A RECOVERY FOR ALL OF US: CITY ANNOUNCES PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP HAS DELIVERED WI-FI AND BROADBAND UPGRADES AT CORNERSTONE AND LEARNING LABS PROGRAMS IN 50 NYCHA COMMUNITY CENTERS

In partnership with The Information Technology Disaster Resource Center (ITDRC), The Rockefeller Foundation, Zoom, Cielo Scholarship Foundation, and EducationSuperHighway, the City enhanced access to remote learning for thousands of young people in NYCHA communities with hi-speed Wi-Fi and broadband at existing Cornerstones

 Mayor Bill de Blasio, the New York City Mayor’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer (MOCTO), the New York City Department of Education (DOE), the New York City Department of Youth & Community Development (DYCD), and the COVID-19 Public-Private Partnership Czar today announced a public-private partnership with The Information Technology Disaster Resource Center (ITDRC), The Rockefeller Foundation, Zoom, Cielo Scholarship Foundation, and EducationSuperHighway has delivered Wi-Fi and broadband upgrades to ensure that students learning remotely in the Learning Labs K-8 component of Learning Bridges at DYCD-funded Cornerstone Community Centers have access to free high-speed connectivity.

 

More than 12,000 young people and adults will benefit from the enhancements during active programming at the centers, in addition to thousands of community members who can access the free Wi-Fi hotspots provided by ITDRC as a result of this partnership.

 

 “Supporting our students as they navigate distance learning is critical, and connectivity is key,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “These community centers will be hubs for Internet access, and I am grateful for our partners for working with us to get this done.”

 

The sites with the greatest need were prioritized to receive the in-kind upgrades valued at more than a half million dollars following a survey of 143 programs that included Cornerstones, Learning Labs based in Cornerstones, and COMPASS Learning Labs in non-DOE buildings across the five boroughs. Of the 50 unique Cornerstones identified, twenty had both Wi-Fi and broadband installed, twenty received broadband, and ten were outfitted with Wi-Fi. In addition to supporting students in Learning Labs programs at Cornerstones, the enhancements will benefit young people and adults for years to come at Cornerstone afterschool, evening and weekend programs, and through community-accessible hot spots provided by ITDRC at 30 of the sites.

 

The City will continue efforts to address the digital divide in underserved communities through the Universal Solicitation for Broadband RFP, announced this week.

 

“This impressive cross-sector partnership will bring crucial support to young New Yorkers whose schooling has been moved online due to the pandemic,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Laura Anglin. “The City of New York thanks The Information Technology Disaster Resource Center, The Rockefeller Foundation, Zoom, Cielo Scholarship Foundation, and EducationSuperHighway for their donations, and continued commitment to New York City students’ equitable access to education and technology.”

 

The public-private initiative was made possible due to the partnership between the City and the following organizations:

 

The Information Technology Disaster Resource Center (ITDRC) is a volunteer-driven non-profit that provides communities with the technical resources necessary to continue operations and recover after catastrophic events. As part of its projectConnect initiative, ITDRC provided and managed the installation of Wi-Fi and network equipment upgrades at the designated Learning Labs sites and is overseeing the transition to the new broadband system.

 

The Rockefeller Foundation, which works to bring together and support innovative initiatives to create meaningful change and drive development, is providing funds to support high-speed internet connectivity for students at the Learning Labs sites.

 

Zoom, the communications technology company that provides video, telephone and online chat services through a cloud-based peer-to-peer software platform, is providing funds to ensure quality, high-speed internet connectivity at each of the Learning Labs sites.

 

EducationSuperHighway, which works to create equitable digital learning opportunities for public school students by facilitating access to high-speed internet, played an integral role in creating this partnership. The national non-profit identified and brought together partners for this project, providing recommendations and expertise on broadband network architecture for the City.

 

Cielo Scholarship Foundation provided funding for broadband upgrades.

 

The following sites received upgrades (* denotes centers with community-accessible hot spots provided by ITDRC):

BRONX LOCATIONS

 

Cornerstone	Provider Name	Address
Melrose*	BronxWorks	286 East 156 Street
Butler*	Directions For Our Youth (DFOY)	1368 Webster Avenue
Edenwald	Mosholu Montefiore Community Center (MCCC)	1150 East 229 Street
Marble Hill	Mosholu Montefiore Community Center (MMCC)	5365 Broadway
Boston Secor*	Mosholu Montefiore Community Center (MMCC)	3540 Bivona Street
Davidson*	SoBro	1221 Prospect Avenue
Fort Independence*	Mosholu Montefiore Community Center (MMCC)	3350 Bailey Avenue

“Accelerating broadband access for NYCHA families and young people is essential to ensuring that our residents are able to keep pace in a learning environment drastically altered by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said NYCHA EVP for Community Engagement and Partnerships Sideya Sherman. “We are excited to be a part of an initiative that will create additional hubs for expanding access to the technological resources public housing communities need and deserve during this unprecedented time.”

 

“We’re proud to participate in such an important initiative to expand connectivity at community centers throughout the city,” said Joe Hillis, Operations Director of ITDRC. “These enhancements will enable more students to connect for distance learning and improve the overall learning experience.”   

 

“New York City has been home to The Rockefeller Foundation for over 100 years, and we’re proud to work with the city to support equitable access to technology that students need to continue their educations now and in the future,” said Zia Khan, Senior Vice President for Innovation, The Rockefeller Foundation.

  

“Zoom is honored to partner with New York City to make sure every young person has access to learning and to connecting to their teachers and classmates. This pandemic has called us together across public, private, and social sectors to ensure excellence, care and equity for this generation of students,” said Janine Pelosi, Chief Marketing Officer, Zoom.

 

“In order to alleviate future debt, The Cielo Scholarship Foundation is committed to funding underprivileged individuals’ education in trade and technology to ensure stable future employment. We understand that when students do not have access to technology, this can limit their ability to further their education. Cielo is committed to helping close this gap at all ages,” said the Cielo Scholarship Foundation.

  

“Since the earliest days of the pandemic, collaborations between the public and private sectors have created new opportunities to ensure every student has equal access to educational opportunity,” said Evan Marwell, Founder and CEO at EducationSuperHighway. “We are proud to be part of this partnership, ensuring New York City students have the connectivity they need to continue learning and fulfill their potential.”

 

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Congress - Checking in

 

Here’s what we’re working on:

1. Preparing for a redistricting fight: New York could lose one or two of its representatives in Congress. AOC’s district could be redrawn or chopped apart as a result. We need to prepare for what comes after that, whether it’s another primary or a dramatically different district than the current NY-14.

2. Passing progressive policies: The Squad has grown. But we can’t do it alone. We need to show our fellow legislators and President Biden that their constituents demand progressive change too. That’s why we train volunteers and host weekly Green New Deal phone banks to spread the word about this bill. With more resources we can organize even more before the bill is reintroduced and build the movement for other policies like the Roadmap to Freedom, Medicare for All, and more.

3. Building resources to weigh in on critical races: We were able to help Jamaal Bowman win in NY-16. We sent over $880K to grassroots groups in Georgia organizing deep canvases and turning out the Latinx community. Think what we could do if we start preparing now for the elections in 2022.

4. COVID and disaster relief: Alexandria fought for and won up to $7,000 for families to cover the cost of laying a loved one to rest. She launched a Homework Helpers tutoring program and trained 13,000 volunteers to virtually tutor. After Texas’ storms, Team AOC raised over $5 million for disaster relief. Resources from grassroots donors like you made all this possible.

We can only do this work because of the movement behind us.

Thank you for being such a key part of Team AOC.

Lauren Hitt
Communications Director
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Congress

Orange County Man Sentenced To 5 Years In Prison For Threatening To Attack School

 

 Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Dermot Shea, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), and Keith M. Corlett, Superintendent of the New York State Police (“NYSP”), announced that BRENDAN VAUGHAN was sentenced today to 60 months in prison, in connection with threats VAUGHAN made to classmates and law enforcement to carry out a school shooting in Washingtonville, New York.  VAUGHAN pled guilty to a three-count Information on December 3, 2019, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy, and was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas. 

U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said:  “In the wake of the many recent tragic school shootings committed in our country, parents, school administrators, and students are increasingly alert to the frightening possibility that their community could be next.  The defendant callously preyed on those fears in one community with a series of terrifying threats spread out over months, and took steps to act on those threats.  Today’s sentencing sends a clear message that making violent threats will merit a serious prison sentence.”

FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said:  “No child should have to live in a society where the simple act of going to school invokes a sense of fear.  Unfortunately, for many school-aged children, this has become an all-too-familiar reality.  Vaughan’s clear and direct threats to his fellow classmates and others were so egregious that he was ultimately charged and convicted of a federal crime.  May this, along with the sentencing he received today, serve as a message to others like him – there are life-changing penalties for this type of behavior.” 

State Police Superintendent Keith M. Corlett said:  “I applaud the work done by the State Police and our law enforcement partners on this case, which no doubt saved lives.  Threats to our schools and the communities we serve are always taken seriously, and investigated to the fullest. We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to combat and prevent these types of crimes from occurring.  Our priority is the safety of all New Yorkers.”

According to the Information, court filings, and statements made during court proceedings: 

In May 2018, VAUGHAN, who was then a senior at a high school in Washingtonville, New York, communicated to a number of classmates via a social media chat group that he intended to carry out a school shooting on the final day of school.  Even after being visited by law enforcement toward the end of May 2018, VAUGHAN continued his threatening behavior by sending additional threatening messages to a classmate about committing a school shooting and asking that classmate “not to go to the cops.”  VAUGHAN also took some preliminary steps toward carrying out such an attack, including drafting a kill list, compiling lists of his “favorite” school shooters, researching “pipe bombs” on the Internet, accessing a website to purchase a firearm, and composing diary entries expressing his desire for imminent “revenge.”  VAUGHAN also told a law enforcement officer that he intended to kill a specific classmate. 

In August 2018, VAUGHAN sent a number of additional messages on social media in which he threatened an imminent attack in Washingtonville.  Specifically, on successive days, VAUGHAN posted:  

• a message that said:  “I regret nothing,”
• a graphic that included the text “The 845” (that is, the designated area code for Hudson Valley) and a series of 15 gun and bomb emojis,
• a video depicting a red plastic gas container and pool chemicals with the text:  “[smiley face emoji] Plans [smiley face emoji] bang.bang,” and,
• immediately following the posting of the pool chemical video, a video of himself in a car in which he was turning the ignition on and clutching the steering wheel.

After VAUGHAN was detained in March 2019, he continued his threatening behavior, compiling another kill list that included classmates, family members, medical personnel, and the FBI agent and Assistant U.S. Attorney assigned to his case.

In addition to his prison sentence, VAUGHAN, 20, of Campbell Hall, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release.

Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding efforts of the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which principally consists of agents from the FBI and detectives from the New York City Police Department, the Washingtonville Police Department, the New York State Police, and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

This prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sam Adelsberg is in charge of the prosecution.

Mass Vaccination Site at Co-Op City Opens to the Public Today, With First Pilot Program to Administer Vaccines to Homebound Residents

Vaccination Site at The Largest Single Residential Development in the U.S. Will Eventually Administer 1,000 Shots a Day

 A mass vaccination site is opening today at Bronx’s Co-Op City, the largest single residential development in the United States. The vaccination site is open to all eligible COVID-19 vaccination recipients, and has also reserved 200 vaccinations exclusively for residents today. The Co-op City site will be open M-Sat 7am-7pm.

The vaccination site, run by the New York City Department of Health, will administer approximately 500 vaccines each day to start. The site will eventually administer 1,000 shots per day when the program is fully ramped up, with continued vaccinations reserved for Co-Op City residents.  

Additionally, New York City will kick-off its new program to vaccinate homebound elderly people starting in Co-Op City today, Mayor de Blasio announced, followed by Brighton Beach in Brooklyn on Friday. The program will eventually expand to other neighborhoods as the city receives more vaccine supply. 

“Co-Op City’s 50,000 residents can now easily access a vaccine right in their backyard,” says Robert Klehammer, Executive General Manager of Riverbay Corporation, which manages Co-Op City. “This is a big win for Co-Op City and its neighbors because it eliminates roadblocks and makes the vaccine easily accessible, especially for elderly and vulnerable homebound residents.”

The development is a New York State Mitchell-Lama housing cooperative (meaning it is affordable to the middle class) and lower-income New Yorkers have been disproportionately hurt by the pandemic. Despite statewide declines in COVID-19 positivity rates and hospitalizations, numbers remain high in the Bronx, particularly in the south and northeast sections of the borough, where Co-Op City is located. “This vaccination site is a much-welcomed positive step towards helping those who need it most, says Riverbay’s Executive General Manager Robert Klehammer. 

Attorney General James, FTC Shut Down Massive Charity Fraud Telefunding Operation

 

Company Made Over 1.3 Billion Deceptive Fundraising Calls, Including Over 72 Million Calls to New Yorkers and Illegally Solicited Funds for Sham Charities

 New York Attorney General Letitia James and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) today announced the shutdown of a massive telefunding operation that bombarded 67 million consumers with 1.3 billion deceptive charitable fundraising calls, most of which were illegal robocalls. Associated Community Services (ACS) and its affiliated companies and individuals made more than 72 million calls to New York residents alone, haranguing thousands of them more than 100 times each. This operation illegally collected more than $110 million by falsely claiming that funds would go to charities that support veterans, children, and firefighters. 

The defendants have agreed to settle charges by Attorney General James, the FTC, and agencies from 38 states and the District of Columbia that they duped generous Americans into donating to charities that failed to provide the services they promised. The complaint names ACS and its sister companies Central Processing Services and Community Services Appeal; their owners, Dick Cole, Bill Burland, Barbara Cole, and Amy Burland; and ACS senior managers Nikole Gilstorf, Tony Lia, John Lucidi, and Scot Stepek. In addition, the complaint names two fundraising companies allegedly operated by Gilstorf and Lia as spin-offs of ACS, Directele and The Dale Corporation.

“These telemarketers illegally solicited contributions from New Yorkers and inundated them with millions of harassing phone calls,” said Attorney General James. “There is no tolerance for this type of unlawful and predatory behavior. We will continue to work aggressively with partners around the country to stop deceptive fundraising tactics that cheat hardworking New Yorkers.”

According to the complaint, the defendants knew that the organizations for which they were fundraising spent little or no money on the charitable causes they claimed to support — in some cases as little as one-tenth of one percent. The defendants kept as much 90 cents of every dollar they solicited from generous donors on behalf of the charities. Since at least 2008, the defendants made these deceptive calls on behalf of numerous organizations that claimed to support homeless veterans, victims of house fires, breast cancer patients, children with autism, and other causes that well-meaning Americans were enticed to support.

The complaint also charges ACS with making harassing calls, noting that ACS called more than 1.3 million phone numbers more than 10 times in a single week and 7.8 million numbers more than twice in an hour. More than 500 phone numbers were even called 5,000 times or more. ACS made more than 72.6 million calls to New Yorkers over the last three and a half years. The fundraiser called 73,500 New Yorkers more than 10 times in a single week and called 477,000 New Yorkers two times or more within a single hour.

The ACS defendants were the subject of 20 prior law enforcement actions for their fundraising practices. The ACS defendants stopped operating in September 2019. Gilstorf purchased Directele and Dale Corp in October 2019 and, with Lia, the Directele defendants allegedly continued the deceptive fundraising and illegal telemarketing practices. The complaint alleges the defendants violated New York’s Executive Law §§ 63(12), 171-a through 175, the FTC Act, the TSR, and numerous other state laws.

The terms of the settlements with the defendants are as follows:

Associated Community Services Defendants

Each of these defendants will be permanently prohibited from conducting or consulting on any fundraising activities and from conducting telemarketing of any kind to sell goods or services. In addition, they will be prohibited from using any existing donor lists and from further violations of state charitable giving laws, as well as from making any misrepresentation about a product or service. The defendants will be also be subject to the following monetary judgments:

• Associated Community Services, Inc.; Community Services, Inc.; Central Processing Services, Inc.; and Richard “Dick” Cole are subject to a monetary judgment of $110,063,843, which is suspended due to an inability to pay.
• Community Services Appeal, Inc. and Barbara Cole are subject to a monetary judgment of $110,063,843, which is partially suspended due to an inability to pay. Barbara Cole also will be required to turn over the proceeds of the sale of a vacation home in Michigan.
• Robert W. “Bill” Burland and Amy J. Burland are subject to a monetary judgment of $110,063,843, which is partially suspended due to an inability to pay. Amy Burland will be required to turn over $450,000.

Directele Defendants and ACS Senior Managers Scot Stepek and John Lucidi

Each of these defendants will be permanently prohibited from any fundraising work or consulting on behalf of any charitable organization or any nonprofit organization that claims to work on behalf of causes similar to those outlined in the complaint. They will also be prohibited from using robocalls for any form of telemarketing, using abusive calling practices, or making any misrepresentation about a product or service. In addition, the defendants will be required to clearly and conspicuously disclose when a donation they are requesting is not tax deductible.

In addition, the two corporate defendants — Directele Inc. and The Dale Corporation — will be required to cease operations and dissolve.

The defendants will also be subject to the following monetary judgments:

• Scot Stepek will be subject to a monetary judgment of $110,063,843, which is partially suspended due to an inability to pay. Stepek will be required to sell a ski boat in his possession and turn over the net proceeds from the sale.
• Directele Inc., The Dale Corporation, Nikole Gilstorf, and Antonio Lia will be subject to a monetary judgment of $1.6 million. Gilstorf and Lia also will be subject to a judgment of $110,063,843. The judgments are partially suspended due to an inability to pay. Gilstorf and Lia will each be required to turn over $10,000.
• John Lucidi will be subject to a judgment of $110,063,843, which is partially suspended due to an inability to pay. He will be required to turn over $25,000.

The funds being surrendered by the defendants will be paid to an escrow fund held by the state of Florida, and, following a motion by the participating states and approval by the court, be contributed to one or more legitimate charities that support causes similar to those for which the defendants solicited.

Today’s settlement is the second time in six months that New York, in collaboration with the FTC and other states, has banned a fundraising network from fraudulent charitable fundraising. In September 2020, Attorney General James announced a settlement with Outreach Calling, Inc., its owner and various associated companies and individuals, barring them from all charitable fundraising and from deceiving consumers in any other fundraising effort.

Other state agencies joining in the case with Attorney General James and the FTC include the attorneys general of Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia; the secretaries of state of Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, and Tennessee; the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; and the Utah Division of Consumer Protection.

The complaint and final orders were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

The matter is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Peggy Farber, under the supervision of Enforcement Section Co-Chief Yael Fuchs and Bureau Chief James G. Sheehan. The Charities Bureau is a part of the Division for Social Justice, led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux, under the oversight of First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.