passes, and there is capacity in the drainage system to manage it.

 

The city’s first cloudburst pilot project will take place at NYCHA’s South Jamaica Houses. Project design is now complete, and construction is expected to begin in 2023. The city is expected to invest $4-5 million on this project and will focus on channeling stormwater to three areas on the NYCHA grounds: Two open grassy areas that will be designed to hold a large amount of stormwater and a basketball court that will be rebuilt at a lower elevation so water will naturally flow there.

 

When completed, this cloudburst installation will capture and hold approximately 300,000 gallons of stormwater. In addition, upgrades will be made to complement this work, including new lighting and seating.

 

Another cloudburst pilot project at the St. Albans/Addisleigh Park neighborhood in Southeast Queens is currently in design. NYCHA’s Clinton Houses in East Harlem, Manhattan has also been selected for a cloudburst pilot project. This project — currently in design — is the recent recipient of an $8.31 million grant from the federal government.

 

Citywide Bluebelt Program Expansion

 

The city remains committed to expanding its Bluebelt Program. Bluebelts utilize existing streams, ponds, and wetlands and partner them with storm sewers to safely drain large volumes of stormwater and naturally filter it before eventually flowing to the New York Harbor. Today, there are 94 bluebelts citywide, with 83 providing drainage for more than a third of Staten Island, 10 in Queens, and one in the Bronx. There are several additional bluebelts currently in the pipeline, and DEP engineers are looking across the city to determine what sites are feasible for future bluebelts.

 

The city has also partnered with Eric Sanderson — a senior conservation ecologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society — for this project. Sanderson is an expert in the natural history of New York City and has written extensively on the buried streams and wetlands across the five boroughs and the correlation of those waterways with chronic flooding conditions today. 

 

As part of this partnership, maps will be created that overlay historical wetlands and streams with our current built infrastructure and data on reports of flooding. A public website with these maps is expected to be available to the public in 2023.

 

Daylighting

 

The city has begun an ambitious project to “daylight” parts of the southern section of Tibbetts Brook, south of Van Cortlandt Lake in the Bronx. This means bringing a previously buried stream back to the surface, redirecting the flow of the Tibbetts Brook out of the sewer system and allowing it to run closer to its historical course towards the Harlem River.

 

By daylighting Tibbetts Brook and removing its clean water from the sewer system, the project will create additional capacity in the area’s sewer network and should help to mitigate flooding along Broadway and other areas of the Tibbetts Brook watershed, while also reducing sewer overflows into the Harlem River.

 

Tibbetts Brook is a small stream that begins its journey in the City of Yonkers and flows south into Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. The stream cuts through the middle of the park, where it was dammed to form Van Cortlandt Lake. Historically, Tibbetts Brook flowed through southern portions of the Bronx before emptying into the Harlem River. Roughly a century ago, however, this southern portion of Tibbetts Brook was redirected into the city’s sewer system at a rate of 4 to 5 million gallons per day on dry weather days, and the bed of the waterway was reclaimed for other purposes. The freshwater of Tibbetts Brook then travels through the sewer system, occupying space that could otherwise be used by stormwater to the Wards Island Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility.

 

Porous Pavement

As part of an ongoing pilot program, more than three miles of porous pavement have been installed within roadways in Queens and the Bronx. Porous pavement manages more stormwater runoff than typical curbside rain gardens and is easier to site. Engineers are currently designing more than 56 additional miles of porous pavement for Brooklyn and the Bronx.

 

Onsite Retention

Earlier this year, DEP finalized the Unified Stormwater Rule, which requires any newly developed or redeveloped property to include infrastructure, such as a green or blue roof, rain gardens, or storage, that will retain additional stormwater on-site. By keeping stormwater on-site, and not allowing it to drain onto sidewalks and eventually into the city’s sewer system, the new rule will help ease pressure on the sewer system, mitigate flooding, and reduce sewer overflows.

 

Flood Insurance and Financial Counseling

 

The city is expanding outreach and counseling to homeowners and tenants through FloodHelpNY, an online platform that provides residents with information and resources about flood risk, flood insurance, and flood resiliency retrofits. Since 2016, FloodHelpNY has educated and equipped more than 700,000 New Yorkers with resources to prepare themselves and their homes. The city has proposed a significant expansion of the program using federal grant funding that will help homeowners better prepare to recover from a flood. In addition to launching a coordinated marketing campaign around flood insurance, the city aims to leverage FloodHelpNY to offer in-home engineering inspections and financial counseling sessions for property owners in certain flood-prone neighborhoods.

 

Post-Ida Recovery and Mitigation

 

The city is receiving $188 million by way of the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to support long-term recovery efforts following Hurricane Ida. The funds will be used for programs to strengthen the resiliency of NYCHA and the affordable housing stock, help homeowners increase the resiliency of their homes, and plan for increased awareness and improved mitigation of flood risk across the city. These programs — in the final stages of being approved — include proactive measures around emergency response, expanded homeowner counseling through FloodHelpNY, and planning for resiliency and recovery from future climate events.

 

Other Investments

 

In the weeks after the remnants of Hurricane Ida flooded many parts of the five boroughs, the city took immediate steps to begin accelerating the funding for the programs that can help to manage extreme rainfall. This includes:

  • $2.1 billion in new capital funding to build sewers and green infrastructure;
  • $238 million of capital funds accelerated for sewers and green infrastructure; and
  • $400 million in new capital funding advanced for the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT), New York City Department of Education, and NYC Parks, as well as NYCHA for green infrastructure and other stormwater management initiatives. These projects are ongoing.

 

“This is a very somber anniversary,” said U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. “Our community lost beloved neighbors, and so many are still struggling to rebuild their homes. This flooding was preventable, and, going forward, we must use every tool at our disposal to prevent and mitigate climate disasters — acting at the city, state, and federal levels.”

 

“The devastation caused by Hurricane Ida one year ago and all climate emergencies underscore the urgent need for investments in green infrastructure,” said New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. “Historically underserved communities, like those in Southeast Queens, continue to bear the brunt of climate change, the result of environmental neglect. The types of targeted investments we are announcing today remain critical to redress these wrongs and is another step in delivering essential improvements for our neighborhoods. As a city, we must protect all communities by making them more resilient to extreme rainfall, chronic flooding, and storms.”

 

“RPA applauds the release of this report, which demonstrates that the Adams administration understands the degree of risk that extreme precipitation poses to our communities and infrastructure, as we tragically realized one year ago with Ida,” said Robert Freudenberg, vice president, energy and environment, Regional Plan Association (RPA). “This vision lays the groundwork for a comprehensive approach to manage stormwater with all of the tools at our disposal, from grey and green infrastructure to nature-based solutions. We look forward to working together with DEP, MOCEJ, DOT, and other agencies to meet this challenge head-on.”

 

“The mayor’s vision for stormwater management recognizes that we will need to complement our sewers with extensive, strategic investments in green infrastructure in order to make our city resilient,” said Amy Chester, managing director, Rebuild by Design. “The next step — as the vision document promises — is to turn this vision into an actionable, funded strategy with implementation timelines. We look forward to working with DEP, MOCEJ, and other city agencies on that effort.”


Housing Lottery Launches For 855 East 167th Street In Crotona Park East, The Bronx

 

The affordable housing lottery has launched for 855 East 167th Street, an eight-story residential building in Crotona Park East, The Bronx. Designed by Sion Consulting Engineering, the structure yields 30 residences. Available on NYC Housing Connect are nine units for residents at 130 percent of the area median income (AMI), ranging in eligible income from $66,858 to $187,330.

855 East 167th Street in Crotona Park East, The Bronx via NYC Housing Connect

Amenities include a garage with assigned parking spaces, elevator, and a virtual doorman. Residences come equipped with name-brand kitchen appliances, countertops, and finishes, intercoms, and air conditioning. Tenants are responsible for electricity.

At 130 percent of the AMI, there are four one-bedrooms with a monthly rent of $1,950 for incomes ranging from $66,858 to $156,130 and five two-bedrooms with a monthly rent of $2,100 for incomes ranging from $72,000 to $187,330.

Prospective renters must meet income and household size requirements to apply for these apartments. Applications must be postmarked or submitted online no later than September 13, 2022.

Council Speaker Adams and CUNY Chancellor Matos Rodríguez Launch Program to Re-Engage Thousands of Former Working-Age Students towards Gaining Degrees That Increase Earning Potential

 

Proposed by Speaker and funded in city budget due to Council’s advocacy, $4.4 Million CUNY Reconnect program aims to start by bringing back 10,000 working-age students who left CUNY without degree

 The City University of New York is launching an initiative this fall semester to re-enroll thousands of New Yorkers, who earned some college credits but left school before completing a degree. The $4.4 million CUNY Reconnect pilot program was funded in the Fiscal Year 2023 city budget at the behest of advocacy by the New York City Council and will seek to help these former students secure degrees or other credentials that improve their economic mobility and advance the city’s post-pandemic recovery. The program was envisioned by the Center for an Urban Future’s research and first proposed by Speaker Adams at the Association for a Better New York’s Power Breakfast and in her State of the City address.

CUNY Reconnect plans to begin by enrolling 10,000 returning students, starting in this fall semester. CUNY estimates that there are approximately 700,000 working-age New Yorkers, who have earned credits and could return to finish their degrees or earn certificates that would help them enhance their careers. This includes students who left college during the pandemic, as well as those who withdrew years or even decades ago. The initiative will also conduct outreach to students who graduated from high school during the pandemic and were unable to attend college because of personal circumstances.

“Expanding opportunities for working New Yorkers is critical to supporting our communities and advancing our local economy,” said Speaker Adrienne Adams. “CUNY Reconnect, which I highlighted in my 2022 State of the City address, is an innovative initiative that can help working-age New Yorkers increase their earning potential by returning to earn a degree. CUNY Reconnect is designed to create economic opportunities for New Yorkers, especially Black and Latina women and other women of color who disproportionately comprise students with college credits but no degree. The Council championed this $4.4 million pilot initiative in the city budget that will serve thousands of returning students this fall, and hopefully tens of thousands more in future expansions. I thank CUNY Chancellor Matos Rodríguez for his partnership, the Center for an Urban Future for their important work to advance this idea, and my Council colleagues for their commitment to supporting advancement opportunities for New Yorkers.”
 
“We know how hard it is to restart a college education. By recruiting former college students and making it easier for them to return to school, CUNY Reconnect will help working adults obtain the education they need for better-paying jobs, which will fuel the city’s economic recovery from the pandemic,” said Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “Returning to college after a significant break can be daunting, but by creating a welcoming and personalized readmission process, we can ease that transition for many thousands who stand to benefit and put them on the pathway to life-changing opportunity. We thank Speaker Adams and the City Council for their partnership in creating and funding a bold initiative that can help so many New Yorkers as well as the city itself.”

Attorney General James Successfully Defends New York’s Gun Control Laws

 

Federal Judge Dismisses Gun Lobby’s Challenge to New York’s New Gun Laws, Clears the Way for Gun Safety Regulations to Take Effect

 New York Attorney General Letitia James successfully defended New York’s gun control laws from baseless attacks by the gun lobby. A federal judge in the U.S. Northern District Court of New York denied a motion for a preliminary injunction by Gun Owners of America, clearing the way for the newly passed Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA) to take effect on September 1. Attorney General James released the following statement in response to the decision in the case Antonyuk v. Bruen: 

“As gun violence continues to impact communities across the country, today’s decision is a victory in our efforts to protect New Yorkers. Responsible gun control measures save lives and any attempts by the gun lobby to tear down New York’s sensible gun control laws will be met with fierce defense of the law. We will continue to defend the constitutionality of our laws to protect all New Yorkers,” said Attorney General James. 

The CCIA was passed during an extraordinary session of the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Hochul earlier this summer, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. The legislation strengthens requirements for concealed carry permits, prohibits guns in sensitive locations, allows private businesses to ban guns on their premises, enhances safe storage requirements, requires social media review ahead of certain gun purchases, and requires background checks on all ammunition purchases to protect New Yorkers. The CCIA goes into effect on September 1 after Attorney General James successfully defended its constitutionality.  

Statement from Governor Kathy Hochul on Dismissal of Preliminary Injunction in Antonyuk v. Bruen

 Governor Kathy Hochul New York State Seal

"The court dismissed the case and denied the motion for a preliminary injunction. It is a just and right decision, and our smart, sensible gun laws will go into effect as planned on September 1 to keep New Yorkers safe."