Bronx Chamber Seminars - May 15 - The 3 Ps of Marketing Pt II - Verizon Digital Inclusion Workshop

 

Ready for Part 2 of The Three P's of Marketing?

Those in attendance for all four Verizon Digital Inclusion Workshops in this series will be eligible for one of two $500.00 gifts toward your business!

With support from Verizon’s Digital Inclusion program, The Bronx Chamber of Commerce is offering a series of webinars aimed at helping small businesses maximize the potential of digital tools and literacy for business growth.

Continuing with “The Three Ps of Marketing" during Small Business Month, this second session emphasizes best practices and offers a two-step roadmap around each business/ organization’s “Personal” story, and the “Persistent” approach needed to market that story.

Monica Yehle-Glick of M4 Consulting Services will lead this discussion on May 15 from 11:00 am - 12:00 pm on Zoom. Check out the full flyer above for information about the upcoming sessions on Cybersecurity June 5 and June 12!

Access Free Registration Here

Date: Wednesday, May 15

Time: 11:00am - 12:00pm

Location: Zoom

Sign Up for the May 15 Workshop

Bronx Metro-North Update, May 2024

 

Monthly Bronx Metro-North Neighborhood Plan Update
May 2024

Bronx Borough Board Votes in Support

On April 29th, the Bronx Borough Board held a public hearing on the Bronx Metro-North Neighborhood Plan and joined the ranks of other stakeholders that have voted to approve the plan!

This plan seeks to rethink land use around new Metro-North stations in the East Bronx, allowing for thousands of new transit-oriented homes, jobs, and public open space. 

Up Next!

Public Hearing at City Planning Commission On Wednesday May 15th, the City Planning Commission will hold a public hearing to vote on the Bronx Metro-North Neighborhood Plan. This public hearing will take place at 120 Broadway, and the public may attend in person, testify via phone or videoconference, or watch via livestream. See more details below! When: May 15th, 10:00AM Where:  IN PERSON:  City Planning Commission Hearing Room, Lower Concourse 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271 ONLINE: TO TESTIFY - Please follow instructions posted here one hour before the meeting (May 15th) TO LIVESTREAM -  If you do not wish to testify but would like to watch the meeting via livestream, please visit bit.ly/NYCPlanningStream. Are you looking for another way to get involved?  Remote Office Hours: Have questions or thoughts you’d like to share with us? We’d love to hear from you. Sign up for one-on-one remote office hours with the neighborhood plan team here: Sign up!   Follow us: Find us on Twitter, Instagram and Threads. You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel and check out our Bronx Metro-North video playlist.

Housing Lottery Launches For Andrews Avenue South Senior Residence In Morris Heights, The Bronx

 

The affordable housing lottery has launched for Andrews Avenue South Senior Residence, a nine-story mixed-use building at 1746 Andrews Avenue in Morris Heights, The Bronx. Designed by Magnusson Architecture And Planning and developed by Volunteers of America-Greater NY and Robert Sanborn Development, the structure yields 118 residences. Available on NYC Housing Connect are 80 units for residents at 50 to 60 percent of the area median income (AMI), ranging in eligible income from $0 to $74,580.

Amenities include bike storage lockers, community center, outdoor areas, recreation room, on-site resident manager, 24-hour attended front desk concierge, security monitoring, on-site support services, package lockers, elevator, shared laundry room, and eighth-floor sundeck. Residences come with intercoms, energy-efficient appliances, and air conditioning. Residents are responsible for electricity.

At 50 percent of the AMI, there are 24 one-bedrooms with a monthly rent of $0 for incomes ranging from $0 to $69,900. At 60 percent of the AMI, there are 56 studios with a monthly rent of $0 for incomes ranging from $0 to $74,580.

Prospective renters must meet income and household size requirements to apply for these apartments. Applications must be postmarked or submitted online no later than July 9, 2024.

Attorney General James Wins Trial Against Quincy Bioscience for Deceptive and Fraudulent Advertising of “Memory Improvement” Supplement Prevagen

 

Court Accepts Jury Finding that Quincy Violated New York’s 63(12) Statute by Making Fraudulent Statements About its Supplement Prevagen

New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that a federal judge in Manhattan accepted a jury’s finding that Quincy Bioscience Holding Company, Inc., Quincy Bioscience, LLC, Prevagen, Inc., Quincy Bioscience Manufacturing, LLC (Quincy), and four corporate defendants made fraudulent and deceptive statements about the supplement Prevagen and are liable for violating New York’s consumer protection laws. Quincy advertised its supplement, Prevagen, in media markets across New York, including in Albany, Syracuse, New York City, and the Southern Tier, as a way to reduce memory problems, improve memory, and support cognitive health. After a two-week trial, the jury concluded that Quincy had not substantiated any of its claims about Prevagen with reliable scientific evidence. The jury found some of Quincy’s claims about Prevagen to be materially misleading and all of them to have the tendency to deceive and constitute fraud under New York Executive Law Section 63(12). With the court’s acceptance of the jury’s verdict, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) will seek a permanent injunction to block Quincy from continuing to make deceptive statements when selling its product in New York and will seek monetary relief.

“New York laws are clear: companies and individuals cannot lie and manipulate consumers,” said Attorney General James. “Quincy took advantage of the very real fear of cognitive decline and preyed on elderly New Yorkers to make a profit. Consumers bought Prevagen with the hopes that they could improve their cognitive health. My office will always use every tool and resource at our disposal to protect New Yorkers and uphold the rule of law. I will not allow modern day ‘snake oil salespeople’ to operate in New York.”

Prevagen, which can cost up to $89.95 for a 30-day supply and purports to help improve memory, is sold online directly to consumers and at major retailers and pharmacies across the country, including CVS, Walgreens, Rite-Aid, Walmart, GNC, and Amazon. The OAG took action and brought a lawsuit asserting that Quincy did not have adequate scientific evidence to substantiate claims about Prevagen, including that it improves memory, improves memory within 90 days, reduces memory problems associated with aging, provides other cognitive benefits, including a healthy brain function, a sharper mind, and clearer thinking, and has been “clinically shown” to do each of these things. Quincy has been marketing Prevagen with variations of these claims on its packaging since at least 2011 and in its national television and radio ads since 2013.

Over the course of the trial, OAG along with the Federal Trade Commission, which assisted OAG in the trial and will have its claims determined separately by Judge Louis L. Stanton of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, presented evidence about Quincy’s marketing and the lack of adequate science behind its claims. The evidence presented by OAG included:

• Testimony from experts in biostatistics and clinical trial design about the flaws in the planning, execution, and analysis of Quincy’s clinical trial for Prevagen;
• Internal Quincy documents and submissions to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) admitting that Prevagen is quickly digested and unlikely to reach the brain;
• Multiple televisions advertisements, along with packaging, containing unsubstantiated and deceptive claims that Quincy used to market and sell Prevagen over the years;
• Testimony from Quincy’s market development director about a bar graph prominently displayed by Quincy in much of its advertising that selectively and misleadingly displayed certain data from Quincy’s human clinical trial for Prevagen; and
• Testimony from Prevagen’s principal investigator who oversaw Quincy’s clinical trial for Prevagen about the flawed planning and execution of that study.

At the conclusion of the trial, the jury found that Quincy was liable for deceptive acts and practices, false advertising, and repeated and persistent fraud about Prevagen, which derives its active ingredient from a protein that makes jellyfish glow. Following Judge Stanton’s acceptance of the jury verdict, OAG will take action to block Quincy from continuing to make deceptive claims when selling its product in New York and will seek monetary relief.

Flight Attendants Charged In Connection With Smuggling Drug Money To The Dominican Republic

 

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Ivan J. Arvelo, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), announced today the unsealing of two Complaints charging flight attendants CHARLIE HERNANDEZ, SARAH VALERIO PUJOLS, EMMANUEL TORRES, and JAROL FABIO with various offenses in connection with their years-long participation in smuggling narcotics trafficking proceeds from the United States to the Dominican Republic on commercial flights.  All of the defendants were arrested yesterday.  PUJOLS and FABIO were presented yesterday in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gary Stein, and HERNANDEZ and TORRES will be presented later today before Judge Stein.   

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, these flight attendants smuggled millions of dollars of drug money and law enforcement funds that they thought was drug money from the United States to the Dominican Republic over many years by abusing their privileges as airline employees.  Today’s charges should serve as a reminder to those who break the law by helping drug traffickers move their money that crime doesn’t pay.” 

HSI Special Agent in Charge Ivan J. Arvelo said: “As alleged, the defendants knowingly smuggled large amounts of illicit money linked to the sale of narcotics, to include fentanyl, and took advantage of airport security checkpoints by using their trusted positions as flight attendants.  This investigation has exposed critical vulnerabilities in the airline security industry and has illuminated methods that narcotics traffickers are utilizing.  Today’s announcement should serve as a warning to all airline personnel: HSI New York will not tolerate employees’ attempts to abuse their power for the sake of transporting illicit goods.  I commend El Dorado Task Force’s Transnational Criminal Enterprise Investigations Group and our partners in the public and private sectors for recognizing the seriousness of this issue.”

According to the allegations contained in the Complaints:[1]

During the relevant period charged in the Complaints, all of the defendants were employed as flight attendants with different international airlines that operated routes between New York City and the Dominican Republic.  All of the defendants had “Known Crewmember” (“KCM”) status with the Transportation Security Administration, which allowed them to pass through a special security lane at John F. Kennedy International Airport and other airports with less scrutiny than normal passengers.  In total, the defendants smuggled approximately $8 million in bulk cash from the United States to the Dominican Republic.

Before his or her arrest in about October 2021, a cooperating witness (“CW-1”) operated a significant money laundering organization (“MLO”) in New York City, specializing in the movement of cash proceeds from narcotics sales from New York City to the Dominican Republic.  One method that CW-1 used in furtherance of his or her MLO was corrupting flight attendants, like the defendants, who worked routes between New York City and the Dominican Republic.  In exchange for a fee – which generally amounted to a small percentage of the amount of money that they would be smuggling – the defendants accepted bulk cash from CW-1 in New York City, got it past airport security via the KCM lane, and passed it off to other members of CW-1’s MLO in the Dominican Republic, including another cooperating witness (“CW-2”).  After CW-1 and CW-2 began cooperating with law enforcement, HSI orchestrated a number of sting operations in which CW-1 provided law enforcement funds represented to be narcotics proceeds to the defendants, who then smuggled it down to the Dominican Republic and handed it off to CW-2. 

CHARLIE HERNANDEZ, 42, of West New York, New Jersey, SARAH VALERIO PUJOLS, 42, of the Bronx, New York, EMMANUEL TORRES, 34, of Brooklyn, New York, and JAROL FABIO, 35, of New York, New York, are each charged with one count of operation of an unlicensed money transmission business, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and one count of entering an airport or aircraft area in violation of security requirements, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.  PUJOLS and HERNANDEZ are additionally charged with one count of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmission business, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and PUJOLS is further charged with one count of bulk cash smuggling, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Williams praised the investigative work of HSI and the New York City Police Department.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Illicit Finance and Money Laundering Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin A. Gianforti and Jackie Delligatti are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Complaints are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaints and the description of the Complaints set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.

NYS Office of the Comptroller DiNapoli: New York City's Government Workforce Expected to Increase for First Time Since Pandemic

 

New York City’s full-time government workforce is expected to increase for the first-time year-over-year since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The city is projected to end the 2024 Fiscal Year (FY) in June with at least 283,000 full-time employees, up from 281,917 workers in June 2023.

"The COVID-19 pandemic upended New York city’s public workforce,” DiNapoli said. “The city has worked to stabilize its labor force and fill critical vacancies, while holding down costs. Staffing remains below pre-pandemic levels, but the city should end the fiscal year with its first increase in headcount since the beginning of the pandemic.”

City staffing remains down approximately 5% when compared to pre-pandemic employment of 300,446 employees in FY 2020. A general hiring freeze was in effect from October 2023 through February 2024 as part of the city’s Program to Eliminate the Gap, but staffing has reached 284,330, an increase of 2,413 employees as of January 2024.

Staffing still remains uneven across city agencies, with some still experiencing higher turnover or vacancies since last year. For instance, the Department of Probation’s turnover has increased 128.6% compared to its pre-pandemic average of vacancies, while the Department of Buildings’ turnover increased 68.3% and the Fire Department increased 52%.

As a result of uneven turnover, some categories of government jobs experienced higher percentage declines. The largest declines included public safety jobs like police and correction officers, dispatchers, construction inspectors, and protective service workers, consisting mostly of school safety agents. Also, administrative support roles like executive assistants, clerks and assistants to higher education officers saw greater declines. In total, 24 of 71 major occupations in the city saw staff declines since December of 2022 while others like fire inspectors, biological and life scientists, and customer service representatives increased.

The city’s vacancy rates have been cut almost in half in an effort to reduce costs. The Department of Education had 7,745 vacancies in 2023, and currently does not have enough staff to meet the state’s class size mandates. Some agencies, particularly those that did not focus on cutting costs by reducing vacancies, are still experiencing elevated vacancy rates when compared to pre-pandemic. Environmental Protection has the highest vacancy rate by program area at 11.5% followed by the Department of Transportation (10%) and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (9.3%).

To reduce vacancies, the city has been accelerating hiring since the pandemic and has increased civil service exams and outreach to potential applicants through the city’s online job hub. For example, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), which administers the city’s civil service system, reports it has reduced the median time from exam administration to exam results completion from an average of 318 days in FY 2021 to 219 days in FY 2023. The number of applications received for all DCAS civil service exams increased, from 75,489 in FY 2021, to 119,599 in FY 2023, with DCAS also reporting that the number of employment applications received via the city’s online job hub has nearly doubled over two years to 736,011 in FY 2023.

The Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings and the Department of Youth and Community Development have more than doubled their hiring in FY 2024 compared to pre-pandemic levels. Similarly, the Department of Social Services, which has been experiencing significant staffing challenges in the wake of the pandemic coupled with rising demand for public assistance, added 1,228 employees to payroll in FY 2024, an increase of 82.9% over its pre-pandemic hiring level.

Some agencies are using overtime to address staffing challenges, and overtime has grown to $1.8 billion through March 2024 of FY 2024, compared to $1.1 billion through the same period in FY 2021. While overtime growth is mostly driven by uniform agencies, others like the Administration for Children’s Services and the Human Resources Administration have increased overtime spending significantly when compared to the pre-pandemic years.

DiNapoli warns that the city’s response to these ongoing staffing challenges will have important fiscal implications. While overtime may be used in the short-term, such spending was not anticipated at the time of budget adoption, creating gaps that must be closed by generating revenue or reductions in planned spending. DiNapoli recommends the city continue to make efforts to properly target staffing levels to meet necessary demand and ensure delivery of quality services for its residents.

Recent Mayor’s Management Reports have indicated that some services have been adversely impacted by limited staffing and provide details linking spending and staffing to agency performance indicators. In November 2023, DiNapoli released an Agency Services Monitoring Tool, which expands on these reports by displaying the corresponding staffing and expense data. A comprehensive review of both the fiscal and performance data is needed to understand the city’s staffing challenges.

Report

2024 Update on New York City Staffing Trends

Related Report

Update on New York City Staffing Trends

Impact of the Pandemic on New York City’s Municipal Workforce

Agency Service Monitoring Tool

Housing Lottery Launches For 3633 Kingsbridge Avenue In Kingsbridge, The Bronx

 

The affordable housing lottery has launched for 3633 Kingsbridge Avenue, a three-story mixed-use building in Kingsbridge, The Bronx. Designed by Stoa Design Studio and developed by Costa Ioannou, the structure yields nine residences. Available on NYC Housing Connect are three units for residents at 130 percent of the area median income (AMI), ranging in eligible income from $109,715 to $181,740.

Amenities include garage with assigned parking spaces. Residences come with dishwashers, intercoms, energy-efficient appliances, LED undermounted lighting, heated bathroom flooring, large windows, and name-brand kitchen appliances, countertops, and finishes. Tenants are responsible for electricity.

At 130 percent of the AMI, there are three one-bedrooms with a monthly rent of $3,200 for incomes ranging from $109,715 to $181,740.

Prospective renters must meet income and household size requirements to apply for these apartments. Applications must be postmarked or submitted online no later than May 23, 2024.

Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson - Community Resources & Updates

 

Dear Neighbor,

Happy Bronx Week 2024! Yesterday, we officially announced the launch of Bronx Week at the new Chase Community Center and unveiled this year`s inductees to the historic Bronx Walk of Fame. We have an exciting lineup of events planned that highlight the people, culture, and vibrancy of our borough. For more information, visit our website or go to ilovethebronx.com

 

In partnership,

Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson

IN THE COMMUNITY

We just officially launched Bronx Week 2024! 13 days of celebrating the people, places, and neighborhoods that make our borough a great place to live, work, and visit.

Congratulations to our Key to the Borough recipient, John Sterling, and our 2024 Bronx Walk of Fame Inductees:

Andrea Navedo

Antwan "Amadeus" Thompson

Ozzie Virgil, Sr.

(People's Choice Award Winner) Paloma Izquierdo-Hernandez, Chief Operating Officer of the Urban Health Plan (UHP)

A special thank you to the Bronx Tourism Council, the Bronx Economic Development Corporation. JPMorganChase, Montefiore Einstein and all of our other incredible sponsors for their support of Bronx Week 2024.

We were proud to host the National Dominican Day Parade for their 42nd anniversary and launch of this year's parade festivities!

Congratulations to all of the honorees, including our very own Deputy Borough President, for your partnership and continued commitment to the Dominican community abroad and in our beautiful borough.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our National Day of Prayer at Bronx Borough Hall. Even as others try to divide us and use our differences against us, we remain united as one borough. There is power in prayer, and there is power in numbers.

UPCOMING EVENTS