Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19 - JANUARY 20, 2023

 

Governor Encourages New Yorkers to Keep Using the Tools to Protect Against and Treat COVID-19: Vaccines, Boosters, Testing and Treatment

34 Statewide Deaths Reported on January 19

 Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress combating COVID-19 and outlined basic steps they can take to protect against the spread of viral respiratory infections that become more common in the winter season. 

"I urge all New Yorkers to remain vigilant and continue to use all available tools to keep themselves, their loved ones and their communities safe and healthy," Governor Hochul said. "Be sure to stay up to date on vaccine doses, and test before gatherings or travel. If you test positive, talk to your doctor about potential treatment options."

Governor Hochul is urging New Yorkers to take common prevention measures — like staying up to date on vaccines and practicing proper hygiene — to protect from Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), the flu and COVID-19 and reduce the patient burden on local hospitals. The Governor reiterated these basic steps when she updated New Yorkers on the state's winter health preparedness efforts last month. 

Recently, the New York State Department of Health announced that the XBB.1.5. variant is now the most dominant strain in New York, accounting for more than 50 percent of COVID-19 infections statewide. Emerging at a time when both COVID-19 and flu cases remain high, early data indicates that XBB.1.5. is more transmissible than other circulating variants, though there isn't clear evidence of significant changes to the virulence or severity of disease. 

The New York State Department of Health's weekly flu surveillance report for the week ending January 14, shows influenza remaining widespread throughout the state for a fifteenth consecutive week, with a total of 300,907 positive cases across all 62 counties reported to date. The report found that confirmed cases statewide dropped 50 percent, while overall hospitalizations were down 52 percent from the previous week, at 798 hospitalizations across the state.

Additionally, there were 13 outbreaks in acute care and long-term care facilities, the report determined. There were two additional pediatric deaths, leaving the total at eight statewide.

With flu season continuing and infections remaining widespread, Governor Hochul encourages all New Yorkers to get their annual flu vaccine. The flu virus and the virus that causes COVID-19 are both circulating, so getting vaccinated against both is the best way to stay healthy and to avoid added stress to the health care system. 

The Health Department is continuing its annual public education campaign, reminding adults and parents to get both flu and COVID-19 shots for themselves and children 6 months and older. For information about flu vaccine clinics, contact the local health department or visit vaccines.gov/find-vaccines/. 

Governor Hochul also continues to urge New Yorkers to get their bivalent COVID-19 vaccine boosters. Recently, the New York State Department of Health announced new guidance for bivalent COVID-19 booster doses, which are now available for eligible children down to 6 months of age. 

The updated boosters are the first to be targeted to the original virus strain and recently circulating variants and are recommended for young New Yorkers and all those eligible. To schedule an appointment for a booster, New Yorkers should contact their local pharmacy, county health department, or healthcare provider; visit vaccines.gov; text their ZIP code to 438829, or call 1-800-232-0233 to find nearby locations. 

Today's data is summarized briefly below:  

•  Cases Per 100k - 20.65
•  7-Day Average Cases Per 100k - 18.16
•  Test Results Reported - 73,186
•  Total Positive - 4,036
•  Percent Positive - 4.84%
•  7-Day Average Percent Positive - 6.66%**
•  Patient Hospitalization - 3,260 (-109)
• Patients Newly Admitted - 509
• Patients in ICU - 354 (-25)
• Patients in ICU with Intubation - 133 (-2)
• Total Discharges - 391,435 (+566)
• New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 34
• Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 61,035

** Due to the test reporting policy change by the federal Department of Health and Human Services and several other factors, the most reliable metric to measure virus impact on a community is the case per 100,000 data -- not percent positivity.   

The Health Electronic Response Data System is a NYS DOH data source that collects confirmed daily death data as reported by hospitals, nursing homes and adult care facilities only.   

Important Note: Effective Monday, April 4, the federal Department of Health and Human Services is no longer requiring testing facilities that use COVID-19 rapid antigen tests to report negative results. As a result, New York State's percent positive metric will be computed using only lab-reported PCR results. Positive antigen tests will still be reported to New York State and reporting of new daily cases and cases per 100k will continue to include both PCR and antigen tests. Due to this change and other factors, including changes in testing practices, the most reliable metric to measure virus impact on a community is the case per 100,000 data -- not percent positivity.  

• Total deaths reported to and compiled by the CDC - 77,564

This daily COVID-19 provisional death certificate data reported by NYS DOH and NYC to the CDC includes those who died in any location, including hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities, at home, in hospice and other settings.    

• Total vaccine doses administered - 43,612,327
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours - 10,366
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days - 67,595
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series - 85.4%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 90.5% ​​​​​​​
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older who are up to date - 15.4%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with completed vaccine series - 74.4%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 76.1% 
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 who are up to date - 5.9%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 5-11 with completed vaccine series - 39.9%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 5-11 with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 40.7%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 5-11 who are up to date - 3.3%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 0-4 with completed vaccine series - 7.3%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 0-4 who are up to date - 7.3%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series - 76.4%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 80.6%
• Percent of all New Yorkers who are up to date - 13.2%

Each New York City borough's 7-day average percentage of positive test results reported over the last three days is as follows **:    

Borough	Tuesday,   January   17, 2023	Wed.  January   18, 2023	Thursday,   January   19, 2023
Bronx	8.19%	7.88%	7.65%
Kings	5.19%	5.93%	4.91%
New York	6.18%	6.21%	6.06%
Queens	8.01%	7.81%	7.46%
Richmond	6.83%	6.82%	6.52%

     

Attorney General James’ Office of Special Investigation Releases Report on Death of Delroy Morris

 

New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI) released its report on the death of Delroy Morris in Brooklyn. Following a thorough investigation, including review of security camera videos, radio transmissions, eyewitness accounts, and crash reconstruction analysis, OSI concluded that criminal charges are not warranted in this case.

On the night of July 25, 2020, two officers with the New York City Police Department (NYPD) responded to a 911 call reporting a man had been shot at the intersection of Wythe Avenue and Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The officers were driving westbound on Metropolitan Avenue in a marked NYPD vehicle with sirens and lights on. The officer driving the vehicle slowed down as he approached Driggs Avenue before driving through a steady red light, which is permitted under New York’s Vehicle and Traffic Laws when police officers are responding to an emergency. While crossing the intersection, the vehicle struck Mr. Morris, who was traveling south on Driggs Avenue on a motorcycle. Mr. Morris was thrown from the motorcycle, which landed underneath a car. Morris was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead in the early morning hours of July 26, 2023.

The NYPD’s Collision Investigation Squad (CIS) reconstructed the collision and determined that the NYPD officer driving the vehicle was driving about 23 MPH, tapped the brakes before entering the intersection, and was not impaired. The officer submitted to an alcohol test following the incident, which was negative. The CIS determined that Mr. Morris was traveling between 37 and 49 MPH before the collision.

Under New York law, proving criminally negligent homicide requires establishing beyond a reasonable doubt that a person failed to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that death would occur; that the failure to perceive the risk was a gross deviation from a reasonable person’s standard of care; and that the person engaged in blameworthy conduct. In this case, there is no evidence that the officer was engaging in unnecessarily risky behavior, nor that he was speeding or impaired, and therefore OSI concluded that criminal charges could not be pursued against the officer.

The NYPD’s patrol guide requires that if qualified to do so, the patrol supervisor must administer an alcohol test to any police officer involved in a collision that results in a death. The patrol supervisor who arrived at the scene minutes after the crash was not qualified to administer the test to the officer who was driving, so the officer was not breath-tested until two hours later, when CIS arrived. While there is no evidence the officer in question was impaired or intoxicated, OSI recommends that all patrol supervisors be trained in administering alcohol breath tests to avoid similar delays in the future.

The OSI also recommends that the NYPD require any officer whose job responsibilities include operating NYPD vehicles to requalify for emergency vehicle operator certification every five years. 

Man Pleads Guilty To Committing Multi-Million-Dollar Fraud Against Medicare By Selling Bogus Orders For Medical Equipment

 

 Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that MATTHEW TAYLOR WITKOWSKI pled guilty to a one-count criminal Information charging him with conspiracy to commit health care fraud.  WITKOWSKI is scheduled to be sentenced on April 20, 2023, before United States District Judge Denise Cote.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Medicare is a valuable, taxpayer-funded program designed to provide affordable health care to people over 65 or with disabilities, not to enrich those who would seek to benefit themselves through fraud.  Matthew Taylor Witkowski admitted to illegally selling orders for durable medical equipment, which were used to bilk Medicare out of millions of dollars.”

According to the Information, statements made in court, and other publicly filed documents in this case:

From at least August 2019 through the date of his arrest in July 2022, WITKOWSKI and a co-conspirator (“CC-1”) engaged in a scheme to defraud Medicare by illegally obtaining and selling fraudulent written orders for goods and services paid for by Medicare, including for durable medical equipment (“DME”).  Using a call center that he owned and operated in the Dominican Republic, WITKOWSKI illegally generated and purchased fraudulent written orders for DME and then sold those fraudulent orders to pharmacies and DME suppliers, including in New York City.  Those pharmacies and DME suppliers then used those fraudulent orders as the basis for more than $8 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare.  Many of these fraudulent orders used names and personal health information of actual Medicare beneficiaries, without the beneficiaries’ authorization or prior knowledge.  Many of these fraudulent orders also contained professional information of doctors and other health-care providers enrolled in the Medicare program, as well as the purported electronic signatures of these providers, which were falsified and created without the authorization or knowledge of these providers.

During the course of the scheme, WITKOWSKI took more than $4 million in illegal kickbacks from DME suppliers, who made these payments to True Prospects Marketing, Inc., a company controlled by Witkowski and CC-1, and to Sales Drive Marketing LLC, a company owned and controlled by WITKOWSKI.

WITKOWSKI, 37, an American citizen who has been residing in the Dominican Republic, and is currently on bail in Florida, pled guilty today to a single count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.  That charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. 

The maximum potential sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the sentencing judge.

Mr. Williams praised the investigative work of the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

NYC PUBLIC ADVOCATE’S STATEMENT ON THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION'S CHANGES TO VIDEO FOOTAGE POLICY

 

"I am deeply concerned by the Department of Correction's recent changes to their video sharing system, as well as any actions taken by the DOC that effectively dictate terms and conditions onto how their own oversight body, the Board of Correction, can work effectively. The Department has given no sufficient explanation for this change, and safe and humane corrections facilities require full transparency. Today’s announcement – coupled with previous decisions to not provide accurate data on daily staffing levels or regular briefings from the Commissioner – only further denies our right to honest, direct, and open government.

"After a historically deadly and dangerous year on Rikers Island, the Board of Correction needs every tool to save lives and protect New Yorkers on both sides of the bars – including ready access to video footage. This alarming change and the approach it represents make it all the more essential to enact clear, actionable standards and guidelines to govern DOC’s operations, such as my bill to ban solitary confinement. We need the DOC’s leadership and partnership to end the crisis conditions on Rikers, not to hide them offshore and out of sight."

DEC ENCOURAGES ANGLERS TO SAFELY ENJOY ICE FISHING THIS WINTER

 

Review Ice Safety Guidelines Before Heading Out

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos today reminded anglers to be safe when venturing onto the ice this season, especially given recent variations in weather conditions.

“New York State has been experiencing wide-ranging temperatures and weather conditions, from freezing to fairly mild,” Commissioner Seggos said. “Given these unpredictable fluctuations in weather, it is critical that winter recreationists exercise extreme caution when doing anything on the ice, including fishing, to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience.”

Ice anglers should check the thickness of ice before leaving the shore. Four inches of solid clear ice is usually safe for anglers accessing ice on foot. However, ice thickness can vary between waterbodies and even within the same waterbody, increasing the need to ensure thickness. Anglers should be particularly cautious of areas of moving water and around boat docks and houses where bubblers may be installed to reduce ice from forming. Checking the ice can easily be done with an auger or spud bar at various spots. In addition, fishing with a family member or friend is also encouraged for safety. Local bait and tackle shops are a great source for finding out where there is safe ice and what anglers are catching.

Those interested in trying ice fishing for the first time should mark the weekend of Feb. 18-19 on their calendars. As a designated free freshwater fishing weekend, the need for a freshwater fishing license is waived during these days. This free fishing weekend is also a great opportunity for experienced anglers to introduce someone new to fishing.

For some fish species, ice fishing can be more productive than open-water fishing. Given good ice conditions, anglers normally limited to shore fishing can access an entire waterbody.

Beginning ice anglers can download the Ice Fishing Chapter of DEC's I FISH NY Beginners Guide to Freshwater Fishing for helpful information on how to get started. For a more interactive option, DEC released a series of six ice fishing videos on the agency’s YouTube channel late last season. Visit the playlist to check out the brief instructional videos. Additional information, including a list of waters open to ice fishing, can be found on the DEC ice fishing websites, and also through the new Tackle Box feature in DEC’s HuntFishNY app. Fishing regulations, access information, fish species present and more can be accessed from a map-based interface, all within the convenience of a smart phone.

The use of bait fish is popular when ice fishing and may be used in most, but not all, waters open to ice fishing. For more information on bait fish regulations visit: https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/124974.html.

To protect New York’s waters from invasive species and the spread of fish diseases, anglers are advised to take these critical steps when using baitfish while ice fishing:

• Review and follow DEC baitfish regulations;
• Ensure the use of baitfish is permitted in the waterbody by checking the special ‘regulations by county’ section of the fishing regulations guide;
• Use only certified disease-free bait fish purchased from a local tackle store (buyers must retain the receipt provided to them while in possession of the baitfish);
• Personally collected bait fish may only be used in the same waterbody from which they were caught; and
• Dump unused baitfish and water in an appropriate location on dry land.

DEC reminds anglers to make sure that they have a valid fishing license before heading out on the ice. Fishing licenses are valid for 365 days from the date of purchase.

Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson - Calling All Historians!

 

Dear Neighbor,



We are calling all historians to the front! Do you have a passion for Bronx history? Do you enjoy analyzing and interpreting historical data? Archiving? Researching?

We are looking for the next Bronx Historian! Please submit a cover letter, resume and contact information for 3 references to Justin Cortes, Chief of Staff, at jcortes@bronxbp.nyc.gov. The subject line in your email should read “Bronx Historian”.

Join us as we work to preserve Bronx history!

In partnership,

Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson

Governor Hochul Announces Opening of First New York Cannabis Dispensary Owned by a Justice Impacted Individual

 

Major Milestone for New York State's Cannabis Industry with January 24 Opening in Manhattan

Supported by the New York Cannabis Social Equity Investment Fund, Dispensary Provides Opportunity to Fast-Track Sales and Build Initial Capital for Licensee

 Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the first Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary license in New York State owned by an entrepreneur previously criminalized by cannabis prohibition and supported by the New York Social Equity Cannabis Investment Fund, will open at 144 Bleecker Street in Manhattan on Tuesday, January 24 at 10:00 AM. This store opening helps advance New York's goals of equity in cannabis licensing, which prioritizes providing licenses to justice-involved individuals, who are people with a cannabis conviction or a close relative of someone with one.

"This dispensary is the latest example of our efforts to build the most equitable and inclusive cannabis industry in the nation," Governor Hochul said. "As we continue to work toward righting wrongs of the past, I look forward to new dispensaries - owned by those most impacted by the over policing of cannabis prohibition - opening soon." 

The dispensary, called Smacked LLC, will be owned and operated by Roland Conner with a soft opening as a "Pop-up" through February 20. As with some other initial dispensaries to be supported by the Fund, this will provide licensees the opportunity to open on a short-term basis to fast-track sales and start generating capital for their businesses, after which they will close for final construction and then re-open on a long-term basis.   

The Pop-up program is designed to give the operator initial training opportunities before opening full-time, and will benefit all businesses involved in the cannabis supply chain, including farmers who have cannabis ready for distribution, processors who are making cannabis into other types of products, distributors, and retail operators, as well as consumers who are seeking access to safer products they can trust. 

Prior to receiving this license, Roland Conner owned and operated property management businesses in New York City for fifteen years. He currently manages a transitional housing facility providing shelter for two dozen men in The Bronx. Mr. Conner is opening Smacked LLC with his son and wife. In applying for his license, Mr. Conner received support from the Bronx Cannabis Hub, which was founded by the Bronx Defenders and the Bronx Community Foundation to support individuals applying for the first round of CAURD licenses.

Mr. Roland Conner said, "I am so excited to become a part of history as the first individual to open a legal cannabis dispensary in New York City. Given my experience with cannabis, I never could have imagined that I would be opening a store like this. I'm grateful for the opportunity to open a business with my son and wife at my side and build generational wealth, working together, right here in New York. But this is not just about me and my family. This is about everyone who was harmed by the draconian drug laws of the past. New York's commitment to righting those wrongs through the law is inspiring.  I am proof of that commitment because I'm standing here today."

The location is part of the program sponsored by the Fund, which is working with the Social Equity Servicing Corporation, (SESC), a subsidiary of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY), to support the acquisition, design, construction, and outfitting of locations for cannabis dispensaries to be operated by CAURD licensees. Authorized by Governor Hochul and the New York State Legislature, The Fund is a public-private limited partnership formed to position social equity entrepreneurs to succeed in New York's newly created adult use cannabis industry. Managed by Social Equity Impact Ventures, the Fund will help justice involved individual CAURD licensees meet the costs of establishing adult-use cannabis retail dispensaries, including the identification and leasing of suitable retail locations and design, construction, and fit-out of the spaces. It is supported by up to $50 million in licensing fees and revenue from the adult-use cannabis industry and up to $150 million from the private sector that will be raised by the Fund manager. Click here to learn more about the Fund.

To date, there are several locations available and ready for initial design and build out for CAURD licensees. The Fund will be making announcements of these locations on a rolling basis

The CAURD license is a central pillar of the New York State Seeding Opportunity Initiative. Through the Initiative, New York's first legal adult-use retail dispensaries will be operated by those most impacted by the enforcement of the prohibition of cannabis or nonprofit organizations whose services include support for the formerly incarcerated. These dispensaries will be making legal adult-use sales with cannabis products grown by New York Farmers.

To be eligible, applicants must either have a cannabis conviction themselves, or be the close family member of someone who does, and owns or has owned a business that had a net profit for at least two years. Nonprofits are eligible for CAURD licenses if they have a history of serving current or formerly incarcerated individuals, including creating vocational opportunities for them; have at least one justice involved board member; at least five full time employees; and have operated a social enterprise that had net assets or profit for at least two years.

Edward Mullins, Former President Of NYPD Sergeants’ Union, Pleads Guilty To Defrauding Union And Its Members

 

 Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that EDWARD MULLINS, the former President of the Sergeants Benevolent Association (“SBA”), the union that represents all current and former Sergeants of the New York City Police Department, pled guilty to one count of wire fraud in connection with a scheme to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from the SBA through the submission of fraudulent expense reports.  MULLINS pled guilty before United States District Judge John G. Koeltl. 

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Edward Mullins promised to look out for the thousands of hard-working NYPD Sergeants who are members of the SBA.  Instead, as admitted in federal court, he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from them to fund his lavish lifestyle. Thanks to the hard work of the FBI, Mullins’s betrayal has been exposed, and he now faces jail time and significant financial penalties.”

According to the Information filed in the case and statements made in court:

The SBA is the fifth-largest police union in the United States with its headquarters located in lower Manhattan.  The SBA’s membership consists of all active and retired Sergeants of the NYPD, with approximately 13,000 members.  From 2002 until October 2021, EDWARD MULLINS served as President of the SBA.

Beginning in 2017, MULLINS devised a scheme to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from the SBA.  MULLINS used his personal credit card to pay for meals at high-end restaurants and to purchase luxury personal items, among other things, and then submitted false and inflated expense reports to the SBA, representing that his charges were legitimate SBA expenditures when in fact they were not.  MULLINS routinely included meals on his expense reports that were not SBA-related.  MULLINS also inflated the costs of his meals – whether SBA-related or not.  For example, if the actual cost of a meal was $522.55, MULLINS would seek reimbursement from the SBA for $822.55 and pocket the difference.  MULLINS would also take personal expenses like supermarket bills and claim them on his expense reports as SBA-related meals for which he also sought reimbursement.

MULLINS’s fraudulent expenses were paid through the SBA’s Contingent Fund, which is funded primarily through annual dues paid by SBA members.  In total, MULLINS stole at least $600,000 from the SBA through the filing of hundreds of fraudulent expense reports.

MULLINS, 61, of Port Washington, New York, pled guilty to one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.  As part of his plea agreement, MULLINS agreed to forfeit $600,000 to the United States and to make restitution in the amount of $600,000 to the SBA.

The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.  MULLINS is scheduled to be sentenced at 12:00 p.m. on May 25, 2023, by U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the FBI/New York City Police Department Public Corruption Task Force.