DE BLASIO ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES NEW MEASURES TO EXPEDITE NYCHA HEATING SYSTEM UPGRADES BY UP TO 20 MONTHS

City presses for Design-Build from State, which would save an additional 12 to 15 months on these repairs

The de Blasio Administration today announced measures to expedite major heating upgrades at public housing by 8 to 20 months, depending on the size of the project. In January, the Mayor announced $200 million in heating system upgrades at 20 developments experiencing chronic outages. The Administration conducted a review of NYCHA’s capital program and will make the scoping and design, procurement and construction processes more efficient. The City is also pressing the State to grant Design-Build authority, which would save an additional 12 to 15 months on these upgrades.

 “Our investment in new heating systems goes right to the heart of the biggest problems NYCHA residents face, and will make a difference thousands of them will feel,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “We are cutting through red tape to expedite these critically needed repairs for tenants, and urge our state partners to do the same by authorizing design-build immediately.”

“This interagency partnership is about looking at how we can all work smarter and more collaboratively in support of New York City residents,” said NYCHA Chair and CEO Shola Olatoye. “With the Mayor’s investment and commitments from our city agency partners, we are able to bring better quality heat service to 45,000 New Yorkers much faster. This is a tremendous effort from everyone involved.”

The Administration reviewed NYCHA’s capital program and identified several ways to expedite repairs by 8 to 20 months, depending on the size of the heating system, including:

1. Design Phase: NYCHA will provide estimated load calculations to engineers to minimize pre-design services. They have also committed to reviewing fewer submissions from designers, and will create a single standard specification to streamline design. These steps will shave 6 months off what is normally a year long process. 
2. Procurement:  NYCHA is seeking authority from the NYCHA Board to delegate authority for awarding contracts ahead of Board approval; the Board would ratify the contracts. This would cut 30 – 45 days each time a contract is awarded.
3. Construction & Commissioning: DEP has agreed to expedite review and approval of NYCHA installations for usages, saving 3 weeks. NYCHA will also work with DOB to streamline the inspection and approval processes.

 

Since 2014, NYCHA has committed nearly $300 million in HUD funds to upgrade heating and plumbing at 100 developments. Also, more than $100 million of the $3 billion FEMA grant for Sandy Recovery and Resilience will fund replacement of 67 boilers at 17 developments, and NYCHA’s three in-progress Energy Performance Contracts include more than $40 million in heating-related improvements.

The de Blasio Administration has made an unprecedented commitment to preserve and strengthen public housing. This latest investment brings the Administration’s total commitment to $2.1 billion to support NYCHA’s capital infrastructure from Fiscal Year 2014 to Fiscal Year 2027 and $1.6 billion to support NYCHA’s operations from Fiscal Year 2014 to Fiscal Year 2022. This investment includes $1.3 billion to fix over 900 roofs, over $500 million to repair deteriorating exterior brickwork at nearly 400 buildings, and $140 million to improve security at 15 NYCHA developments.  The City waived NYCHA’s annual PILOT and NYPD payments to the City, relieving NYCHA of nearly $100 million in operating expenses a year. In January 2018, the Mayor announced $13 million to improve NYCHA’s response to heating emergencies this winter.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

This announcement came out at the time the State Senators Jeff Klein and Marcia Alcantara of the Independent Democratic Conference of the State Senate were holding a press conference on the 'Mold Crisis in NYCHA' right across from City Hall.   

The IDC will be advocating for legislation for the state to declare a state of emergency at NYCHA and for design build in NYCHA buildings to expedite repairs.

MAYOR DE BLASIO APPOINTS TWO JUDGES TO CIVIL COURT

  Mayor de Blasio announced the appointment of two interim Civil Court judges. These judges have a wealth of experience in the public and private sectors and are uniquely qualified to serve all New Yorkers.

"These judges bring a unique perspective to the court and I am confident they will work tirelessly to serve the people of New York," said Mayor de Blasio. 

CIVIL COURT

Judge Jeffrey Gershuny

Judge Gershuny served as a Supervising Court Attorney in Criminal Court, New York County for seven years, before becoming the Chief Counsel to the Administrative Judge of New York City Criminal Court. Judge Gershuny received his undergraduate degree from SUNY Binghamton University and his law degree from Hofstra University Law School. Judge Gershuny is appointed to Civil Court and will be serving in Criminal Court.

Judge Adam Perlmutter

Judge Perlmutter has been practicing criminal law for 22 years as a prosecutor with the Queens County District Attorney’s Office, a solo practitioner, and a partner in various firms, most recently at Perlmutter & McGuinness, PC. Judge Perlmutter received his undergraduate degree from Columbia University and his law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School. Judge Perlmutter is appointed to Civil Court and will be serving in Criminal Court.

Congressman Eliot Engel to Trump Administration: Hands Off the 9/11 Health Program

Congressman Eliot L. Engel, an original cosponsor of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, joined Members of Congress from the Tri-State Area to call on the Trump Administration to halt its efforts to separate the World Trade Center Health Program from the National Institute of Occupation Safety and Health (NIOSH).

The World Trade Center Health Program ensures that Americans suffering from debilitating conditions as a result of exposure to toxins from the 9/11 terrorist attacks do not bear any of the financial costs related to those conditions. The Program has afforded medical care to more than 83,000 9/11 survivors and first responders.

In the letter, the Members criticize the Administration for failing to consult with stakeholders, or to recognize the expertise NIOSH staff brings to the Program.

The Members write, “None of the Office of Management and Budget documents describe how the WTC Health Program would be untangled from NIOSH, nor do they address how this change would be achieved without negatively impacting the health of the 9/11 responders and survivors who rely on the WTC Health Program.”

“We have a responsibility to do everything in our power to care for the heroes of 9/11,” Engel said. “We fought an obstructionist Congress for years to ensure survivors and first responders are afforded the care and compensation they deserve, and we must continue fighting to make sure the World Trade Center Health Program is working as we promised it would.”

The full text of the letter is available here.

STATEMENT FROM BOROUGH PRESIDENT DIAZ RE: Specialized High School Admissions Test Results

   

"The results of this year's Specialized High School Admissions Test are extremely disheartening, and make it crystal clear that this city has a long way to go before it can claim it provides parity in accelerated education to all communities. The percentage of Black and Latino students accepted to the city's specialized high schools actually decreased this year. 

 

"A path to true excellence in education begins at the earliest levels and must be fostered throughout a student's career. All students, no matter where they live, must be provided equal access to gifted and talented education at the earliest levels. A single test must not be the only source of admission to our best public high schools. One's socio-economic background, race, neighborhood or borough must no longer determine the quality of a public education.," said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

In May 2012, Borough President Diaz issued “An Action Plan for Fixing the Specialized High School Admissions Process.” That report can be read athttp://on.nyc.gov/2I8COLb.

In June 2017, Borough President Diaz and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams released a new report, titled “Fixing the Pipeline: Solutions to Disparities in Gifted Education in New York City,” outlining multiple recommendations for the future of gifted and talented education at all levels in New York City’s public schools. That report can be read at http://on.nyc.gov/2IbBLKB.http://on.nyc.gov/2IbBLKB.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

We agree 100 Percent with Bronx BP Diaz Jr., and we say just look at the graduation rates recently released by Mayor Bill de Blasio. Those results showed that Bronx students were still behind their citywide counterparts when it came to just graduating high school.

It is no wonder that in a borough of mostly Black and Latino students that Bronx students are not getting accepted into specialized high schools, but we urge the Bronx BP to look at the quality of education that Bronx students are getting at the elementary and the middle school levels in the Bronx. As one mother said at a school board meeting twenty years, the school she went to had failed her, and was now failing her child. Unfortunately that same school is probably now failing her grandchildren. 

Please Join NYC Council Member Mark Gjonaj for a Cocktail Fundraiser in Support of Nathalia Fernandez

Dear Friend,

In a time of need, our community deserves an Assembly member who will fight to improve our quality of life, support our local businesses, and ensure that our children attend great schools. Your representative must do everything they can to protect our seniors, children, and our most vulnerable residents in New York. 

I will to be that representative this district deserves. 

My experience working in the State Legislature, in the Assembly and later in the Executive Chamber combined with my with my strong relationships in this community, has prepared me to be an effective representative on day one.

My commitment, first and foremost, will be to you. I will be an accessible representative who will always be available to assist in resolving community issues. The well-bring of my district is my top priority. But I can't do this alone. By working together we can make our neighborhoods even stronger.

As such, I would like to invite you to my first fundraiser on Thursday, March 15th at F & J Pine, 1913 Bronxdale Ave, Bronx, NY 10462.

Please encourage and invite your friends, neighbors, and colleagues to attend as well. Please see the attached flyer for full details. I would love the chance to speak to you further about my campaign and my vision for our community.

Only with your full support will we be able to win this election. Please consider making a donation even if you are unable to attend. If you have any questions, please contact me at fernandez4ny@gmail.com.

Sincere Regards, 

Thursday, March 15, 2018

6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

The Pine

1913 Bronxdale Avenue

Bronx, NY 10462

Suggested Donation:

Friend: $100.00 ..........,,,,..Supporter: $250.00,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Patron: $500.00 ................Benefactor: $1000.00.......................

Sponsor: $2500.00...............

Please make checks payable to: Fernandez For New York 2199 Cruger Avenue, Apt. 4# Bronx, NY 10462. Fernandez For New York may accept contributions from individuals, businesses, PACS, Corporations & LLCs. Donations are not tax deductible. 

BRONX MAN TO GET 15 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR FATALLY SHOOTING MAN FOLLOWING FIGHT

Defendant Pleaded Guilty To Murder

  Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx man has pleaded guilty to second-degree Murder for fatally shooting a man he was fighting with and will be sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. 

  District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant escalated a senseless brawl, causing the death of a man who lingered in pain from his injuries for over a month. We hope this sentence serves as a reminder that we will not tolerate gun violence and will continue to work to make our community safer.” 

 District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Frank Ellis, 50, pleaded guilty today to second-degree Murder before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Alvin Yearwood and will be sentenced to 15 years to life in prison on March 28, 2018. 

 According to the investigation, on November 7, 2014, inside a store at 2019 Vyse Ave., the defendant was involved in an argument with Candido Lopez, 52. The defendant punched Lopez, left the store and returned a short time later with a firearm. Ellis fired two shots, striking Lopez, and fled. Lopez died of his injuries five weeks later on December 9, 2014. Ellis, who is a mandatory persistent felon, was arrested on April 17, 2015.

 District Attorney Clark thanked Detectives Lincoln Archambeau of the 48th Precinct and Sean O’Leary of the Bronx Homicide Squad, as well as Assistant District Attorney Tala Nazareno of Trial Bureau 20 for their assistance in the case.

Manhattan Man Arrested For Attempting To Hire Hitman To Murder Three Intended Victims

  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced that JOEL ROSQUETTE, a/k/a “Rick,” was arrested today for attempting to hire a hitman to murder three intended victims.  ROSQUETTE was presented today in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “As alleged, Joel Rosquette attempted to hire a hitman to murder two of his neighbors in Manhattan and the owner of a gas station in Staten Island.  Now, thanks to the dedicated work of our partners at the FBI, Rosquette’s plan has been foiled, he is in federal custody, and his intended victims are safe.”

FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said:  “As alleged, Rosquette commissioned a hitman to carry out three murders on his behalf.  In the end, he was fooled by the merits of his own plan. Today, we foiled this murder-for-hire scheme, sparing three innocent lives a most unfortunate fate.”

According to the allegations in the Complaint filed today in Manhattan federal court[1]:

ROSQUETTE hired an individual he thought was a hitman to murder two of his neighbors in Manhattan.  Because ROSQUETTE was short on cash, he arranged for the hitman to murder another person first – the owner of a gas station in Staten Island – and rob the gas station’s safe.  ROSQUETTE’s plan was to have the proceeds of the gas station robbery pay for the murder of his two neighbors.  What ROSQUETTE did not know was that the person he thought was a hitman was actually an undercover FBI agent.  This morning, ROSQUETTE was arrested and his plan to commission three murders was foiled.

ROSQUETTE, 50, of Manhattan, New York, is charged with three counts of murder-for-hire, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.  The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

U.S. Attorney Berman praised the outstanding work of the FBI.  

The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

 [1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.

William McFarland Pleads Guilty In Manhattan Federal Court To Defrauding Investors And A Ticket Vendor Of Over $26 Million

McFarland Engaged in a Scheme to Defraud over 80 Investors in Fyre Media Inc. and Fyre Festival LLC, as well as a Fyre Festival Ticket Vendor, Causing More Than $26 Million in Losses

  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that WILLIAM McFARLAND pled guilty today to one count of wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud investors in a company controlled by McFARLAND, Fyre Media Inc. (“Fyre Media”), as well as its subsidiary (“Fyre Festival LLC”), which was formed to hold a music festival called the “Fyre Festival” (the “Festival”) over two weekends in the Bahamas.  McFarland also pled guilty to a second count of wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud a ticket vendor for the Festival.  McFARLAND pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald. 

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “As he admitted today, William McFarland tendered fake documents to induce investors and a ticket vendor to put more than $26 million into his company and the disastrous Fyre Festival.  He now awaits sentencing for his admitted swindle.”

According to the complaint and Superseding Information to which McFARLAND pled, as well as statements made in court:

McFARLAND was the founder and chief executive officer of Fyre Media.  In 2016, McFARLAND started Fyre Media to build a digital application that would allow individuals organizing commercial events, such as concerts, to bid for artist and celebrity bookings at such events.  From at least in or about 2016, up to and including in or about May 2017, McFARLAND conducted a scheme to defraud individuals by inducing them to invest millions of dollars in Fyre Media.  Through this scheme, McFARLAND caused losses to at least 80 victim-investors, totaling more than $24 million dollars.  McFARLAND orchestrated this scheme through several means and methods.

McFARLAND repeatedly made materially false statements to investors about Fyre Media’s revenue and income, and manipulated Fyre Media’s financial statements and supporting documentation to hide Fyre Media’s true financial condition.  McFARLAND represented to investors that Fyre Media had earned millions of dollars of revenue solely from talent bookings; a review of Fyre Media’s records shows that those numbers were significantly overstated.  McFARLAND also provided falsified income statements to investors that purported to show that from approximately April 2016 to February 2017, Fyre Media had earned millions of dollars in income from talent bookings.  In reality, Fyre Media’s income from talent bookings from approximately May 2016 to April 2017 was only $57,443.  In addition, McFARLAND provided falsified documents to investors showing over 2,500 confirmed talent bookings in a single month when, in fact, there were only 60 confirmed talent bookings in the entire year.   

McFARLAND repeatedly made misrepresentations to investors designed to overstate Fyre Media’s financial condition and stability.  For example, McFARLAND told investors that a reputable venture capital firm (the “VC Firm”) had completed its due diligence process and had decided to invest in Fyre Media.  To the contrary, a VC Firm employee communicated to McFARLAND that the VC Firm would not invest in Fyre Media without first completing its due diligence, which the VC Firm had not done due to McFARLAND’s failure to provide many of the requested Fyre Media documents. 

In late 2016, McFARLAND established a subsidiary, Fyre Festival LLC, to hold a music festival called the “Fyre Festival” over two weekends in the Bahamas.  McFARLAND made repeated misrepresentations to investors with respect to their investments in Fyre Festival LLC. McFARLAND overstated the Festival’s receivables that he used as collateral for numerous investments to cover Festival expenses.  McFARLAND also secured numerous investments in Fyre Festival LLC by claiming that investors would have the rights to payouts from Festival event cancellation insurance policies when, in reality, no event cancellation insurance policies had been executed for the Festival.  Ultimately, the Festival was canceled and widely deemed to have been a failure.

McFARLAND also repeatedly made materially false statements to investors about his own financial condition.  For example, in order to induce several investors to make an investment in Fyre Media, McFARLAND provided an altered stock ownership statement to inflate the number of shares he purportedly owned in a publicly traded company, so that it would appear that McFARLAND could personally guarantee the investment.  In addition, despite the fact that McFARLAND’s applications to two banks (“Bank-1” and “Bank-2”) for millions in personal loans had not been approved, McFARLAND misrepresented to investors that the monies from those bank loans could serve as collateral for their investments.  On one occasion, McFARLAND sent an investor a snapshot of an email purporting to be from a Bank-1 banker (“Banker-1”) to McFARLAND approving a $3 million dollar loan.  Not only had Banker-1 not sent that email, Bank-1 had not approved McFARLAND’s loan application.

McFarland also made materially false statements to certain of Fyre Media’s investors about Magnises, a credit card and private club for millennials that was founded and run by McFARLAND as chief executive officer.  McFARLAND told certain of Fyre Media’s investors that he had sold Magnises for approximately $40 million and made a profit of several million dollars personally from the sale, when in reality, McFARLAND had not sold Magnises.  McFARLAND also falsely stated to certain of Fyre Media’s investors that specific individuals were the acquirers of Magnises, when in fact, they were not.  McFarland also falsely stated to certain of Fyre Media’s investors that a group of acquiring partners were forming a new company to purchase Magnises, when in fact, no such group existed.

In addition, in or about April 2017, McFARLAND defrauded a ticket vendor (“Vendor-1”) by inducing Vendor-1 to pay $2 million for a block of advance tickets for future Festivals over the next three years.  McFARLAND also provided Vendor-1 with a fraudulent income statement for Fyre Media that grossly inflated the Company’s revenue and income.

McFARLAND, 26, of New York, New York, pled guilty to two counts of wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and consented to a forfeiture order in the amount of $26,040,099.48.

The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Berman praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New York Field Office, and thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission for its assistance.