MAYOR DE BLASIO ANNOUNCES BAN ON SINGLE-USE STYROFOAM PRODUCTS IN NEW YORK CITY WILL BE IN EFFECT BEGINNING 2019

   Mayor de Blasio today announced that the City’s styrofoam ban will go into effect by January 1, 2019, following the dismissal of a lawsuit preventing the implementation of the ban. This means that food service establishments, stores, and manufacturers may not possess, sell, or offer for use single service Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) foam food service articles or loose fill packaging, such as “packing peanuts” in New York City beginning in 2019. Over the next six months, the de Blasio administration will work with businesses across the City to ensure they understand the law and help them transition to new materials to replace foam products.

“New York City’s ban on styrofoam is long overdue, and New Yorkers are ready to start using recyclable alternatives. There’s no reason to continue allowing this environmentally unfriendly substance to flood our streets, landfills, and waterways,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Following the dismissal of a lawsuit delaying the ban on Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) foam food service articles and packing peanuts in New York City, the city is now able to begin the process of implementing the ban. After consultation with corporations, non-profits, vendors, and other stakeholders, the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) determined that EPS Foam cannot be recycled. DSNY also determined that there currently is no recycling market for post-consumer EPS collected in a curbside metal, glass, and plastic recycling program.

As a result of the ban, manufacturers and stores may not sell or offer single-use foam items such as cups, plates, trays, or clamshell containers in the City. The sale of polystyrene loose fill packaging, such as “packing peanuts” is also banned. There is a six month grace period from when the ban goes into effect on January 1, 2019 before fines can be imposed. DSNY, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the Department of Consumer Affairs will conduct outreach and education in multiple languages to businesses throughout all five boroughs beginning now and during this period.

Local Law 142, passed by the City Council in December 2013, required the DSNY Commissioner to determine whether EPS single service articles can be recycled in an “economically feasible” and “environmentally effective” way. Under the law, if the Commissioner found that EPS was not recyclable, foam food service items and packaging peanuts were then banned.

Non-profits and small businesses with less than $500,000 in revenue per year may apply for hardship exemptions from the Department of Small Business Services (SBS) if they can prove that the purchase of alternative products not composed of EPS would create undue financial hardship. SBS will begin accepting applications for hardship waivers in the fall.

“As we had previously determined, plain and simple, expanded polystyrene cannot be recycled, and we are pleased that the court decision will allow us to remove this problematic material from our waste stream. This necessary step will help us as we continue to move towards our goal of sending zero waste to landfills,” said Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia. “We will now restart our outreach and education work to ensure all city businesses are aware of the new rule, and prepared for its upcoming implementation.”

Corporation Counsel Zachary W. Carter said, “In dismissing a lawsuit that sought to block this important environmental initiative, the Court recognized that the City’s determination to ban food service foam products was ‘a painstakingly studied decision’ and ‘was in no way rendered arbitrarily or capriciously.’ The Court has cleared the way for the City to begin its outreach to businesses so they are aware of and can prepare for the law’s specific requirements before any enforcement occurs.”

“This is a pivotal and long-overdue step to protect New York City from the unnecessary damage Styrofoam does to our streets, water, and people,” said Mark Chambers, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability.

About EPS:

• Expanded polystyrene is a plastic resin manufactured into consumer products such as “foam” cups, containers, trays, plates, clamshell cases and egg cartons.
• DSNY collected approximately 28,500 tons of expanded polystyrene in Fiscal Year 2014 and estimates that approximately 90 percent of that is from single-use food service products like cups, trays and containers.
• EPS is a major source of neighborhood litter and hazardous to marine life. EPS foam is a lightweight material that can clog storm drains and can also end up on our beaches and in New York Harbor. EPS containers can break down into smaller pieces, which marine animals may mistake for food. The environmental assessment prepared for the bill found that expanded polystyrene particles can wind up in the harbor, and in the floating gyre of non-biodegradable plastic debris that has been found in the Atlantic Ocean – creating a hazard for marine life such as sea turtles and fish.
• EPS is a contaminant of the city’s organics program. The presence of EPS foam in NYC’s waste stream has a detrimental effect on the City’s organic collection program. During the collection process, foam can break down into small pieces that get mixed in with and contaminate organic material, rendering it unmarketable for anaerobic digestion or composting.
• EPS is already banned in cities across the country, including Washington, DC, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Oakland, Portland, Albany, and Seattle. In total, more than seventy cities have banned foam and businesses large and small have shifted to alternative products that are biodegradable or otherwise recyclable.

Muslim Democratic Club of New York Applauds Cynthia Nixon’s Visit to Mosque, Asks “Where’s Governor Cuomo?”

Nixon’s visit contrasts with Governor Cuomo’s lack of engagement with Muslim New Yorkers

The Muslim Democratic Club of New York (MDCNY) welcomed a visit to a New York City mosque and Islamic school by gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon, during which she met with Muslim New Yorkers and participated in the evening iftar, or breaking of the fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

MDCNY pointed out that Governor Andrew Cuomo has never visited a mosque during his two terms as New York State Governor. Mosques are not only the centers of Muslim communities but were also identified by a 2016 Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) study as catalysts for civic engagement, with regular attendees more likely to work with their neighbors to solve community problems, be registered to vote, and to plan to vote.

MDCNY Board Secretary Sadaf Mehdi said: “Today’s visit by Cynthia Nixon is a good first step in the campaign’s engagement with Muslim New Yorkers. With over one million Muslims just in the NYC metro area, and hundreds of thousands more across the state, the next Governor needs to meet and engage with Muslims if they truly want to represent all New Yorkers. For Governor Cuomo to have never interacted with Muslim New Yorkers in their communities is at best a gross oversight and at worst a deliberate shutting out of an entire religious group.”

“It’s easy to issue soundbites like ‘I’m a Muslim’ from afar, but for someone to be able to credibly claim that their governorship is a guard against Trump’s bigotry, they need to engage with communities at the grassroots level,” said Mohammad Khan, MDCNY Board Member. “We’re glad to see the Nixon campaign taking a step that Andrew Cuomo has avoided during his entire eight years as Governor, and look forward to more engagement with the campaign.”

MDCNY has not yet made an endorsement in the Democratic primary for NYS Governor.

The Muslim Democratic Club of New York is a city-wide organization dedicated to increasing the civic empowerment of Muslim New Yorkers and advancing progressive policies in the Democratic Party.

MAYOR DE BLASIO AND SPEAKER JOHNSON REACH EARLY HANDSHAKE AGREEMENT FOR BALANCED FY19 BUDGET

  Mayor Bill de Blasio, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, Council Finance Chair Daniel Dromm and members of the City Council announced an agreement for an on-time and balanced City budget for Fiscal Year 2019. The agreement on the approximately $89.15 billion budget includes $106 million for Fair Fares, a program that cuts the price of MetroCards in half for low-income New Yorkers.

The budget agreement also includes the expansion of 3-K for All, serving 14,000 students in 12 districts while also providing Fair Student Funding for New York City schools. Additionally, the budget agreement makes significant new investments to help New Yorkers afford their number one expense: housing. The budget will boost supportive housing production by 40 percent to 700 apartments per year. Coupled with other investments, this budget agreement keeps the city on track to becoming the fairest big city in America.

“Today marks an important milestone as we take bold steps to continue creating the fairest big city in America. With our colleagues in the City Council, we have come to a historic agreement to reduce the cost of MetroCards for hardworking New Yorkers struggling to afford their city, reaffirming our commitment to making New York City fair,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “We’re also addressing the City’s most pressing needs by getting every school to at least 90 percent Fair Student Funding, expanding 3-K for All, and making unprecedented investments in NYCHA. All this while adding to our reserves to protect the important investments we’ve made over the last five years, including in this budget. I would like to thank Council Speaker Corey Johnson, Finance Chair Daniel Dromm and the rest of the City Council for their partnership. We are certain that New Yorkers across the five boroughs will see and feel the benefits of our budget.”

The Fair Fares program, which will be modeled after the Human Resource Administration’s Cash Assistance and SNAP programs, will be administered directly by the City. In its first year, the program will be analyzed to ensure it is receiving the appropriate levels of funding to serve New Yorkers in need. The City is currently working on eligibility requirements for the program. Fair Fares is set to launch in early 2019.

The FY19 Adopted Budget also accounts for $1.125 billion in General Reserve, an increase of $125 million; $4.35 billion in Retiree Health Benefits Trust Fund, an increase of $100 million;  and $250 million in the Capital Stabilization Reserve.

Highlights of this year’s budget include:

• Expansion of 3-K for All, doubling the number of new districts in the next two years from two districts a year to four, bringing the City’s total commitment to over 14,000 seats in 12 districts. The total investment in 3-K for All is $201 million by Fiscal Year 2022;
• $150 million over three years in capital investments to increase school accessibility;
• Acceleration of $100 million for supportive housing within the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s affordable housing budget for the Mayor’s Housing New York 2.0 plan, which aims to create and preserve 300,000 affordable homes by 2026;
• Increase and baseline funding for the Emergency Food Assistance Program (EFAP) to meet projected demand bringing the EFAP budget to $20 million annually;
• A baseline of $3 million to expand the Department of Youth and Community Development’s Runaway Homeless Youth program;
• $200 million in capital to upgrade heating systems at NYCHA developments and $13 million for short-term heating upgrades for next winter;
• $3.5 million for additional litter basket pickup;
• $10.3 million to expand the Summer Youth Employment Program from 70,000 to 75,000 slots;
• A baseline of $8 million for the Comprehensive Afterschool System of New York City and $9 million for adult literacy programs;
• $9.6 million to maintain the City’s parks and $1.7 million to extend the opening of public beaches and pool season for one week past Labor Day;
• $11.4 million for the Crisis Management System, which includes the Cure Violence program;
• $12 million to have every patrol officer wear a body camera by the end of the year;
• Preservation of $125 million for Fair Student Funding.

Comptroller Stringer Statement on NYCHA Settlement

  “With the impending appointment of a federal monitor and dedicated City funding, NYCHA now has the chance to get this right after decades of disinvestment and mismanagement.  But to ensure the monitor will be successful, here’s what needs to happen: we must overhaul the Authority from top to bottom. NYCHA needs a single executive leader with a clear mandate and accountability, not today’s divided board structure with a Chair and General Manager operating as separate fiefs. NYCHA needs a modern governance structure with experts in managing large housing systems, not a board that rubber stamps all decisions. And finally, NYCHA needs to forge a real partnership with tenants, not just pay lip service to the needs and concerns of the 400,000 people who call NYCHA home.

“Without these structural changes, today’s announcement will be just another failed attempt to fix what’s broken, and will only serve to banish another generation of NYCHA residents to dangerous, inhumane conditions. It is as heartbreaking as it is disgraceful that for years our City’s children were exposed to hazardous conditions such as lead and mold, and that multiple administrations lied about it. The City should seize this moment to implement long needed, bold and effective reforms – but success rests on complete transparency and accountability.”

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Charges Against Individual For Engaging In A Fraudulent Ticket Scam And Laundering Proceeds Of The Fraud

William McFarland, While Awaiting Sentencing for Engaging in Fraud on Investors of Fyre Media Inc. and Fyre Festival LLC, Made False Representations to Customers of NYC VIP Access and Laundered Fraud Proceeds

  Geoffrey S. Berman, 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 the unsealing of a criminal Complaint charging WILLIAM McFARLAND with wire fraud and money laundering, in connection with conducting a sham ticket scheme in which he purported to sell fraudulent tickets to exclusive fashion, music, and sporting events through NYC VIP Access, a company controlled by McFARLAND, and also caused the fraud proceeds to be sent to others’ financial accounts in an effort to conceal his ownership and control of the funds.  McFARLAND is expected to be presented before U.S. Magistrate Gabriel W. Gorenstein today. 

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said:  “William McFarland, already awaiting sentencing for a prior fraud scheme, allegedly continued to conduct criminal business as usual, selling nonexistent tickets to fashion, music, and sporting events.  As alleged, McFarland’s purported exclusive event ticket company, NYC VIP Access, in fact had no access to events for which he sold bogus tickets.  Now McFarland faces criminal charges on top of those to which he already pled guilty.”

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. said:  “In March of 2018, William McFarland pled guilty to defrauding investors and vendors of the Fyre Festival, but it is apparent that he did not stop there.  McFarland allegedly went on to sell fraudulent tickets to many grand events, totaling almost $100,000.  Today’s charges depict our intolerance for such fraudulent activity, and we will continue to diligently investigate acts such as this.”

According to the allegations in the Complaint[1] unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:

On March 6, 2018, McFARLAND pled guilty before United States District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald to one count of wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud over 80 investors in Fyre Media and Fyre Festival LLC of over $24 million in losses, and one count of wire fraud with a scheme to defraud a ticket vendor for the Fyre Festival of $2 million in losses.  United States v. William McFarland, 17 Cr. 600 (NRB).  McFARLAND has been on pretrial release since July 1, 2017, and is currently awaiting sentencing in that case.

From at least in or about late 2017, up to and including at least in or about March 2018, McFARLAND owned NYC VIP Access, a company based in New York, New York, that purported to be in the business of obtaining and selling for profit tickets to various exclusive events including fashion galas, music festivals, and sporting events.  NYC VIP Access purported to sell tickets to the following events, among others: the 2018 Met Gala, Burning Man 2018, Coachella 2018, the 2018 Grammy Awards, Super Bowl LII, and a Cleveland Cavaliers game and team dinner with Lebron James.  McFARLAND, while on pretrial release, perpetrated a scheme to defraud attendees of the Fyre Festival and others by soliciting them to purchase tickets from NYC VIP Access to exclusive events when, in fact, no such tickets existed. 

McFARLAND took steps to make NYC VIP Access appear as it if were controlled and operated by other individuals.  In soliciting ticket sales, McFARLAND used an email account in the name of a then-employee (“Employee-1”) in order to hide his affiliation with NYC VIP Access.  McFARLAND provided prospective customers with contracts that falsely represented that NYC VIP Access had tickets to exclusive events in fashion, music, and sports.  In order to distance himself from the operation, McFARLAND directed that Employee-1 sign the contracts between NYC VIP Access and the customers.  After McFARLAND induced customers to wire money for tickets, McFARLAND either did not provide tickets at all, or did not provide tickets as advertised.  McFARLAND charged at least approximately $100,000 in fraudulent tickets to at least approximately 15 customer-victims. McFARLAND instructed and caused ticket sale proceeds to be sent to a bank account belonging to Employee-1, to which McFARLAND had access and control, or a mobile payment service account belonging to another employee (“Employee-2”), for the purpose of concealing his ownership and control of the funds.             

McFARLAND, 26, of New York, New York, is charged with one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are 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 FBI’s New York Field Office.

The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

[1]  As the introductory phase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint, and the description of the Complaint set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.

Owner Of Payday Lending Enterprise Sentenced To 10 Years In Prison For Orchestrating $220 Million Fraudulent Lending Scheme

  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that RICHARD MOSELEY SR. was sentenced today to 120 months in prison, after having been found guilty in November 2017 of racketeering, fraud, and identity-theft offenses for operating an illegal payday lending enterprise in which MOSELEY charged illegally high interest rates and issued payday loans to victims who did not authorize them.  MOSELEY was convicted after a three-week jury trial before U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos, who imposed today’s sentence.   

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “Richard Moseley’s illegal payday lending operation exploited more than half a million of the most financially vulnerable people in the U.S.  Charging usurious interest and exorbitant fees, and even signing people up for loans they didn’t authorize, Moseley put financially struggling people even further in debt.  Today Moseley has been rightly sentenced to prison for his predatory ways.”

According to the Indictment, other filings in Manhattan federal court, and the evidence presented at trial:     

From approximately 2004 to 2014, MOSELEY owned and operated a group of payday lending businesses (the “Hydra Lenders”) that issued and serviced small, short-term, unsecured loans, known as “payday loans,” through the Internet to customers across the United States.   

For nearly a decade, MOSELEY systematically exploited more than 620,000 financially struggling working people throughout the United States, many of whom struggled to pay for basic living expenses.  MOSELEY, through the Hydra Lenders, targeted and extended loans to these individuals at illegally high interest rates of more than 700 percent, using deceptive and misleading communications and contracts and in violation of the usury laws of numerous states that were designed to protect residents from such abusive conduct.  

In furtherance of the scheme, the Hydra Lenders’ loan agreements materially understated the amount the payday loan would cost and the total amount of payments that would be taken from borrowers’ bank accounts.  MOSELEY structured the repayment schedule of the loans such that, on the borrower’s payday, the Hydra Lenders automatically withdrew the entire interest payment due on the loan, but left the principal balance untouched so that, on the borrower’s next payday, the Hydra Lenders could again automatically withdraw an amount equaling the entire interest payment due (and already paid) on the loan.  Under MOSELEY’s control and oversight, the Hydra Lenders proceeded automatically to withdraw such “finance charges” payday after payday, applying none of the money toward repayment of the loan principal.  Under the terms of the loan agreement, the Hydra Lenders withdrew finance charges from their customers’ accounts unless and until consumers took affirmative action to stop the automatic renewal of the loan. 

Through the Hydra Lenders, MOSELEY also extended numerous payday loans to victims across the country who did not even want the loans or authorize the issuance of the loans, but instead had merely submitted their personal and bank account information in order to inquire about the possibility of obtaining a payday loan.  MOSELEY then automatically withdrew the Hydra Lenders’ usurious “financing fees” directly from the financially struggling victims’ bank accounts on a bi-weekly basis.  Although hundreds of victims, over a period of years, lodged complaints that they had never approved or even been aware of the issuance of the loans, the Hydra Lenders, at MOSELEY’s direction, continued to issue loans to consumers without confirming that the consumers in fact wanted the loans that they received or had reviewed and approved the loan terms.    

Customers across the country, numerous state regulators, and consumer protection groups complained about the Hydra Lenders’ deceptive and misleading practices in issuing usurious and fraudulent loans.  Beginning in approximately 2006, in an attempt to avoid civil and criminal liability for his conduct, and to enable the Hydra Lenders to extend usurious loans contrary to state laws, MOSELEY made it appear that the Hydra Lenders were located overseas.  Specifically, MOSELEY nominally incorporated the Hydra Lenders first in Nevis in the Caribbean, and later in New Zealand, and claimed that the Hydra Lenders could not be sued or subject to state enforcement actions because they were beyond the jurisdiction of every state in the United States.  In truth, the entirety of MOSELEY’s lending business, including all bank accounts from which loans were originated, all communications with consumers, and all employees, were located at MOSELEY’s corporate office in Kansas City, Missouri.  The Hydra Lenders’ purported “offshore” operation consisted of little more than a service that forwarded mail from addresses in Nevis or New Zealand to the Kansas City, Missouri, office. 

In furtherance of the scheme, MOSELEY falsely told his attorneys that the Hydra Lenders maintained physical offices and employees in Nevis and New Zealand and that the decision whether to extend loans to particular consumers was made by employees of the Hydra Lenders in Nevis and New Zealand.  As MOSELEY well knew, at no time did the Hydra Lenders have any employees involved in the lending business in Nevis or New Zealand, and at all times the decision whether to underwrite loans was made by employees under MOSELEY’s direction in Kansas City, Missouri.  To defeat state complaints and inquiries, MOSELEY directed his attorneys at outside law firms to submit correspondence to state Attorneys General that stated – falsely, unbeknownst to MOSELEY’s attorneys – that the Hydra Lenders originated loans “exclusively” from their offices overseas and had no physical presence anywhere in the United States. 

From approximately November 2006 through approximately August 2014, the Hydra Lenders generated more than $220 million in revenue.  MOSELEY made millions of dollars from the scheme, which he spent on, among other things, a vacation home in Mexico, luxury automobiles, and country club membership dues. 

In addition to the 10-year prison term, MOSELEY, 73, of Kansas City, Missouri, was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $49 million. 

Mr. Berman praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Office Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.  Mr. Berman also thanked the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which brought a separate civil action against MOSELEY, for referring the matter and for its assistance.

Senator Rivera Introduces Resolution Celebrating the Life and Community Service of Former Community Board 7 District Manager Andrew Sandler

Today, State Senator Gustavo Rivera introduced a resolution paying tribute to the life and community service of Andrew Sandler, former Bronx Community Board 7 District Manager, who sadly passed away on August 5, 2017. In his 31 years of life, Mr. Sandler became a devoted public servant who worked tirelessly to guide the residents of his home neighborhood of Riverdale on their paths toward attaining housing, jobs, and numerous social service benefits. Before his tenure as District Manager for Community Board 7, Mr. Sandler served as Community Affairs and Constituent Services Director for New York City Councilmembers Oliver Koppell and Andrew Cohen. 

"Andrew Sandler embodied all the characteristics of a true public servant. A passionate and talented young man who I had the honor to work closely with, Andrew's body of work demonstrated a true dedication to improving the lives of those communities in the Bronx he proudly served", said State Senator Gustavo Rivera. "He made our community and our borough better and for that and many other reasons, he will be forever missed."

As District Manager of Community Board 7 in the Bronx, Andrew worked on public and private projects that addressed the community's needs and revitalized the local economy, including the Kingsbridge National Ice Center, the Jerome Park Reservoir, and the Mosholu Parkway. Even as his health deteriorated, he became a fierce advocate for cancer patients to help those New Yorkers battling cancer get the care they need."

Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams - Celebrate Caribbean-American Heritage!

 

June gives us plenty of opportunities to celebrate the many cultures of our borough at the People's House!

On Wednesday, June 27th, in partnership with the Caribbean-American Heritage Committee, I am hosting a Caribbean-American Heritage Month Celebration at Brooklyn Borough Hall and Columbus Park from 12:00 PM to 9:00 PM, which will include a Caribbean cultural marketplace, symposium, a taste of Caribbean cuisine, and musical entertainment. In addition, I welcome you to come enjoy a Caribbean art exhibition in the Community Room of Brooklyn Borough Hall, which will be on display through Friday, June 29th.

Come join us as we celebrate Caribbean-American culture in Brooklyn!

-Eric