|
|
|
|
Thursday, November 12, 2020
Bronx River Art Center (BRAC) - JUSTICE Exhibition at BRAC
PUBLIC ADVOCATE WILLIAMS CHALLENGES MAYOR TO PROVIDE CLARITY, DETAILS FOR MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS RESPONSE PROGRAM
Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams responded to Mayor Bill de Blasio's recently announced pilot program for mental health crisis response today, challenging the administration to provide more clarity and details for the design and implementation of the program.
In a letter to the Mayor, the Public Advocate calls the announcement "a meaningful step in the right direction," but points to his own 2019 report, 'Improving New York City's Responses to Individuals in Mental Health Crisis,' as a blueprint to effectively prioritize and facilitate a non-police response to mental health crises. While the Mayor's pilot program appears to adopt some of the recommendations in the report, such as a 2-hour response time and a default to non-police response, there are several areas in which they differ. In distinction to the Mayor's pilot announcement, the Public Advocate's report calls for, among other things:
- A memorable three digit alternative number to 9-1-1, meant for NYC-WELL calls
- Expanded training for NYC-WELL operators and staffing for mobile crisis response
- Minimal engagement with policing, the criminal justice system, or hospitalization
- Directly combining acute emergency response with long-term sustained care
- Collaboration with community organizations and mental health peers in both designing the system and responding to crises
- Culturally competent community outreach and public information campaigns, especially as related to race and language fluency
The Public Advocate also sought further information from the administration about the implementation of the Mayor's pilot program, including how 9-1-1 operators will be trained to distinguish between police and non-police health emergencies, the makeup of crisis response teams, cultural competency in response, and the level of follow-up and post-crisis engagement. He asks that advocates largely left out of the original announcement process be included in both the planning and implementation of the program moving forward.
The full letter to the Mayor is below and can be downloaded here, and the Public Advocate's 2019 report is available online. A visual summary of the plan can be found here.
Dear Mayor de Blasio:
I would like to thank you for supporting several recommendations that my office released in a September 2019 report on improving responses to mental health crises. Your announcement is a meaningful step in the right direction, though I believe it is important to implement such important changes in collaboration with pending legislation from the City Council. It remains vital that we keep racial equity at the forefront of these efforts.
Additionally, while we strive to reduce the criminalization of individuals experiencing a mental health crisis, we must also avoid needless hospitalization whenever possible. I believe this pilot can be made safer, more effective, and more just, by implementing additional recommendations from my office's report and infographic, which I have attached for your review.
I would also like to seek clarity with the following questions:
- How will we train 9-1-1 to identify calls that do not need police response and make appropriate dispatch determinations by February 2021? What criteria will dispatchers be using to make these determinations, especially in regard to those concerning when a police officer is or is not to join the health professionals as part of the response team?
- What will client follow-up and post-crisis services look like? Will there be connections provided to services such as Mental Health Respite Centers, Support and Connection Centers, and long term care?
- Will we equip mobile crisis teams with a clinician, a social worker, and a mental health peer as their primary responders?
- How will we ensure cultural competence amongst mobile crisis teams and within community outreach and public information campaigns to ensure awareness of this resource?
- Who will be advising the development of this pilot? Will community-based organizations, advocates, and elected officials be included?
I look forward to receiving your response as we work together to make our city a safer and more just place. Please direct any questions or further discussion toward First Deputy Public Advocate Nick E. Smith, at nsmith@advocate.nyc.gov, and Deputy Public Advocate for Justice, Health Equity & Safety Rama Issa-Ibrahim at rissa-ibrahim@advocate.nyc.gov
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Jumaane D. Williams
Public Advocate for the City of New York
MAYOR DE BLASIO DELIVERS REMARKS AT THE FLIGHT 587 19TH ANNUAL MEMORIAL SERVICE
Mayor Bill de Blasio: I want to thank everyone for joining today in memory of those we've lost, to honor them. I want to thank, for her extraordinary leadership and support for all these families, I want to thank Belkis Lora. Belkis, you have been such a source of hope and a source of comfort for all these families. Thank you. So, this time we gather, the different reality that we're living through right now. And even with the challenges of the coronavirus, we still come together. We still come together to remember, and we still come together in solidarity with each other, and nothing can stop us from feeling that love and support for each other. We think back to the time of this tragedy, just weeks after 9/11, we think of the moment people heard the painful, horrible news. We think of the tragedies we've experienced in the past, and we always hope we'll never see anything like it again. Now we find ourselves in a time that we could not have imagined. But the fact that you're still here gives me such hope. The fact that the love you feel for those you lost, and the love for each other sustains you, is a reminder of the strength of the people of the Dominican community, the strength of all New Yorkers.
I want to thank everyone who has been a part of this ceremony. It's always so important each year to have the participation of the NYPD and the FDNY. I want to thank Officer Frank Zito and Firefighter James Sorokac for helping us to have the kind of memorial that these loved ones deserve. I want to thank the Consul General. Consul General Jaquez, we welcome you to New York City, and we thank you for being here and for your heartfelt words. I want to thank the elected officials who have come here to join in solidarity with all of you. Congressman Adriano Espaillat, Assembly Member Carmen De La Rosa, Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez. I also want to thank the Assembly Member who represents this community here in the Rockaways. Assembly Member Stacey Pheffer Amato, and representing the Governor and such a great leader in his own right, Dr. Guillermo Linares. We thank all of you. Your presence strengthens all of us.
We remembered today, 265 good people we lost. We remember the pain, but also we remember the heroism of all those who in that moment rushed to the scene to save lives, to try their best, the first responders, the neighbors from the community, everyone who tried to see if there was any way to save the lives of those on that flight and those on the ground. And then we think about how the community came together, the whole Dominican community and the community of New York City to love and support all the good families, all those present today, and all those who couldn't be here today. Scripture says, “Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.” And we know the pain never goes away, but we do feel the comfort of each other. We do feel the support of each other. And we do know that memory is powerful and all our loved ones, they're watching right now, they're feeling our love and we will never forget them. We will never forget the passengers of Flight 587. I say, God blessed them and God bless all of you.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
Flight 587 crashed in the Belle Harbor section of the Rockaways while taking off from Kennedy Airport on its way to the Dominican Republic.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) attributed the disaster to the first officer's overuse of rudder controls in response to wake turbulence from a preceding Japan Airlines (Japan Airlines Flight 47) Boeing 747-400 that took off minutes before it.
According to the NTSB, the aggressive use of the rudder controls by the first officer stressed the vertical stabilizer until it snapped off the aircraft. The airliner's two engines also separated from the aircraft before impact due to the intense forces. 260 total people on the plane and 5 people on the ground were killed.
Woodlawn Cemetery Veteran's Day Ceremony With State Senator Jamaal Bailey, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, and Councilman Andrew Cohen
To honor the many veteran's buried at Woodlawn Cemetery there is an annual Veteran's Day Ceremony that dates back to the end of World War One. There is a plaque set in the rock that makes up part of the cemetery commemorating Armistice Day, the signing between Allied forces of World War One and Germany. That was the war to end all wars.
State Senator Jamaal Bailey brought his two daughters to see what their father does. He went over the program with one, so she would know what would be going on. After Senator Bailey gave an opening remark, Mitch Rose of Woodlawn Cemetery said a few words of the commitment to the community which Woodlawn Cemetery has by hosting events such as this.
After the Pledge of Allegiance, and National Anthem Senator Bailey, Assemblyman Dinowitz, and Councilman Cohen gave remarks about what Veteran's Day means to each of them. The three elected officials were joined by Quamid Francis Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief Diversity Officer NYC Department of Veteran's Services to lay a wreath beneath the plaque celebrating Armistice Day.
Above - Senator Bailey going over the program with one of his daughters.
Below - Senator Bailey speaking in front of the Woodlawn Cemetery Armistice Day Plaque.
Above - Assemblyman Dinowitz speaking as Councilman Cohen waits to speak.
Below - (L - R) Quamid Francis, Senator Bailey, and Assemblyman Dinowitz, after laying a Wreath beneath the plaque honoring Armistice Day 11/11/1918.
Wednesday, November 11, 2020
Governor Cuomo Announces Updated COVID-19 Micro-Cluster Focus Zones - NOVEMBER 11, 2020
Based on Progress Controlling COVID Spread, Yellow Zone in Steuben County to be Removed
Port Chester Yellow Zone will Transition to Orange Warning Zone; New Yellow Precautionary Zones in Staten Island and Tioga County
Positive Testing Rate in All Focus Zone Areas is 4.96 Percent; New York State Positivity Outside All Focus Zone Areas is 2.58 Percent
Statewide Positivity Rate is 2.93 Percent
21 COVID-19 Deaths in New York State Yesterday
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced updated COVID-19 micro-cluster focus areas in New York State. Based on data metrics, Port Chester's yellow zone will transition to an orange warning zone. The Governor also announced new yellow precautionary zone focus areas in Staten Island and Tioga County. Based on progress controlling COVID spread, the yellow precautionary zone in Steuben County will be removed.
"The scientists all said for months we would see a national and global surge in the fall and winter - and right now, the national surge keeps getting worse," Governor Cuomo said. "The trajectory is going up, and we have learned how to stay ahead of COVID. When we see a small increase, we attack it - that is our strategy as cases increase all around us. We can manage this challenge as long as we have individual discipline and government enforcement. Local governments must enforce the public health law - period. And we all need to be smart - wear a mask, wash your hands, socially distance, and stay New York Tough."
Modifications to Current Focus Zones
Steuben County - Yellow Zone Removed
Based on declining and low positivity rates, Steuben County is now eligible to have its yellow precautionary zone status removed.
Port Chester - Yellow Zone Changes to Orange Warning Zone - Click Here for Map
The 7-day average positivity rate in Port Chester has been above 3 percent for 10 days, meeting the metrics for an orange warning zone declaration.
New Focus Zones
Staten Island - New Yellow Precautionary Zone - Click Here for Map
Over the past ten days, parts of Staten Island have had 7-day average positivity rates above 2.5 percent, and cases per 100,000 and new daily hospital admissions have increased, meeting the metrics for a yellow zone designation.
Tioga County - New Yellow Precautionary Zone - Click Here for Map
Over the past ten days, parts of Tioga County have had 7-day average positivity rates above 4 percent, and cases per 100,000 and new daily hospital admissions have increased, meeting the metrics for a yellow zone designation.
The Governor noted that the positive testing rate in all focus areas under the state's Micro-Cluster strategy is 4.96 percent, and outside the focus zone areas is 2.58 percent. Within the focus areas, 24,005 test results were reported yesterday, yielding 1,192 positives. In the remainder of the state, not counting these focus areas, 140,295 test results were reported, yielding 3,628 positives.
Today's data is summarized briefly below:
- Patient Hospitalization - 1,628 (+80)
- Patients Newly Admitted - 270
- Hospital Counties - 50
- Number ICU - 304 (+8)
- Number ICU with Intubation - 135 (+7)
- Total Discharges - 81,020 (+166)
- Deaths - 21
- Total Deaths - 26,026
NYPD Vision for Fair and Effective Discipline
Police Department has substantially implemented the recommendations of a blue-ribbon panel
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea today announced that the NYPD has now substantially implemented the recommendations of an independent blue-ribbon panel of former prosecutors and judges for improving the department’s internal disciplinary system.
Chief among these historic reforms is the hiring in August of a Civilian Liaison, who will keep victims and family members informed on use-of-force cases, and the establishment of an outside auditor to assess the NYPD’s ongoing compliance with the blue-ribbon panel’s recommendations.
A highlight is the adoption of a new disciplinary matrix – with input from the city’s independent Civilian Complaint Review Board and Commission to Combat Police Corruption – to create a baseline for penalties covering a range of police officer misconduct and add consistency and transparency to the process. That matrix, posted to the NYPD website on Aug. 31, was open for public comment to ensure it is as fair and effective as possible when the final version is published in January. See the link, here: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/about/about-nypd/public-comment.page
Amid this ever-evolving progress, Commissioner Shea has wielded his authority as the final arbiter of discipline in clear and decisive ways. In April, he enacted a new false-statement enforcement policy. He has overseen the monthly publication of the department’s trial-room calendar. And he has imposed punishments swiftly and often more punitively than is recommended. In fact, since Commissioner Shea’s appointment in December, 40 officers have retired or resigned with internal disciplinary charges against them pending and 53 members of the service have been dismissed. Taken together, these disciplinary measures not only assure integrity within the policing profession in New York City, but go above and beyond the best practices the NYPD has long followed in line with all other citywide agencies.
“Policing is a privilege and demands the community’s trust in knowing that officers are living up to the NYPD’s high standards for integrity, fairness, compassion and effectiveness in keeping the peace, protecting life and property and maintaining order,” said Police Commissioner Dermot Shea. “We ask for the public’s trust – and the public must know we are worthy of it.”
Police Commissioner Shea’s administration of discipline is rapid and decisive. He has meted out tough discipline when needed yet delivered tempered justice as the facts warrant. The sound disciplinary system Commissioner Shea has led helps ensure the success of his goals – such as Neighborhood and Precision policing, or helping all the city’s children reach their full potential.
The disciplinary process, as designed, affords officers the same considerations and due process rights afforded civilians in the criminal arena. In the majority of instances, and over time, the NYPD has concurred with findings by the independent CCRB. But sometimes officers go to trial, where facts emerge that do not support the originally recommended penalties. In other cases, plea agreements are reached. Many factors may influence both the decision to negotiate a settlement, as well as the ultimate penalty, including the strength of the evidence and the likelihood to prevail on the merits at trial. Sometimes officers are found not guilty on one or more of the disciplinary charges that are brought. The NYPD’s concurrence with CCRB must be understood in that context.
As the final arbiter in matters of discipline, a Police Commissioner’s role is similar to a trial judge in imposing penalties. Additionally, a police commissioner is statutorily mandated to exercise cognizance and control over the Police Department, which by necessity includes discipline. This command structure enables the police commissioner to effect change in the department and ensures consistency and efficiency in all of the department’s operations. This becomes essential in flexibly responding to events – such as crime upticks or national security issues – in real time. It would be hard to imagine a system for rapid discipline by an outside body – in effect, weakening what is a longstanding, paramilitary style justice system affording the Police Department wide latitude for rapid accountability and for real time operational maneuverability in times of public need.
This paradigm is also true of other city agencies and is not unique to the Police Department. The Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) conducts administrative trials in disciplinary proceedings for a number of city agencies. In all of those matters, the OATH judge will make findings of fact and recommend a penalty, if the charge is sustained, to the appropriate agency head. The head of each agency has the ultimate authority whether to accept the findings and/or proposed penalty. The NYPD Trial Room adheres to the same legal and administrative standards as OATH.
A blue-ribbon, independent panel found an effective and fair NYPD disciplinary system and implementing its recommendations, the NYPD is improving it every day in every way. These changes will build upon a cadre of recent reforms, including the deployment of body-worn cameras, the dissemination of videos from those cameras and the annual publication of data on discipline, among other things.
A final note: The remaining recommendation by the blue-ribbon panel to fill attorney vacancies is something that awaits funding, though the NYPD is actively recruiting, interviewing and processing applicants to fill these jobs.
Bronx Man Charged With 2017 Murder Of Joshua Lopez
Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Peter C. Fitzhugh, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), and Dermot Shea, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), today announced a Superseding Indictment in United States v. Scales, et al. 19 Cr. 96 (JSR). In the initial indictment, unsealed on February 21, 2019, defendant SYDNEY SCALES, a/k/a “Sid,” a/k/a “Moe Black,” was charged with conspiracy to commit murder for hire, as well as narcotics and firearms offenses. A second defendant on the Indictment, ERNEST HORGE, a/k/a “Ern,” a/k/a “Mac,” was charged with narcotics and firearms offenses. In the Superseding Indictment, SCALES is charged with causing another person to shoot at rival drug dealers on June 9, 2017, in the vicinity of 1135 East Tremont Avenue in the Bronx, New York, causing the death of Joshua Lopez. SCALES and HORGE are also charged in the Superseding Indictment with engaging in multiple specific drug sales between November 2018 and February 2019, in addition to the narcotics conspiracy charged in the initial indictment. The case is proceeding before U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff.
Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “As alleged in the Superseding Indictment, Sydney Scales was responsible for the murder of Joshua Lopez. Thanks to the outstanding work of our law enforcement partners at HSI and the NYPD, Scales is now charged in federal court for this terrible crime.”
HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Peter C. Fitzhugh said: “The murder of a bystander during a drug-related shooting is a disturbing crime against the people of this City. Scales and Horge are charged with serious narcotics and firearms offenses that caused great harm the community, and ultimately resulted in the tragic loss of a young man’s life. HSI and its law enforcement partners remain committed to ridding our streets of armed and violent drug traffickers, and to doing justice for victims of such senseless violence.”
According to the allegations in the Superseding Indictment[1]:
Between in or about 2016 and in or about 2019, SCALES and HORGE participated in a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine, cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and marijuana in the Bronx and elsewhere. SCALES and HORGE also used, carried, and possessed firearms, which were brandished and discharged, in connection with the narcotics conspiracy, and aided and abetted such firearms offenses. In addition, in or about June 2017, SCALES conspired to commit murder for hire, agreeing to compensate another individual in return for locating and killing at least one rival drug dealer. On the night of June 9, 2017, SCALES caused another person to shoot at rival drug dealers, but the shooter missed the targets and hit Joshua Lopez, causing Lopez’s death.
SCALES, 41, and HORGE, 50, face maximum sentences 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 defendants will be determined by the judge.
Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of HSI and the NYPD.
The charges contained in the Indictments are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Superseding Indictment, and the description of the Superseding Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Governor Cuomo Announces Restaurants, Bars & Other SLA-licensed Entities Must Close In-person Service From 10 PM to 5 AM Daily
Delivery and Curbside Pick-Up without Alcohol May Continue After 10 PM
Indoor and Outdoor Gatherings at Private Residences Will Be Limited to 10 People
Gyms Also Required to Close Daily at 10 PM Statewide
New Rules Effective Friday at 10 PM
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced new COVID-19 restrictions on bars, restaurants, gyms and residential gatherings in New York State.
Effective Friday at 10 p.m., bars, restaurants and gyms or fitness centers, as well as any State Liquor Authority-licensed establishment, will be required to close from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily. Restaurants will still be allowed to provide curbside, food-only pick-up or delivery after 10 p.m., but will not be permitted to serve alcohol to go. The State Liquor Authority will issue further guidance for licensees as to what sales are continued to be permitted.
The Governor also announced that indoor and outdoor gatherings at private residences will be limited to no more than 10 people. The limit will be implemented due to the recent prevalence of COVID spread resulting from small indoor gatherings including Halloween parties. These gatherings have become a major cause of cluster activity across the state. Further, this public health measure brings New York State in line with neighboring states including Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. This new rule is also effective Friday at 10 p.m.
"If you look at where the cases are coming from, if you do the contact tracing, you'll see they're coming from three main areas: establishments where alcohol is served, gyms, and indoor gatherings at private homes," Governor Cuomo said. "The reason we have been successful in reducing the spread in New York is we have been a step ahead of COVID. You know where it's going; stop it before it gets there. And you know where it's going by following the science. This is the calibration that we've talked about: increase economic activity, watch the positivity rate - if the positivity rate starts to go up, back off on the economic activity. It was never binary -- economic activity or public health -- it was always both."
Governor Cuomo continued: "The rules are only as good as the enforcement. Local governments are in charge of enforcement. There are only two fundamental truths in this situation: it's individual discipline and it's government enforcement. Period. End of sentence. I need the local governments to enforce this."
The Governor took these actions amid a widespread increase in cases throughout the nation and an increase in New York, which was expected moving into the fall and winter seasons.