DC 37 AFSCME Local 372 Endorses Michael Blake for Public Advocate

New York City’s Largest Public Employees Union Supports Vision for Jobs and Justice

On Thursday, the Blake for New York campaign announced that DC 37 AFSCME Local 372 endorsed Michael Blake for Public Advocate.

“Michael Blake has spent his entire career delivering real change for working families. From his time in the White House to his tenure in the State Assembly, Michael has stood shoulder to shoulder with Local 372 as we fight for improved working conditions in our schools, better wages and benefits. Furthermore, his support for sufficient staffing is exactly what Department of Education employees need in their next Public Advocate.”

“New Yorkers deserve a leader who will deliver, and that’s why Local 372 is proud to endorse Michael Blake as the obvious choice to be the next New York City Public Advocate.” - Shaun Francois, President, Local 372

“I am honored to receive the endorsement of Local 372 of DC37. As we continue to share our vision of #JobsAndJustice with New Yorkers across our great city, it sends a validating message to have the endorsement of Local 372. From school lunch aides to family associates, Local 372 understands firsthand the everyday experiences facing students, families and educators. Thank you to Shaun Francois and all the members of Local 372 for your support. ”

NYPD Statistics Show Big Increase in Murder and Rape in the Bronx For Year Ending 2018 Over 2017

  The Year end 2018 NYPD Comp Stat report shows a Twenty-Five percent increase in Murder, and an over Fourteen percent increase in Rape over 2017 in the Bronx. A breakdown of the twelve Bronx police precinct shows only the 46th and 47th Precincts had a decrease in both the Murder and Rape statistics for 2018 when compared to 2017. 

  When confronted by this reporter at a media press conference Tuesday after the announcement of the New York Care Program was announced Mayor Bill de Blasio asked if I had cross checked my figures, that all New Yorkers including residents of the Bronx believe that the city is the safest it has ever been, that I should check my figures with the NYPD, and that if more resources are needed in the Bronx they will be assigned. 

  I will take the mayor up on his offer, and request a meeting with the Police Commissioner, or whomever he decides to meet with me to go over the Comp Stat Murder and Rape rates per precinct in the Bronx. I will also bring my knowledge of past staffing levels, and current staffing levels as I mentioned to the mayor about one specific precinct, that being the 50th Precinct. 

By Bronx Police Precincts 

From the NYPD Comp Stat report year ending 12/30/2018 

Compared to year ending 12/31/2017.

40th Precinct     Murder - Increased 133.3 percent.

                           Rape  -  Decreased  17,8 percent.

41st Precinct     Murder - Increased 33.3 percent.

                           Rape  -  Increased 95.2 percent.

42nd Precinct    Murder - Same as 2017.

                            Rape  -  Same as 2017.

43rd Precinct    Murder - Increased 30 percent.

                           Rape  -  Increased 30 percent.

44th Precinct    Murder - Increased 22.2 percent.

                           Rape  -  Increased 37.5 percent.

45th Precinct    Murder - Decreased 100 percent

There were zero murders in this precinct for 2018.

                           Rape  -  Increased 30 percent.

46th Precinct   Murder -  Decreased 10 percent.

                           Rape  -  Decreased  28.2 percent.

47th Precinct   Murder -  Decreased 37.5 percent.

                           Rape  -  Decreased 8.3 percent.

48th Precinct   Murder -  Increased 37.5 percent.

                           Rape  -  Increased  7.4 percent.

49th Precinct   Murder -  Increased 133.3 percent.

                           Rape  -  Increased 92,3 percent.

50th Precinct   Murder - Increased 133.3 percent.

                           Rape  - Increased 87.5 percent.

52nd Precinct  Murder - Increased 250 percent.

                           Rape  - Increased 15.4 percent.

The above percentages come from the NYPD Comp Stat Report comparing the year ending 2018 to the year ending 2017. 

Congressman Eliot Engel Co-Sponsors H.R. 8 the “Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019”

  Congressman Eliot Engel, a member of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, today co-sponsored H.R. 8, the “Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019.” The legislation, introduced with bipartisan support, requires background checks on every gun sale or transfer, with a few carefully defined exceptions. It also requires unlicensed gun sellers to sell or transfer firearms only through licensed dealers.

“The days of the GOP blocking any and all commonsense gun violence prevention bills in the House are over,” Engel said. “Gun violence is an epidemic in this country, but due to past Republican Leaders’ obstinance, we have not been able to pass any meaningful bills to curb the problem. H.R. 8 is a much needed course correction that will finally expand desperately needed background checks for nearly everyfirearm sale. This bill serves as a powerful rebuke of the NRA and sets the tone for the Democratic caucus during the 116^th Congress. It’s time to finally pass legislation that will help keep people safe from gun violence.

“I’m glad we can now have our voices heard on guns without having to resort to things like sit-in protests on the House floor.”

REP. ADRIANO ESPAILLAT VOTES TO DEFEND AMERICANS’ HEALTH CARE AND PROTECT PEOPLE WITH PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS

   Today, Rep. Adriano Espaillat joined House Democrats to take action to protect New Yorkers’ health care by passing a resolution that strengthens Congress’s hand to intervene against the Republicans’ monstrous Texas v. U.S. lawsuit, which seeks to strike down the entirety of the Affordable Care Act and its life-saving protections against discrimination of 8.4 million New Yorkers with pre-existing conditions.  This resolution affirms the House Counsel’s authorization to intervene as a party in the lawsuit, asserting the House of Representatives’ authority to defend laws it has passed and enacted into law.

“The American people elected a Democratic Congress that would protect their quality, affordable health care, and put an end to Republicans vindictive and irresponsible attacks on their health care and livelihoods,” said Rep. Adriano Espaillat . “I am proud to stand with my colleagues and the American people to deliver that promise and give the Congress the tools it needs to defend the health care of hard-working New York residents and families.  Democrats won’t stand by idly in the face of this lawsuit and the GOP’s cruel campaign to dismantle health care in our communities.”

In December, a federal district court judge in Texas ruled in favor of Republican Attorneys General, issuing a decision that would strike down the entirety of the Affordable Care Act, including:

•  Protections for people with pre-existing conditions;

•  The ban on lifetime and annual limits on health coverage;

•  The Medicaid expansion covering 15 million Americans;

•  Health insurance affordability tax credits assisting 9 million Americans;

•  Bans on discriminatory insurance practices that would unfairly force women to pay more for coverage;

•  Young adults’ ability to remain on their parents’ insurance until age 26, and more.

“Our Democratic Congress is For The People, and we have wasted no time getting to work to protect families’ health care and financial security,” he continued.  “A Democratic Majority means an end to the GOP attacks on health care, and a fresh focus on lowering health costs and the price of prescription drugs, protecting people with pre-existing conditions against coverage discrimination and harmful underwriting, and preserving Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.  In stark contrast to the Republicans, we are delivering results for hard-working families and workers in New York and in communities across America.”

Attorney General James Announces State Prison Sentence Of Former Owner Of Brooklyn Medical Supply Company In Million Dollar Medicaid Fraud Scheme

   Attorney General Letitia James today announced the state prison sentence of Kester Atumonyogo, 49, of Baldwin, New York, for defrauding the State Medicaid program of over one million dollars.  Today, the Honorable Danny Chun of Brooklyn Supreme Court sentenced the defendant to one-and-one-third to four years following the defendant’s September 5th guilty plea to Health Care Fraud in the First Degree, a class B felony; Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony; and Welfare Fraud in the Third Degree, a class D felony. 

“It is unconscionable that an individual would use a Medicaid fraud scheme as a means to exploit children with disabilities and their families for their own personal gain,” said Attorney General Letitia James. “My office will continue to hold fraudsters accountable for stealing from the Medicaid program and anyone else who tries to take advantage of our State's vulnerable families. This behavior will never be tolerated.”

The defendant’s conviction and sentence concludes the second half of a long-term investigation by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (“MFCU”) into fraudulent durable medical equipment providers in Brooklyn, New York.  In pleading guilty, the defendant admitted to stealing over one million dollars from Medicaid and from HealthFirst, a Medicaid funded Managed Care Organization, by filing false claims alleging to have dispensed a highly specialized -- and expensive -- enteral nutritional formula to Medicaid recipients, when in reality he only dispensed PediaSure and other inexpensive over-the-counter nutritional supplements.  This type of scheme is often referred to as “up-coding.” The defendant further admitted to having illegally obtained a social security number and using that number to illegally apply for and receive welfare benefits.

In the first half of the investigation, MFCU prosecuted five individuals and three corporations for defrauding Medicaid based on a similar upcoding scheme that falsely billed for dispensing inexpensive over-the-counter nutritional supplements as if they were highly specialized and expensive enteral formula. That investigation resulted in the conviction of four individuals by guilty plea -- Keva Johnson, Yolane Fouche, Nkem Ude and Erter Brown, the conviction of three corporations -- First Billing Options, Inc., One Source Medical Supply, Inc., and Y Love Jewelry, Inc., and the conviction by jury trial of Humphrey Ude.  Ude was convicted of Grand Larceny in the First Degree and other crimes and was sentenced to 7 to 21 years in state prison.  Through a parallel asset forfeiture civil action, MFCU also obtained several high end vehicles that were purchased by defendants with stolen Medicaid funds:  a 2012 Audi A7 sedan, a 2013 Mercedes Benz Model G63, a 2021 Porsche Cayenne, a 2007 Lamborghini and a 2008 Toyota Tundra.  All of the vehicles were subsequently sold at auction and the proceeds returned to the State Medicaid program as restitution.

The Attorney General would like to thank the New York State Department of Health, the New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General, the New York City Department of Human Resources, the Office of the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration, and the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles for assistance during the investigation. The Attorney General, in particular, would like to acknowledge the cooperation and assistance provided by HealthFirst throughout the investigation.

Attorney General James Announces $1.5M Settlement With Retailer Neiman Marcus Over Data Breach

  Attorney General Letitia James announced that the Neiman Marcus Group LLC has agreed to pay $1.5 million and implement a number of data security policies to resolve an investigation with 43 states and the District of Columbia into the 2013 breach of customer payment card data at 77 Neiman Marcus retail stores in the United States.

In January 2014, Neiman Marcus disclosed that payment card data collected at several of its retail stores had been compromised by an unknown third party. The states' investigation determined that approximately 370,000 payment cards – roughly 27,600 of which were associated with New York consumers – were compromised in the breach, which took place over the course of several months in 2013. At least 9,200 of the payment cards compromised in the breach were used fraudulently.

“New Yorkers deserve to shop with confidence, which includes trusting that their personal information will be protected,” said Attorney General Letitia James. “With the monetary settlement and the implementation of several new data security policies, this marks a significant win for those who shop in New York. This office will continue its commitment to combat inadequate data security in the state of New York.”

In addition to the monetary settlement, Neiman Marcus has agreed to a number of injunctive provisions aimed at preventing similar breaches in the future, including:

• Complying with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) requirements;
• Maintaining an appropriate system to collect and monitor its network activity, and ensuring logs are regularly reviewed and monitored;
• Maintaining working agreements with two, separate, qualified Payment Card Industry forensic investigators;
• Updating all software associated with maintaining and safeguarding personal information, and creating written plans for replacement or maintenance of software that is reaching its end-of-life or end-of-support date;
• Implementing appropriate steps to review industry-accepted payment security technologies relevant to the company's business; and
• Devaluing payment card information, using technologies like encryption and tokenization, to obfuscate payment card data.

Under the settlement, Neiman Marcus is also required to retain a third-party professional to conduct an information security assessment and report, and to detail any corrective actions that the company may have taken or plans to take as a result of the third-party report.

New York’s share of the settlement payment is $58,611.60.

BRONX WOMAN SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR KILLING INFANT DAUGHTER

Defendant Threw Baby Out Of Sixth-Floor Apartment Window

  Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx woman has been sentenced to three and one-third to ten years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree Manslaughter in the death of her six-month-old daughter. 

 District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant, who was mentally impaired at the time, dropped her infant daughter from a window of their sixth-floor apartment. Justice was served in this tragic case.” 

 District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Tenisha Fearon, 30, of 2200 Tiebout Avenue, was given an indeterminate sentence of three and one third years to ten years in prison by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Denis Boyle. The defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree Manslaughter on December 18, 2018.

 According to the investigation, on October 15, 2015, in the afternoon, the defendant, whose mental condition was compromised by a psychotic symptom, was screaming about God, Satan and the end of days, and was throwing objects out her apartment window. Fearon then took her baby, Jahnyla Lawrence, who was naked, and dropped her out of the window. The child died of blunt force trauma shortly afterwards. There were three other children, also naked, in the apartment when the incident occurred--a 10-year-old boy and two girls ages eight and three.

 District Attorney Clark thanked Detective Michael Moreno of the 46th Precinct and retired Detective Sean O’Leary of the Homicide Task Force.

MAYOR DE BLASIO PROPOSES MAKING CITY FIRST IN NATION TO MANDATE PAID PERSONAL TIME

New law would directly benefit more than 500,000 New Yorkers who currently get no days off

  Mayor Bill de Blasio today proposed that New York City become the first city in the nation to mandate Paid Personal Time for workers. More than 500,000 full- and part-time employees in New York City currently have no paid time off. The Mayor will pursue local legislation that would require private employers with five or more employees to offer 10 annual days of Paid Personal Time, allowing employees to take paid time off for any purpose, including vacation, religious observances, bereavement and time with family. The legislation would guarantee this time for approximately 3.4 million New Yorkers.

“Workers across the nation have been working too hard without enough time to rest and recharge or enough time for family and important life events. Every other major nation recognizes the necessity of Paid Personal Time. We as a country must get there, and New York City will lead the way," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "To be the fairest big city in America, New Yorkers can't be forced to choose between bringing home a paycheck and taking time off to just disconnect or spend time with loved ones – that choice ends with Paid Personal Time. I look forward to working with Council Speaker Corey Johnson and the rest of City Council on this important piece of legislation.”

“Here in United States, we have fewer days off than anywhere else in the world – time that increases productivity and improves mental and physical health,” said Department of Consumer Affairs Commissioner Lorelei Salas. “Here in New York City, we are one of the leading jurisdictions in creating the right to sick leave, which we then expanded last year to broaden the definition of family and to add safe leave for victims of domestic and sexual abuse. Today we yet again pave the path towards a new generation of workers’ rights that meet the needs and realities of today’s workforce with the right to paid time off – a win-win for workers, employers and our economy.”

The policy is expected to benefit New Yorkers in a wide range of industries who currently receive no paid personal time, including 180,000 workers in professional services, 90,000 in retail, and 200,000 in the hotel and food service sectors. The City already provides government employees with more than two weeks of Paid Personal Leave per year.

Research has shown that paid-time off helps increase productivity, strengthens families, helps prevent burnout and improves employee retention. The United States is the only industrialized nation that does not mandate any paid time off, including paid holidays. Nationally, one in four full-time, middle-income workers gets no paid time off at all.

  

The Mayor’s proposal calls for a maximum of 10 days of Paid Personal Time per year and covers employers with five or more employees – the same universe of businesses covered by the Mayor’s 2014 legislation expanding Paid Sick Leave. Employees would be able to access the benefit after 120 days of employment. Any unused Paid Personal Time could be carried over to the following year for a total maximum of 10 days of Paid Personal Time. Employers could require up to 2 weeks’ notice and have reasonable exceptions for granting leave to prevent too many workers from taking simultaneous leave. This benefit would be offered in addition to the 5 days of Paid Sick Leave that became law in 2014. Similar to Paid Sick Leave, the de Blasio Administration will work with the City Council to make Paid Personal Time a reality.

New York City’s economy has never been stronger. The City reached 4.5 million jobs for the first time in its history. And over the last year, New York City experienced the lowest unemployment rate since 1976.