DE BLASIO ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES NEW TASK FORCE TO PREVENT AND END YOUTH HOMELESSNESS IN NEW YORK CITY

Group of experts will coordinate a six-month community process resulting in a strategic plan that will inform the City’s next steps for preventing and ending youth homelessness

  Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Dr. Herminia Palacio today launched the Youth Homelessness Taskforce, a group comprised of 15 City agencies and initiatives, 26 nonprofits and 10 youth leaders from the Youth Action Board, in partnership with the NYC Coalition on the Continuum of Care. The taskforce will coordinate a six-month community process resulting in a strategic plan that will inform the City’s next steps for preventing and ending youth homelessness.  The Youth Homelessness Taskforce will also coordinate with the Interagency Homelessness Accountability Council – an ongoing effort to strengthen our citywide system to support homelessness prevention – to ensure the objectives of the two groups align.

“The Youth Homelessness Taskforce is another sign of the Administration’s unwavering commitment to addressing youth homelessness. Building on existing initiatives, this work group will put forth new ideas to prevent youth homelessness, while ensuring that those who are in our care have the ability to leave with the appropriate resources to live healthy and productive lives,” said Dr. Herminia Palacio, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services. “I’m thrilled to bring together this excellent group of experts who will help us imagine new solutions to making New York City a place where no youth experiences homelessness.”

"I applaud the City’s latest effort to end homelessness among our young people," said New York City First Lady Chirlane McCray. "This task force brings together a powerful group of agencies and experts in this administration who have already shown their commitment to making life better for our most vulnerable New Yorkers. Having a place to live is a basic human right. If we are to truly help New York youth reach their full potential and contribute their talents and energies to our city then we need to find some new solutions to the homeless problem."

“Addressing the needs of young people facing hard times is crucial. Through this taskforce, experts from City agencies, nonprofits and youth advocacy will come together to improve the delivery of services to help more and more young people transition back into permanent housing,” said Department of Youth and Community Development Commissioner Bill Chong. “Homeless youth need a safe place to stay, supportive services and opportunities to succeed. The taskforce will deepen the City’s progress in improving and finding effective, innovative practices to work toward ending youth homelessness.”

“Giving all young people an opportunity to succeed is our top priority in New York City—and for youth facing homelessness, that means providing dedicated spaces, resources, and programming that will help them stabilize their lives in a safe and supportive environment,” said Department of Social Services Commissioner Steven Banks. “This announcement demonstrates our City’s commitment to connecting young New Yorkers’ experiencing homelessness with the tools and opportunities they need to thrive and lead healthy, inclusive, successful lives. We look forward to continued collaboration with our Agency partners as we continue to turn the tide on homelessness citywide.”

“Every New York City child deserves a home, and that’s why the city’s first-ever Youth Homelessness Taskforce is so important: it is a groundbreaking step forward to help address youth homelessness here in New York City. The Administration for Children’s Services is proud to participate in this important initiative because it will ultimately provide our most vulnerable youth with the support they need to thrive,” saidDavid A. Hansell, Commissioner of the Administration for Children’s Services.

To spearhead this effort, through a Deutsche Bank Americas grant secured by New Yorkers for Children, the City has hired Cole Giannone (they/them pronouns) as a Senior Consultant for Youth Homelessness. Giannone, working with the City’s Center for Innovation through Data Intelligence (CIDI), will lead the process of coordinating the taskforce, as well as collecting, organizing and analyzing information and data from relevant stakeholders.

Prior to this role, Giannone spent seven years at the Ali Forney Center, a runaway homeless youth provider in New York City serving LGBTQ youth. In their time at AFC, Giannone created a Youth Advocate program to elevate the voices of and pay young people to help lead the efforts in the amendment of the NYS Runaway Homeless Youth Act. Giannone has a B.S. in Communications from NYU and a M.S. in Nonprofit Management from the New School.

“As someone who has worked with young people experiencing homelessness, an experience that no individual should ever have to endure, it is an honor and a privilege to help coordinate our city’s efforts to prevent and end youth homelessness. Our city leaders have been willing to listen, to make changes in our delivery of care and to add significant resources to our system in order to address this issue. To acknowledge that there are areas where we can make improvements is commendable and shows tremendous humility. In collaboration with service providers, city agencies and most importantly, young people with lived experience, we aim to ameliorate our system of care even more. Preventing and ending youth homelessness in possible,  and through this project, we will be closer than ever,” said Cole Giannone, Senior Consultant for Youth Homelessness to Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services Dr. Herminia Palacio.

“New Yorkers For Children is thrilled to be part of this groundbreaking effort to address youth homelessness and inter-generational poverty.  We applaud the City and Deputy Mayor Palacio for developing a solution-oriented approach to this epidemic and we are immensely grateful to Deutsche Bank for partnering with us to support this work,” said Saroya Friedman-Gonzalez, Executive Director, New Yorkers For Children. “Aligning inter-agency policies, developing a shared vision and plan,  and establishing a consistent measurement system that evaluates the challenges will move us closer to the shared goal of eliminating youth homelessness altogether.”

“Homelessness in New York City - for youth and for all people - is a humanitarian crisis that merits the same urgency, resources, and coordination we give to similar crises like natural disasters. It is also a challenge that we’ve proven we can solve if we partner strategically across sectors and levels of government and bring dedicated resources to the effort. Deutsche Bank is committed to ending youth homelessness in New York City and is proud to be a founding member of the Task Force. We invite all private sector and philanthropic institutions committed to making New York an equitable, sustainable, community of opportunity to join us in this work,” said John Kimble, Vice President of Philanthropic Initiatives with the Community Development Finance Group of Deutsche Bank.

The Youth Homelessness Taskforce includes participation from the Administration for Children’s Services, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Department of Social Services/Department of Homeless Services, Department of Social Services/Human Resources Administration, Department of Youth and Community Development, Housing Preservation Department, Department of Education, and City University of New York. Other city initiatives participating in these efforts include the Unity Project, Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence, NYC Economic Opportunity, Center for Youth Employment, Office of Food Policy, Young Men’s Initiative and Center for Youth Employment.

Nonprofit providers include The Coalition for Homeless Youth, Ali Forney Center, The Legal Aid Society, The Door, Sheltering Arms, Good Shepherd Services, Covenant House, Supportive Housing Network of New York, Jericho Project, Safe Horizon, Bailey House, GEMS, CSH, Children’s Village, West End Residences, Point Source Youth, Urban Justice Center, Princess Janae Place, Destination Tomorrow, Hetrick-Martin Institute, Advocates for Children, Youth Invincibles, Homeless Services United, Coalition for the Homeless, Gay Men’s Health Crisis, and Volunteers of America Greater New York.

“This task force is a major step forward in addressing the city’s youth homelessness crisis and I am proud to have contributed to the creation of the city’s first ever youth shelter as well as expanded hours at drop-in centers. Youth homelessness is a heartbreaking problem that requires bold ideas and innovative solutions as we work to address this issue,” said New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson. “I look forward to working with this task force to ensure we are doing everything we can to prevent and eventually end youth homelessness in our city.”

“I’m proud that my administration was at the forefront of moving the needle in the State Legislature and City Council to raise the age at which homeless youth can stay in shelters to 24. Tackling the youth homelessness crisis requires a coordinated effort from various stakeholders across community-based organizations and government agencies that have a committed understanding of the demand for housing and how to address it,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. “This comprehensive task force is a further step in the right direction to ensuring all of Brooklyn’s young people, particularly LGBTQ+ and vulnerable youth, have a loving and warm place to call home, regardless of their circumstances.”

The Youth Homelessness Taskforce builds upon a number of significant initiatives taken by the de Blasio Administration to prevent and reduce youth homelessness, including:

·         The recent NYC Unity Project announcement, a new $9.5 million investment to prevent and address homelessness for LGBTQ youth across the City. This investment includes funding for the City’s first ever youth shelter for young people up to age 24 and an expansion of hours at the City’s youth drop-in centers.

·         The Adopted budget increased the commitment to 60 new beds for Runaway and Homeless Youth up to age 24.

·         In 2017, the City's Department of Homeless Services also opened Marsha's House in the Bronx, the first-ever shelter for LGBTQ young people in the New York City adult shelter system. Named after famed LGBTQ activist Marsha P. Johnson, this facility gives more than 80 homeless individuals aged 21 to 30 years the opportunity to be sheltered in a welcoming and supportive space providing targeted resources and demonstrates this Administration's leadership ensuring LGBTQ homeless youth have the tools, resources and opportunities to lead healthy, inclusive and successful lives. As we transform a DHS shelter system that has built up in a haphazard way over many decades, DHS continues to improve and increase collaboration with partner agencies across the City to ensure we effectively address the unique needs of young LGBTQ New Yorkers with dignity and the services they deserve.

·         The addition of 500 beds for 16-20 year olds who are homeless and deployment of additional staff to coordinate services for youth entering City shelters, bringing the total beds to 753 by July 2019, up from 253.

·         The commitment to allocate of 1,700 supportive housing units for youth through the Supportive Housing NYC 15/15.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

It's about time.

Former Brooklyn Assemblywoman Pleads Guilty to Multiple Fraud Schemes and Witness Tampering

Pamela Harris Admits to Defrauding Government Agencies Out of Tens of Thousands of Dollars and Tampering with Witnesses

  In a federal court in Brooklyn, former New York State Assemblywoman Pamela Harris pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, one count of making false statements to the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), and one count of witness tampering.  The proceeding was held before United States Magistrate Judge Robert M. Levy.  Harris was arrested on January 9, 2018 and resigned from her position in the New York State Assembly on April 2, 2018.

Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Mark G. Peters, Commissioner, New York City Department of Investigation (DOI), announced the guilty plea. 

“Elected by the people of her district to serve with honesty and integrity, Pamela Harris defrauded government programs out of tens of thousands of dollars, using the money for her personal benefit,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue.  “Harris stole grant money allocated for underprivileged children and young adults and lied to obtain funds set aside for those displaced by Hurricane Sandy, committing these crimes both before and after she was elected to serve in the New York State Assembly.  She then compounded her criminal conduct by pressuring witnesses to lie to the FBI.  The defendant’s guilty plea today clearly demonstrates that elected officials are not above the law and will be held responsible for their crimes.”  U.S. Attorney Donoghue thanked the FBI and DOI for their partnership and work on the case.

 “Amid the widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy, former New York State Assemblywoman Pamela Harris sought to devise a destructive scheme of her own,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney.  “As FEMA dedicated themselves to aid those affected by the storm, Harris saw this as the perfect opportunity to defraud this agency of tens of thousands of dollars. By defrauding an agency solely dedicated to the assistance of those in need, Harris showed no remorse for the many victims of this storm. Instead, she falsely victimized herself for mere personal gain. In an attempt to obstruct justice, Harris caused greater destruction by coercing individuals to lie to federal agents on her behalf. Despite her unjust acts against the community, Harris’s plea shows that justice will prevail in the end.” 

“This former state assemblywoman, now convicted criminal, defrauded city and federal programs out of tens of thousands of dollars, including pocketing funds designated for victims of Hurricane Sandy’s wrath, many of whom were from her district and hit hard during the storm,” stated DOI Commissioner Peters.  “She continued her corrupt schemes even as she sat in the state capitol, stealing public funds while she feigned to be in the service of her constituents.  Elected officials who deceive the public, break the law and steal taxpayer funds will be brought to justice.  DOI thanks the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the FBI for their partnership in working together to expose and prosecute these crimes.”

Between 2012 and 2014, Harris defrauded FEMA out of nearly $25,000 by falsely claiming that she had been forced out of her storm-damaged residence and into a temporary residence in Staten Island after Hurricane Sandy.  To support her claim for Hurricane Sandy funds, she submitted to FEMA fake lease agreements that she had purportedly entered into with the landlord of the Staten Island residence, as well as bogus rent payment receipts.  In reality, Harris continued to live at her Coney Island residence and pocketed the FEMA payments.

Between August 2014 and July 2015, Harris, who was at the time the Executive Director of a not-for-profit organization located in Brooklyn, defrauded the New York City Council of $22,800 in discretionary funding by falsely claiming that the not-for-profit would use the funds to rent a studio space.  As part of her scheme, Harris submitted to the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development, the government entity responsible for administering and disbursing the City Council’s discretionary funds, a forged lease agreement.  After the not-for-profit received the funding, Harris diverted the funds to her personal checking account and used the money to pay for personal expenses.

The following year, between approximately July 2015 and January 2017, when Harris was a sitting member of the New York State Assembly, she defrauded the NYC Council by claiming that funds for the not-for-profit would be spent on rental space.  After the funds were disbursed to the not-for-profit, Harris diverted an additional $22,800 for her personal use. 

During her guilty plea, Harris admitted that she pressured witnesses to lie to FBI agents conducting the Grand Jury investigation into her fraudulent schemes. 

When sentenced, Harris faces a maximum sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment on the charge relating to making false statements to FEMA and a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment on each of the wire fraud and witness tampering counts.    

Former NYPD Deputy Chief Sentenced For Illegally Diverting Police Resources

  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that MICHAEL HARRINGTON was sentenced to two years of probation and 180 hours of community service for misapplying police resources while serving in the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) as, among other things, a Deputy Chief and Executive Officer for the Chief of Department’s Office.  He was sentenced by the U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods.

HARRINGTON diverted those police resources – including dispatching police officers and diverting land, sea, and air vehicles intended for the NYPD’s public service usage – for the personal benefit of Jeremy Reichberg, a private citizen, as well as Reichberg’s friends and associates. 

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “After years of service to the NYPD, Michael Harrington abused the sacred trust placed in him by the NYPD and the people of New York by applying the people’s resources, including its officers, to the interests and whims of a connected few.  That Harrington’s behavior has resulted in a felony conviction is a sad but necessary reminder that, along with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to fight this type of corruption.”

In sentencing HARRINGTON, Judge Woods said: “This is a very serious offense.   [T]his does matter.  As a senior official of the NYPD, Mr. Harrington was entrusted to protect the public without fear or favor.  He misused that trust.   . . . .[H]e applied the public’s resources to provide special favors to a select few.  And Mr. Harrington misdirected NYPD resources at the request of [Jeremy] Reichberg while receiving personal benefits from him.”

Reichberg and an additional co-defendant, former NYPD Deputy Inspector James Grant, continue to face honest services fraud, bribery, and conspiracy charges related to an alleged scheme in which Reichberg and another individual provided luxurious benefits to high-ranking members of the NYPD, including Grant and HARRINGTON, so as to be able to call upon those members for police-related assistance for themselves and their associates as opportunities arose.  Reichberg and Grant are to face trial before Judge Woods on October 4, 2018.

According to the Superseding Information, Indictment, and Complaint filed in this case, other court filings, and statements made during court proceedings:         

HARRINGTON was previously an Inspector in Brooklyn North and, beginning around November 2013, the Executive Officer in the NYPD’s Chief of Department’s Office, which is responsible for overseeing all of the Department’s uniformed operations.  After November 2014, HARRINGTON was a Deputy Chief assigned to the NYPD’s Housing Bureau.  Between 2011 and June 2016, HARRINGTON diverted police resources for the benefit of Reichberg and his associates, including another individual, Jona Rechnitz, who has pled guilty and is now cooperating with the Government. 

During the relevant period, Reichberg and Rechnitz provided HARRINGTON with personal benefits and gifts, including tens of thousands of dollars in business to a security company run by HARRINGTON’s family members and friends, thousands of dollars’ worth of meals in high-end restaurants, hundreds of dollars’ worth of premium tickets to sporting events, and a video game system and other gifts for his children.  During the same period, HARRINGTON helped Reichberg and his associates get rides in police cars for non-police purposes, used a helicopter for a flyover at a private event, and secured the use of a police boat for private boat rides at another private event.  He further sent officers to resolve private, civil disputes, pressured other NYPD personnel to respond to requests from Reichberg and Rechnitz, and took steps to assist in the promotion and transfer of NYPD officers handpicked by Reichberg and Rechnitz at their request.

In addition to the probation term, HARRINGTON, 52, of Staten Island, New York, was fined $5,000 and ordered to pay $6,000 in restitution to the NYPD.  

Mr. Berman praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Police Department, Internal Affairs Bureau.  

Attorney General Underwood Announces Win For New Yorkers In Smog Lawsuit Against Trump EPA

Court Rules that EPA Must Act On Interstate Smog Pollution Blowing into NY and CT from Upwind States

  New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood announced a major win in a lawsuit against the Trump EPA. The decision in State of New York and State of Connecticut v. Pruitt and the U.S. EPA orders the EPA to comply with the Clean Air Act’s requirement to address smog pollution from upwind states. In January, New York and Connecticut jointly sued the EPA.

Attorney General Underwood released the following statement:

“As many as two in three New Yorkers are breathing unhealthy levels of smog.

The court’s decision is a major win for New Yorkers and our public health, forcing the Trump EPA to follow the law and act to address smog pollution blowing into New York from upwind states.

The Trump administration has repeatedly flouted the law – and over and over again, we’ve taken them to court and won. We will continue to do what it takes to protect New Yorkers’ health and environment.

News From Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark

BRONX MAN INDICTED ON RAPE AND RELATED CHARGES FOR SEXUALLY ASSAULTING WOMAN IN HER HOME

Defendant Used Fire Escape and Broke into Victim’s Bedroom 

  Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx man has been indicted on first-degree Rape and other charges for the sexual assault of a woman after breaking into her home in September, 2017. 

 District Attorney Clark said, “This alleged crime is even more unsettling because the defendant entered the victim’s bedroom, where she was asleep, and attacked her. We will make sure we bring justice for the victim.” 

 District Attorney Clark said Rudolph Moore, 48, of Manning Avenue, has been indicted on first-degree Rape, first-degree Robbery, first-degree Burglary and other related charges for the sexual assault of the victim. He was arraigned today before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Shari Michels and bail was set at $250,000. He is due back in court on September 13, 2018. The defendant was previously indicted on second-degree Burglary for an incident that occurred on July 31, 2017 inside the same building where the alleged rape occurred.

 According to the investigation, on the night of September 9, 2017 and into the next morning, when the 28-year-old victim was asleep, the defendant climbed into the woman’s bedroom window through the fire escape. The defendant then allegedly pointed what appeared to be a firearm at the victim and demanded and took money from her. The defendant then sexually assaulted the woman, took personal property and left through the same window using the fire escape.

 District Attorney Clark thanked Detective Wonjin Noh of the Bronx Special Victims Squad for assistance in the investigation. 

An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.

THREE MEN SENTENCED TO PRISON IN MURDER OF 33-YEAR-OLD ARMY VETERAN 

Victim, the Father of A Young Son, Was Fighting Leukemia; Gunman Sentenced to 40 Years to Life 

  Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that three men have been sentenced to prison in the planned killing of a U.S. Army veteran who was shot dead after being wrongly identified as an assailant in a bar fight. 

 District Attorney Clark said, “The defendants plotted and set out to kill an innocent man who had come to the Bronx from Florida to visit his young son. The victim was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army so he could battle leukemia and then was senselessly murdered. The sentences hopefully will bring a measure of justice to the victim’s loved ones.” 

 District Attorney Clark said the defendants, Carlos Velez, 35, of 370 Bushwick Avenue, Brooklyn, and Luis Charbonier, 47, of 4161 Grace Avenue, the Bronx, were sentenced on June 11, 2018, by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Lester Adler. Velez was sentenced to 25 years to life for Murder and 15 years for Attempted Murder, to be served consecutively, and seven and a half to 15 years for Conspiracy, to be served concurrently. Charbonier was sentenced to 15 years to life for Murder, 12 years for Attempted Murder and six to 12 years for Conspiracy with all sentences to run concurrently. The defendants were found guilty by a jury on April 5, 2018. The third defendant, William Andrades, 36, of 50 South High Street, Mount Vernon, N.Y., pleaded guilty on April 19, 2018 to second-degree Conspiracy and was sentenced on May 17, 2018 to seven and a half to 15 years in prison.

 According to the investigation, on March 12, 2015, the victim, Jason Allwood, and a friend were at Cullen’s Tavern on White Plains Road in the Bronx. A man named Alexis Valentin, was beaten by another bar patron in a fight over a woman. Allwood came to Valentin’s aid and pulled his assailant off him. On the next night, March 13, 2015, Velez, who is Valentin’s brother, and Charbonier, Valentin’s brother-in-law, hatched a plot to get revenge against the person who beat him. Velez and Charbonier went to the bar with Andrades, a cousin of Valentin’s, where Velez threatened a patron to tell him who beat up his brother the night before. The patron falsely pointed out Allwood, who again was in the bar that night.

 Andrades followed Allwood and his friend when they left the bar, and when Allwood arrived at his friend’s house on Murdock Avenue, Velez and Charbonier pulled up, Velez approached and shot Allwood twice and his friend once. Velez then pistol-whipped Allwood, who died enroute to the hospital. His friend survived.

 District Attorney Clark thanked Detective Patrick Sullivan and Detective Peter Cullen for their assistance in the case.

NEW ENDORSEMENTS PROVE ALESSANDRA BIAGGI IS WINNING FIGHT FOR GRASSROOTS SUPPORT IN DISTRICT 34

    State Senate candidate Alessandra Biaggi has won a new wave of endorsements, including a virtually unprecedented nod from a major activist group.

  Biaggi is being endorsed by NYCD16-Indivisible, a grassroots citizen organization with more than 1,000 members that supports progressive candidates nationwide. Its steering committee voted unanimously to support Biaggi’s bid for the Democratic nomination in New York State Senate District 34.

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  “Having the support of NYCD16-Indivisible means so much to me,” Biaggi said. “They rarely endorse candidates, and they hold public officials to high standards. I look forward to working with NYCD16-Indivisible to move our state forward for all New Yorkers.”

     Biaggi also has won new endorsements from Citizen Action of New York, the Italian-American Political Action Committee, and the gun reform group Moms Demand Action. Her campaign has now been endorsed by more than 80 prominent political leaders and activist groups.

  Democrats in District 34 will go to the polls in the primary election on September 13 to choose their party’s State Senate nominee. Biaggi will oppose incumbent Jeff Klein, the leader of a rogue group of Democratic senators called the Independent Democratic Conference.

  The IDC caucused for seven years with the Republican Conference, effectively handing control of the State Senate to the GOP. Many Democrats blame the IDC for blocking more than two dozen progressive legislative proposals.

  The IDC announced in April that it would dissolve. Its campaign fundraising arrangement was ruled illegal last week by a state Supreme Court justice. Klein is under investigation by the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics. In January, a former Klein staff member accused him of forcibly kissing her outside an Albany bar in 2015.

  Biaggi, 32, brings extensive experience in the state capital to her bid for a Senate seat. An honors graduate of Fordham Law School, she served the Cuomo Administration in the Counsel’s office, focusing on women’s health issues; advocated for affordable housing with New York Homes and Community Renewal; and helped lead the rebuilding of homes and businesses after Hurricane Sandy in the governor’s Office of Storm Recovery.

  Biaggi is a staunch advocate of full funding for public schools, universal health care, expanded voting opportunities, women’s rights, and campaign finance reform. She has pledged never to caucus with the Republican Party.

  District 34 includes much of the Bronx along with the entire Town of Pelham and a portion of the city of Mount Vernon in Westchester County. This is Biaggi’s first bid for public office.

Copyright © 2018 Paid for by The Committee to Elect Alessandra Biaggi, All rights reserved. 

EDITOR'S NOTE:

While there is a photo of candidate Biaggi talking with uniformed NYFD members, and mention of endorsements, we do not see any UFA endorsement mentioned.

DE BLASIO ADMINISTRATION, BROOKLYN NAVY YARD AND STEINER NYC BREAK GROUND AT 399 SANDS STREET, CITY INVESTS $40 MILLION IN MANUFACTURING JOBS

Development expected to create 700-1,000 permanent high quality jobs

  Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, and Steiner NYC broke ground on 399 Sands Street, the latest addition of manufacturing and creative office space at the 300-acre Brooklyn Navy Yard and a key component of Steiner's Admirals Row project. Deputy Mayor Glen announced a $40 million investment by the City of New York toward the building through the New York Works Program. That investment will directly fund the construction of 230,000 square feet of leasable space above the parking structure for BNYDC to serve manufacturing and creative tenants and is expected to create approximately 700-1,000 permanent high-quality jobs, furthering the mission of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation.

“New York City grew up around the Brooklyn Navy Yard - and thanks to the City’s $40 million New York Works investment in 399 Sands Street, the Yard will continue to fuel growth, and provide manufacturing and creative jobs for generations to come,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen.

“Thanks to this investment by the City, 399 Sands will add up to 1000 more of the high quality middle class jobs we're so focused on creating here at the Yard," said David Ehrenberg, President & CEO of BNYDC. "We're increasingly hearing from companies who want to be here not just because the Navy Yard provides an opportunity to sustain a business, but also to grow one. With this investment, 399 Sands will be developed with exactly that sort of tenant in mind." 

“The Brooklyn Navy Yard is the epicenter of New York City’s innovative economy. Brooklyn is the home, and now workplace, of the creative class. This is where the job growth is, and where it needs to continue. Admirals Row, together with 399 Sands, represents a new urban model for mixed-use development. And Wegmans, which is consistently ranked as one of the top ten companies to work for in the United States, is the ideal anchor tenant. We are excited to be expanding this project and to invest alongside the City of New York. It feels great to help create so many jobs,” said Doug Steiner, Chairman of Steiner NYC.

The Mayor’s New York Works plan to create 100,000 good-paying jobs in 10 years is focused on industrial and manufacturing jobs: Twenty thousand of the total jobs, or one fifth, are in the industrial and manufacturing sectors.

The Brooklyn Navy Yard is among the country’s leading urban manufacturing centers, with some 400 companies currently employing more than 7,000 New Yorkers. In the next three years, that number is expected to more than double to 17,000 accessible middle-class jobs. The Administration has invested over $100 million to transform Building 77 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard into a 1 million square foot manufacturing center. This project opened in November and is expected to create 3,000 jobs.

The nine-story 399 Sands was designed by Dattner Architects. Its first four floors will feature parking for 430 cars, available to customers visiting the adjacent Wegmans supermarket, expected to open in 2019, and other Navy Yard tenants. Floors five through eight will be dedicated to manufacturing space, and the ninth floor for creative office space. The parking portion of the building will be completed in 2019, and the manufacturing and office space in 2021.

With today's $40 million investment by the City, the 399 Sands project will bring the total Admirals Row job count to 2,000 and add to the diverse mix of creative and manufacturing tenants at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The first three buildings in Admirals Row are currently under construction. The project also includes the reconstruction and adaptive reuse of two historic structures.

“399 Sands Street will further cement the Brooklyn Navy Yard as a premier destination for creative and manufacturing innovation,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. “This public-private partnership along Admirals Row will generate high-quality jobs that support our burgeoning borough. I thank the City for this investment in Brooklyn’s economic future, a future that must ensure that the popularity of our brand translates into prosperity for all Brooklynites.”

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.