OPERATION MELTDOWN: DE BLASIO ADMINISTRATION SEIZING 46 ICE CREAM TRUCKS INVOLVED IN SHELL COMPANY SCAM TO DODGE $4.5 MILLION IN TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS

Operators accrued 22,000 violations since 2009, including running red lights, parking at fire hydrants and blocking crosswalks

  The de Blasio Administration began seizing 46 ice cream trucks from operators who consistently violated traffic safety laws and evaded nearly $4.5 million in fines since 2009. The owners amassed the debt through a scheme, creating dozens of “shell” companies to avoid enforcement efforts by the Department of Finance. Between 2009 and 2017, a small group of individuals operated companies that accrued 22,000 summonses for violations, including running red lights, parking near fire hydrants, and blocking pedestrian crosswalks, according to the City’s complaint.

“No New Yorker is above the law – especially those who try to ignore public safety laws and create dangerous situations for pedestrians, bikers and drivers,” said Mayor de Blasio. “For years, these owners have ignored public safety laws and have driven dangerously in one of the busiest areas of the City. This seizure marks the end of the road for these scofflaw ice cream vendors.”

“We all know from common experience that ice cream trucks are magnets for children. In order to protect this particularly vulnerable category of pedestrians, our traffic laws must be strictly enforced. As detailed in our complaint, Defendant owners of scores of ice cream trucks sought to evade enforcement of our traffic laws through an elaborate shell game transferring ownership of their ice cream trucks between and among dozens of phony companies, effectively shielding their trucks from fines and seizure,” said Corporation Counsel Zachary W. Carter. “The City’s investigation has untangled this web of fraudulent transactions and the Court has allowed us to take an initial step towards recovering the money owed to the City, with interest, and damages, and to permanently enjoin Defendants from again putting profit over public safety.”

“The Department of Finance seized dozens of ice cream trucks for failing to pay their parking tickets and for engaging in an alleged systematic scheme to defraud the City of over $4.5 million dollars,” said Finance Commissioner Jacques Jiha. “We commend the diligent investigation by our Office of Legal Affairs and Sheriff’s Department in taking steps to preserve public safety. The Department of Finance stands ready to ensure compliance with the law through the successful enforcement of the Supreme Court’s Order.”

The scheme was based off a periodic, systematic and repeated re-registration of the ice cream trucks with the State of New York’s Department of Motor Vehicles under the names of various shell corporations. The collection division of the Department of Finance attempted to collect this debt through traditional means of demand notices and information subpoenas to banks, but was unsuccessful. The Department found the debtors never had bank accounts, and any trace information to the corporate defendants no longer existed by the time the Department attempted to reach them.

The City’s lawsuit targets the worst offenders—those with more than $10,000 in judgments or unpaid fines. The order also requires the truck’s owners to pay the City damages and prevents them from transferring the ownership of the vehicles that have outstanding parking summonses.

STATEMENT FROM MAYOR DE BLASIO ON CITY COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE VOTE TO APPROVE THE BAY STREET NEIGHBORHOOD REZONING - 100percentbronxnews@gmail.com - Gmail

  “The Bay Street Neighborhood Plan will create a more affordable neighborhood that opens the doors of opportunity to residents from all walks of life. This is about making sure kids who grow up on Staten Island can eventually have an apartment in the borough they love, and about making sure there’s affordable and accessible housing for Staten Island seniors, so they can live independently as they age. This subcommittee vote is the first step in bringing more open space, jobs, 1,300 affordable homes, infrastructure improvements and more to Bay Street. I am grateful for Council Member Rose’s partnership and all she has done to fight for the future of Staten Island.”

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. - Bronx Pride Flag Raising

  Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. was joined by Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, and many members of the LBGTQ community to raise the Pride flag over Bronx Borough Hall. The Pride flag will fly not for one day, but the entire month of June BP Diaz said. 

Above - The Pride Flag is raised over Bronx Borough Hall.

Below - Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. speaks about Pride Month.

Above - Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul Speaks about Pride Month.

Below - Michael Brady Executive Director of the 3rd Avenue BID says a few words.

Above and Below - People celebrate the raising of the Pride flag over Bronx Borough Hall.

SENATOR BIAGGI BILL “ERIN’S LAW” PASSES THROUGH THE STATE SENATE, REQUIRING EDUCATIONAL PREVENTION PROGRAM AGAINST CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE

   Yesterday the New York State Senate passed bill S4070B, also known as “Erin’s Law”. Sponsored by State Senator Alessandra Biaggi, the bill requires the commissioner of education to make recommendations to the board of regents relating to instruction on preventing child sexual exploitation and abuse in grades Kindergarten through 8th. The goal is to provide training for children to identify and appropriately respond to sexual abuse.

State Senator Alessandra Biaggi issued the following statement:

“As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, I understand the full gravity of how important this piece of legislation is. The purpose of this bill is to give children the tools to report instances of sexual abuse in order to stop and prevent further harm, as well as provide reassurance to students that they should speak up if they feel unsafe. I am inspired by the devoted leadership of Erin Merryn in bringing this issue to light – I look forward to seeing this bill pass into law and implemented as soon as possible.”

Pelham Parkway Neighborhood Association June Community Meeting

  

 The next meeting  of the Pelham Parkway Neighborhood Association will be on Tuesday  June 11th, 2019  at Bronx House,990 Pelham Parkway South at 7:15 pm.

Our special featured speaker will be the  The Honorable Ms  Darcel Clark. Bronx District Attorney. Please bring  your issues ,questions, and concerns to our next meeting..The PPNA works around the clock and year round to improve the quality of life in Pelham Parkway. .We can always be reached  by email at pelhamparkwayNA@gmail.com. Please look for and like  us on Facebook for neighborhood updates. Please join us for this very interesting guest.

Get involved in your community. It's time.

REMINDER! - Bronx Metro-North Hunts Point Interactive Public Workshop - Monday, June 17, 2019

Please join us and help plan around coming Metro-North service in your neighborhood! REMINDER! Hunts Point Interactive Public Workshop

Join us for a public workshop/open house and help plan around future Metro-North service in your neighborhood! This interactive, self-paced event is an important opportunity for the community to join city agencies in planning around future Metro-North service. Come share your local expertise, hear from your neighbors, contribute your ideas for improving pedestrian and transit connections to and from the station, and help ensure that new service is thoughtfully integrated into the surrounding neighborhoods. How could new service enhance ongoing planning in the neighborhood?  Our teams from the Southern Boulevard Neighborhood Study and Hunts Point Vision will be on hand to hear your thoughts! Activities will be self-paced and participants can come when they wish and stay for as long as they are able to.

WHEN Monday, June 17, 2019 6PM–8:30PM (Self-paced activities. Come when you wish and stay for long as you are able to.)

WHERE 940 Garrison Ave The Point (Atrium space) Hunts Point, Bx

For any questions or special needs, please email bmns@planning.nyc.gov or call 718 220 8500

Find Out More

¡Únase a nosotros para un taller público interactivo y ayude a planificar alrededor del futuro servicio de Metro-North en su barrio! Hunts Point Taller Público Interactivo

¡Únase a nosotros para un taller público interactivo y ayude a planificar alrededor del futuro servicio de Metro-North en su barrio! Este evento interactivo y que irá a ritmo propio será una oportunidad importante para que la comunidad pueda unirse con agencias municipales para planificar alrededor del futuro servicio de Metro-North. Venga a compartir su pericia local, entender las perspectivas de sus vecinos, contribuir sus ideas para mejorar las conexiones a la estación para los que caminan y los que usan tránsito, y ayude a asegurar que este nuevo servicio se integre en el contexto local de una manera bien pensada. ¿Cómo puede este nuevo servicio contribuir a otros estudios de vecinardio en el área? Miembros de los equipos del Estudio de Vecindario de Southern Blvd y Plan de Visión para Hunts Point también estarán presentes para escuchar de Ud.!

¿CUÁNDO? Lunes, 17 de Junio, 2019 6PM–8:30PM (Actividades irán a ritmo propio. Venga cuando quiera y quédese el tiempo que pueda.)

¿DÓNDE? 940 Garrison Ave The Point (Atrium space) Hunts Point, Bx

Para cualquier pregunta o necesidades especiales, por favor, envíe un correo electrónico a bmns@planning.nyc.gov o llame al 718 220 8500

Attorney General James And Comptroller DiNapoli Announce Guilty Plea Of Former New York City Council Candidate Albert Alvarez In Straw Donation Scheme

  Attorney General Letitia James and New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced that former New York City Council candidate Albert Alvarez pleaded guilty to Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the Second Degree, a class A misdemeanor, in the Supreme Court of New York County. Alvarez previously served as Chief of Staff to New York City Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera. In 2013, Alvarez ran for Rivera’s seat in the 15th New York City Council District, but he was unsuccessful in the Democratic primary. While running for office, Alvarez knowingly accepted straw donations orchestrated by George Gonzalez and Anna Mendez, two employees of a Bronx non-profit organization called Tremont Crotona Day Care Center.   

“In New York, corruption is never acceptable, and offenders will always be brought to justice for their misdeeds,” said Attorney General Letitia James. “Albert Alvarez knowingly deceived hardworking New Yorkers, stole public funds, and took advantage of our democratic process. We are committed to protecting public integrity and will use every tool at our disposal to root out corruption and hold bad actors accountable.” 

“Mr. Alvarez thought he could game New York City's public campaign finance system through straw donations," said State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. "Thanks to my partnership with Attorney General Letitia James and the New York City Department of Investigations, his scheme was exposed and he is being held accountable. I thank Attorney General James and Commissioner Margaret Garnett for their continued commitment to working with my office to combat corruption." 

“There is no room in government for politicians who undermine the integrity and independence of elections, particularly by submitting fraudulent records to the Campaign Finance Board and ultimately stealing taxpayer funds, as was the case in this straw donor scheme,” said New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Margaret Garnett. “With today’s guilty plea, a onetime candidate for elected office now stands convicted of a crime. DOI will continue to work with the Office of the State Attorney General, the Office of the State Comptroller, and all our partners to protect the election process and government funds.” 

Gonzalez and Mendez were arraigned for their roles in the false filings on a separate felony complaint on January 10, 2018. Mendez and Gonzalez are alleged to have provided funds to other employees of Tremont Crotona Day Care Center to contribute to Alvarez. Gonzalez also distributed contribution cards to these employees, which he had them falsely make out in their own names to conceal the true source of the funds. The money was, in reality, stolen from Tremont Crotona Day Care Center. Alvarez then collected the money and false contribution cards. Even though he knew the contribution cards were false, Alvarez submitted them to the New York City Campaign Finance Board (the “CFB”) to steal at least $4,500 in public matching funds. In total, Alvarez received $92,400 in public matching funds. Alvarez agreed to pay back $10,450 in restitution and fines as part of his plea deal.  

The charges filed in this case are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.   

Since 2011, the Attorney General and State Comptroller have worked together to fight corruption through their Joint Task Force on Public Integrity. They have brought charges against dozens of individuals implicated in public corruption schemes around the state – resulting in the return of over $11 million in restitution to taxpayers through these convictions.    

The Attorney General would also like to thank the New York City Department of Investigation for their partnership on this investigation. 

MAYOR DE BLASIO ANNOUNCES OVER 230,000 NEW YORKERS LIFTED OUT OF POVERTY, NEAR-POVERTY DURING FIRST TERM

City on track to reach 10-year goal of 800,000 out of poverty or near-poverty by 2025

  The Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity today released its annual New York City Government Poverty Measure report, which shows that both the poverty rate and the near-poverty rate (the percentage living below 150 percent of New York City’s poverty threshold) have significantly decreased since Mayor de Blasio took office in 2014. The report shows a drop in the near-poverty rate to 43.1 percent in 2017 from 2013’s rate of 45.9 percent, a 2.8 percentage point decline.  The report also demonstrated that the percent of New Yorkers in actual poverty has declined from 20.7 percent in 2013 to 19 percent in 2017, a 1.7 percentage point decline.

The 2017 poverty rate of 19 percent matches the pre-recession 2008 rate – the lowest since tracking began in 2005. In 2017, there were about 236,500 fewer New Yorkers in poverty or near-poverty than there would have been if the poverty rate had remained at the 2013 level, putting the City on course to reach its 10-year goal of moving 800,000 people out of poverty or near-poverty by 2025.

“At the beginning of this administration, we set out to ensure the doors of economic opportunity were open to all New Yorkers,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “This report reveals that bold progressive policies from Pre-K for All to Paid Sick Leave, combined with increases in the minimum wage, are uplifting working people across this city.”

“The local poverty rate – one of New York City’s most important metrics – has declined steadily since 2013,” said Matthew Klein, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity.  “This important achievement reflects efforts across the de Blasio administration and we remain committed to making even more progress.”

“The NYCgov poverty measure continues to be an important tool in New York City’s efforts to lower the poverty rate,” said Christine D’Onofrio, Director of Poverty Research for the Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity. “The data shows the continuing importance of the City’s commitments to affordable housing, a $15 an hour minimum wage and improved access to benefits.”

The decrease in the poverty rate has been accompanied by rising wages, especially for workers at the bottom of the income distribution.  From 2013 to 2017, median wage income in the city grew 14.7 percent.  For those in the bottom quartile of the income distribution, wages grew 9.4 percent in 2017 alone.

The report also highlights the City’s many initiatives aimed at increasing equity and fairness. These programs include Pre-K for All; paid family leave and paid sick leave; efforts to help New Yorkers learn about and apply for benefits for which they are eligible; and Housing New York, the largest and most ambitious plan to build and preserve affordable housing in the nation. 

      

The City’s NYCgov poverty measure is updated annually. This year’s report uses the most recent available information from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and is augmented by the Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity.  The NYCgov poverty measure was developed to provide a more precise portrait of poverty in New York City than the official U.S. poverty measure. It takes into account the cost of living in New York City, including the higher cost of housing, and counts as income those programs that supplement New Yorkers’ income, such as tax credits and SNAP benefits—elements that are not taken into account in the federal measure. Additionally, the calculation of the U.S. Official poverty measure has remained largely unchanged for 50 years. New York City is the only U.S. city that calculates its own poverty rate using this more precise measure.

About the Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity

The Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity (NYC Opportunity) uses evidence and innovation to reduce poverty and increase equity. It advances research, data and design in the City’s program and policy development, service delivery, and budget decisions. NYC Opportunity’s work includes analyzing existing anti-poverty approaches, developing new interventions, facilitating the sharing of data across City agencies, and rigorously assessing the impact of key initiatives. NYC Opportunity manages a discrete fund and works collaboratively with City agencies to design, test and oversee new programs and digital products. It also produces research and analysis of poverty and social conditions, including its influential annual Poverty Measure report, which provides a more accurate and comprehensive picture of poverty in New York City than the federal rate.

 EDITOR'S NOTE:

The current Mayor Bill de Blasio will be term-limited out of office in 2021.