DEC SEEKS PARTICIPANTS FOR 2021 SUMMER WILD TURKEY SURVEY

 

Citizen Scientists Help DEC Monitor Turkey Population

 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos today encouraged New Yorkers to take part in the State's annual survey of wild turkeys.

"As New Yorkers continue to get outside this summer and reconnect with nature, we ask that they keep an eye out for the State’s most popular game bird, the wild turkey,” Commissioner Seggos said. "Reporting the turkeys you see this August helps DEC monitor the turkey population and contributes to our ongoing scientific efforts to survey this species.”

Since 1996, DEC has conducted the Summer Wild Turkey Sighting Survey to track wild turkey populations and estimate the number of wild turkey poults (young of the year) per hen statewide. Weather, predation, and habitat conditions during breeding and brood-rearing seasons can significantly impact nest success, and hen and poult survival. This index allows DEC to gauge reproductive success and predict fall harvest potential.

During August, survey participants record the sex and age composition of all flocks of wild turkeys observed during normal travel. Those interested in participating can click the “Summer Wild Turkey Sighting Online report” on the DEC’s website - https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/48732.html.

Additional information is available on the following DEC websites: Summer Wild Turkey Sighting Survey and Citizen Science Initiatives.

To improve public safety and encourage visitors to State-owned lands to practice responsible recreation, this spring DEC launched the 'Love Our New York Lands' campaign. The campaign is responsive to the steady increase in the number of visitors to state lands, both during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the decade prior, as more and more New Yorkers and visitors from other states and countries discovered the natural beauty of New York State lands. For details and more information, visit the Love Our New York Lands webpage.

Rare Cuneiform Tablet Bearing Portion of the Epic of Gilgamesh Forfeited to the United States

 

Auction House Sold the “Gilgamesh Dream Tablet” to Hobby Lobby Using a False Provenance

 United States District Judge Ann M. Donnelly entered an order yesterday forfeiting a rare cuneiform tablet bearing a portion of the epic of Gilgamesh, a Sumerian poem considered one of the world’s oldest works of literature.  Known as the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, it originated in the area of modern-day Iraq and entered the United States contrary to federal law.  An international auction house (the “Auction House”) later sold the tablet to Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. (“Hobby Lobby”), a prominent arts-and-crafts retailer based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for display at the Museum of the Bible (the “Museum”).  Law enforcement agents seized the tablet from the Museum in September 2019.

Jacquelyn M. Kasulis, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent-in-Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI), announced the forfeiture decree.

“This forfeiture represents an important milestone on the path to returning this rare and ancient masterpiece of world literature to its country of origin,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Kasulis.  “This Office is committed to combating the black-market sale of cultural property and the smuggling of looted artifacts.”

“Forfeiture of the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet demonstrates the Department’s continued commitment to eliminating smuggled cultural property from the U.S. art market,” stated Assistant Attorney General Polite.  “Thwarting trade in smuggled goods by seizing and forfeiting an ancient artifact shows the department’s dedication to using all available tools, including forfeiture, to ensure justice.”

“The trafficking of cultural property and art is a lucrative criminal enterprise that transnational criminal organizations exploit to make a profit, regardless of its destructive consequence to cultures around the globe,” stated HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Fitzhugh.  “HSI continues to partner in art and antiquities investigations to ensure looted pieces are no longer trafficked through commerce for an illicit profit, because the cultural value of this tablet that travelled the world under false provenance exceeds any monetary value.” 

A 12-tablet Babylonian version of the Gilgamesh epic, written in Akkadian, was discovered in 1853 in the ruins of the library of the Assyrian King Assur Banipal in Nineveh (located in modern-day northern Iraq).  The events in the epic revolve around King Gilgamesh of Uruk (located in modern-day southern Iraq). 

The government’s investigation showed that in 2003, a U.S. antiquities dealer (the “Antiquities Dealer”) purchased the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, encrusted with dirt and unreadable, from a family member of a coin dealer in London.  The Antiquities Dealer and a U.S. cuneiform expert shipped the tablet into the United States by international post without declaring formal entry.  After the tablet was imported and cleaned, experts in cuneiform recognized it as bearing a portion of the Gilgamesh epic in which the protagonist describes his dreams to his mother.  The protagonist’s mother interprets the dreams as foretelling the arrival of a new friend.  She tells her son, “You will see him and your heart will laugh.”  The names of the hero, Gilgamesh, and the character who becomes his friend, Enkidu, are replaced in this tablet with the names of deities Sin and Ea.  The tablet measures approximately 6-inches by 5-inches and is written in the Akkadian language.

As alleged in the government’s amended complaint, in 2007, the Antiquities Dealer sold the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet with a false provenance letter that stated the tablet had been inside a box of miscellaneous ancient bronze fragments purchased in an auction in 1981.  This false letter traveled with the tablet as it was sold several times in different countries, and a later owner provided the letter to the Auction House in London.  In 2014, the Auction House sold the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet to Hobby Lobby in a private sale and an Auction House employee carried it on a flight from London to the United States and then transferred it to New York.  Hobby Lobby consented to the tablet’s forfeiture based on the tablet’s illegal importations into the United States in 2003 and 2014.

The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sylvia Shweder and Trial Attorney Ann Brickley of the Department of Justice’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS).

The Department of Justice has a remission process for judicially forfeited property. An interested party may submit a petition to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. The U.S. Attorney then will forward a package to MLARS containing the petition, the seizing agency’s report and recommendation, and its own recommendation as to how MLARS should proceed. MLARS makes a determination about the petitions based on the papers received, and in accordance with the governing law and department policies.

Comptroller Stringer Audit: DOE’s Inadequate Controls Over Remote Devices Increased Risk of Learning Loss, Inequitable Distribution and Waste

 

DOE did not ensure that students received only one DOE remote learning device during COVID-19 pandemic and lacked procedures to ensure that its criteria for distributing and recalling remote learning devices are applied consistently across DOE’s 1,800 schools

DOE’s distribution processes resulted in the erroneous shipment of more than one remote learning device to at least 3,045 students

16,451 requests students made in 2020 for remote learning devices remained under review or unresolved as of March 25, 2021

 Today, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer released an audit that revealed the Department of Education (DOE)’s inadequate controls over the distribution of remote learning devices amid the COVID-19 pandemic could have contributed to their inequitable distribution and increased the risk of waste. When DOE schools were forced to transition to remote learning due to the pandemic, DOE’s Division of Instructional and Information Technology (DIIT) was tasked with procuring, preparing, and distributing internet-enabled iPads to hundreds of thousands of students. Comptroller Stringer’s audit found that DOE lacked procedures to ensure that its criteria for distributing and recalling remote learning devices were applied consistently across DOE’s 1,800 schools.

From the 357,000 remote learning devices DOE purchased in April and June 2020, DOE erroneously shipped more than one device to at least 3,045 students. As of April 2021, DOE was still reconciling its data and this number could potentially increase. Meanwhile, 16,451 requests DOE received in 2020 from students seeking remote learning devices remained under review or unresolved as recently as March 25, 2021.

“For years, lower-income children and families have struggled without reliable connectivity, and the severe impacts of this digital divide were only exacerbated when the COVID-19 pandemic hit,” said Comptroller Stringer. “The DOE had a responsibility to provide remote learning devices to hundreds of thousands of students, but our audit shows the agency did not have consistent protocols in place to ensure that devices were distributed when they were needed most. Even one child falling behind in schoolwork because of these errors is unacceptable. The DOE must promptly correct the deficiencies and implement our recommendations to make sure remote learning devices are distributed equitably and that every student who needs a device receives one.”

Comptroller Stringer’s investigation uncovered the following findings:

• DOE does not centrally track devices schools issued from their in-house inventories to help ensure that DIIT does not issue additional devices to students who already received them from their schools.
• DOE has not formalized procedures for the tracking and distribution of devices, which increased the risk that the criteria for device request validation, device distribution, and device recall would not be understood and applied on a consistent basis throughout DOE, including at the numerous individual schools throughout the City that, as of the 2020-2021 school year, review and validate students’ requests.
• DOE does not perform timely reviews of device-related data. DOE does not have an ongoing process for tracking and reconciling requests for devices and devices that have been distributed. Illustrating this problem, as of March 25, 2021, 19,425 requests from students were still “under review” and “unresolved.” In fact, 16,451 of these requests dated back to 2020, some as early as March 18, 2020. DOE did not explain why these requests remained “under review” or “unresolved” for such an extended period of time.
• Deficiencies exist in DOE’s management of control numbers, specifically, request IDs from DOE’s request data and asset tag numbers assigned to iPads were not sequential.

To address these issues, Comptroller Stringer recommended the following actions:

1. DOE should ensure that a central tracking system to account for all devices issued to students is established, regardless of whether they are issued by DIIT or by schools from their in-house inventories.
2. DOE should develop and timely disseminate detailed written policies and procedures governing the agency’s management of validating student requests for a device, distributing and tracking those devices, and recalling those devices, including specific return deadlines.
3. DOE should ensure that its device request data is reconciled to the device distribution data to provide an accurate account for all requests made and for the students who received devices.
4. DOE should ensure that reports are generated from its device request data and reviewed timely so that anomalies in the data are quickly identified and addressed, and that request dispositions are properly classified.
5. DOE should ensure that the 19,425 requests that are still “under review” and “unresolved” are investigated to determine whether these students already received devices.
6. DOE should ensure that it immediately provides devices to the students whose requests are “under review” and “unresolved” if it determines any eligible students are still awaiting a device.
7. DOE should ensure that Request IDs are issued in sequential order and tracked, and that any gaps in these numbers are investigated in a timely manner and the reasons for them adequately documented.
8. DOE should modify its policy to ensure that asset tag numbers are issued in sequential order and tracked, and that going forward, any gaps in these numbers are investigated in a timely manner and the reasons for them adequately documented.
9. DOE should take steps to ensure that the remaining devices that were shipped to students in error are returned and put back into inventory to be distributed if needed.
10. DOE should take appropriate action where devices have not been returned, including referring matters to the agency’s investigative units or DOE’s Special Commissioner for Investigation when warranted.

In response, DOE agreed with 8 of the audit’s 10 recommendations. However, for two of these recommendations (#3 and #4), officials’ assertion that the agency was already in compliance is contradicted by the audit findings. Additionally, DOE disagreed with the audit’s recommendations that it ensure that Request IDs and asset tag numbers are issued in sequential order and tracked (#7 and #8).

To read Comptroller Stringer’s investigation on the Department of Education’s controls over the distribution of remote learning devices, click here.

160 Days and Counting

 

It's City Hall in the Bronx, where I get to go around the Bronx to make it seem like I care about the borough. Today I will be on Arthur Avenue to play basketball and eat pizza with a knife and fork. I hope Councilman Oswald Feliz joins me so I can show him how to play basketball.

If I can walk the streets and visit Bronx amenities all the people of the Bronx should do the same. Today's playground visit is near where Councilman Feliz held an anti-gun rally, and he was not well accepted by the community there. Let's see what they do when I come to play basketball.

Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Porter Visit COVID-19 Vaccination Center at Lehman High School

 

This is City Hall in the Bronx Week, and after hosting his morning briefing from the Rotunda of the Bronx Courthouse, the mayor stopped at a refurbished playground at the Edenwald Houses where he met Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, State Senator Jamaal Bailey, and Councilman Kevin Riley. The mayor thanked Washington and Albany for the increased funding that will help fix up many NYCHA houses, and was off to Lehman High School to visit the new vaccination center there that will vaccinate many of the high school's students. 

Mayor Bill de Blasio and Chancellor Meisha Porter arrived at Lehman High School to check up on the vaccination center set up in the school's auditorium. Several Lehman students were given the first of two Pfizer doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Some of the students were a little afraid, but all had no problem receiving the COVID-19 vaccination. They were later joined by local Assemblyman Michael Benedetto for a group photo.  

Isabel, a fifteen year old Lehman High School student is given the first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine by Katrina Taormina of Daybreak Health, as Mayor de Blasio, and NYCDOH Commissioner Dave Chokshi look on.

Everyone claps as Isabel has received her first of two Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination shots, with no apparent reaction. The needle used is placed in the waste container.  

It was then time for a group photo with other Lehman High School students who received the first of two Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination shots. Mayor de Blasio, Chancellor Porter, and Assemblyman Benedetto are with the students. 

Reps. Espaillat & Torres Re-Launch New Americans Caucus for the 117th Congress

 

Representatives Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) and Norma J. Torres (CA-35) today announced the relaunch of the Congressional New American Caucus for the 117^th Congress.

 

Founded in February 2017, the Congressional New Americans Caucus is comprised of first-generation immigrants and provides a forum to educate all Members of Congress about issues related to New Americans and public service.

 

Rep. Espaillat is the first Dominican American to serve in Congress. Rep. Torres is the sole Central American currently serving in Congress. 

 

The lawmakers released the following statements:

 

“I’m proud to join Rep. Norma Torres as Co-Chair the New Americans Caucus during the 117^th Congress and look forward to continuing our collective efforts to ensure the support and rights of newly naturalized citizens to our nation,” said Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the first Dominican American and only formerly undocumented immigrant to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. “I know firsthand the path immigrants take to become citizens, and for many, that path can mean life or death. We have made tremendous progress working in collaboration with the Biden administration and vow to continue our unified work to ensure new Americans and their families are supported through the citizenship process and are afforded equal opportunities to help them thrive in America.”

“This Caucus will give Members of Congress an opportunity to discuss how immigrants help strengthen the fabric of America,” said Rep. Norma J. Torres. “It will highlight the important roles that first generation immigrants play throughout the entire country. We hope to encourage new Americans to be a voice for their community and become involved.”

Caucus members include U.S. Representatives Torres (CA-35), Espaillat (NY-13), Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Jayapal (WA-07), Chuy Garcia (IL-04), Omar (MN-05), Carbajal (CA-24), Lieu (CA-33), Malinowski (NJ-07), Sires (NJ-08). 

 

Trinitarios Gang Member Sentenced To 3 Years In Prison For Witness Retaliation

 

 Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that CHRISTIAN NIEVES, a/k/a “Eric Rosario,” a/k/a “White Boy,” was sentenced today to three years in prison in connection with his retaliation against a witness who had testified at a previous federal murder trial by slashing the witness across the neck with a blade.  NIEVES was convicted on April 23, 2021, following an approximately eight-day jury trial presided over by U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff, who also imposed today’s sentence.

U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said:  “Christian Nieves’s violent assault of a witness to federal crimes was a naked attempt to subvert the administration of justice, sow fear through the community, and prevent future witnesses from coming forward.  Today’s sentence proves that justice will prevail, and sends a clear signal to other gang members that witness retaliation will not be tolerated.” 

According to court documents, the evidence at trial, and statements made in court proceedings:

NIEVES was a member of the Trinitarios street and prison gang, a criminal enterprise with written rules, oath, and constitution.  The gang has a strict prohibition on cooperation with law enforcement (“snitching”), and violations of the gang’s rules are punished by acts of violence.  Among other governing principles, the Trinitarios mandate a “code of silence,” meaning that members are prohibited from cooperating with law enforcement and speaking about the gang in general.

The Trinitarios had an ongoing rivalry with another Dominican gang, Dominicans Don’t Play (“DDPs”).  In 2018, a member of the DDPs, Stiven Siri-Reynoso, was convicted following a jury trial before U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon of charges including the murder of Jessica White, a Bronx mother who was inadvertently hit during a shooting on a playground as part of the rivalry between the DDPs and the Trinitarios.  Significant evidence at that July 2018 trial focused on the DDP-Trinitario rivalry.  The victim of NIEVES’s retaliation was among the witnesses who testified about the inner workings of the Trinitarios gang (the “Victim”).  In the course of his testimony, the Victim testified about crimes that he had committed with NIEVES, including an incident in 2009 when the Victim took a gun from NIEVES after a Trinitarios-related shooting that had resulted in the death of Issi Dominguez.  The Victim’s testimony violated the Trinitarios’ longtime prohibition against testifying against members of the gang.

Following his testimony, around 7:00 p.m. on the evening of February 5, 2019, the Victim was walking on Grand Concourse in the Bronx when he saw NIEVES and other Trinitarios gang members on the steps of a building near the sidewalk.  As the Victim walked past, one of the group called out to him, and NIEVES and at least one other person began following the Victim.  NIEVES caught up to the Victim, took out a razor blade, and slashed at the Victim’s face, cutting him down the jawline.  During the attack, NIEVES told the Victim “this is happening to you because you are a snitch.”  The Victim received prompt medical attention, including stitches to close the wound.

Ms. Strauss praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Police Department.