STATEMENT FROM MAYOR DE BLASIO ON NEW YORK STATE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY ONE-HOUSE BUDGETS

 

 Mayor Bill de Blasio today released the following statement on the New York State Senate and Assembly one-house budgets:

 

"New York City has borne the brunt of the COVID crisis in our state, and we need the resources to drive a recovery for all of us, protect public health, keep New Yorkers in their homes and reopen our schools fully. I am encouraged by the State Legislature's one-house budget resolutions, which include rental assistance for tenants and generating revenue by taxing the wealthy, while rejecting many of the Governor's ill-advised education and public health cuts. I applaud the Legislature for rejecting the Governor's proposals to subvert local control, especially over land-use and climate policies. I thank Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Heastie for fighting for working people, and I look forward to continuing to fight for a State budget that puts our city on a path to a recovery for all of us." 

 

MANHATTAN WOMAN INDICTED FOR SHOVING COMMUTER ONTO BRONX SUBWAY TRACKS AS TRAIN APPROACHED

 

Defendant is Charged with Attempted Murder 

 Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Manhattan woman has been indicted on Attempted Murder and additional charges for pushing a woman onto the subway tracks as a train pulled into a station in Crotona Park East. 

 District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant allegedly went up to the victim, who was waiting for a train on her way to work, and deliberately pushed her onto the tracks as a train approached. Fortunately, the victim survived this horrific, random attack.” 

 District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Luz Sanchez, 29, of 2026 Lexington Avenue, Manhattan, New York, was arraigned today on Attempted Murder in the second degree, Attempted Assault in the first degree and third-degree Assault before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Michael Gross. Bail was set at $150,000 cash/$150,000 insurance company bond/ $150,000 partially secured bond at 10 percent. The defendant is due back in court on June 9, 2021

 According to the investigation, at approximately 7:50 a.m. on February 9, 2021 on the platform of the 2/5 subway line at the Southern Boulevard and East 174th Street station, the defendant approached the victim, Rosa Elizabeth Galeas Florencio, 54, and pushed her with her body causing the victim to stumble backwards. The defendant then put both hands on the victim’s shoulder area and pushed her, causing her to fall backwards and onto the tracks as a train pulled into the station. While the victim was on the tracks screaming for help, Sanchez walked to the edge of the subway platform, looked at the victim, and then walked away. A train on the opposite track alerted the oncoming train that the victim was on the tracks and the train braked before striking her. The victim was pulled up to safety by a Good Samaritan. Galeas Florencio was treated for injuries at Saint Barnabas Hospital and was later released.

 The defendant fled to Georgia and was arrested on February 25, 2021 by the New York City Police Department Warrants Squad.

 District Attorney Clark thanked the NYPD Bronx Robbery Squad and Detective Francis Flynn for their assistance in the investigation. 

 An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.

Attorney General James Urges Victims of Precious Metals Scheme to File A Claim Before Deadline

 

Seniors Deceived Into Investing Millions in Metals.com and Related Companies Defrauded Investors Have Through April 30 to File Claim

 New York Attorney General Letitia James today urged victims of fraud perpetrated by Metals.com and related entities to file a claim with a court appointed receiver and begin the process of recovering their defrauded funds. Last September, Attorney General James, along with 29 additional states and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), filed a lawsuit against Metals.com for defrauding seniors across New York and the rest of the nation — soliciting more than $185 million by peddling false claims and by charging exorbitant fees for overpriced precious metals. Earlier this month, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas entered an injunction and a restraining order, freezing the assets of the defendants and appointing a receiver to marshal the defendants’ remaining assets and issue relief to defrauded clients.

“These investors may have been sold on the comfort of investing in precious metals, but there’s no question that the defendants tarnished their clients’ dreams,” said Attorney General James. “Hundreds of seniors were promised safe investments, but, instead, saw immediate and substantial losses to their retirement savings. I encourage all New Yorkers who were defrauded by Metals.com to immediately come forward and file a claim so we can return as much money as possible to victims. Our bipartisan coalition will continue to fight to hold bad actors accountable and is standing by to help investors reclaim their defrauded funds.”

The lawsuit charges the Beverly Hills, California-based firm and its sales representatives with targeting elderly investors through traditional and social media and defrauding them into transferring funds from their traditional individual retirement accounts (IRA) into self-directed IRAs by misrepresenting that metals purchased from the defendants were a safe and conservative investment. In reality, however, the defendants charged undisclosed and excessive fees on precious metals sold to investors that resulted in instant and substantial losses, with many investors losing the majority of their investment funds immediately upon consummating the transaction. Often, the market value of the precious metals sold to investors was substantially lower than the value of the securities and other retirement savings investors had liquidated to fund their purchase of precious metals. The complaint charges the defendants with violating the Commodity Exchange Act and various state securities laws.

Following the court order earlier this month, the receiver began administering the claims process. As part of the process, the receiver will be sending correspondence, instructions, and a claim form to defrauded clients. Defrauded clients must complete and return their claims forms to the receiver to participate in the claims process and request a return of the remaining, available money. The deadline to return the claim form is April 30, 2021.

Defrauded clients should direct questions about the claims process to the receiver by emailing kelly.crawford@solidcounsel.com or by calling 214-706-4213. The receiver also maintains a website that provides information about the claims process for defrauded clients.

The receiver cautions that orders requiring repayment of funds to victims may not result in the recovery of money lost because the defendants may not have sufficient funds or assets. 

ADVOCATES PRAISE NEW EFFORT TO DECRIMINALIZE SEX WORKERS AND COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING

 

 Advocates today praised Mayor de Blasio's new proposal to support sex workers and victims of human trafficking. This reform is part of the City's larger New York City Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative draft plan. Through this initiative, the City will develop new strategies to combat trafficking while working to eliminate arrests for selling sex. 

“It’s time to decriminalize sex workers and focus our enforcement on those who exploit and profit off a broken system,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “We are calling on the State to end criminal penalties for sex workers and help us reach those in need without requiring involvement with the criminal justice system.”

 

"The communities hit hardest by the continued criminalization of sex work and human trafficking are overwhelmingly LGBTQ, they are people of color, and they are undocumented immigrants," said First Lady Chirlane McCray. "Sex work is a means of survival for many in these marginalized groups. Instead of handcuffs they need services, housing and support, and these reforms will enable them to come forward without fear."

 

Under this proposed reform, the City will create a State legislative frameworks for decriminalizing sex work and supporting people who are victimized by trafficking. To expand services for sex workers, the City will explore pre-arrest program models to offer community-centered services to sex workers without conducting arrest as a condition of receipt, as opposed to post-arrest diversion which relies on offering services as a condition of release from arrest or incarceration.

 

The City will also explore and refine proposals related to sex work programs and services, especially sex worker led health, employment, and safety programs. Supportive community-based services for sex workers will be expanded, including creating new partnerships outside of law enforcement by formalizing the Task Force on Health and Safety Needs of Sex workers led by the NYC Unity Project and Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender Based Violence (ENDGBV).

 

The NYPD will also review policies and procedures for identifying and investigating human trafficking to develop alternative methods that focus on arresting traffickers without further criminalizing and harming those directly involved in the sex trade and to address the racialized enforcement of sex work. While arrests are driven by complaints, the vast majority of individuals arrested for prostitution-related charges continue to be Black and Hispanic. They will collaborate with other agencies to maximize their ability to arrest and prosecute traffickers and violent offenders without collateral trauma to people engaged in consensual sex work or who are victims of exploitation.

 

These efforts will build on progress made in this Administration to drastically reduce the arrests of sex workers. The NYPD, ENDGBV, the Unity Project, and other experts will support community-led officer training on identifying people who are being trafficked or exploited as well as work directly with those involved in the sex trades to develop solutions that mitigate the impact of law enforcement actions and to ensure those who want services have full and fair information and access to them.  

 

“People in the sex trades have long been marginalized, stigmatized, and criminalized in ways that are unhelpful at best and violent at worst,” said Ashe McGovern, Executive Director of the NYC Unity Project. “We are eager for the opportunity to work across the Administration and citywide with our community partners to support a Task Force that centers and prioritizes the lived experiences of sex workers and begins with the core and fundamental presumption that all people in the sex trades deserve respect, autonomy, and dignity—at work, in their daily lives, and when seeking out city services and support.”

 

“All too often sex workers are forced into the trade by violent and dangerous traffickers. The Fortune Society applauds the de Blasio administration and the NYPD for focusing on strategies that combat trafficking and hold traffickers accountable while providing critical support and protections to their vulnerable victims,” said JoAnne Page, President and CEO of the Fortune Society.

 

“Many people have to understand that there is an issue and criminalizing sex workers is not the way to go,” said Ethel Titus of Caribbean American Pride. "These steps we are taking are crucial towards ensuring that those who need it are protected.”

DiNAPOLI: FEBRUARY LOCAL SALES TAX COLLECTIONS DOWN 4.2 PERCENT; YEAR OVER YEAR DECLINE NARROWS

 

Collections Declined $2.2 Billion in the 12 Months Since the Start of the Pandemic

 

 Overall sales tax collections for local governments declined by 4.2 percent in February compared to the same month in 2020, State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced today. Collections totaled nearly $1.3 billion, down $55 million from February of last year. Collections are down $2.2 billion, or 12 percent, for the past twelve months (March 2020 - Feb. 2021), compared to the same twelve months ending February 2020.

Revenues continued to shrink, but the decline last month was less steep than in January (5.9 percent) and December (8.4 percent), and the double-digit declines during the earlier months of the pandemic.

“The recent passage of the American Rescue Plan will provide much needed aid to our localities,” DiNapoli said. “The pandemic has taken a toll on statewide sales tax collections during the past year. New York’s local governments continue to suffer financially, but the collections losses are starting to slow as more vaccinations are being administered and businesses are slowly reopening.”  

All regions in the state experienced sales tax collection declines for February, ranging from 0.1 percent in the Mohawk Valley to 9.8 percent in the Finger Lakes. New York City’s collections decreased by 4.5 percent, down $27 million compared to February 2020.

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance reconciles sales tax collections at the end of each calendar quarter to reflect reported sales activity by location. The next reconciliation will be reported in mid-April, and will provide a more accurate regional picture of sales tax collections during the first quarter (January-March) of 2021. 

Governor Cuomo Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress During COVID-19 Pandemic March 16, 2021

 

4,657 Patient Hospitalizations Statewide

943 Patients in the ICU; 609 Intubated

Statewide Positivity Rate is 4.14%

51 COVID-19 Deaths in New York State Yesterday

 Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

"The pandemic has consumed New Yorkers' lives for the past year, but we have the weapon that will win the war and we're distributing it across the state," Governor Cuomo said. "New York's ever expanding vaccine network can handle more supply than the state receives, so we're ready to get even more shots in arms when the time comes. In the meantime, it's critical that residents continue to wash their hands, wear masks and stay socially distanced. We will get to the light at the end of the tunnel—we just have to remember that the infection rate is a function of what we do and to stay strong together."

It is important to note that data, including test results and hospital rates, reported early in the week are often not completely reflective of the current situation due to lower discharges and testing volume over the weekend. Data trends over a period of time, such as using 7-day averages, are a preferred metric.

Today's data is summarized briefly below:

• Test Results Reported - 157,096
• Total Positive - 6,508
• Percent Positive - 4.14%
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 3.24%
• Patient Hospitalization - 4,657 (+140)
• Net Change Patient Hospitalization Past Week - -242
• Patients Newly Admitted - 510
• Hospital Counties - 49
• Number ICU - 943 (+20)
• Number ICU with Intubation - 609 (-5)
• Total Discharges - 154,281 (+310)
• Deaths - 51
• Total Deaths - 39,636

Bronx Gang Member Pleads Guilty To 2018 Shooting In The Nelson Playground

 

Marvin Gamoneda Participated in a June 2018 Shooting in Which a 13-Year-Old Child Was Struck By Gunfire

 Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that MARVIN GAMONEDA, a/k/a “June,” pled guilty today in Manhattan federal court in connection with a shooting in the Nelson Playground on June 7, 2018, in furtherance of the Woodycrime criminal enterprise.  U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl accepted the defendant’s guilty plea.

U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said:  “Today, Marvin Gamoneda admitted his responsibility for a brazen shooting in the middle of the afternoon in a playground in the Bronx.  During the shooting, two individuals, including a child, were hit.  We continue our daily work with our law enforcement partners to keep our communities safe and to vigorously investigate acts of gang violence.”

As alleged in the Indictment and statements made in open court:

Woodycrime was a criminal enterprise involved in committing numerous acts of violence, including attempted murders and assaults, as well as drug dealing in the Bronx.  Members and associates of Woodycrime engaged in violence to retaliate against rival gangs, to preserve and expand the gang’s territory, and to protect the gang’s narcotics business.  Members and associates of Woodycrime enriched themselves by selling drugs, such as crack cocaine, marijuana, oxycodone, and MDMA or “ecstasy.”  On June 7, 2018, GAMONEDA and others shot at a rival gang member in the vicinity of the Nelson Playground in the Bronx, during which two victims, including a 13-year-old child, were injured.  

GAMONEDA, 34, of the Bronx, New York, pled guilty to attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and using and carrying a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, which carries a maximum sentence of life and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison.  GAMONEDA will be sentenced before Judge Koeltl on July 30, 2021, at 10:00 a.m.

The statutory maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for information purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by Judge Koeltl.

Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the NYPD and the FBI.