BP DIAZ CO-HOSTS YOUTH CHESS CHALLENGE WITH AT&T AND CHESS IN THE SCHOOLS

  Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., AT&T and Chess in the Schools co-hosted a youth chess tournament for Bronx students at the Andrew Freedman Home on the Grand Concourse.

 Students from all over The Bronx participated in the third annual Bronx Borough President’s Chess Challenge, which featured chess aficionados from the third grade through middle school testing their skills against one another. Winners in each division were presented awards by Borough President Diaz at the event’s conclusion.

 “It is a great day to host the Chess in the Schools organization right here in The Bronx. Today’s event gave over 200 young chess stars an opportunity to have a friendly competition with each other,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. “I am even more thrilled to be on hand throughout the event to play in chess games with the students, provide encouragement and present tournament winners with awards. Chess reinforces discipline on and off the board and the participants are learning the importance of thinking and being patient.”

 “As a chess player myself, I know how valuable the skills developed are to young students. It is a great privilege to continue to support the Bronx Borough President’s Chess Challenge with Chess in the Schools, whose mission so clearly aligns with AT&T’s own commitment to creating pathways to success for New York City’s most underserved students,” said Marissa Shorenstein, New York State President, AT&T. “We are thrilled for the opportunity to work with Borough President Diaz on this initiative as well as so many other events serving the Bronx community.”

 Chess in the Schools has been teaching and empowering more than a half-million students in the most underserved communities throughout New York City, since 1986, helping students learn to use chess as an educational tool to promote learning and critical thinking.

 “Chess in the Schools is proud that Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr is hosting our Bronx President’s Chess Challenge. Young players from our Bronx classrooms will improve their abilities by competing. Thank you for believing in the power of chess, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.,” said Debbie Eastburn, President & CEO, Chess in the Schools.

Upcoming New Health and Cultural Events in January at JASA Van Cortlandt Senior Center

*New Health & Relaxation class w/Kathleen starts on Wed. Jan. 11^th at 10:30 AM. Kathleen, a certified Yoga/Meditation instructor will conduct a health informational session at 10:30 followed by a Relaxation session of breathing and stretching until 12 Noon. Lunch of Beef Brisket or Tuna salad will be served at 12:15 PM.

*On Wed. Jan. 11^th, Tania Collazo, JASA Floating Kitchen Supervisor, will conduct a new *Healthy Cooking Demonstration at 1:00 PM. Tania will demonstrate simple and nutritious vegetable dishes and desserts.Recommended senior meal contribution: $2.00 and event contribution: $1.00. Please call the senior center office 718-549-4700 for meal reservations by: Mon. Jan. 9th.

Commemorate Dr. Martin L. King with meaningful poems, songs and music on Thurs. Jan. 12^th at 1:00 PM. Volunteers Grace, Lucy, Victor, Andrea and Phyllis will present the program accompanied by Isaac ben Ayala, pianist. Lunch of salmon salad or grilled chicken breast will be served at 12:15 PM. Recommended senior meal contribution: $2.00 and event contribution: $1.00. Please call the senior center office at 718-549- 4700 for meal reservations by Tues.  Jan. 10^th.

*On Fri. Jan. 13^th, enjoy the healing sound of *mBira (“im • BEER • uh”) music from Africa by mBira NYC. Nora and Susan will play spiritual and energizing thumb-piano music from Zimbabwe. Audience participation: clapping, singing and moving is encouraged. A nutritious kosher lunch of Italian roast chicken (legs) or gefilte fish loaf will be served at 12:15 PM. Senior meal contribution is $2.00 and event contribution: $1.00. Refreshments will be served. Please call the senior center office at 718-549- 4700 for meal reservations by Wed. Jan. 11^th.

On Tues. Jan. 17^th, Max Alvarez, author/public speaker, will present a multimedia presentation on “The Golden Age of Movie Musicals” at 1:00 PM. Lunch of fillet of sole or chicken salad will be served at 12:15 PM. Senior meal contribution is $2.00 and event contribution: $1.00. Refreshments will be served. Please call the senior center office at 718-549- 4700 for meal reservations by Fri. Jan. 13^th.

*New: Health & Relaxation class w/Kathleen will meet again on Wed. Jan. 25^th at 10:30 AM.

On Wed. Jan. 25^th, Cesare Civetta will present a spectacular multimedia presentation about the life achievements of Pete Seeger at 1:00 PM. Lunch of turkey meatloaf or tuna salad will be served at 12:15 PM. Senior meal contribution is $2.00 and event contribution: $1.00. Refreshments will be served. Please call the senior center office at 718-549- 4700 for meal reservations by Mon. Jan. 23^rd.

Celebrate Jan/Feb. Birthdays on Tues. Jan. 31^st with the sparkling Linda Ipanema, vocals, and her Dixie Cats (trio) at 1:00 PM. Lunch of chicken Francaise or egg salad will be served at 12:15 PM. Senior meal contribution is $2.00 and event contribution: $1.00. Refreshments will be served. Lunch of turkey meatloaf or tuna salad will be served at 12:15 PM. Recommended senior meal contribution: $2.00 and event contribution: $1.00. Please call the senior center office 718-549-4700 for meal reservations by: Fri. Jan. 27th.

All meals at JASA Van Cortlandt Senior Center are catered by Mauzone (kosher) Meal Service. We offer a daily alternate choice of main dish. Please call the senior center office to request the alternative meal option between 9:30 and 10:30 AM. Refreshments are served at all special events.

Note: *New Classes/Activities:  Health & Relaxation  (twice per month), Movement I (twice per month, starts on Mon. Feb. 13^th at 3 PM) Healthy Cooking demonstrations (once a month) and Healing mBira Music (once a month) are funded by a Health Initiative grant from CM Andrew Cohen.

We are located on the first floor of the Van Cortlandt Jewish Center at 3880 Sedgwick Ave. Take the Bronx #1, 2 or 10 bus to the intersection of Sedgwick Ave. and Van Cortlandt Ave. West. For more Information, please call the center office at   718-549-4700. 

Oilpro.Com Founder Pleads Guilty In Manhattan Federal Court To Hacking Into Competitor’s Computer System

Defendant Stole Information From Over 700,000 Customer Accounts Stored on a Competitor’s Database and Then Sought to Sell Oilpro.com to the Company He Had Hacked

  Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today that DAVID W. KENT, the founder of professional networking website Oilpro.com (“Oilpro”), pled guilty this morning before U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote in Manhattan federal court to a superseding Information, which charged him with one count of intentionally accessing a protected computer without authorization.  The charge stemmed from KENT’s role in repeatedly hacking into a competitor’s database to steal customer information and attempting to sell Oilpro to the same company whose database KENT had hacked.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said:  “David Kent has admitted to his role in hacking into a competitor’s network and stealing client data in order to boost the value of Oilpro, a company he founded.  Kent then attempted to sell Oilpro to the very company he hacked.  Using cyber hacking to gain advantage over a competitor is not only an unfair business practice, but is a federal crime for which Kent has now pled guilty.”           

FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney said:  "Today, David Kent pled guilty to intentionally accessing a protected computer without authorization. This is a stern reminder to others that unauthorized access to a computer is a federal crime with severe penalties; even just a quick look at the data on the computer can lead to a prison sentence and that never leads to a leg up in business.”

According to the superseding Information, the previously filed Complaint, and statements made at public court proceedings:

In or about March 2000, KENT founded a website (“Website-1”) that provides, among other things, networking services to professionals working in the oil and gas industry.  Website-1 allows its members to create profiles, which includes personal and professional information.  As part of their profiles, members can also upload their resumes.  The profiles are contained in a database maintained by Website-1 (the “Members Database”).  Members are assigned login credentials (i.e., usernames and passwords) when they create their profiles.  Members use these login credentials to access their profiles.

In or around August 2010, KENT sold Website-1 for approximately $51 million to a publicly traded company headquartered in New York, NY (“Company-1”).  KENT entered into an employment agreement with Company-1 and agreed to continue to serve as the president of Website-1 after the acquisition.  However, KENT left Website-1 in September 2011 and launched Oilpro in October 2013.  Like Website-1, Oilpro provides networking services to professionals working in the oil and gas industry.  Oilpro is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Between October 2013 and February 2016, KENT conspired to access information belonging to Website-1 without authorization and to defraud Company-1.  KENT accessed the Website-1 Members Database without authorization and stole customer information, including information from over 700,000 customer accounts.  KENT then exploited this information by inviting Website-1’s members to join Oilpro.  Similarly, one of Kent’s employees at Oilpro who previously worked for Website-1 (“CC-1”) accessed information in Website-1’s Google Analytics account without authorization and forwarded the information to KENT.  In the meantime, KENT attempted to defraud Company-1 by misrepresenting during discussions about a potential acquisition of Oilpro by Company-1 that Oilpro had increased its membership through standard marketing methods.          

KENT, 41, of Spring, Texas, was arrested on March 30, 2016.  KENT pled guilty today to one count of intentionally accessing a protected computer without authorization, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

The maximum potential sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

KENT is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Cote on March 17, 2017, at 2:00 p.m.

Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Mr. Bharara also thanked the Office of International Affairs and the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Crime Unit (NCCU), and noted that the investigation is continuing.

Comptroller Stringer Finds Financial Reporting Deficiencies at Success Academy Schools

Inconsistent and Incorrect Reporting Created the Appearance of Lower Administrative Costs 

Billing Records Did Not Support Charges to NYC for Special Education Services 

Success Academy’s Management Arm Collected Duplicative Payments from its Schools

  Comptroller Scott M. Stringer released an audit of Success Academy Charter Schools-NYC’s financial controls, which found financial reporting deficiencies. The audit, which covers Fiscal Years 2013, 2014, and 2015, makes 28 recommendations to ensure Success Academy is in compliance with its own financial rules, as well as those of its charter authorizer and other oversight agencies.

Since 2014, the Comptroller’s Office has audited the City Department of Education (DOE) ten times, with ten additional audits currently ongoing, for a total of 20. This is the Comptroller’s fourth charter school audit to ensure taxpayer dollars were used appropriately. The charter schools were selected based on objective criteria, including geography, size, and publicly available financial data.

The audit of Success Academy Charter Schools-NYC found the following:

• Duplicative and questionable payments from Success Academy schools to the Success Academy management “Network,” which are inconsistent with the terms of their contract.
• An inability to demonstrate that some special education services were actually delivered to students, despite Success’s billing the DOE. The audit calls for the DOE to be reimbursed.
• Reporting inconsistencies, which make administrative costs appear lower to the public and oversight agencies – and in-classroom expenditures appear higher – than was actually the case.
• Lax record-keeping and missing documentation for loan agreements worth millions of dollars, which may have never been put in writing by Success.
• Noncompliance with Success Academy’s own fiscal controls over credit card and other spending.
• Clear violations of the internal financial rules under which Success claims to operate.

“Any entity receiving taxpayer dollars must operate efficiently and follow the rules. We found irregularities in this audit of Success Academy that raise serious concerns. Billing the DOE for special education services without records to verify that they were provided, financial reports that made administrative costs seem lower than they actually were, ineffective fiscal controls over credit card and other spending, missing loan agreements for millions of dollars — all were findings uncovered by this audit, ” Comptroller Scott M. Stringer said. “We found situations in which Success Academy was violating its own standards, or those of oversight agencies. We hope Success Academy will embrace our recommendations and adjust its practices. This isn’t about district versus charter schools—it’s about protecting taxpayer dollars and following the rules.”

Success Academy Charter Schools-NYC operated 24 charter schools in New York City, which served 8,715 students in Fiscal Year 2015 (FY 2015). The schools collectively maintain a “management agreement” with a legally separate entity formally known as “Success Academy Charter Schools, Inc.,” also known within the Success Academy organization as the “Network.”  Under the management agreement, the Success Academy Network provides management services, including financial-reporting services, to the Success Academy schools in exchange for a management fee of 15 percent of the per-pupil revenue that the Success Academy schools received from the City DOE. In FY 2015, the Success Academy schools collectively paid the Network a management fee of $18.3 million. The audit focused specifically on Success Academy Harlem 3, which necessitated examining some Network finances.

The audit found the following:

Duplicative Payments from the Success Academy Schools to the Success Academy Network

The audit found that in FY 2015, Success Academy schools paid the Success Academy Network an extra $624,342 for services that the Network should have provided in exchange for its $18.3 million management fee.  The services included staff training and “professional development,” printing, copying, and student assessments.

Incorrectly Classified Expenses Allowed Success to Overstate Spending on Students

The audit found that Success Academy classified its management fee expense inconsistently and incorrectly in its FY 2015 certified financial statements and its 2015 “Report Card” submitted to its authorizer, the State University of New York, creating the appearance that Success Academy was spending more money on educating students – and less on administrative costs – than was actually the case.

• In their certified financial statements, charter schools are required to report spending for both “program services,” meaning money spent directly on educating students, and “supporting services,” including administrative costs. The auditors found that Success Academy reported widely inconsistent versions of how much of its management fee went toward educating students – from none of it, to half, to 92 percent.
• In Fiscal Years 2013 and 2014, Success Academy reported its entire management fee – 100 percent – as “supporting services expenses.” During those two fiscal years, an average of 80.65 percent of Success Academy’s overall spending went to “program services,” while 19.35 percent went to “supporting services,” according to its certified financial statements.
• However, in its FY 2015 financial statements, Success Academy reported only 8 percent of its management fee as “supporting services expenses,” an about-face that created the appearance that more than 92 percent of its spending went directly toward educating students.
• Separately, the audit found, in its FY 2015 Annual Charter School Report Card to SUNY, Success Academy reported that half — 50 percent — of the same management fee was an “administrative expense.”
• The auditors determined that had Success Academy followed a consistent reporting method, it would have reported a lower amount of its overall spending — approximately 81 percent instead of 92 percent — went directly towards educating students.
• As a result, auditors determined that Success Academy understated its “supporting services expenses” by as much as $16 million – or 61.2 percent – which masked its true management and operational costs in its financial statements.

Charging the DOE for Special Education Services That May Not Have Been Provided

The audit found the Success Academy billed the DOE more than $50,000 for special education services that its records did not show it provided.

• In six of 21 sampled special education students at Success Academy Harlem 3 – or 28.6 percent – the audit found billing for a greater level of services or a longer duration of services than were documented as having been provided to the students.
• Based on a review of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and Success Academy records, the school failed to provide certain mandated special education services to 10 of the 21 sampled students – or 47.6 percent.
  • For five students, the DOE was incorrectly billed for more than $49,000 for services that were either not provided at all or not fully delivered.
  • In one case, Success Academy improperly calculated the length of time that one student received special education services (resulting in overbilling of nearly $1,500).
• On December 16, 2016, in response to a draft of the audit report, Success Academy provided additional documentation to support its special education billing, which did not significantly alter the report’s findings.  Although Success Academy’s newly-produced records arguably support the billing for special education services provided to one of the six students the auditors sampled, representing a combined total of $10,390 of the $50,825 in questioned billing, the auditors could not adequately establish their reliability because they were not produced during the audit, when Success Academy claimed they were “unavailable.”
• The audit recommends that Success Academies reimburse the DOE for special education services that were not provided.

Untimely and Missing Employee Background Checks

• New York State Education Law requires that all charter school employees be fingerprinted and undergo a criminal background check. When auditors examined files for a sample of 44 employees at Success Academy Harlem 3, they found that 61 percent – or 27 individuals – began working in the school before those checks were completed.
• In one case, an employee worked at Harlem 3 for four years and eight months before these checks were finished.

A Failure to Document or Obtain Required Approvals for Loan Agreements Totaling $8.5 million

• Success Academy schools borrowed $8,500,000 from the Network, but failed to record written loan agreements for $2,700,000 of those funds. The proceeds were used to finance operations at 15 schools.
• Success Academy provided auditors with six agreements for loans with balances totaling $5,800,000 that were signed by the then chairs of the boards of trustees of the charter school-borrowers.  However, Success Academy stated that it could not locate agreements for loans with balances totaling $2,700,000 (of which $250,000 was attributable to Harlem 3).  Moreover, Success Academy stated that it believed that agreements for the loans totally $2.7 million never existed in written form.

Among other findings:

• Success Academy did not maintain adequate controls over its fixed assets inventory as required by its charter. In its FY 2015 financial statements, Success Academy Harlem 3 reported that it had property and equipment valued at $24.8 million. The NYSED Fiscal Oversight Guidebook states that charter schools must inventory all assets and should maintain “complete, up-to-date inventory records.” Success Academy’s inventory records were deficient in several ways. For example, expensive equipment such as computers, smartphones, and cameras were not clearly assigned to an employee or place, and Success Academy did not conduct annual inventory inspections as recommended by the NYSED guidebook. Inventory controls are essential to reduce the possibility of waste, misuse, and theft and to ensure that public funds are being spent appropriately.
• Success Academy did not comply with its own fiscal policies and procedures to ensure that purchases made by network and school employees on behalf of schools were reasonable, appropriate, adequately supported, and properly authorized. Of $320,431 in sampled purchases, auditors questioned purchases totaling $312,088 – or 97.4 percent—based on Success Academy records that showed that Success’s own rules were not followed.  For example, Success Academy purchased services such as advertising, website design, and software support for sums exceeding $25,000 without competitive bidding or the specific justifications and management approval that its own rules require.
• In other instances, credit cards were used for purchases exceeding $500 without a record of the business purpose or that the purchase could not be paid by check, which would reflect a violation of Success’s own rules.
• Under New York State law, charter schools receive per-pupil funding from students’ school district of residence. Accordingly, Success Academy requires its schools to keep students’ proof of residency on file. When auditors reviewed records for 71 sampled students at Success Academy Harlem 3, they found that the school did not obtain appropriate proof of residency for 13 students – or 18 percent of the sample. The City DOE was billed $168,178 for those students, and auditors could not determine whether the charges were appropriate based on Success Academy’s records.
• On December 16, 2016, in connection with its formal, written response to the draft report, Success Academy provided the auditors with additional documentation that includes acceptable proof of residency for 5 of the 13 students cited in the report.

A.G. Schneiderman Announces Agreements With Six Major Retailers To Stop On-Call Shift Scheduling

Disney, Aeropostale, David’s Tea & Other Retailers Agree To Cease Burdensome Scheduling Practice Following Multistate Investigation; Agreements Will Benefit An Estimated 50,000 Workers Nationwide

These Are Latest In Series Of Groundbreaking National Agreements Secured By NY AG’s Office To End On-Call Scheduling At Major Retailers

  Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, along with attorneys general from seven other states and the District of Columbia, announced that six major retailers have agreed to stop using on-call shift scheduling following an inquiry by the multi-state coalition of AGs. An estimated 50,000 workers nationwide will benefit from the agreements to end the burdensome scheduling practice, which requires employees to call their employer – typically an hour or two before a scheduled shift – to find out if they will be assigned to work that day. The agreements with these six companies are the latest in a series of groundbreaking national agreements secured by the New York Attorney General’s office to end on-call scheduling at a number of major retailers.

The six companies – Aeropostale, Carter’s, David’s Tea, Disney, PacSun, and Zumiez – were among 15 large retailers who received a joint inquiry letter from the nine attorneys general in April of this year seeking information and documents related to their use of on-call shifts. These six companies reported that they were using on-call shifts, but after discussions with the AGs’ offices, all agreed to stop doing so, and none are currently using on-call shifts.

In addition to ending the use of on-call shifts, four of the companies --  Carter’s, Disney, David’s Tea, and Zumiez – all committed to providing employees with their work schedules at least one week in advance of the start of the workweek.  Such advance notice allows employees to plan ahead to cover child care and other obligations.

“On-call shifts are not a business necessity and should be a thing of the past. People should not have to keep the day open, arrange for child care, and give up other opportunities without being compensated for their time,” said Attorney General Schneiderman.  “I am pleased that these companies have stepped up to the plate and agreed to stop using this unfair method of scheduling.”

These six companies, as well as others involved in a 2015 inquiry by Attorney General Schneiderman’s office, all found alternative staffing methods for addressing unanticipated employee absences or fluctuations in business volume; typically, some kind of pool arrangement has been implemented in lieu of on-call shifts.

The collaboration among attorneys general stemmed from their collective concern about the impact of on-call shifts on employees and their families, as well as the national scope of the retail companies involved.

The April letter states, “Unpredictable work schedules take a toll on employees. Without the security of a definite work schedule, workers who must be “on call” have difficulty making reliable childcare and elder-care arrangements, encounter obstacles in pursuing an education, and in general experience higher incidences of adverse health effects, overall stress, and strain on family life than workers who enjoy the stability of knowing their schedules reasonably in advance.”

It continues, “Our letter today is prompted by the concerns outlined above and by our shared interest in the well-being of workers nationwide,” and notes that certain states have laws regarding reporting or call in pay laws applicable within those jurisdictions.

Attorney General Schneiderman’s Office sent letters to the following fifteen retailers and was joined by some or all of the attorneys generals with retail locations in their respective states: American Eagle, Aeropostale, Payless, Disney, Coach, PacSun, Forever 21, Vans, Justice Just for Girls, BCBG Maxazria, Tilly’s, Inc., David’s Tea, Zumiez, Uniqlo, and Carter’s. Nine of these companies responded that they did not use the practice of on-call scheduling or had recently ended it.

New York State has a “call in pay” regulation that provides, “An employee who by request or permission of the employer reports for work on any day shall be paid for at least four hours, or the number of hours in the regularly scheduled shift, whichever is less, at the basic minimum hourly wage.”  (12 NYCRR 142-2.3)

In 2015, as a result of an inquiry by Attorney General Schneiderman into on-call scheduling, brands including Abercrombie & Fitch, Gap, J.Crew, Urban Outfitters, Pier 1 Imports, and L Brands (parent company of Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret) all agreed to end the practice of assigning on-call shifts.

The letters were signed by representatives of the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, and Rhode Island. Several offices signed only letters to retailers located within their states. 

Menorah Lighting Events

Wednesday December 28, 2016

3:30pm 

Bronx House 

990 Pelham Parkway  

Bronx NY 10461

4:30pm 

Einstein Hospital  

Morris Park Avenue & Eastchester Road 

Bronx, NY 10462 

5:30pm

Memorial Peace Plaza: Williamsbrigde Road & Pelham Parkway
Bronx NY 10461

For More Information, please contact 718-409-0109

Happy Holidays from The Bronx Chamber of Commerce

DE BLASIO ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES KICK-OFF OF “PARKNYC,” A NEW MOBILE PAYMENT SYSTEM FOR ON-STREET PARKING

Starting in midtown Manhattan, system will be phased in Citywide, coming to all 85,000 parking spots served by DOT Muni-Meters by Summer 2017

  The de Blasio Administration today announced the introduction of ParkNYC, a new and convenient way to pay for on-street parking in New York City. Implemented by DOT and operated by Parkmobile, LLC, a private vendor, ParkNYC allows motorists to remotely pay for parking using an online system that links registered license plate numbers to NYPD traffic enforcement agents’ handheld devices that confirm payment. Using a smartphone, Commissioner Polly Trottenberg of the Department of Transportation demonstrated ParkNYC at a metered spot in the Kips Bay neighborhood of Manhattan.

“Parking in New York City can be a challenge, but ParkNYC will make it just a bit easier,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “With no paper receipt and the ability to quickly get on your way, this new pay-by-cell tool fulfills our commitment – made in this year’s State of the City address – that we would help save New Yorkers the most precious of resources: their time.”

“With ParkNYC, drivers no longer have to scramble for change or even walk to a Muni-Meter to get a receipt for their dashboard,” said DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. “With no added fees, mobile alerts that let you know when your parking session is ending, and the ability to extend a session without returning to your car, ParkNYC offers a great convenience to New York drivers. We are excited that ParkNYC will be available at every metered parking space in every borough by the end of next summer.”

The process for using ParkNYC is very simple:

1. Download the ParkNYC app or go to www.parknyc.org to register an account.
2. Enter personal information including phone number and email; create a password.
3. Provide a license plate number for the account and set alert/notification preferences.
4. Load your wallet. A ParkNYC wallet works like EZPass, and can be reloaded in increments as low as $25. Once registered, drivers may use the mobile app, internet or a toll-free number to pay for parking. 
5. Park. After parking, enter the unique zone number for block and length of time. After confirmation, the driver is set!
6. Extend. If time is running out and maximum time has not already been reached, parking time can be extended without returning to the car.

Commissioner Trottenberg noted that ParkNYC was a new option for parking payment and underscored that DOT Muni-Meters would continue to accept coins and credit/debit cards for payment for customers who don’t wish to use the new service. Parking rates and time limits are block-side-specific and will remain unchanged for all payment methods.

The ParkNYC mobile app went live on Friday, December 16, and is available for download at no cost for iPhones in the App Store and for Android at Google Play. It can be used as zones are phased in Citywide on a rolling basis through next summer. The website www.parknyc.org includes more information about registration and FAQs and can also be used for remote payment without downloading the ParkNYC app. Transactions can also be made by voice call to an automated phone system.

Beginning this month, ParkNYC zone numbers will roll out on signs and decals on the sides of Muni-Meters in Manhattan between 14th and 59th Streets. The new signs and decals identify each block-side with a distinctive six-digit zone code.

“ParkNYC is a major customer service win,” said NYPD Chief of Transportation Thomas Chan.“Technology is providing the public with an excellent alternative payment option, and in my opinion a more convenient option, to ease their busy days. In the old days you usually needed a bunch of quarters and you had to watch the meter. Now all you need is ParkNYC and your mobile device.”

“With ParkNYC, drivers will have the ease of paying for parking in New York City right in their pocket,” saidJacques Jiha, Commissioner of the Department of Finance, which collects parking fines and adjudicates violations. “This app will eliminate some of the hassle, and perhaps some of the fines, that can occur when time runs out on a parking meter.”

About Parkmobile

Parkmobile, LLC is the leading provider for on-demand and prepaid mobile payments for on- and off-street parking and mobility related services. The Parkmobile network is available in more than 2,000 locations, including 36 of the top 100 cities in the U.S. It is the most widely used mobile parking solution in the country with over 5 million people using Parkmobile’s services over 30 million times per year. Parkmobile’s services include on-street parking, off-street parking deck, airport and event reservations and municipal parking permit solutions. Parkmobile serves over 20 airports as well as provides reserved parking solutions for private operators, the Super Bowl, the College Football Championship Series, Fenway Park, Nationwide Arena, and Soldier Field to name a few. For more information, visit us at www.parkmobile.com, on Twitter @Parkmobile, or facebook.com/Parkmobile.

EDITOR"S NOTE:

I have left out the comments from elected officials because there will be no comments from the Bronx Borough President while other borough presidents and city council members are listed. 

Why is there never a comment from the Bronx Borough President Mr. Mayor?