Sunday, December 20, 2020

BRONX MAN INDICTED FOR INTENTIONALLY SETTING RIVERDALE APARTMENT BUILDING ON FIRE

 

Fire Left Three People With Lung Damage, One of Them Was Also Burned

 Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx man has been indicted on first-degree Arson and additional charges, for intentionally setting an apartment building ablaze in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, critically injuring three people. 

 District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant allegedly started a fire in a five-story building he lived in, not caring about the danger to dozens of his neighbors. Three people sustained injuries and were in the hospital on a ventilator because of smoke inhalation. One of them required skin grafts. The victims are still suffering terrible physical and emotional pain because of the defendant’s alleged barbaric actions.” 

 District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Albert Blease, 48, of 215 West 242nd Street, was arraigned today on first, second and third-degree Arson, six counts of first-degree Assault, six counts of second-degree Assault, second and third-degree Criminal Mischief, first and second degree Reckless Endangerment, and fourth-degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Efrain Alvarado. The defendant was released and is due back in court on March 18, 2021.

 According to the investigation, at approximately 9:00 a.m. on March 6, 2020 at 215 West 242nd Street, the defendant, who lived on the first floor, set gasoline cans on fire in his apartment. First responders nearby were alerted and saw Blease’s apartment on fire and went inside. They observed Blease with a machete and two gas cans in the doorway.

 The fire traveled to the apartment located above the defendant’s home, injuring Damarys Molina, 59, and Carlos Matias 37. Molina sustained lung damage and burn injuries. She received three skin grafts and was on a ventilator for a month. Blease’s next door neighbor, Joshua Pizarro, 31, who went back into the building to alert neighbors about the flames and urged them to run to safety, was also injured. Pizarro and Matias were put on a ventilator after sustaining lung damage due to smoke inhalation.
 

 District Attorney Clark thanked Emergency Services Unit Detectives Justin Hoff and Jason Egnaczyk, who responded to the scene, and NYPD Detective Robert Bourne of the Arson and Explosion Squad.

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

 

Saturday, December 19, 2020

Suspect Taken in For Alleged Possession of a Gun in 49th Precinct




Six 49th Precinct police cars converged on the corner of Williamsbridge Road and Pelham Parkway South around a gray Infiniti with New Jersey plates. The driver of the Infinity was taken into custody and the car taken to the 49th precinct. 

So why was the driver taken into custody, and why were there six police cars that responded? 

In the photo above police officers from the 49th Precinct at 3:05 PM appear to have the driver outside the car in handcuffs, while two other police officers appear to be talking to someone inside the car. A young lady then steps out pf the car, but is not arrested. As the police are taking the driver away I ask her what happened. The unidentified young lady says a car was following them, the driver called the police to say that the driver of the infinity had a gun, and the police stopped the car and took him into custody. A police officer then told the young lady that since she could not drive the car that it would be driven to the 49th Precinct by a police officer. The young lady was also asked to go to the precinct house.  

Wearing my NYPD issued Media Identification I asked one of the two sergeants who was on the scene why the driver was being taken into custody, but received no answer from him. At 4:30 PM I called the 49th Precinct and was told by the person who answered the phone they knew nothing about what I was talking about. I asked to speak to the officer in charge, and was told there was no one in charge at the precinct. 

I then called downtown to the DCPI unit. The Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Public Information (DCPI) who works with the media. I said who I was, what I saw, and asked why was the driver taken into custody and the car impounded? I was told nothing came into the DCPI unit, and to call back later. 

At 7:30 PM, four and a half hours after the incident I repeated my question, wanting to know what happened for this story. Once again I was told the DCPI unit had nothing on this., so I decided to write this story without any information from the 49th Precinct or the DCPI unit of the NYPD, and just what I saw, heard, and was told by what appeared to be the passenger of the car where the driver was taken into custody, and the car impounded at the 49th Precinct house.


Above - The unidentified young lady is out of the car and standing between the two police officer.
Below - The driver of the Infiniti with New Jersey plates is handcuffed and about to be placed in a police car. One police officer by the young lady turns to see what I am doing.




The driver of the Infiniti is now being led to a police car to be brought to the 49th Precinct. 

MAYOR DE BLASIO AND CHANCELLOR CARRANZA ANNOUNCE 2021-22 SCHOOL YEAR ADMISSIONS PROCESS

 

Middle school screens will be paused and geographic priorities for high schools will be removed  

 Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza today announced changes to the middle and high school admissions process for NYC Department of Education (DOE) public schools beginning this winter for the 2021-22 school year. As the City charts its path forward with its COVID-19 response, these changes will result in a fairer process for all New York City families.   

"The COVID-19 crisis has exposed longstanding inequities in our City's public schools," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “Now, as we rebuild our city, we are expanding opportunities for all public-school students and doubling down on our mission to provide a quality education for all, regardless of a child's zip code.”  

 

“It is my responsibility to deliver the highest-quality education possible to each child, so that they are prepared for a successful, productive life, and empowered with the skills they need to chase their dreams and lead us all forward,” said Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza. “This year, we have faced the unknown together, and as we look ahead, we know that opening up more of our schools to more of our students will make our system stronger and more equitable for all.” 

 

Today’s announcements build on existing steps the administration has taken to advance diversity and equity in admissions decisions and expand opportunity for all students They include: 

 

Middle School 

A pause on use of all screens for middle school admissions for this year, meaning that students applying to middle school will not be selected based on previously used screening criteria. 196 middle schools use screens—metrics by which applicants are sorted and selected—for admissions decisions. These screens can include grades, student interviews, school-based assessments, behavioral evaluations, standardized test scores, and attendance. Instead, students will rank their choices on their middle school application as they always have; for schools with more applications than seats available for their sixth-grade class, students will be chosen through a lottery-based system.   

 

The DOE will evaluate this one-year pause on middle school screens in the enrollment cycle for the 2022-23 school year, depending on the availability of data for next year’s applicants and the outcomes of this new approach. A district priority will remain in place for middle schools that currently have it, as many families across the city have indicated they want their young children to go to a school close to their residence. Schools and districts that have priorities in place for students from historically underserved communities, those will remain in effect also. 

 

Students and families can start applying to middle school the week of January 11, 2021, and the deadline to apply will be the week of February 8, 2021. 

 

High School  

District priorities for high school admissions will be permanently eliminated this year, and all other geographic priorities will be eliminated next year. This phase out over two years will start with 48 high schools that use district priorities in this first year. Approximately 250 total high schools have some type of district or geographic priority in place, such as borough-based priority, limiting opportunity for hard-working students to attend some of our most in-demand schools based on where they live. This will expand opportunity and increase choice for all rising high school students. 

 

Academic screens may remain in place at high schools that currently use screens and wish to continue to use them. If a student lists a screened school on their high school application, a combination of 2018-2019 state tests, the previous years’ grades, and/or school-established criteria. Schools will be required to publicly publish their rubric criteria on MySchools and the ranking process will be centralized to ensure equity and transparency. 

 

Screened schools have the option of not using screens this year if they wish, and are encouraged  to make a concerted effort towards greater equity in their processes, either by electing to remove additional screens now or implementing a Diversity in Admissions priority. Approximately 100 NYC public schools currently prioritize targeted groups of students including, but not limited to, low-income students, English Language Learners, and students in temporary housing -- we invite more schools to expand access to students of all backgrounds.  

 

The high school application will open the week of January 18, 2021, and the deadline to apply is the week of February 22, 2021. 

 

District Diversity Plans 

The DOE will support five additional districts in joining districts 9, 13, 16, 28, and 31and secure a grant to develop a community-led District Diversity Plan to foster greater integration in their classrooms. Including districts 1, 3, and 15 who have also launched community driven plans to increase diversity in their schools, this will bring a total of 13 districts actively developing or managing diversity plans. Over the next four years, diversity planning will be expanded to all 32 community school districts, which will help our schools and classrooms become more inclusive for all and center community voice in developing a path forward.  

 

SHSAT and Arts Auditions 

The City is required by State law to administer the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT). Beginning Monday, December 21, 2020, students can register to test for admission to the Specialized High Schools.  

 

The logistics involved in proctoring the exam are being altered to ensure the health and safety of staff and students. The SHSAT registration will close on January 15th, 2021. The exam will now be administered in students’ own middle schools to reduce travel and mixing of different cohorts of children.  

 

The SHSAT will be administered beginning in late January. Families can complete their application via the MySchools portal, by calling P311, or through a virtual Family Welcome Center. 

 

Arts high schools will move to a virtual audition system that will allow students to submit their audition online. Students will only need to create one audition that can be submitted for all schools that require it. 


EDITOR'S NOTE:

A one year pilot plan will not work, because once a student is in a school all of their siblings are allowed entry to the same school. There is no plan on how students will get to school if they have to travel, because sixth grade students are given bus service to and from school if they live beyond a certain distance from the school. There is also no plan for a student to go to school in other boroughs, which I would suggest to Bronx parents since Bronx public schools lag far behind the other four boroughs in student performance. Then there is the question of remedial programs to students who may come from poor performing schools to schools those that are higher performing.  


Friday, December 18, 2020

Governor Cuomo Announces New York State Clinical Advisory Task Force Approves Moderna Vaccine and COVID-18 indicators for DECEMBER 18, 2020

 

346,000 Doses of Moderna Vaccine Expected in New York State Next Week

DOH Approves Use & Issues Guidance for Extra COVID-19 Vaccine Doses in Pfizer Vials

6,081 Patient Hospitalizations Statewide - Decrease of 66 from Day Prio

1,068 Patients in the ICU; 592 Intubated - Both Decrease from Day Prior

Statewide Positivity Rate is 5.09%

120 COVID-19 Deaths in New York State Yesterday

New Record 249,385 Test Results Reported to New York State Yesterday

 Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the New York State Clinical Advisory Task Force, following the FDA's advisory committee's recommendation for emergency use authorization of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, has reviewed and approved use of the vaccine in New York State. New York expects to receive approximately 346,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine next week, pending final FDA authorization.

The Governor also announced that the State Department of Health has approved and issued guidance regarding the use of an extra one to two doses that have been discovered in Pfizer vaccine shipments. Pfizer vaccine vials were previously believed to contain five doses each, but may possibly contain six or seven doses. Medical professionals administering doses can use any extra vaccine that can be easily pulled into a syringe to meet the dose requirement. Extra vaccine from one vial cannot be combined with extra vaccine from another vial to make an additional dose. The New York State Department of Health is issuing guidance today to guide healthcare professionals regarding these extra doses. A letter from DOH Commissioner Howard Zucker is available here.

"New Yorkers are smart, they see the COVID numbers and they understand the risks. I think they're going to learn from Thanksgiving and I think you'll see a smarter response through the holiday season. I believe we can avoid a shutdown because we can slow the spread and the hospitals can manage the increase in cases. This is now a footrace between the vaccine and COVID, and as we slow the spread we also have to accelerate vaccine distribution at the same time," Governor Cuomo said. "The faster we vaccinate people, the quicker new COVID cases go down, and the potential six-to-nine-month timeline is all in our control. I believe we had the first vaccination in the country because I believe New York is mobilizing faster and is more organized than any other state. New York's Clinical Advisory Task Force approved Moderna's vaccine this morning and we're expecting doses of it next week, which is good news. The even better news is that the supply of vaccine doses is actually bigger than we thought and we'll be authorizing the use of those additional doses today."

Today's data is summarized briefly below:

  • Test Results Reported - 249,385
  • New Cases - 12,697
  • Percent Positive - 5.09%
  • Patient Hospitalization - 6,081 (-66)
  • Patients Newly Admitted - 698
  • Hospital Counties - 55
  • Number ICU - 1,068 (-27)
  • Number ICU with Intubation - 592 (-19)
  • Total Discharges - 94,057 (+639)
  • Deaths - 120
  • Total Deaths - 28,344

NYS Office of the Comptroller DiNapoli: State Tax Revenues $3 Billion Below Last Year

 

State tax receipts in November were higher than expected by the Division of the Budget (DOB), but collections through the first eight months of the state fiscal year were $3 billion lower than last year, according to the monthly State Cash Report released by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

Tax receipts in the month of November totaled $4.3 billion, $52.5 million above last year and $806.7 million higher than the projection in DOB’s State Fiscal Year 2021 Mid-Year Update, issued Oct. 30. Tax receipts from the start of the state’s fiscal year in April through November were $374.6 million above DOB’s latest projections.

“With ongoing economic challenges, we continue to expect a multi-billion-dollar shortfall in state tax revenues for the fiscal year despite the November numbers,” DiNapoli said. “If leaders in Washington cannot reach agreement on help for state and local governments this week, it must be at the top of the agenda for quick action in the new year.”

Personal income tax receipts in November were $105.4 million, or 4.3 percent, above 2019, due to higher withholding and lower refunds. Sales tax receipts were $83.8 million or 6.7 percent lower than a year earlier. 

State Operating Funds spending through the first eight months of the fiscal year totaled $55.8 billion, which was $7.8 billion, or 12.2 percent, lower than last year. This is primarily due to higher federal reimbursement for Medicaid spending, as well as over $2.6 billion in withheld local assistance and other payments.  

As of Nov. 30, the General Fund held a balance of $13.6 billion, $368.3 million lower than DOB projections, and $7 billion higher than last year at the same time. The higher balance is driven partly by receipts from short-term borrowing that DOB anticipates repaying before the end of the fiscal year. On Dec. 15, the state repaid $1 billion of that borrowing; the remaining $3.4 billion is due by March.

November Cash Report

Day 34 and still not called on to ask Mayor de Blasio a question - MAYOR DE BLASIO HOLDS MEDIA AVAILABILITY - What are you afraid of now?

 

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Good morning, everybody. We have a lot to go over today. Chancellor Carranza is here and we’re going to be making an important announcement related to education. But first, let me speak to the report that came out this morning from our Department of Investigation – a very, very important report, looking back on the protests in May and June. It is a clear, blunt, clear – objective report, an honest report. I want to state my full support for the conclusions and the recommendations in this report. I want to thank Commissioner Margaret Garnett and the whole team at the Department of Investigation. We needed objective, unsparing look at what happened in May and June. We needed to understand what went right, what went wrong, what needs to be different, what needs to be better. I certainly take full responsibility for the issues that are raised in the report and the changes that we have to make. So, I asked for an independent review, I’ve gotten an independent review, and I support that review and its findings. 

 

We've got a lot of work to do. I am confident we can do that work. We will implement the recommendations in the Department of Investigation report, but we're going to go farther than that. The work of reforming the NYPD, of deepening neighborhood policing, of changing police culture – that work must intensify and it will in the year 2021. A lot is already being planned that will be unveiled in the coming weeks. But the bottom line is we can never accept a broken status quo. We can never go back to a past that didn't work. COVID – the COVID era has taught us that so clearly. And we need to do better and we will, and that means a commitment to fighting disparities and inequality in every part of the life of New York City. And that certainly takes us to education, where if you're talking about the problems of disparity, if you're talking about structural racism, certainly policing is not the only area to talk about. There are many areas to talk about and education must be front and center. There has been so much that needed to be addressed in education in New York City. And from the beginning, what I tried to focus on was a very simple concept, equity and excellence – that we needed to profoundly change the distribution of resources. I like to say very bluntly, our mission is to redistribute wealth. A lot of people bristle at that phrase – that is in fact the phrase we need to use. We have been doing this work for seven years to more equitably redistribute resources throughout our school system. That means Pre-K for All, 3-K for All, Advanced Placement courses in every high school, including those that never had a single one. It means changing school funding formulas. There are so many things that we've tried to do to profoundly rebalance the equation – community schools, focusing on schools that the help the most in communities that had not been invested in. That work will continue this year, for sure – this hardest of all school years. But starting in September, the Chancellor and I announced our 2021 Student Achievement Plan, which is going to focus on closing the COVID achievement gap and ensuring that there is fairness for our kids, support for them, but with a special focus on the 27 neighborhoods most deeply affected by COVID. And those are Black communities, Latino communities, Asian communities that bore the brunt. So, this work has been going on in a lot of different ways over the last seven years. It has to intensify now, given all the lessons we've learned during this most painful of years.  

 

As we look beyond this year, we understand that there are many, many tools, many things we can do differently, and it's time to start using every tool at our disposal to address inequality and to improve the education of all children. And those two things go together, addressing inequality, stopping disparity, and improving education for all – that's one continuous mission. So, today, we're announcing changes to our high school and middle school admissions policies. And I think these changes will improve justice and fairness, but they'll also make the process simpler and fairer, particularly given what we're dealing with this year and all the results of the coronavirus that have changed the way we have to do things. So, beginning right away – and this will be for the 2021-22 school year, but the admissions process, obviously, will be starting now – for middle schools, there'll be a one-year pause for screens – for screened schools for those criteria used in “screened schools.” Those criteria will be put on pause for next academic year and for the admissions process happening now for high schools, we will eliminate geographic priorities over the next two years, thus giving a much bigger swath of the city, an opportunity to experience some of our great high schools. 

 

We also be expanding diversity planning to all 32 school districts in New York City – that will happen over the next four years. Right away, we're going to get five more districts going in that effort. The districts that have done that work have seen extraordinary results. District 3 and District 1 in Manhattan, District 15 in Brooklyn – my district, where I started out as a community school board member – have had tremendous success with diversity programs, with efforts to make schools, better for everyone and more inclusive of everyone. And they've shown it can work for everyone. So, you're going to see a lot more of that starting now and in the next year, and the years ahead. Here to give you a sense of how this will all come together, our Chancellor Richard Carranza. 

 

Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. This has been a year of new and difficult choices, testing our collective strength and endurance ss we faced the unknown together. We've had to re-invent the building blocks of public education in the nation's largest school system from how to go to class, to a grading policy, attendance and everything in between. As Chancellor, it's my responsibility to deliver the highest-quality education possible to each and every child in this city, so that they are prepared for successful, productive life and empowered with the skills that they need to chase their dreams. There are inequities in our city and in our school system that have been exacerbated this year by the COVID-19 health crisis and has had – and this COVID-19 health crisis has had a disproportionate impact on our communities of color, our immigrant families, the students whose parents never had the option to work from home, and so many more. The health crisis is also interrupted so many of our normal school year practices as we accommodated it's unprecedented wake, including a lack of State testing this year, a revised approach to grading and attendance policies to meet the moment in time. And we took the time to hear feedback and work through this complex and important issue to make sure that we got this right. So, I'm appreciative of all of the students and the families and schools that have engaged with us since last spring and over the summer, literally hundreds and hundreds of town halls and meetings. And I want to thank you for your patience as well as we've crafted this new policy.  

 

Building on this administration's commitment to equity, we're so proud to announce a common-sense approach. Number one, directly – it will directly address the current circumstances attendant to the pandemic. And, number two, this will make it simpler and fairer as a process for our families to be admitted to schools that have already gone through so much during this pandemic. So, for middle schools with screens – all screens will be paused one year, because the screens included the use of State exams, which we don't have those exams anymore. And they were canceled due to COVID. We also don't have the grades or the attendance that we can compare to previous years. Using data from the year prior when rising sixth graders were seven or eight years old, and in their first experience of taking the State test, it's untenable and it's unfair to students. District priorities will still apply. These are young children and during the extensive admissions-focused community engagement that we conducted in the spring and the summer, we heard loud and clear that families requested that we keep the district priority to allow young children to go to a school closer to their home. Common sense – so we're keeping them in place.  

 

For schools that have more applications than seats, admissions will be decided through a lottery-based system. For high schools with screens, we're eliminating geographic priorities for admissions over two years, as the Mayor – as you've announced. In the first year, we'll start with district priorities. And, in the second, we'll extend to all other geographic priorities, like borough residents. These geographic screens have kept too many students out of the high schools of their choice. And this is an important step to open back up so that access and opportunity to your high school options aren't limited by where you live. For remaining screens at the high school level, we invite schools to unscreen now. If they and their school communities wish to do so, we will support you. If they wish to maintain academic or other screens, they will use the previous year’s State tests, previous year’s grades, and the grades from the first part of last year for their screening criteria. And the rubric process – the criteria that is used to rank students will be more transparent than ever before. We're requiring all schools to publicly post their rubrics on myschools. DOE Central will run the ranking process to be faster, fairer, and much more transparent. We also heard that loud and clear from all of our engagement sessions. The specialized high school admissions test – the SHSAT – will continue, as required by State law, and registration will open on December 21st for the SHSAT.  

 

Now, I know this is a lot to take in at once for our family. So, our enrollment team will be offering more support than ever before. And in multiple languages, all rising middle and high school families will receive additional detailed updates on how this will impact them and to help them find an excellent school that is right for them. We remain at the ready to help in any way possible and these changes will help ensure that our classrooms reflect the great diversity that is New York City. And it's also a true representation of the values that we hold dear as a city, that equity, inclusivity and accepting nothing less than excellence for all children is at the cornerstone of what we do. Making these changes helps us meet this challenging moment when our children need us the most. And by lifting up all children, in all schools, we're able to chart a bold path forward. Mr. Mayor, this is not only the practical thing to do, this is the right thing to do. 

 

Mayor: Amen. Thank you so much, Chancellor. Chancellor, thank you. You put an immense amount of time and energy into determining the right way forward here under extraordinary and challenging circumstances. And I want to thank you. I want to thank Deputy Chancellor Josh Wallack. I want to thank your whole cabinet, they put a lot of energy into figuring out the right way to do this going forward. And this is an action based on this year, but it has a lot of ramification for the future. Also, tremendous, thanks to First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan and his team who really focused on how we get this right.  

 

Everyone, the Chancellor clear that based on current state law we will be administering the specialized high school exam. I want to emphasize that timeline registration for the exam begins this Monday, the 21st of December and the test administration will begin on January 27th. There'll be a lot of information coming out to make sure everyone who wants to participate gets the information they need. The Chancellor and I continue to feel that we need a better way going forward on specialized high schools. I want to make sure it's crystal clear. I still believe the status quo in our specialized high schools is broken. I don't think it's inclusive and fair. I think we need to do better. We understand to do that, we will have to have common ground with communities all over the city. We'll have to listen to people, work with people, obviously see if there's something our legislators in Albany feel are comfortable with. But it's important to let people know that process will continue as it has been. And when [inaudible] it's also important to say we can do better in New York City.  

 

Okay. Let me move to a couple of other quick things – again, so much going on, but let's take a moment to reflect on the last 48 hours or so. We came out of the storm. I think the city has come out of this storm very smoothly. I want to really thank everyone at the Sanitation Department and Emergency Management. You did a great job. Special appreciation to New York Strongest, our Sanitation workers who are out there all night, braving the elements to make sure that our streets were clear and safe for all of us. They did a great job. Congratulations, guys – job well done. Thanks again to everyone at Emergency Management who coordinated, kept us all informed, made sure things kept moving. The snow did not affect something that couldn't be more important – the number one topic right now, vaccine, and the distribution of vaccine. The snow did not affect the vaccine distribution and the vaccine schedule. Vaccines were administered as scheduled yesterday in health care facilities. New vaccinations since yesterday morning, almost 4,000 – number to-date, over 9,000. Again, this is a small beginning compared to where we will be going over the coming weeks. But what we're seeing is continued good results from these vaccinations process is going smoothly. It will take off and intensify in the coming days and weeks. In the meantime, we all are dealing with a real challenge, as our indicators make clear, and we all need to focus on wearing masks, on social distancing, avoiding gatherings, not having big family gatherings, not traveling – all of this matters and these indicators will continue to make clear why.  

 

So, let's go over them. Number one, daily number of people admitted to New York City hospitals for suspected COVID 19 – now, this is actually a pretty good report – today's report, 158 patients. More than we want, but well under the 200-patient threshold. That's good, but here's, what's not so good – the hospitalization rate per 100,000, now 3.1 percent. That's too high, we want to be under two. New cases, through the roof, honestly – 2,805 when you do probable and confirmed together. Way too high, we want to get under 550. We’ve got a lot of work to do there. And the percent positivity continues to increase, seven-day rolling average – the next indicator – is 6.16 percent – 6.16. That is way too high. We got to get under five. And, everyone, I will keep saying it – everyone has to participate. What you do makes a huge difference.  

 

Day 34 of waiting to ask Mayor Bill de Blasio the same question.

 


Mayor de Blasio my question is,

The rise in COVID-19 cases began to increase about two weeks after election day, where people were on ling lines next to each other outside and inside poll sites where 50 or more people were not socially distanced. why have you not asked the governor for the current 12th City Council Special Election to be postponed, and all special election you may call after January 1, 2021 to fill two vacant council seats 11th and 15th districts also be postponed to the June Primary 2021 as was done at the beginning of 2020 by the governor when the city was in the first wave of COVID-19?

Attorney General James Sues to End Google’s Illegal Monopolies

 

AG James Helps Lead Bipartisan Coalition of 38 AGs Alleging Google Illegally Maintained Monopolies, Created Insurmountable Barriers to Entry for Competitors
 New York Attorney General Letitia James today continued her work fighting for New York’s consumers and small businesses by co-leading a bipartisan coalition of 38 attorneys general in suing Google LLC for its illegal, anticompetitive conduct that has sought to maintain its monopoly power in the general search services and search advertising markets. Through a series of exclusionary contracts and other anticompetitive conduct, Google has deprived consumers of competition that could lead to greater choice and innovation, as well as better privacy protections. Attorney General James and the coalition also accuse Google of exploiting its market position to accumulate and leverage data to the detriment of consumers, all in an effort to control the market and make billions in profits.

“Google sits at the crossroads of so many areas of our digital economy and has used its dominance to illegally squash competitors, monitor nearly every aspect of our digital lives, and profit to the tune of billions,” said Attorney General James. “Through its illegal conduct, the company has ensured that hundreds of millions of people turn to Google first when looking for an answer, but it doesn’t take a web search to understand that unchecked corporate power shouldn’t have disproportionate control over our data and information. For decades now, Google has served as the gatekeeper of the internet and has weaponized our data to kill off competitors and control our decision making — resulting in all of us paying more for the services we use every day.”

Areas of Monopoly Power

Google dominates the search market on the Internet, but, over time, has also vastly expanded its products to include online advertising technologies, cloud computing, software, and hardware, among other areas. The states’ complaint, today, alleges that Google has left behind its tech-startup origins and built itself into a web-ecosystem behemoth, maintaining its monopolies using multiple forms of anticompetitive conduct in the general search and search advertising-related markets:

  • General Search Services: General search engines give users the ability to enter keyword queries to search the contents of the web. Close to 90 percent of all internet searches done in the United States use Google. No competing search engine has more than seven percent of the market, and, over the past decade, no new entrant in the general search market in the United States has accounted for more than one percent of internet searches in a given year.
  • General Search Advertising: Consisting of all paid advertising placements that are supplied by a general search engine in connection with a general search query, including general search text advertisements and specialized advertising supplied by general search engines.

Anticompetitive Conduct

Attorney General James and the coalition allege that Google has maintained its dominance using three main strategies:

  • Exclusionary Agreements: Google uses its massive financial resources to limit consumers’ ability to access competitors. For example, Google pays Apple between $8 and $12 billion per year to ensure that Google is installed as the default search engine on Apple devices and it limits general search competition on Android devices with a web of restrictive contracts. This conduct positions Google as the go-to search engine on browsers and mobile devices. Google is also now pursuing similar strategies with emerging technologies that serve as search-access points, such as voice assistants, home smart speakers, televisions, and internet-connected cars. Additionally, exclusivity arrangements disincentivize current partners from defying Google’s demands, as they stand to lose substantial revenue streams.
     
  • Discriminating Against Specialized Search Sites: Google’s anticompetitive conduct disadvantages specialized search sites — such as those that provide travel, home repair, or local search services (e.g., Expedia, Angie’s List, and Yelp) — by, among other things, depriving them of access to prime real estate on the Google search results page displayed to a user. These sites threaten the advertising revenue Google stands to gain from the valuable subset of searches that are likely to lead to user purchases. Google prioritizes or self-preferences its own specialized search products at the top of a user’s screen, and also discriminates against specialized search sites by barring them from buying specialized ads appearing in desirable sections of the search results page.
     
  • Disadvantaging Competitors Using its Search-Engine Marketing Tool: Google promised that its search-engine marketing tool, SA360, would be neutral and would not favor Google search advertising over that of competing search engines, like Bing. In reality, however, Google rigs the game by artificially driving advertiser spending to itself and limiting the ability of rival search engines to compete for advertising dollars. For example, SA360 unfairly advantages Google by making it artificially appear to advertisers using the tool as though Bing ads perform worse than they actually do. In this way, SA360 steers additional spending towards Google.

Harms

Google’s illegal conduct has impeded competitive threats, limiting the ability of consumers and advertisers to obtain information and make their own choices. The attorneys general argue, in today’s complaint, that more competition in the general search engine market would benefit consumers, for example, though improved privacy protections and more targeted results and opportunities for consumers. Competitive general search engines also could offer better quality advertising and lower prices to advertisers, which would be expected to flow through to consumers.

Further, the states also lay out how Google’s acquisition and command of vast amounts of data — obtained in increasing part because of consumers’ lack of choice — has fortified Google’s monopoly and created significant barriers for potential competitors and innovators.  

Specific Violations

Google is charged with multiple violations of Section 2 of the Sherman Act.

Remedies

The attorneys general ask the court to halt Google’s illegal conduct and restore a competitive marketplace. The states also seek to counter any advantages that Google gained as a result of its anticompetitive conduct, including divestiture of assets as appropriate. Finally, the court is asked to provide any additional relief it determines appropriate, as well as reasonable fees and costs to the states.

The states’ complaint is consistent with but goes further than the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on October 20, which alleged that Google improperly maintains its monopoly power in general search and search advertising through the use of exclusionary agreements. Today’s complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, in conjunction with a motion to consolidate that seeks to combine the states’ case with the pending U.S. DOJ case.

Separately, in her effort to fight for consumers and small businesses hurt by the anticompetitive actions of different tech giants, Attorney General James, just last week, led a bipartisan coalition of 48 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against social networking giant Facebook for stifling competition to protect its monopoly power. Facebook’s illegal actions have deprived users from the benefits of competition and reduced privacy protections and services along the way — all in an effort to boost its bottom line through increased advertising revenue.

Attorney General James co-led the Google investigation and today’s lawsuit with an executive committee that includes the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah. The executive committee is joined by the attorneys general of Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming, the District of Columbia, and the territories of Guam and Puerto Rico.