SENATOR RIVERA CELEBRATES THE PASSAGE OF HISTORIC MEASURES TO STRENGTHEN RENT LAWS AND PROTECT NEW YORK STATE TENANTS

  Today, State Senator Gustavo Rivera, along with members of the Senate Majority Conference, proudly voted for bill S.6458. After the historic vote, Senator Rivera released the following statement regarding the landmark piece of legislation that will implement a series of long-awaited reforms to strengthen New York's rent laws and provide adequate protections to tenants across our State. 

"For a long time, tenants in rent-regulated apartments have faced extraordinary challenges due to the greed of unscrupulous landlords who have held an unfair amount of power over them. They have had to fight against poorly maintained and dilapidated units, unfair overcharges, unwarranted eviction notices, and sudden and inexplicable rent hikes. New Yorkers, especially those in working-class neighborhoods such as the ones I represent, have felt the brunt of these injustices.

My district has the second highest number of rent-regulated units in the state. Unaffordable and perilous housing is, without a doubt, the number one issue affecting my constituents. In fact, since my election in 2010, thousands of them have visited my district office desperate to find solutions to their housing-related problems, only to find that the law was working against them. I am incredibly proud that we have finally passed pro-tenant, affordable housing legislation that truly protects New Yorkers and helps them stay in their homes.

These reforms are the result of the diligence of thousands of brave, unrelenting tenant advocacy groups, including Bronx organizations such as CASA New Settlement and Northwest Bronx Community Clergy Coalition. I sincerely thank them for their efforts and support. This is truly a win for the residents of the 33rd Senate District and tenants across New York State." 

Highlights included in the historic affordable housing, pro-tenant bill:

• Extends rent regulations laws and makes them permanent

• Repeals high rent vacancy deregulation and high income deregulation

• Repeals of the vacancy bonus and longevity bonus

• Makes preferential rents the base rent for lease renewal increases

• Extends rent overcharge four-year look-back period to six years

• Reforms rent increases for Major Capital Improvements (MCIs)

• Reforms rent increases for Individual Apartment Improvements (IAIs)

• Prohibits rent guidelines board from setting class-specific renewal increases

• Establishes stronger housing security and tenant protections

MAYOR DE BLASIO AND SPEAKER JOHNSON REACH EARLY HANDSHAKE AGREEMENT FOR A BALANCED FISCAL YEAR 2020 BUDGET

  Mayor Bill de Blasio, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, Council Finance Chair Daniel Dromm and members of the City Council today announced an agreement for an on-time and balanced City budget for Fiscal Year 2020. The budget protects the City’s fiscal health by maintaining record levels of reserves and a robust Citywide Savings Program.

The agreement on the approximately $92.8 billion budget includes funding to place 200 additional social workers in public schools, including specialists working within Thrive who will help students experiencing crisis and mental health issues. Further, the City is expanding its commitment to Senior Housing by adding $275 million over Fiscal Years 2020 through 2023. These resources will help generate an additional 800 affordable senior homes. This will raise the total City commitment for newly constructed senior housing to $687 million from now to the end of the housing plan.

“The Fiscal Year 2020 Adopted Budget creates greater fairness for all New Yorkers. We’ve reached an agreement that promises to create a pathway to pay parity for our early childhood education providers to address recruitment and retention issues, expands services that prevent unnecessary detention and fights the widespread national attack on access to abortion care,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “We’re also strengthening our support services in schools by providing over 200 social workers for students who need them most, fulfilling our commitment to senior affordable housing and putting our new expanded speed camera program into action. We’re accomplishing all of this while protecting the City’s fiscal health by increasing savings and adding $250 million to our already historic levels of budget reserves. I want to thank Council Speaker Corey Johnson, Finance Chair Daniel Dromm and the rest of the City Council for their partnership.”

As part of the budget agreement, the City is making a commitment to work with early childcare providers and their labor unions to create a pathway to pay parity to address recruitment and retention issues through collective bargaining. Similarly, in recognition of critical role legal defense attorneys play in the justice system, the City will continue conversations with providers to address compensation, recruitment and retention.

The Administration and the City Council have jointly funded justice reform initiatives that address historic disparities in the justice system. This includes an expansion of criminal justice related diversion programs, such as post-arrest diversion, supervised release and transitional housing.

In order to make sure that every New Yorker is counted in the 2020 Census and the city gets its fair share, theAdministration has deepened its investment in outreach staff and public awareness campaigns.

The FY20 Adopted Budget also maintains $1.15 billion in General Reserve, an increase of $150 million, $4.57 billion in Retiree Health Benefits Trust Fund, an increase of $100 million, and $250 million in the Capital Stabilization Reserve.

As part of the City’s aggressive savings program, the Adopted Budget includes over $300 million in new savings, on top of the $2.5 billion achieved in the Citywide Savings Program over Fiscal Years 2019 and 2020 since last Adoption. These savings were, in part, attained through the Administration’s first Program to Eliminate the Gap (PEG), and a permanent reduction of 2,600 City-funded positions. 325 additional vacancies will be reduced in this plan, adding $25 million in savings. The Citywide Savings Plan is an element of strong fiscal management, and helps balance the City’s budget and finance initiatives in an era of slowing revenue growth.

Highlights of the Fiscal Year 2020 Adopted Budget include:

• Placing 200 additional social workers in DOE schools, including mental health specialists, to help support students and provide necessary social and emotional support ($26 million).
• Investing jointly with the City Council in an expansion of criminal justice related diversion programs, such as post arrest diversion, supervised release and transitional housing.
• Installing low noise “rumbler” sirens on FDNY vehicles to help reduce noise pollution ($1.5 million).
• Funding for Vision Zero public awareness campaigns to educate drivers and support pedestrian and cyclist safety ($5 million).
• Launching NYC Care to guarantee healthcare access for 600,000 uninsured New Yorkers and enhance MetroPlus, NYC’s Public Option, by increasing enrollment and improving access to care, including mental health services ($25 million in Fiscal Year 2020, ramping up to $100 million in Fiscal Year 2022).
• Expanding 3-K for All by funding 1,900 new seats in the Bronx (District 8) and Brooklyn (District 32) for next school year. This investment brings 3-K to 14 districts and 20,000 children by September 2020, and includes the 10 highest-need districts in the city ($25 million).
• Increasing Mayoral funding for 2020 Census outreach staff and public awareness campaigns to ensure a fair and accurate count that gives New York City its fair share ($22 million for a total Mayoral investment of $26 million).
• Fulfilling a commitment to energy efficiency with green technology by retrofitting City buildings as part of NYC’s Green New Deal ($60 million).
• Providing annual funding for the “Bridging the Gap” program that provides social services and academic support for students in shelters ($14 million).
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MAYOR’S OFFICE OF THRIVENYC ANNOUNCES FIRST MAJOR CHANGES SINCE BECOMING MAYORAL OFFICE

Following months of planning, ThriveNYC adds 85 social workers to schools, announces redesign of Mental Health Service Corps program 

  The de Blasio Administration announced today two significant programmatic changes taking place through the Office of ThriveNYC. The Office will fund 85 social workers for schools in Fiscal Year 2020, bringing to 200 the total number of social workers the Administration is adding to schools in the next fiscal year. ThriveNYC also announced a redesign of its mental health training program, the Mental Health Service Corps, which will partner with NYC Health + Hospitals to streamline the program’s operational efficiency starting in 2020. In restructuring the program, the City will save $20 million starting in FY20, $11 million of which will be reinvested into the social worker program. 

“The Office of ThriveNYC seeks to address mental health issues for all New Yorkers, and today’s announcement shows Thrive’s commitment to transforming and strengthening its programs to best serve all of our communities,” said Mayor de Blasio. “These changes will help us reach New Yorkers wherever they are, from our schools to our public hospitals.”

“ThriveNYC’s goal is to ensure that every New Yorker who needs mental health support has access to it,” said First Lady Chirlane McCray. “Redesigning the Mental Health Service Corps and adding social workers to schools in need will increase the effectiveness of current services and go even further to reach New Yorkers where they are, ensuring that people have access to services in familiar settings and often in their primary language.”

“ThriveNYC is not only committed to innovation, but also to strengthening our approach as we learn. The important investments announced today will bring new clinicians to high-need schools and communities, putting New York City on a path to even greater success,” said Susan Herman, Senior Advisor to the Mayor and Director, Mayor’s Office of ThriveNYC.

In School Year 2019-2020, the Department of Education (DOE) will add 85 licensed social workers to provide direct clinical mental health services to students and schools at times of crisis from the borough level. Hiring for the positions is expected to begin this summer.

Beginning on January 1, 2020, NYC Health + Hospitals will oversee all components of the redesigned Mental Health Service Corps, an innovative treatment and training program that builds a diverse, multi-lingual mental health workforce and integrates mental health into routine medical care. Under the renovated program, NYC Health + Hospitals will supervise the early-career mental health clinicians participating in the program and will manage their placement in behavioral health settings, as well as medical settings, where mental health services have not been traditionally provided. This groundbreaking program was launched in 2016 and will continue in its current form until December 31, 2019. It is currently managed by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and operated by the City University of New York (CUNY).

In the first three years of operation, the Mental Health Service Corps provided clinical services to over 62,800 individuals at sites serving high-need neighborhoods – 76 percent of which are in federally designated mental healthcare shortage areas – and helped participating early-career mental health clinicians earn over 300,000 hours toward their clinical licensure.

For several months, the City has been carefully considering how to improve the MHSC and has determined that moving the program to H+H will enhance the program’s most promising elements.

Moving the Mental Health Service Corps to Health + Hospitals will consolidate all aspects of program management into one entity, enhancing efficiency and resulting in a more streamlined and cost-effective program model. The annual budget for the program will decrease from $38.5 million in Fiscal Year 2019 to $26 million in Fiscal Year 2020. Once the transition is complete, the annual budget in Fiscal Year 2021 will be $13 million. Additionally, the redesigned program will be smaller in scale, with 60 corps members instead of the current 250, to ensure the strongest possible program.

The redesigned program is an opportunity to enhance the most promising elements of the program, including:

·         Increased focus on supervision and training: To ensure the Mental Health Service Corps is a strong, competitive training program, the redesigned program will include a lower supervisor-to-Corps member ratio and add rotations so Corps members can develop an array of different skills over the course of the three-year program. This resource intensive training model builds on current system-wide efforts within Health + Hospitals.

·         Commitment to innovation: Health + Hospitals, because it operates a vast healthcare network that serves millions of New Yorkers, is uniquely positioned to integrate behavioral health into its range of medical services. As examples, Corps members may provide treatment as part of mobile teams, screening and substance use interventions in emergency departments, or psychotherapy for women with postpartum depression in pediatric care units. Health + Hospitals is committed to matching services to meet complex and multifaceted patient needs.

·         Dedication to high need communities: Health + Hospitals will conduct an in-depth needs assessment over the summer to determine sites for its program and will continue to focus on high need communities and historically underserved neighborhoods. The needs assessment will consider the prevalence of mental illness in various neighborhoods, the capacity and need of possible sites, and opportunities for innovation.

“ThriveNYC’s work across agencies maximizes the city’s capacity to provide mental health care,” said First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan. “These initiatives bring critical resources to our schools and our health care system and will help more New Yorkers get access to services they need.”

“The Mental Health Service Corps will now be woven into the future of NYC Health + Hospitals, playing a role in widening the safety net for millions of New Yorkers,” said Dr. Herminia Palacio, Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services.

“Schools must be safe havens for all students, and these 85 new social workers will serve students and foster safe and supportive school environments in every borough every day,” said Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza. “ThriveNYC has been a strong partner in our schools, and we’re thrilled to be expanding our work together. This is an important step forward in meeting all children where they are, providing them with critical services, and connecting them to long-term support.”

“This cadre of highly skilled social workers will strengthen our efforts to integrate mental health care with physical care and our ability to provide comprehensive and unique behavioral health services to all New Yorkers,” said Dr. Mitchell Katz, MD, President and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals.

“Mental Health Service Corps is an innovative approach to invest in the next generation of mental health clinicians,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot. “Thank you to CUNY and to the Corps members for being valuable partners in this work. I look forward to seeing the next iteration of this program as it continues to address workforce shortages and help populations with the highest need.”

About the Mayor’s Office of ThriveNYC:

The overarching aim of the new Mayoral Office of ThriveNYC is to ensure that every New Yorker who needs mental health support has access to it, where and when they need it. The Office addresses needs that have gone unmet by traditional services and pilots innovative strategies. This includes new services for historically underserved special populations, expanding the range of mental health support available to New Yorkers, and enhancing mental health equity across the city. The Office works with City agencies and strategic partners to implement Thrive’s programs, maximize their effectiveness and ensure sustainability.

Third Avenue Business Improvement District - 1 Bronx World Pride: Celebrating LGBTQ Diversity

Bronx Council Member Andy King Response To City Budget Handshake

 

"Today's agreement on a budget between the Mayor and City Council can be lauded as a win for everyday New Yorkers.  Early childhood workers around the city, such as the dedicated teachers at the Williamsbridge Early Childhood Center in my district, will receive a more fair paycheck, acknowledging their contributions as educators, not babysitters.  I appreciate as former chairman of the Council's Library Committee, how $33 million in new funding for programming will impact countless New Yorkers of all ages.  More staff in our city parks means more safety, more cleanliness, and more programming. Schools across the city, including my district, will see new security cameras thanks to new funding.  I want to thank my colleagues in the Council and our Mayor for these victories, as well as the responsible teamwork that has ensured ample reserves in the city's rainy day fund. But most importantly, I want to thank every hardworking taxpayer who has enabled the funding to push our community in the right direction, ensuring a bright future.  Of course, there is more to be done, but it's a good day for residents of New York City."

News From Assemblyman Victor Pichardo

Assemblymember Pichardo: Sweeping housing reform is a huge victory for Bronx tenants

            Assemblymember Victor M. Pichardo (D-Bronx) announced that he co-sponsored and helped pass legislation to protect Bronx tenants from unfair landlord practices and safeguard affordable housing (A.8281). The Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act is the strongest rent regulation legislation ever passed in New York State. Pichardo noted that the laws will be permanent so tenants aren’t left in limbo every few years.

            “For too long, Bronx families have been at the mercy of landlords and a system that knocked them down and left them voiceless,” said Pichardo. “But today, we’re giving them their voice back. We stood tall to help ensure fewer families are forced to live in unsafe conditions for fear of landlord retaliation or pushed out of their home because of sky-high rent increases, and we won.”

            Pichardo noted that one of the most important and impacful measures in the legislation is the elimination of the vacancy bonus, which allows landlords of rent-regulated units to raise the rent by up to 20% after a tenant leaves. It also prevents the NYC Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) from creating similar bonuses, bars RGBs from setting higher rent increases for certain apartments and limits rent-controlled rent increases to 7.5% or the average of the past five increases, whichever is lower. Pichardo has been vocal about the need for vacancy bonus reform and pushed for its inclusion in the legislation.

            Additionally, the legislation eliminates the vacancy deregulation provision, which currently allows a landlord to remove an apartment from rent stabilization if it becomes vacant and the monthly rent exceeds $2,774.76. The provision was enacted in 1994 and caused more than 160,000 apartments to lose their rent-protected status due to vacancy decontrol.^[1]

            “The vacancy bonus is nothing more than an unfair loophole that allows landlords to take advantage of renters,” said Pichardo. “It encourages landlords to push out tenants in order to raise rent quickly so it becomes deregulated. Eliminating the vacancy bonus will keep affordable housing efforts on the right track – it’s a great victory for the Bronx.”

            The bill makes the rent stabilization and rent control regulations that were set to expire on June 15 permanent.

            Additionally, it:

• prohibits landlords of rent-regulated apartments from discontinuing preferential rent for a current tenant;
• requires landlords make a good faith effort to re-rent a unit after a tenant breaks the lease;
• keeps landlords from blacklisting prospective tenants by preventing them from using a database of court information;
• limits the amount of a security deposit to be equal to one month’s rent and requires any deposit to be refundable;
• prohibits retaliatory eviction against tenants in buildings with four units or more who make a good faith complaint alleging uninhabitable conditions; and
• limits background check fees to $20 and prohibits lease application fees.

            To ensure tenants aren’t blindsided, the tenant protections also require landlords provide 30 days’ notice for a tenant of one year or less, 60 days’ notice for a tenant of one to two years and 90 days’ notice for a tenant of two or more years when refusing to renew a lease.

            The legislation also helps prevent abuse of the major capital improvement (MCI) program by capping MCI rent increases at 2% and extends the period over which the rent increases are paid in order to reduce the burden on tenants. It also clarifies the types of projects that qualify as MCIs and directs the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) to audit and inspect 25% of approved MCIs annually. The bill also extends the period over which the individual apartment improvement (IAI) program rent increases are paid, prevents owners from performing more than three IAIs – capped at a total of $15,000 – over 15 years and directs DHCR to audit and inspect 10% of IAIs annually.

            To better protect rent-stabilized tenants, the bill eliminates the statute of limitations for tenants to file overcharge complaints and extends the recovery of overcharge penalties to six years. It also requires landlords pay three times the amount owed if the overcharges were intentional.

            Additionally, the bill protects New Yorkers living in condominiums and co-ops by halting eviction plans that allow non-purchasing tenants to be evicted, and giving these tenants more time to find a new home.

            The legislation would also:

• limit landlord recovery of rent-regulated apartments for personal use to one unit and allow tenants to pursue legal action if the landlord’s claim is fraudulent;
• provide individuals housed by nonprofits with tenant status;
• increase the annual fee to register a rent-regulated unit from $10 to $20, and dedicate that increase in revenue to DHCR’s Office of Rent Administration (ORA) and Tenant Protection Unit (TPU); and
• require DHCR to conduct annual and publicly available reports on the implementation of these regulations.

             “Every New Yorker deserves a roof over their head that doesn’t leave them penniless,” said Pichardo. “This legislation will help fulfill that promise.”

Assemblymember Victor M. Pichardo on the Jury's Verdict in the Lesandro Junior Guzman-Feliz Trial

“Justice has been served to the five men who robbed the world of a bright and upstanding young man. I want to thank the District Attorney Darcel Clark for her leadership in this trial, and in making sure that Junior’s murderers were apprehended and convicted.” said Assemblymember Victor Pichardo. “The gang violence culture deemed it acceptable to slaughter a young kid. This grizzly and barbaric violence that was inflicted on another human being is unacceptable and we need to make sure we do more to end this violence through holistic and aggressive ways.”

EDITOR'S NOTE:

Assemblyman Pichardo fails to remember the recent legislation passed by the state legislature which Assemblyman Pichardo was supporting, regarding 16 - 19 year olds. 

We would not be surprised to see the lawyers for these young men ask for a new trial under the new law passed by the state legislature where they may be released without bail, and receive just a slap on the wrist. 

Two Men Charged With Murder-For-Hire

  Geoffrey S. Berman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced the unsealing of a federal indictment charging VANCE COLLINS, a/k/a “Big AK,” 50, and RAMON RAMIREZ, a/k/a “Obendy,” 48, with hiring a hitman to murder an individual believed to be having an affair with RAMIREZ’s wife.  COLLINS was arrested this morning in the Bronx and RAMIREZ was arrested this morning in Staten Island.  The target of their murder-for-hire plan was not killed.  Both defendants were presented this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker and detained.  The case has been assigned to United States District Judge P. Kevin Castel.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “As alleged in the indictment, Vance Collins and Ramon Ramirez put a price on another human’s life when they hired someone to kill a person believed to be having an affair with Ramirez’s spouse.  Thanks to the work of our remarkable law enforcement partners, Collins and Ramirez now stand charged in federal court for their alleged roles in this terrible crime.”

FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said:  “Murder-for-hire cases are more common than one might think, and the FBI has a number of investigative resources and federal laws we can tap into to help us prevent these potential crimes.  But the fact that the plan allegedly concocted by Collins and Ramirez was ultimately unsuccessful shouldn’t overshadow the gravity of this situation – the intent was the same, regardless of the outcome.”    

According to the allegations in the Indictment[1]:

In or about late 2017, COLLINS and RAMIREZ hired another person to murder a man believed to be having an affair with RAMIREZ’s wife, and conspired to carry out this murder-for-hire plot from 2017 through 2018, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1958 and 2.  Each charge in the two-count indictment carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.  The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force, which comprises agents and task force officers from the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, United States Probation Office, New York State Police, New York City Police Department, Mount Vernon Police Department, Yonkers Police Department, Greenburgh Police Department, Peekskill Police Department, Westchester County Police Department, and Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.           

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

Claudius English Convicted Of Sex Trafficking Minors, Kidnapping, And Use Of A Firearm

  Geoffrey S. Berman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Angel M. Melendez, Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), and James P. O’Neill, the Police Commissioner of the City of New York (“NYPD”), announced that CLAUDIUS ENGLISH was convicted yesterday of multiple counts of sex trafficking minors, attempted sex trafficking of minors as young as 8 years old, kidnapping of a minor, and using a firearm to commit the kidnapping.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “As a unanimous jury determined without hesitation, Claudius English engaged in a predatory reign of terror and exploitation of children – girls as young as 8 years old.  Thanks to HSI and the NYPD, English now awaits a lengthy prison sentence.”

HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Angel M. Melendez said:  “English chose a business of preying on children as young at 8 and exploiting their innocence, forcing them to have sex with his already established clientele.  He carried out his predatory acts and targeted minors on the internet, once again highlighting the importance of internet safety.  The heinous acts of this individual robbed his victims of their childhood, and this guilty verdict will ensure that he faces time for his criminal actions.”

NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill said:  “The NYPD is committed to ensuring child predators are taken off our streets; we will continue working tirelessly to bring them to justice.  We remain committed to working with our law enforcement partners to ensure that individuals who engage in these reprehensible crimes are held accountable for the misery and anguish they cause.”

According to the evidence presented during the trial:

In 2013, CLAUDIUS ENGLISH sex trafficked multiple minor victims out of his apartment in the Bronx.  ENGLISH used the Internet to find, recruit, and lure minor victims to his apartment, where he photographed them in sexually suggestive poses.  ENGLISH then sent these photographs to his regular clients, and created advertisements that he posted on Backpage.  ENGLISH arranged for his clients to pay for sex with at least four minor victims who testified at trial.  Additionally, for one of his clients, ENGLISH took substantial steps to obtain and sex traffic girls as young as 13, 11, and 8. 

On November 15, 2013, ENGLISH lured a 14-year-old girl from New Jersey to his apartment for the purpose of selling her for sex.  When the victim resisted and said she wanted to leave, ENGLISH pointed a loaded gun at her head and refused.  After several hours, the victim convinced ENGLISH to accompany her outside.  Even though ENGLISH brought his gun with him, the victim ran away and called 911.  NYPD officers responded promptly enough that the victim was able to lead them back to ENGLISH’s apartment, where ENGLISH was caught trying to flee. 

ENGLISH, 45, of Bronx, New York, was convicted of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors (COUNT ONE), four counts of sex trafficking of minors (COUNTS TWO, THREE, FOUR, and EIGHT), three counts of attempted sex trafficking of minors (COUNTS FIVE, SIX, and SEVEN), kidnapping a minor (COUNT NINE), and the use of a firearm in furtherance of the kidnapping (COUNT TEN).  ENGLISH faces a statutory maximum sentence of life, and a mandatory minimum sentence of 27 years. 

Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of HSI and NYPD, and expressed gratitude for the efforts of HSI’s New York Trafficking in Persons Unit.  Mr. Berman also expressed gratitude to the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office.