NYC EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ISSUES TRAVEL ADVISORY FOR TUESDAY FEBRUARY 12

Winter Weather Advisory in Effect for New York City on Tuesday

Snow, Sleet, and Rain may Cause Significant Travel Difficulties

The New York City Emergency Management Department today issued a travel advisory for Tuesday, February 12. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for New York City in effect from 6 a.m. Tuesday through midnight. A Winter Weather Advisory means that periods of snow, sleet or freezing rain may cause travel difficulties during Tuesday’s morning and evening commutes. According to the latest National Weather Service (NWS) forecast, light snow moves into the region early Tuesday morning and continues through the morning commute. Snow may become moderate to heavy at times. As temperatures increase Tuesday, the snowfall will transition to a wintry mix of sleet and rain in the afternoon, before changing over to rain during the evening commute. There is a possibility for brief freezing rain during the changeover from sleet to rain. Light to moderate rain is expected to continue through the overnight, and will begin to taper off after midnight.  A total of 2 to 4 inches of snow accumulation is forecast, with higher amounts possible in the northern parts of the city. A total of an inch to an inch and a half of rain and a glaze of ice are also possible. High winds are also possible on Tuesday and Wednesday, with gusts up to 40 mph.

New York City Emergency Management advises New Yorkers to use public transportation wherever possible on Tuesday. If you must drive, allow for extra travel time, expect slippery roads and limited visibility, and use extreme caution.

“We are expecting wintry mix of snow, sleet, and rain that will cause messy travel conditions on Tuesday. We advise New Yorkers to take mass transit where possible, exercise caution when driving, walking, or biking, and allow for extra travel time,” said NYC Emergency Management Commissioner Joseph Esposito. “NYC Emergency Management is working closely with agency partners to coordinate preparations for the upcoming storm.”

NYC Emergency Management continues to work closely with National Weather Service to monitor the storm, and will activate the City’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) beginning at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. Key agencies and partners will staff the EOC to coordinate any response to potential impacts associated with the forecast. The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) has loaded 695 salt spreaders across the five boroughs, and its fleet of 1,600 plows will begin operations if more than two inches of snow accumulates on roadways. DSNY will also activate PlowNYC. Alternate Side Street Parking Regulations and trash, recycling and organic collections are suspended on Tuesday, February 12 in observance of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. Parking meters remain in effect.

The City’s Department of Transportation (DOT) will pre-deploy crews to the East River bridges. DOT will pre-salt walkways at the ferry terminal, pedestrian overpasses, muni lots and step streets, and will continue to monitor these locations. DOT will monitor conditions on the citywide Transportation network at the Joint Transportation Management Center with State DOT and NYPD, and coordinate efforts to address any issues.

The Department of Buildings (DOB) has issued a weather advisory to remind property owners, contractors, and crane operators to take precautionary measures and secure their construction sites, buildings, and equipment during high winds, with the forecast calling for wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, February 12 through Wednesday, February 13. The department will perform random spot-check inspections of construction sites around the city. If sites are not secured, the department will take immediate enforcement action — issuing violations and Stop Work Orders, where necessary.

For more information about all agency preparations, visit NYC.gov/severeweather-agencyupdates.

Safety Tips

·Small accumulations of ice can be extremely dangerous to motorists and pedestrians. Bridges and overpasses are particularly dangerous because they freeze before other surfaces.

·If you drive, use extra caution. Vehicles take longer to stop on snow and ice than on dry pavement.

·Four-wheel drive vehicles may make it easier to drive on snow-covered roads, but they stop less quickly than other vehicles.

·Use major streets or highways for travel whenever possible.

·Know your vehicle’s braking system. Vehicles with anti-lock brakes require a different braking technique than vehicles without anti-lock brakes in snowy conditions.

·If you are driving and begin to skid, ease your foot off the gas and steer in the direction you want the front of the car to go. Straighten the wheel when the car moves in the desired direction. If you have an anti-lock braking system (ABS), apply steady pressure to the brake pedal. Never pump the brakes on an ABS equipped vehicle.

·Pedestrians should exercise caution and avoid slippery surfaces; some ice may not be visible. Wear sturdy boots that provide traction to reduce slipping. Use handrails when using stairs. Seniors should take extra care outdoors to avoid slips and falls.

Charter Commission Meeting - 2/20, City Hall Chambers

Wednesday February 20, 2019 starting at 6 PM.

Please see below for information about NYC Charter Commission 2019’s upcoming expert forum on elections. This is the first of six forums where experts and advocates will testify about the Commission’s focus areas. This forum will focus on election-related topics like ranked-choice voting, redistricting, and campaign finance. Wednesday February 20, 2019 starting at 6 PM.

FOCUS AREAS 

The Commission will study these proposals: 

ELECTIONS 

Instant Runoff Voting/Ranked Choice Voting

Proposals for the establishment of an instant runoff voting/ranked choice voting system (or a similar system) and related election process reforms (e.g. elimination of duplicative primary elections).  

Redistricting 

Proposals relating to how members of the Redistricting Commission are selected, who may serve on such commission, and how district maps are drawn and adopted.  

Campaign Finance 

Proposals relating to the structure of the Campaign Finance Board (e.g. how members to such board are appointed) and establishing an alternative public campaign financing system, such as a “democracy voucher” system. 

GOVERNANCE 

Appointment and Removal of Officials 

Proposals for establishing an “advice and consent” process for the appointment of certain government officials (e.g. Corporation Counsel, certain commissioners) and for removing such officials. 

Borough Presidents and Borough-Level Governance 

Proposals to expand and enhance the role of the Borough Presidents and/or borough-level governance. 

Corporation Counsel 

Evaluate the role and accountability of the Corporation Counsel. 

Corruption and Conflicts of Interest 

Proposals relating to the structure of the Conflicts of Interest Board (COIB) and lobbying by certain officials after their public service has ended. 

Police Accountability

Proposals relating to enhancing systems of police accountability. This will include exploring improvements to the structure, powers, and role of the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) and the manner in which police discipline is handled. 

Public Advocate 

Examine the role of the Public Advocate and consider proposals modifying, including eliminating, the powers and responsibilities of that office. 

Technical Changes to the Charter and Other Laws

Reconstituting the Board of Statutory Consolidation, whose purpose was to periodically review the Charter and other laws with an eye toward reorganizing and simplifying those laws. 

Chief Diversity Officer 

Proposal to create the position of Chief Diversity Officer in the Office of the Mayor and each city agency. 

FINANCE

City Budget - Proposals relating to 

• The structure of the budget, including making budget units of appropriation more detailed or program-based and aligning the capital budget with discrete projects 

• The authority of the Council to establish terms and conditions on appropriations 

• The timing of budget modifications concerning the financial plan 

• Impoundment powers 

• The timing and manner of making revenue estimates  

Comprehensive Planning (Capital Budget Component)

Proposals relating to the development of a comprehensive city planning framework for capital spending and land use. This would include consideration of proposals to restore the Department of City Planning’s role in the capital budget process.

Independent Budgets for Certain Offices

Proposals relating to providing an independent budget (e.g., a guaranteed minimum level of funding or ability to propose their own funding levels) for certain offices, such as the Public Advocate or the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB). 

Public Pension System Investments 

Proposals relating to how public pension system investment decisions are made and by whom. 

Streamlining Procurement Payments

Explore ways to streamline the procurement process in order to ensure timely payments to contractors and grantees (as well as timely access to capital funding), particularly for nonprofit service providers. This would include an examination of the composition of the Procurement Policy Board (PPB).  

Contract Registration

Examine the contract registration process, including proposals for a mechanism to resolve disputes between the Mayor and Comptroller with respect to approval/registration of a given contract.

Procurement Policy

Proposals for a mechanism to establish procurement/contracting (and reimbursement) policy objectives, including consideration of allowing or clarifying that such objectives can be established by local law. 

LAND USE 

Comprehensive Planning (Land Use Component) 

Proposals relating to the development of a comprehensive city planning framework for capital spending and land use. This would include consideration of proposals for changes to the composition of the City Planning Commission. 

NOTE: This would accompany the “Comprehensive Planning (Capital Budget Component)” topic included in the Finance bucket. 

Franchising

Proposals relating to the composition of the Franchise and Concession Review Committee , the manner in which the terms of franchises are established, the manner and frequency of determining what franchises are necessary, and a mechanism for requiring that needed franchises be implemented.

Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) 

Evaluation of ULURP, including consideration of proposals related to 

• Establishing a “pre-ULURP” mechanism to allow involvement by communities, Community Boards, Borough Presidents, and other relevant stakeholders earlier in ULURP 

• Allowing a Borough President to include an alternative application to be considered alongside an application originating with the City or City-affiliated entities 

• Exploring ways to ensure that necessary mitigation of development impacts occurs 

• Clarifying ULURP timelines 

• Examining the universe of projects covered by ULURP 

• The manner in which ULURP modifications by the City Council and post-ULURP modifications to existing approvals are administered  

Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) 

Examine the composition of the BSA and its review of applications. 

Landmarks Preservation Commission  

Proposals relating to the composition and qualifications of, and possibility of remuneration for, members of the Landmarks Preservation Commission. 

Chief of Department on the Police-involved Shooting in the 44 Precinct, Bronx

  Chief of Department Terence Monahan.

February 4, 2019.

At approximately 11 a.m. today, officers from the 44 Precinct were made aware of a stolen vehicle wanted in connection to a violent citywide robbery pattern that was located in the vicinity of 162 Street and Sheridan Avenue.

The pattern was being actively investigated by our Central Robbery Division, and involved a violent crime spree that went across three boroughs. It began yesterday morning at 6 a.m. in the 41 Precinct, with a carjacking. The suspects then drove to the 13 Precinct in Manhattan, where they committed a robbery.

The suspects then traveled to the 61 Precinct in Brooklyn, where they allegedly committed an additional two robberies and carjacked another vehicle, a black Hyundai Sonata. This car was being tracked by our Central Robbery Division using our Domain Awareness System. A license plate reader connected to this system triggered an alert for that vehicle here in the 44 Precinct just before 11 a.m.

This alert was brought to the attention of 44 Precinct personnel, who began to search for the vehicle in this immediate vicinity. Moments later, uniformed officers from the 44 Precinct observed the vehicle double parked in front of 909 Sheridan Avenue. They also observed three individuals approach the vehicle and get inside.

At this time, uniformed officers assigned to the 44 Precinct approached the vehicle. One of the uniformed officers approached the vehicle from the driver's side. The suspect's vehicle suddenly began to drive in reverse, pinning the officer between the suspect's vehicle and another parked vehicle.

The officer then discharged her service weapon in the direction of the vehicle, striking the driver. The vehicle came to a stop and all three occupants of the vehicle were taken into custody. The officer has been taken to an area hospital and is being treated for injuries to the hip area and legs.

One other officer sustained an injury to their left hand during the incident. The driver of the vehicle was taken to Lincoln Hospital with gunshot wounds to her chest and left side of her torso, where they are listed in critical but stable condition.

In addition to the robbery pattern I've already mentioned, it should be noted two of the suspects arrested today were also arrested for the involvement in an additional carjacking and robbery on January 22nd in the Bronx. This investigation is ongoing and we will keep you apprised of updates as they happen.

Member of Brooklyn Street Gang, Cypress Gansta Crips, Sentenced to 30 Years’ Imprisonment for Murder of a Bloods-Affiliated Rival

  Tyvon Bannister, also known as “Turtle,” a member of the Crips-affiliated Cypress Gangsta Crips (CGC) street gang, was sentenced by United States District Judge Brian M. Cogan to 30 years’ imprisonment following his conviction for the July 8, 2014 murder of Rayvon Henreques.  Bannister pleaded guilty in May 2018.

Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and James P. O’Neill, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the sentence.

“With today’s sentence, Bannister will spend decades in prison for callously ending the life of a 26-year-old man simply because he was associated with a rival gang,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue.  “This Office will continue working tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to make our community safe by eradicating these destructive street gangs and holding their violent members accountable.”

“The primary mission of the NYPD and our law enforcement partners is to arrest, prosecute, and send away with a meaningful prison sentence anyone who instills fear in New Yorkers through their criminal actions. With this sentence today, the result of our efforts are tangible. I thank our colleagues at the Eastern District and the FBI for their unceasing professionalism and dedicated work in removing from our streets those who commit crime and disorder, especially when it’s in the form of gang violence,” stated NYPD Commissioner O’Neill.

Bannister is a member of the CGC, which is comprised of individuals residing in and around the Cypress Hills Houses (“Cypress”), a large New York City Housing Authority complex in East New York, Brooklyn.  Cypress has been plagued by gang and drug-related violence arising largely from a long-standing feud between the CGC and a local Bloods-affiliated gang.  On July 8, 2014, Bannister and another gang member shot and killed Henriques in front of a nightclub in East New York.  Henriques was targeted because of his association with the Bloods-affiliated gang.     

The Defendant:

TYVON BANNISTER (also known as “Turtle”)

Age:  25

Brooklyn, New York

Attorney General James Continues Efforts To Defend Temporary Protected Status Holders

Files Amicus Brief in Support of TPS Recipients in U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit 

  New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced joining a coalition of 22 Attorneys General in filing an amicus brief in Ramos v. Nielsen to prevent the potential deportation of hundreds of thousands of people who hold Temporary Protected Status (TPS). This brief asks the Ninth Circuit to uphold the preliminary nationwide injunction that plaintiffs obtained in the district court, blocking the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from terminating TPS designations for Haiti, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Sudan. 

“Immigrant New Yorkers are critical to the economic and cultural strength of our state,” said Attorney General Letitia James. “The Trump Administration continues to take away the vital protections for these communities, and as a result, is putting their safety and wellbeing at risk. My office will continue to use every resource at our disposal to protect New York’s vast immigrant communities.” 

TPS protects individuals who are in the United States and whose home countries face armed conflict, natural disasters, or other crises that make the return of TPS holders to their home countries unsafe. Many TPS holders have lived here for a decade or more and have started families and businesses, bought homes, and significantly contributed to their communities. 

Under the Trump Administration, DHS changed its long-standing practice of looking at the entirety of the conditions in a country when determining whether it is safe for TPS holders to return. Without any substantial explanation, DHS argued that it can only look at the original condition in the home country that prompted its TPS designation when deciding whether to extend that designation. This new policy ignores other intervening conditions that pose serious threats to the safety of TPS holders. The plaintiffs in this case alleged that DHS enacted its new rule without following legal requirements; the district court agreed and stopped DHS from implementing the new policy pending the final outcome of the case. 

The amicus brief notes that DHS’s new rule is contrary to the public interest and will harm the people of New York and other states in a number of ways, including its impact on: 

• Family members, including hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizen children, who will suffer trauma and hardship from unnecessary and forced separation; 
• The economy and the workforce, which are enriched by the employment, entrepreneurship and contributions of TPS holders; 
• Public revenues, which are enhanced by the taxes contributed by TPS holders, including an estimated $100 million in property taxes collected annually from Salvadoran homeowners with TPS alone; 
• Health and child care delivery, which will suffer from disruptions in care provided by TPS holders who work at child care facilities, nursing homes, and hospitals, as well as provide in-home care; 

• Public health, which will be hindered by the loss of employer-sponsored insurance for TPS holders and their families; and 
• Public safety, which will be damaged by making former TPS holders less likely to report crime. 

In the brief, the states also argue that the district court’s decision to enter the preliminary injunction on a nationwide basis was correct, based on the substantial evidence the court had before it regarding the national impact of the federal government’s decisions to rescind TPS designations. 

Attorney General James joined the filing of this brief along with Attorneys General from California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai’i, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia. 

A copy of the amicus brief is available here. 

Comptroller Stringer Statement on Mayor de Blasio’s FY20 Preliminary Budget

“New Yorkers depend on the City to enact a balanced, progressive budget that supports the critical social services our most vulnerable citizens depend on – from childcare to education, from senior centers to affordable housing.

“To ensure we can always provide a strong social safety net means also preparing the City for potentially tougher times ahead. That’s why we cannot continue to spend $3 billion a year on homelessness – without reducing the homeless population. That’s why we cannot continue to spend more money at Rikers Island for fewer detainees – but see violent incidents rise ever higher.

“While New York’s economy remains strong for now, there are many warning signs – from the State’s $2.3 billion budget gap, to the recent volatility in the markets, rising jobless claims and a looming trade war. I’m happy to see that the Mayor plans to implement what I’ve been calling for now for several years, which is a real agency PEG program. It’s past time for City agencies to seriously evaluate how effective their spending really is in achieving results for New Yorkers. I look forward to working with the Mayor and the City Council to ensure we have a budget that works for all New Yorkers throughout the five boroughs. My office is currently reviewing the preliminary budget and will release a comprehensive analysis in the coming weeks.”

Stringer Investigation: New Documents Show MTA Ignored Warnings and Misled Public for Years with Subway Delay Data

As far back as 2015, agency insiders criticized delay data as “suspect,” “incomplete or unreliable,” but agency chiefs still trumpeted misleading stats

MTA’s new “Major Incidents” metric similarly misleads by failing to account for incidents caused by planned work on subway tracks or signals

Stringer blasts MTA’s “Culture of Concealment,” urges more transparency in current data reporting

  Relying on internal MTA documents never released publicly, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer today released a damning investigation that reveals how the MTA has misrepresented its performance and delay data for years and shifted the focus from the subways’ real operational problems. Shockingly, these practices endured despite repeated warnings from agency insiders that much of the delay data released to the public was all but meaningless. The investigation, based on internal documents primarily prepared by the MTA’s Performance Analysis Unit, as well as interviews with key MTA officials, makes clear that a history of distorted metrics has prevented transparency into what is going on underground in our subways. More specifically, the investigation found that the MTA failed to provide clear guidance on how to identify the causes of millions of delays, relied on distorted metrics to report system progress, and hid delay data where causes were unknown.

“It is an insult to anyone who has ever been late to work or stranded at the station that MTA leadership passed along bogus delay data just to make the agency look good, even as its own staff were raising red flags,” said Comptroller Stringer. “While the new leadership deserves credit for trying to clean things up, the MTA still has a long way to go to ensure accuracy and reliability and to regain the public’s trust. For too long the MTA has failed to transparently report what is actually going on underground, a problem which can only mean more delays and more frustration for the working New Yorkers who rely on the subway every day.”

The Comptroller’s investigation found:

Incomplete and Unreliable Delay Data

From mid-2015 forward, numerous in-house MTA analyses concluded that the Authority’s internal systems could not accurately identify the causes of delays and, in particular, chronically misattributed delays to “Overcrowding.” A July 2015 internal MTA memo described the methodological breakdowns in stark terms: “No policy or guidance exists on how dispatchers should properly identify the cause of a particular delay or on how delays should be assigned to incidents… Dispatchers rely on train crews to report the cause of delays, and these explanations are suspect.”

Meanwhile, in January 2016, another memo noted that “much of the delay data is incomplete or unreliable, particularly the classification/categorization of delays and the assignment of delays to particular incidents.” Despite multiple warnings, MTA officials continued for years to publicly promote misleading information around delays, resulting in the agency being portrayed in a more positive light.

Meaningless and Disappearing “Wait Assessment” Results

Throughout 2016, MTA officials repeatedly asserted that subway service was improving based on apparent increases in “Wait Assessment” scores, a metric intended to measure the reliability and consistency of train service and touted by the MTA as its most important indicator of customer service quality.

However, internal analyses obtained by the Comptroller’s Office showed MTA analysts warning that alleged improvements in “Wait Assessment” were statistically insignificant and likely the result of “sample error.” After technological advancements in data collection finally made clear that “Wait Assessment” scores had actually gotten worse, not better, the MTA quietly stopped touting the metric without ever acknowledging that the prior reporting had been incorrect.

Hidden “Unknown” Delay Causes

For nearly a decade, the MTA further distorted its disclosures by effectively hiding delays it had chalked up internally to “Unknown” causes. Instead of publicly listing these delays simply as “Unknown” in a separate category, MTA officials folded them into other publicly identified delay causes – burying the “Unknowns” without any explanation.

In this way, in Monthly Operations Reports provided to the public and the MTA Board from 2013 through mid-2018, the MTA hid 525,710 delays internally grouped under “Unknown.”

Flaws in New Metrics

Similar to the MTA’s misattribution of “Unknown” delays, the MTA’s current reporting of “Major Incidents” – defined as any event that delays 50 or more trains – conceals critical information. Specifically, “Major Incidents” exclude a large category of service disruptions tracked internally by the MTA – “Planned Work,” which includes track and signal maintenance that regularly bogs down whole subway lines. To date, the MTA has yet to acknowledge publicly that its “Major Incidents” metric excludes such work and, as such, fails to capture what is actually going on underground.

Under New York City Transit President Andy Byford, the MTA has recently acknowledged some of these issues, introduced reforms, and begun to reduce delays. Yet the report reveals systemic deficiencies, some of which remain embedded in the MTA’s performance reporting and continue to obscure the true causes of delays.

Comptroller Stringer is calling on the MTA to:

• Structure public reporting of delay data to maximize transparency, reliability and accountability.
• Publicly define all delay categories, specifically indicating what each one includes and, as necessary, omits.
• Ensure that all protocols relevant to performance reporting are formally codified in official policies and procedures, including establishing written definitions and instructions for all key terms, data categories, and work protocols.
• Adequately train all relevant personnel on protocols relevant to performance reporting.
• In the context of public reports of “Major Incidents,” provide the public with information about all categories of service disruptions tracked as incidents within its Subway Incident Reporting System (SIRS) that cause 50 or more delays, including specifically “Planned Work.”
• Transparently disclose in each Monthly Operations Report and on the MTA’s subway performance dashboard, the methodologies used to calculate performance metrics, including all exceptions and revisions to those methodologies, and including methodological weaknesses.
• Make available on the MTA’s website or through an Open Data portal each month all data in the SIRS database and any other databases relied on for public reporting.

To read the full findings of Comptroller Stringer’s investigation, click here.

Assemblyman Dinowitz Endorses Michael Blake for Public Advocate

"No one will do a better job representing us as Public Advocate than Assemblyman Michael Blake. His work in the Assembly on issues that our community cares about from schools to the M.T.A. show me that he will make a difference. Michael already does a lot of the work that a Public Advocate should do, and, we need to bring out a strong vote for him in the northwest Bronx in the special election on February 26th,"-Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz.

Standing on the right side of the issues.

Assemblyman Michael Blake is the only one of the 17 candidates for Public Advocate who lives in the Bronx. He has consistently fought for the same progressive issues that I have fought for and believe in. He has striven for fair housing laws, including the fight to properly secure funding for NYCHA in the state budget. He believes in fair and equitable public transportation for everyone including parents and those with disabilities who struggle with accessibility. Find out more about his stances on important policy issues regarding voting rights, criminal justice reform, as well as how he will serve as Public Advocate here atBlakeforNYC.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

It is very interesting that while Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz is endorsing Michael Blake in the upcoming Special Election for Public Advocate on February 26th, While Councilman Andrew Cohen is supporting former City Council Speaker Mellisa Mark-Viverito.