NYS OASAS Announces New Public Awareness Campaign to Highlight the Importance of Social Support in the Fight Against Addiction

 

“Connections” Campaign Highlights the Support Available for Those Affected by Addiction, and Directs Them To OASAS-Certified Programs

 The New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) today announced the launch of the new “Connections” Campaign to remind New Yorkers of the importance of social connections in the battle against addiction and substance use disorder. The campaign is designed to empower individuals impacted by addiction to use their connections to friends, family members, health professionals, and other organizations, to find help and support in their treatment and recovery. Part of the funding to support the campaign was awarded to New York State through the federal State Opioid Response grant.

“This extraordinarily difficult past year has taught us the importance of staying in touch with loved ones, friends and neighbors,” said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. "The new 'Connections' campaign not only helps get the word out on lifesaving resources and services for New Yorkers who are battling addiction and substance use disorder, but is also a reminder that help is available to find a better and satisfying life."

“While the COVID-19 pandemic was difficult in so many ways, it undoubtedly had a profound impact on how we interacted with our normal social support systems thereby creating debilitating isolation and disconnection from much needed resources and the people we love and associate with,” OASAS Commissioner Arlene González-Sánchez said. “With this campaign, we want to encourage New Yorkers to uplift themselves and reclaim the power lost during this difficult time, and also to remind them that help is available to achieve a healthy life in sustained recovery from addiction.”

Campaign content will run online on social media and streaming audio. PSAs will also be seen on billboards, city buses, subways, and the Staten Island Ferry with messages addressing the importance of connections and personal well-being, in addition to focusing on opioid overdose prevention and the use of naloxone to save lives. New Yorkers are also encouraged to focus on the value of connections and how they help to foster the best outcomes for overcoming addiction and finding a better and satisfying life.

The “Connections” campaign also raises awareness about the risks of overdoses due to the presence of fentanyl in other illicit substances. Fentanyl is a lethal opioid that has been detected in other illicit substances such as heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and ecstasy, which can result in overdoses and fatalities.

The statewide campaign runs through the end of August.

Individuals will be encouraged to visit the OASAS webpage for information about prevention, treatment and recovery services, and will also be directed to the NYS HOPEline, where they can receive help for themselves or someone else. Campaign materials are located on the public awareness section of the OASAS website.

New Yorkers struggling with an addiction, or whose loved ones are struggling, can find help and hope by calling the state’s toll-free, 24-hour, 7-day-a-week HOPEline at 1-877-8-HOPENY (1-877-846-7369) or by texting HOPENY (Short Code 467369).

Available addiction treatment including crisis/detox, inpatient, residential, or outpatient care can be found using the NYS OASAS Treatment Availability Dashboard at FindAddictionTreatment.ny.gov  or through the NYS OASAS website.

If you, or a loved one, have experienced insurance obstacles related to treatment or need help filing an appeal for a denied claim, contact the CHAMP helpline by phone at 888-614-5400 or e-mail at ombuds@oasas.ny.gov.

Nos Quedamos - Stage Garden Rumba at La Finca del Sur - Saturday, July 17th ~ 3-6pm

 

Facebook Instagram Twitter Website Subscribe STAGE GARDEN RUMBA 7/17 at La Finca del Sur 175 East 138th Street, The Bronx On Saturday, July 17, from 3pm to 6pm, We Stay/Nos Quedamos and Pregones/PRTT present another amazing "al fresco" session of Stage Garden Rumba—where art meets green—at La Finca del Sur on 175 East 138 Street, in the South Bronx! MUSIC | DANCE | POETRY | ACTIVISM | OUTDOORS! This week’s powerhouse lineup features: Multi-talented Caridad “La Bruja” De La Luz Fellow poets Jane Grenier, Freida Grace Jones, and Bonafide Rojas Afro Dominicano percussion group Palo en Cuero Milteri Tucker Concepción's Bombazo Dance Company Activists Nieves Ayress and Emmanuel Padilla The explosive Jorge Vázquez Bomba y Plena! Space is limited and Covid safety will be observed. Open to ALL and always FREE. 3:00 pm – Poets Caridad de La Luz and Freida Grace Jones. DJ José Torres. Activist Emanuel Padilla. Featured musical group: Palo En Cuero – Founded by master Dominican percussionist Jonathan “JBlak” Troncoso, this New York based group celebrates Afro-Cuban and Afro-Dominican traditional rhythms, and the sacred music of Dominican Palo. 4:00 pm – Poet Jane Grenier. Featured dance group: Bombazo Dance Company – Founded by dancer and choreographer Milteri Tucker Concepción, Bombazo is Bronx drum and dance company that celebrates traditional Afro Puerto Rican Bomba and Afro Caribbean folklores, fused with classical, contemporary and social styles of dance. 5:00 pm – Poets Bonafide Rojas and Caridad de La Luz. Activist Nieves Ayres. Featured music group: Jorge Vázquez Ensemble – a Stage Garden Rumba crowd favorite, this Bronx based music ensemble mixes popular Bomba and Plena rhythms with poetry, great singing and lots of sabor. Click on map for directions. Download FLIER (PDF). Photos reproduced by courtesy of the artists and photohgrapher. Programs made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with City Council, and from the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Southwest Airlines is the Official Airline of Pregones/PRTT. View a full list of our generous funders here: pregonesprtt.org.

Occupancy Imminent For Muller Residences At 555 Nereid Avenue In Wakefield, The Bronx

 

The Doe Fund has received Temporary Certificate of Occupancy for Muller Residences, a four-story affordable and supportive housing development for veterans. Located at 555 Nereid Avenue in The Bronx’s Wakefield neighborhood, the 51,000-square-foot building brings 90 units of affordable and supportive housing to the local community, with 54 residences allocated for formerly homeless military veterans. MHG Architects is responsible for the design.

“New York City’s recovery has been a wonder to behold, but we must ensure that it is shared by everyone,” said John McDonald, executive vice president of Real Estate at The Doe Fund. “That means addressing the housing crisis by providing vulnerable New Yorkers with a place to call home. It means improving public safety by alleviating the root causes of crime: poverty, lack of opportunity, and mental illness. Muller will uplift individuals, families, and veterans struggling to escape homelessness after bravely serving our country. With comprehensive, onsite social services, tenants will have access to the support they need to live with dignity and stability.”

The site is a former Army Reserve center that once manufactured torpedo gyroscopes, and was acquired by The Doe Fund in September 2013 from the federal government. The non-profit’s redevelopment plan consisted of a gut overhaul to better meet local community needs, revitalize the property, and create affordable housing and new community spaces. The remaining 35 affordable units will be rented to low-income residents, with one unit reserved for a live-in superintendent.

On-site supportive services for tenants include comprehensive case management, health care support, job preparedness, employment training, and drug and alcohol prevention. Amenities include 24-hour staffed security, a private yard, a laundry room, bike storage, a 123-seat auditorium for community events, an exercise room, a basketball court, and energy-efficient appliances in the residences.

Muller Residences will begin accepting tenants later this month.

Attorney General James Responds to Record High Overdose Deaths During COVID-19 Pandemic

 

 New York Attorney General Letitia James released the following statement after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that overdose deaths topped 93,000 in the United States in 2020 — a record high — as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic ravaged communities across the nation:  

“We are in the throes of dual crises, both of which have ravaged our communities and claimed far too many lives. As we recover and rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic, we must not forget to reflect on the impact drug overdoses have had on our state and our nation. The United States lost a record high of 93,000 lives last year due to drug overdoses. This excruciating loss overwhelmingly comes at the hands of the different opioid manufacturers and distributors responsible for an epidemic that has decimated communities across New York and the rest of the country.

“These new numbers are a painful sign that swift and concrete action is desperately needed. That is why I have devoted, and will continue to devote, my efforts to sending every dollar possible, as quickly as possible, to local communities to fund opioid abatelement efforts. We’ve already secured the delivery of hundreds of millions of dollars to New York for prevention, treatment, and recovery programs, but more is needed as this crisis is far from over.”

Aquilino Torres Convicted Of Kidnapping And Stalking

 

 Audrey Strauss, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that AQUILINO TORRES was convicted of kidnapping, kidnapping of a minor, and stalking for the October 2020 kidnapping and stalking of an adult female victim (“Victim-1”) and the kidnapping of Victim-1’s 7-year-old son (“Minor Victim-1”).  TORRES was convicted following a one-week jury trial before U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “Aquilino Torres threatened to kill a 7-year-old child in carrying out a brutal kidnapping of the child and his mother.  Torres then held his victims captive and physically abused both mother and child.  Thanks to the FBI and NYPD, Torres was apprehended, prosecuted, and now stands convicted of these horrific crimes.”

As reflected in the Indictment, documents previously filed in the case, and evidence introduced at trial:

On or about October 5, 2020, TORRES texted and called Victim-1 hundreds of times, including a text threatening to “kick [Minor Victim-1’s] teeth out.”  Later that night, TORRES took Victim-1 and Minor Victim-1 to a motel in the Bronx, where he hit Minor Victim-1 in the face and assaulted Victim-1, breaking her jaw.  While TORRES assaulted Victim-1, he told Victim-1, in sum and substance, that he would hang Victim-1 and that Minor Victim-1 would be found dead in the river.  For the next five days, TORRES held Victim-1 and Minor Victim-1 against their will at an apartment in Washington Heights, without medical treatment for Victim-1’s broken jaw.  On or about October 10, 2020, Victim-1 and Minor Victim-1 escaped from the apartment and were admitted to a hospital shortly thereafter.  In response to their escape, between on or about October 10, 2020, and on or about October 13, 2020, TORRES once again sent Victim-1 hundreds of threatening text messages and called Victim-1 hundreds of times.  For example, TORRES texted Victim-1, in sum and substance, that, if he made the decision to go looking for her, “there won’t be turning back.”  TORRES followed through on those threats and attempted to track down Victim-1 and Minor Victim-1 after they escaped. 

TORRES, 27, was found guilty of (i) one count of kidnapping, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1201(a)(1) and (b), which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, (ii) one count of kidnapping of a minor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1201(a)(1), (b), and (g), which carries a maximum sentence of life and a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years, and (iii) one count of stalking, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2261A(2)(A) and (B), 2261(b)(3), and 2265A, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years. 

Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI-NYPD Violent Crimes Task Force.  

DiNAPOLI: LOCAL TAX CAP WILL BE TWO PERCENT IN 2022

 

 Property tax levy growth will be capped at 2% for 2022 for local governments that operate on a calendar-based fiscal year, State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced today. This figure affects tax cap calculations for all counties, towns, and fire districts, as well as 44 cities and 13 villages. 

"Allowable tax levy growth will be limited to 2% for a third time in four years for local governments with calendar fiscal years," DiNapoli said. "As the economy recovers from the pandemic, local governments have seen some revenues rebound and have benefited from one-time federal financial assistance. At the same time, the risk of inflationary cost increases and the need for investments that will stimulate economic growth and fund essential services may lead to challenging budget decisions ahead.”

The tax cap, which first applied to local governments and school districts in 2012, limits annual tax levy increases to the lesser of the rate of inflation or 2% with certain exceptions, including a provision that allows municipalities to override the tax cap.

The 2% cap for the 2022 fiscal year is the third time since 2019 that municipalities with a calendar year fiscal year (Jan. 1 through Dec. 31) had their levy growth capped at that amount. In 2021, the allowable levy growth was 1.56%.

The Office of the State Comptroller has created a financial toolkit containing resources that can be useful to local officials in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. 

Chart

Allowable Tax Levy Growth Factors for Local Governments

171 Days and Counting

 

Today I go up to the Bronx to unveil a $1.43 Trillion Dollar program to revitalize our public school system over the next ten years while fighting climate change with Congressman Jamaal Bowman, and other local Bronx elected officials. I expect State Senator Jamaal Bailey the Bronx Democratic Party Leader to be there, so I have to be careful that I don't mix them up. 

With all the shootings up there on the Bronx I will have plenty of police protection with me, and get the hell out of the Bronx as soon as I can. Since I took all the power away from the police, crime has increased, and so has shootings, especially in the Bronx. That will be Mayor Eric Adams and Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson's problem when Ruben Diaz Jr. and I leave on January 1st due to term limits. 

Rep. Jamaal Bowman Unveils Green New Deal for Public Schools

 

The groundbreaking legislation will invest $1.43 trillion over 10 years to revitalize our public school system while combating the climate crisis

 The ambitious new legislation — which aims to invest $1.43 trillion over 10 years in public schools and infrastructure to combat climate change — would make a transformative and unprecedented investment in public school infrastructure by upgrading every public school building in the country, addressing historical harms and inequities by focusing support on high-need schools, and hiring and training hundreds of thousands of additional educators and support staff. If enacted, the legislation would fund 1.3 million jobs per year and eliminate 78 million metric tons of CO2 annually, the equivalent of taking 17 million cars off the road.

 

“It’s time for a revolution in public education,” said Rep. Jamaal Bowman. “As we deal with a devastating climate crisis caused by decades of unchecked corporate greed, we need to center our children and their future. The Green New Deal for Public Schools represents the level of school infrastructure investment that is urgent and necessary to heal the harm from decades of disinvestment, redlining and cycles of poverty and trauma, particularly for Black and brown children. What this comes down to is whether we’re willing to provide our kids with the resources they need to realize their brilliance and have a livable planet. Do we want to continue building a world based on militarization, incarceration, poverty, and destruction of resources? Or will we take advantage of this moment, put our kids and educators first, and treat the climate crisis as the emergency it is? This legislation is what we need to put us on the right side of history.” 

 

The Green New Deal for Public Schools proposes $1.43 trillion in new funding over 10 years, including the following distribution of resources:

• $446 billion in Climate Capital Facilities Grants and $40 billion for a Climate Change Resiliency Program
• Climate Capital Facilities Grants will fully fund healthy green retrofits for the highest-need third of schools, as measured by the CDC Social Vulnerability Index, and offer a mix of grant funding and no- or low-interest loans for the middle and top thirds. Grants will cover two-thirds and one-third of retrofit costs for these schools, respectively. 
• $250 billion in Resource Block Grants
• Resource Block Grants will fund staffing increases, expanded social service programming, and curriculum development at high-need schools. The program will allow Local Educational Agencies across the country to hire and train hundreds of thousands of additional educators and support staff, including paraprofessionals, school psychologists and counselors, and learning specialists. The funds may also be used to design locally-rooted curricula; adopt trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and restorative justice practices, to move towards a “whole child” approach to public education; and partner with community organizations to offer a range of services to schools and surrounding neighborhoods, such as after-school programs. 
• $100 million for an Educational Equity Planning Grants Pilot Program
• Educational Equity Planning Grants will encourage neighboring Local Education Agencies to form regional consortia, which will receive funding to conduct extensive community outreach, identify the historical and current sources of educational disparities within the region, and create and implement a Regional Education Equity Plan to address those disparities. This pilot program is modeled on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grants, which are designed to encourage equitable, locally-driven economic development. 
• $695 billion over 10 years for Title I and IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) increases
• This bill proposes quadrupling Title I funding to reach $66 billion annually to support schools and districts with students living in poverty, as well as increasing funding for IDEA Part B to reach $33 billion annually to support students with disabilities.

 

“Our country’s public schools should be safe, welcoming and sustainable for every child, regardless of geography or demography,” said American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten. “As we navigate the ever-growing climate crisis and school buildings that are ill-equipped to deal with it, we find ourselves with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to meet the moment, and ensure all our students can learn in schools where they can drink clean water, breathe clean air and be free from mold and broken windows. This bill makes the bold investments in America’s K-12 education system we need, from retrofitting school buildings, to investing in school staff and mental health professionals, all while addressing historic inequities so we can build a just future where every kid can access basic opportunities to thrive.”