I still have 327 days left to go. What's that there is a problem in the Department of Homeless services?
Monday, February 8, 2021
Sunday, February 7, 2021
Governor Cuomo Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress During COVID-19 Pandemic CORONAVIRUSHEALTHPUBLIC SAFETY - FEBRUARY 7, 2021
7,649 Patient Hospitalizations Statewide; Lowest Hospitalization Since Christmas Day
1,459 Patients in the ICU; 979 Intubated
Statewide Positivity Rate is 4.00%; Lowest One-Day Positivity Since November 27
Statewide 7-Day Average Positivity Rate is 4.50%; Lowest 7-Day Average Since December 2
143 COVID-19 Deaths in New York State Yesterday
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
"It's no accident that our positivity and hospitalizations are continuing to decline, this is happening because of the dedication and discipline shown by New Yorkers," Governor Cuomo said. "While we are encouraged by these declining numbers, we must remain vigilant. Today, I urge New Yorkers to enjoy the Superbowl but be smart and don't do anything to undo our progress: wear a mask, practice social distancing and avoid gatherings."
Today's data is summarized briefly below:
- Test Results Reported - 250,892
- Total Positive - 10,025
- Percent Positive - 4.00%
- 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 4.50%
- Patient Hospitalization - 7,649 (-155)
- Net Change Patient Hospitalization Past Week - -327
- Patients Newly Admitted - 878
- Hospital Counties - 57
- Number ICU - 1,459 (-22)
- Number ICU with Intubation - 979 (-16)
- Total Discharges - 132,905 (+893)
- Deaths - 143
- Total Deaths - 36,224
Governor Cuomo Announces Over 2.1 Million Vaccine Doses Administered
As of 11AM today, New York's Health Care Distribution Sites Have Administered 87% of the Total First Doses Received from Federal Government
Vaccine Dashboard Will Update Daily to Provide Updates on the State's Vaccine Program; Go to ny.gov/vaccinetracker; Dashboard Now Includes Demographic Data
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the state has administered over 2,136,209 vaccine doses through the state's vaccination program. The total week 8 federal allocation of vaccine delivery to providers will be complete today. As of 11AM today, New York's health care distribution sites have received 1,874,975 first doses and already administered 87 percent 1,627,191 first dose vaccinations and 76 percent of first and second doses. Delivery of the week 9 allocation from the federal government begins mid-week.
"Our singular focus right now is getting vaccines into arms and the daily numbers continue to demonstrate we are doing that job quickly and effectively, as we have administered over 2.1 million doses so far," Governor Cuomo said. "We have the operational capacity to do much more and the only limiting factor is lack of supply. But I am hopeful because we now have a partner in the White House who is working to increase supply to states, and we will continue to work hand in glove with them to get every single New Yorker vaccinated as fast as possible."
Approximately 7 million New Yorkers are currently eligible to receive the vaccine. The federal government has increased the weekly supply by more than 20 percent over the next three weeks, but New York's vast distribution network and large population of eligible individuals still far exceed the supply coming from the federal government. Due to limited supply, New Yorkers are encouraged to remain patient and are advised not to show up at vaccination sites without an appointment.
Coalition to Save Brust Park 11th City Council Forum
The coalition to save Brust Park was formed to save a small open space that is threatened by a developer who is planning to build a large building right next to Brust Park, in what was an empty lot on Dash Place in Community Board 8.
The coalition decided to hear what the candidates for the 11th City Council seat had to say about the matter by hosting a forum Saturday night. Candidates on the ballot for the March 23rd special election are Eric Dinowitz, Jessica Haller, Mino Lori, Dan Padernacht, Kevin Pazzmino, and Carlton Berkley (who was not in attendance). Also included in the forum were the two candidates who withdrew from the special election saying they are running in the June Primary.
After introductions and opening speeches the questions to the candidates began. Most of the questions were related to the local community board and its powers against developers. Here is where the candidates were separated into those who know policy, and those who didn't. Dan Padernacht having been on Community Board 8 for twelve years and Chair of the board for three of those years explained the process, and how the community board works with developers to meet the needs of the community. There have been times when Community Board 8 has been able to get an unwanted development stopped, but he admitted it is a hard process sometimes because developers don't always want to change their plans since according to city zoning rules there are set guidelines on what can be built. Eric Dinowitz, also a member of Community Board 8, echoed much of what Padernacht said being on the board for only a few years. Jessica Haller said that the community board doesn't work hard enough, and there should be term limits for board members. Candidate Haller was corrected when it was brought out that term limits for community board members was passed along with Rank Choice Voting, to which she replied "I must have missed that". Mino Lori changed the subject to say that more affordable housing needs to be built, and stayed silent on most other policy questions. Kevin Pazzmino answered that housing should meet the needs of the community.
The chat room seemed to be very active as candidates and others were exchanging comments. Candidates Jessica Haller and Kevin Pazzmino got into a debate on which mode of transportation should be used to move seniors to their destinations. Pazzmino wanted to use cabs, whereas Jessica Haller (an environmentalist) said the taxis would add to the air pollution, and seniors should use the buses already in the area. Pazzmino countered by saying they could be hybrid or electric cabs. Jessica Haller said public schools should have salad bars, and when in the chat a comment from a former Parents Association President of RKA said that was tried years ago and failed, Haller replied "then you did not do a good enough job".
The highlight of the night had to be when Marcos Sierra who dropped out of the special election opened his speech slamming Riverdale saying the past council members have come from there, and Riverdale gets while other parts of the council district don't get. He also said that since the 11th council district is a majority minority district that a minority should be elected as the next council member. Mr. Sierra made a similar statement to one person that an older white male should not be running in a cis majority minority district, which Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz said was racially charged. Since Mr. Sierra is the Male District Leader from the 80th Assembly District that person has made a complaint to State Senator Jamaal Bailey the Bronx Democratic Party Chair to remove Mr. Sierra as the Male District Leader, which Senator Bailey refuses to do even after a Brooklyn district leader was removed for saying things about China and Chinese food.
Saturday, February 6, 2021
Mexican Drug Traffickers Charged With Conspiring To Import Large Quantities Of Narcotics Into The United States Based On Seizure Of 2.5 Tons Of Methamphetamine And 100,000 Fentanyl Pills
Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Raymond P. Donovan, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Division of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), and Dermot Shea, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced that JOSE LORETO GASTELUM‑TORRES and FREDY ALEJANDRO GASTELUM‑VEGA were charged in a criminal complaint in Manhattan federal court with conspiring to import approximately 2.5 tons of methamphetamine and 100,000 fentanyl pills into the United States. The charge arises from a January 29, 2021, seizure by Mexico’s SecretarÃa de Marina (the “Mexican Navy”) of approximately 2.5 tons of methamphetamine and 100,000 fentanyl pills in Sinaloa, Mexico.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “Thanks to the DEA, HSI, the NYPD, and the rest of our OCDETF New York Strike Force partners, as well as the Mexican Navy, a major shipment of potentially lethal drugs was interdicted before it could addict, poison, and potentially kill untold numbers of people in the United States.”
DEA Special Agent in Charge Raymond P. Donovan said: “There is a tidal wave of fentanyl and methamphetamine being pushed from Mexico into the United States. Case in point, these two traffickers were allegedly caught red-handed with over $90 million dollars’ worth of fentanyl and methamphetamine. Traffickers see opportunities when drug overdoses rise, and they are trying to flood American markets with these synthetic, highly addictive, and dangerous drugs. DEA and our law enforcement partners will continue to target drug networks to keep Americans safe and save lives.”
HSI Special Agent in Charge Peter C. Fitzhugh said: “Those arrested allegedly sought to traffic thousands of fentanyl pills and multiple tons of methamphetamine, which would only exacerbate the plague currently devastating our community while steadily increasing addictions and overdose deaths. The Strike Force has been a proven model for success in dismantling transnational narcotics trafficking organizations. HSI showcased our unique value at the Strike Force in this case by leveraging our border resources to not only effectively address threats and vulnerabilities but moreover promote collaboration in furthering these investigations, making timely and significant arrests, and stopping deadly drugs from flooding our streets.”
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said: “Today’s charges demonstrate that the investigative efforts of the NYPD in coordination with our law enforcement partners are far-reaching and focused. As long as individuals, wherever they may be, are involved in illegal narcotics trafficking, the NYPD and our partners will relentlessly work to end the threat to public safety. I commend and thank the NYPD investigators, members of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force Initiative, agents from the New York Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the attorneys at the United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District, for their dedication to this investigation.
As alleged in the Complaint unsealed in federal court[1]:
On or about January 29, 2021, the Mexican Navy located and began tracking an outboard‑powered boat traveling from Las Arenitas, Sinaloa, Mexico, northwest through the Gulf of California. Approximately several hours later, the Mexican Navy interdicted the vessel in or around Topolobampo, Sinaloa, Mexico, and arrested GASTELUM‑TORRES and GASTELUM‑VEGA. Mexican Navy officers seized approximately 960 plastic containers from the boat, which contained approximately 2.5 tons of methamphetamine and 100,000 pills of fentanyl.
GASTELUM‑TORRES, 53, and GASTELUM‑VEGA, 33, of Mexico, are each charged with conspiring to import at least 500 grams of methamphetamine and at least 400 grams of fentanyl into the United States, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants would be determined by the judge.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (“OCDETF”) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.
This investigation was conducted by the OCDETF New York Strike Force in partnership with the DEA’s law enforcement partners. The OCDETF New York Strike Force comprises federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies supported by OCDETF and the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. The Strike Force is affiliated with the DEA’s New York Division and includes agents and officers of the DEA, NYPD, New York State Police, HSI, U.S. Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Marshals Service, New York National Guard, Clarkstown Police Department, U.S. Coast Guard, Port Washington Police Department, and New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the OCDETF New York Strike Force and Mexico’s SecretarÃa de Marina.
The charge contained in the Complaint is merely an allegation, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint, and the description of the Complaint set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described herein should be treated as an allegation as to the defendants charged in the Complaint.
Governor Cuomo Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress During Covid-19 Pandemic - FEBRUARY 6, 2021
7,804 Patient Hospitalizations Statewide - Lowest Since December 27
1,481 Patients in the ICU; 995 Intubated
Statewide Positivity Rate is 4.31%
Statewide 7-Day Average is 4.58% - Lowest Since December 2
158 COVID-19 Deaths in New York State Yesterday
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
"New York's positivity and hospitalization numbers continue to decline from the holiday surge, a reflection of the discipline New Yorkers have shown to defeat the virus," Governor Cuomo said. "The ultimate weapon to win the war is the vaccine and we are getting needles into arms every day, but we need more supply because we have the operational capacity to do much more. Super Bowl weekend is here and while the instinct may be to celebrate together, we cannot get cocky - we must continue doing the things we know are effective at taming the virus: wear a mask, adhere to social distancing, and avoid gatherings. We can beat this thing, but we must stay smart."
Today's data is summarized briefly below:
- Test Results Reported - 261,285
- Total Positive - 11,252
- Percent Positive - 4.31%
- 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 4.58%
- Patient Hospitalization - 7,804 (-133)
- Net Change Patient Hospitalization Past Week - -372
- Patients Newly Admitted - 921
- Hospital Counties - 57
- Number ICU - 1,481 (-35)
- Number ICU with Intubation - 995 (-5)
- Total Discharges - 132,012 (+847)
- Deaths - 158
- Total Deaths - 36,079
Head Of Merchant Bank Sentenced To 24 Months In Prison In Connection With Multimillion-Dollar Securities Fraud Scheme
Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that CRAIG ZABALA, the chairman, chief executive officer, and president of Concorde Group Holdings Inc. (“Holdings”), was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for participating in a scheme to defraud investors in Holdings, a purported merchant banking firm. Among other illicit activity, ZABALA fraudulently induced at least 17 investors to invest approximately $4.38 million based on false and misleading statements, by failing to use investors’ funds as promised, and by converting investors’ money to his own use. ZABALA pled guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud on October 22, 2020, before U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken, who also imposed today’s sentence.
U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “Craig Zabala defrauded investors out of more than $4 million through a purported financial services firm he controlled. He lied to investors about how much money had been raised, who had invested, how close the firm was to an IPO, and how he would use investors’ money. Zabala appropriated most of the money for his own use or to pay off investors in a Ponzi-like fashion. Now he has been sentenced to prison for his crimes.”
According to the allegations in the Complaint, the Information, and other proceedings in this case:
CRAIG ZABALA was the chairman, CEO, and president of various affiliated and intertwined purported financial services companies: Holdings, Concorde Group, Inc. (“Group”), Blackhawk Capital Group BDC, Inc. (“Blackhawk”), DBL Holdings, LLC, d/b/a “Drexel Burnham Lambert” (“DBL”), Concorde Investment Managers, LLC (“CIM”), and Concorde Europe, Ltd. (“Concorde Europe”). In or about August 2019, FINRA barred ZABALA from the broker-dealer industry, including because of his failure to cooperate with a FINRA investigation.
Holdings was a Delaware corporation formed in or about 2015, with an office in Jersey City, New Jersey, and a mailing address in New York, New York. Holdings purported to provide financial services, including merchant banking, investment banking, asset management, and securities brokerage services, to entrepreneurs, investors, and businesses in the middle market, meaning small to mid-sized companies with revenue and market capitalizations of less than $1 billion, in North America, Europe, and Asia. Holdings’ purported affiliates included Group, DBL, Blackhawk, CIM, and Concorde Europe. ZABALA was a majority owner of Holdings.
Group was a Delaware corporation formed in or about 1995, based in New York, New York, that purported to provide the same types of financial services as Holdings. Group’s purported affiliates included DBL, Blackhawk, CIM, and Concorde Europe. ZABALA was a majority owner of Group. Between in or about 2001 and in or about 2014, Group purportedly raised approximately $18 million from investors.
From at least in or about 2015 through in or about 2020, ZABALA and others perpetrated a scheme to defraud at least approximately 17 investors out of approximately $4.38 million in Holdings notes, warrants, and equity. Almost all of these investors invested in a private offering by Holdings of $25 million in senior secured notes with attached warrants paying 13 percent interest (the “Holdings Offering”).
ZABALA falsely represented that the proceeds from the offerings would be used to grow Holdings’ purported merchant banking business by investing in and buying other financial services companies. In truth and in fact, and as ZABALA well knew, Holdings did not make any investments in or buy other companies; it was a shell company.
ZABALA falsely represented that Holdings was successfully raising money from investors, claiming that Holdings had raised nearly all of the $25 million targeted in the Holdings Offering and that the family office of a wealthy German family had invested millions of dollars in Holdings. In truth and in fact, and as ZABALA well knew, Holdings only raised a few million dollars (the majority from one investor), and the family office never invested in, and never committed to invest in, Holdings.
ZABALA falsely represented to Holdings Investors that Holdings would soon have an initial public offering (“IPO”), which would result in large profits to Holdings investors. In truth and in fact, and as ZABALA well knew, Holdings was not close to an IPO.
ZABALA converted at least approximately 70 percent of the approximately $4.38 million in Holdings investor funds in the form of cash withdrawals and other transfers to himself, payments to his girlfriend, payments of his personal credit card bills, and repayment of Group investors in a Ponzi-like fashion.
ZABALA, 69, of New York, New York, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release, ordered to forfeit $4,380,000, and to pay restitution of $4,380,000.
Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding work of the United States Postal Inspection Service’s New York Division, and also thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for their assistance and cooperation in this investigation.