Tenants Rising NYC

Friends,  Tomorrow's rally for Tenants' Rights at City Hall will be rescheduled for Monday, November 23rd at 11AM at Foley Square.  I appreciate your flexibility as we continue our work to hold bad landlords accountable and promote tenants' rights throughout New York City.  I hope to see you all on Monday morning.  Sincerely, Letitia James NYC Public Advocate

NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer, NYC Department of Homeless Services, NYC Police Department, and Acacia Network are Opening Themselves Up for a Lawsuit

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW 
By Senator Rev. Rubén Díaz 
District 32 Bronx County, New York 

  You should know that this past Friday, November 13, 2015, a woman who resides at the homeless shelter located at 941 Intervale Avenue, Bronx, New York, was reportedly stabbed by a resident of the same shelter. The shelter, which is run by Acacia Network is across the street, right in front of my District Office. 

  

According to reports and statements people have given me, the perpetrator was caught on tape breaking the security cameras in the homeless shelter during the weekend (November 7 - 8) before Friday’s stabbing.   

  

The assailant’s vandalism did not come to Acacia’s attention until Monday, November 9, because no one on Acacia’s staff took a look at the cameras over the weekend.  On Tuesday, November 10th, Acacia’s staff reported the destroyed cameras to the police, providing copies of the video tapes to the 41st Precinct, with footage of the suspect smashing the security cameras. 

  

Even though Acacia gave this information to the police, the perpetrator was not questioned or arrested until afterFriday’s stabbing took place.   

  

The family shelter residents at 941 Intervale Avenue went unprotected for a whole week without their building’s security cameras working, and with no one to check for their safety. 

  

It is important for you to know that this shelter, run by Acacia Network, has been the subject of controversy for some time.  Before Acacia, this shelter was run by Aguila, Inc. The NYC Department of Homeless Services took the contract away from Aguila in order to reduce costs, and transferred the shelter to the Acacia Network. 

  

In February, 2015, the Acacia Network submitted a contract to the NYC Department of Homeless Services for services to be provided to the homeless families including security.   

  

Nine months later, that contract continues to flounder somewhere between the NYC Department of Homeless Services and NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer’s office, leaving the residents of 941 Intervale Avenue without the proper security and services they need. This situation has forced Acacia Network to borrow money in order to even try to provide minor security services for the families in that shelter, such as staff to check security cameras.  Without these services, the residents are subject to danger and violence. 

  

We all know, and it has been widely reported, that NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer is refusing to sign many contracts, forcing organizations throughout the City, such as Acacia Network, to cut services or to borrow money from banks, paying interest and incurring extra expenses which the City of New York may never pay back. 

  

As you can see, my dear reader, the incident in which a woman was stabbed, could have been avoided: 

  

1.         If Acacia Network had been able to do their job and hire the security personnel in order to have someone to check the cameras round-the-clock and provide actual and real security to the shelter residents, and not have to wait for a few days before checking their broken cameras; 

  

2.         If the NYPD had acted promptly on the report they received showing the perpetrator on the video destroying the security cameras at 941 Intervale Avenue. We all know that people who destroy a security camera do so for a reason, often to prevent a future crime from being recorded; 

  

3.         If the City of New York’s Department of Homeless Services had been responsible and diligent, knowing that if an agency does not have a properly and officially executed contract, that agency, under their supervision, will not have the necessary resources to provide the needed services that homeless families deserve. If the Department of Homeless Services knew that, they should have had emergency funds available and not have to force the agency to borrow money; 

4.         If the NYC Comptroller Mr. Scott Stronger stopped holding up contracts to agencies, placing homeless families in situations where their lives, services and protection are put in jeopardy.  He should not have waited 9 months for an incident like the stabbing of this woman to realize that agencies need resources in order to protect the homeless. 

  

You should all know that this mess could have been avoided, and this woman who was stabbed would not be suffering today if all of the agencies mentioned above would have done their part. 

  

You should also know that if I were a relative of the woman who was stabbed, I would be taking her to consult a lawyer to see what her options are. 

  

I am Senator Reverend Rubén Díaz and this is what you should know.  

BP Diaz Urges Bronx Residents to Apply to Their Local Community Board

   Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. is inviting Bronx residents to make a difference in their community by joining their local Community Board. The Office of The Bronx Borough President will be accepting applications for all 12 Community Boards from city residents who reside, work or have professional or other significant interests in The Bronx.

“Participation on local Community Boards can provide Bronx residents with a forum to share with their community their expertise and talents,” stated Borough President Diaz. “There are great things happening in The Bronx that involve the participation of community boards. It is important that community residents participate in the decisions that are building and revitalizing our borough, and our community boards are a great place to do so,” said Borough President Diaz.

In addition, Borough President Diaz is encouraging young people ages 16 and 17 to apply for community board membership. Last year, the borough president appointed five young people to the community boards, and is working to insure that there is a least one youth member per community board.

“I believe that the earlier young people become engaged in community affairs and interact with government officials and agencies, the better they will understand government and become active leaders in their communities. It is important to hear the voices of our youth when planning for our neighborhoods.” said Borough President Diaz.

Applications are available at the Borough President’s Community Board office at (718) 590-3914 or at your local community board office. Interested applicants may also get the application on line atbronxboropres.nyc.gov.

The deadline for submission of applications for the next round of appointments is February 5, 2016.

David Plouffe Reception for Michael Blake

  JOIN USfor a Reception

inSUPPORT of

MICHAEL BLAKE

Assemblymember of New York, 79th District

"We wouldn't beHERE without Michael Blake."  -President Barack Obama

With Special Guest 

DAVID PLOUFFE

2008 Campaign Manager for President Barack Obama

Master of Ceremonies: Mike Muse, Entrepreneur

Music by Hip Hop DJ Legend DJ D-Nice on the 1s & 2s

Tuesday, December 1  

6:30 PM - 9:00 PM

The 40/40 Club 

6 West 25th Street, New York, NY 10010

RSVP to Blake/Plouffe Event  - RSVP79districtbx@gmail.com

$2,500  VIP Co-Host (VIP Entrance, Seating, Photoline and Post Event Dinner)

$1,000 Sponsor (VIP Entrance, Seating, and Photoline)

$500 Supporter (Photoline and Reserved Area)

$250 Friend (Group Photo)

$100 Individual

$50 OFA Alum who are Young Professional

(30 years old and younger. Proof requested on site.)

To learnMORE call (917) 975-8565

VOTEMICHAELBLAKE.COM

BIG THANKS TO OUR HONORARY CO-CHAIRS: The Honorable Gale Brewer, The Honorable Dr. Una Clarke, The Honorable Maritza Davila, The Honorable Bob Duff, The Honorable Phil Goldfeder, The Honorable Eric Lesser, The Honorable Walter Mosley, The Honorable Nily Rozic, The Honorable Rebecca Seawright, and The Honorable Luis Sepulveda.  BIG THANKS TO OURHOST COMMITTEE IN FORMATION:  Raul Rodriguez & Cynthia Cortijo-Rodriguez, Gillea Allison, Emily Anderson, Jerry Arzu, Geoff Berman, Adolfo Carrion, Chanel Cathey, Charles Cooper, Matt Doran, Mitch Draizin, Rashad Drakeford, Phillip Ellison, Ashley Emerole, Larry English, Demetris Giounnalias, Katy Glickman, Teddy Goff, Dr. Garth Graham, Heather Grantham, Danielle Gray, Rachel Haltom-Irwin, Eric Henry, Andrea Hoffman, Chantel Jackson, Patrick Jenkins, Craig Johnson, Charlie King, Reggie Love, Tamika Mallory & Don Coleman, Brennon Marcano, Keshia Mark, Annie Minguez, Denise Miranda, Eric Newman, Walter Newsome, Lance Polivy, Hasoni Pratts, Tiffany Raspberry, John Rhea, Diallo Shabazz, Jacquie Williams, Democrats For Education Reform, Kate Stevens, Ny Whitaker, Michelle Minguez, Campbell Glenn.

 

Bronx District Attorney-elect Darcel Clark Proposes Stronger Oversight and New Reforms for Rikers Island

   Bronx District Attorney-elect Darcel Clark announced her plans to bring stronger accountability and reform to Rikers Island upon taking office.

During her campaign for office, District Attorney-elect Clark released the VISTA plan, outlining her ideas on how to improve accountability, efficiency and responsiveness in the Bronx District Attorney’s Office.  While implementing the VISTA plan will be of utmost priority, under District Attorney Clark the office will be specifically focused on providing strong leadership in addressing long lingering issues associated with Rikers Island.

“There’s no sugarcoating it - we face a crisis at Rikers Island and the next Bronx District Attorney must play a lead role in addressing the very real challenges there,” said Clark. “Rikers is part of the Bronx, and if elected, I will use the power of the Bronx District Attorney’s office to bring together all stakeholders to get the reforms we need.”

Following her election on November 3rd, District Attorney-elect Clark has already met with a number of key stakeholders who are like-mindedly focused on bringing meaningful change to Rikers Island.  Clark believes collaboration is imperative to begin to make progress.  

“No office can do this alone – these are issues that ultimately can only be resolved with input from the Department of Correction, the Board of Corrections, the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, the City Council, the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association (COBA), the Chief Judge, and the Office of Court Administration, the Department of Investigations’ Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Correction, and NYPD” she continued.

“Everybody has to do their part, but I believe we can find consensus to restore order and improve the safety of all those who are either incarcerated or work on the Island.”    

District Attorney Clark’s reforms for Rikers Island will include the following:

• Collaboration, including joint investigative training with the Bronx DA’s Office, the City’s Department of Correction, the Department of Investigations’ Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Correction, and NYPD to actively investigate and prosecute crime at Rikers
• Creation of the Rikers Island Task Force in the Bronx District Attorney’s office that will be specifically trained on Rikers Island procedures and policies to address issues of violence, narcotics trafficking, sexual assaults, mental health issues and other concerns specific to Rikers
• Supporting bail reform for low level, non-violent offenders
• The assignment of an Assistant Bronx District Attorney and other staff to specifically facilitate real time prosecution of Rikers cases and to help eliminate delays caused by  transferring inmates to the Bronx Courts for arraignment
• Reduction and the ultimate elimination of the case backlog within the District Attorney’s office and assurance of timely prosecutions, so no one remains on Rikers any longer than appropriate
• Working closely with New York City’s four other District Attorney’s Offices to jointly prosecute underlying inmate offenses and their Rikers Island offenses
• Demanding that our criminal court system allocate appropriate and sufficient resources to the Bronx, including the placement of a judge on Rikers Island to expedite arraignments and other court proceedings related to the prosecution of Rikers cases

• The request for adequate funding from the City Council to ensure the District Attorney has the proper resources to properly investigate and prosecute Rikers caseloads and reduce backlogs
• Bringing together the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, the Department of Correction, the New York Police Department, the Department of Investigations’ Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Correction, the City Council, COBA, and the Board of Correction to develop effective reforms and proper oversight for Rikers

“The problems at Rikers cannot be allowed to continue.  As the Bronx District Attorney, my focus will be on using this office to aggressively pursue all criminal activity in every corner of the Bronx, and that specifically includes Rikers Island,” said Clark. “I will demand and expect that my office will be prepared to achieve real-time prosecution on every case possible, and I look forward to working with all stakeholders to bring safety and the rule of law to Rikers Island.”

A lifelong resident of the Bronx, District Attorney Clark was raised in Soundview Houses and attended Bronx public schools before going to college and law school. Prior to her election as the Bronx District Attorney, she served as an Assistant District Attorney in the Bronx for 13 years before being appointed a Criminal Court Judge by Mayor Giuliani.  Elected in the Bronx as a State Supreme Court Justice in 2005, Clark later on was elevated to the Appellate Division by Governor Cuomo, serving in that capacity for three years.  

CONSTITUENT SERVICE DAY Monday, November 16, 2015 10:00am - 2:00pm

REP. CHARLES B. RANGEL
INVITES YOU TO
CONSTITUENT SERVICE DAY
Monday, November 16, 2015
10:00am - 2:00pm
(Program from 10:00-11:30am at Auditorium)
Bronx Library Center
310 East Kingsbridge Rd, Bronx, NY 10458
Congressman Rangel and staff, as well as representatives from government agencies, will be available to meet with you to address your questions and concerns about Washington and federal benefits.

PRESENTATIONS BY:John Shallman, Social Security AdministrationLakezia Carmichael, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesJermaine Williams, Human Resources AdministrationEarleen Sealy and Olga Alvarez, Department of Housing and Urban Developmentand Representatives from the Veterans Administration
RSVP: http://rangel.house.gov/BronxEvents
Questions?
Visit RANGEL.HOUSE.GOV or Call 212-663-3900 

100 PERCENT Saturday November 14, 2015

100 PERCENT

By Robert Press

Follow The Money 

    

       In the latest corruption trial against a New York State elected official it is Follow the Money. Did former New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver receive what is being called 'Kick Backs' for client referrals. It seems that is what U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara is trying to prove to a jury. The U.S. Attorney started out by trying to prove Silver steered money for cancer research, by collecting fees for referrals to a private law firm.   The U.S. Attorney then went after a real estate company that was doing business with the state also saying that Silver received referral fees. However the crushing blow to Silver may come early next week as the U.S. Attorney is expected to call Mike Whyland who served as Silver's spokesperson when Silver was the Assembly Speaker. By the way Mike Whyland now is working for the current Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. 

   Bronx Councilman Andy King has been fined $17,000.00 and ordered to repay $26,971.00 in matching funds by the NYC Campaign Finance Board. The CFB said that in 2013 the King campaign payed his wife $7,000.00 without filing the proper paperwork to justify the expense which was filed almost one year after the election. King also charged his campaign $3,568.70 for a Verizon phone line at his house, while he also had billed the campaign for a separate office phone line. 

   As we mentioned in two previous postings, why is it so important that the mayor's Mandatory Inclusionary Housing, and Zoning for Quality and Affordability City Planning Commission Text Amendments be rushed through and jammed down the throats of the people of New York City? Follow the Money, and you will find that some of New York City's largest players have joined together to help the MIH and ZQA along. So what's in it for them you may ask? If the two zoning text amendments are passed there may be no control of what your neighborhood may look like in a few years. One chapter in the book 'Follow the Money'  is that owners of senior housing that was built under the HUD 202 Program which mandated a certain amount of parking requirement would be able to build on said parking lots if the MIH and ZQA text amendments get adopted. What that means is that the Hebrew Home of Riverdale would be allowed to build a major senior residence in an R1-1 zoned area which is zoned for only one family homes. Mind you this senior housing would be out of the price range of the majority of New York City residences costing as much or more than some of the luxury housing in Riverdale. The next step would be since the Hebrew Home could build in an R1-1 zone, so would the Schervier Home in Community Board 8 which is also in an R1-1 zone. By the way in anticipation of MIH and ZQA text amendments passing the Schervier Home has purchased a one family home on the adjoining lot next to its parking lot that they would then build a large scale facility, just like the Hebrew Home. 

    Now you know why the MIH and ZQA zoning text amendment changes are so important to certain people. There are 39 such HUD 202 senior homes citywide where this would happen providing 2,000 new senior units. That is the key word 'Senior' not affordable as CASA said at the Bronx Borough meeting on the MIH and ZQA proposals. It is not housing that is affordable to all, but a wolf in sheep's clothing, and I say that wolf is named Bill deBlasio.

     In the upcoming events Department - Tuesday November 17th Community Board 6 is going to revisit their quick approval of the MIH and ZQA text amendments by the City Planning Commission. It seems that after the Bronx Borough meeting on MIH and ZQA some of their unanswered questions to CPC were answered by others, and they are going to hold another meeting to discuss the two issues, and then vote to either reaffirm or like 10 0f the 12 Bronx Community Boards vote to disapprove the MIH and ZQA text amendments. That could leave Bronx Community Board 9 as the only Bronx CB voting in favor of MIH and ZQA, and I would believe that Community Board 9 may be doing the same thing as CB 6 is doing.

   Thursday November 19th is Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr,'s Puerto Rican Heritage Month Celebration at Salsa con Fuego from 12 - 3 PM. Salsa con Fuego is located at 2297 Cedar Avenue (right next to the Northbound entrance to the Major DEEgan Highway at Fordham Road). 

     Tuesday December 8th at 12:30 in the Bronx County Building Veterans Memorial Hall located at 851 Grand Concourse will be Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.'s Annual Chanukah Celebration and Menorah Lighting Ceremony. 

      If you have any political information that you want to share or have checked out, any comments about this column, or would like to have an event listed or covered in this column or on this blog you can e-mail us at 100percentbronxnews@gmail.com or call 718-644-4199 Mr. Robert Press. This column will be back in print in less than a month. 

    

NPRDP Launches 2016 Scholarship Program

National Puerto Rican Day Parade, Inc.

NATIONAL PUERTO RICAN DAY PARADE

LAUNCHES 2016 SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

 

Applications available now!  Deadline is Jan. 15, 2016

 

Organization will triple the dollar figure

and number of scholarships to be awarded, since 2014

 

 

 The National Puerto Rican Day Parade (NPRDP) today launched its 2016 Scholarship Awards Program.   Applications are now available and will be accepted until Friday, January 15, 2016.

 

The organization will grant 60 scholarship awards, up from 15 awarded in 2014 and 30 in 2015.  In total, NPRDP will provide $120,000 for scholarships in 2016, up from $30,000 in 2014 and $60,000 this year. 

 

"We are well on the way to reach our goal of providing 100 scholarships, by the year 2017", said Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez, Chairperson of NPRDP.  "When we took leadership of this organization two years ago, our mission was to return it to its roots of empowering the Puerto Rican community through education, culture and civic engagement.  Our Scholarship Program remains at the core of our work, and the Board looks forward to continue working to enhance it".

 

NPRDP established the Scholarship Awards Program to help promote the pursuit of higher education within the community.  

 

To be eligible to participate in the 2016 Scholarship Awards Program, applicants must:

*  Be of Puerto Rican descent;

*  Have a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better

*  Participate in an interview with a member(s) of the Selection Committee;

*  Be between the ages of 17 and 25 and enrolled in a 4-year institution, for applicants already in college;

*  Be in their senior year, for high school applicants. 

 

Application packages must include: a completed application form; an essay; a written biography; a volunteer community service statement; two letters of recommendation, of which one letter of recommendation must be from the site where the student performs his/her volunteer work; official academic transcripts and head shot photo.  Letters of recommendation should be requested from teachers, professors, counselors, mentors, clergy, community leaders, etc.  The letters should highlight the applicant's volunteer community service, length of the relationship with the candidate, and the specific contributions the applicant has made to the community.

 

To download the application package, the public can visitwww.nprdpinc.org.  

Packages must be submitted electronically toNPRDP.Scholars@gmail.com by Friday, January 15, 2016.  Letters of recommendation and sealed transcripts should be mailed together to National Puerto Rican Day Parade, P.O Box 975, New York, NY 10272 by Friday, January 22, 2015.  Materials received after this date will result in the applicant's disqualification.  Applicants selected for an interview will be notified by email, and interviews will take place the weeks of February 22 and February 29, 2016.