Former Managing Director At New York Broker-Dealer Pleads Guilty In “Pay-To-Play” Bribery Scheme Involving Public Pension Fund

   Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that DEBORAH KELLEY, a former managing director of institutional fixed income sales at a New York-based broker-dealer (the “Broker-Dealer”), pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken for participating in a “pay-to-play” bribery scheme involving the New York State Common Retirement Fund (“NYSCRF”), the nation’s third largest public pension fund. 

Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said:  “As she admitted today, Deborah Kelley bribed Navnoor Kang to steer state pension business to her brokerage firm, reaping hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional commissions for the firm.  In the process, she was complicit in defrauding New York pensioners and depriving them of Kang’s honest services. The hard-earned retirement savings of New Yorkers should not be a vehicle for corrupt pension administrators and securities brokers to profit.”

According to allegations contained in the Indictment charging KELLEY and statements made during her plea proceeding:

The NYSCRF

The NYSCRF is a pension fund administered for the benefit of public employees of the State of New York.  From January 2014 through February 2016, Navnoor Kang served as Director of Fixed Income and Head of Portfolio Strategy for the NYSCRF.  In that capacity, Kang was responsible for investing more than $53 billion in fixed-income securities on behalf of the NYSCRF.  Kang owed a fiduciary duty to the NYSCRF and its members and beneficiaries, and was required to make investment decisions in their best interests and free of any conflict of interest.  New York State law and NYSCRF policies prohibited Kang and other NYSCRF employees from receiving any bribes, gifts, benefits, or consideration of any kind, as KELLEY well knew.

The Scheme to Steer NYSCRF Fixed-Income Business in Exchange for Secret Bribes

From 2014 through 2016, Kang, KELLEY, and others participated in a scheme to defraud the NYSCRF and its members and beneficiaries, and to deprive the NYSCRF of its intangible right to Kang’s honest services.  The scheme involved, among other things, an agreement among Kang, KELLEY, and others to pay Kang bribes – in the form of entertainment, travel, and lavish meals, among other things – in exchange for fixed-income business from the NYSCRF.  Such bribes were strictly forbidden by the NYSCRF, and were paid secretly and without any disclosure to the NYSCRF and its members and beneficiaries concerning the conflicts of interests inherent therein. 

In exchange for the bribes paid by KELLEY, Kang used his position as Director of Fixed Income and Head of Portfolio Strategy at the NYSCRF to promote the interests of KELLEY and her brokerage firm.  Kang, in exchange for the bribes he received, agreed to steer fixed-income business to the Broker-Dealer.  In so doing, Kang, with KELLEY’s knowledge and approval, breached his fiduciary duty to make investment decisions in the best interest of the NYSCRF and its members and beneficiaries, and free of conflict, and deprived the NYSCRF of its intangible right to Kang’s honest services.  

As KELLEY paid bribes to KANG, the Broker-Dealer’s fixed-income business with the NYSCRF skyrocketed.  The value of NYSCRF’s domestic bond transactions with the Broker-Dealer increased from zero in the fiscal year ending March 1, 2014, to approximately $156 million in the fiscal year ending March 1, 2015, and to approximately $179 million in the fiscal year ending March 1, 2016.  Kang’s trades resulted in the payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars in commissions to the Broker-Dealer, of which KELLEY personally earned approximately 35 to 40 percent.

Obstruction of Justice

In late 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) opened an investigation into the entertainment and benefits that KELLEY had provided Kang, and the SEC subpoenaed both KELLEY and Kang for their testimony.  In advance of their testimony, KELLEY and Kang agreed to align their stories and testify falsely before the SEC in order to conceal their scheme.  In late 2015 and early 2016, KELLEY and Kang each falsely testified under oath before the SEC about expenses KELLEY had paid for Kang.  

KELLEY, 58, of Piedmont, California, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and honest services wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and three years of supervised release. 

In December 2016, Gregg Schonhorn, a former a vice president of fixed income sales at another New York-based broker-dealer, pled guilty for his participation in the scheme. Kang, against whom charges for conspiracy, securities fraud, honest services wire fraud, and obstruction of justice are currently pending, is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. 

Mr. Kim praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and noted that the investigation is continuing.   He also thanked the SEC, which filed civil charges against Kang, KELLEY, and Schonhorn in a separate civil action, and the Office of Inspector General for the Office of the New York State Comptroller.

U.S.Attorney Agreement With The NY State Education Department To Change State Guidelines On Parental Involvement In Medication Adjustments At School For Children With Diabetes

  Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that the United States has resolved its investigation into complaints alleging that the New York State Education Department (the “NYSED”) violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (the “ADA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12131-12134, and related regulations by refusing to permit parent and guardian involvement in the adjustment of a child’s diabetes medication, with the approval of the child’s doctor, during school or at school-sponsored events.

Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said: “Parents of children with diabetes have a right to play a role in the treatment of their children while at school. We are pleased to have reached an agreement with the New York State Education Department that will help students with diabetes receive during school the same adjustments to their medication that they receive outside of school, as their doctors direct.”

This Office’s investigation found that, in September 2015, the NYSED issued Guidelines for Medication Management in Schools that caused schools to reject certain types of orders issued by physicians treating children with diabetes authorizing parents and guardians to be involved in the adjustment of their child’s diabetes medication administered by the school healthcare team. The rejected orders included model orders developed by national diabetes organizations such as the National Diabetes Education Project and the American Diabetes Association by which a physician could authorize a parent or guardian to direct a school healthcare professional to adjust, within limits, the dosage and timing of correction doses of insulin, insulin-to-carbohydrate ratios, and fixed insulin doses. As these model orders reflect, it is common for parents and guardians of children with diabetes to have particularized knowledge with respect to their child’s recent activities, food intake, reaction to medication, and the like, and, through training and experience, to develop expertise regarding the adjustment of the dosage and timing of their child’s diabetes medication, information that is essential to the provision of necessary medical care for children with diabetes at all times, including at school. The investigation found that the Guidelines were hindering the communication of this vital information and in certain instances preventing necessary adjustments to diabetes medication from occurring at school. This Office detailed its conclusions in a Letter of Findings dated January 18, 2017.

In response to the investigation, the NYSED agreed to amend the Guidelines. The NYSED has also agreed to provide a model form for a physician to use to authorize the involvement of the parents/guardians in adjustment decisions where appropriate. The final decision with respect to the dosage and timing of diabetes medication shall remain with the school nurse as a matter of the nurse’s exercise of professional judgment, which will include consideration of the information communicated by the parent or guardian.

Specifically, under the resolution, NYSED has agreed to take the following actions: (i) amend the provisions of the Guidelines that were identified by the investigation as causing concerns; (ii) include additional language in the Guidelines explaining the respective roles of the school nurse and the parents/guardians who have been authorized to recommend adjustments of their child’s diabetes medication within specified limits; and (iii) provide a link to a model form through which physicians can provide such authorization to the parent/guardian (provided that the student’s Diabetes Medical Management Plan also includes authorization of the school nurse to make adjustments within the same range(s) as a matter of the nurse’s professional judgment). These changes, which resolve the issues addressed in the Letter of Findings, are explained in more detail in the attachments to the Office’s resolution letter. An amended version of the Guidelines reflecting these changes appears on the NYSED website at the following address: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/sss/schoolhealth/schoolhealthservices/.

Mr. Kim also thanked NYSED for its cooperation. The case is being handled by the Office’s Civil Rights Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Byars is in charge of the matter.

MAYOR DE BLASIO SIGNS LEGISLATION TO BETTER PROMOTE SAFETY, FAIRNESS AND TRANSPARENCY FOR ALL NEW YORKERS

Signs legislation to give food carts letter grades, create a fairer workweek, give voters their voter history prior to elections, and increase safety for all vehicles on the road

  Mayor Bill de Blasio today held public hearings for, and signed, 28 pieces of legislation into law. Intro. 1396 establishes general provisions governing fair work practices and requiring certain fast food employers to provide advance notice of work schedules to employees and to provide a schedule change premium when hours are changed after required notices; Intro. 1388 regulates consecutive work shifts in fast food restaurants involving both the closing and opening of the restaurant; Intro. 1395 requires fast food employers to offer work shifts to current employees before hiring additional employees; Intro. 1384 provides fast food employees the ability to make voluntary contributions to not-for-profit organizations of their choice through payroll deductions; Intro. 1387 prohibits on-call scheduling for retail employees; Intro. 848 sends voters their voter histories; Intro. 951 requires all public phone lines be able to dial 911 directly; Intro. 1028-B creates a Sexual Health Education Task Force; Intro. 1346-A requires storm water management and control of discharges into storm sewers;Intro, 1456-A requires mobile vendor letter grades; Intro. 722-A increases the minimum apartment temperature that must be maintained by a landlord during nighttime hours; Intro. 823-A requires the city to issue a report regarding illegal conversions of dwelling units; Intro. 1218-A relates to illegal conversions; Intro. 1586 relates to the preservation of certain hotels;Intro. 518-A requires secondhand automobile dealers to disclose whether automobiles have been recalled by the automobiles’ manufacturers; Intro. 1117-A expands current delivery cyclist protections to all commercial cyclists; Intro. 1177-A requires feasibility of interval crossing systems at high-crash intersections; Intro. 1285-A requires a study on locations with significant pedestrian traffic; Intro. 1305-A relates to notice parking restrictions related to removal of trees; Intro. 282-A relates to community involvement in decisions of the BSA; Intro. 418-A relates to written responses by the BSA; Intro. 514-A relates to the expiration of variances granted by the BSA; Intro. 1200-A relates to proof of service of certain required mailings for applications the BSA; Intro. 1390-A requires Dept. of City Planning to designate a BSA coordinator; Intro. 1391-A relates to appraisals regarding BSA‎ applications; Intro. 1392-A relates to applications for variances and special permits before the BSA; Intro. 1393-A requires BSA to report on variances and special permits; Intro. 1394-A relates to adding zoning variance and special permit information on a map on a city website.

“Today we have 28 bills that to improve job conditions and scheduling practices, bills that give voters more information, and bills that make tenants, motorists, and cyclists safer – just to name a few,” said Mayor de Blasio. "I would like to thank Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and the sponsors of these bills for continuing to fight for a fairer, safer, and more livable New York for all."

The City Council is proud to be submitting multiple packages guaranteed to go far in keeping New Yorkers feeling safe and secure in their homes and workplaces,” said Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. “The Fair Work Week initiative will improve employment conditions for thousands of residents in the fast food and retail industries, while a set of reforms to the Board of Standards and Appeals ensures that contentious development projects will receive the comprehensive reviews they need. I applaud my colleagues for their work on these essential measures, and I thank Mayor de Blasio for signing them into law today.”

“Today we celebrate legislation that will improve the quality of life for thousands of New Yorkers,” said New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer.  The increase in the minimum required overnight heat temperature to 62 degrees represents the first change in heat requirements since 1967, and will help all city residents, particularly seniors, children, and those with health conditions weather the cold winter nights. I want to thank City Council Housing Chair Jumaane Williams for working closely with HPD on this issue.”

“DOT strongly believes in cycling safety, so the safety requirements of NYC’s commercial cyclist law should of course cover all delivery cyclists, be they working for a brick-and-mortar store or an online app,” said DOT Commissioner Trottenberg. “Those key safety requirements, including retroreflective clothing, a helmet, lights, a bell, and public display of the business and the individual cyclist, are all in addition to the completion of a required safety course. We commend Majority Leader Van Bramer and the Council for extending these requirements.”  

“DOT shares the Council’s interest in protecting pedestrians by implementing crossing times that are free from conflicting vehicle movements,” said Commissioner Trottenberg. “Since no two New York City intersections are exactly alike, we approach intersection design with an open mind, always looking for the design that will get us the best and safest results. We have already gotten started on the report on the topic required under the Council’s bill -- and look forward to sharing it soon.” 

“With record jobs creation, tourism and population, New York City’s sidewalks and crosswalks are busier than ever,” said Commissioner Trottenberg. “What began as the transformation of Broadway in Times Square has continued through DOT’s Plaza Program, through which we have created the equivalent of twenty football fields’ more room for pedestrians across the city. Meanwhile, we have expanded sidewalks on Main Street in Flushing, with plans for wider sidewalks on Seventh Avenue in Midtown and as the Mayor recently announced, on Thompson Avenue near LaGuardia Community College, used by thousands of students every day. And on Broadway in Manhattan between 24th and 25th Streets, we are implementing NYC’s first official operational ‘shared street.’ We look forward to continuing to study needed improvements as required by the Council’s legislation -- and implementing those improvements.”

NEW YORK CITY IS THE LARGEST CITY TO END ABUSIVE SCHEDULING PRACTICES IN THE FAST FOOD AND RETAIL INDUSTRIES

Predictable schedules and predictable paychecks are now a right, not a privilege, in these low-wage industries

Today, Mayor de Blasio, City Council members, advocates, and workers held a rally at City Hall to mark the “Fair Workweek” package of bills becoming law. This package will ensure that predictable schedules and predictable paychecks for fast food and retail workers in New York City will be soon be rights, not privileges.

The Mayor’s package, which includes bills that deliver on his promise to end unfair and inconsistent scheduling practices in the fast food industry, will hold fast food and retail corporations operating in New York City accountable for their scheduling practices, which have left workers with little sense of when they will work and how much they will earn. Such practices have made it too difficult for hundreds of thousands of low-wage earners in New York City to obtain additional employment, plan for child or elder care, or further their education. The Mayor will sign the bills as part of a bill signing ceremony later this afternoon and they will go into effect in 180 days.

“Last fall, we promised to make the lives of some of our city’s hardest working just a little bit easier by bringing fair, predictable scheduling to their jobs. These bills deliver on that promise,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “Predictable schedules and predictable paychecks should be a right, not a privilege. With this legislation, we are continuing to build a fairer and more equitable city for all New Yorkers.” 

“The City Council is proud to have passed the Fair Work Week legislative package – the most comprehensive and progressive package of its kind nationwide – by a nearly unanimous vote,” said Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. “These measures represent significant steps forward in protecting local fast food and retail employees from unfair, unsustainable and unpredictable workplace practices and environments. I applaud my colleagues for their work on this essential issue, and I thank Mayor de Blasio for signing it into law today.”

The fast food scheduling-related bills, which were announced in part by Mayor de Blasio last fall, would require fast food employers to give written notice of schedules to their employees no less than two weeks in advance, written “good faith” estimates of weekly hours to new employees, regulate the practice of “clopenings,” or consecutive closing, then opening, shifts, and would also require fast food employers to offer any new shifts to current employees before they hire anyone else. If a fast food employer makes changes to an employee’s schedule with less than 14 days’ notice, the employer must pay the employee a premium.

An additional fast food industry-related bill requires fast food employers to deduct and remit voluntary contributions to nonprofits when their employees make such a request in writing, if the recipient nonprofits meet certain requirements.

Lastly, a bill applicable to those retailers with 20 or more employees in New York City prohibits such retailers from scheduling their employees for “on call” shifts, which force employees to check in with their employers on little to no notice about whether or not they will be working on any given day.

This package’s new scheduling-related requirements will ensure that hundreds of thousands of hardworking New Yorkers who are trying to make ends meet no longer face entrenched obstacles imposed by profit-driven corporations when they are simply trying to plan for how and when their families will be cared for and how much will be in their paychecks at the end of the week.

Across the country, nearly one in five Americans has an unstable work schedule and about 40 percent of early career workers, defined as workers aged 26 - 32, have less than one week advance notice of their schedules. This is particularly an issue with workers in industries such as fast food and retail, in which nationally the average worker age is 29 and in which an average of 25 percent of workers are raising children.

Enforcement of these Fair Workweek laws will fall under the jurisdiction of the City’s Office of Labor Policy and Standards (OLPS), which is housed within the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA). OLPS is NYC’s central resource for workers and serves as a dedicated voice in City government for workers in NYC. The Office enforces key municipal workplace laws, conducts original research, and develops policies that are responsive to an evolving economy and issues affecting workers in New York City, particularly people of color, women, and immigrants.

The de Blasio administration continues to raise the bar nationally when it comes to ensuring low-wage, immigrant, or other vulnerable workers, including women and people of color, are protected from exploitation. To date, DCA-OLPS has secured more than $5 million in fines and restitution on behalf of 16,000 workers in New York City who have been denied their right to paid sick leave, and the Office is also now implementing the first-of-its-kind “Freelance Isn’t Free Law,” which guarantees nearly all freelancers the right to a written contract and timely payment. In addition to enforcing many such municipal workplace laws, OLPS also houses the first-of-its-kind Paid Care Division, which is focused on researching and advocating on behalf of paid care workers – those who provide child care, elder care, or performing other domestic work – thereby constituting a critical part of the nation’s social and economic infrastructure.

Laws enforced by other agencies, such as the City Commission on Human Rights, ensure that workers are protected from discrimination in the hiring process and while at work based on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, credit history, criminal history, actual or perceived race, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, immigration status and country of origin, among other protected categories. New York City also recently became the largest city in the nation to ban employers from asking about salary history during the recruitment process, an important change that will help close the persistent wage gap between men and women. To ensure that all New Yorkers are protected, the city has ensured that all municipal workplace laws apply to workers regardless of their immigration status.

Bronx Council for Environmental Quality - Thurs 6/1 Boro Pres Hearing PIER 5 Parkland at 11 AM

  

  This Thursday June 1st at 11:00am at 851 Grand Concourse on the 9th floor of the Bronx County Court House, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz's office will be holding their required hearing on the EDC proposal to build Housing on Pier 5, property that had been considered Parkland by the community since the building of the Gateway Mall and the New Yankee Stadium.

 

It will be important that as many people as possible come to testify or send testimony in to the Borough President's Office.  You should be passionate about this cause as this is the only existing piers we have on the Harlem River.  Just like in Manhattan, all this land should be used for recreation and waterfront access for all.  Please reply to me directly if you are able to attend and please talk to your neighbors and friends about testifying or sending in testimony.

 

This is the first project to be proposed to be built directly on the Harlem River Waterfront and can set the precedence for construction along the entire length of our waterfront, probably beginning with the Lower Concourse Development (LCD).  EDC is also suggesting that the Pier 5 Project, which they have named as Lower Concourse North (although it is not apart of this original rezoning of the Harlem River Waterfront) will be able to utilize part of the $200 Million dollars set aside for LCD to set up utilities that will be shared among to the two locations, thereby cutting down on the funding available for the previous project.

 

Thursday June 1st 

11:00 am 

851 Grand Concourse

Room 915 on the 9th floor 

Bronx County Court House

MAYOR DE BLASIO NAMES EAST 42ND STREET BETWEEN 2ND AND 3RD AVENUES “JIMMY BRESLIN WAY”

For the next week, street in front of the Daily News Building, where legendary columnist colorfully captured New York City, will be temporarily renamed in his honor

  Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the block of 42nd Street between Second and Third Avenues in midtown Manhattan will be temporarily renamed after legendary newspaper columnist and author Jimmy Breslin, who died in March at the age of 88. The sign is on the block of the former home of the Daily News, the newspaper where Breslin worked the longest. 

“Jimmy Breslin told stories with a vivid eye for detail and in the inimitable voice of a true New Yorker,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “For decades, from the Kennedy assassination to the Son of Sam and beyond, his writing provided must-read accounts that helped to define seminal news events in our collective memory.  His gritty and real columns underscored a serious and deep concern for the most downtrodden amongst us, helping to define modern journalism.  Now, the block that was once home to the Daily News will officially be named for him – a fitting tribute to one of New York’s greats.”

Jimmy Breslin was born in Jamaica, Queens and began his career as a copy boy for the Long Island Press in the 1940s.  His writing first gained national attention when after the Kennedy assassination, he interviewed the diggers of President John F. Kennedy’s grave at Arlington National Cemetery. Over his career, Breslin served as a columnist for the New York Herald Tribune, the New York Journal American, and Newsday.  His two separate tenures at the New York Daily News spanned 18 years, wherein he won both the George Polk award (1985) and the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary (1986). Over a career of sixty years, Breslin also authored more than 20 books, including Can’t Anybody Here Play this Game? and The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight.

“No other city in world would have a tough writer from Richmond Hill, Queens up on a lamppost next to the names Nelson Mandela and Yitzhak Rabin,” said Kevin Breslin, son of Jimmy Breslin. “May his spirit inspire many generations of journalists to come.”

The Mayor has the power to temporarily rename a street for a matter of days. A permanent name change process for a street is handled through the legislative process following the introduction of a co-naming by a City Council Member, Council approval, and, ultimately, a mayoral signature. The Administration will continue to work with the Council, the community, and Breslin’s family, friends and colleagues on a permanent way to honor his legacy.

“We are proud to honor Jimmy Breslin along 42^nd Street. a great New York City street where over sixty years of reporting, he helped establish the hard-edged, gumshoe reporting that defined an era of journalism,” said DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. “Along with Ronnie Eldridge, his incredible wife of the last 34 years, Jimmy hardly slowed in his so-called “golden years.”  Instead, he bravely showed us until his final days all that New Yorkers can do much to make change all around this great City.  I offer my condolences to his entire family on their recent loss, and I am so gratified we could honor him in this way.”

Bronx Queer Pride Cultural Fest - June 8 - 24

BAAD! - The Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance presents
The 17th Annual OUT LIKE THAT! FESTIVAL PROUDLY CELEBRATING GAY PRIDE IN THE BRONX
 WITH A ZESTY FESTIVAL OF DANCE, FILM, THEATER & PERFORMANCE
 With Susana Cook, Charles Rice-González, Richard Rivera/Physual, the famed Bohemia Night’s first Bronx presentation and a Queer Desi Event!

Plus next installment of Courageous Conversations with Kiara St. James and Jamal T. Lewis 

FESTIVAL RUNS JUNE 8-24, 2017

  For the past 17 years, The Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance (BAAD!) has marked LGBTQ pride month by presenting the Bronx’s only consistent gay pride celebration - The OUT LIKE THAT! Festival.  The events takes place at BAAD!’s home at 2474 Westchester Avenue from Thursday, June 8 through Saturday, June 24, 2017 with a fierce line-up of dance, theatre, film and wonderful performances featuring queer artists from the Bronx and beyond.  For information and directions call (718) 918-2110 or visit www.BAADBronx.org.

The OUT LIKE THAT 2017 festival performance schedule is as follows:

Thursday, June 8 at 8pm/$10 

Bohemian Night: Off Off Broadway 

Yoseli Castillo brings La Noche Bohemia / Bohemian Night to the Bronx! This bilingual LGBTQ open mic has been around since 2005 in Washington Heights. The medium this time is theater and the featured artists are actors Andres "Chulisi" Rodriguez, Mariposa Fernandez and Marcus Potts. The open mic is open to other artistic disciplines. As usual, Cany de La Vega DJs. 

Friday, June 9 at 8pm / $20, $15 

OUT DANCE! 

Through the beauty, daring and grace of dance, this shared bill of choreographers express their strength and pride with contemporary dance, House moves and even Indian dance by Anooj Bhandari, ColemanCollective, Filip A. Condeescu, Linda LaBeija, James LaTeek, Jordan Martin, Nikolai McKenzie and Kiran Rajagopalan.

Friday & Saturday, June 16 & 17 at 8pm / $20, $15 

RICHARD RIVERA/PHYSUAL presents BACH 2 THE RED ZONE 

Bach 2 the Red Zone revisits moments of personal growth, acceptance and self-realization. Invoking a space that liberated the body and provided pulses that stirred the spirit to dance, the journey of Bach 2 the Red Zone finds inspiration in the classical moves of an elaborate club culture, circa late 80’s early 90’s. With Alethea Pace, Alexx Shilling, Jule Jo Ramirez, Aya Saotome, Ari Garcia, Ricardo McKenzie, Wesley McIntyre and Jaime Dyre.

Sunday, June 18 at 2pm Open Gallery | 4pm Performance / $10 

#Queer #SouthAsian #Diaspora 

#NOTENSION2017 

#NoTension2017 is a celebratory showcase of queer South Asian diaspora creatives: artists whose background is from and whose work is situated in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tibet and the large diaspora. The first iteration of #NoTension will host the #BRWNISGLD participatory art space, original art vendors, community organizations, local diaspora chefs, and a multimedia performance showcase hosted by Desi drag queen LaWhore Vagistan. #NoTension is a collaboration between Daya Arts and BAAD! Bronx Academy of Art and Dance. Co-curated by Kiran Rajagopalan and Anuva Kalawar.

Monday, June 19 at 7pm / Free 

Courageous Conversations: Strategies for Living and Loving in America 

with Kiara St. James and Jamal T. Lewis 

Kiara St. James, the dynamic director of New York Trans Advocacy Group, and Jamal T. Lewis, the fearless cultural worker, artist and director of the upcoming documentary, No Fats, No Fems, lead this installment of Courageous Conversations. BAAD!’s new series of free topical talks and resilience workshops is led by leading thinkers and doers from the arts, media and politics is followed by a facilitated/open community forum for queer people on how to navigate and thrive in the current political climate.

Thursday and Friday, June 22 & 23 at 8pm/$15, $10 

I JUST LOVE ANDY GIBB 

Written and Directed by Charles Rice-González 

In “I Just Love Andy Gibb” two characters have a conversation across time – the late 1970s and today. Roy is a dark-skinned teenager in 1978 who is obsessed with teen pop idol Andy Gibb and Carlos is a 40+ Papi living in current times who feels “woke” to the oppression he has navigated as a Black, Latino gay man in the Bronx. Through a hiccup in time brought on by a shared fascination with youth, men and pop culture, they traverse through a maze of race and desire. Cast: Johnathan Cedano, Carlos Rosario, William Jimenez and Maria Lagranje.

Saturday, June 24 at 8pm/$15, $10 

SUSANA COOK 

NON-CONSENSUAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH GHOSTS 

Originally presented at La MaMa, Susana Cook’s new work reveals that the ghosts of totalitarian past and present haunt our stories. The narrative that got us here no longer serves us. Thus, immigrants and refugees respond with urgency to resist and survive, creating a theatrical language of dissent and pleasure. Susana Cook redefines presence, the energy of the people who inhabit our life, and the ghosts of our past following us everywhere. Political satire and Resistance Theater at its best. Written and directed by Susana Cook, featuring: Mattie McMaster, Michael Burke, Drae Campbell, Hector Canonge, Dorrell Clark, Mistah Coles, Susana Cook, Moira Cutler, Michael Freeman, Kathie Horejsi, Marie Christine Katz, Annie Lanzillotto, Hjørdis Linn-Blanford, Margherita Peluso,Jennifer Rodriguez, and Simba Yangala.

Crowned “a funky and welcoming performance space” by The New York Times, BAAD! is a performance and workshop space that presents cutting-edge works in dance and all creative disciplines empowering to women, Latinos and people of color and the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) community. BAAD! is home to Arthur Avilés Typical Theatre (AATT) and the Bronx Dance Coalition which produces The Bronx Dance Magazine and was founded by Arthur Avilés and Charles Rice-González in 1998 in Hunts Point. BAAD! moved to Westchester Square in October 2013 to a gothic revivalist building on the grounds of St. Peter’s Church.

BAAD!/AATT receive support from The NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, The SHS Foundation, The Mertz Gilmore Foundation, The New York Community Trust, The Liberty Fund of the New York Community Trust, The Howard Gilman Foundation, The Lambent Fund of the Tides Foundation, The New York State Council on the Arts, Councilmember Jimmy Vacca, The Jerome Foundation and private donations.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman Created the Problem, and then Left his Friends Hanging Out to Dry

What You Should Know 
By Senator Rev. Rubén Díaz 32nd Senatorial District 

  You should know that when I was growing up in La Cuchilla Hato Tejas in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, my father, Mr. Isaac Diaz Amezquita, from a place called El Volcan always used to say: “My friends are my friends with their virtues and their faults.”

Plain and simple, what my Old Man wanted to say was that no matter what situations or problems his friends faced, he would never abandon them, no matter the cost because they were his friends. For my Old Man, friendship was a sacred thing, not an opportunity.

It is important for you to know that it seems that this is not one of the ethical principles or virtues that some of our elected officials show to their friends in their time of need.

Some of these elected officials, as Jesus' disciples did, will abandon their friends, their beliefs, and their convictions when under pressure.

On previous occasions in my column, I have explained how Mr. Eric Schneiderman, back in February 2014, used the power, influences and resources of the Office of the Attorney General to remove all the Members of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade's Board of Directors.

According to rumors, Mr. Schneiderman placed the National Puerto Rican Day Parade (NPRDP) in the hands of his friends from the MirRam Group and New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, so they could pick a new Board of Directors and Ms. Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez as the new President.

Now that Mr. Eric Scheiderman's friends have caused a chaotic situation not only for the 2017 National Puerto Rican Day Parade, but also within our community here and in Puerto Rico, Mr. Schneiderman has run for cover.

Back in 2014, when the Attorney General made that decision, I was, if not the only one, one of the few people who publicly criticized and opposed Mr. Schneiderman's actions. Time has proven me right.

Now, I am one of those opposing the actions of the current National Puerto Rican Day Parade Board of Directors, and believe that for the good of the Parade, they should be removed and new Members who really respond to our community's interests should be appointed.

On the other hand, I also believe that Mr. Schneiderman should stand beside his friends. After all, he was the one who appointed them. His responsibility is to own his actions, publicly admit that he made a mistake, and fix it.

The National Puerto Rican Day Parade is the pride of us Puerto Ricans, but this year’s Parade has been abandoned, one by one, by businesses, community groups, social agencies, political leaders and many, many sponsors.

Starting with Goya Foods, Jet Blue, the New York Yankees, Corona Beer, Univision, Telemundo, the Daily News, NBC, the New York Post, the New York Police Benevolent Association, the New York Fire Department, New York City Police Commissioner James O’Neill, New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, and many others have abandoned the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, and its Board of Directors who were placed there by Eric Schneiderman.

But surprise, surprise, as the old saying goes: Life is full of surprises.

Ladies and gentlemen, my beloved readers, you should know that New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has also joined those who have abandoned the Parade and its Board of Directors.

It seems that Mr. Schneiderman has run for cover leaving his friends hanging out to dry.

Don’t forget that it was Eric Schneiderman who put in place the Members of the Board of Directors. It was Eric Schneiderman who said that he was replacing the Board of Directors for the good of the Parade and the good of the community.

In his official press release from February 13, 2014, Mr. Scheiderman stated: "With the reforms we are announcing, the new board can now take responsibility for putting the NPRDP on firm footing, so that the parade can be a success both this year and well into the future."

Hahahaha!

By abandoning his friends, Mr. Eric Schneiderman has sent a message that he is also against the title of “National Freedom Hero” given to Mr. Oscar López Rivera by the Board of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade.

Maybe Mr. Schneiderman and other elected officials in New York State should also learn from my Old Man and stick with their friends no matter what, or learn from Mayor Bill de Blasio who is sticking his neck out for his friend, Melissa Mark-Viverito.

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