STATEMENT FROM HECTOR RAMIREZ CAMPAIGN AFTER WINNING LEGAL BATTLE TO STAY ON THE BALLOT FOR ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 86

   “After fighting yet another attempt by the gatekeepers of the deplorable status quo that keeps impoverishing our neighborhoods by denying the people of District 86 to select their representation to the New York State Assembly, we are happy to inform you that on September 13 Democrat Hector Ramirez will be on the ballot. Despite all the dishonest tactics and effort to keep manipulating the system to benefit a fraudulent incumbent, the Board of Elections and The Supreme Court decided that Ramirez’s signatures are valid, allowing him to move ahead with his candidacy and attempts, once again, to give the voice that the district deserves in Albany. This is a resilient community and we will not rest until we allow the voters of the district to select its own leaders by demanding and participating in fair and free elections.”

The Democratic Primary will be held on September 13, 2016.

News From Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman

   

Stopping Zika Prevention Scams

Attorney General Schneiderman issued cease and desist letters to 7 companies for deceptively marketing products as “Zika preventive” that do not prevent or protect consumers against Zika virus or mosquitoes. The AG urged New Yorkers to only use products that contain ingredients, such as DEET, that are proven to be effective. 

Less than 24 hours after the Attorney General commenced action, six of the seven companies removed misleading advertising or completely removed their products online. 

Delivering Justice to Sandy Victims 

On Monday, AG Schniederman charged an engineering company with a 50-count indictment for allegedly altering assessment of damage reports of residential properties from Superstorm Sandy. Additionally, the Attorney General released a report that identified fundamental flaws in the National Flood Insurance Program and offered recommendation for reforms to ensure a more transparent insurance claims process for homeowners.

Have a question, comment, or complaint? Click here. You can also learn more about the various initiatives of the Attorney General's office by visiting our website at ag.ny.gov. You can also call our General Hotline: 800-771-7755. 

NYC Council 12th District Community Engagement Service Day Parade.

  Hundreds of proud Bronx residents and elected officials were out on Saturday to celebrate their community at the first annual NYC Council 12th District Community Engagement Service Day Parade.

With scattered clouds, it didn’t rain on Saturday’s parade. The summer breeze and 80-degree weather made it ideal for parade marchers to walk from the intersection of Boston Road and East Gun Hill Road, westward to the Evander Childs High School field on Barnes Avenue, Williamsbridge.

“It was a wonderful day. We had a small sprinkle of rain after the parade was over, then the sun came out bright for everyone to also enjoy the festivities along Barnes Avenue with our mobile vans and community organizations as well as the concert and exhibitors on the football field,” said Council Member Andy King, who organized the parade, which featured more than 500 participants. Elected officials joining him were NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer and Council Members Andrew Cohen.

The parade included Ronald McDonald of McDonalds and marching bands. Several public schools and local organizations marched with banners, signs and flags waving during the parade.

Following the parade was a spiritual devotion service by local ministers, music performances, congratulation wished to 2016 Summer graduates of the High School for Contemporary Arts and a gospel concert featuring Grammy award-winning Gospel artist Pastor Donnie McClurkin.

The free Community Engagement Service Day Concert, which was attended by more than 2,000 people, was sponsored by the High School of Contemporary Arts, NYC Council Member Andy King and Fun in the Son as a part of Council Member King’s third annual Community Engagement Service Day.

A.G. Schneiderman Announces $100K Settlement With E-Retailer After Data Breach Exposes Over 25K Credit Card Numbers

EZcontactsUSA.com Must Pay $100K In Penalties And Reform Business Practices Following Massive Breach

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced a settlement with Provision Supply, LLC, d/b/a EZcontactsUSA.com, involving a data breach resulting in the potential exposure of over 25,000 credit card numbers and other cardholder data.  EZcontactsUSA.com has agreed to pay $100,000 in penalties and to shore up its data security practices.

 “New Yorkers deserve an Internet marketplace that secures their personal information,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “No one should be exposed to identity theft or financial fraud by simply buying something over the Internet. My office will continue working to help protect hardworking New Yorkers from credit card fraud.”

On August 7, 2014, a third party infiltrated EZcontactsUSA.com website, which is based in Brooklyn, New York.  On June 05, 2015, EZcontactsUSA.com's merchant bank notified it that fraudulent charges were appearing on customer credit card accounts. Shortly thereafter, EZcontactsUSA.com engaged a company to conduct a forensic investigation, which discovered and removed all the malware on the EZcontactsUSA.com website.

EZContactsUSA.com never provided notice to its customers or law enforcement about the breach, in violation of General Business Law § 899-aa, which requires notice be provided to affected individuals and various government agencies including Schneiderman’s office, in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay.

Schneiderman’s office also found that EZContactsUSA.com violated Executive Law § 63(12) and General Business Laws §§ 349 and 350 by misrepresenting the safety and security of its website.  EZContactsUSA.com advertised its website as “100% safe and secure,” and “utilizing the latest security technology available.” However, a forensics investigation revealed that EZcontactsUSA.com’s website contained numerous security vulnerabilities. In particular, the investigation revealed that EZcontactsUSA.com did not maintain a written security policy addressing information security problems; deploy effective web server and host based firewall configurations designed to prevent unauthorized access and exploitation of commonly known vulnerable outgoing computer network port(s); implement anti-virus and anti-malware software on any computer systems; monitor and/or review the site’s performance and security configuration, or otherwise conduct vulnerability and penetration testing; or maintain firewall logs, which prevented investigators from determining the frequency of attacker visits and related information.

The settlement requires EZcontactsUSA.com to conduct thorough and expeditious investigations of any future data security breaches, provide prompt notice of data security breaches to affected New York residents and to New York law enforcement, maintain reasonable security policies and procedures designed to protect the personal information of consumers in accordance with New York State General Business laws, and to remediate the many security vulnerabilities contained in its website. EZcontactsUSA.com must also train employees with the most up-to-date data security practices, and pay a $100,000 penalty.

Family Fun Day on East 204th Street by C-Town Supermarket

No Parking on West 238th Street Between Riverdale and Waldo Avenues

   The sign pit up on this pole on West 238th Street at the corner of Greystone Avenue says no parking  from 7 AM to 3 PM on Saturday. These signs were posted on both sides of the street from the beginning at Riverdale Avenue to the end of the street at Waldo Avenue today.

   

   Residents and merchants wanted to know the reason why. 

The Answer is that the Empire Subway Company is going to be digging in the street. No they are not putting in a subway line, but the Empire Subway Company is the construction arm of Verizon, and at a much lower cost to Verizon than if Verizon workers were to do the work. 

Crane Blocking Street - Here Today Gone Tomorrow

   At the June Community Board 8 Land Use meeting the Fieldston School located on Manhattan College Parkway surrounded by Riverdale Avenue, West 238th Street, and Greystone Avenue told the Land Use Committee of its plans to expand the school's Greystone Avenue building. This would mean the loss of parking on Greystone Avenue to be replaced by an equal amount of parking spaces on the school property. As you can see in the photo below that was not the case. In a letter to neighbors the school sent out dated August 1, 2016 the school said that Greystone Avenue would be completely closed from August 2nd to August 8th due to the construction.

Above - A view of the street closure looking north to the school on Greystone Avenue.

Below - A view of the street closure looking south to the school on Greystone Avenue.

There seem to have been complaints made to the community board, and as of this morning you can see that Greystone Avenue is once again open, and the huge crane is no where to be found.

Jews For Racial and Economic Justice Come tp Riverdale for Demonstration

   About 75 people led by Leo Ferguson an organizer of Jews of Color led a peaceful protest through the streets of Riverdale. They came from mostly other parts of the city to rally with a few Riverdalian's who are part of the group. They met at the Riverdale Monument at West 239th Street, and then proceeded to march west to Independence Avenue. They turned down Independence Avenue to West 237th Street turning onto Blackstone Avenue. Upon reaching West 239th Street they turned east and marched back to the monument where speeches were then given. During the march chants of 'Black Lives Matter', and 'Fire racist police officers' was often heard. 

   The marchers were given a police escort by the 50th Precinct, with the commanding officer and community affairs officers providing traffic control and safety for the marchers. Deputy Inspector O'Toole said that he and his officers were there to insure the safety of the marchers. 

   It should be noted that the marchers went right by the residence of Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, and did not stop to protest there, as they were calling for better legislation to curtail the rash of police racism. That and the lack of noticeable Riverdale leaders in the march led many residents to look at the marchers, then continue what they were doing. The march and rally lasted a little over an hour as it was over when the night time came.  

  

Above and below - The protestors march through several Riverdale streets, as the police ensure their safety while marching.

Above - The marchers return to the West 239th Street monument to rally. 

Below - Leo Ferguson addresses the group at the Riverdale monument.