DiNAPOLI MOVES STATE PENSION FUND TOWARD NET ZERO TARGET, RESTRICTS INVESTMENTS IN OIL SANDS COMPANIES

 

Corporations Face Significant Environmental, Legal and Economic Risks

 The New York State Common Retirement Fund (Fund) will restrict investments in oil sands companies that have not demonstrated that they are prepared for the transition to a low-carbon economy, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, trustee of the third largest public pension plan in the country, announced today.

This action is tied to DiNapoli’s comprehensive Climate Action Plan to lower investment risks from climate change and transition the Fund’s investment portfolio to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.

“As nations around the world become increasingly serious about addressing the threat of climate change and as market forces drive a low-carbon economic transition, we need to make sure our investments line up with this reality,” said DiNapoli. “We have carefully reviewed companies in the oil sands industry and are restricting investments in those that do not have viable plans to adapt to the low-carbon future. Companies responsible for large greenhouse gas emissions like those in this industry, pose significant risks for investors.”

Oil sands companies produce a heavy type of crude oil from oils sands which are a mixture of sand, water, clay and bitumen. Oil sands production is more costly and carbon-intensive than other forms of crude production.

Today’s announcement follows the Fund’s detailed assessment that evaluated each company’s transition strategies, capital expenditures, and greenhouse gas reduction targets, among other factors.

The Fund determined the following seven companies failed to show they are transitioning out of oil sands production:

• Imperial Oil Ltd.
• Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.
• Husky Energy Inc.
• MEG Energy Corp.
• Athabasca Oil Corp.
• Cenovus Energy Inc.
• Japan Petroleum Exploration Ltd.

The Fund will not directly purchase or directly hold debt or equity securities, or invest through an actively managed account or vehicle, in these companies, and more than $7 million in such securities currently held by the Fund will be sold in a prudent manner and timeframe.

The evaluation of the Fund’s oil sands holdings are part of DiNapoli’s broader review of the transition readiness of energy sector investments that face significant climate risk. Last year, DiNapoli’s review of coal companies led to the Fund’s divestment from 22 firms that failed to demonstrate transition readiness. The Fund will next evaluate shale oil and gas companies.

Background on Climate Investment Actions

Since taking office in 2007, DiNapoli has been recognized as a global leader for his efforts to protect the Fund’s investments, address material risks from climate change and pursue sustainable investment opportunities for the Fund. In 2019, DiNapoli released a Climate Action Plan, a multi-faceted strategy that includes a goal of committing $20 billion to sustainable investments, dedicated staff to pursue climate solution investments, and minimum standards for portfolio companies that will inform engagements, investments and potential divestment decisions. Building on the Climate Action Plan’s solid foundation, in December 2020, DiNapoli announced the Fund has adopted a goal to transition its portfolio to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. 

Background on New York State Common Retirement Fund

The New York State Common Retirement Fund is the third largest public pension fund in the United States with assets of approximately $247.7 billion as of Dec. 31, 2020. The Fund holds and invests the assets of the New York State and Local Retirement System on behalf of more than one million state and local government employees and retirees and their beneficiaries. It has consistently been ranked as one of the best managed and best funded plans in the nation.

265 Days and Counting

 

All is well here in New York City. Crime is up, schools are now going to need four cases of COVID in four different rooms rather than two cases in one room. NYC roads are full of potholes, and we have many many COVID vaccination centers now open, but we are not getting enough vaccine. In eight and a half months I will return as just a normal New York City citizen like all of you. Charlene and I will be able to enjoy ourselves as you do, while we THRIVE on my huge pension and what little savings we have.   

266 Days and Counting

 

I got my vaccination, my free ride on the Cyclone at Coney Island, Marjorie how about I come up to the Bronx to campaign for the wife of one of the most loyal people on my staff Jeff Lynch in his wife's bid to replace the current City Councilman who represents City Island and Throggs Neck, that I can't stand and have made his first term a living hell. We can look for new places for homeless shelters, more bike and bus lanes, as well as places for substance abuse clinics with the legalization of Marijuana. My developer friends can buy homes to build high rise affordable housing, with you as the council member, you will pass them through the community like CB 10 get Blondell Commons  pushed through even though it was in CB 11. That won't matter anymore when you are elected, the East Bronx will look like the rest of the Bronx, dilapidated high rise buildings, poorer performing school, and much higher crime throughout the council district. Why do you think all that construction is happening on Pelham Parkway to put in larger water and gas lines for the high rise building that are to come to the East Bronx. Now that there is no more Pelham Parkway Task Force to watch over that, we can do whatever we want to do.

U.S. Attorney Announces Extradition Of Canadian Citizen For His Role In An International Fraud And Money Laundering Network

Canada-Based Yusuf Abdul and Others in the United States, Europe, and Middle East Conspired to Use Phone “Spoofing Service” to Fraudulently Access and Launder Victims’ Fund

 Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that YUSUF OWOLABI ABDUL, a/k/a “Saheed Sador,” a citizen of Nigeria and a resident of Canada, was extradited today from Germany.  ABDUL was charged with participation in a fraud scheme from at least in or about 2013 until at least April 2019 involving the theft and laundering of victim funds.  ABDUL was arrested in Germany on December 11, 2020, on an Interpol Red Notice, and is the fifth defendant charged in this case.  ABDUL is expected to be presented on Monday, April 12, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang.  ABDUL’s case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla.

U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said:  “As alleged, Yusuf Owolabi Abdul and his codefendants used a widely available telephone ‘spoofing’ service and other deceitful means to steal and conceal millions of dollars in victim funds.  Thanks to the FBI and international cooperation, Abdul is in U.S. custody and facing charges in this District.”

According to the allegations in the Indictment[1]:

From at least 2013 through in or about 2018, ABDUL and various other conspirators, located in countries including the United States, Canada, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates (collectively, the “Conspirators”), were involved in a scheme to fraudulently access individuals’ and corporations’ bank accounts and to conduct financial transactions using those bank accounts without the knowledge or authority of the accounts’ legitimate owners (the “Bank Scheme”).  As part of the Bank Scheme, the Conspirators placed thousands of calls to various United States banks, holding themselves out as legitimate accountholders of particular targeted bank accounts and using the stolen personal identifying information belonging to those accountholders.  Using a particular telephone number “spoofing” service, and voice-altering technology, the Conspirators would deceive bank representatives into believing that the Conspirators were actual accountholders.  In so doing, they convinced multiple U.S. banks to, among other things: move money from a victim’s savings account to the victim’s checking account (so that the Conspirators could more easily access the funds and conduct unauthorized transactions); falsely note on the account that the accountholder was traveling abroad (making the bank less likely to void suspicious international transactions made by the Conspirators); have “replacement” credit cards mailed to international addresses controlled by the Conspirators (whereupon the Conspirators could use them to make unauthorized purchases); and authorize foreign purchases made by the Conspirators.

ABDUL, 45­, a citizen of Nigeria and resident of Canada, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison; one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum of 20 years in prison; and one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory sentence of two years in prison, to be served consecutively to the other charges. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Other defendants charged in this case include Alade Kazeem Sodiq, a/k/a “Eluku,” a citizen of the United Arab Emirates and Abdulai Kennedy Saaka, a/k/a “Kenny,” of Atlanta, Georgia, who each pled guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy and were sentenced to 50 months in prison and 32 months in prison, respectively; Habeeb Audu, a/k/a “Dickson” whose case remains pending; and Dominic Francis Labiran, a citizen of the United Kingdom, who remains at large.

Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs of the Department’s Criminal Division provided significant assistance in securing the defendant’s extradition from Germany.

The charges against ABDUL, Audu, and Labiran contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.       

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

Governor Cuomo Announces More Than 11.5 Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Have Been Administered in New York State

 

282,305 Doses Administered in the Last 24 Hours

More Than 1.4 Million Doses Administered Over Past Seven Days

More Than 1 in 3 New Yorkers Have Received at Least One Dose

More Than 1 in 5 Are Now Fully Vaccinated

 Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that more than 11.5 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in New York State. 282,305 doses have been administered across the state's vast distribution network in the last 24 hours, and more than 1.4 million doses have been administered over the past seven days.  

"We are now close to having one out of every four New Yorkers fully vaccinated, but we cannot afford to slow down and get comfortable," Governor Cuomo said. "The way to celebrate our progress is to double down on our safety guidelines and continue getting shots into people's arms, so we can build on this progress. The virus is still out there, and we remain laser-focused on expanding our capacity across the state and making sure the vaccine distribution is fair and equitable. If we stay disciplined, we will win this war."

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.                                         

The 'Am I Eligible' screening tool has been updated for individuals with comorbidities and underlying conditions with new appointments released on a rolling basis over the next weeks. New Yorkers can use the following to show they are eligible:

• Doctor's letter, or
• Medical information evidencing comorbidity, or
• Signed certification            

Vaccination program numbers below are for doses distributed and delivered to New York for the state's vaccination program, and do not include those reserved for the federal government's Long Term Care Facility program. A breakdown of the data based on numbers reported to New York State as of 11 AM today is as follows.                                       

STATEWIDE BREAKDOWN

Total doses administered - 11,669,171

Total doses administered over past 24 hours - 282,305

Total doses administered over past 7 days - 1,494,398

Percent of New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose - 36.9%

Percent of New Yorkers with completed vaccine series - 23.9%  

Councilman Mark Gjonaj's NYC Moving Forward Week in Review - 4/9/2021

 

Dear Friends,

As we wrapped up Easter celebrations, a time of hope and renewal, we were also reminded that the power of serving our communities and the joy of giving back is the most humble opportunity and a blessing.

In an effort to forge relationships between the police and the community and Clean Up NYC, I am glad to kick start tomorrow their Let’s Clean UP NYC Together initiative with the NYPD 49th Precinct for some graffiti removal on Lydig Avenue.

As Chair of NYC Council Small Business Committee, I was glad to chair a hearing to discuss legislation that would create a program to educate local businesses on becoming ADA compliant and establish a city-funded grant program that business owners can tap into if they need financial assistance to make the needed renovations accessible for people of all abilities.

Our office has continued to help our constituents to get vaccinated in an effort to stop the spread and help communities gradually and safely return to normalcy.

With the weather warming up, we are working to bring more outdoor events in our neighborhoods such as pet food giveaway, rain barrel giveaway, reusable bag giveaway, more park cleanups etc.

Constituents in District 13 can still take advantage of our Free Tax Preparation in partnership with Urban Upbound as the IRS has postponed the Tax Deadline to May 17th.

We are proud of serving you and being with you throughout this pandemic. Please do not hesitate to contact my office with any issues or concerns at 718-931-1721 or email at MGjonaj@council.nyc.gov.

Sincerely,

NYC Councilman Mark Gjonaj

District 13, Bronx

COVID-19 Vaccination Appointments

District 13 Pet Food Giveaway Earth Day Reusable Bag Giveaway Earth Day Pelham Parkway Clean Up

267 Day and Counting

 

We need to get thoe bad children off the street, so we now will make it harder to close a school due to COVID-19. It will no longer take two cases in a classroom, now there most be four separate cases in four different classrooms to close a school due to COVUD-19.

Is there petition fraud on the petition of Marcos Sierra for 11th City Council District Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark?

 

When looking at the petition of Marcos Sierra for the 11th City Council District, items jumped out to me that I would have challenged and knocked the petition well below the lower required valid signatures needed to be placed on the ballot. 

If there is a correction which has to be made it must be initialed by the signature of the witness at the bottom of the page. On Page 4 the initials on line 2 are S P, but the signature of the witness is Tammy Hayes, 2175 Cedar Ave, not Sandra Pabon, 3040 Hull Ave. Sandra Pabon collected pages 2,20,21,26,27,37,and 38 where she signed as the witness. On page 26 line 6 there is a correction with S P next to the correction, as is the case on page 27 line 6 where the signature and address are X'ed out with the initials S P on the line. So who collected the signatures on page 4?

There are errors on other pages that Tammy Hayes collected signatures such as page 1 where her address is corrected to 2175 Cedar Avenue, but there are no initials. On page 9 and 11 there are corrections in the signer's address that are not initialed. In fact on all of Tammy Hayes pages there are no initials on any correction except page 4 where S P are the initials, and on page 52 where one can see 21?? Paudling Avenue has a line through it where Cedar Ave, is below initialed by T H. That also happens on page 12 where the address for Tammy Hayes is corrected from 2121 to 2175, but Paudling Avenue is untouched, and there are no initials.

When we look further on the Marcos Sierra petition we find that Alexandria J. Rivera lists her address on pages 8, 13,41,and 47 as 2121 Paudling Ave, the same as the two pages where M. Hayes's name is, but on pages  5,6,7,22,23,24,28,29,39,40,48,and 49 as 2121 Paulding Avenue, and there are no initials next to any corrections. On pages 5,13,22,23,28,29, 40, 41,47, 48, and 49 Ms. Rivera's middle initial of J is included in her signature as the witness, however on pages 6,7,8, 24,and 39 there is no middle initial of J in her signature as the witness. On page 18, Ms. Rivera's signature has the middle initial J, but her address is listed as 3046 Hull Ave, the very same address as Sandra Pabon on pages 2, 20, 21, 26,27,37, and 38 just 3046 Hull Ave. 

Lastly there is page 43 collected by Irina Polo-Guaman where lines 1 and 2 clearly show a 9 in the date under the corrected 8 to match lines 3 - 8 which are dated 3/8 as is the date in the witness statement dated 3/08. 

That would leave 95 signatures, not counting any of those that could be eliminated for having corrections that were not initialed, out of district, not registered as a voter, or not enrolled in the Democratic Party. One has to guess that the Bronx Democratic Party Leader State Senator Jamaal Bailey must be proud of District Leader Marcos Sierra, who seconded his nomination for Party Leader, but is this the way you teach your district leaders to collect signatures Chairman Bailey?

The Infamous page 4 of the Marcos Sierra petition.

Line 2 - SP initials next to correction.

Signature of witness Tammy Hayes. 

Something is wrong here.

Pages 1,12,19, and 52 signed by Tammy Hayes as the witness.

Page 1 - No initials on the correction.

Page 12 - 2121 changed to 2175, but Paudling Ave remains.

Page 19 - Address is just 2175 Cedar.

Page 52 - 21?? Paluding Ave has a line through it with Cedar Ave below, and initials of T H.

Page 12 - signed by Tammy Hayes, with the 2121 changed to 2175, and Paudling Ave.

Page 13 - Signed by Ms. Rivera with middle initial of J, but wrong spelling of the street as on Page 12 signed by Ms. Hayes.

Page 24 - with the correct street name spelling signed by Ms. Rivera, but no middle initial J in signature. 

Page 18 - Signed by M. Rivera with middle initial of J, but address is 3040 Hull Ave.

Page 37 Page has 3040 Hull Ave as address, but is signed by Sandra Pabon

A blow up of the first two dates that were changed from 3/9 to 3/8 as not to be out of sequence with the other dates on the page. 

It appears that the Bronx District Attorney needs to investigate all these matters of alleged petition fraud on the  Marcos Sierra 11th city council petition.