Statement by 79th District Assemblyman Michael Blake on Independence Day

“Today, we celebrate the United States of America’s 243rd Independence. Let us remember that our pursuit for opportunities continue while we don't forget those whose lives were lost and the generations of color forever impacted. We thank those who served our country to give us a chance for Freedom.

When the founding parents of our great nation declared Independence from the British Empire, they sought to establish a land where one may be truly free, and have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We all must live out these principles daily, especially in the face of our moral fabric being stretched to the core by a person and Institutions seeking to divide us as a people. From how we treat Black people who were enslaved back then as too many still are incarcerated now to migrants seeking a better way of life, where they desire to leave a life of tanks in a street to display political power to Tribal nations who had so much taken from them without respect restored.

With a never yielding spirit seeking justice, we must continue fighting for what we know is right. We must ensure that everyone is treated fairly. We must defeat the root causes and symptoms of racism, sexism, anti-semisitism, Islamophobia, anti LGBTQ and people of disability rhetoric, which still plague this nation today and seek to rise above the pain to achieve an everlasting promise.

The fight is not over. We may have declared freedom from the British, but, we are still fighting for full Independence from challenges within our cities, state and country. Until every single American including all Bronxites, of all races, woman, man or child, immigrant or non-immigrant truly has a possible chance at life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, we will continue to work to achieve that dream.

As we celebrate today, let us continue to press ahead to achieve Independence and opportunity for all.

Happy Independence Day.

Sincerely, 

Assembly Member Michael A. Blake

Comptroller Stringer Demands Answers after NYCHA Breaks Promise to Remedy Hazardous Playgrounds Uncovered in Earlier Audit

  New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer demanded answers from the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) on the authority’s year-long failure to remedy potentially dangerous conditions at hundreds of NYCHA playgrounds found in an audit released last year. In a letter to NYCHA Interim Chair Kathryn Garcia, Comptroller Stringer called for a public explanation of how and whether NYCHA has overhauled its inspections process of its 788 playgrounds across 238 NYCHA developments citywide, and for a clearly delineated plan to remedy all deficient conditions uncovered by the Comptroller’s office over a year ago.

“As a father, I am appalled. As Comptroller, my office is demanding immediate accountability. It’s no secret there have been systemic management failures at NYCHA, but the failure to do basic inspections to ensure children are safe at NYCHA playgrounds is inexcusable – and it demonstrates outright neglect. When it comes to the safety of our city’s children, adults simply cannot look the other way. Today, I am requesting that NYCHA provide my office, its residents, and the public with a clearly delineated plan to complete the inspections that were promised – but never completed – over a year ago and an explanation for NYCHA’s failure to follow its own written policies,” said New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer. “We as a city are defined by how we support our next generation. Protecting the health and safety of our kids is our first job – it’s what every government official should be laser-focused on, every day. It is urgent that we work together to remedy these potentially dangerous conditions. We cannot permit any delays, especially now as the school year has concluded and more of NYCHA’s children and families will seek a safe space to play.”

In April 2018, the Comptroller’s office issued an extensive audit report that detailed NYCHA’s failure to perform required inspections and proper maintenance of its 788 playgrounds across 238 NYCHA developments citywide resulting in deficient conditions across hundreds of its playgrounds including hundreds of examples of hazardous and broken equipment. After the audit revealed an abject failure by NYCHA to monitor, track, and fix these dangerous conditions for NYCHA’s 400,000 residents, including 100,000 children, NYCHA responded with a promise to inspect and address all conditions within 90 days. However, recent reporting demonstrates NYCHA’s broken promise to its residents and the thousands of children that use the playgrounds.

The findings from the Comptroller’s office April 2018 audit include:

• ​Visibly hazardous conditions, which may have posed imminent danger to children, were found at 72 playgrounds across 52 different NYCHA developments;
• 151 developments had a total of 352 playgrounds with damaged safety surfacing, such as mats and tiles that were loose, missing, warped or otherwise damaged;
• 97 developments had a total of 164 playgrounds with missing, bent, or broken play equipment;
• 55 developments had a total of 79 playgrounds with clogged or inadequate water drainage; and,
• An in-depth review of a sample of 25 developments where our auditors found hazardous playground conditions revealed that NYCHA was keeping bogus playground inspection reports with inaccurate information and egregious omissions of specific hazards, listing the condition of broken and dangerous equipment as “good.”

To read Comptroller Stringer’s letter to NYCHA Interim Chair Kathryn Garcia, click here.

To read Comptroller Stringer’s 2018 audit of NYCHA playgrounds, click here.

NYPD Police Officer Charged With Fraud And False Statement Charges

  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and James P. O’Neill, Police Commissioner of the City of New York (“NYPD”), announced the unsealing of a superseding indictment and the arrest of EDUARDO RODRIGUEZ, a police officer with the NYPD, for conspiring to commit bank and loan fraud, as well as making false statements to federal law enforcement officers.  RODRIGUEZ was arrested and was presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara C. Moses.  The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman stated:  “As alleged, Eduardo Rodriguez, an officer with the New York Police Department, misled a financial institution about his intentions for a loan.  Instead of using the loan proceeds for a car, he allegedly used the money for other purposes.  If anything, law enforcement officers should be held to a higher standard than the general public.  At a minimum, they should be expected to obey the law.”

NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill said:  “There is no place in the NYPD for criminal or unethical behavior.  NYPD officers swear an oath to uphold the law and protect the public. If an officer fails to uphold this oath, they must be held accountable.”

According to the allegations in the Superseding Indictment[1]:

In June 2017, RODRIGUEZ agreed with at least two other individuals (identified in the Superseding Indictment as CC-1 and CC-2) to submit an application to a lending institution (“Lender-1”) for an automobile loan for the express – but false – purpose of financing RODRIGUEZ’s purchase of a vehicle from a real automobile dealer that RODRIGUEZ did not own and never intended to own.  In connection with that application, Lender-1 issued to RODRIGUEZ a loan (“Loan-1”) and, specifically, a check representing the proceeds of that loan.  RODRIGUEZ, in turn, endorsed that check and provided it to CC-1 and CC-2 with the understanding they would deposit and withdraw money against that check for RODRIGUEZ’s enrichment.

In March 2018, USPIS inspectors interviewed RODRIGUEZ, and he falsely denied any involvement in applying for, or any knowledge about, Loan-1. 

In April 2018, RODRIGUEZ was again interviewed by federal law enforcement officers.  Although RODRIGUEZ admitted during that interview that he did, in fact, endorse the check issued in connection with Loan-1, RODRIGUEZ claimed to have endorsed the check and provided it to CC-1 and CC-2 for the purpose of CC-1 and/or CC-2 returning the check to Lender-1.  That statement was false: as noted, RODRIGUEZ endorsed the check not for the purpose of returning it to Lender-1 but to obtain proceeds from Loan-1.  Similarly, although RODRIGUEZ admitted during the April 2018 interview that he did, in fact, work with CC-1 to obtain Loan-1, RODRIGUEZ denied any previous relationship with CC-1, stating in substance and in part that CC-1 had contacted RODRIGUEZ without any prior prompting by RODRIGUEZ.  That statement was false: RODRIGUEZ had a prior business relationship with CC-1 dating back to at least December 2015 and had been in substantial telephone contact long before when he claimed he first met CC-1.

RODRIGUEZ, 41, of Goshen, New York, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison; one count of conspiracy to commit loan fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; and one count of making false statements, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

The statutory maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Internal Affairs Bureau of the NYPD. 

The charges contained in the Superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Superseding Indictment and the description of the Superseding Indictment set forth below constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation

Attorney General James Announces $5.8 Million Multistate Settlement With LexisNexis

LexisNexis Resold Millions of Dollars’ Worth of Crash Reports Without Paying New York State Agencies Their Required Share

  Attorney General Letitia James announced a multistate settlement with LexisNexis Risk Solutions and several of its affiliates (LexisNexis) for defrauding state law enforcement agencies out of more than $2.8 million. LexisNexis deliberately failed to pay those agencies agreed-upon fees — $900,000 in New York alone — for the resale of car crash reports. New York’s share of the settlement is approximately $1.7 million, or 30 percent of the total $5.8 million multistate settlement.

“LexisNexis failed to live up to the terms of its agreements and defrauded New York State agencies out of nearly a million dollars,” said Attorney General Letitia James. “My office will continue to fight every day to guarantee businesses that partner with our state live up to their agreements and to ensure New York gets every penny it’s owed.”

Law enforcement agencies generate reports of automobile crashes, which are purchased by individuals and by insurance companies for use in claim adjustment. Companies, like LexisNexis, enter into agreements with agencies to obtain crash reports and resell them to customers, agreeing to pay a fee to those agencies every time a report is sold.

LexisNexis defrauded law enforcement agencies in New York and other states by paying law enforcement agencies for only the first crash report sold, and not for each subsequent report resold, as their contracts required. In particular, the investigation found that from June 2012 through May 2019, LexisNexis fulfilled customer crash report requests by searching its database and — if it had previously sold the requested report to another customer — would resell the report without paying the contracted agency its agreed-upon fee for the new sale. LexisNexis would then omit the new sale from reports of sales it was contractually obliged to provide to the agencies. As a result, LexisNexis generated monthly reports for the agencies that falsely understated total crash report sales, and deprived New York State law enforcement agencies of sales fees they were entitled to receive.

As part of the settlement, LexisNexis will pay the fees it previously evaded and will discontinue its fraudulent resale practices. 

The investigation began after New York State, and the additional parties involved in the settlement, received information from a former LexisNexis employee who came forward as a whistleblower and filed a report under the New York False Claims Act and the acts of the other jurisdictions involved. The New York False Claims Act allows private persons to file civil actions on behalf of the government, and to share in any recovery.

The New York State Attorney General’s Office conducted this investigation in coordination with the States of Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Tennessee, and the City Solicitor of Baltimore.

BOROUGH PRESIDENT DIAZ ANNOUNCES BRONX SUMMER CONCERT SERIES LINEUP

  On Sunday, July 7, 2019, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. will host the Bronx Summer Concert Series opener at Orchard Beach.

Throughout the summer, as part of the series, Borough President Diaz will host concerts each Sunday, from July through August, at Orchard Beach -- The Bronx Riviera -- featuring a wide-variety of artists, including local solo artists and dance teams.

“The Bronx has been nurturing ground for the development of a lot of types of musical genres, and we want to keep that musical tradition alive,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. “Whether it’s Hip Hop or Salsa, music is as much a part of our identity as Yankee Stadium or the Bronx Zoo. Our concert series helps add to that longstanding legacy of great music that comes out of our borough.”

The Bronx Summer Concert Series at Orchard Beach; sponsored by Corona, AT&T, Empire BlueCross BlueShield HealthPlus, Con Edison, Waste Management, MetroPlus, BronxCare, MGM Resorts, Mets Foundation, Altice USA, Bronx Salsafest, NYC & Co. Foundation, The Bronx Tourism Council, BOEDC, Bronx Terminal Market, Latino Sports, La X96.3, Univision 41 Nueva York, The National Jazz Museum in Harlem, Parrilla Latina, Joe’s Place, Casa Noble, and Mi Casita; kicks off this Sunday, from 1 PM to 5 PM, with José Alberto "El Canario," Fulanito, and freestyle artist George Lamond.

This year’s concert series lineup, who will perform next to the Orchard Beach boardwalk at the main stage by Section 9 in Pelham Bay Park, includes (subject to change):

July 7th: Jose Alberto El Canario, Fulanito, and George Lamond
July 14th: Tony Vega and Bronx Charanga
July 21st: Frankie Negron
July 28th: Raulín Rosendo
August 4th: The Nelson Gonzalez All Star Band and Conjunto Clasico
August 11th: The Mambo Legends Orchestra
August 18th: Tipica 73 and Hector Tricoche
August 25th: Andy Montañez

As part of this year’s concert series, AT&T representatives will be on-site at each of the concerts to introduce Bronx residents to ScreenReady, a first-of-its-kind online safety program designed to help parents navigate safety settings including parental controls and content filters on their phones and tablets.

Bronx CM King Celebrates Independence Day With Tens of Thousands of Constituents at At Co-op City Fireworks, Concert, Celebrating Development's 50th Anniversary

  Wednesday night just twenty-four hours before New York City's largest fireworks celebration, Councilman Andy King held his annual Coop-City Fireworks celebration. Residents, former residents of the sprawling community, and friends from all over the Bronx and beyond enjoyed the fireworks display, and a concert featuring Howard Hewlett, The Intruders, and several other great acts. 

  Councilman King was joined by State Senator Jamaal Bailey, and representatives of the Riverbay Corporation on the fiftieth Anniversary of Coop-City.

Above - Councilman Andy King with the Intruders.

Below - (L-R) Dr. Bob Lee of WBLS, Councilman Andy King, Riverbay Coop-City General Manager Noel Ellison, and State Senator Jamaal Bailey.

Photos credit of Councilman King's office.

Grand Opening Of Pelham Parkway Dog Park

Through the hard work and perseverance of the Pelham Parkway  Neighborhood Association the brand new dog park grand opening will be on:

 

When: Tuesday July  9th at 11:30am 

Where: Boston Road between Bronx Park East and Pelham Parkway South , Bx NY 10461

 

The PPNA also  would like to thank Parks Dept Commissioner Iris Rodriguez for her  role in this  momentous occasion.

NEW YORK CITY, LOS ANGELES, AND 66 LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FILE AMICUS BRIEF WITH THE SUPREME COURT IN SUPPORT OF LGBTQ WORKERS

  The de Blasio Administration today announced New York City, Los Angeles and a coalition of 66 local governments across the nation have filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of three LGBTQ employees in their legal fight to remain covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, a federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in the workplace.

“As home to the largest LGBTQ community in the country, New York City will never stand idly by while someone is made to feel less than just because of who they are,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “Who someone is will never be an acceptable excuse for firing someone, and I will always stand with working people to call out and fight discrimination as long as it exists.”

“No one should be denied access to employment and financial security because of who they are, and in New York City, we have worked hard to enforce what is morally, ethically and legally right,” said First Lady Chirlane McCray. "We are proud to join cities across the country in the fight to protect the civil rights of LGBTQ workers. No matter the outcome of this case, our City's anti-discrimination laws will stand.”

“New York and other cities have been in the forefront of protecting workers against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity” said Corporation Counsel Zachary W. Carter. “As detailed in our brief, when LGBTQ employees are protected from discrimination and have equal access to facilities and other accommodations, we build a stronger sense of community in the workplace. We join in arguing that the Supreme Court should affirm the long accepted view that Title VII protects LGBTQ workers.”

Amici supports plaintiffs in the following cases:

R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. EEOC & Aimee Stephens – Funeral home director fired after informing owner that she is transgender.

Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda – Skydiving instructor fired after disclosing that he was gay.

Bostock v. Clayton County – Child welfare services coordinator fired after employer learned he is gay.

The brief argues that government agencies, institutions and communities are strengthened by longstanding local laws prohibiting discrimination based on sex, and that these institutions and individuals would be harmed if the Court eliminates federal discrimination protections for LGBTQ workers.

Regardless of how the Court rules, New York City will continue to enforce its own antidiscrimination and equal employment laws, which explicitly prohibit discrimination on the bases of sexual orientation, gender identity and more. In filing this brief, New York City and Los Angeles, joined by 66 other local governments, argue that removing the protections for gender identity and sexual orientation from Title VII would inhibit the efforts of local governments across the country to protect LGBTQ individuals from discrimination in the workplace to the fullest extent possible.

“New York City has outlawed discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation since 1986 and on the basis of gender identity and expression since 2002,” said Carmelyn P. Malalis, Chair/Commissioner of the NYC Commission on Human Rights. “It is past time our country takes up this mantle and confirms that these protections exist within the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It is impossible to discriminate against LGBTQI people without implicating their sex or gender—classes already protected under Title VII. We urge the Supreme Court to codify these protections and prohibit anti-LGBTQI discrimination in the workplace.”

“No one should be discriminated against based on their race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity—in the workplace or anywhere,” said Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Commissioner Lorelei Salas. “If the Supreme Court excludes LGBTQ employees from this worker protection law, it is not only shameful but a violation of their human rights. I’m proud to live and work in a city that will fight to protect its vibrant LGBTQ community and their employment rights.”

“New York City has proven that protecting LGBTQ communities from employment discrimination is not only possible, it is an essential component in creating more meaningful economic justice and equity for our communities,” said Ashe McGovern, Executive Director of the NYC Unity Project. “We are proud to join with jurisdictions across the country in the fight to ensure that our statutory and fundamental constitutional rights, which have already been affirmed by courts nationwide, continue to be upheld.”