Saturday, November 24, 2018

News From New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli


Remember to Read Fine Print on Gift Cards This Holiday Season


State Comptroller DiNapoli is urging New Yorkers to read the fine print on gift cards this holiday season for details about fees and expiration dates. While some gift card sellers have done away with inactivity fees, consumers should still ask whether fees apply.

CITY OFFICIALS CELEBRATE SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY WITH TOURS OF BRONX NEIGHBORHOOD BUSINESSES


  TODAY, November 24th, NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) Commissioner Gregg Bishop will celebrate Small Business Saturday with two commercial corridor tours in the Bronx. The tours will promote shopping small this holiday season and will provide an opportunity for local businesses to ask questions and learn about free resources to help their businesses thrive.


11:00AM - Arthur Avenue Small Business Tour with Council Member Mark Gjonaj, Small Business Committee Chair, and the Belmont Business Improvement District 
Tour will depart from the Arthur Avenue Retail Market, 2344 Arthur Ave, Bronx, NY 10458
2:00PM - Third Avenue Small Business Tour with the Third Avenue Business Improvement District 
Tour will depart from the Roberto Clemente Plaza, 530 Willis Ave, Bronx, NY 10455

Thursday, November 22, 2018

Bronx Metro-North Station Area Study - Morris Park Public Workshop/Open House


Please join us and help plan around coming Metro-North service in your neighborhood!

Morris Park
Public Workshop and Open House

Join us for a public workshop/open house and help plan around future Metro-North service in your neighborhood!

The interactive self-paced event is an important opportunity for the community to join city agencies to plan around future Metro-North service – share your local expertise, hear from your neighbors, contribute your ideas to plan around the station area, consider what the service means for jobs, health, housing, youth and more. 

Activities will be self-paced and participants can come when they wish and stay for as long as they are able to.

WHEN

Tuesday, December 11, 2018
4PM–7PM
(Self-paced activities. Come when you wish and stay for long as you are able to.)

WHERE

1300 Morris Park Ave
Lubin Hall
Albert Einstein College of Medicine

 

Light refreshments will be provided. For any questions or special needs, please email bmns@planning.nyc.gov or call 718 220 8500

Find Out More

STATEMENTS FROM DOI COMMISSIONER MARK G. PETERS - RE: MAYORS FIRING OF HIM


FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2018

  Earlier today I was informed that the Mayor has fired me as DOI Commissioner. Per the City Charter, I have until next Wednesday to respond and I will do so in writing. For now, let me say that serving as DOI Commissioner has been the greatest professional honor of my life. DOI’s work over the past five years has exposed corruption and misconduct and forced serious systematic reforms in multiple agencies. 

 The staff at DOI are among the most talented in law enforcement and it has been an honor to work with them. I expect that despite my departure they will continue the multiple investigations regarding misconduct now pending in the agency without fear or favor.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2018

 Pursuant to Chapter 34 of the City Charter, which offers the Commissioner of Investigation “an opportunity of making a public explanation” prior to being removed by the Mayor, DOI Commissioner Mark G. Peters sent an eleven page letter to Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Council Investigations Committee Chair Ritchie Torres.


21 PEOPLE INDICTED IN $15 MILLION TAX FRAUD SCHEME THAT FORGED MILLIONS OF TAX STAMPS FOR CIGARETTES FROM NORTH CAROLINA


Takedown by Bronx DA, New York State Tax Dept., Homeland Security Investigations and NJ Treasury Office of Criminal Investigation Yields Equipment and Trove of Forged Tax Stamps 

  Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark, New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Acting Commissioner Nonie Manion, Brian Michael, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations Newark; and New Jersey State Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio announced that a joint investigation has resulted in indictments charging 21 people with forging millions of cigarette tax stamps and trafficking in illegal cigarettes that resulted in the evasion of more than $15 million in taxes and undercutting small businesses. 

 District Attorney Clark said, “This scheme involved defendants who allegedly forged and printed millions of tax stamps in an apartment and a printing store. Truckloads of cartons of cigarettes per week were brought from North Carolina, and the defendants put the stamps on the packs and sold them to stores throughout the metropolitan area. This scheme allegedly cheated the state and city out of more than $15 million in taxes in the last six months alone. In addition, this scheme hurts law-abiding businesses that cannot compete with stores illegally selling untaxed, cheap cigarettes.” 

 Acting Commissioner Manion said, “The bust of this sophisticated counterfeit tax stamp ring, the largest in Tax Department history, required deft coordination with our partners in law enforcement. I thank them for continuing to support our mission to break up criminal networks like this one and other operations that deprive communities of vital tax revenue and put honest business owners at a competitive disadvantage.” 

 Special Agent in Charge Michael said, “This type of criminal activity generates huge profits for criminal organizations, both here and abroad, while depriving communities of the benefits of tax revenues and harming small businesses. Those who engage in such forgeries should know that the cooperative efforts of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies will ensure that they are apprehended.”

 New Jersey State Treasurer Maher Muoio said, “This criminal enterprise sought to cheat taxpayers in New York and New Jersey out of millions of dollars by peddling truckloads of cigarettes with counterfeit tax stamps. Thankfully, the combined efforts of city, state, and federal law enforcement in New York and New Jersey shut down this operation and put the defendants out of business.”

 District Attorney Clark said 17 of the defendants were arrested in takedowns on November 14, 2018 through November 16, 2018 in locations in the Bronx and Yonkers. Nearly two million counterfeit tax stamps, a printing press and other equipment, as well as more than $120,000 cash were recovered. Authorities also recovered records revealing the transfer of tens of thousands of dollars out of the U.S.

 The defendants are variously charged with first and second-degree Criminal Tax Fraud, second-degree Money Laundering, first-degree Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument, first degree Forgery, Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax and fourth and fifth-degree Conspiracy. If convicted of the top count of the indictment, many of the defendants face 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison.

 According to the investigation, between March 2018 and November 2018, defendants Luis Ortiz and Ernesto Guerrero allegedly designed stencils in order to print stamps and sell them for distribution throughout New York City and state without paying city and state taxes. Defendants Bolivar Clase and Nelsa Soler allegedly acquired special wax paper and other supplies, and Guerrero and Ortiz allegedly manufactured the stamps in Ernesto Printing, at 353 Rider Avenue in the Bronx, as well as in Ortiz’ residence at East 173 Street in the Bronx.

 Defendants Carlos Santos, Rafael Dominguez and Wilson Dominguez allegedly resold the stamps or affixed them to packs of cigarettes using a clothes iron and then sold the cigarettes. 

 The other defendants allegedly transported the cigarettes from North Carolina or bought and sold stamps throughout New York City and Westchester County 

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

DEFENDANTS ARRESTED 
CARLOS SANTOS, 61, 812 East 169 Street, Bronx 
RAFAEL DOMINGUEZ, 52, 701 West 180 Street, Manhattan 
WILSON DOMINGUEZ, 49, 812 East 169 Street, Bronx 
LUIS ORTIZ, 55, 1544 East 173 Street, Bronx 
FELIX TAVEREZ, 44, 1523 Washington Avenue, Bronx 
REYNA ALVAREZ, 50, 1980 7th Avenue, Manhattan 
ANTEMIA ALVAREZ, 30, 1980 7th Avenue, Manhattan 
ERNESTO GUERRERO, 57, 353 Rider Avenue, Bronx 
BOLIVAR CLASE, 62, 1212 Grant Avenue, Bronx 
NELSA SOLER DEL ROSARIO, 57, 1212 Grant Avenue, Bronx 
AMARIAM GARCIA-CRESPO, 28, 1361 College Avenue, Bronx 
FELIPE CRUZ, 56, 37 Featherbed Lane, Bronx
NANCY LEBRON-DECRUZ, 52, 37 Featherbed Lane, Bronx 
FREDIS GUERRERO, 62, 325 Hawthorne Avenue, Yonkers 
JORGE TIGUA, 52, 2020 Morris Avenue, Bronx 
FAUSTO LOPEZ, 54, 2585 Grand Concourse, Bronx 
YAHYA QUATAESH, 67, 39 Landscape Avenue, Yonkers 

UNAPPREHENDED DEFENDANTS 
SANDY BERAS 
JESUEL PAULINO 
FRANCISCO PAULINO 
MARYLEIDA RODRIGUEZ DE GARCIA

New York City Comptroller Stringer Releases Fiscal Year 2018 Popular Annual Financial Report


Launches New Interactive Website for Budget Transparency

  For the fourth year since its inception, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer released the​​ Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR) for Fiscal Year 2018, a complementary guide to the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). The PAFR is an important transparency tool, presenting critical information on the City’s revenues, expenses, budget, and capital projects in 31 easy-to-understand pages with dozens of explanatory graphs, charts, and images to help everyday New Yorkers understand the City budget.

This year, the PAFR report was released with an interactive, companion web page which makes it easier to look at year-by-year comparisons of the City’s budget and includes a roadmap to the City budget process, breaks-down budgetary and accounting language in layman’s terms, and includes a “Things to Know” section for New Yorkers to understand how the Comptroller’s office can assist them.
“The budget impacts everyone in New York City, which is why we work to make these critical numbers as accessible as possible. We started this PAFR report just four years ago, and it’s become an indispensable part of our budget reporting,” said New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer. “With New Yorkers more engaged in local government than ever before, I encourage all New Yorkers to take a look – because our City is complex, large, and these numbers affect all of our day-to-day lives.”
The three previous reports have received the Government Finance Officers Association’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting. The Fiscal Year 2018 PAFR has been submitted for the same award this year.
The majority of the data in the PAFR comes from the Comptroller’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, which is released every year on October 31st. This year’s PAFR highlights:
New York City Saw its 8th Consecutive Year of Job Gains
  • The City added 76,600 private-sector jobs in FY 2018, a gain of 2.0%.
  • The unemployment rate fell to 4.3% in FY 2018, the lowest rate on record; the labor-force participation rate rose to a record high of 60.9%; and the employment-to-population ratio rose to 58.3%, the highest on record.
  • Unemployment rates improved in all five boroughs, falling to 5.4% in the Bronx; 4.1% in Brooklyn; 3.6% in Manhattan; 3.5% in Queens; and 4.0% in Staten Island. These are record lows for each of New York City’s boroughs in more than a decade.
City Revenue
  • Overall, the City brought in about $89 billion in revenues in FY 2018, which comes from two major sources: program revenues, such as grants, and general revenues, like taxes.
  • In FY 2018, general revenues were almost $60 billion, an increase of $3.3 billion from FY 2017. The single greatest source for the increase was real estate taxes, which totaled over $26 billion.
  • In FY 2018, program revenue accounted for nearly $29 billion, an increase of $108 million from the previous year, primarily from grants received for education programs in the form of state and federal aid.
City Expenses
  • City expenses, including all related personnel and applicable pension and benefit costs, were almost $92 billion in FY 2018, an increase of roughly $5.8 billion from FY 2017.
  • The largest share of expenses was for education at $30 billion.
Breaking Down the City Budget
  • The PAFR explains the difference between the City’s “General Fund” – the main operating fund of the City – and other types of financial resources such as Capital and Debt.
  • The PAFR also includes information on “Component units” such as the Health and Hospitals Corporation (H+H), Water and Sewer Authority, and the NYC Housing Authority (NYCHA), which are legally separate organizations for which the City is financially accountable.
City Capital Project Commitments Rose
  • New York City funds its capital projects through the Capital Budget, which is separate from the General Fund, and includes spending on City construction, purchases of land, buildings, and equipment – and is generally financed by the sale of government bonds.
  • Capital Authorized Expenditures totaled $13.458 billion, to be utilized for both current and future projects.
  • Significant capital projects included those of the Department of Education at $4 billion, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services at $2 billion, and the Department of Transportation at $1.479 billion.
Peer-City Comparisons
  • In 2017 – the most recent comparison available – New York City had 62.8 million tourists, outpacing Chicago, which had 55.2 million, and Philadelphia, which welcomed 43.3 million.
  • Each City provides different types and levels of service for its residents. In FY 2018, New York City spent over $11,522 per resident, while Philadelphia spent about $4,200 and Chicago spent about $2,700.
To read the full Popular Annual Financial Report for 2018, click here.
To view the interactive webpage, click here.

New York City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce - 13th Annual Hispanic Business Award Banquet & Scholarship Ceremony


6:00PM - 12:00AM
The 13th Annual Hispanic Business Award Banquet and Scholarship Ceremony honors successful individuals who have proven their commitment to upholding the integrity of the Hispanic Community. These individuals advocate for economic development, higher education and promote initiatives that continue to empower the Latino community and beyond. Our mission is to represent and advocate for Hispanic Businesses in New York City in a cohesive and collective manner.

The pride of our banquet has always been the scholarships awarded to students in need of financial assistance. Over the past twelve years the NYCHCC has awarded more than 150k to students who attend an accredited university in the New York City area. 

2018 HONOREES

Lymaris Albors
Acacia Network, Inc., Chief of Staff to CEO/ Vice-President Business Development

Carlos Naudon
Ponce Bank, President, 
Chief Executive Officer and Director

Plinio Ayala
Per Scholas, CEO, President

Marysol Castro
NY Mets Public Address Announcer 
(MLB’s First Latina P.A.)

Marcelo Velez
Columbia University, 
VP of Manhattanville Development 

The sponsorship offers opportunities for businesses to align themselves with the only citywide Hispanic Chamber. We offer benefits such as NYCHCC membership, advertisement, and opportunities to give back to the next generation of Hispanic leaders through a scholarship award.
Thank you in advance for your partnership and support!

NYCHA CELEBRATES TOPPING OUT OF CONSTRUCTION ON NEW YORK’S FIRST LGBT-FRIENDLY AFFORDABLE SENIOR HOUSING WITH BFC PARTNERS, SAGE AND HPD


Ingersoll Senior Residences in Fort Greene is Part of NextGeneration NYCHA’s 100 Percent Affordable Housing Program and Includes a New SAGE Senior Center

Building Expected to Open in June 2019 – the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising and the Birth of the LGBT Rights Movement

  The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), BFC Partners, SAGE, the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) today celebrated the topping out of construction of Ingersoll Senior Residences, one of NYCHA’s first 100 percent Affordable Housing Program developments. The new building is New York City’s first LGBT-friendly affordable senior housing and the largest such development in the nation. As it enters the final phases of construction, officials said the building is expected to open for residents in June 2019 alongside the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising and celebration of World Pride in New York City.

Ingersoll Senior Residences, developed as part of the NextGen NYCHA initiative, is a 17-story building at 112 St. Edwards Street in Fort Greene, Brooklyn that will provide 145 units of affordable senior housing and a new 7,600-square-foot SAGE Center operated by SAGE – the nation’s largest advocacy and service organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBT elders.

While the new housing and SAGE Center will be open to all qualifying low-income seniors, BFC Partners and SAGE have worked together to ensure the building is uniquely designed to meet the needs of older members of the LGBT community. Older LGBT people across the nation are statistically more likely to face housing discrimination and harassment and are less likely to have children and other family members to help care for their needs.

“This is an important step forward in delivering the 10,000 new affordable units we have promised,” said NYCHA Interim Chair and CEO Stanley Brezenoff. “This building is the City’s first LGBTQ-friendly development and demonstrates NYCHA and the City’s commitment to ensuring our seniors have access to the safe, affordable homes they deserve.”

The new building is part of NYCHA’s 100 percent Affordable Housing program, helping the Authority meet its goal to provide 10,000 new affordable units over 10 years, in support of Mayor de Blasio’s Housing New York 2.0 plan.
Ingersoll Senior Residences received financing from the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the New York City Housing Development Corporation and is being built under New York City’s Extremely Low and Low-Income Affordability (ELLA) Program. All units in the building – including 54 studios and 91 one-bedrooms – will be affordable for older people, age 62 and older, earning up to 60 percent of the area median income (AMI).

The project is also being developed in accordance with the Enterprise Green Communities Criteria (EGCC), which constitutes the only comprehensive green building framework designed for affordable housing. This framework provides proven, cost-effective standards for creating healthy and energy-efficient homes.
“By partnering with non-profits like SAGE, we are providing so much more than affordable housing – we are creating more inclusive opportunities for all New Yorkers, including LGBT seniors, to thrive in a supportive and secure community,” said HDC President Eric Enderlin.  “Congratulations to all our partners as we celebrate another important milestone in the development of Ingersoll Senior Residences.”

"Through Housing New York, we are operating on all cylinders to serve the seniors who helped to build this great city,” said HPD Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer. “In partnership with NYCHA, HDC, and our elected officials we are seizing every opportunity to harness public land for affordable housing and put seniors first.  I want to thank BFC and Sage for pushing forward on this transformational project at Ingersoll Houses in Fort Greene, Brooklyn to create 145 affordable homes and a welcoming community for LGBT seniors. I look forward to welcoming incoming residents to their new homes in the coming months."