Friday, October 7, 2022

Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19 - OCTOBER 7, 2022

 Clinical specimen testing for Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) at Wadsworth Laboratory

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

16 Statewide Deaths Reported Yesterday


 Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress combating COVID-19.     

"I urge New Yorkers to remain vigilant and to use all available tools to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their communities, from COVID-19," Governor Hochul said. "Stay up to date on your vaccine doses, and test before gatherings or travel. If you test positive, talk to your doctor about potential treatment options."

Governor Hochul continues to urge New Yorkers to get their bivalent COVID-19 vaccine boosters from Pfizer-BioNTech for anyone age 12 or older and from Moderna for those 18 or older. 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.

Governor Hochul reminds all New Yorkers to get their annual flu vaccination, as influenza is already considered widespread across the state. Since September, cases have been increasing, with 596 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza for the week ending Oct. 1. As influenza and COVID-19 circulate simultaneously, those eligible should also get a COVID booster.

For information about flu vaccine clinics, contact the local health department or visit Vaccines.gov/find-vaccines.  

Today's data is summarized briefly below:    

  • Cases Per 100k - 21.25
  • 7-Day Average Cases Per 100k - 20.06
  • Test Results Reported - 62,761
  • Total Positive - 4,152
  • Percent Positive - 6.30%**    
  • 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 6.74%**       
  • Patient Hospitalization - 2,433 (+8)
  • Patients Newly Admitted - 437
  • Patients in ICU - 226 (-3)
  • Patients in ICU with Intubation - 84 (-2)
  • Total Discharges - 348,196 (+383)
  • New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 16   
  • Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 58,250

 

** Due to the test reporting policy change by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) 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 (HHS) 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 - 74,391

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 - 40,266,899
  • Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours - 5,373
  • Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days - 28,964
  • Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose - 93.4% 
  • Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series - 84.8% 
  • 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) - 88.9% 
  • Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 85.8%
  • Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 75.3% 
  • Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose - 83.5% 
  • Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series - 75.5% 
  • Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 92.6% 
  • Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 79.1% 
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,  

October  

4, 2022 

Wednesday,  

October  

5, 2022 

Thursday,  

October  

6, 2022 

Bronx 

5.69% 

5.65% 

5.22% 

Kings 

4.55% 

4.46% 

4.23% 

New York 

5.45% 

5.27% 

4.91% 

Queens 

6.12% 

6.08% 

5.74% 

Richmond 

8.26% 

8.36% 

8.27% 


Attorney General James Stops School Bus Company from Polluting in New York City Communities

 

Hoyt Transportation Allegedly Exceeded Limits on Vehicle Idling, Leading to Air Pollution in Communities of Color

New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced a settlement with Hoyt Transportation, Inc. (Hoyt Transportation), a Bronx-based school bus company, ending its alleged practice of excessive idling at bus yards. Excessive vehicle idling causes air pollution, endangering the health and wellness of neighboring communities. As part of the settlement announced today, Hoyt Transportation will implement an extensive anti-idling training program for drivers, engage an idling manager to monitor idling behavior, and pay at least $38,850 in penalties. Funds secured from the settlement will be used to support projects to fight pollution and improve air quality in overburdened communities in New York City.

“Vehicle idling can lead to increased air pollution, which poses a serious threat to New Yorkers’ health and safety,” said Attorney General James. “School bus companies like Hoyt Transportation must do their part to protect our communities by addressing excessive idling. In our continued efforts to combat air pollution and environmental injustice, my office will always ensure companies like Hoyt Transportation honor their responsibilities to the communities they serve.”

Hoyt Transportation operates a fleet of more than 300 school buses out of four bus depots in the Bronx, all located in or near low-income communities or communities of color. Using data provided by Geotab, the fleet management system that the Department of Education (DOE) has installed on all New York City school buses, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found that the company had repeatedly and persistently exceeded city and state idling limits at its bus yards and other locations across the city. New York state law, with certain specific exceptions, prohibits idling for more than five minutes, and New York City law prohibits idling for more than three minutes, or one minute when adjacent to a K-12 school.

Geotab data obtained by OAG show that between October 13 and December 20, 2019, one bus idled over two hours on 13 separate occasions (a total of 4986 minutes of idling) at the Hoyt Transportation bus yard located at 1271 Randall Avenue in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the Bronx. This same bus also idled 83 other times at the same yard, with an average of 16 minutes each time. The data also indicate a different bus idled 51 times at the Randall Avenue depot in December 2019, averaging 25 minutes each time. Three of these instances were also over two hours in duration.

Tailpipe emissions from cars, trucks, and buses are one of the leading sources of air pollution in New York state due to the release of smog-forming pollutants, soot, and greenhouse gases. Idling is a significant source of these emissions, with an estimated 130,000 tons of carbon dioxide emitted in New York City alone each year. New York City suffers roughly 1,400 premature deaths every year — the highest death toll in the Northeast — and pays billions in health costs due to significant pollution from the hundreds of thousands of vehicles that operate in the city.

Emissions from diesel-powered, heavy-duty vehicles like buses are particularly harmful to surrounding communities because they emit fine particulate matter that has been linked to numerous problems including asthma, cancer, heart disease, and other serious health impacts. Vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, and those with respiratory ailments are particularly impacted. The health impacts of soot and air pollution exposure are disproportionately felt in low-income communities and communities of color in New York City. These communities have the highest truck and traffic volume and are often home to industrial facilities and bus yards located in close proximity to residential neighborhoods. The children in the high poverty areas of Central Brooklyn, the South Bronx, and Upper Manhattan are three times more likely than children in other areas of the city to be diagnosed with asthma.  

In addition to the minimum $38,850 in penalties, Hoyt Transportation will pay another $66,000 if the company does not enter into an agreement to purchase an all-electric, zero-emission school bus by May 2025.

Today’s settlement continues Attorney General James’ efforts to ensure that school bus companies do not illegally idle and pollute the air. In May 2022, the Attorney General filed a lawsuit against three New York City bus companies for causing significant air pollution in communities of color by violating city and state bus idling laws. In April 2022, she reached an agreement with Reliant Transportation, the now-defunct owner and operator of 838 school buses, following an investigation that revealed the company's unlawful idling practices.

“It has been well documented the direct effect air pollution has on communities of color in the South Bronx,” said Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson. “To learn that despite decades of enforcement, education, and awareness campaigns holding businesses accountable for compromising the health and safety of nearby residents already burdened by high rates of asthma, Hoyt Transportation is exceeding state-mandated idling limits set at 5 minutes for heavy-duty vehicles, including non-diesel and diesel trucks and buses with a gross vehicle weight of more than 8,500 pounds. Their actions have worked to further pollute communities across the Bronx — many still reeling from the effects of COVD-19 and other health disparities. I want to thank Attorney General Letitia James and her team for her advocacy and for holding Hoyt Transportation accountable.”

Governor Hochul Announces 27 Municipalities Selected to Participate in Clean Water Infrastructure Asset Management Program

Water pouring from faucet

 Second Phase of State's Asset Management Program Helps Municipalities Protect and Improve Local Wastewater Treatment Systems

Services Provided at No Out-of-Pocket Costs to Participating Municipalities


 Governor Kathy Hochul today announced 27 municipalities have been selected to participate in a program that will help develop asset management programs to evaluate, monitor, protect, and responsibly plan upgrades for wastewater infrastructure facilities. The program supports ongoing efforts to ensure the responsible stewardship of New York's nation-leading investments in clean water infrastructure to protect public health and the environment and support local economies.

"The State's Asset Management Program advances resources and expertise to help municipal leaders establish robust programs to maintain and upgrade essential wastewater infrastructure systems," Governor Hochul said. "My administration is committed to helping local communities across the state protect wastewater systems that are often a municipality's single-most valuable asset. By evaluating flood resilience needs, these local asset management programs will help our communities mitigate the effects of climate change and better prepare for the future."

Asset management is a process that municipalities use to manage infrastructure investments. It includes procedures to inventory, assess, and track infrastructure throughout its life cycle. These procedures improve resiliency, longevity, budgeting, and proper operation of critical infrastructure, while supporting municipal planning and reducing costs over the long term. The program builds upon a successful $3 million pilot completed in 2021 and administered by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC). The pilot program helped 10 local governments across the state inventory their wastewater assets, identify risks to their wastewater infrastructure, and determine cost-effective, tangible solutions to address those risks.

The second phase of the State's Asset Management Program announced today will continue New York State's proactive approach to managing wastewater treatment by providing engineering consultant planning services, software management systems, and technical training to local governments. Consulting services will assist municipalities in identifying weaknesses in their current systems to promote repairs before a system failure occurs. The ability to minimize costly emergency repairs and prevent service disruptions will help protect public health and the environment.

Funding for the program totals $10 million that was made available through the Clean Water Infrastructure Act and is administered by EFC in partnership with DEC, which has regulatory oversight of wastewater facilities. EFC contracted with Arcadis of New York, Inc., to serve as program advisor, and 10 additional engineering firms to build local knowledge and capacity across New York State. DEC selected 27 municipalities across the State to participate in the program:

Capital Region:

  1. Albany County
  2. Village of Athens
  3. Town of East Greenbush
  4. City of Glens Falls

Central New York

  1. City of Auburn
  2. Village of Marcellus
  3. Village of Skaneateles

Finger Lakes

  1. Village of Arcade
  2. Village of Le Roy
  3. Village of Lima
  4. Livingston County

Long Island

  1. Village of Hempstead
  2. Suffolk County

Mid-Hudson

  1. Village of Rhinebeck
  2. Town of Ulster
  3. City of Newburgh

Mohawk Valley

  1. City of Gloversville
  2. City of Johnstown
  3. City of Little Falls

New York City

  1. New York City

North Country

  1. Town of AuSable
  2. Village of Philadelphia
  3. Village of Sackets Harbor

Southern Tier

  1. Village of Bath
  2. Village of Endicott

Western New York

  1. Erie County
  2. Village of Sherman

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner and Environmental Facilities Corporation Board Chair Basil Seggos said, "The Asset Management Program is a proven method to help local officials identify necessary projects to improve the reliability of their sewer systems and reduce potential risks to public health and the environment. With the continued support of Governor Hochul and in collaboration with our partners at EFC, DEC looks forward to building upon the prior success of this beneficial program with an additional 27 municipalities representing 30 wastewater systems."

For more information on the Asset Management Program, go to dec.ny.gov/chemical/101412.html.

New York State remains a national leader in water quality investments. The 2023 Enacted Budget builds upon New York State's commitments by including more than half a billion dollars in direct investment into clean water initiatives, including $500 million in clean water infrastructure funding, bringing the State's total clean water investment to $4.5 billion since 2017; $400 million - a record level of funding - for the Environmental Protection Fund to support critical projects that work to mitigate the effects of climate change, improve agricultural resources, protect water sources, advance conservation efforts and provide recreational opportunities; and $4.2 billion for the landmark Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act. If approved by voters this fall, this historic initiative will provide the support New York State needs to protect and improve water resources, restore critical environmental habitats, reduce flood risks, conserve additional lands and open spaces, and invest in climate change mitigation projects that will reduce pollution and lower carbon emissions.

AS CITY ANTICIPATES SURPASSING HIGHEST RECORDED SHELTER CENSUS, MAYOR ADAMS DECLARES ASYLUM SEEKER STATE OF EMERGENCY, CALLS FOR URGENT AID FROM FEDERAL, STATE GOVERNMENTS

 

As New York City anticipates surpassing the highest recorded shelter census in recorded history today, New York City Mayor Eric Adams issued Emergency Executive Order 224, formally directing all relevant city agencies to coordinate their efforts to respond to the asylum seeker humanitarian crisis and construct the city’s Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers. In an address, Mayor Adams also called for emergency federal and state aid to handle the continued influx of asylum seekers as the city projects costs of more than $1 billion related to asylum seekers in this fiscal year alone, as well as expedited work permits, a national decompression strategy, and a resettlement strategy. With more than 17,000 asylum seekers bussed to the city since the spring, the Adams administration estimates that once the asylum seekers from today’s buses are provided shelter, the city will surpass the highest number of people in recorded history in its shelter system. And every day going forward, where more are added this count, another record will be broken. If the pace continues, the city’s shelter census will surpass 100,000 in the coming year.

 

Since this humanitarian crisis began, the city has, largely on its own, taken fast and urgent action, managing the arrival of a rapidly increasing number of buses across New York City with virtually no coordination from states sending them; opening 42 hotels as emergency shelters; standing up a navigation center to connect asylum seekers with critical resources; enrolling over 5,500 children in public schools through Project Open Arms; and more. The city is opening at least one Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center to assist asylum seekers arriving with immediate needs and help them reach their final desired destination.

 

The city also announced additional measures it’s taking to accelerate the pace of moving long-term unhoused New Yorkers into permanent housing, as well as initiatives with faith-based and private sector partners to support asylum seekers in need.

 

Below are Mayor Adams’ remarks, as prepared for delivery: 

 

My fellow New Yorkers, we are in a crisis situation.

 

New York City now has more than 61,000 people in our shelter system. That includes thousands of New Yorkers experiencing homelessness and thousands of asylum seekers who have been bused in over the past few months from other parts of the country.

 

Almost 20,000 are children, and one in five of them is an asylum seeker. And every day, the total number gets higher. Every day, from this point forward, we are setting a new record.

 

This is a humanitarian crisis that started with violence and instability in South America and is being accelerated by American political dynamics. Thousands of asylum seekers have been bused into New York City and simply dropped off, without notice, coordination, or care — and more are arriving every day.

 

This crisis is not of our own making but one that will affect everyone in this city, now and in the months ahead. New Yorkers deserve to know why this is happening and what we plan to do.

 

Today, I want to talk about the challenge we face, what our response has been, what we are doing now, and what we need going forward.

 

First, the challenge: Our city’s exceptional ability to respond to a temporary crisis is being abused by others to solve a long-standing national problem. More than 17,000 asylum seekers, mostly from South America, have been bused directly to New York City from our southern border since April of this year. Many of these asylum seekers don’t know where they are going, or what awaits them at the end of the line.    

 

Hundreds of buses have arrived in New York City. Since early September, we have seen an average of five to six buses per day. Yesterday, at least nine buses arrived.

 

The majority are adults who cannot legally work in this country. Many are families with school-aged children. Some are in desperate need of serious medical care. 

 

New York City has helped them all.

 

But extending that care has come at great cost to our city and our people. The asylum seekers arriving here need more than a hot meal or a bed for a night. Without the ability to work legally in this country, they need long-term shelter, health care, and a great deal of institutional support. It is straining the limits of our ability to provide care for New Yorkers in need, and it is burning through our city’s budget. We expect to spend at least $1 billion by the end of the fiscal year on this crisis. All because we have a functional and compassionate system.

 

Our right-to-shelter laws, our social services, and our values are being exploited by others for political gain.

 

New Yorkers are angry. I am angry, too. 

 

We have not asked for this. There was never any agreement to take on the job of supporting thousands of asylum seekers. This responsibility was simply handed to us without warning as buses began showing up. There is no playbook for this, no precedent.

 

But despite all this, our city’s response has been nothing short of heroic. From setting up welcome centers, organizing housing, health care, and transportation, New York City agencies and their community partners have done great work in the face of overwhelming need

 

 New Yorkers, as always, have responded to this crisis by pulling together as one. From April through October, month after month, we have handled the arrival of hundreds of buses, providing triage, water, and urgent medical assistance. We’ve set up 42 hotels as emergency shelters. We have opened a Navigation Center led by Catholic Charities that provides case management, a range of settlement options, health services including medical checkups, vaccinations, medication refills, and mental health services.

 

We have also already enrolled over 5,500 children in school through Project Open Arms — students who are high-need and require extra support. We are providing legal information, Fair Fares transit support, and IDNYC enrollment to those who need it.

 

I want to thank our fellow New Yorkers who have already given so much of their time, care, and resources to our brothers and sisters, including the Department of Social Services, NYC Emergency Management, the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, the Department of Health, the Department of Education, Health + Hospitals, the Hotel Trades Council, and so many other agencies and New Yorkers that have stepped up. They deserve great credit for handling this crisis with speed and efficiency. Organizations like Catholic Charities, the Hispanic Federation, the United Way, Make the Road, and the New York Immigration Coalition have also provided invaluable help.

 

But though our compassion is limitless, our resources are not.

 

Our shelter system is now operating near 100-percent capacity. And if these trends continue, we’ll be over 100,000 in the year to come. That’s far more than the system was ever designed to handle. This is unsustainable. The city is going to run out of funding for other priorities.

 

New York City is doing all we can, but we are reaching the outer limit of our ability to help. We’re putting people up in emergency hotels, but the holiday season is right around the corner and space is limited. We’re trying to find better, faster ways to get people into permanent housing, but years of delays have kept new low-income housing from being built.

 

We’re doing everything we can. We’ve started a faith-based effort to get our houses of worship to adopt a shelter, helped community organizations arrange travel for people to their destination of choice, and we’re engaging the private sector to get clothing and supplies to asylum seekers and New Yorkers in need.

 

But it’s still not enough.

 

In the next few weeks, we’ll be opening a large Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center on Randall’s Island that will safely house hundreds of people who have found themselves in New York City after a long journey from our southern border. I will be there to welcome them and to stay with them, to hear their stories.

 

But unless we take immediate action, that center will be full in days. And we will have to open another and another and another, even as winter weather arrives.

 

As a result of that reality, today, I am declaring a state of emergency in the City of New York and issuing an executive order. This executive order will formally direct all relevant agencies to coordinate their efforts to construct the humanitarian relief centers. We are also suspending certain land use requirements to expedite this process.

 

New York City has already done more than nearly any other city to support this influx of asylum seekers. And we cannot deprive longtime New Yorkers of support and services, even as we address the needs of these new arrivals.

 

It is not sustainable, and it is not right.

 

If our city had had coordination or even just cooperation from any of the states sending buses, or more support from our partners, then maybe we could have budgeted, staffed, and allocated resources for these asylum seekers.

 

But we didn’t get the support and information we asked for, and now, New York city is being forced to bear far more than its share of this national crisis caused by political motivation. Mayors are already on the front lines of every other crisis this country is suffering from — from gun violence to climate change. But local government cannot be the solution for national crises — especially manufactured crises.

 

We now have a situation where more people are arriving in New York City than we can immediately accommodate, including families with babies and young children. Once the asylum seekers from today’s buses are provided shelter, we will surpass the highest number of people in recorded history in our city’s shelter system. And every day going forward that we add more to this count, we break another record.

 

A city recovering from an ongoing global pandemic is being overwhelmed by a humanitarian crisis made by human hands.

 

We have received some of the help we have asked for, but we need more. We are at the edge of the precipice. We need serious partnership and realistic solutions. As I have said before, we need help. And we need it now.

 

So today we’re issuing a clear message: The time for aid to New York City is now. We need help from the federal government, help from the State of New York.

 

New York City is doing our part, and now others must step up and join us. From our federal partners, we need legislation that will allow these asylum seekers to legally work — now, not in six months. And we need a realistic decompression strategy at the border that will slow the outflow of asylum seekers. We need a coordinated effort to move asylum seekers to other cities in this country to ensure everyone is doing their part. And Congress must pass emergency financial relief for our city and others. Finally, we need a bipartisan effort to deliver long-awaited immigration reform, so we can offer people a safe and legal path to the American Dream.

 

We need help here at home from New York state, too. The state Legislature must do its part by providing emergency financial relief. We’ve worked with the governor’s office on identifying additional locations for relief centers and staffing resources, and we need those to come through now. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment, and we need the state to act with the urgency this situation demands.

 

New York City will continue to do what we can. In the weeks ahead, we will be announcing efforts to fast-track long-term unhoused New Yorkers into permanent housing. We must continue to prioritize the needs of longtime residents even as this crisis unfolds.

 

We will also be announcing a partnership through which New Yorkers will be able to host asylum seekers and the unhoused. Because, despite all the bad faith that has caused this crisis and made it worse, New Yorkers have always looked out for our immigrant brothers and sisters. We see ourselves in them. We see our ancestors in them.

 

New Yorkers want to help, and we’re going to make it straightforward and easy for them to do so.  

 

As we did after 9/11 and Superstorm Sandy, we will rally together for the greater good in a time of unprecedented crisis. Generations from now, there will be many Americans who trace their stories back to this moment in time, grandchildren who will recall the day their grandparents arrived here in New York City and found compassion, not cruelty. A place to lay their head, a warm meal, a chance at a better future.

 

Thank you, New York, for doing the right thing.


Leader Of Sunset Trinitarios Gang Pleads Guilty To Racketeering

 

 Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that EDIBERTO SANTANA, a/k/a “Flaco Veneno,” pled guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy involving murder, arising out of SANTANA’s long-time leadership of the Sunset Trinitarios gang.  SANTANA pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Paul A. Crotty.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said:  “Today’s guilty plea should serve as a reminder that we are committed to seeking justice for victims no matter the passage of time and to holding gang leaders responsible for the violence that they instigate.”

According to the Indictment, SANTANA’s plea agreement, and statements made in Court:

SANTANA is the long-time leader of the Sunset Trinitarios (“Sunset”), a violent set of the national Trinitarios street gang that controlled territory in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Brooklyn, among other places.  Under SANTANA’s leadership and at SANTANA’s direction, Sunset perpetrated a near-constant string of violent crime for nearly a decade, including murders, shootings, assaults, and robberies.  Among other acts of violence, SANTANA ordered the March 13, 2011, murder of Dennis Marquez, age 16, who was stabbed to death in the Bronx; the October 23, 2013, murder of Michael Beltre, age 17, who was shot and killed in the Bronx; and the November 17, 2013, murder of Rafael Alam, age 23, who was shot and killed in the Bronx. 

SANTANA, 33, of Brooklyn, New York, pled guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy with murder as a special sentencing factor, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. 

The statutory maximum sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing will be determined by a judge.  SANTANA is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Crotty on February 8, 2023.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the New York City Police Department, the New York State Police, and the New York City Department of Investigation.

Attorney General James' Statement on Decision Regarding New York’s Concealed Carry Gun Laws

 

New York Attorney General Letitia James released the following statement after a federal judge in the U.S. Northern District Court of New York granted a temporary restraining order in the case Antonyuk v. Hochul, temporarily blocking or modifying some provisions of New York’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA):

“Today's decision comes in the wake of mass shootings and rampant gun violence hurting communities here in New York and across the country. While the decision preserves portions of the law, we believe the entire law must be preserved as enacted. We will appeal this decision. 

"Common-sense gun control regulations help save lives. I will not back down from the fight to protect New Yorkers from repeated and baseless attacks on our state’s gun safety measures. I will continue to defend our responsible gun laws and fight for the safety of everyday New Yorkers.”

All provisions of the CCIA are still in effect until next week because the trial judge stayed his order to permit the state to consider and pursue appellate options. 

VCJC News & Notes 10/7/22

 

Van Cortlandt Jewish Center
News and Notes



Here's this week's edition of the VCJC News and Notes email. We hope you enjoy it and find it useful!

Reminders

  1. Shabbos

    Shabbos information is, as always, available on our website, both in the information sidebar and the events calendar.
    Here are the times you need:  
    Shabbos Candles Friday 10/7/22 @ 6:10 pm
    Shabbos morning services at 8:45 am.  Please join the services if you can do so safely. 
    Shabbos Ends Saturday 10/8/22 @ 6:13  pm
     
  2. Succot
     
    Yom Tov Candles, Sunday, October 9 @ 6:07 pm
    Aft./Eve. Services October 9 @ 6:15 pm

    Morning Services, Monday, October 10 @ 8:45 am
    As is our custom, there will be a Kiddush following services. 
    Aft./Eve. Services October 10 @ 6:15 pm
    Yom Tov Candles October 10 @  after 7:08 pm

    Morning Services, Tuesday, October 11 @ 8:45 am
    As is our custom, there will be a Kiddush following services. 
    Aft./Eve. Services October 11 @ 6:15 pm
    Yom Tov Ends October 11 @ 7:06 pm

    Chag Sameach! 
     
  3. Yizkor Reminders
    Having observed Yizkor on Yom Kippur, this is a reminder that it is customary to donate to charity as part of the observance.  Whether you attended services at VCJC or not; whether you vocally made a pledge or not; it is expected that you will make a donation in honor of those you remembered during Yizkor.  If you pledged to VCJC, thank you, and please redeem your pledge as soon as you are able.  If you attended, but did not announce a pledge, please consider donating to VCJC as part of your Yizkor observance.  If you observed Yizkor elsewhere, please honor the custom of charity as part of Yizkor, and if you are willing, include VCJC in your largesse.  
    There is an additional Yizkor observance on Shemini Atzeret. 
    Donations may be made in person in the office, by check by postal mail, or through one of the options on our Donation page. 
Van Cortlandt Jewish Center
3880 Sedgwick Ave
Bronx, NY 10463

2022 Bronx Dems Annual Dinner Gala - Wednesday October 12th 6 PM

 

SAVE THE DATE: Join us for our #BronxDems Annual Dinner Gala on Wednesday, October 12 at Marina Del Rey!
To RSVP and make a contribution, go to actblue.com/donate/bxdemsdinneroct12
For more information, contact darren@dynamicsrg.com or 845-405-6412.

May be an image of text that says 'P 2022 BRONX ANNUAL DINNER WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12 MARINA DEL REY 1 MARINA DR, BRONX, NY 10465 6PM 6pm- 7pm VIP Reception for Host Committee 7pm Reception & Dinner TABLES 10 seats CHAIRMAN GOLD $50,000 $25,000 SILVER $10,000 BRONZE $7500 INDIVIDUAL TICKETS PATRON $5000 HOST $1000 SPONSOR $500 FRIEND $375 FOR MORE INFORMATION: CONTACT ARREN@DYNAMICSRG.COM OR 845-405-6412 RSVP CONTRIBUTE JE.COM/DONATE/BXDEMSDINNEROCT12 CHECKS PAYABLE AND MAIL TO: THE BRONX DEMOCRATIC COUNTY COMMITTEE C/o ARIANA COLLADO, 3666 VARIAN AVE, BRONX, NY 10466'