A.G. Schneiderman Obtains $90k Agreement With Contractor Who Underpaid Workers On Taxpayer-Funded Affordable Housing Units

J.A.M. Construction Corp. Shortchanged Workers On A Chelsea Affordable Housing Project

   Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced a settlement with J.A.M. Construction Corp. (“JAM”), a subcontractor that performed carpentry work at a Manhattan affordable housing project.  JAM, based in Rockville Centre, failed to pay required prevailing wages to eight workers at the Selis Manor Affordable Housing complex located at 135 West 23rd Street in Manhattan.  In an Assurance of Discontinuance with the Attorney General’s Office, JAM agreed to pay over $80,000 in underpayments, as well as a penalty of $10,000. 

“We will not allow employers to get away with ripping off their workers,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “We will remain vigilant in protecting the rights of New York’s working men and women, and will continue to use monitors where appropriate to ensure ongoing compliance with the law.”

Between December 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015, JAM paid far less than the required prevailing wage for carpentry work on the Selis Manor project, and failed to pay supplemental benefits required by law.  Federal and state prevailing wage laws seek to ensure that government contractors pay wages and benefits that are comparable to the local norms for a given trade, typically well above the state and federal minimum wage.  The project included in the settlement with JAM was federally funded by Housing and Urban Development and was subject to prevailing wage requirements.

The Attorney General’s Office learned of the violations by JAM through an independent monitor imposed upon a general contractor as part of a prior Assurance of Discontinuance.  In March 2013, public-works General Contractor Procida Construction Corp. settled a prevailing wage case with the Attorney General’s Office.  In addition to paying $980,000, Procida was required to submit to independent monitoring of its own labor practices and those of its subcontractors, with unannounced on-site inspections by the monitor.  The monitor discovered the prevailing wage violations by JAM and reported them to the Attorney General’s Office for further action.

The case was handled by Section Chief Richard Balletta, led by Labor Bureau Chief Terri Gerstein and Executive Deputy Attorney General for Social Justice Alvin Bragg.

COMPTROLLER STRINGER: KEY BUILDING AND MAINTENANCE CONDITIONS AT NYCHA CONTINUE TO WORSEN

Musty and moldy smells are a daily hazard in 12,600 NYCHA households 

Analysis of 2014 Housing Vacancy Survey data shows peeling paint, mice, heating breakdowns at NYCHA vastly outpace all other types of housing

  Physical conditions in New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) buildings and apartments — including cracked walls, holes in floors, and peeling paint — have continued to worsen over the past several years, according to a new housing brief analyzing 2014 Housing Vacancy Survey (HVS) data released today by New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer.

“Housing conditions at NYCHA remain a tenant’s nightmare, with moldy units, holes in floors, and broken walls,” Comptroller Stringer said. “These apartments are our most valuable affordable housing resource, which is why it’s so vital for NYCHA to bring these units into a state of good repair. Fixing these troubling conditions and giving every NYCHA resident a safe place to live must be a priority for the City.”

The Comptroller’s analysis examined the most recently published data from the Housing Vacancy Survey, a comprehensive set of point-in-time measurements conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Structural condition data is based on assessments by Census field representatives while maintenance and apartment deficiencies are informed by survey responses of City residents.

The 2014 survey data found that the structural condition of NYCHA buildings had declined in 9 of 18 measures from 2011 and improved in other categories. However, the rate of observed deficiencies in four of the seven most important apartment maintenance categories grew during this same time period.

Key findings include:

• In 2014, reports of musty and moldy smells were included in the HVS for the first time. The analysis found that 7.1% of NYCHA households, more than 12,600 units, reported musty/moldy smells on a daily basis inside their apartments and 13.3% reported that condition a few times in a year. That daily rate is more than double the rate of rent stabilized tenants (3.5%) and substantially higher than market-rate tenants (1.2%) and owner-occupied housing (0.3%).

• Bulging or sloping wall conditions, a sign of significant structural neglect, more than tripled from 365 in 2008 to 1,164 in 2014. Observations of boarded up windows steadily increased during that same time period, rising from 1,372 in 2008 to 2,003 in 2014. There were 1,983 slanted or shifted doorsills or door frame observations in 2014, the highest-recorded level since 2002.

• Half of the measures of structural conditions deteriorated in NYCHA buildings from 2011 to 2014. These included a 371.8% increase in major cracks in outside walls, a 72.6% increase in holes or missing floors and a 38.1% increase in sagging or sloping floors.

• For the first time in at least 12 years, rates of observed instances of heating equipment breakdowns, additional heating required, presence of mice or rats, cracks and holes in interior walls and ceilings, floor holes, broken plaster, and peeling paint and water leakage were all higher at NYCHA than in rent-stabilized, market rate rental and owner-occupied housing units.

• Two other notable maintenance deficiency rates in the City’s public housing stock that worsened from 2011 to 2014 include toilet breakdowns (6.2% increase) and kitchen facilities not working (7.0% increase).

• Areas where conditions improved from 2011 to 2014 included rotten or loose window frames (48.1% decrease), broken or missing windows (44% decrease), elevators not accessible for wheelchairs (38.1% decrease), dilapidated buildings (35% decrease) and missing siding or outside walls (23.3% decrease).

In September 2014, Comptroller Stringer called for the projected surpluses from the Battery Park City Authority to be directed specifically toward critically needed repairs at NYCHA properties, which would be the first new funding stream to NYCHA in a generation.  In order to enact this policy, the Governor, New York City Mayor and Comptroller must all support the redirection of funds.  In January 2016, the Governor backed the plan.

“These findings are deeply troubling and we must take immediate steps to ensure that housing conditions at NYCHA improve across the board. I again urge the Administration to give their support to direct surplus Battery Park City Authority funds to create the first new funding stream in a generation for NYCHA . If we want every New Yorker to have a fair and fighting chance to make it in this city, we have an obligation to act without delay,” Stringer said.

Source: NYC Comptroller’s Office from New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey Microdata

To read the full report, click here.

Join BronxWorks in a 5K Multi-Charity Event - All Non-Profits Will Raise New Revenue

Join BronxWorks in a 5K Multi-Charity Event

All Non-Profits Will Raise New Revenue

 

 

LUNCH INFORMATION SESSION

When: Tuesday, April 12, 2016 at 12:30 p.m.

Where: BronxWorks Carolyn McLaughlin Community Center

1130 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY 10456

 

Register at: www.eventbrite.com/e/generosity-bronx-lunch-infosession-tickets-24396458464

 

The Generosity Series of multi-charity 5K Run/Walks is an integrated peer to peer fundraising platform that's making fundraising better, easier and more predictable. Our Charity Partners raise funds at a rate of five times higher than the industry average. Our company handles all event logistics and your non-profit receives customized bibs, T-shirts and medals for your participants with your logo. Learn how your non-profit can raise money by joining the Bronx 5K run/walk event to be held Sunday, June 26, 2016 in Van Cortlandt Park.

 

Here's a 2-minute video clip from one of our events:www.youtube.com/watch?t=2&v=A9HYmv5FTgA

 

The Generosity Series website: www.generosityseries.com

 

Please contact Julie at julie@generosityseries.com or 718-506-9777 x507

Phil Cardone

 Grants & Events Director

 Bronx Chamber of Commerce

"The Network For Business Success"

1200 Waters Place, Suite 106

Bronx, NY 10461

718-828-3900

 Phil@bronxchamber.org 

Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj's Sanitation Forum- April 21, 2016

Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj's Legal Series Forum

Join us for our first Legal Forum on  NYC Sanitation Guidelines  Thursday, April 21, 2015 6 pm to 8 pm Bronx House 990 Pelham Parkway South Bronx, N.Y. 10461 For more information, please contact the office of  Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj (718) 409-0109

Greenway Day - Next Sunday, April 17th

Greenway Day

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Riverdale Station Park

254th Street and the River

1-3pm

Event

will feature music, food, children's activities and more right alongside the beautiful Hudson River!

Community Members are urged to attend the upcoming 

Community Board 8 Greenway Meeting

April 13, 7:30pm

Riverdale Y 

Ride Safe! Fun, Food and Motorcycle Safety Day Sponsored by Empire Harley Davidson and the Jacobi Trauma Service

Ride Safe!

Fun, Food and Motorcycle Safety Day

Sponsored by Empire Harley Davidson and the Jacobi Trauma Service

Saturday, April 30th v 12 Noon - 4 PM

Empire Harley Davidson

8 Industrial Lane, New Rochelle, NY 10805

·         Jacobi Trauma Service Injury Prevention Program and Emergency Medicine

·         Empire State Motorcycle Safety Education Program

·         Biker Down! - Tips For Riders On The Scene

·         Safe Riding Techniques and Demonstration by the New Rochelle Police Department Motorcycle Unit

·         Safety Gear Demo

·         BBQ and Music

·         Raffles and Giveaways

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Carmen De La Rosa Launches Campaign for 72nd Assembly Seat of Assemblyman Linares

  Chief of Staff to Council Member Rodriguez Ready to Fight for Equal Pay for women, Quality Education, Increased Access to Healthcare and to Preserve Affordable Housing

    Carmen De La Rosa, Chief of Staff to NYC Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, announced her candidacy for the 72nd Assembly District on Thursday, saying she would be a strong voice in Albany, especially in a community lacking in female elected leadership. Carmen De La Rosa, a district leader for the 72nd AD and experienced staffer who rose through the offices of Assembly Member Daniel O'Donnell and Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, announced that she is ready to fight for the community where she was raised and is now raising her young daughter, bringing a fresh, progressive voice to the table uptown.

"This candidacy is about bringing a new, progressive voice to Albany, strengthening the representation of women in our uptown community and throughout our state," said Carmen De La Rosa, Assembly Candidate for the 72nd Assembly District. "Our communities in Washington Heights, Inwood and Marble Hill face challenges when it comes to access to reproductive healthcare, quality schools and affordable housing, but I am ready to take these challenges head on and fight for the neighborhoods I have called home my entire life."

Carmen De La Rosa was raised in Inwood, attending elementary and middle school at St. Jude's, before going to High School at Mother Cabrini on Fort Washington Avenue. She was proudly the first person in her family to attend college, graduating from Fordham University with a degree in Political Science.

She entered government as a Community Liaison to Assembly Member Daniel O'Donnell, working with the Upper West Side community on issues of improved senior care, fighting co-locations in local schools and affordable housing preservation, while learning the functions of a state Assembly office. She then returned to work for her community at the office of Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, serving as his legislative, policy & budget director, focusing on college affordability and the disparities in enrollment at higher education institutions for students of color.

In 2014, Carmen was appointed Chief of Staff to Council Member Rodriguez, playing an instrumental role in the passage of nearly a dozen bills related to Mayor Bill de Blasio's Vision Zero initiative, as well as supporting countless neighborhood institutions from senior centers to after school programs to social service providers. It was in this role that Carmen gained a firm understanding of the true needs of the uptown community and how to address them, through legislative action, smart, progressive budgeting and fierce advocacy.

Carmen now stands prepared to take on Albany to fight for Equal Pay for women, more resources for our grossly underfunded schools and to preserve the affordable housing so treasured in northern Manhattan.

"It is appalling that in 2016, women are paid so much less for equal work," said Carmen De La Rosa. "I am ready to take this fight to the finish line for the hard working women of Washington Heights. I also recognize the plight that so many working families uptown face when our schools are underfunded and our affordable housing stock faces pressure from rising rents and greedy slumlords. I have worked on these issues for years and now I am prepared to lead the way."

"Carmen has long held the distinct ability to bring communities together around important issues," said Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez. "I am proud to support her candidacy for this important seat and I know she will be a strong, progressive voice for our diverse uptown community. Her experience and wherewithal on issues from public safety to improving education and protecting affordable housing make her hands down the best candidate for this seat. In a neighborhood yearning for young leadership, she will bring a welcome voice to the table and a fresh perspective on ways to advance our community."

"As someone who has worked closely with Carmen, advocating on behalf of residents in Northern Manhattan, I am proud to support her candidacy for the 72nd Assembly District," said Council Member Mark Levine. "Carmen De La Rosa has been a tremendous asset to the Uptown community and I know she will do an excellent job representing them in the assembly. Her knowledge and advocacy on early childhood education, equal pay and access to reproductive health, will be crucial in making strides in these areas. Our state legislature and our community would each be bolstered by Carmen's resounding voice."

Presidential Politics - Clinton Comes to Bronx Day After Cruz Visit

      Yesterday Republican Presidential candidate Ted Cruz came to a Bronx Restaurant to meet with State Senator  Ruben Diaz Sr. Senator Diaz has endorsed Republicans in the past including Rob Astorino in the last New York State Governors race. However his son Bronx Borough President a devout Democrat has endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton for President. It should also be noted that Team Diaz member Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda has endorsed Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.  So what is going on here - Father supporting another Republican candidate this time for President, Son the devout Democrat supporting the Establishment Democratic candidate for President, and Insurgent member of Team Diaz supporting the non Establishment Democratic candidate for President? Photo below is from Daniel Johnson's Facebook page of Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton outside Yankee Stadium this morning.

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