Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr - Black History Month Celebration

Bronx Borough President

Ruben Diaz Jr.

Invites you to celebrate

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Celebrating African-American History and Culture

Wednesday, February 13, 2019



Doors open at 5:30 p.m. 

Program begins at 6:30 p.m.

The Grand American Ballroom

899 Westchester Avenue, Bronx

(East 163rd Street)

Come out and enjoy the evening with live music, food and refreshments.

"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world."

Harriet Tubman

STATEMENT FROM MAYOR DE BLASIO ON NYPD’S EXTERNAL DISCIPLINARY REPORT

  “Neighborhood policing has helped to make New York the safest big city in America. Central to that success are transparency and accountability in the relationship between our police officers and the communities they serve and protect. These thoughtful reform proposals represent meaningful progress in the never-ending mission to make our city safer and fairer. I commend the Police Commissioner for launching this review and for adopting its important findings.” 

Mayor de Blasio Ends City Hall in the Bronx with $3.7 Million Dollars for the Eastchester Gardens Community Center

  Keith Ramsey the Tenant Leader of the Eastchester Gardens NYCHA Houses introduced Mayor Bill de Blasio Friday morning on the mayor's final stop of City Hall in the Bronx Week. Also up front were the Bronx elected officials who represent Eastchester Gardens Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, State Senator Jamaal Bailey, and City Councilman Andy King.

Mayor Bill de Blasio was joined by Speaker Carl Heastie today to announce major repairs for the community center at NYCHA’s Eastchester Gardens Development. The City will invest nearly $4 million to renovate and upgrade the gym, classrooms, heating system and plumbing that serve over 2,000 NYCHA residents. Construction will start in 2021. 

“Community centers are the heart of our neighborhoods, and provide a place for all New Yorkers to come together, learn and have fun,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “These long overdue renovations will ensure that Eastchester residents have access to all the services they deserve.”

 Mayor de Blasio spoke briefly about the agreement with HUD Secretary Ben Carson saying that the NYCHA housing system must go forward with additional help from the federal and state governments. The mayor then said it was his commitment to bringing back NYCHA from the declining care of previous administrations. In addition the mayor added that the Bronx had also been shortchanged in many ways by previous administrations, but the Bronx is now going to get its Fair Share. Mayor de Blasio then called on Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to say a few words. 

Assemblyman Heastie mentioned that he has lived in the area his entire life, that he is happy that $3.7 million dollars will finally be put into fixing up the community center at Eastchester Gardens, and asked the mayor is HUD Secretary Carson brought a check from Washington for NYCHA. 

This community center was last repaired more than 10 years ago. These upgrades will include the following:

• New, larger gym with a regulation size basketball court
• Upgraded HVAC and plumbing system to prevent leaking
• Renovated classrooms for afterschool programming

Above - Mayor de Blasio talking about bringing more resources to NYCHA, and the Bronx.

Below - Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie asks the mayor if HUD Secretary Ben Carson brought a check with him for NYCHA. Heastie would also mention that he grew up in the neighborhood of this soon to be refurbished community center. 

Above - Mayor de Blasio and Councilman Andy King were able to chat before the announcement.

Below - On our way in we found this huge leak of water pouring out of the buildings HVAC unit on a very cold dry day.

Approximately 70 Pounds of Heroin and Fentanyl Seized from Wholesale Distribution Network in the Bronx and Yonkers

Five indicted: Ring leader charged with Operating as a Major Trafficker under New York State’s drug kingpin statute

  Bridget G. Brennan, New York City’s Special Narcotics Prosecutor, Ray Donovan, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New York Division, New York City Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill, New York State Police Acting Superintendent Keith M. Corlett and Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced the indictment of five individuals, including four linked to a wholesale heroin and fentanyl distribution network in the Bronx and one who represented a Mexico based narcotics supply organization. The alleged leader of the local distribution network, JUAN SILVA SANTOS, of Ridge Hill, Yonkers, is charged with Operating as a Major Trafficker under New York State’s drug kingpin statute. 

SANTOS and three co-defendants are scheduled for arraignment on the indictment today before Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Abraham Clott in Part 61, 111 Centre Street. The indictment filed by the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor contains charges of Conspiracy in the Second Degree, Operating as a Major Trafficker, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the First and Third Degrees and Criminally Using Drug Paraphernalia in the Second Degree.

Arrests occurred on October 25, 2018 following an investigation by the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force (NYDETF) Group T-32, which is comprised of agents and officers with the DEA, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and the New York State Police (NYSP). A total of approximately 32 kilograms of heroin and fentanyl (nearly 70 pounds) were recovered from two locations on Underhill Avenue in the Soundview neighborhood of the Bronx and Ridge Hill Boulevard in Yonkers that same day. The narcotics would have carried a wholesale value of approximately $1.75 million and a street value upwards of $10 million.

Between September 4, 2018 and October 25, 2018, members of NYDETF observed SANTOS, EZEQUIEL THEN, CANDIDO DE JESUS and WILTON PAULINO come and go from the suspected drug stash location at 950 Underhill Avenue, Apt. 7K in Soundview on multiple occasions. The defendants typically arrived in the evenings up to six times per week and stayed no more than four hours. DE JESUS sometimes brought trash out to the curb rather than using the building’s garbage chute.

On October 24, 2018, agents and detectives observed SANTOS and THEN leave the 950 Underhill Avenue apartment, enter a taxi, which then traveled to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). DE JESUS exited the building and deposited two trash bags, later found to contain drug packaging materials and paraphernalia, on the curb along with the building’s other trash prior to leaving the area with PAULINO.

Sometime later, SANTOS, THEN, DE JESUS and PAULINO returned to the Underhill Avenue building with defendant JESUS VEGA GUZMAN., remaining only briefly before all departed again.

The investigation revealed that GUZMAN represented a Mexico-based narcotics supply organization and had travelled to New York City via JFK Airport. Detectives and agents also learned that SANTOS resided at 701 Ridge Hill Boulevard, a luxury apartment complex, and maintained control of a storage unit on another floor.

On October 25, 2018, members of NYDETF and the Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s Office obtained search warrants for 950 Underhill Avenue, Apt. 7K, and 701 Ridge Hill Boulevard, Apt. 5B and associated storage locker S59. 

At approximately 6:50 p.m., all five defendants arrived at Underhill Avenue in one vehicle. SANTOS and GUZMAN went to a nearby Popeye’s restaurant, while DE JESUS and THEN went to up the apartment. PAULINO remained in the car. Agents and detectives detained the five defendants in the vicinity of the apartment building and the restaurant. 

Agents and detectives recovered nearly 18 kilograms of heroin, the potent synthetic opioid fentanyl and a fentanyl analogue (chemically similar to fentanyl) from the Underhill Boulevard apartment. Upon entering 950 Underhill Avenue, Apt. 7K, agents and detectives interrupted THEN in the process sealing a kilogram of narcotics with a heat sealer in the kitchen. Another heat sealer was found in the bathtub. Heat sealing bags and drug preparation paraphernalia were strewn throughout the apartment. Subsequent laboratory testing indicated that the kilogram THEN had been sealing in the kitchen contained fentanyl, a potentially lethal substance.

A hidden compartment inside the back wall of a closet of one bedroom contained approximately 12 kilograms of heroin and fentanyl. The remaining kilograms were found between the box springs and mattress, and under a bed in that same bedroom.

Next to a bed was a device known as a kilo press that is commonly used to re-shape mixtures of heroin, fentanyl, other narcotics and nonnarcotic dilutants into bricks resembling original packaging. A hidden compartment behind a baseboard on a wall contained plates used with the kilo press to make “brand” imprints on the kilograms, including images of a scorpion and Chinese characters.

In a search of 701 Ridge Hill Boulevard, Apt. 5B, agents and detectives found approximately $28,000 cash inside a closet in the master bedroom. Storage locker 59, located within a common area on another floor, contained approximately 14 kilograms of fentanyl and heroin inside a suitcase. The narcotics were pressed into slim packages designed to fit underneath the suitcase lining.

The particular fentanyl analogue present in the Bronx apartment, valeryl fentanyl, is not currently included on New York State’s list of controlled substances, but has been linked to multiple overdose deaths in New York City. 

DE JESUS was arraigned on the indictment on January 24, 2019 and entered a not guilty plea.

Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan thanked the Bronx District Attorney’s Office and commended her office’s Special Investigations Bureau and NYDETF Group T-32, which is comprised of agents and officers from DEA New York Division, the NYPD and the NYSP, for their work on the case. 

“The defendants trafficked in multi-million dollar quantities of potentially lethal opioids. Through a direct connection to Mexico-based suppliers, the distribution network stockpiled heroin, fentanyl and other synthetic opioids in an apartment in the Bronx and in a common storage area of a luxury residential complex in Yonkers,” said Special Narcotics Prosecutor Brennan. “The types of narcotics seized in this case have fueled New York City’s epidemic of overdose fatalities. Members of the public should beware that ever more potent lethal synthetic substances are increasingly mixed into the drug supply.”

Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark said, “This case is another inroad made by law enforcement into the heroin and fentanyl supply and distribution chain that is rooted in the Bronx, and has caused fatal overdoses in our city. We will continue our efforts to dismantle these criminal organizations as we remind the public that you take your life in your hands when you take these drugs. I thank Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan for her partnership and expertise in investigating and prosecuting heroin trafficking in the Bronx." 

“This highly organized trafficking network based their operations in both the Bronx and Yonkers in order to maximize their reach into surrounding counties,” said Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan. “By dismantling this organization, we shut down a major supplier of the deadliest drugs on the streets today: heroin and fentanyl.” 

New York State Police Acting Superintendent Keith M. Corlett said, “Because of the critical partnerships forged through the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force we were able to dismantle a dangerous heroin/fentanyl drug distribution network. The arrests of these criminals reinforces that we will continue to be vigilant in stopping the flow of these dangerous narcotics into our neighborhoods. I want to thank our federal and local partners for their ongoing hard work and collaboration on this case, which has resulted in the arrests and removal of five dangerous criminals who profit at the expense of our communities.”

Indicted Defendants                                 Charges

Juan Silva Santos                Operating as a Major Trafficker – 1 ct

Yonkers, NY                         Conspiracy 2nd – 1 ct

DOB  5/31/1979                   CPCS 1st – 2 cts

                                             CPCS 3rd – 2 cts

                                    Criminally Using Drug Paraphernalia – 1 ct

Ezequiel Then                    Conspiracy 2nd – 1 ct

Bronx, NY                           CPCS 1st – 1 ct

DOB  4/5/1988                   CPCS 3rd – 1 ct

                                   Criminally Using Drug Paraphernalia – 1 ct

Wilton Paulino                  Conspiracy 2nd – 1 ct

Bronx, NY                         CPCS 1st – 1 ct

DOB  1/6/1997                 CPCS 3rd – 1 ct

                                  Criminally Using Drug Paraphernalia – 1 ct

Jesus Vega Guzman        Conspiracy 2nd – 1 ct    

Sinaloa, Mexico                CPCS 1st – 1 ct

DOB  9/9/1983                 CPCS 3rd – 1 ct

                                  Criminally Using Drug Paraphernalia – 1 ct

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

Castle Hill NYCHA HOUSES Go With Little or No Heat and Hot Water For Almost Two Weeks

    Friday, Castle Hill Houses Tenant Leader Roxanne Reid called in 87th Assembly District leader John Perez and Antirson Ortiz of City Comptroller Scott Stringer's office with her to find out why the 14 buildings that make up the NYCHA Castle Hill Houses had little or no heat and hot water for the past two weeks. The trio and other tenants there went into the management office to find out what the problem was. 

  After the second time Tenant Leader Reid was called inside 87th Assembly District Leader John Perez demanded to talk with the person that Ms. Reid was talking to. A man who said his name was Mr. Watts came out from behind the closed doors to say to District Leader John Perez that there the problem was a small portion of pipe that had to be replaced before the heat and hot water would be back to normal. Mr. John Perez having been a founder of 'We Stay Nos Quedamos' said that if there was a bad piece of pipe there would be no heat or hot water at all. He was then told that the problem was in the amount of pressure in the system which was operating at a below normal pace. John Perez then asked Mr. Watts where the replacement part was in the system, and was told the resident manager had to approve the purchase order. John Perez then asked where that person was, and was told inside two doors down. John Perez insisted that the resident manager be given the purchase order, which was signed within twenty minutes. 

News outlets Altice Cable News 12 and Telemundo (Channel 47) arrived at the NYCHA Castle Hill Houses to be led on a tour of various apartments where different problems such as an ice buildup on the inside window, cold walls, wet walls, broken windows, windows that did not close properly (which John Perez closed a couple after several attempts), and other problems in the apartments where work orders were opened and then closed by the Maintenance Department of the Castle Hill Houses without being corrected. 

In talking to 87th Assembly District Leader John Perez Saturday, he informed me that an elderly woman with health problems died during this lack of heat and hot water. He did not want to release her name until the family gives the approval to. John Perez said that he will be calling for an investigation of the two week outage of heat and hot water, and what part it played in the death of the elderly woman. 

Above - R-L, Mr. Antirson Ortiz Bronx Borough Liason for City Comptroller Scott Stringer, Castle Hill Tenant Leader Roxanne Reid, 87th Assembly District Leader John Perez, and unsatisfied residents of the Castle Hill Houses.

Below - 87th Assembly District Leader John Perez gets ready to talk with Mr. Watts of the Castle Hill NYCHA Houses. It was nice and warm inside the management office.

Above - This woman said no photos inside the management office.

Below - Another problem in the bathroom apartment that is not being taken care of. The pipe coming from the above apartment toilet leaks over this toilet and floor of the bathroom. This is a very hazardous situation which can spread many different types of diseases from the leaking toilet water from the above apartment.

Comptroller Stringer Statement on NYCHA

“Now they want a monitor?  NYCHA already has monitors – its residents who have suffered from decades of disinvestment.  They’re the parents who sought help when their child got lead poisoning.  The grandmother who has to huddle near a stove when it’s colder inside her apartment than outside.  And the family dealing with health issues because of rampant mold in their home.

“The time for talk and political stunts is over.  Cut the long overdue check from the federal government to fully fund the needed repairs, listen to the real NYCHA monitors, put a plan in place, and get to work.”

Comptroller Stringer, Council Member Brannan and Advocates Call on City Charter Revision Commission to Make Sweeping Changes as Thousands of Non-Profits Go Unpaid by the City for Months

New Comptroller Stringer report shows administration submits 89% of City contracts for human services – serving the most vulnerable New Yorkers – late for registration, after the contract start date

In FY18, contracts submitted over a year late for registration were on average 589 days late

Coalition calls for strict contract processing timelines and new, transparent tracking system for all contracts

  New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer and Council Member Justin Brannan, joined by a coalition of advocates and non-profit organizations, called on the City Charter Revision Commission to make significant procurement reforms in the City Charter as a new report issued by the Comptroller’s Office, Still Running Late, found pervasive delays in the City’s contracting system. These delays are especially rampant among human services contracts – the main focus of the Comptroller’s report – with 89% of new and renewal contracts being submitted late for registration, which delays payments by the City. Yet, this problem does not only affect human services contracts – 80% of new and renewal contracts across all agencies and industries were submitted late in FY 2018.

Delayed contract registration causes serious problems because vendors can only receive payment once a contract is registered. The situation is particularly dire for non-profit human service organizations that serve some of the City’s most vulnerable populations – including seniors, the homeless, and children. Despite working with limited resources, these mission-driven organizations do not stop delivering meals to homebound seniors or providing shelter to homeless families when their contracts aren’t registered. Instead, cash-strapped non-profits often take out loans or put themselves at financial risk to continue offering services until contracts are registered and they can be paid.

“Non-profit organizations are the backbone of our city, supporting hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers that rely on them for food, shelter, and in some cases, survival. Yet many of the organizations these New Yorkers rely on are just one step away from financial disaster, and it’s a crisis of the City’s own making,” said Comptroller Stringer.  “We must pay these organizations on time for the services they deliver. That’s why we need to reform our city’s contracting system to make sure contracts are reviewed and registered within strict timeframes, and that the process is transparent. The City Charter Commission has a real opportunity to not only help non-profits, but the residents who rely on their services.”

“Our city’s human service providers are in crisis due to a badly broken procurement system. We cannot continue asking these vital non-profit organizations to do more and more with less and less when we rely on them to provide essential services to New Yorkers who need it most. These organizations need to be paid on time and paid fairly for the critical work they do. Comptroller Stringer’s report clearly demonstrates that major reforms are needed to right this wrong. I strongly support the reforms laid out in the report and urge the City Charter Commission to act immediately,” said Council Member Justin Brannan.

The City’s procurement process involves oversight from a number of agencies before a contract can be registered with the Comptroller’s office. While oversight is crucial, the length of time it takes for a contract to work its way through all stages of review – most of which do not have deadlines – is a primary source of contract delays. Making matters worse, there is no public-facing system for tracking contracts as they make their way through the various stages of review, leaving non-profits and other vendors in the dark about the status of their contracts.

Vital Services Threatened by Late Human Services Contracts

The Comptroller’s report examined human services contracts, and found the City administration submitted 89% of them for registration after the contract start dates had already passed, and that more than half of these contracts were late by more than six months. What’s more, the latest contracts – those that were submitted by the City for registration more than one year after the contract start date – were even later in FY18 than they were in FY17, by an average of 37 days.

The report analyzes 2,262 human service contracts submitted by the administration for registration after their start date in FY18. As the chart below illustrates, over 52% of these contracts were submitted for registration six months or more after the contract start date had already passed (32.4% were more than six months late and another 19.7% were over a year late). Meanwhile, of the almost 20% of human service contracts that were submitted over one year late, the average number of dates late was a whopping 541.

Timeframes Work but are Non-Existent for Most Oversight Agencies

While the Comptroller’s report found widespread problems in the agency contracting process, by comparison, the analysis found that once contracts are submitted to the Comptroller’s Office by City agencies, 96% were registered within 30 days, as required by the City Charter.

To help alleviate the burden placed on non-profits and other vendors that wait months for contracts to make it through the City’s review process, Comptroller Stringer is calling on the City Charter Revision Commission to advance reforms including:

Instituting strict timeframes for City agencies with an oversight role in the procurement process to complete their tasks.

The Comptroller’s Office is currently the only agency with a role in the City’s procurement process that performs its duties within a specified timeframe (30 days). All other oversight agencies perform their tasks without mandated timeframes, or with timeframes that can be easily waived, which leads to a drawn out process and a lack of accountability among agencies.

Creating a transparent contract tracking system that would allow vendors to view the status of their contracts.

Non-profits and other vendors that do business with the City of New York have very limited visibility into the contracting process. Most vendors typically wait many months or longer for a contract to be registered, but have no idea what is actually happening to their contract during that time. To increase transparency, the City should create a tracking system that allows vendors to follow their contracts throughout each stage of the procurement process, and track how much time each agency is taking to execute their tasks.

A Statement from Assembly Member and Public Advocate Candidate Michael Blake on the Metropolitan Detention Center

“The inhumane conditions that inmates at the Metropolitan Detention Center have suffered is unacceptable. New Yorkers in the criminal justice system are human beings and they have rights. There is no excuse for subjecting people to dangerous conditions. While conditions have improved since yesterday, heat and electricity must be provided for the entire center immediately or the inmates must be moved to safety. We demand an investigation into how this problem has been allowed to persist, and those responsible must be held accountable."