A.G. Underwood Reminds Current & Former Croman Tenants Of Restitution Fund Deadline

Tenants Must File a Claim by November 4, 2018 to Participate  

As the Result of Unprecedented Settlement, Tenants Eligible for $8 Million in Restitution from Croman – Largest-Ever Monetary Settlement with an Individual Landlord 

Settlement Follows Jail Time and $5 Million Penalty in Separate Criminal Case Against Croman Brought by AG’s OfficeTenants Must File a Claim by November 4, 2018 to Participate  

As the Result of Unprecedented Settlement, Tenants Eligible for $8 Million in Restitution from Croman – Largest-Ever Monetary Settlement with an Individual Landlord 

Settlement Follows Jail Time and $5 Million Penalty in Separate Criminal Case Against Croman Brought by AG’s Office

  New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood reminded New Yorkers that tenants who live or formerly lived in buildings owned by New York City landlord Steven Croman may be eligible to apply for restitution, as part of the unprecedented settlement reached by the Attorney General’s office in December 2017. In order to participate, tenants must file a claim by November 4, 2018. Claim forms and eligibility requirements are available at www.cromanrestitutionfund.com.

“Again and again, Steve Croman acted as though he was above the law. My office secured an unprecedented $8 million settlement for Croman’s illegal tenant harassment, coercion, and fraud – the largest-ever settlement with an individual landlord,” said Attorney General Underwood. “I encourage eligible tenants to submit a claim by November 4th so they can receive the restitution they deserve. We will continue to aggressively pursue predatory landlords to the fullest extent of the law.”

The settlement arose out of an investigation and lawsuit filed by the Attorney General’s office against Croman for engaging in illegal conduct — including harassment, coercion, and fraud — in order to force rent-regulated tenants out of their apartments and convert their apartments into highly profitable market-rate units. The consent decree requires Croman to pay $8 million into a Tenant Restitution Fund – the largest-ever monetary settlement with an individual landlord.

Tenants are eligible for restitution if they are or were a tenant in a rent-stabilized or rent-controlled apartment owned by Croman between July 1, 2011 and December 20, 2017; they received a buyout of less than $20,000, not including any amount that purported to cover rent or arrears; and no other tenant in their apartment received money from the restitution fund. Several hundred current and former tenants are potentially eligible to apply for these restitution funds.

In August 2018, the claims administrator JND Legal Administration mailed claim notices and forms to current and former rent-stabilized and rent-controlled tenants in Croman’s buildings. Those forms and additional information are also available at www.cromanrestitutionfund.com. The $8 million will be divided equally among eligible claimants and distributed to tenants in installments over a period of 38 to 42 months, with the first installment coming as soon as the claims administrator processes all of the first-round claim forms.

In addition to the $8 million Tenant Restitution Fund, the settlement also requires over 100 Croman residential properties to be run by a new, independent management company with no ties to Croman, for five years – the longest-ever term for independent management in OAG history. Moreover, the settlement requires seven years of independent monitorship to oversee compliance with the terms of the consent decree and provide regular reporting to the Attorney General – the longest-ever monitorship required in any tenant harassment case.

Earlier this year, OAG approved New York City Management as the independent management company; the management company took over operations of the buildings on July 1, 2018. Pursuant to the settlement, New York City Management is instituting new policies at the Croman properties to ensure full compliance with the law and correction of all past violations. It will also post a comprehensive set of Tenants Rights in every building it manages.

The settlement was the result of a May 2016 civil lawsuit brought by the Attorney General’s office against Croman and his agent Anthony Falconite for allegedly engaging in illegal, fraudulent, and deceptive conduct in connection with Croman’s real-estate business. The lawsuit alleged that Croman directed an illegal operation that wielded harassment, coercion, and fraud to force rent-regulated tenants out of their apartments and convert their apartments into highly profitable market-rate units. The lawsuit further alleged that Croman deployed Falconite, a former New York City police officer, to frighten and intimidate rent-regulated tenants into surrendering their apartments.

In October 2017, Croman was sentenced to a year in jail and paid a $5 million tax settlement following separate criminal charges brought by the Attorney General’s office for fraudulent refinancing of loans and tax fraud. Rarely, if ever, has a landlord been sentenced to serve time in jail for engaging in these practices.

Items From Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark

FORMER KARATE INSTRUCTOR SENTENCED TO EIGHT YEARS IN PRISON FOR SEXUALLY ABUSING YOUNG GIRLS 

Defendant Assaulted Victims When They Attended Karate Lessons In The Bronx

  Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a former karate instructor has been sentenced to eight years in prison for sexually abusing two young girls. 

 District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant took advantage of his position as an instructor and adult, and sexually assaulted two girls when they attended karate lessons at a center in the Bronx. These events have been very painful and traumatic to the victims and their families. Hopefully this sentence brings some justice to the innocent children and their loved ones who still struggle emotionally.” 

 District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Anthony Gonzalez, 38, of 990 Leggett Avenue, was sentenced on October 15, 2018 by Administrative Judge Robert E. Torres to eight years in prison and 10 years post-release supervision. The defendant will also have to register as a sex offender. Gonzalez pleaded guilty to first-degree Sexual Abuse and second-degree Course of Sexual Conduct against a Child on September 25, 2018 before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Ralph Fabrizio. 

 According to the investigation, on January 17, 2018 at the USA Martial Arts Fitness Academy at 914 Prospect Avenue, the defendant, who was volunteering as an instructor at the time, sexually abused a six-year-old girl who was taking classes at the center. Gonzalez took the young girl to the bathroom, closed the door and touched her genitals. He then told the victim not to tell anyone. The young girl eventually told her mother what Gonzalez had done to her and the mother called the police.

 During the course of the investigation it was revealed that the defendant also sexually abused a five-year-old girl multiple times between November 15, 2016 and June 26, 2017 at the school. That child had not come forward because she was afraid to tell anyone.

 District Attorney Clark thanked Detective Julia Watson and Police Officer Gabriel Baaith of the Bronx Child Abuse Squad as well as the Bronx Child Advocacy Center for their assistance with the case.

BRONX MAN SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR FATALLY STABBING HIS WIFE

  Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx man has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the murder of his wife, which he initially blamed on intruders. 

 District Attorney Clark said, “This was a brutal attack in which the defendant stabbed his wife 13 times. He told police who responded that two men broke in and attacked his wife and himself, then admitted he stabbed his wife, in self-defense. The jury rejected his claim and convicted him of second degree Murder, and now he will spend many years in prison.” 

 District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Roy Savage, 46, of 215 East 164th Street, was sentenced today by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Margaret Clancy to 25 years to life in prison. A jury found the defendant guilty of second-degree Murder on September 21, 2018.

 According to the investigation, on May 26, 2016, at 10 p.m. in 215 East 164th Street, the defendant stabbed his wife, Shellette Walace Savage, 37, 13 times, including four times in the back. Defendant told responding police officers that took men broke into his apartment and attacked him and his wife. Savage showed responding officers his injuries, including cuts on his hand and scratches to his neck. Defendant was taken to the hospital to be treated for his injuries to his hands. Shellette Savage was pronounced dead on arrival to the hospital. Detectives immediately investigated his home invasion story; after reviewing surveillance video and examining the crime scene his story was proven false.

 District Attorney Clark thanked Police Officer James Fleming, formerly of the 44th Precinct and now assigned to the 104th Precinct in Queens, for his assistance.

Wave Hill events November 1‒8

Sat, November 3

Family Art Project: Dances with Leaves

Toss fall leaves in the wind, or walk through a giant leaf pile. Find an assortment of freshly fallen leaves to be the subject of fresh, bright prints. Roll up leaves with ink and layer leaf prints, or add punched-paper leaf shapes in artful arrangements. Free, and admission to the grounds is free until noon.

WAVE  HILL HOUSE, 10AM‒1PM

Sat, November 3

Garden Highlights Walk

Join a Wave Hill Garden Guide for an hour-long tour of seasonal garden highlights. Free, and admission to the grounds is free until noon.

MEET AT PERKINS VISITOR CENTER, 11AM

Sat, November 3

Fall Foliage Walk

Enjoy colorful foliage at its seasonal peak. Senior Horticultural Interpreter Charles Day shares some of his favorite trees and shrubs in their vibrant fall finery.

MEET AT PERKINS VISITOR CENTER, 2PM

Sat, November 3

Gallery Tour

Learn about Glyndor Gallery exhibitions on a tour led by Wave Hill’s Curatorial Fellow. In a new collaboration, Wave Hill is partnering with theAmerican Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA) to produce and host ASBA’s 21st Annual International. ASBA’s mission is to provide a thriving, interactive community dedicated to perpetuating the tradition and contemporary practice of botanical art. This juried exhibition consists of two-dimensional original botanical art, including some specimens found at Wave Hill. In the Sunroom Project Space, Keren Anavy, creating a conservatory from man-made materials, responds to Wave Hill’s late-fall landscape. Suspended from the ceiling, abstract paintings on translucent Mylar dip into shallow pools of ink and correspond to the changing colors of Wave Hill’s seasonal plants. Anavy is also collaborating with Valerie Green/Dance Entropy on Utopia, a dance performance, which will be presented in the gallery. Free with admission to the grounds.

GLYNDOR GALLERY, 2PM

 

Sun, November 4

Family Art Project: Dances with Leaves

Toss fall leaves in the wind, or walk through a giant leaf pile. Find an assortment of freshly fallen leaves to be the subject of fresh, bright prints. Roll up leaves with ink and layer leaf prints, or add punched-paper leaf shapes in artful arrangements. Free, and admission to the grounds is free until noon.

WAVE  HILL HOUSE, 10AM‒1PM

Sun, November 4

Garden Highlights Walk

Join a Wave Hill Garden Guide for an hour-long tour of seasonal garden highlights. Free with admission to the grounds.

MEET AT PERKINS VISITOR CENTER, 2PM

 

Mon, November 5

Members Trip: Sleepy Hollow Cemetery

Experience the history and vivid fall scenery of the Hudson Valley on a special walking tour of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Set alongside the picturesque Pocantico River, this celebrated cemetery, more than 150 years old, contains the graves of many illustrious individuals, including Washington Irving, Elizabeth Arden and Andrew Carnegie, as well as a private mausoleum belonging to the Rockefeller family. Explore this historic landscape with tour guide and writer Sandee Harris and find yourself enraptured by her tales of mystery and legend. Lunch on your own in Tarrytown after the tour. Transportation included. Rain date: Monday, November 12. $70. Registration required, online or onsite at the Perkins Visitor Center.

MEET AT WAVE HILL FRONT GATE, 9:30AM‒3PM

Tue, November 6

Garden Highlights Walk

Join a Wave Hill Garden Guide for an hour-long tour of seasonal garden highlights. Free, and admission is free all day for Election Day.

MEET AT PERKINS VISITOR CENTER, 11AM

Tue, November 6

Gallery Tour

Learn about Glyndor Gallery exhibitions on a tour led by Wave Hill’s Curatorial Fellow. In a new collaboration, Wave Hill is partnering with theAmerican Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA) to produce and host ASBA’s 21^st Annual International. ASBA’s mission is to provide a thriving, interactive community dedicated to perpetuating the tradition and contemporary practice of botanical art. This juried exhibition consists of two-dimensional original botanical art, including some specimens found at Wave Hill. In the Sunroom Project Space, Keren Anavy, creating a conservatory from man-made materials, responds to Wave Hill’s late-fall landscape. Suspended from the ceiling, abstract paintings on translucent Mylar dip into shallow pools of ink and correspond to the changing colors of Wave Hill’s seasonal plants. Anavy is also collaborating with Valerie Green/Dance Entropy on Utopia, a dance performance, which will be presented in the gallery. Free, and admission is free all day for Election Day.

GLYNDOR GALLERY, 2PM

Sat, November 7

Fall Foliage Walk

Enjoy colorful foliage at its seasonal peak. Senior Horticultural Interpreter Charles Day shares some of his favorite trees and shrubs in their vibrant fall finery.

MEET AT PERKINS VISITOR CENTER, 2PM

A 28-acre public garden and cultural center overlooking the Hudson River  and Palisades, Wave Hill’s mission is to celebrate the artistry and legacy of its gardens and landscape, to preserve its magnificent views, and to explore human connections to the natural world through programs in horticulture, education and the arts.

HOURS  Open all year, Tuesday through Sunday and many major holidays: 9AM–4:30PM,  November 1–March 14. Closes 5:30PM, starting March 15.

ADMISSION  $8 adults, $4 students and seniors 65+, $2 children 6–18. Free Saturday and Tuesday mornings until noon. Free to Wave Hill Members and children under 6.

PROGRAM FEES  Programs are free with admission to the grounds unless otherwise noted.

Visitors to Wave Hill can take advantage of Metro-North’s one-day getaway offer. Purchase a discount round-trip rail far and discount admission to the gardens. More at http://mta.info/mnr/html/getaways/outbound_wavehill.htm

  

DIRECTIONS – Getting here is easy! Located only 30 minutes from midtown Manhattan, Wave Hill’s free shuttle van transports you to and from our front gate and Metro-North’s Riverdale station, as well as the W. 242nd Street stop on the #1 subway line. Limited onsite parking is available for $8 per vehicle. Free offsite parking is available nearby with continuous, complimentary shuttle service to and from the offsite lot and our front gate. Complete directions and shuttle bus schedule at www.wavehill.org/visit/.

Information at 718.549.3200. On the web at www.wavehill.org.

SENATOR RIVERA AND SENATOR BAILEY ON REPORTS CONCERNING MONTEFIORE MEDICAL CENTER'S EMERGENCY UNITS

Legislators Will Continue to Work with All Involved Parties to Identify Efficient Course of Action to Address Concerns at Montefiore Medical Center

 

Several Solutions are Being Weighed to Improve Patient Care in Emergency Rooms in the North Bronx and The Bronx overall

  State Senator Gustavo Rivera, Ranking Member of the Senate Health Committee, and State Senator Jamaal Bailey sent a letter to New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) and New York City Health + Hospitals (NYC H+H) to discuss possible solutions to the alarming reports of increased wait times, overcrowding, and unsafe hallway placement at Montefiore Medical Center's emergency departments.

 

Last month, after these concerning reports surfaced, Senator Rivera and Senator Bailey met with nurses employed at Montefiore, representatives of the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), and Montefiore's leadership to discuss possible solutions to address the aforementioned issues and improve patient care in emergency situations in the North Bronx and Bronx in general. A few of the proposed solutions will require the input and participation of the NYSDOH and the NYC H+Hospitals. They include:

1. Reopening units at Westchester Square Medical Center. Montefiore has space at Westchester.
2. Identifying potential patient rooms in all of Montefiore Bronx hospitals and produce a schedule to reopen closed beds.
3. Expanding emergency services at North Central Bronx Hospital.
4. Closing or repurposing the Ebola unit and using it for emergency patient care.

"Our first priority is to ensure that our constituents and all Bronx residents have access to quality and safe medical care," said State Senator Gustavo Rivera. "There are a number of factors that need to be considered and addressed to determine the best step forward in this situation. Several proposals have been put on the table and we are committed to working with all the interested parties to implement thought-out solutions that will improve care, while taking into consideration the serious health care needs of our borough."

 

"Ensuring that all patients in the Bronx receive appropriate medical attention in a timely and efficient manner is a priority. In a borough where we are constantly looking to increase healthcare outcomes, we must carefully look at the balance between all interested parties, and work towards the best solution to these issues. We must weigh the totality of the circumstances and continue the conversations with all involved. I am glad to be working with all parties in order to improve healthcare in the Bronx," said State Senator Jamaal Bailey. 

To read the letter to New York State Department of Health, please click here. 

To read the letter to New York City Health + Hospitals, please click here. 

REP. ADRIANO ESPAILLAT VOWS TO FIGHT EFFORT TO END SUPPORT TO HONDURAS

  In a tweet Tuesday morning, President Trump threatened to end aid to Honduras if its government does not stop immigration to the U.S.

  Today, Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) released the following statement in response to President Trump’s tweet, this morning, threatening to end USAID support for Honduras. 

“President Trump is the epitome of ‘man's inhumanity to man’ as he threatens, yet again, another policy that would devastate individuals fleeing poverty and violence in Honduras, their home country, in search of a better life here in the United States,” said Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13).

“First, the President separated children from their families, in some cases only months old, orphaned, and now this.  The Trump Administration has continuously put forth policies aimed against immigrant communities and against vulnerable women, men, and children seeking asylum in the United States. Our nation is the land of hope, freedom and opportunity. 

“I vow to continue to fight the hate-based rhetoric and anti-immigrant policies from this administration and will champion our efforts to protect the rights of people seeking protection from persecution and asylum here in the United States,” he concluded.

Bronx Veterans Day Parade on November 3rd

The Bronx Veterans Parade Task Team, Inc (TBVPTT, Inc) 

is calling you/your group to participate in the annual Bronx 

Veterans Day Parade as follow:

March/Walk with the veterans in the parade 

(Inviting all Veterans, Service Members, and their 

families; Community Leaders, 

Service Organizations, Marching Bands, 

Schools, and associates of Veterans (Registration required).

Service providers set up table to share information 

of their available service/support to help veterans

and their family (Registration required);

Forward event announcement to your network;

We welcome all constituents to come out along the 

parade route to cheer our veterans on.  

Please fill out and return the attached application that 

match your area of interest.

Parade Date/Time: Saturday,

November 3rd @ 12Noon

Parade Formation: 11:00AM at E. 175th Street 

Crotona Parkway (parallel to Southern Blvd/ E. 175th)

Parade Route: From E. 175^th Street & Crotona Parkway 

going north; turn right on E. 180^th Street, and continue

to the West Farm Soldiers Cemetery located on E 180^th 

Street & Bryant Avenue for a memorial service. 

Exit cemetery, Reassemble, and proceed to River Park 

(Bronx) at E. 180^th Street & Boston Road to receive 

announcements, resource information & screenings, music, 

and refreshments.

 Respectfully,

 The Bronx Veterans Parade Task Team (TBVPTT)

Attachments area

"Get in the Networking Spirit" at The Bronx Chamber of Commerce Halloween Networking Mixer

Join us for a BOO-tifle night of Networking and Fun. FREE FOR CHAMBER MEMBERS!

Engel, Bipartisan House Members Introduce Permanent Extension of 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund

  Congressman Eliot L. Engel joined bipartisan Members of Congress to introduce H.R. 7062, Never Forget the Heroes; Permanent Authorization of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.

In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, tens of thousands of Americans have fallen ill and lost their lives due to toxic pollutants that filled the air surrounding the wreckage. Responders and survivors have been promised permanent health care through legislation signed into law in 2015. However, the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, which offers financial assistance to these Americans and their families, will expire in 2020 without action from Congress.

H.R. 7062, of which Engel is an original cosponsor, will permanently fund this program.

“The heroes of 9/11 came from far and wide to help their fellow Americans in their time of need. The least we can do is take care of them, and do it permanently,” Engel said. “I was proud to support the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act and its 2015 reauthorization—two bills I fought hard to get through the Energy and Commerce Committee—and I am tremendously proud to support this legislation. It is my honor to represent the people of New York, including the heroes this program serves, and I will fight to keep this program running for them.”