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Tuesday, February 8, 2022
Bronx Metro-North Station Area Study - MTA accepting submissions for art at four new stations
NYS Office of the Comptroller - NYS Common Retirement Fund Reports Third Quarter Results
The New York State Common Retirement Fund’s (Fund) estimated return in the third quarter of the State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2021-22 was 4.74% for the three-month period ending Dec. 31, 2021, according to New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. It ended the quarter with an estimated value of $279.7 billion.
“A strong third quarter kept our state pension fund on track, despite ongoing market volatility,” DiNapoli said. “Our focus, as always, remains long-term, sustainable investment returns that will ensure our members and their beneficiaries continue to have secure pensions for generations to come.”
The Fund's estimated value reflects benefits of $3.62 billion paid out to retirees and beneficiaries during the quarter. Its audited value, as of fiscal year end March 31, 2021, was $258.1 billion and the SFY 2020-21 annual return was 33.55%.
As of Dec. 31, 2021, the Fund had 51.38% of its assets invested in publicly traded equities. The remaining Fund assets by allocation are invested in cash, bonds and mortgages (22.37%), private equity (12.36%), real estate and real assets (8.52%) and credit, absolute return strategies and opportunistic alternatives (5.37%).
DiNapoli initiated quarterly investment performance reporting in 2009 as part of his ongoing efforts to increase accountability and transparency. Quarterly rates of return provide a snapshot of performance over three months and reflect a fraction of the Fund’s annual investment return, which is targeted at 5.9%.
About the New York State Common Retirement Fund
The New York State Common Retirement Fund is one of the largest public pension funds in the United States. The Fund holds and invests the assets of the New York State and Local Retirement System on behalf of more than one million state and local government employees and retirees and their beneficiaries. The Fund has consistently been ranked as one of the best managed and best funded plans in the nation. The Fund's fiscal year ends March 31.
BCEQ and Friends Comment on new NYC Parks Commissioners
Bronx Council for Environmental Quality and Other Friends on the appointment of the Department of Parks and Recreation Commissioner Susan Donoghue & First Deputy Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa
Bronx Council for Environmental Quality (BCEQ) congratulates Mayor Eric Adams as he appointed two highly qualified executives who are also women to the Department of Parks and Recreation: Commissioner Susan M. Donoghue, and as her First Deputy Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa. Susan Donoghue is the President and Parks Administrator of the Prospect Park Alliance; and Iris Rodriguez-Rosa is the beloved Bronx Parks Commissioner.
“Congratulations to Commissioner Donoghue and First Deputy Commissioner Rodriguez-Rosa. We look forward to working with your leadership team to bring equity to the Bronx in terms of personnel, maintenance and capital improvements.” stated Chauncy Young, BCEQ Board Member.
Dr. Robert Fanuzzi, BCEQ President, commented: “With the appointments of Susan Donoghue as Parks Commissioner and Iris Rodriguez-Rosa as First Deputy, Mayor Adams choose two leaders who make parks the centerpiece of a healthy, resilient communities. Having worked closely with Commissioner Rodriguez-Rosa, we know first-hand what a difference a community-minded parks leader can make. We are Bronx parks champions, and look forward to working closely with Commissioner Donoghue and First Deputy to make sure all the health, environmental, and civic benefits of clean, green parks reach all our communities.”
Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz said: "Our parks are an integral part of what makes our community here in the north and northwest Bronx special, and it is wonderfully exciting to welcome our new Parks Commissioner Donoghue as well as the Bronx's own Iris Rodriguez-Rosa as the First Deputy Commissioner. Congratulations, and I look forward to an accomplished and dedicated set of partners to work with on behalf of Bronxites and all New Yorkers."
“Today is a great day for NYC Parks as two extraordinary women were selected for leadership roles. I look forward to getting to know and working with Commissioner Donoghue. While I will miss having Commissioner Rodriguez-Rosa in the Bronx with us, I know she will be able to do even more for our parks in her new role,” said Christina Taylor, BCEQ Board Member.
“Iris has the ability to get down in the weeds and work with volunteer parks groups while still seeing the big picture and knowing how and when to say no. The city is lucky to have her experience and the Bronx is lucky to have her voice at the table,” remarked Deb Travis, Jerome Park Friends & Neighbors.
“We thank Mayor Adams for promoting from within the ranks of the Parks Department. These two qualified candidates who also happen to be women have the knowledge and experience of Parks Leadership so critically needed in these days of budget cuts. We are all excited for Iris Rodriguez-Rosa who is a stella administrator with a keen understanding of the Bronx inequities in all City agency’s service delivery. Remember the Bronx needs more than a fair share because we are so far behind at 62 of the 62 NYS counties in health outcomes and factors since 2009,” said Karen Argenti, BCEQ Board Member.
Formed in 1971, BCEQ has sought to establish — as an Inherent Human Right — a sound, forward-looking environmental policy regarding an aesthetic, unpolluted, environment protecting a natural and historic heritage. An all-volunteer organization celebrating 50 years of environmental advocacy, BCEQ goal is to advocate for improving water quality, developing waterfront greenways and recreational uses, and restoring shoreline natural habitats, among others.
MAYOR ADAMS NAMES BOARD MEMBER ARVA RICE AS INTERIM CHAIR OF THE CCRB
The Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) today announced that Arva Rice has been named interim chair of the Board. Chair Rice will preside over the CCRB’s February Board meeting this Wednesday at 4:00pm and deliver her first remarks and vision as interim chair.
“Arva Rice has been a champion for equity and justice throughout her career, and we know she will continue her long career of successful advocacy as CCRB Interim Chair,” said Mayor Adams. “Civilian oversight is critical to achieving the safety we need and the justice we deserve, and I know Interim Chair Rice will be an important partner in delivering both for all New Yorkers.”
“After decades working to make New York City a fairer, more equitable, and safer city, I am honored to use my expertise to lead the CCRB into its next chapter,” said CCRB Interim Chair Arva Rice. “It is a privilege to have an even greater opportunity to serve this city and continue efforts to make it a safer and more just place for all New Yorkers. Former CCRB Chair, Fred Davie, and the rest of the board have made great strides in the last several years and I hope to build on this momentum and continue to push the Agency forward.”
About Arva Rice
Arva Rice serves as interim chair of the CCRB. She joined the CCRB Board in 2021. As president & CEO of the New York Urban League, Chair Rice leads the mission to enable underserved communities to secure a first-class education, economic self-reliance and equal respect of their civil rights through programs, services and advocacy. Prior to joining the League, she served as the executive director of Project Enterprise, an organization that provides business loans, technical assistance and peer support to New York City entrepreneurs who lack adequate access to business financing. Aside from her decades serving and uplifting New Yorkers, she also has extensive experience in collaboration building, strategic planning, fundraising and marketing.
Before joining the CCRB, Chair Rice was a key leader in drafting the Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative Plan, a department wide reform initiative passed by the City Council in March of last year.
Chair Rice served under the last administration as a commissioner for the NYC Equal Employment Practices Commission and the Commission for Gender Equity. She is also a member of the Women’s Forum and Greater New York Chapter of The Links Incorporated.
FORMER CEO OF CITY-FUNDED BRONX PARENT HOUSING NETWORK PLEADS GUILTY TO CONSPIRACY TO ENRICH HIMSELF IN A BRIBERY AND KICKBACK SCHEME
Daniel G. Cort, Acting Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”), issued a statement on today’s guilty plea entered by VICTOR RIVERA on a charge of conspiring to enrich himself through bribes and kickbacks provided to him by contractors of the Bronx Parent Housing Network (“BPHN”), the City-funded nonprofit he once ran. RIVERA pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud. U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein accepted his plea in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. His sentencing date was scheduled for May 6, 2022. DOI investigated this matter in partnership with the office of Damian Williams, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Acting Commissioner Daniel G. Cort said, “Instead of protecting the City-funded nonprofit he once ran, this defendant abused his power, using the nonprofit as a hub for his illicit scheme – drawing bribes and kickbacks from the contractors doing business related to and for the organization and yielding hundreds of thousands of dollars in illicit gains. This type of corruption puts a financial strain on publicly-funded nonprofits and undermines the services for some of the most vulnerable New Yorkers. I am grateful for the partnership of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York on this important investigation and for their successful prosecution of this matter.”
RIVERA, 61, of Stony Point, New York, was charged in March 2021 with engaging in a scheme to enrich himself and his relatives by soliciting and accepting bribes and kickbacks from contractors doing work related to or for the nonprofit that he ran. (RIVERA is no longer employed by BPHN). That nonprofit operates homeless shelters, and affordable housing facilities in New York City and annually spent millions of dollars in public funds on real estate, security, cleaning, construction, and food expenses, among other costs related to the housing and social services the nonprofit provided. Between 2013 and 2020, the illegal scheme yielded RIVERA at least hundreds of thousands of dollars in illicit gains. RIVERA laundered some of the corrupt payments through intermediary entities he controlled, including through a purported consulting company nominally owned by one of RIVERA’s relatives.
Acting Commissioner Cort thanked U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams, and his staff, for their partnership and successful prosecution of this matter.
The investigation was prosecuted by the Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises Unit at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, specifically Assistant United States Attorneys David Abramowicz and Tara La Morte.
DOI’s investigation was conducted in partnership with Special Agents of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
NYC PUBLIC ADVOCATE RELEASES RECOMMENDATIONS TO REFORM NYCHA'S FAILING REPAIRS PROCESS AMID ONGOING HEAT AND HOT WATER OUTAGES
Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams today released a series of recommendations aimed at reforming the inadequate and inefficient repairs process for the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). The announcement came after the Public Advocate toured the homes of several tenants at Fort Independence Houses in the Bronx, where there have been extensive heat and hot water outages this winter. The Public Advocate has consistently named NYCHA as the worst landlord in New York City.
“NYCHA is the worst landlord in the city – the heating and hot water outages at Fort Independence Houses and across the five boroughs are at once entirely unacceptable and entirely predictable given NYCHA’s history of mismanagement and chronic underfunding,” said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams after the tour. “The recommendations we are putting forth today to reform NYCHA’s repair process will help allow for better communication with and better conditions for tenants. The city has an obligation here and across the city to provide safe, quality housing– an obligation they fail to live up to far too often, and one that I believe these proposals are an important part of finally meeting.”
The process by which NYCHA records and redresses violations and tenant complaints is often slow and ineffective, with tenants left in the dark about the status of repairs or ongoing issues. In addition, when repairs are conducted, they are frequently through temporary solutions which quickly fail, often without adequate follow-up from the agency.
In order to improve both the means by which violations are addressed and the communications NYCHA has with tenants about repairs, the Public Advocate proposed the following recommended reforms:
Create a grading system where the most serious cases are prioritized and get resolved within a shorter period of time.
- This can be modeled after HPD’s classification system:
- Class A - Non-hazardous
- Class B - Hazardous
- Class C - Immediately Hazardous
Tenants should sign off in agreement that work has been completed before a ticket is closed.
- The current ticketing system does not lead to a timely response to tenants’ urgent complaints. Often, they are closed and reopened without reason and without tenant knowledge.
Better inform and update residents of issues requiring lengthy repairs, beyond posting notices in the lobby with real community outreach.
- Residents do not feel that NYCHA fully informs them of necessary repairs. NYCHA should hold town hall meetings with residents for periodic, transparent updates.
Investigate substandard repairs, including the contractors directly and hold them accountable.
- NYCHA’s inability to track repairs can impact its work to manage problems, allocate resources, and conduct necessary changes. NYCHA needs to investigate all substandard repairs with a reliable tracker system.
Tenants who are converted to private management under Rental Assistance Demonstration need to be provided clear guidance on how to file complaints.
- RAD, also known as Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) in New York City, shifts housing from Section 9 to Section 8 or a section that funds private landlords. Once under PACT, tenants no longer have access to NYCHA resources or federal oversight mechanisms.
- Residents are sent between NYCHA, 311, and the management office with no solution.
Forensic audit of funds allocated and used for repairs
- In conjunction with investigating poor repairs, NYCHA must also conduct forensic audits of funds allocated and used for repairs. Without an adequate tracker of repairs to be made, it is hard for NYCHA to determine how to distribute funds for repairs.
The Public Advocate further announced that his office would be touring complexes in each of the five boroughs in the coming days and speaking with tenants about both the specific and citywide needs for change. NYCHA has historically faced crises of underfunding and mismanagement that create unacceptable conditions for thousands of tenants across the city.
View the full recommendations to reform the repair process here. Photos and video of the event will be made available here.
Monday, February 7, 2022
Alessandra Biaggi - I'm running for Congress.
Friend, I wanted you to be one of the first to know:
I am running to be the next member of Congress from New York’s 3rd district. I’ll explain the stakes of this race, and why I’m running, in just a second — but first, I’d like to ask:
(Contribution Plea taken out)
Now, I won’t lie to you — this will be a difficult race. When you prioritize your constituents and your values ahead of the political and corporate establishment in New York, you make a few enemies along the way.
This will also be a crowded primary, with a number of our opponents raising significant sums of money to win.
(Contribution Plea taken out again)
And, of course, our campaign is people powered, meaning that much of our funding will come from emails just like this one. That’s how we’re able to ensure that we’re accountable to you, not billionaires and special interests.
Thank you for reading. In the coming days, we’ll be reaching out with more information about our vision for NY-03, and how you can get involved with the campaign.
All my best,
Alessandra
Editor's Note:
We took out all references to any request for campaign contributions.
NYS COMPTROLLER DiNAPOLI SEEKS ANSWERS FROM COMPANIES ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
Shareholder Proposals Filed at Activision Blizzard, Tesla and Starbucks
New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, as trustee of the New York State Common Retirement Fund (Fund), has filed shareholder proposals with portfolio companies Activision Blizzard Inc., Tesla Inc. and Starbucks Corp. requesting they report on their efforts to prevent harassment and discrimination against employees and steps taken to improve workforce management.
“No one should be subjected to sexual harassment, racial discrimination or bias in the workplace,” DiNapoli said. “When companies turn a blind eye to abuse by their executives, managers, employees and customers, they perpetuate the harm and put investors at risk. These three companies have all had sexual harassment or racial discrimination controversies and we are seeking a full accounting of what they are doing to stop these abhorrent behaviors and what it’s costing the companies.”
The proposals ask the companies to disclose, among other things:
- The total number and aggregate dollar amount of disputes settled by the company related to sexual abuse or harassment or discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation; and
- The average length of time it takes to resolve harassment complaints and the total number of pending harassment or discrimination complaints the company is trying to resolve internally or through litigation.
Beyond the pain and suffering they cause, the proposals note that civil rights violations within the workplace can result in substantial costs to companies, including fines and penalties, legal costs, absenteeism, and reduced productivity. A company’s failure to properly manage its workforce can also tarnish its public image, make it more difficult to retain and recruit employees, and jeopardize relationships with customers and partners.
At Activision Blizzard, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing’s investigation resulted in litigation alleging discrimination, retaliation and unequal pay. The department estimates the company's total liability to 2,500 allegedly injured employees to be $930 million. News reports have detailed alleged sexual abuse, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation directed toward employees for years. Recently, Microsoft announced plans to acquire Activision Blizzard. The Fund will continue to monitor developments related to the acquisition. It remains imperative that workers’ concerns are addressed, and executives held accountable for any wrongdoing.
Tesla has been the subject of news reports and allegations of gender and race discrimination, harassment and retaliation. In October 2021, a California jury returned a $137 million verdict, including $130 million in punitive damages, against Tesla for its racially hostile work environment.
Starbucks recently resolved allegations made by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over alleged racial bias in its employee promotions. There have also been news reports of allegations and lawsuits claiming that the company failed to protect employees from discrimination and harassment.
About the New York State Common Retirement Fund
The New York State Common Retirement Fund is one of the largest public pension funds in the United States with assets of approximately $267.8 billion as of Sept. 30, 2021. The Fund holds and invests the assets of the New York State and Local Retirement System on behalf of more than one million state and local government employees and retirees and their beneficiaries. It has consistently been ranked as one of the best managed and best funded plans in the nation.