Bronx Chamber of Commerce - Industry Insights: Earth Day at The Bronx Zoo

 

Join The Bronx Chamber of Commerce for an Earth Day networking breakfast on April 22, 2024 at 8:00am, hosted at the world-renowned Bronx Zoo!

Location:

The Bronx Zoo, Schiff Family Great Hall

2300 Southern Blvd 

Bronx, NY 10460

Make new connections in the Bronx Chamber network, hear from our Chamber member guest speaker on important sustainability considerations for businesses, then enjoy the beauty of Spring at the Zoo as we soft-launch a new pilot event: BronxBiz Nature Connect.

 

Fatou Jabbie of USL Technology will share sustainable design strategies, energy efficiency tips, information about NY City local compliance, LEED consulting, and more.

Following the breakfast program and a round of the Chamber’s signature “speed networking,” we invite you to join in a mindfulness moment and wellness walk* led by Eric Santiago of Sweet Water Dance & Yoga around the iconic grounds of the Zoo, marking the first in the BronxBiz Nature Connect pilot series.

*weather permitting

Location:

The Bronx Zoo, Schiff Family Great Hall

2300 Southern Blvd 

Bronx, NY 10460

If you will be traveling to the Breakfast by car and require parking at the Zoo, please use the parking lot at the 2300 Southern Blvd. entrance

Click HERE for the Official Bronx Zoo Map - Schiff Hall is close to Madagascar

About

BronxBiz Nature Connect aims to connect the Bronx business community using open-air green spaces in the borough as a setting for group exercise, mindfulness, and building connections in natural settings. This initiative will promote ‘movement medicine’ and other simple wellness practices, providing a platform for busy professionals to forge new business relationships while showcasing the Bronx’s natural and cultivated outdoor gems.

Get active with the Bronx Chamber - you never know where your next great deal will come from!

Learn more information by visiting www.bronxchamber.org or contacting events@bronxchamber.org.

Registration is required.

Members: $15.00

Non-Members: $20.00

Register - Click Here Become a Bronx Chamber Member Today - Click Here

ICNA, Anthem Healthcare, and Assemblyman Zaccaro Food Giveaway

Friday April 5th outside the Bronx Muslim Center located at 702 Rhinelander Avenue in the Little Yemen section of the Bronx the Islamic Circle of North America, Anthem Healthcare and Assemblyman John Zaccaro handed out over one hundred bags of food to members of the community of Little Yemen. 

Also on hand to help with the food giveaway were Judicial candidates Deidra Moore, and Eliezer Rodriguez, along with current Community Board 11 member Cynthia Rodriguez and Former Community Board 11 member Miguel Dyer. Esteban Munoz represented Anthem Health Care.

Assemblyman John Zaccaro with members of ICNA and Esteban Munoz of Anthem Health Care.

Assemblyman Zaccaro handed out the bags loaded with assorted food products. 

Community Board member Cynthia Rodriguez hands a woman a bag of assorted food. 

D.A. Bragg Announces Hate Crime Trial Conviction Of Gino Sozio For Anti-Muslim New Year’s Eve Slashing In Midtown

 

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., announced the hate crime trial conviction of GINO SOZIO, 40, for slashing a 22-year-old Muslim-American man, while he was out with friends, in an anti-Muslim attack in Midtown on December 31, 2022. A New York Supreme Court jury found SOZIO guilty of one count each of Attempted Assault in the First Degree as a Hate Crime, Assault in the Second Degree as a Hate Crime and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree. He will be sentenced on May 3, 2024.

“A Manhattan jury held Gino Sozio accountable for attacking a Muslim-American man in a vicious act of hate,” said District Attorney Bragg. “Instead of walking away from a dispute, Sozio went on an appalling racist and anti-Muslim tirade and took out a knife, seriously injuring the victim who is still in pain to this day. I thank the victim and the eyewitnesses for bravely coming forward and taking the stand, and our talented prosecutors who fought for justice in this case.”

As proven at trial, on December 31, 2022, the 22-year-old man and his friends traveled to the City from New Jersey, visited a halal food cart near the southeast corner of East 29th Street and 5th Avenue, and ordered food. At approximately 2:00 a.m., while the group was waiting for the food, SOZIO approached and confronted them after one of the friends told SOZIO that they believed he dropped something. SOZIO cursed and made xenophobic remarks, stating in substance, “This is my country. Go back to your country.”

During the altercation, another one of the friends took out his phone to record the incident, which SOZIO slapped out of his hand. The man’s friend punched SOZIO in response. SOZIO then pulled out a knife from his pocket and started swinging it towards the group. Eventually, SOZIO slashed the victim’s torso – leaving a large wound across his upper abdomen – which required stitches and surgery. The man’s friends were able to disarm SOZIO and call 9-1-1. Throughout the attack, SOZIO continued making racial remarks at the group, such as “terrorist” and “Halal motherf—s.”

Police officers arrested SOZIO on the scene a few minutes later and recovered the knife. While under arrest, SOZIO continued making racial comments and slurs about the group of men.

If you or someone you know has been a victim or witness to a hate crime or bias incident, please call 9-1-1 or report it to our Office at 212-335-3100.

D.A. Bragg thanked the NYPD, particularly the Midtown South and 13th Precincts. 

Defendant Information:

GINO SOZIO

Morganville, NJ

Convicted:

Attempted Assault in the First Degree as a Hate Crime, a class B felony, one count

Assault in the Second Degree as a Hate Crime, a class C felony, one count

Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, a class D felony, one count

New Jersey Man Accused of Evading Over $2 Million in Federal Taxes

 

Defendant Allegedly Concealed a Multimillion-Dollar Real Estate Portfolio and Lied to the IRS to Avoid Paying Taxes

A New Jersey man was arrested on an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Trenton, New Jersey, charging him with tax evasion and obstructing the IRS. 

According to the indictment, in 2015 and 2016, Matthew Tucci, of West Long Branch, received millions of dollars in income from purported refunds by the Customs and Tax Administration of the Kingdom of Denmark. Tucci allegedly filed federal tax returns for those years that reported he owed over $2 million in taxes, but included no payment with his returns. Instead, Tucci allegedly sought to evade IRS efforts to collect the taxes due. He allegedly purchased more than $7.6 million-worth of real estate and attempted to conceal his ownership of these assets from the IRS by, among other things, transferring title to some of these properties to nominees. He also allegedly made false statements to the IRS and withheld important facts from the IRS concerning his financial resources and his ability and intent to pay.

If convicted, Tucci faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI are investigating the case.

Senior Litigation Counsel Nanette Davis and Trial Attorney Catriona M. Coppler of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Boden for the District of New Jersey, Attorney in Charge of the Trenton Office, are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Florida Woman Sentenced To 42 Months In Prison For Defrauding Snap Recipients

 

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that GUYATREE SINGH was sentenced to 42 months in prison in connection with a years-long scheme to defraud at least approximately 120 low-income residents of New York City out of tens of thousands of dollars of their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP”) benefits.  SINGH previously pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff, who also imposed this sentence, to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. 

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Guyatree Singh stole SNAP benefits from at least approximately 120 low-income, primarily elderly, residents of New York City, leaving the victims without money to buy food.  By preying on those using their benefits for basic needs for survival, Singh showed there was no line she would not cross for a quick buck.  This sentence demonstrates this Office’s commitment to ensuring that our justice system protects everyone from fraud, especially the most vulnerable New Yorkers.” 

According to the Indictment and other filings and statements made in court:

From at least in or about April 2019 through at least May 2023, SINGH engaged in a scheme to defraud at least approximately 120 SNAP recipients living in the Southern District of New York — a majority of whom appear to be elderly — of their SNAP benefits.  In total, SINGH defrauded the victims out of approximately $51,868.39 in benefits. 

SNAP provides low-income individuals with electronic benefits that can be used like cash to purchase food.  People eligible for SNAP benefits are given an electronic benefits transfer (“EBT”) card, which looks like a debit card and gives a person access to his or her SNAP benefits, allowing the SNAP recipient to buy groceries and other items at participating stores. 

SINGH called SNAP recipients and pretended to be a New York State employee working for SNAP.  SINGH then asked the victims for their personally identifiable information, including their dates of birth and social security numbers.  Unbeknownst to the victims, SINGH then used this information to reset the personal identification numbers (“PIN”) on their EBT cards.  Once the PINs were reset, SINGH used the victims’ EBT account numbers and new PINs to make purchases for herself at grocery stores in Florida using the victims’ SNAP funds. 

In addition to her prison term, SINGH, 51, of West Palm Beach, Florida, was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $51,868.39 and forfeit the same amount.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the New York City Department of Investigation and the Special Agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

NYC Comptroller Lander Urges Mayor Adams to Update Capital Projects Dashboard

 

Lander’s call comes after State Comptroller Tom Dinapoli reported City Hall failed to monitor progress of infrastructure budget & deadlines

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander released the following statement after State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli published a report detailing Mayor Eric Adams’s infrequent updates to the NYC Capital Projects Dashboard:

“We cannot maintain our infrastructure if we do not know whether projects are running on-budget or on-time. That means fixing what is broken—including the capital project dashboard so that we can hold City agencies accountable and improve project delivery.

“To improve the transparency into building and repairing schools, parks, bridges, roads and resiliency projects, I pushed for the City’s creation of a comprehensive capital projects tracker. At the time of its release last year, I was grateful to Mayor Adams and his team for delivering on their commitment. But as Comptroller DiNapoli’s report lays out, a dashboard is only as good as the data that powers it, and this one is already woefully out of date. It fails to include the details we need to see which projects and City agencies are behind schedule or overbudget. The Administration’s failure to update the dashboard or include all of the necessary information has rendered it even less useful than its soon-to-be phased out predecessor, the City’s Capital Projects Detailed Data.

“Making the City’s capital project dashboard a legitimate performance management tool is just the first step the City needs to take to better manage its infrastructure. We need an all-hands-on-deck approach to reform capital project delivery— from how we assess the City’s state of good repair, as evidenced by our recent audit of the City’s Asset Information Management System report, to legislative reforms in Albany that modernize how the City designs and builds its infrastructure.

“Building capital projects on time and on budget will save the City money, create good jobs, nurture flourishing neighborhoods, support a thriving economy, and build a resilient future in the face of climate change. The only way we can achieve a better built environment is to better manage the City’s projects — and it starts with this dashboard.”