Bronx Jewish Community Council - Breakfast for Champions 2017, -

This event serves as an important  fundraiser for BJCC. It allows us to  continue doing the work we do in  our community. Tickets and journal  ads can be purchased at our  NY Charities Page. We look  forward to seeing you on June 14!

Visit our Website:  http://www.bjcconline.org/           and  Like us on Facebook

BP DIAZ MARCHES IN NATIONAL PUERTO RICAN DAY PARADE

  On Sunday, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. showed off his boricua pride, marching in the 60th Annual National Puerto Rican Day Parade.

Borough President Diaz stated that he believed that the festivities should focus not only on the rich cultural heritage of La Isla Del Encanto but should also shed light on the island’s economic crisis and the need for immediate federal action.

“The National Puerto Rican Day Parade has never been about one person, it’s about celebrating our great culture, our heritage, and our contributions to this country, as citizens,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. “Puerto Rico has much greater issues than to worry about who is marching in a parade.”

Borough President Diaz expressed this sentiment through his banner at the parade, which declared “Unidos Por Puerto Rico…That’s Why We March!”

For several years Borough President Diaz has been advocating on behalf of debt relief for Puerto Rico. In 2015, his office issued a letter, in conjunction with over 100 elected officials from across the nation, demanding Congress enact legislation that would allow the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to enter bankruptcy.

“The fiscal crisis in Puerto Rico has not receded since last year’s parade,” said Borough President Diaz. “The island’s debt has risen to a massive $123 billion and more than 200 schools are closing on the island due to lack of funds. People are dying because Puerto Rico has lost its doctors. The parade will come and go but the problems still remain. We need immediate action to help the 3.5 million residents—American citizens themselves—of Puerto Rico deal with the crushing debt crisis that affects their island.”

The Passing of William J. Madonna

         The Passing of William J. Madonna

 The Bronx, NY - William J. Madonna, 55, of the Bronx died suddenly Friday, June 10th at his home.

 

He was born in Mount Kisco, New York on October 6, 1961. He was raised in Yorktown Heights and earned his Bachelor of Science from Northeastern University in Boston. He later graduated from the New England School of Law where he received his Juris Doctorate.

 

Will, as he was fondly known, began his legal career in the office of Corporation Counsel of the City of New York Law Department and later joined the Bronx District Attorney's Office as a prosecutor. Since 1994 he has maintained a successful private practice in the Morris Park section of the Bronx. He was a zealous advocate for all of his many clients. Will was an active community member, especially in his role as chief counsel to local assemblyman, Mark Gjonaj.

 

Will leaves behind his deeply beloved sons, Matthew and Eric as well as his loving parents, Phyllis and Nicholas. He is survived by his siblings, Susann, Joan, and Robert. He leaves behind several nieces and nephews and an entire legal community. His smile, contagious laugh, and quick wit will be missed dearly by all.

 

A viewing will be held at Schuyler Hill Funeral Home Tuesday, June 13th and Wednesday, June 14th from 2:00PM to 5:00PM and from 7:00PM to 9:00PM. The funeral service will be at Saint Francis de Chantal's Church. The family will greet friends at 10:00AM until the time of the service.  

 

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that donations be made to the American Heart Association and the High School for Community Leadership (HSCL), a scholarship fund for underprivileged students to assist in college tuition costs.

Donate to the American Heart Association

To make a donation to HSCL Scholarship fund, please send checks to:
The High School for Community Leadership
Attn: Carlos Borrero
 167-01 Gothic Drive
 Jamaica, New York 11432. 

Bronx Democratic Party - Statement on Today's New York Post Editorial

We are disappointed in this morning's New York Post editorial alleging that our organization only "promotes boys' club - not women." Ensuring that we have racial and gender diversity in elected office and a government that looks like the people that it serves is a matter that is deeply important to us as an organization. 

 

While this is definitely a worthwhile conversation and something that we are genuinely concerned about, making baseless accusations like the one promoted in today's op-ed serve no purpose other than to malign a community that has historically led the way in pursuing candidates of diverse backgrounds for public office and party positions. Basing such accusations on three term-limited seats, as opposed to over a dozen instances proving the opposite, is short sighted and using selective information. 

 

Here are the facts:                                                                                             

 

Under the current leadership of the Bronx Democratic Party, the organization has been dedicated to increasing diversity and helping to elect and appoint women to positions of power and influence. The editorial merely glosses over the fact that we made history in 2015 by selecting Darcel Clark as our candidate to serve as the first female Bronx District Attorney and the first African-American woman ever to serve as District Attorney in the State of New York. And in 2016, we had five Civil Court and Supreme Court vacancies and decided to fill each vacancy with women - Patsy Goldbourne, Doris Gonzalez, Bianka Perez, and Myrna Soccoro and Marian Doherty. Each of these woman also helped to increase ethnic/racial diversity in the Courthouse as women of Costa Rican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Irish descent who now serve as newly minted Civil Court Judges and Supreme Court Justices in the Bronx County. When there was a vacancy in the 2nd highest position in our executive board in that same year, we continued the trend and elected to have Assemblywoman Latoya Joyner serve as our County Committee Chair. Within the past two years there were four new appointments to our Executive Board - Mariela Salazar as Parliamentarian and Kolaco Acqui, Miguelina Camilo, and Linda Kemp as vice chairs; each and every one appointed is a woman of color. In this same period, we also had the opportunity to make appointments to the Bronx Democratic Commissioner and Bronx Chief Democratic Clerk positions in the leadership of the NYC Board of Elections where we once again chose two women - Rosanna Vargas and Brendaliz Candelaria, respectively. The op-ed also chose to highlight two candidates who the author claimed were "snubbed." Each candidate sought our endorsement, met with our leadership on multiple occasions, and was given a clear explanation of the reasons why we chose to not endorse them, none of which had anything to do with their gender.

 

If anyone wants to write an editorial on our track record, we encourage them to actually do the research and look at the facts; making these kinds of accusations based off of just three recent endorsements is unfair and fails to look at the whole picture. Interestingly enough, the author of this editorial makes this selective analysis today but surely had no issues when he was the Party's choice over a female candidate in 2003 in a special election to replace former Assemblywoman Gloria Davis, an outgoing female elected official.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

We are going to take the Bronx Democratic County organization at its word, however had there been a primary instead of a backroom deal to giver Darcel Clark the position of Bronx District Attorney, it is my belief that had there been a Democratic Primary for the position that current Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda would have been the next District Attorney. 

As for the soon to be vacant 32nd State Senate district when Ruben Diaz Sr. becomes Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr. the county organization should allow Annabelle Palma to run for the seat, and not make a backroom deal to have Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda have no Democratic opponent in a special election for the vacant 32 State Senate seat if and when Ruben Diaz Sr. wins the 18th Council seat. Also Councilwoman Palma should not be told to go for Assemblyman Sepulveda's seat if and when he wins a special election for the 32nd State Senate seat.

Where is the Democracy in the Democratic Party in the Bronx?

2017 NATIONAL PUERTO RICAN DAY PARADE, SUN. JUNE 11

60th ANNUAL NATIONAL PUERTO RICAN DAY PARADE ON FIFTH AVENUE 

SUNDAY, JUNE 11th, 2017

11:00AM - 5:00PM

The 60th Annual National Puerto Rican Day Parade will take place on New York City's Fifth Avenue, Sunday, June 11, starting at 11am. 

America's largest cultural celebration with over 1.5 million spectators this year features:

• Gilberto Santa Rosa (Grand Marshal)
• Iris Chacón (Godmother)
• Yandel (Trailblazer Recogtition in Music and Arts)
• Julio Monge (Trailblazer Recognition in the Performing Arts)
• Bobby Cruz (Trailblazer recognition in Music)
• Jeimy Osorio (All-Star Honoree)
• Cucco Peña (All-Star Honoree)
• Laurie Hernández (Athlete of the Year)
• Ozuna (Rising Star)
• Rolando Alejandro (Rising Star)
• Ana Isabelle (Ambassador)
• Modesto Lacen (Ambassador)
• Ektor Rivera (Ambassador)
• Allan Villafaña (Ambassador)
• Ricardo Luis Villarini (Ambassador)
• Ismael Rivera, Jr. (Ambassador)
• Shalim Ortiz (Ambassador)
• Elijah Font (Prince) *Scholarship winner
• Yamilet Cortes (Princess) *Scholarship winner
• Christian Alexis Milian (Duke) *Scholarship winner
• Amber Ali (Duchess) *Scholarship winner

Also scheduled to march:  Homigueros Township Mayor Hon. Pedro J. García Figueroa, New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito, Puerto Rico Senator Rossana López León along with CHICAS of Alejandra Foundation, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

 

2017 Parade Theme: "Un pueblo, muchas voces" (One Nation, Many Voices)

2017 Puerto Rico Hometown Dedication: Hormigueros 

2017 Honored State Side Community: Lorain & Cleveland, North East Ohio 

2017 Special Awareness Campaign: Anti-bullying, Puerto Rico's financial & humanitarian crisis. 
2017 Special Tributes & Recognitions: National Baseball Team (Team Rubio), Gilberto Gerena Valentín & Ramón Veléz, Jones Act & 100 years of U.S. Citizenship for Puerto Ricans 

 

Honorees not able to march due to scheduling conflict:

• Mónica Puig (Athlete of the Year) 
• Lana Parrilla (Parade Queen) 
• Walter Mercado (Lifetime Achievement)
   

 

WHERE:

 

Fifth Avenue

From 44th Street to 79th Street

New York, NY 10075

 

ADMISSION:

 

FREE. Open to the public.

A.G. Schneiderman – Leading Coalition Of 13 AGs – Promises Legal Fight If Trump Administration Moves To Roll Back Key Vehicle Emission Standards

Air Pollution Standards Targeted By Trump EPA Would Slash Carbon Emissions By The Equivalent Of 422 Million Cars, While Improving Fuel Economy – Resulting In $1,650 Net Savings For Each Consumer

Coalition Warns EPA Administrator Pruitt To Expect “Vigorous” Legal Challenge If Agency Seeks To Weaken Pollution Standards For Cars And Light Duty Trucks

AG Schneiderman: We Stand Ready To Aggressively Challenge President Trump’s Dangerous Anti-Environmental Agenda In Court

   New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, leading a coalition of 13 Attorneys General and the PA Department of Environmental Protection, today warned the Trump Administration that any effort to roll back key vehicle emission standards would be met by a “vigorous” court challenge. In a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt, the coalition makes clear that it will take legal action if the EPA attempts to weaken air pollution standards set for passenger cars and light-duty trucks for model years 2022 to 2025.

“Reducing pollution from cars and trucks is vital to New Yorkers’ and all Americans’ health and environment, as we protect the clean air we’ve worked so hard to achieve and fight climate change,” New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said.  “Any effort to roll back these affordable, achievable, and common-sense vehicle emission standards would be both irrational and irresponsible. We stand ready to vigorously and aggressively challenge President Trump’s dangerous anti-environmental agenda in court – as we already have successfully done.”

Click here to read the letter.

In 2012, through a years-long cooperative process that included the principal U.S. automotive regulators – EPA, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), and the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) – the auto industry itself, and other stakeholders, EPA adopted increasingly stringent standards for greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light-duty trucks for the 2017-25 model years.  EPA also agreed to complete a midterm evaluation to confirm achievability of the more stringent standards for model years 2022-25. The 2022-25 standards alone would slash carbon emissions by the equivalent of removing 422 million cars from the road (dramatically cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 540 million metric tons), as well as improve vehicles’ fuel economy – resulting in net benefits of nearly $100 billion total, including a net savings of $1,650 for each consumer over the lifetime of a new vehicle.

EPA completed its midterm evaluation in January 2017.  Consistent with legal requirements, the evaluation included a detailed technical assessment of a number of factors, including the availability and effectiveness of technology, the costs to manufacturers and consumers, and the impact of the standards on emission reductions, energy security, fuel savings, and automobile safety.  Based on this assessment, EPA, CARB, and NHSTA issued a report finding that the current greenhouse gas emission standards for model years 2022-25 can be met using existing available vehicle technology. After extensive public notice and comment, EPA then concluded that the current emission standards are feasible at reasonable cost, will achieve significant carbon dioxide emissions reductions, and will provide significant economic and environmental benefits to consumers, and issued its final decision to keep these standards in place.   

Nonetheless, in March 2017, the Trump Administration announced that it would “revisit” EPA’s midterm evaluation decision. This announcement was followed by a May 2 letter to California Governor Brown in which Administrator Pruitt asserted that the previous midterm evaluation was legally and procedurally flawed.  

In their letter today, the coalition expresses its strong disagreement with Administrator Pruitt’s contention that EPA’s midterm evaluation process was flawed, providing a point-by-point rebuttal of the Administrator’s criticisms.  The letter states that, in light of the facts related to the evaluation, “the characterization in your May 2 letter that EPA ‘circumvented’ the required legal and scientific processes in its midterm evaluation is erroneous and inconsistent with your stated desire to ‘follow the letter of the law.’” 

The coalition concludes the letter with the warning that “if EPA acts to weaken or delay the current standards for model years 2022-25, we intend to vigorously pursue appropriate legal remedies to block such action.”

Attorney General Schneiderman is leading the coalition, which includes the Attorneys General of New York, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, as well as the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Attorney General Schneiderman and his fellow Attorneys General have already successfully taken on the Trump administration’s environmental agenda, resulting in the administration reversing course on energy efficiency standards last month. Attorney General Schneiderman also leads the coalition of state and localities defending the Clean Power Plan; he has taken action to oppose President Trump’s efforts to dismantle the Clean Water Rule, allow the toxic pesticide chlorpyrifos to remain in food, and roll back clean air standards for smog.

Operation Toothache: A.G. Schneiderman Announces Separate Convictions Of Unlicensed Dentist And Nurse

Alexander Hollander Continued To Practice Dentistry After Losing License For Medicaid Fraud In 2000; Defendant Could Serve Up To 4 Years In Prison 

Noucheline Jean Impersonated Licensed Practical Nurse For 18 Months

Schneiderman: My Office Will Continue To Prosecute Phony Professionals Who Undermine The Integrity Of New York’s Healthcare System

  Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the separate convictions of former dentist Alexander Hollander, 70, and former Park Nursing Home employee Noucheline Jean, 45, both of Brooklyn, NY for providing patient care as unlicensed medical professionals. On June 7, Hollander was convicted by a Kings County Supreme Court jury of Unauthorized Practice of a Profession (Dentistry) in violation of the New York State Education Law, a Class E Felony. On June 2, Jean was convicted by a Queens County jury for the felony crime of Unauthorized Practice of a Profession (Nursing), and Unauthorized Use of a Professional Title, a misdemeanor.

“My office has zero tolerance for those who purport to be medical professionals but lack the proper licenses to provide patient care,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “We will continue to prosecute phony professionals who undermine the integrity of our healthcare system and put patients at risk.”

In June 2000, Hollander lost the authority to practice dentistry following his conviction for Grand Larceny in the Third Degree and multiple other felonies for Medicaid fraud. However, an investigation conducted by Attorney General Schneiderman revealed that Hollander continued to practiced dentistry at the 7^th Avenue Dental Office P.C. located at 5610 7^th Avenue, in Brooklyn, NY.        

The investigation began when the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) of the Attorney General’s Office, then conducting an internal review of individuals who still owed the State restitution, discovered that Hollander was working at the 7^thAvenue Dental Office and had advertised an open dentist position at that location. At the time of the review, Hollander still owed the State over $140,000 in restitution from the 2000 conviction.

The MFCU subsequently sent an undercover investigator posing as a patient into Hollander’s office on April 19, 2013.  The undercover investigator complained of tooth pain and asked Hollander if he was a dentist, to which Hollander replied that he was and provided the investigator with a business card that listed his professional title as Clinical Director and Doctor of Dental Surgery. 

On May 9, 2013, during a second undercover visit to Hollander’s office, the defendant assisted the undercover investigator with paperwork and then told him to wait while he treated another patient. While waiting, the undercover investigator observed the defendant, who was wearing a lab shirt and plastic gloves, treat another patient in an adjoining examining room. The investigator captured the defendant’s conduct on video. Later, the defendant invited the investigator into the same examining room and discussed treatment and x-rays with the investigator. Immediately following a third undercover visit to the defendant’s office on May 30, 2013, the defendant was placed under arrest and subsequently indicted on felony charges.  

Hollander faces a maximum of four years in state prison on each count. The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on August 15, 2017.

In an unrelated case of unlicensed practice, defendant Noucheline Jean provided medical care to patients at the Park Nursing Home without a license for 18 months. Under the guise that she was a licensed nurse and had recently passed the written Licensed Practical Nurse test, Jean accepted a promotion from her employer. However, Jean had previously been informed by the New York State Office of the Professions that she would not be issued a license because she had not satisfied significant requirements.

Defendant Jean is scheduled to be sentenced on August 4, 2017.

NYC DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION OFFICER PLEADS GUILTY TO ENGAGING IN CRIMINAL SEX ACT WITH INMATE IN RIKERS ISLAND JAIL

Defendant Will Register As A Sexual Offender 

  Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a New York City Department of Correction Officer has pleaded guilty to third-degree Criminal Sex Act for an incident with an inmate in Rikers Island. 

   District Attorney Clark said, “Correction Officers or any other staff in Rikers Island cannot use their position to abuse inmates. We will prosecute any jail employee who undermines the public’s trust and tarnishes the honest, hardworking employees of the Department of Correction.” 

  Department of Investigation Commissioner Mark G. Peters said, “As a correction officer or member of DOC staff, engaging in a sexual act with an inmate is indefensible. DOI takes allegations of this nature extremely seriously and will continue to investigate this illegal conduct and make arrests where appropriate.” 

  District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Jose Cosme, 37, of Manhattan, pleaded guilty today before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Ralph Fabrizio to third-degree Criminal Sex Act and will be sentenced on August 3, 2017 to ten years of probation and must register as a Sexual Offender. 

  According to the investigation, on November 30, 2015, in the Rose M. Singer Center on Rikers Island, Cosme engaged in sexual conduct with a female inmate, who is unable to consent by reason that she is incarcerated.