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Friday, February 18, 2022
Bronx Chamber of Commerce - Bronx Business News You Can Use
RIKERS ISLAND INMATE INDICTED FOR ASSAULT AGAINST NYC DOC OFFICER IN THE JAIL
Defendant, An Alleged Gang Member, Allegedly Head-Butted the Officer, Fracturing Victim’s Nose
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Rikers Island inmate has been indicted on second-degree Assault and additional charges for an attack on a New York City Department of Correction Officer in the jail that left him with a fractured nose.
District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant allegedly broke the officer’s nose after striking him in the face with his head during an unprovoked attack. The victim suffered from pain, swelling and substantial bleeding to his face. The defendant has been indicted on second and third-degree Assault, and other charges for this appalling incident.”
District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Joshua Yu, 23, an inmate in Rikers Island, was arraigned today on two counts of second-degree Assault, third-degree Assault, second-degree Obstructing Governmental Administration, third-degree Menacing and second-degree Harassment before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Beth Beller. Bail was set at $100,000 cash/$100,000 bond and the defendant is due back in court on May 4, 2022.
According to the investigation, on December 3, 2021, at approximately 5:44 p.m. the victim, a DOC Officer, and other Officers, were moving Yu, an alleged gang member, through the Robert N. Davoren Complex (RNDC) when the defendant became enraged. Yu allegedly head-butted the 42-year-old officer in the face, fracturing the Officer’s nose. The victim was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital for treatment and was released. He required additional medical assistance after the incident to reset the fracture and was out for 10 weeks because of the injury.
District Attorney Clark thanked Senior Investigative Assistant District Attorney Georgia D. Barker of the Rikers Island Prosecution Bureau.
District Attorney Clark also thanked Correction Intelligence Bureau Investigator Juan Rivera.
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.
Governor Hochul Announces Major Investments to Improve Psychiatric Support for Those in Crisis
Includes $27.5 Million to Increase Funding for Inpatient Psychiatric Hospital Beds
$9 Million for Recruiting Psychiatrists and Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners
$12.5 Million Annually for 500 Additional Supportive Housing Beds to House People Experiencing Homelessness
Investments Build on Governor Hochul's $10 Billion Plan to Improve Health Care System, Including a $577 Million Increase for Community Mental Health Programs and Services
Governor Kathy Hochul today, at an event with New York City Mayor Eric Adams, announced major investments to help improve access to acute mental health care and hospital psychiatric beds across New York State. The initiatives are part of a plan to provide the necessary support and services for people with serious mental illness experiencing homelessness, as well as others in crisis. The investments include $27.5 million annually to increase funding for inpatient psychiatric beds; $9 million annually to recruit psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners; and $12.5 million annually for 500 additional supportive housing beds to house people experiencing homelessness in their communities.
"For too long our mental healthcare system suffered from disinvestment, and the pandemic has only made things harder for New Yorkers with serious mental illness who are experiencing homelessness," Governor Hochul said. "I am proud to stand with Mayor Adams and share our efforts to boost mental health treatment services for those who lack stable housing, and bring more psychiatric beds online. We must work together to keep our subways — the lifeblood of New York City — safe for all riders, and to get help and services to those in need."
The investment of $12.5 million annually for 500 additional supportive housing beds will help to more quickly transition those in crisis from the streets, subways and shelters to stable housing. These units will give the State the additional resources it will need as the Governor's Safe Options Support teams come online in the Spring. These additional units will complement the 10,000 units of supportive housing announced in the Governor's $25 billion housing plan.
These investments will build on the Governor's $10 billion plan to improve the health care system and proposed budget, which includes a historic $577 million (17.2%) increase for critically important community mental health programs and services. These budget initiatives include:
- $21 million investment to develop 20 new SOS teams comprised of mental health specialists to conduct direct one-on-one outreach with New Yorkers experiencing homelessness
- $25 billion housing plan with a commitment to create and preserve 10,000 units of supportive housing over the next five years to prevent homelessness
- workforce investments through a historic 5.4% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for community mental health providers and retention bonuses up to $3,000
- $35 million investment for FY 2023 that grows to $60 million in FY 2024 to prepare New York for the nationwide launch of 9-8-8, the suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline system, by providing for the expansion of call center capacity.
MAYOR ADAMS RELEASES SUBWAY SAFETY PLAN, SAYS SAFE SUBWAY IS PREREQUISITE FOR NEW YORK CITY’S RECOVERY
Plan Will Expand Response Teams Throughout City, Adding Trained Clinicians to Connect People With Resources, and Direct NYPD Officers to Enforce MTA Rules
Calls for Changes to State and Federal Laws, Including Kendra’s Law, to Connect More New Yorkers to Needed Care and Support
Additional Safe Havens, Drop-in Centers, and Stabilization Beds Will Ensure Unhoused New Yorkers Have Short- and Longer-Term Destinations of Care, Support, and Housing
Successful Mental Health Program B-HEARD Will Expand to Serve Upper Manhattan, South Bronx
New York City Mayor Eric Adams today released the Subway Safety Plan, which lays out how his administration will begin addressing public safety concerns and supporting people experiencing homelessness and serious mental illness on New York City’s subways. The plan includes comprehensive investments in short- and medium-term solutions, including expanded outreach teams with New York Police Department (NYPD) officers and clinicians, additional housing and mental health resources, and outlines long-term systems improvements through changes to state and federal laws to connect more New Yorkers to the care they need. A key component of the plan will also direct NYPD personnel to assist in enforcing certain subway rules, such as sleeping across multiple seats, exhibiting aggressive behavior to passengers, or creating an unsanitary environment.
“It is cruel and inhumane to allow unhoused people to live on the subway, and unfair to paying passengers and transit workers who deserve a clean, orderly, and safe environment,” said Mayor Adams. “The days of turning a blind eye to this growing problem are over, and I look forward to collaborating with the state, the federal government, TWU, advocates, and law enforcement to solve this challenge. It will take time, but our work starts now.”
“For too long our mental health care system suffered from disinvestment, and the pandemic has only made things harder for New Yorkers with serious mental illness who are experiencing homelessness,” said New York Governor Kathy Hochul. “I am proud to stand with Mayor Adams and share our efforts to boost mental health treatment services for those who lack stable housing, and bring more psychiatric beds online. We must work together to keep our subways — the lifeblood of New York City — safe for all riders, and to get help and services to those in need.”
“Today's plan outlines several ways that we can begin to address the challenges of supporting those with mental illness and keep our city safe,” said First Deputy Mayor Lorraine Grillo. “Our administration looks forward to working with our state partners to provide much needed resources for those experiencing homelessness and serious mental illness on our city's subways.”
“This plan is rooted in compassion, recognizing the humanity and dignity of fellow New Yorkers in need,” said Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom. “Collaborating across government, as well as through public-private non-profit partnerships, we are taking a holistic approach to lift up New Yorkers, connecting those in need to the services and care that will place them on the path to permanent housing and wellbeing. We look forward to improving our care delivery systems in partnership with the state and federal governments so that every New Yorker receives the support they need to live their healthiest life.”
“The new vision for public safety in New York City is about leveraging all of the resources we have to ensure we are implementing a 21st century model of public safety that works for all New Yorkers,” said Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks. “This new plan is a perfect example of how we can bring together support from every corner of city government to build a safer and more just city for all.”
“Improving subway safety and succeeding in providing innovative solutions to meaningfully help some of the most vulnerable New Yorkers requires a comprehensive, multi-agency approach,” said NYPD Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell. “This plan represents the best of that kind of smart, seamless, collaborative work and also reinforces the NYPD’s core philosophies for public safety by ensuring people abide by all applicable laws and transit rules, while simultaneously connecting people in need to the critical services they deserve.”
“Today, we’re putting a stake in the ground for the future and taking a fresh look at one of the most complex and challenging health and social challenges we face as a city,” said incoming Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan. “We have an opportunity to shine a light on the needs of our fellow New Yorkers living with mental illness and facing homelessness on our subways and on our streets. We must build fundamentally new systems of mental health care, housing, and social infrastructure to ensure our friends, our family, and loved ones have the long-term care and supports they need, and no longer live lives of social and economic isolation and marginalization. This plan is the first step on this journey. I am proud to be a part of an administration that puts people first and is committed to addressing this issue as the humanitarian and public health crisis it is.”
“We’re excited at DSS-DHS-HRA to be part of today’s announcement, which sets forward a new roadmap for improving safety and services on our subways by bringing together and leveraging a broad range of experience, expertise, and resources,” said Department of Social Services Commissioner Gary Jenkins. “As part of this new effort, our teams, who are out there engaging New Yorkers in need 24/7/365, will now be accompanied by clinicians on the subways, providing those DSS-DHS outreach staff with new tools, new partners in this process, and new services to offer — all in a compassionate and caring manner. We look forward to implementing this collaborative plan, which underscores the importance of the work our outreach teams do every day and outlines how this administration intends to take that progress further. And I want to thank Mayor Adams for his leadership on this issue and for bringing together the resources, the tools, and, most importantly, the team needed to effectively support our neighbors living on the streets and subways.”
“These initiatives, and the continued expansion of the successful B-HEARD pilot, will bring much needed support and resources to those who are experiencing profound challenges like serious mental illness and homelessness,” said Tina Chiu and Jason Hansman, acting co-directors, Office of Community and Mental Health. “We welcome continued partnership with agencies to implement these strategic interventions with care and compassion to ensure more New Yorkers get access to the mental health care they need.”
“At every public hospital system where I’ve worked — in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and now New York City — a priority of mine has been a focus on the homeless population,” said Mitchell Katz, MD, president and CEO, NYC Health + Hospitals. “Mayor Adams’ plan outlines clear steps to address homelessness on the subway, and it offers an array of services to those in need, including supportive housing. At our hospitals, providers, nurses, and peer counselors work closely together to ensure that our patients who experience housing instability receive the care they deserve.”
“Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams focused from the start on subway safety, and it’s a game changer,” said Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “Now, with additional strategies on how to enforce system rules and provide services to vulnerable New Yorkers, we are standing up for millions of riders who want to see change. Together with a CompStat-style metrics-based approach to tracking progress, we can fix these conditions and be in a position to welcome back more and more New Yorkers to a safe subway system.”
The plan lays out how the Adams administration, in partnership with the MTA and other state entities, will confront these concurrent challenges on our subways. Investments in people will provide immediate support and protection to New Yorkers, while investments in places like drop-in-centers, safe havens, stabilization beds, and Street Homeless Outreach Wellness vans, as well as policy changes at local, state, and federal levels will provide medium- and long-term solutions. These include:
- Deploying up to 30 Joint Response Teams that bring together DHS, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, NYPD, and community-based providers in high-need locations across our city.
- Training NYPD officers in our subway system to enforce the MTA and New York City Transit Authority’s rules of conduct in a fair and transparent way.
- Expanding Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division “B-HEARD” teams to six new precincts, more than doubling the precincts covered to 11. These teams will expand on the already-successful pilot of answering non-violent 911 mental health calls with mental health professionals.
- Incorporating medical services into DHS sites serving individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness. Expanded DHS Safe Havens and stabilization bed programs will offer on-site physical and behavioral health care to immediately address clients’ needs.
- Immediately improving coordination across government with weekly “Enhanced Outreach Taskforce” meetings that bring together senior leaders from 13 city and state agencies to address issues quickly.
- Creating new Drop-in-Centers to provide an immediate pathway for individuals to come indoors, and exploring opportunities to site Drop-in-Centers close to key subway stations to directly transition individuals from trains and platforms to safe spaces.
- Streamlining the placement process into supportive housing and reducing the amount of paperwork it takes to prove eligibility.
- Calling on state government to expand psychiatric bed resources and amending Kendra’s Law to improve mental health care delivery for New Yorkers on Assisted Outpatient Treatment.
- Requiring — instead of requesting — everyone to leave the train and the station at the end of the line.
Thursday, February 17, 2022
Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19 - FEBRUARY 17, 2022
Yesterday Statewide Positivity is 2.19% - Lowest Since October 30
7-Day Average Statewide Positivity is 2.5%
3,065 COVID-19 Hospitalizations Yesterday - Lowest Since November 30
Cases and Hospitalizations Continue to Decline Across All Regions
46 Covid-19 Deaths Statewide Yesterday
Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress combating COVID-19.
“The days are getting longer, the weather is getting warmer, and COVID cases are trending downward – but we cannot give up on our hard-won progress.” Governor Hochul said. “It is essential that we continue to take advantage of the tools we have at our disposal to fight this virus. Get vaccinated if you haven’t yet, get boosted if you have, and make sure you are encouraging your friends and family to do the same.”
Today's data is summarized briefly below:
- Test Results Reported - 168,667
- Total Positive - 3,687
- Percent Positive - 2.19%
- 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 2.50%
- Patient Hospitalization - 3,065 (-200)
- Patients Newly Admitted – 344
- Patients in ICU - 497 (-33)
- Patients in ICU with Intubation - 290 (-14)
- Total Discharges - 282,410 (+440)
- New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 46
- Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 54,330
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.
- Total deaths reported to and compiled by the CDC - 68,567
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 - 36,621,066
- Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours - 46,514
- Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days - 279,075
- Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose - 91.4%
- Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series - 82.7%
- Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 95.0%
- Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 85.2%
- Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 80.9%
- Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 70.9%
- Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose - 80.8%
- Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series - 72.8%
- Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 88.4%
- Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) – 75.1%