Attorney General Underwood Urges Federal Action To Stop Illegal Robocalls And Spoofing Plaguing Consumers In New York And Across The Country

Bipartisan Coalition of 34 Attorneys General Urges FCC to Let Phone Companies Do More to Block Illegal Robocalls – Including Neighbor Spoofing

  Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood – part of a bipartisan coalition of 34 Attorneys General – today called on the Federal Communications Commission to create new rules to allow telephone service providers to block more illegal robocalls being made to unsuspecting consumers in New York and across the country.

In formal comments filed with the FCC, the Attorneys General explain that scammers using illegal robocalls have found ways to evade a call blocking order entered last year by the FCC. In 2017, the Federal Trade Commission received 4.5 million illegal robocall complaints – two and a half times more than in 2014.

Last year, at the urging of a coalition of Attorneys General, the FCC granted phone service providers authority to block certain illegal spoofed robocalls; the Attorneys General now seek added authority for the providers to work together to detect and block more illegal spoofed robocalls – including “neighbor spoofing.”

“Unwanted robocalls aren’t just a nuisance – they’re a means for scammers to take advantage of unsuspecting New Yorkers,” said Attorney General Underwood. “New Yorkers have been bombarded with these illegal robocall scams – including the all-too-common spoofed calls that appear to come from a neighbor – and it’s time for federal action.”

“Spoofing” allows scammers to disguise their identities, making it difficult for law enforcement to bring them to justice. “Virtually anyone can send millions of illegal robocalls and frustrate law enforcement with just a computer, inexpensive software and an internet connection,” the Attorneys General wrote in the comments filed with the FCC.

One tactic on the rise is “neighbor spoofing,” a technique that allows calls – no matter where they originate – to appear on a consumer’s caller ID as being made from a phone number that has the same local area code and exchange as the consumer. This manipulation of caller ID information increases the likelihood that the consumer will answer the call.

In November 2017, the FCC issued the 2017 Call Blocking Order, which will give phone service providers the ability to authenticate legitimate calls and identify illegally spoofed calls and block them. The added authority sought by the Attorneys General today will allow service providers to use new technology to detect and block illegal spoofed calls – even those coming from what are otherwise legitimate phone numbers. Service providers will be ready to launch this new authentication method in 2019.

To date, the FCC has not issued a notice of proposed rulemaking concerning additional provider-initiated call blocking. The Attorneys General anticipate that further requests for comments will take place on this subject.

The comments were signed by the Attorneys General of Pennsylvania, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the Hawaii Office of Consumer Protection.

ONENYC: MAYOR DE BLASIO ANNOUNCES CITY AWARDED MORE THAN $10 BILLION TO M/WBES SINCE 2015

  Mayor Bill de Blasio today announced that the City has awarded more than $10 billion to minority and women-owned business enterprises (M/WBES) since 2015, when the Mayor established his OneNYC goal to award $20 billion to M/WBEs by 2025. In 2018 alone, the City awarded more than $3.7 billion to M/WBEs through mayoral and non-mayoral agencies.

“To truly become the fairest big city in America, we need to take steps that allow everyone – regardless of race, gender or ethnicity – to participate in our economy,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “This year, we’ve reached a milestone: $10 billion have been awarded to M/WBEs since the beginning of my Administration. While this is a clear sign of progress, we still have a lot of work to do to continue creating a fairer and more inclusive city.”

“When we give all New Yorkers the resources and tools they need to thrive in our economy, we’re creating a more inclusive and fair city that works for all,” said Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives J. Phillip Thompson. “While we’ve awarded $10 billion to M/WBEs since 2015, we’re not stopping there. We’re going to keep moving at a fast pace to continue implementing new policies and awarding unprecedented awards to M/WBEs to truly create the fairest big city in America.”

“Today’s historic milestone of awarding $10 billion to M/WBEs delivers upon the Mayor’s unprecedented commitment to make New York City the fairest big city in America,” saidJonnel Doris, Senior Advisor and Director of the Mayor’s Office of M/WBEs. “We will continue to open doors and breakdown barriers to participation for women and entrepreneurs of color, creating a more inclusive and diverse economy that works for all.”  

“Under Mayor de Blasio’s leadership, the City is certifying record numbers of M/WBEs and effectively connecting these firms to contracting opportunities,” said Gregg Bishop, Commissioner of the Department of Small Business Services. “The $10 billion in awards announced today is confirmation that M/WBE certification provides a real path for underrepresented firms across the five boroughs.”

In 2015, Mayor de Blasio outlined his OneNYC plan to create a more resilient, sustainable and equitable city. Within this plan, the Mayor established his original OneNYC goal to award $16 billion to M/WBEs through mayoral agencies by 2025. In May of 2018, the Mayor announced that the City was $1.8 billion ahead of projections and that the goal would be expanded to award $20 billion to M/WBEs by 2025. Today, the City is on track, having awarded more than $10 billion to M/WBEs since 2015 through both mayoral and non-mayoral agencies, the latter of which includes agencies such as the Economic Development Corporation and the Department of Education.

The top five performing agencies include:

1. The Department of Design and Construction awarded more than $1 billion to M/WBEs since 2015.

2. The Department of Parks and Recreation awarded more than $455 million to M/WBEs since 2015.

3. The Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications awarded more than $449 million to M/WBEs since 2015.

4. The Department of Environmental Protection awarded more than $434 million to M/WBEs since 2015.

5. The Department of Transportation awarded more than $275 million to M/WBEs since 2015.

In 2016, when Mayor de Blasio announced the creation of the Office of M/WBEs, the Mayor set a goal to award 30 percent of all mayoral and certain non-mayoral contracts to M/WBEs by 2021. In 2018, these agencies have awarded more than $1 billion to M/WBEs, or 19 percent of the value of City contracts. That’s up from 11.4 percent in 2017.

“DDC has made increasing M/WBE participation a top priority, and our office of Diversity and Industry Relations makes a great effort to reach out to M/WBE contractors to ensure they have every opportunity to do business with the City,” said Department of Design and Construction Commissioner Lorraine Grillo. “Since 2015, the agency has convened an External Diversity Advisory Board of construction industry members who help guide our M/WBE program, with a mission to develop innovative practices that foster diversity and inclusion. We’ve also connected with thousands of M/WBE professionals through our industry events, matching M/WBE subcontractors with general contractors that want to hire them. We’re very pleased to be the City’s leading M/WBE contracting agency by volume, and will continue to work toward Mayor de Blasio’s overall M/WBE goals.”

“It takes a lot of contracting to deliver the technology that more than a hundred City agencies and offices depend on to get their work done, and we’re proud to have made M/WBEs an indispensable part of it,” said Samir Saini, Commissioner of the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications. “Half a billion dollars to M/WBEs in two years is an agency record, but we’re determined to go farther – because fueling the growth of M/WBEs means fueling economic equity all across the city we love.”

Congressman Engel Cosponsors Legislation to Fight Child Lead Exposure in NYCHA and Other Federally Assisted Housing

  Congressman Eliot Engel has cosponsored legislation to reduce the threat of lead exposure and lead poisoning of children in federally-assisted housing, including NYCHA buildings.

H.R. 6252, the Lead-Safe Housing for Kids Act of 2018 is a bipartisan bill, authored by Congressman A. Donald McEachin, to update U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations, which are inadequate for identifying all potential lead risks. Under current HUD regulations, visual assessments are used to identify the presence of lead. But experts have noted that visual assessments fail to identify lead-based hazards found in in-tact painted surfaces, such as window sills. 

To fix this glaring issue, the Lead-Safe Housing for Kids Act of 2018 would bar the use of visual assessments for low-income housing constructed prior to 1978 and require the use of a more accurate evaluation tool to identify lead hazards before a family moves in. The bill would also provide a process for families to relocate on an emergency basis, without penalty or the loss of assistance, if a lead hazard is identified in the home and the landlord fails to control the hazard. It would additionally require landlords to disclose the presence of lead if lead hazards are found in the home.

“Reports of lead paint have plagued NYCHA buildings in my district and throughout New York,” Engel said.“This is a big problem for my constituents and it is not being properly addressed, due to in part to these insufficient, outdated regulations. This bill will finally empower families and keep our children safe.”

MAYOR DE BLASIO SIGNS HISTORIC LEGISLATION ADDING THIRD GENDER CATEGORY TO BIRTH CERTIFICATES ISSUED BY THE CITY OF NEW YORK

  Mayor Bill de Blasio signed a historic piece of legislation into law,creating for the first time a third gender category on New York City birth certificates. The new law also makes it easier for transgender and gender non-binary people born in the City to amend their birth certificates to more accurately reflect who they are by removing medical and administrative barriers. The law will go into effect on January 1, 2019.

Intro 954-A was recently passed by the New York City Council under the leadership of Speaker Corey Johnson and in close partnership with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. This law continues the City’s work in championing the rights of the LGBTQ community.

“New Yorkers should be free to tell their government who they are, not the other way around,” said Mayor de Blasio. “This new legislation will empower all New Yorkers – especially our transgender and gender non-binary residents – to have birth certificates that better reflect their identity, and it furthers the City's commitment to defending the rights of our LGBTQ community.”

“For the first time, all New Yorkers will be able to get a birth certificate that reflects and affirms their lived reality,” said First Lady Chirlane McCray. “We will not stop there— we strive to extend that dignity to every aspect of life. We will stand strong against any attempt to deny members of the LGBTQ community the respect or safety they deserve as fellow human beings.”

“Today is a landmark day for our city,” said Speaker Corey Johnson. “New York is sending a clear message to people who are transgender, gender non-conforming and non-binary that we are here for you. This law will help those friends, neighbors and colleagues better self-identify on their birth certificates, a document that’s so important in everyday life. I am proud of my Council colleagues, the administration, and advocates for making this a reality.”

The law calls for the creation of a third gender to appear on birth certificates issued by the City of New York. In addition to the “male” and “female” designations, birth certificates will also show an “X,” allowing gender non-binary people who identify neither as men nor women to have a birth certificate that more accurately reflects their identities.

The law also will allow individuals to self-attest their own gender identity on birth certificate applications, removing the current requirement that medical and mental health professionals first attest to an individual’s gender identity before they are permitted to amend the gender marker on their birth certificate.

These changes recognize that transgender and gender non-binary people are best equipped to articulate who they are and signals a strong commitment from the city to decrease the vulnerability these communities experience in accessing housing, employment, healthcare, and other vital services, where mismatched identity documents can lead to discrimination, harassment, and mistreatment.

With this new law, New York City will join jurisdictions across the country and the world in adding a third “X” gender option to official government documents, including Oregon, California, Washington and New Jersey (for birth certificates) and Oregon, Maine, California, and Washington, D.C (for driver’s licenses). Canada, Germany, New Zealand and Pakistan are among countries who provide a gender neutral option on passports.

“As leaders in Washington, including our newest Supreme Court Justice, threaten to chip away at the hard-fought rights of LGBTQ Americans, New York City continues to be a beacon of hope and model for the world,” said Matthew McMorrow, Senior Advisor for LGBTQ Community Affairs, Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit. “By legally recognizing a non-binary gender and allowing New Yorkers to self-attest to their own gender identity, we are living up to some of our City’s core values of self-expression and self-determination. Our non-binary, gender non-conforming, intersex and transgender communities will no longer be invisible, and they will be granted the dignity and respect they rightly deserve.”

“This legislation is a historic and vital step forward for our city and country,” said Ashe McGovern, Director of the NYC Unity Project. “As a non-binary trans person, I intimately understand the discrimination our communities face as a result of mismatched or inaccurate identity documents. With this move, the Mayor is signaling clearly that New York City sees us, hears us, and deeply supports our fundamental right to self-determination.”

“The legislation signed today is neither a radical nor unique action,” said Carrie Davis, health care consultant and Chair of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's Report and Advisory Board on Gender Marker Change Requirements. “Instead, it is a simple act of respect and humanity whereby the Mayor, City Council and Department of Health and Mental Hygiene – in dedicated partnership with community members and advocates – work together to help ensure vulnerable transgender, gender non-conforming, and gender non-binary people born in New York City have the accurate identification they need to participate as full-fledged citizens in their communities. This can mean having the identification to get a job, a place to live, to travel, or even being able to obtain health care, among many things.”

“For too long, transgender, non-binary and gender nonconforming people, and older people in particular, have lived in the shadows, suffering widespread discrimination, high rates of violence, social isolation, and mounting health care barriers,” said Michael Adams, CEO of SAGE. “SAGE commends Mayor Bill de Blasio and the NYC Council on passing this critical legislation, which has a marked impact on so many transgender older New Yorkers – those who came of age during decades when transgender people were heavily stigmatized. For our city’s transgender elders, being able to obtain a birth certificate that matches their gender – without the need to go through a healthcare provider – is a vital to assert their selfhood. Today, older transgender people, and all New Yorkers, know that the City has their back.”

“This simple change will help safeguard the rights of New Yorkers of all gender identities, especially transgender and gender nonconforming people. With birth certificates that correctly reflect many more people’s gender identities, New Yorkers will finally have accurate documents that are necessary for registering for school, obtaining health insurance, and applying for jobs,” said Donna Lieberman, Executive Director of NYCLU. “The NYCLU commends the city for this welcome step to treat all New Yorkers equally.”

NEW YORK CITY ADVISORY COMMISSION ON PROPERTY TAX REFORM HOLDS PUBLIC HEARING IN THE BRONX

   Members of the New York City Advisory Commission on Property Tax Reform will hold a public hearing in the Bronx to listen to people who pay property taxes directly or indirectly. To ensure the Commission hears from all those interested, speakers will be given no more than three minutes to present testimony or comments. Commission members may use additional time to ask questions.

The Advisory Commission, formed in late May by Mayor de Blasio and Council Speaker Johnson, is working to develop recommendations to reform New York City’s property tax system to make it simpler, clearer, and fairer, while ensuring that there is no reduction in revenue used to fund essential City services.

Thursday, October 11, 2018, 6:30 PM

Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Forchheimer Medical Science Building, Robbins Auditorium

1300 Morris Park Avenue

Bronx, New York 10461

STATEMENT FROM BOROUGH PRESIDENT DIAZ RE: FEMA’s Removal of Generators from Puerto Rico

  “The federal government’s disgraceful treatment of Puerto Rico continues to reach new lows.

"The island needs this equipment. It should remain on the island until Puerto Rico’s electrical grid is rebuilt strong enough to no longer need to be prepared for such emergencies. Had President Trump and FEMA done right by Puerto Rico in the first place maybe this wouldn’t be an issue more than a year later,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW By Councilman, Rubén Díaz Sr.

Now that the Judge Brett Kavanaugh matter is over, can we now return to the local matter of addressing the abuses, neglects, and ignored needs of our people?
 
You should know that during Judge Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court hearings; Governor Andrew Cuomo, NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio and our elected leaders all turning their undivided attention and complete concentration on attacking POTUS and his nominee, the judge, and the U.S. Senate confirmation hearings.    Rumor has it that their attempt was to distract attention away from the mess they have created in the City of New York.
 
We can all agree that the charges against Judge Kavanaugh are very serious, just as serious as those charges against President Bill Clinton when allegations of sexual misconduct were brought against him by several credible women, and also the case of the late U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy regarding the Chappaquiddick incident, when the vehicle he was driving crashed into the river and he left his passenger Mary Jo Kopechne to drown, abandoning her, not seeking help for her rescue.   We can all agree that these are all very serious and repugnant allegations.
 
That said, we can also agree that we must now turn our attention to our local leaders and the serious and repugnant abuses, neglect, and abandonment that they have inflicted upon our city’s homeless, and the residents living in Public Housing (NYCHA), the strap hangers, and the hardworking men and women of For Hire Vehicles under the TLC.
 
The lies and false reports regarding the thousands of children exposed to lead poisoning residing in NYCHA buildings,  the torture that Mass Transit riders are forced to go through every day to get to and from work, the high cost of rent, making apartments unaffordable for Senior Citizens, men, women, children and families which has led to the city’s outrageous numbers of homelessness, and the TLC abuses in high fees and regulations which have led drivers to suicide,  is an outrageous!
 
These problems are bigger, are what matters and are of great concern to our residents.  Our residents care about their housing, health, getting around the city, and their lively hoods more than whether or not Judge Kavanaugh is confirmed or not.
 
It is important for you to know that more than (60,000) sixty thousand families are homeless in New York City!  This number increases every day.   When you see the conditions of many of these NYCHA buildings and apartments, in which these families and their children are forced to live under and endure isn’t suitable or acceptable even for animals. 
 
NYCHA conditions have gotten so bad that the federal government had to step in, and file a lawsuit against the mayor and his administration, when their investigation found that records had been falsified to show that lead paint and asbestos had been removed, when in fact these families were being exposed to these hazardous materials.   So, the mayor was taken to court in order to protect the children residing in NYCHA buildings.
 
My dear reader, you should remember that Mayor Bill DeBlasio, before becoming Mayor, while campaigning invited the Rev. Al Sharpton to spend a night sleeping in a NYCHA project.   They wanted to supposedly, experience, first hand, the precarious conditions that NYCHA residents are forced to endure.   
 
Well that was back then! And this is now.
 
The day after spending the night in a NYCHA apartment, both DeBlasio, and Sharpton had a press conference to denounce the “horrific” conditions of the NYCHA residents and that if elected Mayor, his campaign promise was to make the “horrific” conditions at NYCHA his top priority.   DeBlasio said he would prioritize making much needed repairs and fixing the NYCHA problem.   That has turned out to be a laugh ha, ha, ha.   What a joke!
 
Let’s turn our attention to the nightmare of our subway system.  Neither the Governor nor the Mayor have demonstrated concern for the wellbeing of our city’s commuters.   They have been passing the hot potato from one to the other, without taking into consideration the suffering of those they were elected to serve.
 
All this time our leaders have been “under fire” not knowing what to do or how to deflect the heat away from them. 
 
But surprise! surprise!  Here comes Judge Kavanaugh!   Every single leader saw this as a great opportunity to deflect, distract the attention, and hopefully erase from the minds of the people the chaos and tribulations they have been forced to endure at the hands of elected leaders.  So they decided to become “Don Quixote de La Mancha”  against Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination.  
 
Ladies and gentlemen, now that the Kavanaugh derangement syndrome, for now, is over;  it is about time to return to and address the abuses, the neglect, and discrimination that have been inflicted upon our city residents.   As far as I am concerned our problems are greater than Judge Kavanaugh and his nomination to the Supreme Court.
 
I am City Councilman Rev. Ruben Diaz Sr.  and this is what you should know.  
   

BP DIAZ CALLS FOR INCREASED COMPUTER SCIENCE IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

In new report, Borough President Diaz urges Both City & State to increase efforts in tech education

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. has issued a new report, “Programming New York City Students for Success,” which outlines an expanded view of computer science education in New York City public schools.

“New York has a long way to go when it comes to providing students with adequate and equitable computer science learning options,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. “If we are to prepare our students for an ever-changing economy, we have to do more to expose them to a robust computer science curriculum.”

The report offers multiple recommendations to expand and improve computer science education in New York City schools, such as increasing the overall number of class hours required for computer science learning in city schools; creating a standard computer science curriculum and working with educators and industry leaders to keep it up-to-date; and enacting a project-based requirement for computer science education as a requirement for high school graduation. These recommendations are designed to address the gender, race, and socio-economic gaps in access to computer science education.

The full report can be read at https://on.nyc.gov/2Nq9tNC.

“Given our Borough and our City’s place as a leader in education, workforce development planning and tech hub development, we must ask the following question: ‘How do we educate our students today in computer science and technology so they can be best prepared for the jobs of tomorrow?” said Borough President Diaz. “It is my intention to answer that question in this report, and to spark a conversation on how this City and State can provide a path forward on the equitable creation and implementation of a rigorous computer science curriculum in every school.”