Thursday, January 18, 2024

NYC EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ISSUES TRAVEL ADVISORY FOR EXPECTED SNOW ON FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, THAT WILL IMPACT THE EVENING’S COMMUTE, WITH COLD TEMPERATURES REMAINING UNTIL MONDAY

 

Alternate Side Parking will be Suspended on Friday, Meters Are Still in Effect 

The New York City Emergency Management Department has issued a Travel Advisory for Friday, January 19, for snow and possible impacts to the evening commute. The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a Hazardous Weather Outlook in effect citywide for tomorrow. Light snow is expected throughout the day as a low-pressure system passes offshore to our south. A few flurries are possible tonight, but accumulating snowfall most likely begins between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. tomorrow and begins to taper off in the afternoon, coming to an end sometime between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. 

  

Snowfall totals of around 3 inches at rates of a half inch an hour or less are expected in New York City. Totals of 4 to 5 inches are possible if the storm tracks closer to the coast or may be as little as 1 inch or less if it tracks further offshore. This will be an all-snow event with no changeover in precipitation type. No impacts are anticipated for the morning commute, but snow and slush-covered roads alongside low visibility are likely for the evening commute, resulting in travel delays. 

  

Cold conditions continue through the weekend, allowing snow to stick around. Temperatures will remain several degrees below the norm with lows in the low 20s to upper teens and wind chills in the teens to single digits. Even colder air moves over the area following the storm. Wind chills could approach zero over the weekend with gusty winds of 20 to 30 mph. Sub-freezing temperatures will persist until Monday. Melting of snow and a refreeze will be possible Monday night. 

   

“With more snow expected throughout the day tomorrow, our city agencies are prepared, and we encourage all New Yorkers to plan for a messier commute and take the necessary precautions to remain safe,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “We’ll continue to keep New Yorkers updated about what to expect and, as always, the best way to stay safe is to stay informed — sign up for Notify NYC to get the latest information directly from the city.” 

  

“As we prepare for another round of snow and cold temperatures this weekend, we encourage New Yorkers to prepare a plan for tomorrow’s slippery and messy evening commute,” said New York City Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol. “We are in constant contact with our partner agencies, to ensure that there are no disruptions to services during this latest weather event. With temperatures remaining sub-freezing until Monday, don’t forget to check on friends, family and neighbors.” 

  

NYC Emergency Management has proactively activated the City's Winter Weather Emergency Plan in response to the forecasted conditions. This includes conducting coordination calls with the National Weather Service and city and state agencies and utility partners, and bolstering staffing at the Emergency Operations Center, which is already operational due to the city's ongoing asylum seeker operations. The administration announced that Alternate Side Parking Regulations will be suspended tomorrow, Friday January 19, 2024. Payment at parking meters will remain in effect throughout the city. 

  

As part of the Winter Weather Emergency Plan, the NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY) has issued a Snow Alert and is pre-deploying over 700 salt spreaders to pretreat roadways ahead of the first snowflake and is prepared to dispatch plows in all sectors when more than two inches of snow accumulates. During a Snow Alert, the Department collaborates closely with NYC Emergency Management and the Department of Transportation to implement snow clearing protocols, adhering to the detailed snow plans established by each agency. DSNY will be tracking operations via its new Bladerunner 2.0 platform, allowing real-time adjustments as conditions require. Every street is on a route and, for the first time, every route can be dispatched at the same time. 

  

The NYC Department of Homeless Services has issued a Code Blue and outreach teams will canvass all five boroughs to connect our most vulnerable New Yorkers to shelters. No one who is homeless and seeking shelter in New York City during a Code Blue will be denied. For the most immediate response, New Yorkers who see individuals they believe to be experiencing homelessness and in need should contact 311 via phone or mobile app and request outreach assistance. 

  

Residential building owners are legally required to maintain indoor temperatures at 68 degrees when the temperatures fall below 55 degrees outside during the day and a minimum of 62 degrees indoors overnight, regardless of outdoor temperatures. If an apartment lacks appropriate heat, a tenant should first attempt to notify the building owner, managing agent or superintendent. If heat is not restored, the tenant should register an official complaint via 311. Tenants can call 311, visit 311 online at NYC.gov/311, or use the 311 mobile app (on Android and iOS devices) to file a complaint. Hearing-impaired tenants can register complaints via a Touchtone Device for the Deaf TDD at (212) 504-4115. 

  

NYCEM urges all New Yorkers to prioritize their safety by remaining alert and well-informed, including with real-time updates by subscribing to Notify NYC and listening to news broadcasts for the latest weather information. NYCEM strongly encourages all New Yorkers to take proactive steps to ensure their own safety and support the city’s resilience: 

  

  •   NYCEM offers New Yorkers tips on staying safe before, during, and after winter storms at on.nyc.gov/winterweather 
  •   Stay informed. Before and during an emergency, the city will send emergency alerts and updates to New Yorkers through various channels, including Notify NYC. Sign up for emergency notifications online or call 311. You can also follow @NotifyNYC on Twitter. 
  •   Allow for extra travel time and expect delays with little to no notice. Use public transportation whenever possible. 
  •   If you have to go outdoors, wear dry, warm clothing and cover exposed skin. Keep fingertips, earlobes, and noses covered. Wear a hat, hood, scarf, and gloves. 
  •   Shivering is an important first sign that the body is losing heat. Shivering is a signal to return indoors. Pedestrians should exercise caution and avoid slippery surfaces; some ice may not be visible. Wear sturdy boots that provide traction to reduce slipping. Use handrails when using stairs. Older New Yorkers and those with disabilities, access, and functional needs should take extra care outdoors to avoid slips and falls.  
  •   Be safe at work. Workers who spend a lot of time outdoors are at risk for cold-related health impacts. If you are an employer, implement safe work practices, provide appropriate protective equipment, and train workers on how to stay safe during cold and winter weather. 
  •   If you must drive, drive slowly. Vehicles take longer to stop on snow and ice than on dry pavement. Use major streets or highways for travel whenever possible. Have heightened awareness of cars, particularly when approaching or crossing intersections. 
  •   Always have an emergency kit in your car. It should include items like blankets, a flashlight, water, snacks, a first aid kit, and a snow shovel. 
  •   Check on friends, relatives, and neighbors, especially older adults and people with disabilities, access and functional needs, or health conditions. Help them to prepare if needed.  
  •   If you require assistance for daily activities, make arrangements in advance for support during the expected weather, ensuring caregivers are aware of and prepared for the weather conditions. 
  •   Charge your phones and keep a flashlight and batteries handy. If you lose power and have a disability and/or use life-sustaining equipment and need immediate assistance, call 911. 
  •   To report power outages, downed power lines or damaged electrical equipment, call your power provider immediately to report the outage. Con Edison’s 24-hour hotline is 800-75-CONED (752-6633) (TTY: 800-642-2308). You can also report an outage online on Con Edison's website. National Grid’s 24-hour hotline is 718-643-4050 (TTY: 718-237-2857). PSEG Long Island’s 24-hour hotline is 800-490-0025 (TTY: 631-755-6660). 

  

For more safety tips, visit NYC.gov/SevereWeather. New Yorkers are encouraged to sign up for Notify NYC, the city’s free emergency notification system, to stay informed about the latest weather updates and other emergencies. Notify NYC is available in 14 languages, including American Sign Language. To learn more about the Notify NYC program or to sign up, New Yorkers can visit the Notify NYC website, call 311, or download the free Notify NYC app for your Android or Apple device. You can now text to 692-692, using the code NOTIFYNYC, NOTIFYNYCESP (Spanish), and NOTIFYFRE (French) to be instantly enrolled to receive the highest priority, verified alerts across all the five boroughs.  


MAYOR ADAMS ANNOUNCES RECORD NUMBER OF AFFORDABLE HOMES CREATED IN 2023, MAKES URGENT CASE FOR ALBANY ACTION AS PRIVATE CONSTRUCTION SLOWS

 

City Financed Record Number of New Affordable Homes Last Year, With Majority Benefitting From Expired 421-a Affordable Housing Tax Incentive    

 

80 Percent Increase in Financing for New Construction and Preservation of Affordable Homes From 2022 

 

City Also Set Record in 2023 for Most New Supportive Homes and Homes for Formerly Homeless New Yorkers  

 

As New Yorkers Continue to Struggle With High Rents, City Needs Tools From Albany to Build Homes for New Yorkers  


New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced that his administration has once again broken records for producing much-needed affordable housing amid a severe housing shortage in the five boroughs. As private construction activity slows following the expiration of a critical affordable housing creation tool, Mayor Adams reiterated an urgent call for state lawmakers in Albany to partner with New York Governor Kathy Hochul and provide the city with critical tools — including a new affordable housing tax incentive, a pathway to make basement and cellar apartments safe and legal, a tax incentive to turn empty office buildings into affordable homes, and the lifting of a cap on density for new construction — to create the new housing New Yorkers need. 

  

“When we came into office two years ago, we had a mission: protect public safety, revitalize the economy, and make this city more livable for hardworking New Yorkers, and making our city more livable means building more affordable housing for more people,” said Mayor Adams. “We are proud of our administration’s progress building a record number of affordable homes last year, but New York City cannot solve this affordable housing crisis alone. We are grateful to Governor Hochul for her leadership on this issue and are optimistic that with the support of labor, industry, and lawmakers across the state, we can help ease the pain New Yorkers are feeling every day as we continue to make real progress against this crisis.” 

  

“Making good on our administration’s promise to increase affordable housing and tackle the city’s housing crisis once and for all, we accomplished record housing production for the last calendar year,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development and Workforce Maria Torres-Springer. “I congratulate HPD and HDC on financing historic numbers of newly created housing, including record amounts for homeless New Yorkers and those in need of supportive services, and look forward to working with our state colleagues to unlock more housing to reach our need of creating 500,000 new homes in the next decade.” 

 

“Each record number we report and celebrate today is an investment in our future — representing new, safe, affordable homes where New Yorkers will be able to live out their lives and pursue their aspirations in the greatest city in the world.” said New York City Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Adolfo Carrión Jr. “I am proud of our agency staff and our partners at HDC for their tireless work to produce so many homes across the five boroughs. Now, more than ever, we need our state partners in Albany to lean in and help us do even more to address this housing crisis and keep our city competitive.” 

  

“Last year’s record-breaking production numbers reflect this administration’s tireless commitment to expanding our city’s affordable housing supply,” said New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) President Eric Enderlin. “While we continue to make strides towards building new supply and preserving our existing affordable and public housing stock, more must be done to tackle the growing housing crisis. It is crucial that we receive the federal resources needed to effectively meet the urgent housing needs of New Yorkers. 

  

HPD also directly connected more New Yorkers to homes than ever before, bringing nearly 13,000 households into affordable units this calendar year. Nearly 10,000 of those connections were through Housing Connect lotteries and 3,000 households left shelter to move into HPD homeless set aside units, an increase of more than 30 percent from 2022 to 2023. Late last year, the administration announced that permanent housing placements from shelter using CityFHEPS vouchers increased 10 percent during the first three months of Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) compared to the first three months of FY23. 

  

Overall, HPD and HDC financed a total 27,911 units in calendar year 2023 through new construction and preservation deals, and increase of 80 percent from 2022, fueled by a 47 percent increase in the financing of new affordable homes. The Adams administration additionally continued to prioritize new homes for the most vulnerable New Yorkers — setting records by creating 3,926 new homes for New Yorkers who formerly experienced homelessness and 1,670 new supportive homes with restricted rents and social services. 

 

To accelerate housing production and deliver relief to New Yorkers, the Adams administration has advanced a number of creative solutions, including an office conversation acceleratornew proposed rules to streamline approvals for sustainable housing, a “Housing-at-Risk Task Force,” and several pilot programs to help fund the creation of accessory dwelling unitshelp move New Yorkers out of shelters and into renovated apartmentsand fuel mixed-income development in neighborhoods across the city, among other innovative efforts.  

  

Lifting the city’s impressive 2023 numbers are major development projects closed by the Adams administration over the last year, including new housing projects at Willets Point, the JFK Hilton Hotel ConversionThe Peninsula in Hunts Point, and more. The administration also advanced several robust neighborhood planning efforts to deliver more housing and economic opportunities and investments to Central BrooklynMidtown SouthSouth RichmondLong Island CityJamaica, and the Metro North station area in the Bronx, among others. 

  

The city’s accelerated new housing production in 2023 stands in contrast to the private housing market where construction slowed, driven in part by the loss of the 421-a incentive program and the absence of action in Albany to replace it.  According to the New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) Housing Database, new unit permits dropped by approximately 84 percent between the first six months of 2023 and the first six months of 2022.  

 

“Affordable housing continues to be an absolutely critical resource for New Yorkers,” said New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt. “NYCHA extends its appreciation and ongoing support of the Adams administration's continued dedication to the preservation and creation of new affordable housing in New York City.” 

  

“This administration continues to do everything in its power to deliver the housing that New Yorkers need, from financing income-restricted affordable housing to advancing zoning changes and streamlining environmental review for much-needed housing,” said DCP Chair and City Planning Commission Chair Dan Garodnick. “We need action from our partners in Albany to pass comprehensive housing policy that supports housing opportunity in New York and across the state.” 

  

“The New York City Department of Buildings is making it easier than ever to build in our city by removing outdated regulations and streamlining the development process, but without legislation from our partners in Albany, private developers will not build the houses we need in the numbers we need them,” said New York City Department of Buildings Commissioner Jimmy Oddo. “The simple fact of the matter is greater flexibility and incentives will help jumpstart housing production across the state.”  

  

“Creating new, affordable, stable housing opportunities across our neighborhoods and preserving the affordability of homes that our fellow New Yorkers live in are critical steps to ensuring our city remains a diverse and thriving place to call home,” said New York City Executive Director for Housing Leila Bozorg. “I’m proud of the hustle and commitment that our housing agencies — with partners across the public and private sectors — have demonstrated through these numbers; each becoming a home that not only chips away at our housing supply and affordability challenges, but that serves as a platform for greater security for our neighbors.” 

  

The administration’s record-breaking production numbers also show New York City’s resilience in the face of difficult trends slowing the creation of new multifamily housing throughout the city and the nation. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, new construction of multifamily housing from January to October 2023 decreased 34 percent compared to the same period in 2022. 

  

As Mayor Adams has continued his advocacy for Albany to give New York City the tools it needs, he has committed $24 billion to affordable housing — the most in New York City’s history — and taken significant steps towards the “moonshot” goal of his “Get Stuff Built” plan to meet the need for 500,000 new homes over the next decade. Mayor Adams has also proposed the most pro-housing changes in the history of the city’s zoning code through his “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” plan to create “a little more housing in every neighborhood” of the city. 

Former Law Enforcement Union Officials Sentenced To Prison For Defrauding Union’s Annuity Fund

 

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that KENNETH WYNDER Jr., a former New York State Trooper and the president of the Law Enforcement Employees Benevolent Association (“LEEBA”), a labor union for law enforcement officers employed by the City of New York (the “City”), was sentenced to 40 months in prison, and ANDREW BROWN, a/k/a “Drew Brown,” the former financial advisor for LEEBA, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, for defrauding union members by misappropriating money from LEEBA’s Annuity Fund.  WYNDER was also sentenced for personal income tax evasion and conspiring to evade federal taxes, including payroll taxes owed by LEEBA and its employees.  WYNDER and BROWN were convicted after a five-day jury trial before U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel, who imposed this sentence.  In addition, STEVEN WHITTICK, LEEBA’s former treasurer and a former police officer for New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”), previously pled guilty to conspiring to commit tax evasion and making false statements to law enforcement and was sentenced to 28 months in prison    

U.S. Attorney Damian William said: “Kenneth Wynder and Andrew Brown raided union-sponsored retirement accounts for years, placing their self interest over the hard-working public servants they represented as the president and financial advisor of the union, respectivelyWynder also evaded taxes on cash, checks, and other income he obtained from the union, including as a product of their theft from the union members’ retirement accountsUnion officials and advisors who violate their duties to the union members they represent will face serious consequences for their abuse of trust.” 

According to the Indictment, Superseding Indictment, the underlying complaints filed in this case, as well as other publicly available information, prior court filings, and evidence presented during the trial in Manhattan federal court:

Law Enforcement Employees Benevolent Association and the Annuity Fund

LEEBA is a labor union that has acted as the collective bargaining representative principally for law enforce­ment personnel at various City agencies and has entered into agreements on behalf of those law enforcement employees, including agreements for insurance and retirement benefits.  The City agencies whose employees LEEBA represented included, at various times, DEP, the Department of Sanitation (“Sanitation”), and the Department of Transporta­tion (“Transportation”).

The Annuity Fund is a LEEBA fund that received monthly contributions from the City for the benefit of LEEBA’s members and maintained separate accounts for each fund member.  These accounts were functionally similar to employer-sponsored 401(k) retirement accounts.  WYNDER was a Trustee of the Annuity Fund and signatory to agreements that governed the fund, and BROWN was a Plan Administrator and Financial Advisor of the Annuity Fund.  Under the relevant agreements and plans, the money in the Annuity Fund could be used for no purpose other than funding individual members’ retirement accounts and defraying reasonable administra­tive expenses of the Annuity Fund itself.

WYNDER

WYNDER, a former New York State Trooper, is the founder and former President of LEEBA and a former member of LEEBA’s board of directors.  WYNDER also formerly served as the Fund Administrator of the Annuity Fund and as a member of the board of trustees of the Annuity Fund, pursuant to which he owed a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the Annuity Fund and its account holders.  WYNDER also was on the board of trustees of the LEEBA Welfare Fund (the “Welfare Fund,” and collectively with the Annuity Fund, the “LEEBA Funds”), which provided supplemental insurance benefits to its members.  While occupying those positions, WYNDER centralized and controlled major decision-making authority for LEEBA and the LEEBA Funds, often acting without the proper approval of their respective boards of directors or trustees.  WYNDER’s de facto dominance of LEEBA and the LEEBA Funds enabled him to make decisions in his own self-interest and contrary to the interests of the Annuity Fund and individual members.

BROWN

BROWN, the founder of a Westchester-based financial services company, is the former Benefits Administrator and insurance broker for LEEBA and the LEEBA Funds.  As a LEEBA Annuity Fund Plan Administrator and Financial Advisor, BROWN helped manage the investments in the Annuity Fund, receiving a commission for his services, and had a responsibi­lity to act in the best interest of LEEBA’s members.

            WYNDER’s and BROWN’s Fraud Scheme

From at least in or about 2012 up to and including 2020, WYNDER and BROWN participated in a scheme to steal, embezzle, and misappropriate money from the Annuity Fund and individual members’ retirement accounts.  Specifically, WYNDER and BROWN made hundreds of thousands of dollars of fraudulent transfers from the Annuity Fund to LEEBA’s operating account, which WYNDER controlled, and WYNDER regularly used the funds, once transferred from the Annuity Fund, to enrich himself at union members’ expense, including through unauthorized and excessive checks to himself and cash withdrawals for his own benefit and to pay insurance benefits for which BROWN received commissions.  In addition, WYNDER caused the union to pay for various personal expenses such as the purchase of a Lexus automobile, travel expenses to Dallas to watch a Dallas Cowboys football game, and a sailing trip, all paid for by the union, and none of which were contemporaneously reported to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), as required.           

To accomplish this fraudulent scheme, WYNDER and BROWN, acting in their capacity as the Annuity Fund’s Plan Administrators, repeatedly made false and misleading statements to a third-party retirement plan manager that served as the custodian for the Annuity Fund and the retirement accounts of individual union members, including through emails and faxes that WYNDER and BROWN used to withdraw increasingly large sums of money from the Annuity Fund, effectively causing such withdrawals to be made from the retirement accounts of individual members.  From in or about 2014 through in or about 2019, WYNDER and BROWN caused the withdrawal of more than $500,000 from the individual retirement accounts that constitute the Annuity Fund, thereby wiping out the entire balance of certain members’ accounts.  Without these improper withdrawals from the Annuity Fund, the LEEBA operating account would have been insolvent and would have had insufficient funds to pay for WYNDER’s excessive checks to himself and cash withdrawals and the personal expenses he caused to be charged to that account, as well as to pay for benefits for which BROWN made commissions as an insurance broker.

In addition, throughout the duration of this scheme, WYNDER and BROWN repeatedly made and approved false and misleading statements to LEEBA’s members and prospective members about how they were purportedly using and protecting their retirement accounts and the LEEBA Annuity Fund.  WYNDER further concealed the scheme by causing LEEBA to fail to timely file mandatory reports and financial disclosures with the City and public reports to the Annuity Fund’s members and by making false statements to the Annuity Fund’s auditors and accountants.

            WYNDER’s and WHITTICK’s Tax Evasion Scheme

From at least in or about 2015 through 2019, WYNDER participated in a conspiracy with LEEBA’s then-Treasurer, WHITTICK, to cause LEEBA to make payments to WYNDER and WHITTICK, by check and in cash, and to conceal those payments from the IRS.  WYNDER and WHITTICK further conspired to ensure that such payments were made outside of LEEBA’s payroll processor.  WYNDER and WHITTICK then concealed these payments from the IRS — including off-the-books payments to WYNDER of more than $400,000 — in order to evade their own personal income taxes and to evade the payroll taxes that were owed by LEEBA and certain LEEBA employees.

WHITTICK’s False Statements to Federal Agents

In or about October 2019, while serving as LEEBA’s Treasurer and after learning of a federal investigation into LEEBA’s finances – including the investigation of an alleged embezzlement scheme that ultimately resulted in wire fraud charges against WYNDER – WHITTICK repeatedly lied to federal agents in an effort to obstruct that investigation.  WHITTICK did so despite personal involvement in some of the financial improprieties with which WYNDER was convicted.  For example, on at least two occasions, on or about February 1, 2018, and March 30, 2018, WHITTICK withdrew $16,000 in cash from a LEEBA bank account and on each occasion deposited $15,000 cash into Wynder’s personal bank account and $1,000 cash into WHITTICK’s own personal bank account.

After the FBI executed a search warrant of LEEBA’s offices in September 2019, WHITTICK attempted to obstruct and to influence the ongoing federal investigation by making, in two different interviews with law enforcement agents, false statements about, among other subjects, cash withdrawals he made from LEEBA’s bank accounts, unauthorized withdrawals from LEEBA’s Annuity Fund and from the individual retirement accounts of Fund participants, and LEEBA’s payment for certain travel and entertainment expenses for union officers, including WHITTICK and WYNDER.

In addition to his prison term, WYNDER, 60, of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, was ordered to forfeit $529,000 and to pay $838,683 in restitution. 

In addition to his prison term, BROWN, 56, of Putnam Valley, New York, was ordered to forfeit $3,049 and to pay $529,000 in restitution.   

On November 17, 2021, WHITTICK, 54, of Kingston, New York, was sentenced to 28 months in prison and ordered to pay $179,766 in restitution.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Labor Office of Labor-Management Standards, and IRS, Criminal Investigation.  Mr. Williams also thanked the New York City Comptroller’s Office and the New York City Department of Investigation for their assistance.

BRONX MAN SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS IN PRISON FOR FATALLY SHOOTING TWO MEN TO AVENGE HIS BROTHER’S KILLING

 

Defendant Pleaded Guilty to Manslaughter; Shooting Happened Hours After His Brother Was Shot Walking Down Street with Daughter

Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced that a Bronx man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for fatally shooting two men and for wounding another inside a building hallway in Claremont, in retaliation for the killing of his brother. 

District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant killed two men and wounded another a few hours after his brother had been fatally shot while walking down the street with his 6-year-old daughter. This occurred in the summer of 2020, when the Bronx experienced a barrage of gunfire, much of it retaliatory. Revenge is not the answer. Justice must be attained the right way. Only then can our community be safe. This man lost his brother and now he will spend many years in prison.” 

District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Kalvin Robinson, 32, of 305 East 153rd Street, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree Manslaughter and second-degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon on November 30, 2023. He was sentenced today before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Margaret Clancy to 25 years in prison and five years post-release supervision on each of the Manslaughter counts, to run concurrently to each other, and 15 years in prison and five years post release supervision on the weapon charge, to run concurrently with the Manslaughter sentence. A co-defendant, Nasir Greene, also pleaded to the charges and awaits sentencing. 

According to the investigation, at 8:00 p.m. on July 5, 2020, inside 306 East 171st Street, the defendants fired multiple shots at Eghosa Imafidon, 26, Joel Baba, 22, and Mohammed Baba, 29. Imafidon was struck multiple times in the neck, head and arm, and Joel Baba was struck multiple times in the torso, arm, and leg. Both died. Mohammed Baba was shot in the arm.                      

District Attorney Clark thanked NYPD Detective Mark Konecni, formerly of the 44th Precinct, NYPD Detective Dominic Robinson of the Bronx Homicide Squad and NYPD Detective Vincent Figueroa of the 44th Precinct for their work in the case.