100PercentBronx

Monday, March 5, 2018

TO BATTLE CONGESTION, MAYOR DE BLASIO ANNOUNCES STEPPED-UP ENFORCEMENT OF “DON’T BLOCK THE BOX”

Mayor’s congestion initiative includes “Clear Intersections” which will see NYPD write violations at fifty targeted intersections in all five boroughs

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced today that the NYC DOT and the NYPD had prepared enhancements to 50 key intersections where block- the-box violations will now be aggressively enforced. DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg and NYPD Chief Thomas Chan made the “Clear Intersections” announcement at one of the targeted intersections -- at Broadway and Broome Street in the SoHo section of Manhattan.

“Late last year, we announced a series of initiatives designed to address congestion issues around New York City, a symptom of the city’s record population and economic vitality,” said Mayor de Blasio. “Blocking the box is one area where focused NYPD enforcement can and will make a big difference to keep traffic moving around hotspots in every borough.”

“The NYPD is dedicated to the Mayor’s initiative to improve traffic flow and to move traffic safely,” said NYPD Chief of Transportation Thomas Chan. “Drivers who block intersections are contributing to overall congestion, and their disregard of this particular traffic rule comes at the expense of other drivers including emergency vehicles. Additionally, pedestrians are endangered when they have to navigate between vehicles that are blocking crosswalks. The NYPD’s enforcement efforts will reduce congestion and improve pedestrian safety. Motorists should be advised that officers will be out in force issuing summonses to those who block the box.”

“Today, DOT and NYPD are bringing back “don’t block the box” to 50 busy intersections around the City,” saidDOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. “We know traffic can be frustrating, but blocking the box just causes gridlock for everybody — bus riders, pedestrians, cyclists and your fellow motorists. Please be courteous and safe — and don’t block the box.”

In Manhattan, vehicle travel times have declined by 23% since 2010. Drivers who enter intersections without sufficient space on the other side “block-the box,” which can have cascading effects on traffic and create dangers to pedestrians who cannot cross streets safely. The Clear Intersections effort includes 50 key intersections citywide and is part of a comprehensive series of efforts announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio last October to ease congestion in busy thoroughfares across the five boroughs. Block-the-box violators face minimum fines of $115 and possible points that can lead to the loss of a driver’s license.

As part of Clear Intersections, DOT has installed special markings and/or updated signage at key intersections (see list below) to make drivers aware of the restrictions. The City chose intersections along major routes leading to river crossings, highway on-ramps, and commercial centers. NYPD will increase enforcement at these locations to keep traffic moving, hiring an additional 50 uniformed officers to enforce block-the-box violations.

Clear Intersections will be in effect at the following locations:

Manhattan

1. Broadway & West 57 Street

2. Dyer Avenue & West 41 Street

3. Fort Washington Avenue & West 165 Street

4. 3 Avenue & East 36 Street

5. Broadway & Spring Street

6. Delancey Street & Bowery

7. Delancey Street & Allen Street

8. 9 Avenue & West 207 Street

9. 10 Avenue & West 40 Street

10. West Side Highway (9A)/12 AV & West 51 Street

11. Broadway & Canal Street

12. Canal Street & Centre Street

13. Delancey Street & Essex Street

14. Hudson Street & Beach Street/Ericsson Place

15. 3 Avenue & East 57 Street

16. 3 Avenue & East 58 Street

17. 3 Avenue & East 59 Street

18. 3 Avenue & East 35 Street

19. 6 Avenue & Watts Street

20. 10 Avenue & West 41 Street

21. Broadway and Broome Street

22. Broadway and Chambers Street

23. Broadway & West 66 Street

24. Amsterdam Avenue & 181 Street

25. Canal Street & West Broadway

26. Hudson Street & Laight Street

27. Hudson Street & Vestry Street

Queens

28. Queens Boulevard & Skillman Avenue

29. Northern Boulevard & Queens Boulevard

30. Queens Boulevard & Roosevelt Avenue

31. Astoria Boulevard & 31 Street

32. 21 Street & 49 Avenue

33. Laurel Hill Boulevard & 65 Place

34. Queens Midtown Expressway *N S/R & Grand Avenue

35. Main Street & Roosevelt Avenue

36. 71 Avenue & Austin Street

37. 37 Avenue & 138 Street

38. Metropolitan Avenue & 60 Street

39. Queens Plaza South (SR) & 28 Street

The Bronx

40. 135 Street & Third Avenue

Brooklyn

41. Flatbush Avenue & 8 Avenue

42. Atlantic Avenue & Pennsylvania Avenue

43. 86 Street & 7 Avenue

44. Tillary Street & Jay Street

45. Flatbush Avenue & Myrtle Avenue

Staten Island

46. College of Staten Island & Victory Boulevard

47. Narrows Road South & Hylan Boulevard w/b @ Steuben Street

48. Narrows Road South & Hylan Boulevard

49. Narrows Road South & Fingerboard Road

50. Narrows Road North & Fingerboard Road

EDITOR'S NOTE:

In typical Mayor Bill de Blasio fashion we see only one of fifty intersections targeted in the Bronx, while five intersections are targeted in Staten Island. It appears that Staten Island is no longer the 'Forgotten Borough', but that the Bronx has become the 'New Forgotten Borough'.

We also can not see why this enforcement has not been ongoing from the first day of the first term of the current mayor. Did this mayor all of a sudden realize the problems of New York City? Did it take four years for a mayor who was the Public Advocate to find out the needs of New York City? But in the long run it will be the drivers of New York City who pay for this, especially the 'For Hire Drivers' who wind up getting stuck inside the Box. Where is the City Council 'Horse, Buggy, and Stagecoach' Cowboy Committee Chair on this new enforcement?

South Bronx Unite No New Prisons -: Not in the South Bronx, Not Anywhere

No New Prisons:

Not in the South Bronx,
Not Anywhere

TOWN HALL MEETING
Thurs, March 8, 6-8 pm
P.S. 65 Mother Hale Academy
677 E 141st St (at Cypress)
* organized by the Diego Beekman Mutual Housing Association *

We unequivocally reject the city’s plan to site a new jail at 320 Concord Avenue in our South Bronx neighborhood, and we oppose the construction of any new jails in New York City. The decision to construct a new jail in the South Bronx, made without any input from the local community, is a slap in the face of South Bronx residents who have suffered from top-down city planning decrees that put the interests of the powerful above the needs of the people in the nation’s poorest Congressional District. From the planning of the Cross Bronx Expressway to the relocation of Fresh Direct to our community’s waterfront, decisions are made for our community with complete disregard for the people who live here. Our vision for the health and wellbeing of our people is constantly eclipsed by the wants of those outside our community.

The siting of a new jail at 320 Concord Avenue is in direct conflict with locally-driven, grassroots neighborhood efforts to develop our community in a way that respects the long history of organizing by Bronxites who struggled through years of abandonment and neglect. Building on a twenty-two year struggle to stabilize the Diego Beekman housing complex and the surrounding community, local residents have worked to develop the Diego Beekman Neighborhood Plan, with the lot at 320 Concord Avenue established as a neighborhood Hub for housing, commerce, and community space. (see Diego Beekman Open Letter to Mayor de Blasio and NYC Council Speaker Johnson in Opposition to A New South Bronx Jail, which we support).

The South Bronx already carries a disproportionate burden of New York City’s failure to invest in sustainable ways to address its social and environmental problems. The city’s failure to provide genuinely affordable housing results in a concentration of homeless shelters in the South Bronx. The failure to meaningfully address heroin addiction in our community (before the opioid crisis became mainstream) results in similar concentration of methadone clinics in our neighborhood. The excess consumption of New Yorkers hits us in the form of 5,000 tons of trash processed daily in the South Bronx waste transfer station. And the desire of wealthier New Yorkers for gourmet food delivered to their doorstep will soon bring an additional 1,000 diesel truck trips per day through our neighborhood that has the highest asthma rate in the nation.

In the same way, New York City’s failure to invest more aggressively in alternatives to incarceration and more restorative ways to deal with crime now results in the plan for a new jail in the South Bronx. Our opposition to the new jail is in no way a rejection of the people caught up in the criminal justice system. A disproportionate number of the city’s prisoners are from the South Bronx and they too are members of our community. We desire fairer, swifter, and more humane forms of justice for our brothers and sisters in the justice system, and for that reason we applaud the city’s plan to close Rikers Island.

Our opposition to the construction of a new jail goes beyond “Not In My Back Yard” to a broader concern about how the city’s resources are allocated to deal with people in conflict with the law. We are not just against the siting of a new jail in our neighborhood – we don’t want a new jail built period. Over the last 25 years, the city’s jail population has fallen from a high of 21,674 in 1991 to under 9,000 earlier this year, accomplished through a combination of falling crime rates and criminal justice reforms. The plan to replace Rikers assumes a need for 5,000 jail beds in ten year as reforms continue. We challenge the city to come up with a more aggressive plan to further reduce the number of people in jail, thus making the need to construct a new facility unnecessary. Through a combination of bail reform, decriminalization of minor offenses, and investment in alternatives to incarceration, we believe this is more than possible.

It is not lost on us that in New York City’s plan to replace Riker with smaller facilities, the Bronx is the only borough where a new facility is planned for construction. In Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan, the plan is to repurpose existing jail complexes, thus not expanding the footprint of the criminal justice system in these boroughs. But in the Bronx, the borough that has suffered the most disinvestment, we see once again the pattern of spending millions on an ever-expanding criminal justice infrastructure. The new Bronx County Criminal Court that opened in 2007 cost $352 million dollars to construct. The new 40th Police Precinct is expected to cost $51 million to build. The plan to renovate the Horizon Juvenile Detention Center to accommodate adolescents from Rikers is expected to cost $170 million. The construction of a new jail to replace Rikers (when we already have the Vernon C. Bain Detention Center in Hunts Point) will likely cost more than all the aforementioned developments. And yet when our community asks for the renovation of community centers, the creation of green spaces, living wage jobs, truly affordable housing, and other investments in positive supports that would alleviate the conditions that push so many into the criminal justice system, we are told that the resources don’t exist.

We will not accept more spending on infrastructure that coerces and controls when our neighborhood is in desperate need of community-driven development. We will not accept the construction of a new jail, in the South Bronx, or anywhere. We will not accept a vision for our community that relies on caging people instead of investing in the resources they need to thrive.

For these reasons, we categorically reject the building of a new jail in the South Bronx, and call on the city to invest its economic resources in people, not prisons.

Sunday, March 4, 2018

Film Producer Found Guilty In Multimillion-Dollar Investment Scheme

Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that DAVID BERGSTEIN, a film producer and entrepreneur, was convicted yesterday of defrauding investors of more than $26 million. BERGSTEIN will be sentenced on June 8, 2018, by U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel, who presided over the four-week trial.

Co-defendant Keith Wellner had previously pled guilty and has been cooperating with the Government.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As a unanimous jury swiftly found, David Bergstein defrauded investors out of more than $26 million. He withheld material information, transferred funds without disclosing conflicts of interest, and misappropriated funds for his own use. He now stands convicted of serious federal crimes.”

According to the Indictment and evidence presented at trial:

From 2011 through 2012, BERGSTEIN engaged in a scheme to defraud investors in Weston Capital Asset Management (“WCAM”), a New York-based registered investment adviser, by (i) concealing material information from Weston investors about financial transactions involving their money; (ii) transferring funds from one pool of Weston’s investors to make payments to, provide a security interest for, or otherwise benefit, another pool of Weston’s investors, without the required disclosures to investors concerning conflicts of interest; and (iii) misappropriating a portion of funds transferred from investor accounts for their own and others’ benefit. BERGSTEIN orchestrated this scheme in part through two transactions involving Weston investors’ assets: first, a loan from a Weston fund called the Partners 2 (or “P2”) Fund, and, second, a swap agreement with a Weston fund called the Wimbledon TT Portfolio (the “TT Portfolio”).

The Partners 2 Loan Scheme

In 2010, Weston agreed to a transaction with an entity named Gerova Financial Corporation (“Gerova”), an international reinsurance company, in which Weston sent assets from one of its hedge funds (the Wimbledon Financing Fund, or “WFF”) to Gerova in exchange for restricted shares of Gerova stock. This exchange was intended to replace illiquid hedge fund assets with stock, which could be bought and sold more easily. In 2011, however, Gerova’s stock price plummeted. Weston subsequently sought to unwind the transaction, and Weston’s president was introduced to BERGSTEIN for this purpose. BERGSTEIN and Weston’s principals subsequently formulated the outlines of a structure in which Weston would return its Gerova stock, receive its assets back from Gerova, and place those assets into another entity called Arius Libra Inc. (“Arius Libra”) as part of an investment in a separate business. Certain payments would be made along the way to facilitate the transfers.

In order to complete this transaction, BERGSTEIN and Weston’s principals agreed to loan money from the P2 Fund, another Fund operated and managed by Weston, to Arius Libra. The purpose of this loan (the “P2 Loan”) was purportedly (i) to pay certain debts associated with Gerova, and (ii) to fund Arius Libra’s purported medical billing businesses. BERGSTEIN arranged for the P2 Loan to be secured by certain of the assets of WFF. Thus, in the event the P2 Loan was not repaid, the P2 Fund had the ability to liquidate WFF assets to make P2 investors whole, to the detriment of investors in WFF. In total, approximately $9 million in investor money was disbursed from the P2 Fund pursuant to the P2 Loan.

As BERGSTEIN well knew, however, P2 Fund investors were neither informed of the existence of the P2 Loan nor given any information about Arius Libra. And no disclosures were made to inform either P2 Fund or WFF investors of the conflict of interest arising from the P2 Fund’s security interest in WFF assets, as BERGSTEIN also knew. And although BERGSTEIN had represented to Weston that disbursements made pursuant to the P2 Loan would be used both to pay off Gerova creditors and to fund Arius Libra’s medical billing businesses, in fact, BERGSTEIN misappropriated millions of dollars of P2 Loan proceeds and used them to pay for, among other things, his own personal expenses, including credit card bills and attorney’s fees.

The TT Portfolio Swap Agreement Scheme

In late 2011, BERGSTEIN and Weston’s principals secretly arranged for Weston’s TT Portfolio to enter into a swap agreement with an entity controlled by BERSTEIN known as Swartz IP Services (“Swartz IP”), a transaction that was not disclosed to TT Portfolio investors. As part of this swap agreement, BERGSTEIN arranged for approximately $17.7 million from the TT Portfolio to be transferred to to Swartz IP. In exchange, BERGSTEIN agreed to provide certain investment returns and to meet investor redemption requests. BERGSTEIN induced this transaction by misrepresenting to Weston’s principals that a wealthy investor had capitalized Swartz IP and guaranteed the transaction.

The TT Portfolio transaction was completed without disclosure to investors, even though, for other swap agreements, Weston had amended the TT Portfolio offering memorandum to reflect the particular swap agreement at issue. Of the money that was transferred to Swartz IP, moreover, BERGSTEIN directed that approximately $3 million be transferred to the P2 Fund to pay back part of the P2 Loan. BERGSTEIN thus arranged for money from one set of Weston’s investors (the TT Portfolio investors) to be used to pay back part of a debt owed to another set of Weston’s investors (the P2 Fund investors) – another conflict of interest that was not disclosed to P2 or TT Portfolio investors.

As a further part of the scheme, moreover, BERGSTEIN made false representations about Swartz IP’s assets and ability to meet redemption requests and secretly diverted TT Portfolio investor proceeds to pay BERGSTEIN’s personal expenses, including credit card bills, impressionist artwork, and private jets.

BERGSTEIN also gave a false and misleading investor presentation, made false investment disclosures, and distributed a fake loan note concealing the origin of the P2 Loan in order to attempt to conceal his criminal conduct.

BERGSTEIN, 55, of Hidden Hills, California, was convicted of the offenses set forth in the chart attached to this release. He was remanded following the return of the jury’s verdict. The statutory maximum sentences are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Berman praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and the Office’s Criminal Investigators.

COUNT	CHARGE	MAXIMUM PENALTIES
1	Conspiracy to Commit Investment Adviser Fraud and Securities Fraud (18 U.S.C. § 371)	Five years in prison and a $250,000 fine or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense
2	Investment Adviser Fraud (15 U.S.C. §§ 80b-6 & 80b-17; 18 U.S.C. § 2)	Five years in prison and a fine of $10,000
3	Investment Adviser Fraud (15 U.S.C. §§ 80b-6 & 80b-17; 18 U.S.C. § 2)	Five years in prison and a fine of $10,000
4	Securities Fraud (15 U.S.C. §§ 78j(b) & 78ff; 17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5; 18 U.S.C. § 2)	20 years in prison and a $5,000,000 fine or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense
5	Securities Fraud (15 U.S.C. §§ 78j(b) & 78ff; 17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5; 18 U.S.C. § 2)	20 years in prison and a $5,000,000 fine or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense
6	Wire Fraud (18 U.S.C. §§ 1343 and 2)	20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense
7	Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1349)	20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense

A.G. Schneiderman Announces Guilty Plea And Admission By Former State Senator George Maziarz

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced the guilty plea and admission of former State Senator George Maziarz. Attorney General Schneiderman released the following statement:

“Today’s guilty plea and full admission sends a strong message to every elected official that if you abuse the public trust, you will be rooted out, and there will be a public accounting of your crime. This case stands for a very simple but important principle, which is that you cannot use your campaign account as a slush fund to avoid public scrutiny. No one, not even George Maziarz, can use campaign accounts to deceive the public, flout the law, and pay off friends.”

Maziarz pleaded guilty to Offering of a False Instrument for Filing in the Second Degree, related to a pass-through scheme in which he used money from his campaign committee to funnel secret campaign payments to a former Senate staffer, Glen Aronow, who had left government service amid charges of sexual harassment. The plea was entered today in Albany County Court before Judge Peter Lynch.

In his allocution before the court, Maziarz admitted, in sum and substance, to wanting to continue to use the services of Glen Aronow without the public knowing, so he arranged for payment to Aronow through a series of intermediaries, including Synor Marketing, knowing that those payments would not be included on various public filings with the BOE, including the 2012 July Periodic disclosure, making them knowingly false. In addition to the admission of guilt, Maziarz will also pay a $1,000 fine plus relevant surcharges.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Buffalo.

A.G. Schneiderman Issues Consumer Alert Regarding Price Gouging During Winter Storm In New York State

A.G. Schneiderman Urges New Yorkers to Report Potential Fraud To His Office, Offers Tips To Protect Consumers

With severe winter weather throughout New York State, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today issued a consumer alert encouraging New Yorkers to contact his office if they experience any potential price gouging for winter weather-related services. New Yorkers can contact the Attorney General's hotline at 518-776-2000 or file a complaint online.

General Business Law prohibits excessive increases in prices of essential goods and services like food, water, gas, generators, batteries, and flashlights, hotel lodging, and transportation, during natural disasters or other events that disrupt the market. During and after severe winter weather events, these goods and services might also include snow plowing, snow removal from roofs, shovels and other snow removal equipment, salt, and contract services for storm-related damage. In January, after receiving a flood of complaints from across New York State, Attorney General Schneiderman announced an investigation into possible misconduct by propane suppliers across New York, and has encouraged New Yorkers to report any delivery delays or possible price gouging for propane delivery.

“New Yorkers should be wary of fraudsters who use severe winter weather as an excuse to illegally line their pockets,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “We will not tolerate those who seek to exploit weather emergencies at the expense of New Yorkers. Any New Yorker that believes they may have been the victim of price gouging should contact my office right away.”

New York State’s Price Gouging Law (General Business Law § 396-r) prohibits merchants from taking unfair advantage of consumers by selling goods or services for an “unconscionably excessive price” during an “abnormal disruption of the market.” The price gouging law covers New York State vendors, retailers, and suppliers, including but not limited to supermarkets, gas stations, hardware stores, bodegas, delis, and taxi and livery cab drivers.

The aftermath of winter storms may also necessitate the hiring of contractors to assist with additional snow removal and home repairs. Reports of roof collapses or wind damage and the possibility of flooding from warming temperatures are areas of particular concern.

Consumers should protect themselves when hiring contractors to perform storm-related services by considering the following:

Shop around. Get at least three estimates from reputable contractors that include specific information about the materials and services to be provided for the job.
Get it in writing. Insist on a written contract that includes the price and description of the work needed.
Don't pay unreasonable advance sums. Negotiate a payment schedule tied to the completion of specific stages of the job. Never pay the full price up front.
Get references. Check with the Better Business Bureau, banks, suppliers, and neighbors. Always contact references provided to you.
Know your rights. You have three days to cancel after signing a contract for home improvements. All cancellations must be in writing.

New York's price gouging law takes effect upon the occurrence of triggering events that cause an “abnormal disruption of the market.” An “abnormal disruption of the market” is defined as “any change in the market, whether actual or imminently threatened,” that results from triggering events such as “weather events, power failures, strikes, civil disorder, war, military action, national or local emergency, or other causes.” During an abnormal disruption of the market like a major weather event, all parties within the chain of distribution for any essential consumer goods or services are prohibited from charging unconscionably excessive prices. “Consumer goods” are defined by the statute as “those used, bought or rendered primarily for personal, family or household purposes.” For example, gasoline, which is vital to the health, safety, and welfare of consumers, is a “consumer good” under the terms of the statute. Therefore, retailers may not charge unconscionably excessive prices for gasoline during an abnormal disruption of the market.

New York's price gouging law does not specifically define what constitutes an “unconscionably excessive price.” However, the statute provides that a price may be unconscionably excessive if: the amount charged represents a gross disparity between the price of the goods or services which were the subject of the transaction and their value measured by the price at which such consumer goods or services were sold or offered for sale by the defendant in the usual course of business immediately prior to the onset of the abnormal disruption of the market.

Chippwa St. Patrick's Day Celebration and Endorsement of Congressman Crowley

Last night was the Chippewa Democratic Club St. Patrick's Day Celebration. The Chippewa Democratic Club President Ed Costa said 'this club was formed one-hundred and twenty years ago, and has remained in the same location since then'.

It was a nice gathering of club members and friends of the Chippewa Democratic Club to celebrate the coming of St. Patrick's Day. There was delicious Corned Beef, potatoes, and cabbage from the restaurant next door to the club, but the big hit of the night was the home made Irish Soda Bread by Ms. Eileen Kilkenny.

There was also another reason for the meeting as it is the beginning of the petitioning process 2018. The federal election cycle begins on March 6th, and petitions for Congressman Crowley were on hand for club members. The primary date for federal elections is on June 26th this year. The New York State primary falls on Thursday September 13th this year having been moved from Tuesday September 11th.

The club also handed out a $500.00 scholarship to MS. Chloe Strain of the Frank Sinatra School of Performing Arts. Assemblyman Michael Benedetto and Councilman Ritchie Torres were also in attendance as you will see in the photos below.

Above - While the Chippewa Democratic Club is in the 82nd Assembly District, the district leaders and members of the Liberty Democratic Club were on hand to celebrate with Congressman Crowley.

Below - Chippewa club member John Doyle and others.