BRONX MAN SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR TAKING NYPD OFFICER’S GUN AND FATALLY SHOOTING DELI WORKER

Defendant Pleaded Guilty to First-Degree Murder 

  Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx man has been sentenced to 20 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree Murder for fatally shooting a deli worker with a police officer’s gun. 

 District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant, Effrain Guzman, killed an innocent deli worker who ran over to help fellow bodega workers while they were being assaulted by Guzman. The defendant grabbed the gun of a police officer who responded to the incident and fired approximately 15 rounds, and one shot struck the victim, a hard-working father who showed bravery during the last moments of his life.” 

 District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Effrain Guzman, 33, of 20 Richman Plaza, was sentenced today to 20 years to life in prison by Bronx Supreme Court Justice James McCarty. The defendant pleaded guilty to first-degree Murder on January 2, 2019 before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Barry E. Warhit.

 According to the investigation, on the night of August 9, 2016, Guzman entered N&A Foods and begged for money. Wally Camara, 49, a worker there, threw him out. The defendant then walked across the street to A&M Deli, at East 198th Street and Valentine Avenue, where he demanded money and attempted to get behind the counter. Guzman assaulted the workers there and Camara ran over to the bodega to help them. NYPD Police Officers Jorge Monge and Sean Kern responded to the call and attempted to break up the fight. Guzman took the gun out of Monge’s holster and began firing, striking Camara in the leg. Kern returned fire and struck Guzman. As the defendant lay on the floor, he continued firing at the cops and store workers until the gun ran out of rounds.

 The victim died from a gunshot wound to his right thigh that severed the femoral artery 

 District Attorney Clark thanked the NYPD Field Investigation Division, specifically Detective Michael Carreras and Lieutenant John Natoli.

Wave Hill events May 2‒May 9: Spring Insect Day!

Thu, May 2

Garden Highlights Walk

Join a Wave Hill Garden Guide for a public tour of seasonal garden highlights. Free with admission to the grounds.

Meet at Perkins Visitor Center, 1PM

Fri, May 3

Garden Highlights Walk

Join a Wave Hill Garden Guide for a public tour of seasonal garden highlights. Free with admission to the grounds.

Meet at Perkins Visitor Center, 1PM

Sat, May 4

Spring Insect Day

Make cocoon-inspired art, learn amazing facts about insects and find out why insects are so important to our local ecosystems both big and small.

Sat, May 4

Family Art Project: Silky Caterpillar Sustenance

Celebrate the brilliance of caterpillars! Moth caterpillars have the ability to create cocoons from the very silk within them. When they need to find new leaves to eat or to escape danger, moth caterpillars release a silk line from within. Come explore your own silky strength by making your own cocoon, wrapping within it a message or picture of something you would like to transform. Free, and admission to the grounds is free until noon. Spring Insect Day event.

Wave Hill House, 10AM–1PM

Sat, May 4

Insect Command Post

Get up-close and personal with insects and other critters that creep, crawl and cruise around the Hudson River Valley in springtime. Check out live and preserved insects, cocoons and chrysalides with entomologists and creature wranglersLawrence Forcella and Lindsay Velazco. Spring Insect Day event.

On the grounds, 10AM–2PM

Sat, May 4

Spring Insect Expedition

Explore Wave Hill with entomologist Lawrence Forcella of God of Insects to hunt for native creatures in their garden habitats. Appropriate for ages eight and up with an adult. Spring Insect Day event.

Meet at Perkins Visitor Center, 11AM & 1PM

Sat, May 4

In The Shop: In-store Artisan Cynthia Shevelew—Cynfull Pottery

Artisan Cynthia Shevelew of Cynfull Pottery will be in-store with an exquisite collection of ceramics perfect for Mother’s Day gifting—featuring spring birds, wisteria and berries in the delicate detailing of her designs.

Perkins Visitor Center, 10AM–4PM

Sat, May 4

In The Shop: Spend $75, Receive a Gift for Mom!

Spend $75, and receive a gift for Mom!

Perkins Visitor Center, 10AM–4:30PM

Sat, May 4

Gallery Tour

Tour Glyndor Gallery with Wave Hill’s Curatorial Fellow or Gallery Greeter to get an insider’s view of current exhibitions.Here We Land features three, former Winter Workspace artists Camille Hoffman, Maria Hupfield and Sara Jimenezwho return explore narratives about contested space that draw on personal and cultural touch points in their immersive installations. Rachel Sydlowski fills the Sunroom Project Space walls with complex, screen-print collages of flora and fauna, architectural details and decorative motifs from Wave Hill, Inwood Hill Park and other surrounding green spaces. Free with admission to the grounds.

Glyndor Gallery, 2PM

Sun, May 5

Wellness: Community Yoga—Bloom into Spring

Join certified yoga instructor Susie Caramanica from Yoga Haven for a gentle yoga class on the lawn for the launch of our 2019 spring yoga season! All levels welcome. Please bring a mat and be on time. Rain or shine; Glyndor Gallery will be the alternative indoor location. Free with admission to the grounds. No registration required.

On the grounds, 9:30–10:30AM

Sun, May 5

Family Art Project: Silky Caterpillar Sustenance

Celebrate the brilliance of caterpillars! Moth caterpillars have the ability to create cocoons from the very silk within them. When they need to find new leaves to eat or to escape danger, moth caterpillars release a silk line from within. Come explore your own silky strength by making your own cocoon, wrapping within it a message or picture of something you would like to transform. Free with admission to the grounds. Saturday is Spring Insect Day.

Wave Hill House, 10AM–1PM

Sun, May 5

In The Shop: Spend $75, Receive a Gift for Mom!

Spend $75, and receive a gift for Mom!

Perkins Visitor Center, 10AM–4:30PM

Sun, May 5

Garden Highlights Walk

Join a Wave Hill Garden Guide for a public tour of seasonal garden highlights. Free with admission to the grounds.

Meet at Perkins Visitor Center, 2PM

Sun, May 5

Meet the Artists and Curators

Here We Land artists are paired with a curator to discuss the source material and issues that prompt each project as well as their artistic process: Camille Hoffman and Eileen Jeng Lynch, Sara Jimenez and Emily Alesandrini, Maria Hupfield and Jennifer McGregor.

Free with admission to the grounds.

Glyndor Gallery, 2PM

Mon, May 6

Closed to the public.

Tue, May 7

Gallery Tour

Tour Glyndor Gallery with Wave Hill’s Curatorial Fellow or Gallery Greeter to get an insider’s view of current exhibitions.Here We Land features three, former Winter Workspace artists Camille Hoffman, Maria Hupfield and Sara Jimenezwho return explore narratives about contested space that draw on personal and cultural touch points in their immersive installations. Rachel Sydlowski fills the Sunroom Project Space walls with complex, screen-print collages of flora and fauna, architectural details and decorative motifs from Wave Hill, Inwood Hill Park and other surrounding green spaces. Free with admission to the grounds.

Glyndor Gallery, 2PM

Wed, May 8

Garden Highlights Walk

Join a Wave Hill Garden Guide for a public tour of seasonal garden highlights. Free with admission to the grounds.

Meet at Perkins Visitor Center, 1PM

Thu, May 9

Garden Highlights Walk

Join a Wave Hill Garden Guide for a public tour of seasonal garden highlights. Free with admission to the grounds.

Meet at Perkins Visitor Center, 1PM

A 28-acre public garden and cultural center overlooking the Hudson River  and Palisades, Wave Hill’s mission is to celebrate the artistry and legacy of its gardens and landscape, to preserve its magnificent views, and to explore human connections to the natural world through programs in horticulture, education and the arts.

HOURS – Open all year, Tuesday through Sunday and many major holidays: 9AM–5:30PM, March 15–October 31. Closes 4:30PM, starting November 1.

ADMISSION – $10 adults, $6 students and seniors 65+, $4 children 6–18. Free Saturday and Tuesday mornings until noon. Free to Wave Hill Members and children under 6.

PROGRAM FEES – Programs are free with admission to the grounds unless otherwise noted.

Visitors to Wave Hill can take advantage of Metro-North’s one-day getaway offer. Purchase a discount round-trip rail far and discount admission to the gardens. More at http://mta.info/mnr/html/getaways/outbound_wavehill.htm

  

DIRECTIONS – Getting here is easy! Located only 30 minutes from midtown Manhattan, Wave Hill’s free shuttle van transports you to and from our front gate and Metro-North’s Riverdale station, as well as the W. 242nd Street stop on the #1 subway line. Limited onsite parking is available for $8 per vehicle. Free offsite parking is available nearby with continuous, complimentary shuttle service to and from the offsite lot and our front gate. Complete directions and shuttle bus schedule at www.wavehill.org/visit/.

Information at 718.549.3200. On the web at www.wavehill.org.

MAYOR DE BLASIO APPOINTS ANNE DEL CASTILLO AS COMMISSIONER OF THE MAYOR’S OFFICE OF MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

  Mayor de Blasio appointed Anne del Castillo as Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. Del Castillo has served as General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer of MOME since 2015, helping structure and advance several groundbreaking workforce and diversity initiatives. As Commissioner, del Castillo will amplify MOME’s efforts not only to strengthen the city’s media and entertainment economy, but to ensure that the workforce in those industries is as diverse as New York City itself. 

“Media and entertainment are central to New York City’s economy and identity. Anne has the vision and experience to continue to strengthen the industry during this time of unprecedented growth and change,” said Mayor de Blasio. “Her commitment to diversifying our entertainment sector and piloting innovative programs will ensure New York continues to be the media capital of the world.”

“I am honored to accept the Mayor’s appointment, and grateful for the opportunity to continue to work with MOME’s dedicated team to support the development of New York City’s creative sectors and nightlife industry,” said Anne del Castillo, Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. “This is an exciting time for our agency to engage a broad cross section of industry, community and other key stakeholders to advance an inclusive, sustainable and thriving creative economy that benefits all New Yorkers and reflects the diversity that defines our city.”

As Commissioner, del Castillo will lead the Administration’s effort to capitalize on the burgeoning augmented reality and virtual reality industries. She will also lead outreach to the advertising industry to help foster career pathways for New Yorkers of all backgrounds, and oversee the work of the recently formed Office of Nightlife to ensure the sustainable development of nightlife in New York City.

Del Castillo joined MOME after more than 20 years in film production, public media, and non-profit administration. In 2014, del Castillo was appointed as director of legal affairs of MOME and was promoted to chief operating officer and general counsel in 2015. During her tenure, she helped develop and launch mentorship and training programs to increase industry diversity and the Made in NY Women’s Film, TV and Theatre Fund which is distributing $5 million in grants to women filmmakers and playwrights. She also helped establish the first of its kind Freelancers Hub to create a central resource for freelance workers and One Book, One New York, which is the largest community read in the country. Del Castillo has served as the acting commissioner of the Office of Media and Entertainment since February 2019. 

MOME has recently expanded from supporting the film, TV, and theatre industries to supporting the music, publishing, advertising and digital media industries as well. These industries account for a total of 305,000 jobs and an economic output of $104 billion. MOME also encompasses NYC Media, the City’s official broadcast network and the Office of Nightlife.

DOB ANNOUNCES ENFORCEMENT SWEEP OF CONSTRUCTION SITES ACROSS NEW YORK CITY

Proactive safety inspections to enhance work site safety in response to recent construction-related fatalities

  Department of Buildings Acting Commissioner Thomas Fariello, R.A. announced the deployment of more than 90 DOB inspectors throughout New York City to perform safety sweeps of construction sites, and educate workers about the importance of construction site safety. These construction inspectors, including those from the Department's newly created Construction Safety Compliance and Construction Safety Enforcement units, the Cranes and Derricks Unit, the Scaffold Safety Unit, and the Special Operations Unit, will be deployed throughout the city to ensure that construction sites are safe for both workers and the public. While performing these sweeps, DOB inspectors will issue enforcement actions if they observe safety violations, and shut down sites if they find serious safety lapses. This effort will hold accountable anyone in the construction industry who cuts corners at the expense of safety. Last week, three construction workers in New York City lost their lives in separate work-related accidents. These three accidents are still under active investigation, by the Department, our partner agencies, and law enforcement.  

“One death on a construction site in our city is too many,” said Commissioner Fariello. “We find that most construction accidents could have been prevented with the proper site safety precautions. That is why we are sweeping construction sites across the city, and taking aggressive enforcement actions when we find these precautions are being ignored.” 

DOB construction inspectors will be investigating work sites across the five boroughs for compliance with existing construction safety rules, ensuring that scaffold safety precautions are being followed, construction cranes are installed and used according to approved plans, C-hook suspended scaffolds are properly installed, and that appropriate fall protection systems are being utilized. During this sweep, they will be inspecting an estimated 5,000 construction sites. Work sites that are found to be unsafe for workers could face penalties of up to $25,000 for construction safety violations.

In an effort to increase safety on our city's construction sites over the last few years, DOB has quadrupled penalties for the most serious safety violations, added more than 250 additional inspectors to our ranks since 2015, required safety supervision for all major projects of four stories or greater, is implementing a first-of-its-kind safety training program for the city’s construction workforce, and is calling bad actors out publicly in monthly enforcement bulletins.

                                                         

The Construction Safety Compliance (CSC) and Construction Safety Enforcement (CSE) units were created at the Department of Buildings in August 2018, as part of a larger reorganization of the Department's enforcement branch. The CSC Unit is responsible for periodic inspections of active construction sites, reviewing construction site safety plans, and enforcing site safety training requirements set forth in Local Law 196 of 2017. The CSE Unit is responsible for performing emergency inspections, responding to construction safety-related complaints, performing follow-up inspections for previously issued violations and Stop Work Orders, and conducting regular sweeps of active job sites for construction safety compliance.

New Yorkers who observe unsafe conditions on a construction site are encouraged to let the Department know about it by submitting a complaint through 311. All complaints made to DOB are anonymous and will be inspected.

MAYOR DE BLASIO KICKS OFF LEAD-BASED PAINT TESTING AT 135,000 NYCHA APARTMENTS

Part of Mayor’s LeadFreeNYC Plan to eliminate childhood lead exposure

  Mayor Bill de Blasio kicked off NYCHA’s new lead-based paint testing program. For the first time ever, 135,000 apartments will be tested with a portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzers. Surpassing local and federal requirements, this effort will determine the presence of lead paint and abate any hazards found in these units. These 135,000 units were built before 1978, when lead paint was banned at the federal level. Testing will be completed by the end of 2020.

“New York City has driven down the number of kids exposed to lead by 90 percent, and now we will finish the mission,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.  “For the first time ever, we’re going into 135,000 NYCHA apartments to eradicate lead exposure. This aggressive new testing plan will help make New York the healthiest and fairest big city in America.”

“Today, we begin to aggressively tackle lead-based paint inspections for our residents and their children,” said NYCHA Interim Chair and CEO Kathryn Garcia. “We will continue to accelerate lead testing to ensure NYCHA is lead free and our residents are safe from lead-based hazards in their homes.”

NYCHA will then prioritize developments with the highest population of children under the age of 6, which is the age recognized in the City’s law requiring landlords to conduct regular lead-based paint visual assessments. Testing begins at Harlem River Houses on April 15 and the other seven developments will start on May 1.The first tranche of development to be tested are:

• Williamsburg Houses
• Harlem River Houses
• Bronx River Houses
• Saint Nicholas Houses
• Johnson Houses
• Red Hook West Houses
• Castle Hill Houses
• Marble Hill Houses

The remaining developments will be announced in the coming months. In addition to ensuring individual residents are receiving clear and rapid communication about results for their own

apartments once inspected, NYCHA will report its testing results online by May 1^st and will update this information every two weeks.

In July 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a new undertaking for the City and NYCHA to fully test for the presence of lead-based paint in public housing apartments. Released in December 2018, the Request for Proposal (RFP) sought the use of portable XRF testing.  In February 2019, NYCHA announced the selection of seven contractors to conduct the lead-based paint inspection services. The $88 million contract was awarded to Airtek Environmental, Arc Environmental, ATC Group, JLC Environmental, Lew Corporation, The ALC Group, and TRC Environmental. The contractors are expected to inspect approximately 5,000 to 7,000 apartments each month.

Beyond the testing, the scope of the contracts includes identifying hazardous conditions detrimental to residents’ health and safety. As part of the testing, the contractors will also perform the HUD annually required visual assessments for all apartments built prior to 1978 that have not been previously cleared of lead-based paint. NYCHA will correct any paint deficiencies observed during the visual assessments.

This testing initiative is part of LeadFreeNYC, the City’s roadmap to eradicate childhood lead exposure. LeadFreeNYC’s approach is twofold: prevent exposure to lead hazards in the first place, and respond quickly and comprehensively if a child has an elevated blood lead level. To protect New York City kids, the City will increase resources and support for children, parents, and healthcare providers.

Rev. Ruben Diaz For Congress

Rev. Ruben Diaz for Congress

P.O. Box 229

Bronx, NY 10460

RubenDiazForCongress@gmail.com

Dear Friends: As you may already know, my Birthday is on April 22nd, and each year as that day draws near, I knock on the doors of my friends to ask for support. After much prayer and careful discernment, and speaking with my family and friends, I am happy to say that I have decided to toss my cowboy hat into the ring and run for US Congress to fill the soon-to-be vacant seat in Bronx County’s 15th Congressional District. While I have received very kind words of support about this initiative, I need your help to win.

I am asking my friends to help to make my 76th Birthday very special by making a donation to Rev Ruben Diaz for Congress. Your birthday gift contribution to my campaign of $100, $250, $500 to the maximum of $2,800 will give my campaign a tremendous boost.  (No Church, Company or Not For Profit organizations donations are allowed) I believe that with your support, along with the ongoing trust of my constituents, I will have the great privilege of serving the South Bronx in the United States Congress. If you would like to contribute online, please click below:

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Mail-In Option If you would like to donate by check or money order, please make checks payable to: REV RUBEN DIAZ FOR CONGRESS. Please include your full name, address, employer & occupation. The mailing address is: REV RUBEN DIAZ FOR CONGRESS P.O. Box 229 Bronx, New York 10460 Your gift and support are greatly appreciated. Thank you for your help and friendship! In gratitude,

Reverend Ruben Diaz, Sr.  Donations are not tax deductible.

By making a contribution, I affirm that: This contribution is made knowingly and voluntarily from my own funds, not those of another and the contribution is not controlled by another individual or made from the proceeds of a gift given to provide funds to be contributed. This contribution is not made from the general treasury funds of a corporation, labor organization, or national bank. I am not a foreign national who lacks permanent resident status in the U.S., nor do I personally contract with the federal government for personal services or the sale of goods, land, or buildings. This contribution is made on a personal credit card for which I have the legal obligation to pay, and not through a corporate or business entity card or the card of another. I am over the age of 18 years of age. Federal election law requires us to use our best efforts to collect and report the name, mailing address, occupation and name of employer of each individual whose contributions exceed $200 in an election cycle. Federal law prohibits contributions to the committee from the general treasury funds of corporations, labor organizations or national banks (including corporate or other business entity credit cards), from any person contributing another's funds, from a Federal government contractor, or from a foreign national who lacks permanent resident status (i.e. non-green card holder). Contributions are not deductible for federal income tax purposes. An individual may not contribute more than a total of $5,600 to the campaign; $2,800 for the primary election and $2,800 for the general election. PAC's may contribute a maximum of $10,000 to the campaign; $5,000 for the primary election and $5,000 for the general election.