NYC Comptroller and Pension Fund Trustees Announce Agreements With 11 Companies to Disclose Annual Workforce Diversity Data

 

11 Companies Have Committed to Publishing Their EEO-1 Reports Annually. The Number of S&P 100 Companies Disclosing EEO-1s Has Risen from 14 to 85 since 2020.

 New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and trustees of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, the New York City Fire Pension Fund, the New York City Teachers’ Retirement System, and the custodian of the New York City Board of Education Retirement System, announced that they have reached agreements with the boards of 11 companies to disclose annual workforce diversity data following successful shareowner engagements.

The following companies have agreed to the annual disclosure of their Consolidated EEO-1 Report:  American Express, Anthem, Honeywell International, Illumina, Intuitive Surgical, Raytheon Technologies, Simon Property Group, Texas Instruments, The PNC Financial Services Group, T-Mobile, and Zoetis.

“Transparency and data are necessary for investors to hold companies accountable for their public statements and commitments to equity and racial justice. In response to advocacy by New York City’s pension funds and allies over the past two years, corporate resistance to disclosure of EEO-1 data has given way, and now the vast majority of S&P 100 companies will disclose comparable data,” said New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. 

Since the July 2020 launch of the Diversity Disclosure Initiative, 78 large companies have agreed to disclose their EEO-1 Report in response to engagement by the New York City Retirement Systems. As a result, at least 85 S&P 100 companies now disclose, or have committed to disclose, their EEO-1 Report, up from about 14 in July 2020.

The Consolidated EEO-1 report is a comprehensive breakdown of a company’s workforce by race, ethnicity, and gender annually to the U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The report is broken into 10 employment categories, including senior management. These reports are an important tool for measuring a company’s progress on representation of employees of color and women at various levels of the corporation.

Transparency around workforce diversity is a concrete step companies can take to follow through on commitments to racial equity and diversity inside and outside of the workplace. With access to EEO-1 reports, investors can assess how much progress a company is making in their commitment to increase representation at all levels of the company.

Disclosure of the report will provide investors with critical information, including:

• Standardized, quantitative, and reliable data that is comparable across companies and industries, enabling investors to assess the representation of Black employees, other employees of color, and women at various levels of the corporation;
• Specific data on senior management diversity; and
• Particularized data that allows investors to assess the representation of specific racial and ethnic groups by gender, such as Black female employees, in a job category – and to make meaningful, year‐over‐year comparisons.

The agreement to disclose EEO-1 reports was reached after successful engagement with the Comptroller’s office on behalf of the New York City Retirement Systems, resulting in the withdrawal of shareowner proposals.

The New York City Retirement Systems are composed of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, Teachers’ Retirement System, New York City Police Pension Fund, and New York City Fire Department Pension Fund. Four of the five funds participate in the Diversity Disclosure Initiative.

Trustees of the relevant systems include:

New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS): New York City Comptroller Brad Lander; Mayor Eric Adams’ Representative Preston Niblack; New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams; Borough Presidents: Mark Levine (Manhattan), Donovan Richards (Queens), Antonio Reynoso (Brooklyn), Vito Fossella (Staten Island), and Vanessa L. Gibson (Bronx); Henry Garrido, Executive Director, District Council 37, AFSCME; Tony Utano, President Transport Workers Union Local 100; and Gregory Floyd, President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 237.

Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS): New York City Comptroller Brad Lander; Mayor Eric Adams’ Appointee Philip Dukes; Chancellor’s Representative, Lindsey Oates, New York City Department of Education; and Debra Penny (Chair), Thomas Brown and David Kazansky, all of the United Federation of Teachers.

New York City Fire Pension Fund (Fire): New York City Comptroller Brad Lander; Mayor Eric Adams’ Representative Philip Dukes; Acting New York City Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh (Chair); New York City Finance Commissioner Preston Niblack; Andrew Ansbro, President, Robert Eustace, Vice President, Edward Brown, Treasurer, and Eric Bischoff, Staten Island Representative and Chair, Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York; Liam Guilfoyle, Captains’ Rep.; Paul Mannix, Chiefs’ Rep., and Christopher Jensen, Lieutenants’ Rep., Uniformed Fire Officers Association; and Peter Devita, Marine Engineers Association.

Board of Education Retirement System (BERS): Schools Chancellor David C. Banks, Represented by Lindsey Oates; Mayoral: Tom Allon, Vasthi Acosta, Gregory Faulkner, Dr. Angela Green, Anthony Lopez, Alan Ong, Gladys Ward, Karina Tavera; Thomas Sheppard (CEC); Geneal Chacon (Bronx), Tazin Azad (Brooklyn), Kaliris Salas-Ramirez (Manhattan), Jaclyn Tacoronte (Staten Island), and Deborah Dillingham (Queens); and employee members John Maderich of the IUOE Local 891 and Donald Nesbit of District Council 37, Local 372.

Poughkeepsie Narcotics Dealer Arrested In Connection With Multiple Overdose Deaths From Fentanyl-Laced Heroin

 

Allen Peloquin Arrested for Causing Overdose Deaths of Two Individuals and Participating in a Narcotics Conspiracy Responsible for Two Additional Overdose Deaths

 Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Tim Foley, the Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), and Kirk Imperati, the Acting Sheriff of the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office, announced the unsealing of a criminal complaint in White Plains federal court charging ALLEN PELOQUIN, a/k/a “Ace,” with distributing fentanyl-laced heroin that resulted in the death of a woman in Carmel, New York (“Victim-2”) on or about February 12, 2020 and a man in Poughkeepsie, New York (“Victim-4”) on or about May 10, 2020.  The complaint also charges PELOQUIN with participating in a narcotics conspiracy that distributed fentanyl-laced heroin that resulted in the deaths of Victims-2 and -4 as well as in the death of a man in Poughquag, New York (“Victim-1”) on or about January 2, 2020 and the death of a woman in Poughkeepsie, New York (“Victim-3”) on or about May 4, 2020.  PELOQUIN was arrested this morning in Poughkeepsie, New York, and was presented this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, the defendant and others distributed heroin laced with the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl and caused the death of four victims.  The defendant is now in custody and facing serious federal charges.  Working with our state, county, and local law enforcement partners, we will continue to hold accountable the dealers who push this lethal poison, exploit addiction, and further the devastating impact of the opioid crisis in our communities.”

DEA Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Tim Foley said: “With a daily rate of nearly 300 drug overdose deaths, it has never been more important to warn the public of the dangers of today’s illegal drugs.  Synthetic drugs like fentanyl are mixed intentionally with other street drugs causing two thirds of overdose deaths.  I applaud the diligent work by all of our law enforcement partners throughout this investigation which has led to Peloquin’s arrest.”

Acting Dutchess County Sheriff Kirk Imperati said: “The prosecution of Mr. Peloquin in connection with these tragic deaths comes as the result of the partnership between various law enforcement agencies and their strong commitment to holding those who sell drugs in our communities responsible.  Distributing illegal narcotics that take lives, and ruin others, will not be tolerated and the prosecution of Mr. Peloquin sends a strong message that law enforcement will stop at nothing to hold those who engage in this activity accountable.”

As alleged in the Complaint:[1]

From at least in or about January 2020 up to and including at least in or about May 2020, PELOQUIN and others distributed and sold fentanyl-laced heroin throughout Dutchess County in glassine bags stamped with distinctive red images and wording and were responsible for the overdose deaths of at least four individuals:  Victims-1, -2, -3 and -4.  After the deaths of Victims-1 and -2, the wording and image of the red stamp changed in an apparent effort to evade law enforcement while continuing to distribute the same lethal narcotics.  Upon further investigation by law enforcement—including several undercover purchases of fentanyl-laced heroin from PELOQUIN and certain of his co-conspirators in which the stamps on the bags purchased matched those on the bags found with Victims-1 and -2—PELOQUIN was identified as the particular dealer who sold fold fentanyl-laced heroin to Victims-2 and -4, which resulted in their deaths.

ALLEN PELOQUIN, a/k/a “Ace,” 34, of Poughkeepsie, New York is charged with two counts of narcotics distribution resulting in the deaths of Victim-2 and Victim-4.  PELOQUIN is also charged with one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin resulting in the deaths of Victims-1, -2, -3, and -4.  Each the foregoing counts carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.  The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of the DEA, the Dutchess County Drug Task Force (“DCDTF”), the Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office, the New York State Police, the Town of Kent Police Department, the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department, the Dutchess County Probation Department, and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.  DCDTF includes agents and officers of the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Beacon Police Department, the Town of Hyde Park Police Department, and the Town of East Fishkill Police Department.  Mr. Williams also thanked the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office, the Town of Lloyd Police, and the Ulster County Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team (“URGENT”) for their invaluable assistance in this case.  URGENT includes agents and officers of the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office, Town of Lloyd Police, Town of Plattekill Police, Town of Woodstock Police, Town of Shandaken Police, Town of New Paltz Police, Village of Ellenville Police, Town of Marlborough Police, the Ulster County District Attorney, and Ulster County Probation.  Mr. Williams noted that the investigation is ongoing.

The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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

VCJC News & Notes 4/1/22

 

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 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 4/1/22 @ 7:02 pm Shabbos morning services at 8:45 am.  Please join the services if you can do so safely.  Shabbos Ends Saturday 4/2/22 @ 8:06 pm   We will be getting the OU Kosher Passover Guide very shortly. It will be available in the office Van Cortlandt Jewish Center 3880 Sedgwick Ave Bronx, NY 10463

Permits Filed For 1395 Bristow Street In Crotona Park East, The Bronx

 

Permits have been filed for a four-story residential building at 1395 Bristow Street in Crotona Park East, The Bronx. Located between Jennings Street and East 170th Street, the lot is near the Freeman Street subway station, serviced by the 2 and 5 trains. Charles Schwartz of CNC Developers is listed as the owner behind the applications.

The proposed 54-foot-tall development will yield 17,243 square feet designated for residential space. The building will have 29 residences, most likely rentals based on the average unit scope of 594 square feet. The masonry-based structure will also have a cellar and nine open parking spaces.

Boaz M. Golani Architect is listed as the architect of record.

Demolition permits have not been filed yet. An estimated completion date has not been announced.

Statement from Governor Kathy Hochul on FY 2023 Budget

 "This is a critical time in New York's economic recovery, and I am committed to ensuring that our state budget reflects New Yorkers' priorities and tackles the top issues we are facing. From improving public safety to supporting small businesses, these are important and complex issues, and we need to get them right.

"I am continuing to have productive conversations with Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins and Speaker Heastie and I appreciate their collaboration and good faith approach to these negotiations. We are getting closer to agreement, with consensus on major policy items.  

"New Yorkers should know that progress is being made and that we will put in the time it takes to reach an agreement that delivers for them and moves our state forward."

Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson Attends Wednesday's Morris Park Community Association Meeting

The special guest at Wednesday's MPCA meeting was Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson. BP Gibson spoke of her first three months in office. Going from a staff of five people as a city council member to a staff of eighty-five people as borough president. She  mentioned the toll of the Twin Parks fire shortly after she  took office, and how things were progressing for those who survived the fire, and the families of those that didn't. BP Gibson rattled off many of her goals as  borough president such as full scholarships to Brown and Yale Universities for two Bronx high school seniors, but that is not enough for her. Starting a Bronx Veterans Council, BP Task Force on people with Disabilities, Girls Empowerment group, reinstating a Bronx Youth Council, a new unit on Bronx Public Safety working with all aspects of the judicial process, and much more.

BP Gibson added that she will be making community board and CEC appointments, then spoke about the new East Side Metro North stations, Hip Hop Museum, rejuvenation of the Spofford Youth Detention House, restarting from scratch the future of the Kingsbridge Armory, and the upgrading of the Hunts Point Market to which Mayor Adam has dedicated one-hundred million of the six-hundred million dollars that is needed. 

BP Gibson then took questions from the audience which ranged from the now abandoned homeless shelter at 2028 White Plains Road, which she said could come up again somewhere else in the future at another location if the community is not vigilant. To a question on Bail Reform the answer was that judges do have some discretion, but are not using it. She did not expect the state budget to be on time, and joked that she was glad to be out of the state assembly where she served in, over eight years ago. When asked about the adding more cops, the answer was that those doing civilian jobs would be placed back on patrol. She also said that there are no extra police officers being hired, just those who are replacing police officers who are leaving the force for retirement or other reasons. More questions included the use of guns, which BP Gibson called Coward Culture, and BP Gibson gave a detailed explanation of how the 4.3 million dollars is being spent, and just how much is left 3.5 million dollars. 

Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson speaks about her three months in office, her goals for the borough, and what has to be done in the future. L - R, in the mask and glasses is Elio Morales MPCA Treasurer, BP Gibson, Yahay Obeid Vice-President MPCA, and Lefty Negron head of the MPCA Safety Patrol. 

After speaking BP Gibson sat down to take several questions.

BP Gibson stayed to hear the area NCO police report on the new Neighborhood Safety Team of one Sergeant and five officers. 

MAYOR ADAMS ANNOUNCES CITY HALL, OTHER CITY BUILDINGS TO BE LIT LIGHT BLUE, PINK, AND WHITE TO COMMEMORATE INTERNATIONAL TRANSGENDER DAY OF VISIBILITY

 

 New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced that City Hall and other municipal buildings will be lit light blue, pink, and white tonight to commemorate International Transgender Day of Visibility. The day is an important moment to celebrate all transgender people and to acknowledge that many continue to face discrimination, violence, and harassment to this day.

“New York City has a place for everyone at the table, especially for our transgender community,” said Mayor Adams. “On International Transgender Day of Visibility, we celebrate the tremendous contributions of transgender people, reaffirm our commitment to standing up against hate, and continue to strive as a city to provide the resources needed for our transgender community to thrive.”

 

In addition to City Hall, the following municipal buildings will be lit up in the colors of the transgender flag starting tonight at sundown:

 

• The David N. Dinkins Manhattan Municipal Building: 1 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007
• Queens Borough Hall: 120-55 Queens Boulevard, Queens, NY 11424
• Bronx Borough Hall: 851 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY 10451 (Pink only)
• Brooklyn Borough Hall: 209 Joralemon St, Brooklyn, NY 11201 (Blue only)

Two Senior Leaders Of Lev Tahor Sect Sentenced To 12 Years In Prison For Kidnapping And Sex Trafficking Crimes

Nachman Helbrans and Meyer Rosner Orchestrated a scheme to Kidnap 14-Year-Old Girl to Return Her to Her Child Marriage 

 Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that NACHMAN HELBRANS and MAYER ROSNER were sentenced today to 12 years in prison for child sexual exploitation offenses and kidnapping.  The defendants, leaders of an extremist religious sect called Lev Tahor, masterminded a scheme to kidnap a 14-year-old girl (“Minor-1”) and a 12-year-old boy (“Minor-2”) from their mother in Woodridge, New York.  The defendants then smuggled the children across the U.S. border to Mexico, where they reunited Minor-1 with her adult “husband” to allow him to continue his illegal sexual relationship with Minor-1.  HELBRANS and ROSNER were convicted in November 2021 following a four-week jury trial before U.S. District Judge Nelson S. Román. 

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated: “No mother should ever have to wake up to find her children missing.  And no child should ever be forced into a sexual relationship.  Today’s sentencings send a clear message: those who kidnap and sexually exploit children will be prosecuted and punished to the full extent of the law.”

According to the allegations contained in the Superseding Indictment, other court filings, and the evidence presented at trial:

NACHMAN HELBRANS and MAYER ROSNER are U.S. citizens and senior leaders of Lev Tahor, an extremist religious sect that has been located in several different jurisdictions, including New York, Israel, Canada, Mexico, and Guatemala.  HELBRANS became the leader of Lev Tahor in or about 2017 and ROSNER served as a top lieutenant.  After HELBRANS and his leadership team took over, they seized tight control over the group and embraced several extreme practices, including child marriages and underage sex.

In or about 2017, HELBRANS arranged for his then-12-year-old niece, Minor-1, to be “married” to a then-18-year-old man.  Though they were never legally married, they were religiously “married” the following year, when Minor-1 was 13 and her “husband” was 19.  Lev Tahor leadership, including HELBRANS and ROSNER, required young brides such as Minor-1 to have sex with their husbands, to tell people outside Lev Tahor that they were not married, and to lie about their ages.  For example, HELBRANS and ROSNER instructed child brides to  deliver babies inside their homes instead of at a hospital, to conceal the mothers’ young ages from outsiders.

In or about October 2018, the mother of Minor-1 determined that it was no longer safe for her children to remain in the Lev Tahor community, which was then living in Guatemala.  The mother escaped from the group’s compound and arrived in the United States in early November 2018, and was eventually joined by all six of her children, including Minor-1.  Also in November 2018, a Brooklyn family court granted her sole custody of the children and prohibited the children’s father, a leader within Lev Tahor, from communicating with the children.

After the mother fled and settled in New York with her children, HELBRANS and ROSNER devised a plan to kidnap Minor-1, then 14 years old, to return her to Guatemala and to her then-20-year-old “husband.”  In December 2018, they kidnapped Minor-1 and her brother in the middle of the night from a home in upstate New York and transported them through various states and, eventually, to Mexico.  In order to carry out the kidnapping, the defendants used disguises, aliases, drop phones, fake travel documents, and an encrypted application.  At the time of the kidnapping, Lev Tahor leadership was seeking asylum for the entire Lev Tahor community in the Islamic Republic of Iran. 

Following a three-week search involving hundreds of local, federal, and international law enforcement entities, Minor-1 and Minor-2 were recovered in Mexico and returned to New York.  In or about March 2019 and March 2021, members of Lev Tahor again tried to kidnap the children but were unsuccessful.

In addition to the prison sentences, NACHMAN HELBRANS, 40, and MAYER ROSNER, 45, were sentenced to five years of supervised release.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of the FBI, the New York State Police, the Sullivan County District Attorney’s Office, United States Customs and Border Protection, the Rockland County Sheriff’s Department, the Village of Spring Valley Police Department, Special Agents with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the Department of State, the Transportation Security Administration, and our law enforcement partners in Mexico, Guatemala, Canada, and Israel.