Pelham Parkway Neighborhood Association Community Meeting - Tuesday Feb.12, 7:15 PM

  The next meeting  of the Pelham Parkway Neighborhood Association will be on Tuesday  Feb.12 at Bronx House,990 Pelham Parkway South,Bx NY 10461 at  7:15 pm.

Our special guest speaker will be the  new Captain of the 49th precinct Captain Andrew Natiw and The Community Affairs Team.Please bring  your issues ,questions, problems and concerns to our next meeting.The PPNA works around the clock and year round to improve the quality of life in Pelham Parkway. .We can always be reached  by email at pelhamparkwayNA@gmail.com......Get involved in your community. It's time.

CAPTAINS ENDOWMENT ASSOCIATION ENDORSES ERIC ULRICH FOR PUBLIC ADVOCATE

  Today, the NYPD Captain’s Endowment Association (CEA), a union representing 2,100 active and retired members of law enforcement, endorsed Councilmember Eric Ulrich’s campaign for NYC Public Advocate.  The CEA is the second major law enforcement organization to endorse in this race, and will be actively campaigning to ensure Ulrich’s victory in the February 26^th Special Election.  Eric already received the endorsement of the Detectives Endowment Association and their 18,000 members on December 13, 2018. 

“Eric Ulrich is the only candidate in this race with a consistent record of standing up for law enforcement throughout his career in the City Council,” said CEA President Roy T. Richter, “At a time when other candidates are vying to antagonize the law enforcement family, Eric Ulrich has always been there for us, and it’s no question he will represent the interests of active and retired Captains alike in the future.”

Richter continued, “As a Councilmember, Eric’s support was not limited to policing and policy, but when many of our members, residents of his own district, saw their homes destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, Eric was there in the district and at City Hall making sure all of our members could rebuild their personal lives as well.” 

“I’m proud and honored to once again receive the endorsement of our NYPD Captains,” said Councilman Ulrich, “As Public Advocate, every member of law enforcement will have a voice in our office and know that I will always have their backs.”

Ulrich also noted that the revival of New York City took place on the backs of our police, who not only restored safety and security to New York City, but enabled the City’s economy to grow exponentially, and who continue to make New York the safest big city in America.

“Officials who attack our officers, and the Mayor’s disregard for the financial security of law enforcement, imperils all of our safety. Law Enforcement put their lives on the line every day to protect us, and we need a Public Advocate who will back them up when they are criticized, attacked or are the victims of political grandstanding. The Mayor has demonstrated nothing but hostility towards law enforcement, and as Public Advocate I will hold the Mayor accountable to the entire police community.”

MAYOR DE BLASIO NAMES KATHRYN GARCIA INTERIM CHAIR OF NYCHA

  Mayor de Blasio has appointed Kathryn Garcia as Interim Chair of the New York City Housing Authority, succeeding Stanley Brezenoff who will depart later this month.  Under Brezenoff’s leadership, the Housing Authority has launched a comprehensive plan to deliver $24 billion in vital repairs for 175,000 residents, achieved a historic contract agreement with Teamsters Local 237 that provides 7-day service to residents, launched weekend work order blitzes to eliminate NYCHA’s repair backlog, and significantly improved heating response times. 

Garcia is a seasoned veteran tested at some of the most complex roles in City government. She has extensive experience in managing and reforming large, complex agencies.  As Interim Chair, Garcia will work closely with NYCHA’s General Manager Vito Mustaciuolo to reverse decades of disinvestment in public housing and operationalize the City’s agreement with the federal government. DSNY First Deputy Commissioner Steven Costas will serve as Acting Commissioner when Garcia takes she leave of absence from the agency.

“Throughout his storied career in City government, Stan has never been one to back away from a challenge – and his time at NYCHA was no different. In less than a year, he secured a landmark labor deal, overhauled the agency’s heating response times and developed the plan to deliver major renovations that NYCHA residents deserve. On behalf of all New Yorkers, I thank Stan not only for his decades of service to the City, but for leaving NYCHA much stronger than he found it,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “There is no better person to continue our turnaround effort at NYCHA than Kathryn. She is a battle-tested leader who has taken on sprawling challenges from eradicating lead exposure to overhauling the broken commercial carting industry. She is ready to fight every day for the 400,000 New Yorkers who call NYCHA home.”

“This is one of the toughest and most rewarding jobs in America. I will leave this interim role knowing that we are putting NYCHA in very capable hands. I am confident that Commissioner Garcia is the right person to continue our efforts to improve the quality of lives for residents, and preserve public housing for generations to come,” said Interim Chair and CEO Stanley Brezenoff.

“I am going to work every single day to make life better for the 400,000 New Yorkers who call NYCHA home. There’s been real progress—now it’s time to go farther and faster. We have a plan to renovate tens of thousands of apartments and an agreement with the federal government to improve all of our key services to residents. I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and put these plans into action,” said Incoming Interim Chair and CEO Kathryn Garcia.

Garcia will serve as Interim Chair while the City begins the process of selecting a permanent head of the authority. As outlined in the agreement, the City, HUD and SDNY have a month to develop a list of candidates. The City will then have an additional month to select a permanent Chair and CEO from this list. 

Garcia is a world-class manager who has a proven record of cutting through red tape and putting people before bureaucracies. She spearheaded the development and launch of Lead FreeNYC, the City’s comprehensive plan to eradicate childhood lead exposure. Garcia coordinated across all relevant City agencies to deepen and expand their lead prevention efforts. The new plan will – for the first time – expand Local Law 1, eliminate lead paint hazards in NYCHA apartments and family shelters, target unsafe consumer goods, provide children with dedicated nurses and link together all City agencies responding to lead exposure. 

In her role as Commissioner of Sanitation, Garcia implemented the strategies to reach the City’s Zero Waste goal, and has operationalized several brand-new programs, including Organics collection and curbside electronic waste. She was responsible for overhauling the City’s snow-clearing operations by changing the prioritization of plow routes, which has greatly increased DSNY’s efficiency and productivity during storms. Most recently, she developed a plan to overhaul private commercial carting that will reduce air pollution, asthma and traffic fatalities in low-income communities across New York City that have borne a disproportionate share of the city’s waste.

Before her appointment in 2014 to DSNY Commissioner, Garcia was Chief Operating Officer at the Department of Environmental Protection, where she oversaw agency operations – including the delivery of one billion gallons of safe, clean drinking water to 9 million New Yorkers in the city and upstate New York every day. She worked very closely with DEP’s federal monitor to help bring the agency into federal compliance, and oversaw watershed and in-city water quality labs that conduct more than 600,000 analyses of the city’s drinking water every year to ensure the water was safe and of the highest quality.

Congressman Eliot L. Engel Responds to Trump State of the Union Address

  “Filled with baseless rhetoric and self-promotion, the President failed to deliver anything other than delusions of grandeur tonight. He claimed this speech would bring people together. Unsurprisingly, it fell well short. His swipes at the Mueller investigation, attacks on Democratic oversight and a woman’s right to choose, his commitment to radical conservative principles, and continued obsession with his faux border crisis undermined any real talk of unity.

“Once again tonight, the President made outlandish claims about crime in an attempt to scare people into thinking his ridiculous border wall is necessary. But the American people are too smart for that, as poll after poll has shown. Additional resources for our stressed ports of entry, more judges to handle asylum cases, advanced technology to monitor border crossings—Democrats support and have already proposed funding for these ideas. But we will not support a failed campaign promise that the President is using to stir up his base.

“While the President continues to harp on the border, he ignores the true crises facing our country: climate change, gun violence, and student loan debt, just to name a few. His lack of action will affect future generations, as it will be our children, and our children’s children, who pay the steep price for his failure to act.

“The rest of the State of the Union was littered with factual inaccuracies and lacked substantive policy measures. It was, to be sure, a Trump speech. The President made claims about the economy that aren’t supported by any real data, and had no issue taking credit for a lot of the work done by his predecessor, President Obama.

“The President gave lip service to issues like lowering the cost of prescription drugs, health care, rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, and protecting American workers. But Democrats have actually put forth plans that the President could have supported at any point in the last 2 years to deal with those issues. He did not. In fact, he spent most of his time trying to take health care away from people, while harming the middle-class with his trade war, shameful tax scam, and government shutdown.

  

“If the President’s goal was to unite a divided country tonight, he failed. If he was hoping to build any support for his racist immigration and border policies, he failed. If he was looking to reset his agenda in light of a House with a Democratic majority, he failed. Tonight’s speech was just more of the same.”

STATEMENT FROM BP DIAZ RE: The Passing of Shirley Rodríguez Remeneski

  "Shirley Rodríguez Remeneski was a special person, a pioneer in politics and government service and someone who had an impact on the lives of so many throughout her career. She paved the way for future generations as an advocate for women’s empowerment in 1960’s and 70’s and created countless opportunities for The Bronx and New York City with the programs she led to uplift the community after so many decades of neglect.

"She was someone truly committed to the community, and the progress made as a result of her work with numerous organizations has strengthened our most important institutions for years to come. I was fortunate to see the results of her work firsthand during my visits to the dual-language school she was instrumental in establishing, the Bronx Global Learning Institute for Girls.

"My thoughts and prayers are with her family during this difficult time," said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

Acting Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security Submit Joint Report on Impact of Foreign Interference on Election and Political/Campaign Infrastructure in 2018 Elections

Report Concludes No Material Impact of Foreign Interference on Election or Political/Campaign Infrastructure in 2018 Elections

  Acting Attorney General Matthew G. Whitaker and Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen yesterday submitted a joint report to President Donald J. Trump evaluating the impact of any foreign interference on election infrastructure or the infrastructure of political organizations, including campaigns and candidates in the 2018-midterm elections. 

The classified report was prepared pursuant to section 1(b) of Executive Order 13848, Imposing Certain Sanctions in the Event of Foreign Influence in a United States Election, which the President issued on Sept. 12, 2018. 

Throughout the 2018 midterm election cycle, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security worked closely with federal, state, local, and private sector partners, including all 50 states and more than 1400 local jurisdictions, to support efforts to secure election infrastructure and limit risk posed by foreign interference.  Efforts to safeguard the 2020 elections are already underway. 

Although the specific conclusions within the joint report must remain classified, the Departments have concluded there is no evidence to date that any identified activities of a foreign government or foreign agent had a material impact on the integrity or security of election infrastructure or political/campaign infrastructure used in the 2018 midterm elections for the United States Congress. This finding was informed by a report prepared by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) pursuant to the same Executive Order and is consistent with what was indicated by the U.S. government after the 2018 elections.   

While the report remains classified, its findings will help drive future efforts to protect election and political/campaign infrastructure from foreign interference. 

Attorney General James Announces Settlement With Hospital For Illegally Billing Rape Survivors For Rape Exams

9th Settlement of AG’s Ongoing Statewide Investigation

  Attorney General Letitia James today announced an agreement with the BronxCare Health System (“BronxCare”) after an investigation that revealed the hospital illegally billed sexual assault survivors for forensic rape examinations. As part of the settlement, BronxCare will implement a written policy to ensure that sexual assault survivors do not receive bills for their rape examinations, provide full restitution to any improperly billed sexual assault survivors, and pay costs to New York State. This is the ninth settlement the Attorney General’s Office has secured as part of its statewide investigation into the improper billing of rape examinations. 

“The trauma of sexual assault is more than enough for a survivor to bear. The secondary trauma of fighting an illegal bill for a forensic rape exam is unfathomable, and we will not allow it to continue,” said Attorney General Letitia James. “Let me be clear: hospitals have a fundamental responsibility to comply with New York law. My office will continue to do everything in our power to protect survivors and their rights.”  

The investigation into BronxCare follows the settlement with the Brooklyn Hospital Medical Center (“Brooklyn Hospital”) in 2017. Following that settlement, the Office of the Attorney General launched a statewide investigation into illegal billing procedures that has so far resulted in settlements with seven additional facilities.  

The investigation into BronxCare revealed that between January 10, 2016 and December 26, 2017, BronxCare improperly billed 17 patients for its hospital services, billed the insurers of 10 of these patients, and sent 12 of the bills to collection. The emergency room physicians separately sent bills to 13 of these patients and sent 12 of the bills to collection. These bills ranged from $35 to $1,957. The investigation also revealed that BronxCare failed to advise patients of their billing options, as required by law.   

New York State Executive Law Section 631(13) provides that when a hospital furnishes services -- including a forensic rape examination -- to any sexual assault survivor, it shall provide such services to the patient without charge and shall bill the New York State Office of Victim Services (“OVS”) directly, or alternatively, the sexual assault survivor may voluntarily opt to assign the costs to private insurance. The purpose of Executive Law Section 631(13) is to ease payment of services to sexual assault survivors by providing for submission of bills to OVS; provide quality exams; and give victims of sexual assault the ability to choose a means of payment, either through the OVS program or their own insurance. Allowing sexual assault survivors to choose to have OVS directly pay for services ensures the privacy and confidentially of sexual assault victims. This increased privacy increases the likelihood that a victim will submit to a forensic rape examination, which in turn increases the ability of law enforcement agencies to identify offenders.  

New Yorkers with complaints regarding hospital billing or other health-care related issues may contact the Attorney General’s Health Care in-state toll-free Helpline at 1-800-428-9071 or 1-518-776-2477.