These public walking tours are the latest in the City’s ongoing collaboration to tackle negative impacts of the highway while promoting residents’ health and well-being.
Bronx Politics and Community events
These public walking tours are the latest in the City’s ongoing collaboration to tackle negative impacts of the highway while promoting residents’ health and well-being.
University Will Implement Major Reforms to Address Sex Discrimination
The Justice Department announced an agreement with Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in Cleveland, Ohio, to resolve a federal investigation under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 into the university’s response to complaints of student-on-student and employee-on-student sexual harassment. Under the agreement, CWRU will undertake campus-wide reforms so that students can attend school and participate in Greek life programming free from sex discrimination, including sexual assault, sex-based stalking and retaliation for filing complaints of sex discrimination.
“All students should be able to participate in college life without being subjected to sex discrimination. Far too often, students on our nation’s college and university campuses face stalking, harassment or sexual assault,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “When sex discrimination rears its head, universities must respond appropriately to stop the misconduct and provide support so that the student can safely participate in school activities and complete their educational pursuits. This agreement would not have been possible without the many current and former student survivors who came forward and courageously shared their stories. We hope this agreement sends a message to the higher education community about the actions that must be taken to ensure that campuses are safe for all students.”
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office takes sex discrimination allegations such as these very seriously. The agreement provides not only for increased training but also for revised policies and procedures along with increased efforts at campus engagement and internal monitoring to address such matters proactively,” said U.S. Attorney Rebecca Lutzko for the Northern District of Ohio. “This settlement sends a strong message that sexual harassment on college campuses will not be tolerated, and the measures in the agreement will help protect current and future students. We acknowledge and commend the students from CWRU whose efforts shined a light on this issue, and we look forward to working with CWRU to implement this important agreement.”
The department’s investigation, which was conducted jointly by the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, focused on CWRU’s response to student complaints and hundreds of social media reports alleging sexual harassment on campus and a hostile environment in Greek life. One quarter of CWRU’s undergraduate population participates in the university’s 10 sororities and 16 fraternities. The department’s investigation concluded that, among other things, CWRU did not respond appropriately to a well-known climate of sexual harassment in its Greek life program. Further, CWRU employees did not report sexual harassment complaints to the office tasked with responding to such allegations and providing students with support and resources.
CWRU fully cooperated during this investigation. The agreement requires CWRU to undertake extensive reforms, including:
A summary of the agreement can be found here.
Individuals with information related to CWRU’s compliance with Title IX are encouraged to contact the Justice Department at 1-866-432-0339 or Outreach.CWRU@usdoj.gov. Members of the public may report possible civil rights violations at www.civilrights.justice.gov/report/.
Protecting students from harassment and other discrimination is a top priority of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt, and additional information about the work of the Educational Opportunities Section is available at www.justice.gov/crt/educational-opportunities-section.
Additional information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Ohio is available on its website at www.justice.gov/usao-ndoh.
Nathanial Chastain Traded on Inside Information About NFTs That Were Scheduled to Be Featured on the Homepage of the Largest NFT Marketplace
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that NATHANIAL CHASTAIN, a former product manager at Ozone Networks, Inc. d/b/a OpenSea (“OpenSea”), was sentenced today to three months in prison in connection with a scheme to commit insider trading in Non-Fungible Tokens, or “NFTs,” by using confidential information about which NFTs were going to be featured on OpenSea’s homepage for his personal financial gain. CHASTAIN was previously convicted at trial of wire fraud and money laundering.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Nathanial Chastain faced justice today for violating the trust that his employer placed in him by using OpenSea’s confidential information for his own profit. Today’s sentence should serve as a warning to other corporate insiders that insider trading – in any marketplace – will not be tolerated.”
According to court filings and statements made in court:
As part of his employment, CHASTAIN was responsible for selecting NFTs to be featured on OpenSea’s homepage. OpenSea kept confidential the identity of featured NFTs until they appeared on its homepage. After an NFT was featured on OpenSea’s homepage, the price buyers were willing to pay for that NFT, and for other NFTs made by the same NFT creator, typically increased substantially. In violation of the duties of trust and confidence he owed to his employer, OpenSea, CHASTAIN exploited his advanced knowledge of what NFTs would be featured on OpenSea’s homepage for his personal financial gain.
From approximately June to September 2021, CHASTAIN used OpenSea’s confidential business information about what NFTs were going to be featured on its homepage to secretly purchase dozens of NFTs shortly before they were featured. After those NFTs were featured on OpenSea, CHASTAIN sold them at profits of two- to five-times his initial purchase price. To conceal the fraud, CHASTAIN conducted these purchases and sales using anonymous digital currency wallets and anonymous accounts on OpenSea.
In addition to the prison term, CHASTAIN, 31, of New York, New York, was sentenced to three months of home confinement, three years of supervised release, a $50,000 fine, and ordered to forfeiture the Ethereum he made trading the featured NFTs.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
2) Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (PAYE Plan)
3) Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR Plan). With this plan, your payments could be as low as $0/month depending on your income!
4) Income-Contingent Repayment Plan (ICR Plan)
Adriano Espaillat
Member of Congress.
Dear Neighbor,
Thank you for joining us for another week in review.
Yesterday, Governor Kathy Hochul announced a plan to advance transportation projects in the Bronx, in an effort to reduce congestion and improve public health in the Bronx. For decades, Bronxites have suffered the effects of congestion and poor air quality. We are grateful to have partners in Albany who prioritize the health and wellness of our borough.
Last week, we joined with Congressman Ritchie Torres, the Bronx Economic Development Corporation and Business Initiative Corporation of New York to announce a $10 million loan fund for our Bronx small businesses. The loans will range from $5,000 to $350,000 for payroll, inventory purchases, new equipment and other things that could be vital to our Bronx businesses. $5,000 to $350,000 could be the difference between a business staying open or permanently shutting its doors. Our Bronx is a borough of promise and opportunities but none of that is possible without our small businesses. For more information, click here.
Lastly, while Queens made history with the unveiling of Trinidad and Tobago Street in recognition of our Trinbagonian community, we also made history in the Bronx with the appointment of Adela Livingston as the thirteenth United States Postal Service (USPS) postmaster of the Bronx and the first Trinidadian woman to hold the position. Congratulations to Adela! We cannot wait to see all that she accomplishes.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our office at 718-590-3500 or email us at webmail@bronxbp.nyc.gov.
In partnership,
Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson
IN THE COMMUNITY
We joined with Congressman Ritchie Torres, BxEDC, BICNY and Empire State Development at Bronx Kreate Hub to announce a $10 Million loan program for our Bronx businesses!
Historically, the Bronx has been overlooked and suffered the consequences of decades of disinvestment; but fulfilling a promise from our State of the Borough, together we will ensure that the funds are distributed equitably amongst our Bronx small business owners. Our small businesses have shown up for us and now it’s time to show up for them.
Thank you to everyone who made this possible!
We celebrated 50 years of Roberto Clemente State Park!
Named after famed baseball player and the first Latino-American Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, the park has served the Bronx with a recreation building, swimming pool, a playground, ball fields, basketball courts, biking areas and a beautiful waterfront!
Thank you to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and parks advocates for all that you do to maintain and advocate for our state parks.
We would not be the borough that we are today without our amazing nonprofits. They work tirelessly each day to provide vital services for our communities and we are forever grateful for their partnership in supporting the residents and families of the Bronx.
Thank you, Councilmember Althea Stevens, The Bronx Community Foundation, New Settlement and SUYO Gastrofusion for your partnership in hosting this year's National Nonprofit Day event. I look forward to our continued work together supporting and advocating for our nonprofit workers.
UPCOMING EVENTS
The Justice Department, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), today announced that ConsumerInfo.com, Inc. dba Experian Consumer Services (Experian), has agreed to a permanent injunction and a $650,000 civil penalty as part of a settlement to resolve alleged violations of the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 (CAN-SPAM Act), the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Rule (CAN-SPAM Rule), and the Federal Trade Commission Act. The CAN-SPAM Act and Rule require senders of commercial emails to notify the recipients of such emails of their right to opt-out of future emails and to provide an opt-out mechanism. Experian shares a parent company, Experian PLC, with Experian Information Solutions Inc., which offers credit information, analytical tools and marketing services.
The case, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, involves emails Experian sent to consumers who had created free Experian accounts to control third-party access to their credit reports. Account holders may “freeze” their credit reports to make them inaccessible to identity thieves and legitimate potential creditors such as banks. They can also “unfreeze” their credit reports when they require a credit check, for example, to finance a expensive purchase. The complaint asserts that Experian sent its account holders millions of commercial emails promoting additional Experian services. These emails asked the consumer to confirm whether a car that Experian had associated with the user’s account was theirs, offered a service aimed at boosting the user’s credit score, and advertised a free scan of the dark web. The emails did not give the recipients notice that they could opt-out of future such emails or provide any opt-out mechanism, violating the CAN-SPAM Act and the CAN-SPAM Rule. The complaint alleges that these emails implied that they contained important information about the recipient’s account, even though they were commercial in nature. The government received many consumer complaints that these emails contained no opt-out mechanism.
The stipulated order, entered by the federal district court yesterday, enjoins Experian from sending commercial emails that do not provide notice that the recipient may opt-out of receiving such emails in the future or an opt-out mechanism. The order also enjoins Experian from otherwise violating the CAN-SPAM Act. Under the order, Experian is also subject to a civil penalty judgment of $650,000.
“Consumers have the right to opt-out of email advertising that they do not want,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department is committed to enforcing the CAN-SPAM Act and preventing senders of commercial emails from falsely describing those emails as providing account updates or other transactional information in order to circumvent the opt-out requirements.”
“Signing up for a membership doesn’t mean you’re signing up for unwanted email, especially when all you’re trying to do is freeze your credit to protect your identity,” said Director Samuel Levine of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “You always have the right to unsubscribe from marketing messages, and the FTC takes enforcing that right seriously.”
“It is critical that consumers have the ability to opt-out of unwanted commercial emails, and such emails should not be misleading in any way,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. “This permanent injunction and civil penalty will provide relief to consumers and help to prevent future violations of the CAN-SPAM Act.”
For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. For more information about the FTC, visit www.FTC.gov
New York Attorney General Letitia James today took action to defend a federal law that prevents persons under a domestic violence restraining order from accessing guns. Joining a coalition of 25 attorneys general to file an amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court in the case of United States v. Rahimi, Attorney General James urged the court to preserve this critical tool meant to protect survivors of domestic abuse. The case involves Zackey Rahimi, who was under a domestic violence restraining order for assaulting his girlfriend, and was therefore barred from possessing guns. Rahimi was subsequently involved in multiple shootings and then indicted for possession of a firearm while under a domestic violence restraining order. Rahimi challenged the federal statute and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the Second Amendment prohibits disarming persons under orders of protection for domestic violence. The amicus brief filed by Attorney General James and the coalition of attorneys general urges the Supreme Court to overrule the lower court.
“Keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous domestic abusers is a commonsense way to save lives and protect communities,” said Attorney General James. “Nearly every state in the nation has some form of law barring abusers and people under active restraining orders from accessing guns. With these reasonable laws under threat, I will use the full force of my office to protect New York residents and communities from gun violence.”
In the amicus brief, Attorney General James and the coalition argue that striking down the existing federal law would make it more difficult to protect survivors of domestic abuse. The coalition notes that studies have shown an abuser is five times more likely to murder his or her intimate partner if a firearm is in the home and that firearms are the leading cause of intimate partner homicides — more so than all other weapons combined. In the United States, 80 percent of these homicide victims are women, and pregnant women and women of color are disproportionately the targets of intimate partner violence.
The attorneys general also note that in addition to the federal law, 46 states, the District of Columbia, and multiple territories have laws limiting the ability of those under a domestic violence restraining order to access firearms. These statutes reflect the established fact that perpetrators of domestic abuse can be uniquely dangerous. The coalition asserts that the lower court ruling could negatively impact these existing laws and therefore make it harder to protect Americans’ lives and safety.
Joining Attorney General James in filing today’s amicus brief are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.