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Bronx Politics and Community events
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New York City Mayor Eric Adams today released the following statement after the New York City Council voted to pass Intro. 586-A and Intro. 549-A, two bills that will make the city less safe:
“The New York City Council has taken action today that, if implemented, will unquestionably make our city less safe.
“Since day one, our administration has made public safety our top priority, and we have delivered results: Overall crime is down, shootings are down, and New Yorkers are safer than they were two years ago. The bills passed today will undermine two years of progress.
“When I was a police officer, I fought for transparency and against abusive policing tactics that targeted communities like the one where I grew up. Intro. 586-A would not advance those goals — it will slow down police response times and divert our officers from responding to emergency incidents. In every City Council district in this city, our officers will be forced to spend more time in their cars and on their phones, and less time walking the streets and engaging with New Yorkers. And as the city faces significant budget challenges, with an unprecedented $7 billion gap that must be closed next month by law, the City Council’s choice to pass this bill will mean millions of dollars in additional overtime costs that will force us to make further painful cuts.
“At the same time, our administration has achieved significant reductions in key indicators of violence in our correction system. And we have been clear: Our administration does not support solitary confinement in our jails, and New York City has not used the practice for years. But Intro. 549-A will also point us in the wrong direction. Under this bill, the Department of Correction will no longer be able to protect people in custody, or the predominantly Black and Brown union workers charged with their safety, from violent individuals. Furthermore, this bill raises serious potential conflicts with directions that the Department of Correction has received from the federal monitor.
“We are reviewing all options.”
The New York City Comptroller’s Office released a monthly update to its Department of Correction (DOC) Dashboard, available here. This month’s release includes four new charts to the dashboard regarding DOC staffing.
“As we approach 2024, New York City has a lot of work to get done to close Rikers by 2027,” said Comptroller Brad Lander. “Rather than incarcerate all 6000 people awaiting trial, DOC needs to create a more sustainable and targeted approach further reduce the detained population to fit the 3,300 person capacity of the borough-based jails. Although DOC has fewer uniformed officers now due to resignations and retirements in recent years, DOC staffing levels must align proportionally to a significantly smaller jail population when the new borough-based jails are ready to replace Rikers.”
Key monthly DOC metrics show:
Comptroller Lander was the first citywide elected official to call for a federal receiver of Rikers Island in October 2022. The Comptroller’s dashboard, first published in August 2022, monitors pervasive issues in the City’s jails, including staff absenteeism, missed medical appointments, and incidents of violence among detained people and staff. It also tracks the jail population every month and length of stay. The Comptroller’s office publishes data to this dashboard monthly to provide increased transparency and accountability over the City’s jail system.
New York Attorney General Letitia James today sued SiriusXM Radio, Inc. (SiriusXM) for trapping consumers in subscriptions and maintaining deliberately long and burdensome cancellation processes. An investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found that SiriusXM forces its subscribers to call or chat online with an agent to cancel a subscription, then deliberately draws out those interactions as part of its strategy to prevent subscribers from canceling. The OAG also found that the company trains its agents to not take “no” for an answer when customers try to cancel, making it extremely difficult and frustrating for consumers to end their subscriptions. Through this lawsuit, Attorney General James seeks restitution, penalties, and disgorgement from SiriusXM for violating New York’s business laws.
“Having to endure a lengthy and frustrating process to cancel a subscription is a stressful burden no one looks forward to, and when companies make it hard to cancel subscriptions, it’s illegal,” said Attorney General James. “Consumers should be able to cancel a subscription they no longer use or need without any issues, and companies have a legal duty to make their cancellation process easy. New Yorkers can trust that when companies like SiriusXM try to take advantage of them and violate the law, my office will step in to stop them.”
SiriusXM is an audio entertainment company headquartered in New York City and has approximately 35 million subscribers, of which nearly 2 million are New Yorkers. The OAG opened an investigation into the company after hundreds of consumers reported to OAG and other agencies that they could not cancel their subscription. The OAG’s investigation found that the company trains its agents to keep customers on the phone or in the chat for a lengthy six-part conversation that includes asking a series of questions and then pitching the subscriber as many as five retention offers, all to delay cancellation. When customers decline the offers, agents are trained not to take “no” for an answer and to keep bombarding customers with questions or offers until they either relent or become frustrated.
According to SiriusXM’s own data, it takes subscribers an average of 11.5 minutes to cancel by phone, and 30 minutes to cancel online, although for many subscribers it takes far longer. Subscribers often spend substantial time waiting to be connected with an agent, with wait times that regularly reach more than 20 minutes for online chat agents. Despite these long wait times, OAG found that the company can cancel a customer's subscription with a simple click of a button, or even allow customers to do so themselves.
In affidavits submitted to OAG, consumers described how difficult it was to cancel subscriptions they no longer used or wished to pay for. In one case, a SiriusXM agent kept a subscriber in a chat for 40 minutes, despite the subscriber’s clear and repeated requests to cancel, according to a log of the chat. And after that, the company continued to charge the customer anyway. When the consumer then filed a complaint, SiriusXM said that it was not able to locate any cancellation request from him. Another complaint — handwritten by a consumer on behalf of her 92-year-old mother — described a maddening phone call with a SiriusXM agent that lasted nearly 40 minutes.
The OAG’s lawsuit charges that SiriusXM violated state and federal laws concerning subscriptions that renew automatically by failing to provide subscribers with a cancellation mechanism that is simple, timely, and easy to use. The OAG’s lawsuit also alleges that SiriusXM engaged in fraud and deception by misleading subscribers seeking to cancel.
Through her lawsuit, Attorney General James seeks full restitution for all impacted subscribers nationwide, including compensation for the time SiriusXM wasted by putting its subscribers through a deliberately lengthy cancellation process. Attorney General James also seeks disgorgement, penalties, and costs, and to require SiriusXM to implement a simple and easy-to-use cancellation process.
Attorney General James asks any consumers who have been affected by SiriusXM’s cancellation practices, or the deceptive or fraudulent cancellation practices of any other automatic-renewal service, to file a consumer complaint online.
Nation-Leading Public Health Legislation Builds On And Surpasses Federal Standards for Lead Pipe Notification
Legislation S.5512/A.6115 Requires Public Water Systems to take Service Line Inventories and Make Information Available to the Public
Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation S.5112/A.6115, also known as the Lead Pipe Right to Know Act, to protect New Yorkers from the extraordinary public health risk posed by lead pipes. The legislation requires making information easily accessible to the public about the number and location of lead pipes so that state and federal resources can be secured and efficiently targeted to support local efforts to remove all lead pipes impacting New York’s drinking water.
“Lead poisoning poses a clear and present danger to the health and well-being of all New Yorkers,” Governor Hochul said. “This nation-leading legislation will protect New Yorkers from lead pipes, which are proven to cause extraordinary harm. I am committed to doing everything in my power to protect the health and well-being of New Yorkers.
Legislation S.5112/A.6115 requires water utilities across the state to publicly share how many lead service lines are present in their distribution system and where those lines are located so that individuals and policymakers can understand the full scale and extent of the lead service line issue.
State Senator Gustavo Rivera said, "I am grateful to Governor Kathy Hochul for signing my Lead Pipe Right to Know Act into law, and cementing New York's position as a leader in enacting progressive climate change legislation. This law will take stock of our state's water pipeline infrastructure and ensure access to clean water to New Yorkers across the State. We must combat environmental injustice and with this law, we will keep our communities healthy and safe.”
EDITOR'S NOTE:
This is good news, but what about the the pipes in the apartment buildings and private homes that may have lead in them. This legislation is only half done.
With Construction One Year Ahead of Schedule, Project Will Deliver First 880 Units of 2,500 Affordable Homes, One Acre of Open Space, Retail Space, and Much-Needed Infrastructure
Transformation at Willets Point Expected to Generate $6.1 Billion in Economic Impact Over 30 Years, Creating 1,550 Permanent and 14,200 Construction Jobs
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Adolfo CarriĆ³n, Jr., New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) President Eric Enderlin, and New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) President & CEO Andrew Kimball today were joined by elected officials and community leaders to break ground on 880 new affordable homes in Willets Point, Queens ― the first phase of the city’s largest 100 percent affordable housing development in 40 years. In partnership with the Queens Development Group (QDG), a joint venture formed by Related Companies and Sterling Equities, the groundbreaking marks the start of construction — more than one year ahead of schedule — for a project that will deliver the first of more than 2,500 affordable homes, roughly 35,000 square feet of new public open space, and significant infrastructure upgrades. The project is projected to generate $6.1 billion in economic impact over the next 30 years, creating 1,550 permanent jobs and 14,200 construction jobs.
“What we are seeing in Willets Point is the future of New York City — a future in which all New Yorkers can afford to live in a safe apartment that is close to a good school, good-paying jobs, outdoor space, and great public transportation,” said Mayor Adams. “Today, we are breaking ground on a once-in-a-generation project and building the largest 100 percent affordable housing development in our city in 40 years. This is all part of our administration’s commitment to tackling our city’s housing and affordability crisis to ensure no child should have to feel the way I did while growing up on the edge of homelessness. I want to thank Borough President Richards, Councilmember Moya, and Queens Community Board 7 for helping us break barriers and cut every extra inch of red tape to build more affordable housing for New Yorkers.”
“Over the decades, many plans for the transformation of Willets Point have been developed but the Adams administration is proud to celebrate what has, for too long, been elusive: rapidly turning those plans into actions that benefit New Yorkers,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Maria Torres-Springer. “This groundbreaking delivers on our promise to accelerate the creation of affordable, new homes on the site as we move full-speed ahead in building a whole new neighborhood with acres of open space, thousands of job opportunities, new retail amenities, major infrastructure upgrades, and a state-of-the art soccer stadium. I want to thank NYCEDC, HPD, and HDC, as well as our partners at Queens Development Group for working tirelessly to finally turn this generations-long dream into reality.”
“With the groundbreaking of Willets Point, we celebrate many overlapping wins: the creation of affordable housing and retail, essentially the delivery of a brand-new neighborhood in New York with affordability at its center; the shoring up of an area in the crosshairs of climate change; and the collaboration of every level of government, along with the private sector, to make it all possible,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi. “This is a model of economic development, urban planning, and infrastructural preparedness that we will be able to take lessons from for a long time.”
“Breaking ground on the largest 100 percent affordable housing development in the past 40 years at Willets Point captures the spirit of our administration’s commitment to making the city more affordable and building new strong communities," said HPD Commissioner CarriĆ³n Jr. "This historic milestone goes beyond just construction; it represents our dedication to creating and supporting vibrant, sustainable neighborhoods — places that foster long-term economic opportunities and welcome families from all backgrounds for generations to come right here in ‘The World’s Borough.’"
“This development will be a game changer for the Willets Point community, with the creation of nearly 900 new affordable homes and retail space that will stimulate economic activity,” said HDC President Enderlin. “Thank you to all our colleagues involved in this transformative effort to deliver much-needed affordable housing and economic opportunity to the residents of Queens.”
“Today’s groundbreaking ceremony is a historic moment for Queens as we begin the construction of the Willets Point transformation and signal the end of the ‘Valley of Ashes,’” said NYCEDC President and CEO Kimball. “In the true spirit of Mayor Adams’ ‘Get Stuff Done,’ we are beginning the development of the largest affordable homes project in a generation one year ahead of schedule, which shows how committed this administration is to addressing affordable housing. We are grateful to all of our city and elected officials for their continuous support, and especially grateful to our development partners QDG for their tremendous work and dedication on this development.”
“Willets Point is a perfect example of just how transformative good planning can be,” said New York City Department of City Planning Director Dan Garodnick. “Starting with today’s groundbreaking, we’ll turn this corner of Queens into a truly dynamic neighborhood that will provide thousands of income-restricted homes, good-paying jobs, open space, and more for New Yorkers. That’s a big win that we can all be proud of.”
“A just transition must not leave anyone behind, and the people in these new, affordable homes will live in all-electric, energy-efficient buildings that help the city and state advance their world-leading climate goals,” said Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice Executive Director Elijah Hutchinson. “The transformation of Willets Point will also create improved flooding infrastructure to help mitigate the impacts of climate change, and it will expand open space for Queens residents who need areas for community-building, connection, and play.”
“Today, we’re solidifying the mayor’s commitment to build 100 percent affordable homes on the first six acres of development at Willets Point for New Yorkers, and as part of the redevelopment, the SCA will build a state-of-the-art school with approximately 650 seats for the children who will call Willets Point and the surrounding communities home,” said New York City School Construction Authority (SCA) President and CEO Nina Kubota. “These 650 seats are part of the more than 24,000 seats we are adding to Queens as part of our current and upcoming capital plans.”
Today’s groundbreaking marks a historic milestone in the transformation of Willets Point — a neighborhood that will be anchored by a total of 2,500 new affordable homes, a 650-seat standalone public school, New York City’s first-ever soccer-specific stadium, over 100,000 square feet of public open space, a 250-room hotel, and neighborhood-serving ground-floor retail space that will create good-paying jobs for community residents. The first phase of Willets Point features two mid-rise buildings that will include 880 units of 100 percent affordable homes, with 40 percent of the units at or below 60 percent of area median income, including 15 percent of the units set aside for households for those formerly experiencing homelessness. Amenities will include a landscaped inner courtyard, in-building laundry, tenant lounge space with access to outdoor terraces, bicycle storage, ground floor retail shops, and other community facilities. Additionally, the buildings will be all-electric, achieve LEED Gold certification, and comply with Local Law 97 through high-performance glazing, high-efficiency HVAC systems, an electric hot water plant, an insulated envelope, energy star appliances, and low-emission mobility options for residents, such as bike storage and electric vehicle charging.
Construction on the first 880 units is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, and 220 additional affordable homes set aside for low-income seniors are expected to break ground next in the Willets Point transformation. The city and its development partner, QDG, have undertaken significant environmental remediation of the formerly contaminated soil, which has been completed across a majority of the project site as of July 2023. Wells Fargo’s Community Lending and Investment arranged a total of $360 million in financing for phase one of the project with a $236.5 million construction loan and $123.5 million Low-Income Housing Tax Credit investment.
While the first phase of housing construction is underway, the city and QDG have already commenced the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) certification process for the second phase of neighborhood transformation, which will bring an additional 1,400 units of affordable housing, the new hotel, and the soccer stadium that will be 100-percent privately financed and seat up to 25,000 spectators.
The neighborhood will additionally feature infrastructure investments, including new streets, signage, sidewalks, curbs, trees, lights, draining, stormwater management, water main/hydrants, sewers, utilities, and will elevate the site out of the flood plains. Once complete, the Willets Point transformation will bring significant long-term economic opportunity to a community that has long been underserved.
“Wells Fargo is proud to partner with The Related Companies, Sterling Equities, and the City of New York, to help develop one of the largest affordable housing projects in New York City in the past 40 years,” said Alan Wiener, vice chairman of commercial real estate, Wells Fargo. “By leveraging our debt and equity platforms, we are honored to be part of a project that has the power to change lives, and one that will be a game-changer for thousands of families in Queens for generations to come.
“Breaking ground on the first affordable housing units at Willets Point is a milestone that will both define and secure our city’s future. We are grateful to our partners, led by Mayor Adams, EDC, HPD, and the entire administration. Together, we are transforming this neighborhood into a community that thousands of families will call home for generations to come,” said Jeff Blau, CEO, Related Companies, and Gregory Katz, partner, Sterling Equities, on behalf of Queens Development Group. “Willets Point is the ultimate example of what happens when public-private partnerships buckle down, work hard, and come up with solutions to solve the critical issues facing our city.”
“Today’s groundbreaking for phase one of the larger Willets Point project is an important step in fortifying this community's future,” said Brad Sims, CEO, New York City Football Club. “We’re proud to be part of a development that will bring much-needed affordable housing to Queens, create a vibrant Willets Point community, and serve the needs of thousands of New Yorkers.”
“The transformation of Willets Point represents an incredible opportunity for Queens and our entire city,” said Tom Grech, president and CEO, Queens Chamber of Commerce. “We are proud to be here alongside Mayor Adams and his team to break ground on a historic investment in much-needed affordable housing and are thrilled that the project is one year ahead of schedule! We look forward to continuing to work with the Adams administration, NYCEDC, HPD, HDC, and others to further support this important project that will create jobs and catalyze economic activity that lifts up local businesses.”
Permits have been filed for a seven-story mixed-use building at 2303 Prospect Avenue in Belmont, The Bronx. Located between East 183rd Street and East 187th Street, the lot is near the East 180th Street subway station, serviced by the 2 and 5 trains. Gil Broitman of Brooklyn Grid is listed as the owner behind the applications.
The proposed 64-foot-tall development will yield 23,086 square feet, with 19,811 square feet designated for residential space and 3,275 square feet for commercial space. The building will have 28 residences, most likely rentals based on the average unit scope of 707 square feet. The concrete-based structure will also have a cellar and eight open parking spaces.
Gerald Caliendo Architects is listed as the architect of record.
Demolition permits have not been filed yet. An estimated completion date has not been announced.