May 18,2021 - Governor Cuomo Announces 7-Day Average COVID-19 Positivity Rate Drops to Lowest Level Since September 27

 

Statewide 7-Day Positivity Rate Drops to 1.07%; 43 Straight Days of Decline

1,585 Patient Hospitalizations Statewide; Down 441 Over Past Week

387 Patients in the ICU; 223 Intubated

Statewide Positivity Rate is 1.07%

17 COVID-19 Deaths in New York State Yesterday

 Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the statewide 7-day average COVID-19 positivity rate dropped to 1.07 percent, the lowest since September 27. The 7-day average positivity rate has declined for 43 straight days.

"As vaccination rates continue to grow across New York, COVID rates are plummeting across the board, to levels we haven't seen in eight months," Governor Cuomo said. "Tomorrow marks a major reopening of New York State, a milestone reached thanks to the strength and grit of New Yorkers who banded together, stayed tough and fought as one to defeat this COVID beast. While New York is coming back, there remains much to do and we need to help ensure every single eligible New Yorker gets vaccinated, so that we can finally reach that light at the end of the tunnel, and get back to life."

Today's data is summarized briefly below:

• Test Results Reported - 95,870
• Total Positive - 1,030
• Percent Positive - 1.07%
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 1.07%
• Patient Hospitalization - 1,585 (+4)
• Net Change Patient Hospitalization Past Week - -441
• Patients Newly Admitted - 142
• Number ICU - 387 (+0)
• Number ICU with Intubation - 223 (-5)
• Total Discharges - 180,083 (+133)
• Deaths - 17
• Total Deaths - 42,503

Partnerships for Parks - Tax Relief Webinar and Arts/Culture Grants

 

IS 501(c)(3) FOR ME? COMMUNITY GROUPS INTERESTED IN BECOMING A NONPROFIT  The rewards of starting a nonprofit are enticing: tax-exempt status, expanded grant opportunities, and tax-deductible contributions. Beneath these advantages are complicated logistics and costs which often beg the question—does incorporation make sense at this time? This webinar, co-led with Lawyers Alliance for New York, will go step-by-step through the process of incorporation and tax exemption, leaving you with a better picture of whether or not 501(c)(3) is right for you. We will also discuss alternatives to starting a nonprofit, such as seeking fiscal sponsorship. Join us to learn: What it takes to form a nonprofit and the requirements needed to grow and sustain it. The pros and cons of a fiscal sponsorship arrangement. More resources to help make a decision for your group. Featured speaker: Rafi Stern, Staff Attorney, Lawyers Alliance for New York Registration for this session is required and will close the day before the event. You will receive information on how to join the webinar once you register. If you have any questions, contact us at academy@cityparksfoundation.org. Tuesday, May 25 from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm REGISTER NOW Presenting sponsor The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on our City, leaving parks and green spaces struggling. In May 2020, a coalition of national, family, and community foundations launched the NYC Green Relief & Recovery Fund to respond to the most urgent needs facing organizations of any size that care for our City’s parks and open spaces. The Fund will release three rounds of funding in 2021. The first round will provide grants of $10,000 to $50,000 to organizations with experience working in NYC’s open spaces and annual operating budgets of more than $15,000. Proposals that support open space maintenance and stewardship directly will be prioritized. Neighborhoods hit hardest by the pandemic, environmental justice communities, lower income communities, proposals that incorporate equity as a core value, and applicant organizations led by people of color will also be prioritized. Applications are open now through Friday, May 28th at 12:00pm. APPLY NOW City Parks Foundation is bringing free arts back to our parks and plazas! Applications are now open for GREEN / ARTS LIVE NYC. This new fund, created by a coalition of partners, will support NYC artists, arts and cultural groups, and community-based, volunteer organizations by providing small grants and production support for local arts events. Thanks to generous support from the New York Community Trust and Con Edison’s Arts Al Fresco Series, this fund will bring free live performance to neighborhood parks, plazas, and gardens in communities that otherwise would not have access this summer and fall. Applications are open now through Friday, May 28th at 12:00PM. APPLY NOW Partnerships for Parks is a joint program of City Parks Foundation and NYC Parks that supports and champions a growing network of leaders caring and advocating for neighborhood parks and green spaces. We equip people and organizations with the skills and tools needed to transform these spaces into dynamic community assets.

RECOVERY FOR ALL OF US: MAYOR DE BLASIO CALLS ON STATE LEGISLATURE TO PASS COMMUNITY HIRING AND MWBE BILLS

 

New analysis from The New School Economist Dr. James Parrott shows how Community Hiring would use the City’s purchasing power to create 200,000 jobs over 5 years for low-income people, NYCHA residents and residents of low-income neighborhoods

 

MWBE legislation would expand contract opportunities, reform construction insurance and allow the City to prefer bidders who have policies that lead to diverse workforces; giving MWBE firms the tools to lead NYC’s economic recovery

 Mayor Bill de Blasio today called on the State Legislature to pass key bills for New York City’s economic recovery: Community Hiring and legislation to increase opportunities for Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises. 

 

“A Recovery for All of Us means our economy is working for everyone, including minority and women-owned businesses and New Yorkers in underserved communities,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “We’re calling on Albany to pass Community Hiring and the MWBE Opportunity Expansion Act, greatly expanding economic opportunity for those too often left behind.”

  

"Together, these pieces of legislation would allow the City to use its enormous purchasing power to strategically invest in communities," said Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives J. Phillip Thompson. "The proposed Community Hiring and MWBE bills are really two sides of the same coin and show that City dollars can do more than get work done, they can lift people out of poverty. As we recover from this pandemic, we need the legal right to say that when government money is being spent, it is being spent to bring greater opportunity to those in need."

 

“MWBEs are central to the economic vitality of our City and they’ve been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic” said Magalie D. Austin Senior Advisor & Director, Mayor’s Office of MWBE. “As we move towards a recovery for all New Yorkers, we must ensure that MWBEs are a major part of our economic recovery. The proposed legislation will ensure that MWBEs have equal access to participate in the City’s recovery and economic prosperity.”

 

“As the City continues to work towards a fair recovery, we must economically empower our hardest hit communities,” said Jonnel Doris, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services and and Co-Chair of the Small Business Subcommittee of the Taskforce on Racial Inclusion and Equity. “We urge our state partners to pass these critical bills, so we can ignite community hiring and increase opportunities for Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises.”

 

“Initiatives that assist smaller firms, create more competition for City contracts and extend the contracting and hiring pools are vital to leveraging the value of DDC’s $2 billion-plus annual capital program for more equitable outcomes,” said Department of Design and Construction Commissioner Jamie Torres-Springer. “We know from experience that pooled insurance, the ability to issue discretionary MWBE contracts and robust local hiring requirements directly support MWBE construction firms and create jobs in neighborhoods where they are most needed.”

 

“To achieve a full recovery for New York City, we must focus on inclusion and equity – and providing our hardest-hit communities with economic opportunity will be crucial in advancing this mission,” said DSS-HRA Administrator Gary Jenkins. “DSS-HRA joins our fellow City agencies in urging our colleagues in Albany to pass this critical legislation that will empower our communities and expand opportunities for Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises to succeed.”  

 

COMMUNITY HIRING WILL DRIVE A FAIR RECOVERY

 

The Mayor is proposing legislation in Albany that would require businesses working with the City to hire low-income people, NYCHA residents and people from high poverty communities. Community Hiring legislation will:

 

• Expand job opportunities for economically disadvantaged communities: Expands access to middle-class construction and building service jobs by prioritizing people from low-income communities and NYCHA residents.
• Expand job opportunities for economically disadvantaged individuals: Requires those who do business with the City on non-construction contracts such as software, or goods or consultants, to meet employment goals for low-income people. The goals would be tailored to each contract.
• Authorize the City to require a minimum ratio of apprentices: Allows the City to require that contractors use a minimum ratio of apprentices, and expands entry-level jobs as a result. 
• Enable the City to require contractors to work with workforce development programs to find qualified talent: Such workforce development programs could potentially include ones that typically serve NYCHA residents, veterans, people with disabilities, justice-involved individuals, cash assistance recipients, immigrants, and NYCDOE and CUNY graduates.

 

Center for New York City Affairs Analysis of Community Hiring Proposal

 

According to an analysis from Dr. James Parrott of The New School, this legislation would have the potential to provide job opportunities for 40,000 workers a year, putting them on a path into the middle class. Dr. Parrott worked with experts in the City, including at the Department of Small Business Services and the Economic Development Corporation, to build up these estimates by examining the capital budget and service contract programs, determining the labor and skill requirements to deliver those services, and applying Community Hiring provisions to construction and service contracting.  

 

On average, Community Hiring would involve about 16,000 construction workers a year and 24,000 service contract workers in a range of industries from human services, to maintenance and repair to IT services.  Over the next five years, this program could help as many as 200,000 economically disadvantaged workers and residents of high-poverty communities.

 

"Community Hiring will be an essential tool not only in re-connecting pandemic-dislocated workers with good job opportunities but helping to get many of these workers onto a path to build their skills and ability to succeed in a continuously evolving economy,” said James A. Parrott, Director, Economic and Fiscal Policies, Center for New York City Affairs at The New School.

 

MWBES ARE PART OF NYC’S RECOVERY 

 

Mayor de Blasio believes communities most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic must be prioritized in our recovery.

 

MWBEs utilization rates under the de Blasio administration have increased by 250% from FY15 to FY20. MWBEs also played a critical role in the fight against COVID-19 with $890 million in spending across over 500 contracts. The City calls on Albany to further increase the role of MWBEs in the City’s recovery.

 

Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn and State Senator James Sanders Jr. have introduced legislation which will:

 

• Increase City agencies’ MWBE discretionary threshold to $1 million, thereby reducing bureaucracy and creating more opportunities for MWBEs 
• Authorize, for City or Prime Contractor, to consolidate insurance on construction contracts, thereby reducing overhead for subcontractors and the City
• Allow bidders for City contracts that have policies which lead to diverse workforces practices to receive extra points on bids.

 

This legislation is an opportunity to ensure MWBEs have tools they need to succeed in the new economy. These reforms work: in 2019 when the State increased the discretionary threshold to $500,000, MWBE utilization grew by 20% in the first year.  

Governor Cuomo Announces More Than 10 Million New Yorkers Receive at Least One COVID-19 Vaccine Dose

 

118,879 Doses Administered in the Last 24 Hours  

806,782 Doses Administered Over Past Seven Days   

Vaccine Dashboard Updated Daily on the State's Vaccine Program Here

 Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced more than 10 million New Yorkers have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. 118,879 doses have been administered across the state's vast distribution network in the last 24 hours, and 806,782 doses have been administered statewide over the past seven days.  

"Our providers are continuing to work around the clock to administer more shots, and we remain committed to making sure the vaccine distribution is equitable all across the state," Governor Cuomo said. "The vaccine is safe and effective, but it can only do its job if we take it. It doesn't matter if most of your friends and family are vaccinated - you also need to do your part and take it so we can all be better protected and defeat this virus once and for all."         

All New York State mass vaccination sites are now open to eligible New Yorkers for walk-in vaccination on a first come first serve basis. The walk-in appointments are reserved for first doses only with second doses to be scheduled automatically after administration of the initial shot. In addition, all vaccine providers are encouraged to allow walk-in appointments for eligible New Yorkers. People who would prefer to schedule an appointment at a state-run mass vaccination site can do so on the Am I Eligible App or by calling 1-833-NYS-4-VAX. People may also contact their local health department, pharmacy, doctor or hospital to schedule appointments where vaccines are available, or visit vaccines.gov to find information on vaccine appointments near them.                                     

STATEWIDE BREAKDOWN

Total doses administered - 17,745,024

Total doses administered over past 24 hours - 118,879

Total doses administered over past 7 days - 806,782

Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose - 62.0%

Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series - 52.6%

Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose - 50.2%

Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series - 42.2% 

Attorney General James Announces Agreement with Filters Fast After 2019 Data Breach

  

 New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced a $200,000 agreement with Filters Fast that resolves a 2019 data breach that compromised the personal information of approximately 320,000 consumers nationwide, including approximately 16,500 in New York state. Filters Fast — a popular online water filtration retailer — experienced a data breach in which attackers collected sensitive customer information during Filters Fast’s online checkout process. The compromised information included credit card holders’ names, billing addresses, expiration dates, and security codes. The website was compromised for close to a year — affecting purchases made on the site between July 16, 2019, and July 10, 2020. 

“New Yorkers should never have to worry that their personal information will be attacked during a routine online checkout process,” said Attorney General James. “Filters Fast fell far short of its responsibilities of protecting its customers against attacks on its online platform, and of promptly informing customers of any such attack so that they could take the necessary steps to protect their identities. Online information security has been especially critical during the COVID-19 pandemic, during which New Yorkers have increasingly relied on online retailers, such as Filters Fast, to purchase basic household goods. My office is committed to protecting consumers, which is why we will continue to use every available tool to hold companies accountable when they fail to safeguard personal information.”

On July 15, 2019, attacker(s) exploited a known vulnerability in Filters Fast’s online checkout process. The attacker(s) proceeded to collect the names, billing addresses, expiration dates, and security codes of customers who purchased products on Filters Fast’s website via credit card. On February 25, 2020, a credit card payment system management company notified Filters Fast that the online retailer’s website had been flagged as a common point of purchase for unauthorized purchases on customers’ credit cards. Such notifications are usually received by merchants who have an ongoing compromise.

Filters Fast personnel conducted an internal investigation and erroneously concluded that there was no breach. On May 13, 2020 — after additional reports of compromise — a credit card company requested that Filters Fast retain the services of a forensic investigator to formally audit its systems. After an initial report failing to identify a breach, the investigator produced a report, in late July, that discovered conclusive evidence of a breach. The investigator noted that a software patch had been issued to fix the problem three years before the company was attacked. The website was finally patched on July 10, 2020.

In total, the breach affected approximately 324,000 U.S. residents, and, more specifically, 16,618 New York residents. On August 14, 2020 — over a year after the breach occurred, and nearly six months after Filters Fast had received its first common point of purchase notification — the company began notifying affected customers whose credit card information had been accessed during the breach. With the notification, the company offered to provide affected customers with up to 12 months of identity theft protection services.

As part of today’s agreement, Filters Fast will make a series of improvements designed to protect consumer personal information from cyberattacks in the future, including:

• Creating a comprehensive information security program that includes regular updates to keep pace with changes in technology and security threats, as well as regular reporting to the company's CEO concerning security risks;

• Designing an incident response and data breach notification plan that encompasses preparation, detection and analysis, containment, eradication, and recovery;

• Adopting personal information safeguards and controls — including encryption, segmentation, penetration testing, logging and monitoring, virus protection policy, custom application code change reviews, authentication policy and procedures, management of service providers, and patch management; and

• Ensuring that third-party security assessments take place over the next five years.

Pursuant to the agreement, Filters Fast has agreed to pay the state of New York $200,000, $100,000 of which is suspended, but that will be immediately due if Filters Fast materially misstated its financial condition.

This matter was handled by Deputy Bureau Chief Clark Russell, Internet and Technology Analyst Joe Graham, and Volunteer Assistant Attorney General Anton Nemirovski — all of the Bureau of Internet and Technology, under the supervision of Bureau Chief Kim Berger. The Bureau of Internet and Technology is a part of the Division for Economic Justice, which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Chris D’Angelo and overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.

Comptroller Stringer Audit Uncovers Inadequate and Inconsistent Management of Brooklyn Estates

 

An audit of the operating practices of the Kings County Public Administrator’s Administration of Estates found weaknesses in the management of Brooklyn decedents’ estates

Comptroller Stringer recommended actions to the Surrogate’s Court and the Kings County Public Administrator to ensure uniform, consistent, and accountable policies and procedures for estate management

 Today, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer released an audit revealing multiple deficiencies in the Kings County Public Administrator’s (KCPA’s) management of estates belonging to Brooklyn residents who pass away without a will or a surviving family member able to take charge of their estates. It is the KCPA’s responsibility to protect each decedent’s estate from waste, loss, and theft, make burial arrangements, identify and liquidate assets, pay taxes, and distribute the assets in accordance with a decree issued by the Surrogate’s Court. Comptroller Stringer’s audit found weak controls and insufficient procedures in place for searching for, collecting, retaining, and recording personal property belonging to the deceased. Comptroller Stringer’s audit also noted the existence of conflicting orders from the Surrogate’s Court that impair the KCPA’s ability to administer estates properly.

“New Yorkers must be assured that City government will responsibly manage estates of those who do not have a will or a family member able to take charge of their property after their passing,” said New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer. “Our audit uncovered disturbing weaknesses in the Brooklyn public administrator’s office that hurt its ability to safeguard and account for personal belongings of the deceased. Bureaucracy and conflicts cannot stand in the way of responsible management of estates and their property. We owe it to those New Yorkers we have lost and their families to be responsible stewards.”

There are five Public Administrators (PAs) within New York City, each appointed by the judge or judges of the Surrogate’s Court of their respective counties. The Office of the Kings County Public Administrator (KCPA) administers estates of Brooklyn residents who die without a will and without a family member or other person authorized to administer their estates. In Kings County, two elected Surrogate’s Court judges (Surrogates) preside over the Surrogate’s Court.

Comptroller Stringer’s audit found the following deficiencies in the Kings County Public Administrator’s management of estates of the deceased:

• The existence of two Administrative Orders of the Kings County Surrogate’s Court that convey specific yet directly conflicting directions to the PA and Deputy PA related to estate administration and access to and control of the KCPA’s suspense account creating confusion and dissent within the KCPA related to the proper chain of command.
• Significant weaknesses in the KCPA’s operating practices that preceded the two Administrative Orders including a lack of detailed policies and day-to-day procedures and responsibilities to govern certain aspects of its estate-administration processes.
• Inconsistencies in the KCPA’s searches for, and its collection, inventory, and retention of, personal property belonging to decedents’ estates including some investigators not immediately logging items collected at a deceased person’s residence onto the designated forms.
• KCPA office staff did not properly document the office’s receipt of the estates’ personal property that investigators brought back to the office for vault storage.
• KCPA could not account for a significant quantity of estates’ personal property and its inventory record of non-liquid personal property was incomplete, inconsistent, and overwritten.
• KCPA did not properly conduct periodic inventory counts of estates’ personal property, leading to the potential loss or misappropriation of estate property, which could go undetected.

In response to these concerning findings, Comptroller Stringer recommended the following actions:

The Kings County Surrogate’s Court should:

• Review its Administrative Orders of May 18, 2020 and May 20, 2020 with the assistance of the Office of Court Administration to address and as far as possible resolve any contradictions that may exist between them.
• Confer internally, with the assistance of the Office of Court Administration, to develop a framework in which the two Kings County Surrogates may jointly provide an appropriate level of Court oversight to ensure the KCPA’s accountability to the Court for the administration of estates.

The KCPA should:

• Establish written policies and procedures that include detailed guidance to staff, consistent with the Surrogate’s Court Procedures Act and related State guidelines, for the proper performance of their assigned duties.
• Ensure that it properly logs and maintains essential information concerning all personal property of every estate during or immediately following investigations at decedents’ residences.
• Ensure that it consistently documents all aspects of the in-office inventory intake process on the required forms.
• Perform and obtain appraisals of non-liquid inventory items belonging to closed estates, sell the items at auction, and ensure the proceeds of the sales are credited to the estates and remitted to the appropriate individuals in accordance with the applicable decree wherever feasible.
• Regularly download, preserve, and periodically compare copies of video surveillance records with access log records to ensure a complete record of access to the vault.

To read Comptroller Stringer’s investigation of the Kings County Public Administrator and Surrogate’s Court, click here.

Governor Cuomo Directs Hate Crimes Task Force to Offer Assistance in Investigation into Racist Graffiti at Borough of Manhattan Community College

 

"I am appalled to hear of the incident at Borough of Manhattan Community College where a building that houses an art installation on historical racism against Black Americans was vandalized with abhorrent hate speech.

"I want to assure the students and staff that we will do everything we can to help bring the cowardly perpetrators to justice, and I am directing the New York State Police Hate Crimes Task Force to offer their assistance in the investigation of this horrific vandalism.

"This is not who we are as New Yorkers, and we will always stand united against hate in all its forms."

Southern Boulevard Residents Angry Over Loss of Parking to Bike Lane and Receiving Parking Tickets

 

Jose Leon speaks about residents living on Southern Boulevard between East 183rd Street and Fordham Road who have lost parking along the Bronx Zoo on Southern Boulevard to a protected bike lane. Signs went up without notice to area residents, and the very next day tickets were issued to residents who had parked in the new bike lane the night before. 

With tickets in their hands residents wanted to know what was going on, and what was going to be done about the tickets they received for what use to be legal parking until the DOT changed the street sign without proper notice to the community, and where are they going to park now. 

City Council candidate Ischia Bravo told the residents that the city should have provided proper notice, and that she will work with the DOT to see how the resident would not be responsible for paying the parking tickets that were given out wrongly. 

We reached out to 15th Councilman Oswald Feliz who said he was unable to make this event due to being tied up in City Council Committee meetings that he is on. He said he is aware of the situation, and that the problem was with Community Board Six for not notifying the community that the new bike lane was going to be put in. Councilman Feliz would not commit if he was in favor or not of this new DOT bike lane. There was no answer at Community Board Six.

Here is one of the tickets this resident saw on her car when she came down to go to work after parking in a legal parking space the night before.

A car is standing in the new Southern Boulevard bike lane by the Bronx Zoo where area residents have received tickets for parking in.

Signs that went up about the new Bike lane, and residents received tickets for parking in what was made a new bike lane.

A new DOT sign which says no parking from 7AM to 7PM is very confusing as to where residents can park. One resident aid "Can I park in that bike lane after 7PM, or is it the lane of traffic next to the bike lane that I can park after 7PM. In either case all cars must be removed by 7AM.