Monday, November 4, 2019

SENATOR BIAGGI'S OFFICE: OFFICE CLOSINGS


Senator Alessandra Biaggi

*IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM THE OFFICE OF STATE SENATOR ALESSANDRA BIAGGI*
OFFICE CLOSINGS
Between Senate holidays and mandatory staff trainings, our offices will be CLOSED on the following days:
Tuesday, November 5th, 2019 (TOMORROW) – Election Day (Go Vote!)
Friday, November 8th, 2019 – NYC Senate Employee Sexual Harassment Training
Monday, November 11th, 2019 – Veteran's Day (Go thank a veteran!)
Wednesday, November 13th, 2019 – #TeamBiaggi Staff Retreat


Albany Office:
905 Legislative Office Bldg
Albany, NY 12247
518-455-3595

District Office:
3190 Riverdale Ave, Suite 2
Bronx, NY 10463
718-822-2049

Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez - Changes at NYPD


THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF  
NEW YORK
 
OFFICE OF COUNCIL MEMBER
YDANIS RODRIGUEZ
  
\
  
On The New Changes at NYPD

I want to welcome Commissioner Dermot Shea as he takes on his new role as head of the New York Police Department. As Council Member of a largely working class district and a member of the Public Safety Committee, I want to take this moment to call for the preservation and continuation of hard won concessions in Criminal Justice reform, especially in the area of community relations throughout the City.
 
I want to call on the new Commissioner to continue the good work of the previous administration and to improve those areas that continue to be a challenge. In a City where approximately 67% of the population are people of color, it is time for the NYPD to create more opportunities for all, including for positions of top leadership and to promote Black, Latino and Asian officers.

We want to see a new leadership that does not criminalize poverty and that focuses on investing in creating opportunities for advancement to build paths to success for our youth.

Council Member Ruben Diaz Sr. - Commissioner O’Neill Resign because the Lack of Support from the Mayor


What You Should Know
By Councilman Rev. Ruben Diaz
District 18, Bronx County
 

Commissioner O’Neill Resign because the Lack of Support from the Mayor
 
 
You should know that New York Police Department Commissioner James O’Neill has announced that he is stepping down from his post and will be entering the private sector.
 
I am pretty sure that this decision to step down was made because of Commissioner O’Neill’s opposition to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s irresponsible and unwelcome plans to close Rikers Island, and build high rise cages for incarcerated New Yorkers in four of the City’s boroughs.
 
In addition, I am fairly certain that Commissioner O’Neill’s decision to resign was made because Commissioner O’Neill’s opposition to Mayor de Blasio on Ballot Question #2 which, if voters support it in tomorrow’s election, will expand and strengthen the Civilian Complaint Review Board, placing more scrutiny on our already overworked and underpaid NYPD’s police force.
 
My dear reader, it is disappointing to think that in a city as diverse as New York, that Mayor de Blasio is not expected to select NYPD First Deputy Commissioner Benjamin B. Tucker, who is a minority and has served faithfully for may years, as Commissioner O’Neill’s replacement.
 
I am Councilman Rev. Rubén Díaz, and this is what you should know.

MAYOR DE BLASIO APPOINTS DERMOT SHEA NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER


New Commissioner is a 28-year NYPD veteran, currently Chief of Detectives, plans focus on gangs and gun violence

Mayor de Blasio today announced that Dermot Shea will be the next Commissioner of the New York Police Department. Shea began his service as a police officer in 1991, a year New York City faced more than 2,000 murders, and rose through the ranks to become Chief of Detectives, where he has overseen the criminal investigations in the city in addition to targeted efforts to prevent crime from happening.

As the next Police Commissioner, Shea will apply precision policing and Neighborhood Policing to target gang-related violence, take guns off the streets and continue the city’s remarkable reduction in crime. He will take office on December 1st.

“Dermot Shea is a proven change agent, using precision policing to fight crime and build trust between police and communities. As Chief of Crime Control Strategies and then Chief of Detectives, Dermot was one of the chief architects of the approach that has made New York City the safest big city in America. Dermot is uniquely qualified to serve as our next Police Commissioner and drive down crime rates even further,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “On behalf of all New Yorkers, I want to express deep gratitude to Jimmy O’Neill for dedicating his entire career to keeping our city safe. Jimmy transformed the relationship between New Yorkers and police, and helped to make the Department the most sophisticated and advanced in the country.”

“This is a tremendous honor and a tremendous responsibility and I’m grateful to the Mayor for this privilege to serve,” said Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea. “Police Commissioner O’Neill has been a mentor and a friend to me, and I am committed to building on the incredible success of Neighborhood Policing and precision policing, while continuing my life’s work to eradicate gangs and guns from our streets. Every New Yorker deserves to be safe and feel safe, and that has been my mission since I took the oath and became a police officer 28 years ago. As Police Commissioner, this will be what drives me.”

 “Dermot Shea has exactly the experience and skill to continue to drive down crime, strengthen relationships with the community members we serve and make sure every neighborhood has the safety they deserve," said Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill. “We cannot take the historic crime reductions in New York City for granted, and Dermot’s understanding of the complex issues that lead to crime and disorder, as well as the most effective strategies for addressing these issues, is as good as it gets in policing today.”


Commissioner James O’Neill has presided over the lowest crime rate in New York City since the NYPD started tracking major crime, as well as the fewest number of homicides recorded since the 1950s. The architect of Neighborhood Policing, he oversaw the expansion of Neighborhood
Coordination Officers to every precinct, Police Service Area and transit district as well as reforms to department policy that drove down crime and simultaneously reduced arrests for low-level offenses.

About Dermot Shea:

Shea began his service as a police officer in 1991, a year New York City faced more than 2,000 murders. He rose up the ranks to serve as precinct commander of the 44th and 50th precincts in the Bronx where he oversaw a dramatic reduction in gun violence.

In 2014, Shea was appointed Chief of Crime Control Strategies and Deputy Commissioner for Operations, where he oversaw the CompStat system and honed a new generation of precision approaches that helped drive crime to record lows. He focused the Department not just around arrests, but around intelligence-driven prosecutions in close cooperation with District Attorneys to take dangerous criminals off the street. Shea’s role required him to constantly shift resources to respond to real-time crime trends. In 2018, Shea was promoted to Chief of Detectives, where he oversaw all of the Department’s investigatory operations, including every criminal investigation in the city. Shea overhauled the Special Victims Division to strengthen NYPD’s commitment to survivors of sexual assault.


Shea grew up in Sunnyside, Queens, the son of Irish immigrants.  He holds a Bachelor of Science from SUNY Oneonta. He and his wife Serena live in Manhattan and have three children: Jackie, Lauren and Richie, as well as grandson, Aidan, and a dog named Miley.


Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez to Congress Campaign Kickoff



Giving the Bronx 'X' Manhattan Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez held a Bronx kickoff to his campaign for Bronx Congressional District 15 currently occupied by Congressman Jose Serrano who has made it known that he is ending his long career in congress. Councilman Rodriguez joins two other current City Council members Ruben Diaz Sr. and Ritchie Torres and former City Council Speaker Mellisa Mark-Viverito. Also in the race is Assemblyman Michael Blake and a number of first timers.

At Sunday's event attended by over seventy-five people, it seemed to be more of a meet and greet for Rodriguez. While he ran for Public Advocate in the recent special election, he is trying to capitalize on his number of votes. However the main supporter of Councilman Rodriguez in the special election is running against him in the 15th Congressional Democratic Primary.

Candidate for Congress Rodriguez is using much of his strategy from the Public Advocate race that being he is the only immigrant in the race in a district loaded with immigrants. Former 15th City Council candidate Joel Rivera  who lost to Ritchie Torres sees another battle with Torres, but as a campaign manger not a candidate. There seems to be a connection to Congressman Adriano Espaillat, as Councilman Rodriguez announced his candidacy after State Senator Gustavo Rivera dropped out of the congressional race. Both Rivera and Rodriguez have ties to Espaillat.    


A photo of those on hand Sunday at the Grand Slam Catering Hall located on East Tremont Avenue.

Saturday, November 2, 2019

MANHATTAN U.S. ATTORNEY SETTLES FRAUD SUIT AGAINST AHERN PAINTING CONTRACTORS FOR FALSE STATEMENTS ABOUT DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS PARTICIPATION ON FEDERAL CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS


Ahern Painting Contractors Agrees to Pay $3 Million and Admits Conduct Alleged in the Complaint 

  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Douglas Shoemaker, regional Special Agent-in-Charge of the United States Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (“USDOT-OIG”), Margaret Garnett, the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”), and Carolyn Pokorny, Inspector General of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (“MTA-OIG”), announced today that the United States has settled civil fraud claims against New York-area painting contractor AHERN PAINTING CONTRACTORS CO. (“AHERN”). The settlement resolves the United States’ allegations in a False Claims Act lawsuit that AHERN fraudulently obtained payments on two federally funded construction projects by misrepresenting compliance with Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (“DBE”) rules, which require participation of businesses owned by women and minorities. Specifically, the United States alleged that AHERN misrepresented that co-defendant TOWER MAINTENANCE CORP. (“TOWER”), a certified DBE, was solely performing millions of dollars of work on the two projects when in fact much of that work was performed by co-defendant SPECTRUM PAINTING CORP. (“SPECTRUM”), a non-DBE. As part of the settlement approved by U.S. District Judge Deborah A. Batts, AHERN admits and accepts responsibility for conduct alleged in the Government’s complaint and agrees to pay $3 million to the United States. The case against defendants TOWER and SPECTRUM is ongoing

 Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Contractors who exploit the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program to unlawfully obtain millions of dollars in federal funding will be held to account. Today’s settlement reflects this Office’s commitment to root out fraud in federally funded contracts, so that legitimate minority- and women-owned businesses can participate in public construction projects.”.

 USDOT-OIG regional Special Agent-in-Charge Douglas Shoemaker said: “Today’s settlement is a positive step on the way to closing the chapter on this egregious fraud scheme involving federally funded contracts administered through the New York City Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. While the damage to the integrity of DOT’s DBE program in this instance has been done, it only serves to strengthen our resolve in pursuing those whose greed prevents the legitimate participation of disadvantaged businesses in federal contracting on public transportation projects.” 

 DOI Commissioner Margaret Garnett said: “Today’s multimillion-dollar settlement demonstrates that law enforcement has its sights on exposing fraud by companies that exploit City and Federal programs aimed at increasing the participation of disadvantaged businesses in public construction projects. DOI and its partners will continue to protect the integrity and effectiveness of these programs with investigations that uncover and deter dishonest conduct.” 

 MTA Inspector General Carolyn Pokorny said: “Disadvantaged Business Enterprise regulations enable honest competition in construction contracts by ensuring an equal and inclusive playing field for all. Today’s DBE fraud settlement highlights the commitment of the Office of the MTA Inspector General, along with all of our prosecutorial and investigative partners, towards prohibiting and rooting out discrimination.” 

As alleged in the complaint filed in Manhattan federal court on March 2, 2019, AHERN was a contractor on two federally funded steel painting projects to renovate the Brooklyn Bridge and Queens Plaza. Contracts for both projects required AHERN to hire DBEs to do a percentage of the work involved and adhere to the DBE regulations. Instead of hiring qualified DBEs to perform the allotted DBE work, AHERN allowed SPECTRUM and TOWER to use TOWER’s status as a DBE to take credit for millions of dollars of work performed, managed, and supervised by non-DBE SPECTRUM. To conceal this scheme, SPECTRUM employees repeatedly identified themselves as TOWER employees in documents that AHERN passed along to supervisors on the project. AHERN and TOWER repeatedly submitted false statements and records to NYC-DOT and MTA misrepresenting that TOWER alone did all of the work allocated to DBEs and that TOWER did not hire a subcontractor to perform any of that work.

As part of the settlement, AHERN admits, acknowledges, and accepts responsibility for conduct alleged in the complaint as described below:

 In March 2010, AHERN’s superintendent met with a TOWER manager and a SPECTRUM manager to do a walk-through of the Brooklyn Bridge worksite. AHERN’s superintendent understood that the SPECTRUM manager would assist TOWER in preparing the bid TOWER submitted for its work as a DBE subcontractor on the Brooklyn Bridge Project; o I

In documents that AHERN received from TOWER and then submitted to Skanska in 2010, TOWER identified the individual who AHERN knew to be a SPECTRUM manager as a “TOWER VP” or as a TOWER employee working on the Brooklyn Bridge Project. In documents AHERN received from TOWER and then submitted to the MTA in 2011, TOWER identified the individual AHERN knew to be a SPECTRUM manager as TOWER’s superintendent for the Queens Plaza Project;

Throughout the Brooklyn Bridge and Queens Plaza Projects, AHERN managers communicated directly with the SPECTRUM manager regarding the management and supervision of the projects, including scheduling and inspecting TOWER’s DBE work, ordering materials for TOWER’s DBE work, and payment for TOWER’s DBE work. An AHERN executive also communicated directly with SPECTRUM’s owner regarding the Brooklyn Bridge and Queens Plaza Projects.

AHERN recklessly disregarded facts showing that SPECTRUM managed and supervised TOWER’s DBE work on the Brooklyn Bridge and Queens Plaza Projects.

AHERN failed to seek clarification regarding the financial and other arrangements between TOWER and SPECTRUM or request a copy of any contract or agreement between TOWER and SPECTRUM regarding SPECTRUM’s role. If AHERN had done so, and TOWER had responded truthfully, AHERN would have learned that TOWER and SPECTRUM had entered into written agreements specifying that SPECTRUM would provide project management support and furnish equipment on the Brooklyn Bridge and Queens Plaza Projects, that TOWER and SPECTRUM would split any profits from the TOWER DBE work on the Brooklyn Bridge and Queens Plaza Projects, and that in addition to the SPECTRUM manager, two other individuals AHERN believed to be TOWER managers were in fact employed by SPECTRUM.

Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the USDOT-OIG, DOI, and MTA-OIG.