Statement by the Office of New York City Comptroller Brad Lander on Today’s Vote by the New York City Banking Commission

 

The New York City Banking Commission voted to approve the designation of the Bank of Montreal (BMO), Flagstar Bank and KeyBank as designated depository banks for the City of New York. 

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, one of three members of the Commission, joined the Commission in its unanimous vote to approve BMO and KeyBank, while splitting with the Department of Finance and New York City Mayor’s Office by voting AGAINST the designation of Flagstar Bank due to its history of problematic practices and poor credit rating. Flagstar Bank, formerly designated by the Banking Commission as Signature Bank, and current subsidiary of New York Community Bank, was conditionally designated last year due to new ownership. 

The full list of designated banks prior to the vote is available here. 

Following is a statement from Comptroller Lander on the vote delivered by Deputy Comptroller for Policy Annie Levers who represents the Comptroller on the Banking Commission: 

“Just like any other entity seeking to do business with the City, we expect banks to fully comply with the Commission’s rules for applications – and for those applications to reflect a sound financial position and a meaningful commitment to community reinvestment and combating discrimination. 

“Flagstar Bank has a troubling history of problematic practices. Per the bank’s application, Flagstar’s credit is currently rated “speculative” by Fitch, and “high risk” by Moody’s. To our knowledge, it is unprecedented for the Commission to fully designate a bank with these ratings. 

“Given the bank’s concerning ratings and testimony at this hearing, a one-year conditional designation for Flagstar would be both appropriate under the Commission’s rules and more prudent. Conditional designation would allow City agencies to keep their existing accounts open but preclude the City from doing new business with the bank for one year. 

“Because conditional designation was not under consideration by the Commission I have chosen to vote no on Flagstar Bank.” 

Governor Hochul Joins New York City Officials and Activists to Celebrate the Signing of Sammy’s Law

 

Law Allows New York City to Lower Speed Limit and Save Lives 

Governor Kathy Hochul today was joined by New York City Mayor Eric Adams, New York City officials, and activists to celebrate the passage of Sammy’s Law as part of the FY2025 Budget Agreement. After a decade of advocacy, this law will allow New York City to lower its speed limit to 20 miles per hour on nearly every road, which will reduce the risk of death or life-threatening injury in a crash. The legislation was named for Sammy Cohen Eckstein, a 12-year-old child who died in 2013 after he was hit by a driver in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

“Too many children have been hit and killed by cars speeding through our city streets, shattering families and traumatizing communities," Governor Hochul said. “We are celebrating the passage of Sammy's Law which will empower New York City to take back its streets and save lives."

With the passage of Sammy’s Law, New York City can now lower its speed limits via local law, with exception for major thoroughfares in the outer boroughs. Lowering speed limits is a demonstrated method to reduce the risk of death or injury during vehicular crashes and saves lives. Signing Sammy’s Law builds on Governor Hochul’s work to improve roadway safety across the State, expanding camera programs near schools and key intersections, dedicating funding towards traffic calming programs, and establishing New York State’s first Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement program.

Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter Announces Task Force on Health Care Monopolies and Collusion

 

New Health Care Task Force Will Tackle Competition Problems in Health Care Markets

The Justice Department announced the formation of the Antitrust Division’s Task Force on Health Care Monopolies and Collusion (HCMC). The HCMC will guide the division’s enforcement strategy and policy approach in health care, including by facilitating policy advocacy, investigations and, where warranted, civil and criminal enforcement in health care markets.

“Every year, Americans spend trillions of dollars on health care, money that is increasingly being gobbled up by a small number of payers, providers and dominant intermediaries that have consolidated their way to power in communities across the country,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Led by Katrina Rouse, the task force will identify and root out monopolies and collusive practices that increase costs, decrease quality and create single points of failure in the health care industry.”

The HCMC will consider widespread competition concerns shared by patients, health care professionals, businesses and entrepreneurs, including issues regarding payer-provider consolidation, serial acquisitions, labor and quality of care, medical billing, health care IT services, access to and misuse of health care data and more. The HCMC will bring together civil and criminal prosecutors, economists, health care industry experts, technologists, data scientists, investigators and policy advisors from across the division’s Civil, Criminal, Litigation and Policy Programs, and the Expert Analysis Group, to identify and address pressing antitrust problems in health care markets.

The HCMC will be directed by Katrina Rouse, a long-serving antitrust prosecutor who joined the Antitrust Division in 2011. She previously served as Chief of the division’s Defense, Industrials and Aerospace Section, Assistant Chief of the Division’s San Francisco Office, a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney and a Trial Attorney in the division’s Healthcare and Consumer Products Section. She holds degrees from Columbia University and Stanford Law School, and clerked for federal judges on the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Rouse will serve concurrently as the division’s Deputy Director of Civil Enforcement and Special Counsel for Health Care.

The Antitrust Division welcomes input and information from the public, including from practitioners, patients, researchers, business owners and others who have direct insight into competition concerns in the health care industry. Members of the public can share their experiences with the Task Force on Health Care Monopolies and Collusion by visiting HealthyCompetition.gov. Where appropriate, the division will refer matters to other federal and state law enforcers.

NYC Comptroller’s Investigation Finds Adams Administration Implemented the 60-Day Shelter Limit in Haphazard, Ineffective Manner

 

Investigators found inadequate written policies, training, and notices; Despite promises, the City provides limited case management services that do little to help families achieve self-sufficiency

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander released his office’s investigation into the Adams Administration’s implementation of its 60-day shelter limit for asylum-seeking families. As a result of the rule, the City has issued 60-day notices to 10,229 families with children—affecting 19,497 adults and 18,149 children—as of April 28.

The investigation found that the policy was haphazardly implemented, and that notices to families, training for staff, and written guidelines were all inadequate. For example, despite an announcement from City Hall that pregnant women in their last trimester and families with newborns would be exempted, no written policy to that effect was ever given to staff or contractors. Despite promises of “intensive case management” to assist families, investigators found that the City provides very limited case management services that do little to help asylum-seeking families achieve self-sufficiency. And the City specifically discriminated against families with elementary-school aged children in shelter placements, making it more likely their children’s schooling would be disrupted.

“Back in January, the Adams Administration enacted a cruel policy of evicting families from shelter every 60 days with the empty promise of intensive case management—as a result, City Hall has subjected over 37,000 people to repetitive screenings for shelter alternatives, disrupted families’ efforts to obtain work authorization and legal status, and uprooted children from the schools where they made connections,” said Comptroller Brad Lander. “Beyond the cruelty of the policy, our investigation found significant management flaws in how City Hall is administering these evictions and how poorly they are tracking outcomes. Our City can do so much better.”

Comptroller Lander announced the investigation on the first day that families were evicted and were told to re-apply for shelter in Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers (HERRCs). The Comptroller’s office investigation found:

• The City implemented the 60-day rule in a haphazard manner without adequate policies—such as exemptions for third trimester pregnancies and newborns or mail transfers—or training in place for agency staff;
• 60-day notices failed to provide families with critical information about opportunities to seek exemption or reasonable accommodation;
• Despite promises of “intensive case management” for every family, the City provides limited case management services that do little to help families achieve self-sufficiency;
• The 60-day rule undermined new arrivals’ ability to obtain work authorization and stable employment;
• Administrators specifically denied families with elementary school-aged children placement in Department of Homeless Services (DHS) shelters upon re-intake, subjecting them to more frequent moves that are detrimental to children’s learning;
• The City is not tracking any outcomes regarding families’ housing placements; efforts to obtain work authorization, legal status, or employment; or pathway to self-sufficiency.

In a January 9th letter sent to City Hall that initiated the investigation, Comptroller Lander requested information about “the protocols City agencies will use to implement” the 60-day shelter limit and reassignment and inquired about “the potentially harmful impacts of the policy on families seeking asylum, especially on children who may be displaced from their public school as a result of being transferred to a shelter far from their school.”

In a letter response dated February 5, the Mayor stated that “Shelter time limits, paired with intensive case management, are designed to help more households achieve self-sufficiency, find stable housing arrangements, and exit from the shelter system.”

Despite that promise, the Comptroller’s investigation into the 60-day rule found that the promise of intensive case management was hollow. The documents implementing the policy disclose a single-minded focus on avoiding the City’s legal obligations to provide shelter. While the rule has contributed to a reduction in the shelter population, it also served to destabilize families with children and increase barriers to work authorization and legal status.

The investigation report recommends:

• The City should end the 60-day rule. Instead, the City should implement a policy that genuinely coordinates temporary shelter, legal assistance toward immigration status and work authorization, workforce development that enables people to obtain work, and case management that enables people to achieve self-sufficiency. The program that the City entered into last week with Jewish Families Services of Western New York, to replace the failed DocGo contract for services to asylum-seekers relocated upstate, is one model for such a program.
• While the City continues to implement the 60-day rule, administrators must immediately correct critical shortcomings in the implementation of the policy, including writing clear policies and procedures, amending the 60-day notice to add critical missing information, providing the “intensive case management” as promised, and allowing families with elementary school-aged children to be placed in DHS shelters upon re-intake.
• To achieve cost savings, the City must move away from emergency procurement to competitive bidding among qualified service providers, as the Comptroller’s Office has repeatedly recommended. Read the Comptroller’s report: Rethinking Emergency Procurement.
• The City should track and evaluate program effectiveness, including overall cost savings, and outcomes for families toward immigration status, work authorization, housing stability, and self-sufficiency.

Lander announced these finding and recommendations alongside a coalition of immigrant advocates, elected officials, shelter providers, and homeless rights organizations in front of the Row Hotel, where the first eviction notices took place in January.

Read the investigation here.

“From the start, the Council has been clear that the Administration’s 60-day shelter limit policy would be counterproductive and destabilizing for our new arrivals, and to our goal of helping them achieve self-sufficiency,” said Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. “As the policy has impacted increasing numbers of children and families, more and more students have had disrupted schooling as families are needlessly moved from location to location. This and the inhumane conditions at the Hall Street Complex in Brooklyn are among the many examples of why our city must improve its collaboration and planning with stakeholders to meet the needs of asylum seekers, longtime New Yorkers, and communities. We must support those seeking shelter and provide an opportunity for new arrivals to contribute to our economy. I thank Comptroller Lander’s office for this investigation, the findings of which can help guide the Administration towards more effective policy solutions that prioritize the well-being of everyone in our city.”

Attorney General James Secures More Than $10 Million from AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless for Deceptive Advertising

 

Multistate Investigation Found that Wireless Service Providers Misled Millions of Americans with Deceptive Ads about “Unlimited” Data Plans and “Free” Phones

New York Attorney General Letitia James and a multistate, bipartisan coalition of 50 attorneys general today secured more than $10.22 million from AT&T Mobility, LLC and its subsidiary Cricket Wireless, LLC (AT&T); T-Mobile USA, Inc. (T-Mobile); and Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless and its subsidiary TracFone Wireless, Inc. (Verizon), for deceptively marketing wireless service plans for years. A multistate investigation found that the companies made false claims in advertisements in New York and across the nation, including misrepresentations about “unlimited” data plans that were in fact limited and had reduced quality and speed after a certain limit was reached by the user. The companies will pay $520,000 to New York and are required to change their advertising to ensure that wireless service plans are accurately and fairly explained.

“New Yorkers, and all Americans, deserve to know that when they buy a service or product, they will be treated fairly and can trust what the seller is saying,” said Attorney General James. “AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile lied to millions of consumers, making false promises of free phones and ‘unlimited’ data plans that were simply untrue. Big companies are not excused from following the law and cannot trick consumers into paying for services they will never receive. We will continue to go after companies that hurt everyday Americans and try to take advantage of this basic and critical service.”  

The multistate investigation found that the wireless companies made several misleading claims in their advertising, including misrepresenting “unlimited” data plans that were actually limited, offering “free” phones that came at a cost, and making false promises about switching to different wireless carrier plans. These advertisements, which were broadcast on TV and online, lured consumers to sign up for plans that did not live up to their promises and that typically failed to disclose key limitations, restrictions, or details.

Today’s agreement requires the wireless service providers to pay $10,224,135 to the states and improve their advertising and marketing of their services to consumers. The wireless services providers are required to ensure that: 

• All advertisements and representations are truthful, accurate, and non-misleading; 
• “Unlimited” mobile data plans can only be marketed if there are no limits on the quantity of data allowed during a billing cycle; 
• Offers to pay for consumers to switch to a different wireless carrier must clearly disclose how much a consumer will be paid, how consumers will be paid, when consumers can expect payment, and any additional requirements consumers have to meet to get paid; 
• Offers of “free” wireless devices or services must clearly state everything a consumer must do to receive the “free” devices or services; 
• Offers to lease wireless devices must clearly state that the consumer will be entering into a lease agreement; and 
• All “savings” claims must have a reasonable basis. If a wireless carrier claims that consumers will save using its services compared to another wireless carrier, the claim must be based on similar goods or services or differences must be clearly explained to the consumer. 

In addition, the companies must appoint a dedicated representative to work with the attorneys general to address ordinary complaints filed by consumers. They must also train their customer service representatives to comply with the terms of the agreement and implement and enforce a program to ensure compliance.

Joining Attorney General James in today’s agreement are the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawai’i, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia.

Man Who Carried Out Machete Attack on NYPD Officers in Times Square on New Year’s Eve 2022 Sentenced to 27 Years in Prison

 

Trevor Bickford, 20, of Wells, Maine, was sentenced to 324 months in prison for attempting to kill officers and employees of the U.S. Government and persons assisting them during his brazen attack using a machete-style knife against three New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers in Times Square on Dec. 31, 2022. Bickford pleaded guilty to terrorism charges on Jan. 11.

“Today’s sentence holds Trevor Bickford accountable for his premeditated 2022 terrorist attack in Times Square during which he attempted to kill three NYPD officers in a violent rampage,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department is deeply grateful to the NYPD for its quick actions and bravery in disrupting this New Year’s Eve attack, and for the work it does every day to keep New Yorkers safe. The Justice Department will always stand by its state and local law enforcement partners as we work together to counter the threat of terrorism, and that includes being relentless in prosecuting those who seek to harm officers.”

“The defendant’s brutal ambush of three New York City police officers keeping watch over New Year’s Eve celebrations was a premeditated act of terrorism,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Police officers work tirelessly to protect the communities they serve and assaults on them are reprehensible. He planned, prepared, and travelled to conduct a savage attack in support of his violent ideology and now he is being held accountable for his actions.”

“Inspired by radical Islamic extremism, Trevor Bickford brutally attacked three NYPD officers who were just doing their jobs by protecting the public during the Times Square New Year’s Eve festivities,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. “Thankfully, one officer’s quick-thinking actions stopped the defendant’s attack while minimizing risk to the innocent bystanders who easily might have become additional victims of the defendant’s heinous violence. Less than a year and a half after his attack, Bickford has been convicted and now sentenced to 27 years in prison. Bickford’s conviction and sentence demonstrate that cowardly acts of terrorism will be met with law enforcement’s unwavering resolve to protect New York City, our country, and our core values of freedom and democracy.” 

According to court documents, In December 2022, Bickford, a U.S. citizen and resident of Maine, traveled from Maine to New York City to, in his own words, wage jihad and kill as many targets as possible. He targeted one of the most densely populated areas in the United States at one of the most densely populated times possible: Times Square on New Year’s Eve. It was there that Bickford ambushed three NYPD officers, declared “Allahu Akbar,” an Arabic phrase meaning “God is great” that other radical Islamic extremists have similarly proclaimed while carrying out terrorist attacks, and swung his blade at their heads, seriously injuring all three officers. Bickford also tried to grab one of the NYPD officers’ guns during his attack. One of the victims that Bickford struck managed to shoot Bickford in the shoulder, halting his brutal rampage before he could attack and possibly kill others. Bickford later proudly declared that he carried out his attack to wage jihad and proclaimed that his goal was to kill as many military-aged men who worked for the U.S. Government as he could, before himself becoming a martyr in the attack.

The machete-style knife, which has a blade more than a foot long, that Bickford used to carry out his attack.

Bickford’s violent rampage on Dec. 31, 2022, was premeditated. He consumed materials espousing radical Islamic ideology – including materials promoting the Taliban and reflecting the teachings of Sheikh Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi, a prominent radical Islamic cleric who was a spiritual mentor of al Qaeda – and contemplated ways to wage jihad. As he immersed himself deeper into this propaganda, Bickford devoted himself to violent Islamic extremism and pursuit of the jihad that he would eventually unleash in the heart of New York City. In the months leading up to his attack, Bickford focused on traveling overseas to support the Taliban in Afghanistan or elsewhere. He planned to ally himself with the Taliban to fight against governments that, in his view, oppress Muslims and to wage jihad against officials of governments that he believes are anti-Muslim, including the U.S. government. Ultimately, Bickford decided that he would not travel overseas and instead turned his attention to an attack here in the United States. This decision resulted in Bickford perpetrating his attack in Times Square on New Year’s Eve in 2022.

Near the scene of the attack, law enforcement officers recovered a book from Bickford’s backpack with the following passage highlighted: “Fight in the Name of Allah and in the Cause of Allah. Fight against those who do not believe in Allah. Wage a holy war.” In addition, Bickford had used an encrypted application and secure browser on his cellphone to conduct extensive research in advance of his attack, including research about al Qaeda (including internet searches for “Al Qaeda recruitment”); about waging jihad; about his eventual time (New Year’s Eve) and place (Times Square) of attack (including “how often do the police patrol in NYC” and “New Years Eve 2023 itinerary in New York City Times Square”); about potential weapons he could use to carry out his attack (including “[g]un buying laws for New York City” and “Do you need to pass a background check for a used gun”); and various ways to incapacitate, injure, and kill his potential targets (including “[w]hat are the terms for taking slaves in Islam” and whether Islam “permit[s] rape of female prisoners of war”). Finally, less than an hour before his attack, Bickford watched an Al Qaeda propaganda video imploring viewers to “fight” as he finalized his targets.

The FBI New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which consists of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the NYPD, and over 50 other federal, state, and local agencies, investigated the case.

KRVC - Join us TOMORROW Friday, May 10th for a Special Karaoke Night featuring a Special Senator!

COMMUNITY KARAOKE IS BACK TOMORROW NIGHT!

JOIN US!

 Look forward to seeing you!  505BX.org

MAYOR ADAMS MAKES FOUR NEW JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS

 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced four judicial appointments to Criminal Court.

 

“Public safety and justice are the prerequisites to prosperity, and these judges have the experience and integrity required to ensure that the criminal justice system continues to work for the betterment of all New Yorkers,” said Mayor Adams. “These individuals have shown to be among the best and the brightest minds in their field and I look forward to their continued service to this city.”

 

“In appointing four new criminal court judges, this administration reaffirms its commitment to justice that is fair and swift for all New Yorkers,” said City Hall Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg. “Having a high-quality, independent judiciary is critical to our American democratic ideals.”

 

Mayor Adams appointed the following judges to Criminal Court:

 

Judge Edward Daniels was appointed as a Criminal Court judge in April 2024. After graduating from law school, Judge Daniels joined a private firm in Washington, D.C. After briefly establishing a solo practice in New York, he joined another firm as an associate handling complex criminal and civil matters at trial and appeal. Thereafter, he joined the Brooklyn Defender Services as a staff attorney in criminal practice and then as a senior staff attorney in the homicide practice.

 

Judge Daniel Lewis was appointed as a Criminal Court judge in April 2024. After graduating from law school, Judge Lewis joined a private firm as an associate. He also began serving as an operational law attorney for the New York Army National Guard/United States Army Reserve before joining the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office as an assistant district attorney in the Domestic Violence Bureau, the Narcotics-Investigations Bureau, and the Economic Crimes Bureau. Thereafter, Judge Lewis served as the lead attorney at the New York state Department of Taxation and Finance’s Criminal Investigations Division. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Lewis served as unit chief of the Crimes Against Revenue Unit of the Fraud Bureau in the Queens County District Attorney’s Office.

 

Judge Michelle Weber was appointed as a Criminal Court judge in April 2024. After graduating from law school, she joined the Kings County District Attorney’s Office where she began her legal career as a misdemeanor line assistant in the Red Trial Zone. She went on to serve as grand jury assistant and senior assistant district attorney in different trial zones, including the Special Victims Bureau and Crimes Against Children Bureau before becoming the deputy bureau chief of the Domestic Violence Bureau, Integrated Domestic Violence Court. Prior to her appointment to the bench, Judge Weber served as the unit chief of the Elder Abuse Unit of the Domestic Violence Bureau.

 

Judge Christopher Whitehair was appointed as a Criminal Court judge in April 2024. After graduating from law school, he joined Staten Island Legal Defense Services. Judge Whitehair then left to join Queens Defenders (formerly known as Queens Law Associates), where he served for 15 years. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Whitehair was a supervising attorney while serving as the director of recruitment and hiring at Queens Defenders.