DEC ANNOUNCES LAKE STURGEON FOUND SPAWNING IN GENESEE RIVER, FIRST IN MORE THAN 50 YEARS

 

Return of Spawning Lake Sturgeon Signifies Improvements to Ecosystem and Supports New York’s Fisheries Restoration and Management Goals

 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos today announced a milestone in the restoration of the Genesee River following the collection of a spawning female lake sturgeon in the lower Genesee for the first time in more than 50 years. The announcement took place with partners along the banks of the Genesee River in Monroe County. On May 25, 2021, Dr. Dawn Dittman and the field crew from the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Tunison Laboratory of Aquatic Science netted the 61-inch, nearly 70-pound female lake sturgeon. DEC began stocking lake sturgeon into the Lower Genesee River in 2003, as part of the State’s efforts to support the species’ recovery.

“Working with our partners, DEC’s investments and efforts to stock and clean up the Genesee watershed have paid off for lake sturgeon in the Genesee River,” said Commissioner Seggos. “This sturgeon thrived in the Genesee as a stocked juvenile and has finally reached maturity to hopefully produce another generation. We appreciate the work of all our federal partners, Monroe County, Seneca Park Zoo, New York Sea Grant, and others improving the Genesee River ecosystem and increasing public awareness of the river’s ongoing restoration.”

The discovery of the spawning lake sturgeon in lower section of the Genesee River is significant as the area is part of the Rochester Embayment Area of Concern (AOC). The AOC designation was given to 43 areas around the Great Lakes Basin under the U.S.- Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, signifying the chemical, physical, or biological components of the area’s ecosystem were degraded as a result of local human activities.

DEC works closely with regulatory partners at the USGS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as well as Monroe County Department of Health, to improve water quality and restore habitat in the Rochester Embayment AOC. The return of spawning lake sturgeon provides further evidence that restoration efforts are leading to tangible improvements to the ecosystem and support fisheries restoration and management goals. In addition, the Seneca Park Zoo and New York Sea Grant help educate the public about lake sturgeon and the Genesee River.

Dr. Dittman has worked with DEC to collect scientific data on lake sturgeon since the creation of the stocking program nearly 30 years ago. DEC stocks juvenile lake sturgeon into the Genesee River as part of a statewide recovery effort for the species, currently listed as ‘Threatened’ in New York State. Part of the recovery criteria for the species is to increase the number of spawning populations across its range in New York.

Dr. Dawn Dittman, Research Ecologist, USGS Great Lakes Science Center, said,“I am thrilled to report this milestone in the long-term restoration of Lake Sturgeon to the Genesee River,” Dittmansaid. “The finding validates scientists’ expectation that the first spawning would occur when stocked female sturgeons reached 17 or 18 years old.”

Jeff Wyatt, DVM, MPH, Seneca Park Zoo Environmental Advocate, said, “The Seneca Park Zoo is proud to be the temporary home to juvenile lake sturgeon each year to share these amazing fish with the public. We are also glad to see our work on the Rochester Embayment Area of Concern coming to such tangible fruition with the return of spawning lake sturgeon.”

Michael Goehle, Project Leader for Lower Great Lakes Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said, “The Genesee River restoration program contributes to the overall restoration of Lake Sturgeon in Lake Ontario and its major tributaries, and the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service is proud to support this effort with our partners and across several of our offices and programs. Our Lower Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office assists with migration and population assessments, our New York Field Office assists with propagation efforts and area of concern support, and our Genoa National Fish Hatchery assists with lake sturgeon propagation. Much of this work has been ongoing for more than 20 years.”

Across New York, lake sturgeon numbers are on the rise and DEC asks the angling public to continue to support their recovery by releasing accidentally hooked sturgeon immediately. The heat and stress of spawning make lake sturgeon more vulnerable to incidental mortality from angling at this time of year. DEC depends on anglers to support sturgeon by removing the hook in accidental catches while the fish is still in the water and move to a different location or use a different angling technique once the sturgeon is hooked. For more information about the lake sturgeon recovery program in New York State, visit Lake Sturgeon Recovery Plan - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/111557.html.

To support stewardship of lake sturgeon, New York Sea Grant has published a Lake Sturgeon Intermediate Curriculum for sixth- to eighth-grade students as part of a suite of lake sturgeon-related resources for school and public use to encourage conservation of one of the largest and longest-living native fish species, and a threatened species, in the Great Lakes. See http://www.nyseagrant.org/lakesturgeon for details.

For more information on the Rochester Embayment Area of Concern and restoration activities, go to https://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/92771.html.

BRONX MAN SENTENCED TO 16 YEARS IN PRISON FOR FATALLY BEATING TWO-YEAR-OLD BOY

 

Defendant Pleaded Guilty to First-Degree Manslaughter

 Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx man has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for brutally beating a two-year-old boy in 2018, causing his death. 

 District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant mercilessly beat an innocent two-year-old child named Messiah Allen, causing fatal injuries. The defendant, who was the boyfriend of the child’s mother, attacked him while she was at her job. I hope today’s sentence brings some sense of closure to the family of Messiah. The child’s life was cut short in such a cruel manner.”

 District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Kenneth Lynch, 39, last of 1725 Bruckner Boulevard, was sentenced today to 16 years in prison and five years post-release supervision by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Jeanette Rodriguez-Morak. The defendant pleaded guilty to firstdegree Manslaughter on May 20, 2021.

 According to the investigation, on May 24, 2018, Lynch, who was living with his then girlfriend and her two-year-old son, Messiah, was with the child alone in the apartment as the child’s mother worked in Manhattan. During that time, the defendant inflicted multiple blunt force injuries to the child’s body. Blows to the boy’s torso led to a transected liver, which caused his death. The defendant called 911 and the child was transported to Jacobi Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

 District Attorney Clark thanked Advocate Ana Pimentel of the Crime Victims Assistance Unit, NYPD Detective Austin Denio of the 43 rd Precinct, NYPD Detective Christine Reyes of the Bronx Homicide Squad (retired), and FDNY Firefighter Matthew Bland.

10th Century Statue Looted From Cambodian Temple Is Subject Of Forfeiture Action Filed In Manhattan Federal Court

 

 Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the filing of a civil complaint seeking forfeiture of a 10th Century Khmer sandstone statue – Skanda on a Peacock – for the purpose of returning it to the Kingdom of Cambodia.  The statue was stolen from the Prasat Krachap temple at Koh Ker in Cambodia, and sold by antiquities dealer Douglas Latchford into the international art market. Skanda on a Peacock is considered to be a masterpiece of artistic achievement and a valuable part of the Cambodian cultural heritage. The owner of Skanda on a Peacock has voluntarily relinquished possession of the statue to the custody of HSI.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “Skanda on a Peacock is a work of great historical, religious, and artistic significance to the people of Cambodia. With this action, we reaffirm our commitment to ending the sale of illegally trafficked antiquities in the United States, and begin the process of returning Skanda on a Peacock to its rightful home.”

According to the Complaint filed in Manhattan Federal Court on July 15, 2021:

From 928 to 944 A.D., Koh Ker was the capital of the ancient Khmer empire in Cambodia.  The Cambodian state under King Jayavarman IV constructed a vast complex of sacred monuments at Koh Ker, including the Prasat Krachap temple and its statuary. Koh Ker statuary was revolutionary for its time. Many of the statues, including Skanda on a Peacock, were huge, often shown in movement, and were free-standing or in high-relief.  Skanda on a Peacock depicts the Hindu god of war, Skanda, riding on the back of a peacock. The body and tail of the peacock are decorated with intricate engraved patterns. Khmer cultural experts believe that the face of the Skanda on the statue may in fact be a portrait of a royal family member, such as Harshavarman II, the son of King Jayavarman IV.

During the civil conflicts of late 20th century, statues and other artifacts were stolen from Koh Ker and entered the international art market through an organized looting network.   Local teams of looters would first remove the statues from the original location at Koh Ker. The statues would then be transported to the Cambodia-Thailand border, and transferred to brokers, who would in turn transport them to dealers in Khmer artifacts located in Thailand, particularly Bangkok.  These dealers would sell the artifacts to local or international customers, who would either retain the pieces or sell them on the international art market.

Skanda on a Peacock, along with several other significant statues, was stolen from Prasat Krachap in or about 1997 by a former member of the Khmer Rouge leading a team of looters (“Looter-1”). Looter-1 transported Skanda on a Peacock by oxcart to the house of a broker near the Thai border. Looter-1 was aware that the broker sold antiquities to a foreign national called “Sia” (which means “lord” in Thai) “Ford” – the British/Thai antiquities dealer Douglas Latchford, a/k/a “Pakpong Kriangsak.” In 2019, Latchford was charged by the Office with wire fraud conspiracy and other crimes related to a many-year scheme to sell looted Cambodian antiquities on the international art market, primarily by creating false provenance documents and falsifying invoices and shipping documents. The indictment was ultimately dismissed due to the death of Latchford.

On or about April 10, 2000, Latchford sold Skanda on a Peacock and, thereafter, it was imported into the United States.  After the most recent owner was contacted by the United States regarding Skanda on a Peacock, the owner agreed to relinquish possession of the statue and to waive all claims of right, title, and interest in it.  Skanda on a Peacock is currently in the possession of the United States Department of Homeland Security.

Ms. Strauss thanked HSI for its outstanding work on this investigation, which she noted is ongoing, and praised its ongoing efforts to find and repatriate stolen and looted cultural property. Ms. Strauss also thanked the Kingdom of Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts for its assistance with this investigation.

This announcement supports the Memorandum of Understanding first signed between the U.S. and Cambodia in 2003, and last renewed in 2018.

The allegations contained in the Complaint are merely accusations.

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

 

With Mayor Bill de Blasio, Public schools Chancellor Meisha Ross Porter, State Senator Jamaal Bailey, Councilman Kevin Riley, school staff, parents, and students, Congressman Jamal Bowman introduced his new green deal for public schools. This New Green Deal for Public Schools will be broken down in four ways over ten years to total $1.43 Trillion dollars. 

$446 billion dollars in Climate Control Facility Grants and $40 billion dollars for a Climate Change Resiliency Program. This will fund healthy green retrofits for the highest need third of schools, as measured by the CDC Social Vulnerability Index. There will be no or low cost interest loans for the rest of the public schools. 

$250 Billion in Resource Block Grants for staffing increases, expanded social service programming at high needs schools. This will fund the hiring and training of hundreds of thousands additional staff at all levels, and come up with a curriculum to move towards the 'whole child' approach in public schools including after school programs.

$100 million for an Educational Equity Planning Grants Program, to conduct community outreach to identify the historic and current sources of educational disparities within the region, to create a regional education equity plan to address these disparities.

$695 Billion over ten years for Title 1 and IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) increases which will quadruple Title 1 funding to reach $66 billion annually to support schools and districts with students living in poverty, and to increase IDEA Part B funding to reach 33 Billion annually to support students with disabilities.

Mayor de Blasio gave a ringing endorsement to Congressman Bowman's plan saying, "This is an important day for our children in public school, and just what was needed to level the playing field for all children. Mayor de Blasio finished by saying this will complement the new Universal Mosaic Curriculum with a focus on literacy that will be rolled out in September when students return to schools finally. 

Original co-sponsors of the legislation are Democratic Reps Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY), Nanette Diaz Barragan (CA), Cori Bush (MO), Yvette Clark (NY), Danny K. Davis (IL), Adriano Espaillat (NY), Jesus G. "Chuy" Garcia (ILL), Raul Grijalva (AZ), Ro Khanna (CA), Barbara Lee (CA), Andy Levine (MI), Carolyn Maloney (NY), Elanor Holmes Norton (D.C.), Ayanna Pressley (MA), Jamie Raskin (MD), Thomas Suozzi (NY), Mark Takano (CA), Bernie Thompson (MS), Rashida Tlaib (MI), Nydia Velazquez (NY), Juan Vargas (CA), and Frederica Wilson (FL).

Mayor Bill de Blasio thanks Congressman Bowman for this legislation that will bring the public school system into the 21st and 22nd centuries. 

State Senator Jamaal Bailey, who represents the area where the press conference was held, Edenwald, thanked Congressman Bowman not only as a state legislator, but also as a parent of a child in the New York City Public School System.

170 Days and Counting - It's Good to be the Outgoing Mayor

 

When you are the outgoing mayor with less that six months left people don't expect much from you. I am giving them what they expect of me. I came to Congressman Bowman's announcement of $1.43 Trillion dollars for education late and left early. Ah, but not every school or school district will benefit from this national windfall. It is meant for schools that are underperforming due to racial injustice. As the congressman said areas like Yonkers, Mount Vernon, most of the Bronx and other urban cities will benefit from this windfall. The congressman added that areas like Scarsdale, Bronxville, and Riverdale will not be getting any monies, because those schools are performing well due to racial injustice.

Governor Cuomo Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19

 

38,027 Vaccine Doses Administered Over Last 24 Hours

340 Patient Hospitalizations Statewide

3 COVID-19 Deaths Statewide Yesterday

 Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress combating COVID-19.

"New York State continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic as more residents get vaccinated every single day, but we need everyone who hasn't taken the shot yet to do so as soon as possible," Governor Cuomo said. "Millions of New Yorkers have gotten vaccinated, and sites are open across the state for appointments or walk-ins. Getting vaccinated doesn't just help you—it keeps your family and community safe too, so take your shot today."

 

Today's data is summarized briefly below:

• Test Results Reported - 81,951
• Total Positive - 956
• Percent Positive - 1.17%
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 1.04%
• Patient Hospitalization - 340 (-9)
• Patients Newly Admitted - 54
• Patients in ICU - 75 (-4)
• Patients in ICU with Intubation - 34 (+1)
• Total Discharges - 185,630 (+71)
• Deaths - 3
• Total Deaths - 43,023
• Total vaccine doses administered - 21,685,467
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours - 38,027
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days - 242,413
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose - 70.7%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series - 65.4%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 73.5%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 67.0%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose - 59.0%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series - 54.3%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 61.3%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 55.6%

Former CEO And CFO Of Public Telecommunications Company Charged In Manhattan Federal Court With Scheme To Defraud Investors

 

Defendants Charged with Concealing Company’s Deteriorating Financial Condition and Embezzling Company Funds

 Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment in Manhattan federal court charging MICHAEL PALLESCHI, the former Chief Executive Officer of FTE Networks, Inc. (“FTE”), and DAVID LETHEM, the former Chief Financial Officer of FTE, with conspiracy, securities fraud, and wire fraud, improperly influencing the conduct of an audit and aggravated identity theft.  These charges stem from the defendants’ years-long scheme to inflate FTE’s revenue, to conceal liabilities and expenses, and to embezzle company funds.  PALLESCHI was arrested this morning in the Northern District of New York and will be presented today in that district.  LETHEM was arrested this morning in the Middle District of Florida and will be presented today in that district. 

U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said:  “When corporate executives sell their company’s stock to the public, they assume the responsibility under federal law of making full and accurate disclosures about their company’s financial condition to investors.  Palleschi and Lethem instead chose to lie about FTE’s finances to make the company appear more financially healthy than it was, thus defrauding FTE’s stockholders and lenders. Instead of forthrightness with their investors, Palleschi and Lethem chose the easy way to cash in by obfuscating FTE’s true financial health through fake documents and forged signatures. This Office is committed to ensuring the integrity of our capital markets through vigorous enforcement of federal securities laws.”

FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said:  “Concealing a company’s true financials from investors is not only an unscrupulous business practice, but in the case of Palleschi and Lethem, as we allege today, it amounted to a federal crime. Financial fraud schemes are all too common, and in order to maintain investor confidence, we need to hold accountable those who perpetrate them.” 

According to the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:[1]

FTE was a telecommunications company based in Naples, Florida and Manhattan.  As of December 2017, its stock traded on the NYSE American market.  From 2014 to 2019, PALLESCHI was the chairman of FTE’s Board of Directors and its Chief Executive Officer.  LETHEM served as FTE’s Chief Financial Officer from 2014 through 2019.

Fraud with Respect to Convertible Notes

From 2016 to early 2019, PALLESCHI and LETHEM caused FTE to issue approximately 70 notes with a total principal balance of more than $22 million to private lenders that the lenders could convert to FTE’s common stock, either upon demand or upon default.  Issuers of such convertible notes must recognize on their financial statements liabilities and expenses that arise from the notes’ conversion features.  PALLESCHI and LETHEM caused FTE to recognize only the principal amounts and resulting interest expense on the company’s books but not the substantial liabilities and expenses arising from the notes’ conversion features.

In furtherance of the scheme, PALLESCHI and LETHEM took several steps to conceal the notes’ conversion features:

Rather than provide FTE’s accountants and auditors with copies of the actual convertible notes, the defendants created fake notes with the same lenders, principal amounts and other terms as the convertible notes and gave the fake notes to the auditors and accountants.  PALLESCHI and LETHEM created more than 35 such fake notes with a total principal balance of more than $14 million. 

PALLESCHI and LETHEM also created fake resolutions of FTE’s Board of Directors that purportedly authorized the company to issue the convertible notes on which they forged the Directors’ signatures.  The defendants then provided these forged Board resolutions to FTE’s lenders. 

On four occasions in June 2017, LETHEM forged the signature of a representative of FTE’s transfer agent on letters that he provided to lenders.  The transfer agent kept records of who owned FTE’s stock and held stock shares that the company had not yet issued.  The forged letters purported to confirm that the transfer agent would hold a sufficient number of shares of FTE’s stock in reserve to pay a convertible lender in case the lender decided to convert a convertible note into FTE stock.  These letters protected convertible lenders by ensuring that enough shares of FTE’s stock would be available to pay off the convertible notes.  Convertible lenders generally required their borrowers to provide them with such letters before funding a convertible note.

PALLESCHI and LETHEM lied repeatedly to FTE’s auditors by falsely denying that the company had issued convertible debt.  In April 2018, LETHEM falsely denied to the auditors that FTE had issued two specific convertible notes.  Three days later, both PALLESCHI and LETHEM repeated this false denial to the auditors in a management representation letter related to the audit of FTE’s 2017 year end financial statements.  PALLESCHI and LETHEM also falsely denied to the auditors in April 2018 and again in November 2018 that a $1.4 million note FTE had entered into in April 2018 was convertible.  When the auditors asked to see a copy of the $1.4 million note, LETHEM falsely claimed that his sole electronic copy of the note was lost because the electronic file had become corrupted.  When the auditors continued to ask for the note, LETHEM concealed that he had the note all along by sending the note to a company attorney and arranged for the attorney to send it back to him.  LETHEM then forwarded the attorney’s email to a company Director, who forwarded it to the auditors with the notation that “[the attorney] found the note!”  When the auditors then asked that the attorney review her files for other notes, LETHEM and the attorney falsely responded that the attorney did not know of, or possess, additional convertible notes.

As a result of this fraud with respect to convertible notes, the defendants caused FTE to understate its debt derivative liabilities and warrant derivative liabilities and to fail to recognize losses on conversion derivative liabilities and losses on issuance of notes in 2017 and 2018.  For example, FTE’s year end 2017 financial statements understated FTE’s debt derivative liabilities by $48 million and warrant derivative liabilities by $16 million.  FTE also failed to recognize a $35 million loss on conversion derivative liabilities and a $42 million loss on issuance of notes for the year ending 2017. 

Fraudulent Revenue Recognition

PALLESCHI and LETHEM also caused FTE to recognize more than $13 million in fraudulent revenue:

This fraudulent revenue included more than $10 million in “unbilled” revenue that the defendants represented FTE had earned from services it had supposedly provided to a large customer that would not yet accept bills for those services.  FTE never provided any such services.

In addition, the defendants caused FTE to recognize approximately $2.6 million as an account receivable for which there was no support.  When FTE’s auditors said that the account receivable should be written off, PALLESCHI and LETHEM  created a fake email from a representative of the customer saying that the customer would “expedite payments” for more than $1.5 million for projects completed by FTE in 2016 and 2017.  The defendants caused this fake email to be sent to FTE’s auditors so that FTE could continue to recognize the receivable. 

PALLESCHI and LETHEM caused FTE to recognize another $600,000 in accounts receivable for work the defendants falsely claimed FTE performed.  When FTE’s auditor sought confirmation of this account receivable from the customer, LETHEM gave the auditor the name and email address of an FTE director who also was an employee of the customer.  PALLESCHI and LETHEM then attempted to persuade the FTE director to sign the confirmation but the director refused to do so.  LETHEM then emailed PALLESCHI in part “should I just send plan b?”  Later that day, LETHEM emailed PALLESCHI an audit confirmation containing the director’s forged signature.  A few days later, LETHEM emailed the auditor a confirmation containing the director’s forged signature.

As a result of the defendants’ fraudulent recognition of revenue, FTE’s financial statements overstated the company’s accounts receivable by between 18% and 120% for each of the quarters in 2017 and 2018 and by approximately 477% for 2016.

Embezzlement of Corporate Funds

PALLESCHI and LETHEM also embezzled corporate funds.  This embezzlement included payments for private jet use, luxury automobiles, personal credit cards, unauthorized wire transfers and stock issuances.  PALLESCHI and LETHEM used a bank account in the name of another entity to hide their diversion of corporate funds. 

PALLESCHI, 46, of Naples, Florida; and LETHEM, 62, of Ft. Myers, Florida, are charged with 1) conspiring to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, making false statements in SEC filings and improperly influencing the conduct of audits, which carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison; 2) securities fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; 3) wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; 4) improperly influencing the conduct of audits, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and 5) aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory minimum term of 2 years in prison.  The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.

Ms. Strauss praised the investigative work of the FBI.  Ms. Strauss further thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which today filed a parallel civil action.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

MAYOR DE BLASIO RECOMMENDS SHERIF SOLIMAN TO TRAFFIC MOBILITY REVIEW BOARD, CALLS ON MTA TO EXPEDITE CONGESTION PRICING LAUNCH

 

 Mayor Bill de Blasio today recommended Department of Finance Commissioner Sherif Soliman to the Traffic Mobility Review Board (TMRB). The mayor also called on the MTA to work faster to advance this crucial first-in-the-nation program, which will charge private vehicles for entering Manhattan’s Central Business District.

“Sherif Soliman has the vision and expertise to get the Traffic Mobility Review Board moving and deliver a congestion pricing plan that works for everyone,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “The MTA should meet its obligation to convene experts like Sherif on this board and kick this process into overdrive. Congestion pricing will ease traffic and fund mass transit, and New Yorkers can’t wait any longer to get it started.”

 

“Congestion pricing is a game changer – it will generate billions for mass transit investments, mitigate the ills of traffic congestion, improve air quality, and provide many more benefits for New Yorkers,” said Department of Finance Commissioner Sherif Soliman. “A successful launch in America’s largest city will further validate congestion pricing as a paragon for sound transportation policy, and I thank the Mayor for recommending me to serve on a board that will play a pivotal role in the program’s design. I look forward to the MTA’s consideration of my candidacy.”

 

The mayor urged the MTA to follow a more aggressive timeline for crucial parts of the congestion pricing launch, including:

• Immediately appointing and convening the Traffic Mobility Review Board (TRMB).
• Expediting the Environmental Assessment, Traffic Mobility Review Board recommendations, final MTA action including all pricing, exemptions, design and testing, to be completed at the latest by next June, for implementation in 2022.
• Putting shovels in the ground by this time next year, with full implementation of congestion pricing in 2022.

 

The six-member Traffic Mobility Review Board, created by the 2019 congestion pricing law, is charged with soliciting public input on congestion pricing program parameters and making recommendations on toll amounts, exemptions, discounts and other program elements to the MTA Board for approval. The TMRB’s members are appointed by the MTA, with the requirement that one member is recommended by the New York City Mayor, one member resides in the Long Island Rail Road region, and one member resides in the Metro North region. The law also requires that members have experience in at least one of the following areas: public finance, transportation, mass transit, or management.   

 

Congestion pricing will reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality, eliminate toll shopping, and lower vehicle emissions, all while encouraging New Yorkers back to mass transit. Revenues will provide billions for the subway system’s signals, track, accessibility, and other critical transit infrastructure.

 

"New Yorkers cannot wait any longer for a modernized mass transit system, congestion-free streets, and improved air quality where they live and work," said Ben Furnas, Director of the Mayor's Office of Climate and Sustainability. "Commissioner Sherif Soliman is a terrific choice for the board to ensure that the congestion pricing program will quickly and equitably deliver these much-needed benefits to all New Yorkers and fight climate change at the same time."