FOUR PEOPLE INDICTED IN 3-BOROUGH CARJACKING SPREE; ONE DEFENDANT ALSO INDICTED FOR PINNING NYPD OFFICER BETWEEN TWO CARS OUTSIDE BRONX COURTHOUSE

Officer Shot And Wounded 17-Year-Old Driver

  Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that four people—including two 17-year-old girls—have been indicted on charges related to carjackings in three boroughs that left victims injured; one of the four was also indicted for assaulting an NYPD Police Officer using a stolen vehicle, which led to the officer shooting that defendant in a chaotic scene on a busy street. 

 District Attorney Clark said, “The defendants allegedly went on a robbery and carjacking spree in Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx. In two of the six incidents, the defendants allegedly assaulted the car owners. In another, they allegedly tried to run over the victim. They drove a stolen car to a Bronx courthouse, where one defendant allegedly pinned an NYPD Police Officer with the vehicle when the officer approached. Such violent, reckless behavior will not be tolerated in the Bronx or anywhere in this city.” 

 District Attorney Clark said two of the defendants, Rusheka Willis, 17, and Veantay Henry, 17, both of the Bronx, were arraigned today on an indictment charging 64 counts, including Attempted Murder, Robbery, Criminal Possession of Stolen Property, Grand Larceny, Stolen Vehicles, Assault, Criminal Negligence, Reckless Endangerment, Reckless Driving, and Conspiracy, before Bronx Supreme Court Justice George Villegas. The two other defendants, Emanuel Thomas, 22, and Mariama Kande, 18, were arraigned on March 12, 2019. Bail was set at $10,000 for Henry, $10,000 for Willis, $25,000 for Thomas and $50,000 for Kande. The defendants are due back in court on June 12, 2019.

 According to the investigation, on or about January 20, 2019, in the Bronx, Henry allegedly stole a 2013 Toyota Corolla, luring the victim out of her car by claiming that one of the tires was flat, then jumping into the driver’s seat. As the victim fled, Henry allegedly attempted to run her over, driving the stolen car onto the sidewalk. 

 On February 1, 2019, Henry allegedly stole a 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe from a man in the Bronx.

 On February 3, 2019, Willis, Henry, Thomas and Kande abandoned the stolen Santa Fe they were traveling in. They then carjacked a 2006 Honda Accord from a man in the Bronx, physically assaulting the victim and threatening him with a knife. The defendants also stole the victim’s cell phone and credit card.

 The defendants then drove the Accord to Manhattan, where the defendants physically assaulted a woman on a sidewalk, and stole an iPhone from her.

 They then went to Brooklyn, where they robbed one woman of her handbag, then crashed the Accord. On foot, they stole a handbag from a parked car, and then carjacked a woman, taking her 2011 Hyundai Sonata and driving it back to the Bronx.

 According to the investigation, on the morning of February 4, 2019 at the intersection of East 162nd Street and Sheridan Avenue, Henry double-parked the stolen Sonata in front of Family Court. Henry and Willis went inside Family Court, and then left the courthouse after approximately 30 minutes.

 While the defendants were inside the courthouse, Anti-Crime Officers on routine patrol received an alert from their License Plate Readers that the Sonata outside Family Court had been reported stolen in Brooklyn. The Officers then asked for a uniform patrol so they could box the vehicle in and check the car. Police Officers of the 44th Precinct responded and waited until the defendants entered the vehicle. The Officers could not box in the car because a cab was in the way, so Police Officer Vanessa Rodriguez approached the vehicle on foot. Henry, who was in the driver’s seat, put the car in reverse and pinned Rodriguez between the stolen vehicle and a parked Toyota Camry. Rodriguez fired three shots into the stolen car, striking Henry. The Officer was taken to the hospital for treatment.

 District Attorney Clark also thanked NYPD Detective Franco Johnson of the Bronx Robbery Squad for his work in the investigation. District Attorney Clark thanked Detectives of the 44th, 47th, and 41st Precincts in the Bronx, of the 61st precinct in Brooklyn, and of the 13th Precinct in Manhattan, as well as Detective Devin Long of the Force Investigations Division, and Detective Matthew Steiner of the Crime Scene Unit. 

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

Defendants: 

Veantay Henry, 17, 822 East 230th St., Bronx 

Rusheka Willis, 17, 1141 East 229th St., Bronx 

Emanuel Thomas, 22, 1717 Garfield St., Bronx 

Mariama Kande, 18, 699 East 139th St., Bronx

Charges: 

Attempted Murder In The Second Degree

Attempted Assault In The First Degree 

Robbery In The Second Degree 

Robbery In The Third Degree

Criminal Possession Of Stolen Property In The Third Degree 

Grand Larceny In The Third Degree

Criminal Possession Of Stolen Property In The Fourth Degree 

Grand Larceny In The Fourth Degree

Stolen Vehicles 

Reckless Endangerment In The Second Degree

Robbery In The First Degree 

Robbery In The Second Degree

Assault In The Second Degree

Assault In The Third Degree 

Assault In The Third Degree 

Reckless Driving 

Conspiracy In The Fourth Degree 

Conspiracy In The Fifth Degree

STATEMENT FROM ASSEMBLYMAN MARCOS A. CRESPO RE: CONDITIONS AT BRONX RIVER HOUSES

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

It seems as if every other day we are faced to deal with yet another catastrophe within the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA).  

NYCHA residents not only have to deal with blistering cold temperatures inside their homes due to lack or no heat, but also are forced to deal with poor to no maintenance, and deal with having to walk through complex grounds that seem to have been forgotten.

 

Most recently, we have learned that Bronx River Houses is currently experiencing an emergency as most if not all apartments tested for lead came back positive. While other developments are set to have their lead issues addressed, Bronx River will have to wait four times as long as other complexes.

It is shameful and unconscionable that families including children and seniors have to accept the kind of living conditions they do at Bronx River and all across the city. While elected officials fight and continue imploring for more NYCHA money, we are constantly slapped in the face with realities that are very difficult to tolerate.

 

Bronx River must be treated with the same sense of urgency as any other resident in the city. We need answers and we need solutions. I will remain vocal about this and every issue until my constituency is treated how they deserve to be treated.  

 

DISTRICT OFFICE: 1163 Manor Avenue, Bronx, New York 10472 • 718-893-0202, FAX: 718-842-8731

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. - Women's History Month

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

Invites you to Celebrate

Thursday, March 21, 2019

Fordham University Keating 1st located in Keating Hall 2691 Southern Boulevard Doors open at 5:30 PM Program to begin at 6:30 PM PLEASE NOTE THERE WILL BE NO ADMITTANCE UNTIL 5:30 PM "Visionary Women" A panel discussion on the past, present and future of women in society. Moderator Sunny Hostin ABC News Senior Legal Correspondent & Co-Host of The View Panelists Alessandra Biaggi New York State Senator Nathalia Fernandez New York State Assembly Member Karines Reyes New York State Assembly Member Refreshments will be provided. Click Here for Directions

CLICK HERE TO CONFIRM YOUR ATTENDANCEOR CALL 718-590-3522

State Senator Gustavo Rivera To Host a Women History Month Celebration on Saturday, March 23 at the Claremont Neighborhood Centers!

Is Jeffrey Dinowitz in For The Primary of His Life?

From the New York Post Thursday March 14, 2019.

A group that helped Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeat veteran Rep. Joe Crowley is threatening to back other insurgents against Democrats in the Assembly next year, The Post has learned.

The New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America is part of a coalition going after the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee for accepting more than $400,000 from real estate interests since 2015.

The coalition is threatening to back primary opponents against the co-chairs of the DACC — Joe Lentol and Peter Abbate of Brooklyn and Jeff Dinowitz of the Bronx — if they don’t adopt a more pro-tenant, pro-labor agenda, sources said.

The opening salvo came in a letter the coalition is sending Thursday to three Assembly members as debate heats up over renewing New York’s rent stabilization law, which expires in June.

“We need to know that our elected officials are independent and will listen to and take the side of their constituents in Albany — especially with the rent laws set to expire again this June,” the letter says.

“If the Democratic Assembly is with us, DACC must return the $414,115.18 of dirty money raised and declare that you will no longer accept contributions from the compromised industry. Too often we have been burned because our elected officials have been too close with monied interests.”

The coalition specifically takes issue with a bill authored by Lentol that would allow tenants to list one apartment — but no more — on such home-sharing sites as Airbnb.

That would “convert rent stabilized housing into commercial properties,” the coalition contends.

“Last year six faux Democrats who sided with big real estate and kept Senate Republicans in power lost their seats, but it doesn’t seem like Joe Lentol got the message,” said Gus Christensen of No IDC, another group that’s part of the coalition.

IDC refers to the Independent Democratic Conference, a group of Democrats who caucused with Republicans for about a decade in the state Senate. Most of those Democrats were ousted from office last year.

“We have two words for him — watch out. If Lentol continues to side with wealthy landlords at the expense of expanding tenant protections for struggling families, we will aggressively support a challenger to make him unlucky number seven,” said Christensen.

Coalition members plan to hold a protest rally outside Lentol’s Brooklyn district office Friday, a source said.

Other members of the coalition who co-signed the letter include include New York Communities for Change, Tenants PAC, Churches United for Fair Housing, Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing, Ridgewood Tenants Union, Riverside Edgecombe Neighborhood Association, Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village Tenants Association, West Side Neighborhood Alliance, and Tenants and Neighbors and Mount Vernon Tenants United.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

In February we asked Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz how he was getting along with the new elected officials in the Bronx. His answer was that everything was fine, but we said that it looked like a storm was brewing. 

We also warned City Council members Mark Gjonaj and Ruben Diaz Sr. at the beginning of January that they were going to be challenged by this group, and a similar article came out in City & State at the end of January stating exactly what we had said.

MAYOR DE BLASIO ANNOUNCES RESILIENCY PLAN TO PROTECT LOWER MANHATTAN FROM CLIMATE CHANGE

Comprehensive resiliency plan advances $500 million in capital projects and interim measures that will protect up to 70% of Lower Manhattan; for remaining 30%, recommends extending the shoreline into East River to protect Seaport & FiDi

  Mayor de Blasio today released findings of a study that determined the City’s comprehensive strategy for the Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency (LMCR) project. The study evaluated dozens of adaptation measures and identified a set of strategies to build resilience in Lower Manhattan. The recommendations include developing a plan to extend the Manhattan shoreline into the East River to protect the low-lying and highly constrained Seaport and Financial District area. In addition, the city will advance $500 million for four capital projects to reinforce Lower Manhattan’s coastal areas and provide interim flood protections for the Seaport, parts of the Financial District and Two Bridges neighborhoods, to begin construction between 2019 and 2021.

The Lower Manhattan Climate Resilience Study findings are available here.

“Hurricane Sandy showed us how vulnerable areas like Lower Manhattan are to climate change,” said Mayor de Blasio. “That’s why we not only have to reduce emissions to prevent the most cataclysmic potential effects of global warming, we have to prepare for the ones that are already inevitable. Our actions will protect Lower Manhattan into the next century. We need the federal government to stand behind cities like New York to meet this crisis head on.”

Since Hurricane Sandy, the City has worked to assess the impacts and risks of climate change and analyze coastal protection options along the 3.3 miles of shoreline comprising Lower Manhattan. The Resilience Study projects that by the 2050s, 37 percent of properties in Lower Manhattan will be at risk from storm surge. By 2100, with over 6 feet of projected sea level rise, almost 50 percent of properties will be at risk from surge, and 20 percent of Lower Manhattan streets will be exposed to daily tidal inundation. Groundwater table rise is projected to put 7 percent of buildings at risk of destabilization and expose 39 percent of streets with underground utilities to corrosion and water infiltration.

Seaport & Financial District – Extending the shoreline into the East River

The Study examined a range of options for protecting all of Lower Manhattan, including the Seaport and the Financial District. These areas present unique challenges, including low-lying topography, a lack of available space, dense infrastructure above and below ground, and an active waterfront. The proximity of the FDR, Battery Tunnel and A/C subway tunnels further constrain the sites. Taken together, these elements mean that more traditional on-land flood protection measures are not feasible. Ultimately, the Study found that extending the shoreline into the East River is the only feasible way to protect these vulnerable and vital parts of the city.

The shoreline may be extended by a maximum of 500 feet, or two full city blocks. This will create a new piece of land with high points at or above 20 feet from current sea-level. The new shoreline will act as a flood barrier during storms and protect the neighborhoods against projected sea-level rise. The exact extent of the new shoreline, along with the design and construction of this innovative flood protection system, will be determined through an extensive public engagement process.

Over the next two years, ORR and NYCEDC will complete a Financial District and Seaport Climate Resilience Master Plan, which will include a comprehensive design for the shoreline extension and establish a new public-benefit corporation to finance, construct, and manage it. To begin this process, the City will immediately procure a team of engineers and designers through a Request for Qualification RFQ later this month. The Master Planning Process will be complete in 2021 and will identify a first phase project.

Protecting Against Future Risks

In response to these risks, the City is advancing approximately $500 million worth of investments in climate resilience as part of an overall strategy that includes both capital projects and additional planning for increasing the resilience of Lower Manhattan.

The City is making targeted, ambitious investments that will deliver significant climate adaptation measures for key neighborhoods of Lower Manhattan:

In the South Street Seaport area, parts of the Financial District and Two Bridges neighborhoods, Emergency Management (EM) will spend $3.5 million to deploy a combination of just-in-time Tiger Dams and pre-deployed HESCO barriers by the 2019 hurricane season as temporary measures in advance of a permanent solution.

In Battery Park City, the Battery Park City Authority (BPCA), with $134 million in bonds, will reconstruct its esplanade and open space to adapt to new climate conditions. BPCA kicked off design in 2018 and will start construction in 2020.

In The Battery, NYCEDC, in partnership with NYC Parks, BPCA and the Battery Conservancy, will invest $165 million to elevate the wharf and esplanade and integrate a protective barrier such as a berm at the back of the park. This design will preserve the look and feel of the existing park while strengthening the shoreline. Construction will begin in 2021.

In the Two Bridges neighborhood, NYCEDC is designing an integrated flood protection system comprised of permanent barriers and deployable or ‘flip up’ protections that will protect view corridors and public access. DDC will manage construction of the $200 million investment, which will begin in 2021.

Community Engagement

Beginning in the Spring, the City will establish a robust community engagement process to discuss the study, its strategies, dedicated investments, and further planning. Dedicated community outreach programs will take place for each of the advancing capital projects as well as for the Financial District and Seaport Climate Resilience Master Plan. Community engagement for the Master Planning Process will inform the extent of the shoreline extension and topside programming and identify a first phase project.

Updated Climate Resiliency Design Guidelines

As part of ongoing citywide efforts to increase the resiliency of City buildings and infrastructure to the impacts of climate change, the City also released the third version of its Climate Resiliency Design Guidelines. Since New York City facilities built today will remain in use for many decades to come, it’s critically important that they be designed to withstand the long-term impacts of climate change based on the best available science.

These publicly available guidelines, which are recommended for use in municipal capital projects, equip engineers, architects, and planners with the tools and information they need to integrate future climate data into their designs. These guidelines were developed using local climate change projections that have been collected and refined over 10 years by the New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC).  Using the Guidelines helps protect the built environment and the services New Yorkers rely upon, while avoiding future damages and higher operational costs.

Comptroller Stringer Agency Watch List: Department of Correction

DOC on the Comptroller’s Watch List for the second consecutive year

Comptroller Stringer calls for more data transparency on staffing needs, mental health services, and programs for detainees

  Ahead of the New York City Council Committee on Criminal Justice hearing on the Preliminary FY 2020 Budget, Comptroller Stringer today released an “Agency Watch List” report on the Department of Correction (DOC) – an agency which appears on the watch list for the second year in a row due to concerns about increased spending and meager measureable results. The trends spotlighted in the 2019 Watch List report show that even as the jail population has fallen by 20 percent in the last four years (FY 2015 to FY 2019), total agency spending is projected to rise 19 percent over the same period – while the agency’s performance remains troubling.

First announced in 2018, the Agency Watch List calls attention to city agencies that raise the most budgetary concerns. This year’s watch list will review trends at the Department of Correction (DOC), Department of Buildings (DOB), and multi-agency spending on homelessness – and recommend indicators that should be reported and monitored to evaluate the effectiveness of agency spending in achieving the Administration’s stated goals.

“Last year, when we introduced the Agency Watch List, we spotlighted agencies that were moving in the wrong direction – spending was soaring but results were failing to improve. But lagging results at the Department of Correction means lives are being put at risk – and that’s why we’re placing them on the Watch List for the second year,” said Comptroller Stringer. “Safety in our jails must be one of our highest criminal justice priorities because this is about more than officers and inmates – it’s about parents, siblings, friends and our communities. To reform our criminal justice system, and ensure that New Yorkers see real change, we need our programs to make a difference. That’s why we need to keep the pressure on at DOC for stronger results.”

This year’s watch list report on DOC shows:

• For three consecutive years, the DOC has employed more correction officers than the average daily jail population;
• In the first four months of FY 2019, the share of the jail population with a serious mental health diagnosis rose sharply to 17.0 percent, from 14.3 percent in FY 2018; and
• Across a range of indicators, rates of violence, including detainee-on-detainee incidents and assaults on staff, rose in the first four months of FY 2019.

To better track the performance of city jails, the report calls for improved transparency on staffing needs, the provision of mental health services, and detainee programming, including reporting on:

• The average number of fixed posts requiring coverage;
• The hours of required training per correction officer;
• The share of detainees with a mental health diagnosis who receives services;
• The percent of the jail population eligible for discharge planning who receives a plan;
• Detainees earning a GED;
• Post-release job placements and retention; and
• Readmissions and recidivism.

Comptroller Stringer Proposes New Vision for BQE Reconstruction

New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer released an alternative approach developed by his office for the rehabilitation of the triple-cantilevered section of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE). Officials have said that if action is not taken to repair the crumbling highway, trucks will have to be re-routed by 2026 and a full closure will be necessary by 2036. To date, the City has outlined two possible options to repair the highway, both preserving the mid-century, Robert Moses status-quo of dividing, dissecting, and destroying neighborhoods with noisy and polluting highways.

Comptroller Stringer’s proposal, which he has formally submitted to the Department of Transportation (DOT) for consideration, would help foster a healthier, more sustainable, more vibrant city and enhance public transportation while balancing essential freight traffic needs. It would convert the triple cantilever and the Cobble Hill trench into a scaled down, truck-only thruway and redesign the remaining roadway into a new, two-mile linear park with space for ball-fields, dog runs, bike paths, playgrounds, and other amenities to be developed in concert with the community. The reimagined public space would run from the newly pedestrianized middle level of the cantilever to a deck over the Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens trench to an upgraded pedestrian bridge and new park in Red Hook. It would directly connect each of these communities to Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Promenade, DUMBO, and Brooklyn Heights — reintegrating neighborhoods that have long been divided by the BQE.

“Repairing the BQE is an opportunity to reimagine a vital section of our city,” said Comptroller Stringer. “But to really do that, we need to broaden our vision and consider all the options. We cannot simply preserve the Robert Moses status-quo that nearly destroyed our communities and bankrupted our city. That’s why my office is proposing a balanced way forward that will allow the City to fix the dilapidated highway, limit disruptions to the community, save valuable dollars, and start to build a better, greener, and more vibrant future for our city.”

“This is a chance to invest in more sustainable and healthier neighborhoods across the boroughs. The plan we’re putting forward has been made in consultation with elected officials and community stakeholders, and balances traffic, environmental, and residential considerations. It doesn’t just mitigate local traffic concerns in the near-term, but will incentivize more sustainable transit for decades to come. We need to engage in a transformative, community-focused process, and I hope the Department of Transportation will evaluate the merits of this plan.”

In a letter sent to New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg, Comptroller Stringer detailed the urgent need for a different approach to reconstruction and formally requested that the agency consider his proposed option for a new, two-mile linear park and undertake a detailed traffic analysis of the proposal. Many cities around the globe, from San Francisco to Paris to Seoul, have removed aging, smog-producing highways in recent years and replaced them with linear, pedestrian-friendly promenades that include both park amenities and enhanced public transit options such as express buses and bike paths, as Stringer’s plan recommends.

To read the Comptroller’s letter to DOT and presentation outlining the proposal, click here

EDITOR'S NOTE:

We would like to see Comptroller Stringer's idea on how to fix the Cross Bronx Expressway, and other roads in the Bronx.