425 Grand Concourse Will Debut As The Country’s Largest Passive House High-Rise, In Mott Haven, The Bronx

 

The Bronx will soon be home to the country’s largest Passive House high-rise development. Located at 425 Grand Concourse in Mott Haven, the 26-story building will create 277 units of affordable housing, a neighborhood supermarket, a community health center, a cultural center, and a 30,000-square-foot educational facility for CUNY’s Hostos Community College.

The 277 apartments at 425 Grand Concourse will be reserved for low- and moderate-income households and individuals. Residential amenity spaces will include an outdoor recreation deck on the 25th floor, two communal lounges, a fitness room, laundry rooms, bike storage, and a landscaped roof terrace on the third floor.

As a Passive House building, the structure incorporates a high-performance envelope that provides greater airtightness compared to typical building and construction standards. This results in a reduction of heat loss or temperature gain, improved temperature control, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The building will also feature energy-efficient lighting systems, building mechanicals, and facilities. For tenants, this is expected to result in lower monthly utility bills.

Designed by Dattner Architects, the structure will eventually comprise 310,000 square feet. The building’s superstructure topped out early in January, and today, construction is 75 percent complete. The project is on track to debut in spring 2022.

“A large multi-family development such as 425 Grand Concourse is the ideal project for employing Passive House design, because the ratio between envelope size and enclosed building volume is very favorable,” said Christoph Stump, vice president of design and construction for Trinity Financial in New York, one of three developers responsible for the project. “Energy-recovery ventilation, heat-recovery heating and cooling, and the added work that goes into creating an airtight building with minimal thermal bridges adds relatively little cost to a project.”

The development team also includes MBD Community Housing Corporation and New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Monadnock Construction is the general contractor.

“Our rapid progress on 425 Grand Concourse is exciting to watch each day, and it is truly energizing the entire Mott Haven community in the Bronx,” said Thomas Brown, vice president of development for Trinity Financial, who oversees the company’s New York operations. “The residents who will occupy the 277 units of affordable housing will form the heart and soul of what we are creating.”

Comptroller Stringer Audit Finds the City Lost $179 Million Due to Mismanagement of DOE Medicaid Reimbursement Claims for Special Education Services

 

An audit of the New York City Department of Education found the agency did not adequately collect documentation to verify special education services claims for Medicaid reimbursement and does not perform routine collection for a variety of reimbursable services

DOE did not submit the necessary documentation for Medicaid reimbursement claims for the 2018-2019 School Year that totaled as much as $179,688,706 in costs for services for occupational, physical, and speech therapy

Comptroller Stringer recommended improvements to the DOE’s handling of claims including meeting all State and federal requirements and ensuring all documentation is collected appropriately for every eligible service

New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer released an audit of the New York City Department of Education’s (DOE) management of Medicaid reimbursement claims for special education services that provide students with special needs with occupational, physical, and speech therapy services. The audit found that the DOE’s failure to perform the due diligence necessary to meet State and federal requirements to receive Medicaid reimbursement for claims on services performed resulted in the agency losing an estimated $179 million in the 2018-2019 school year alone. The findings concluded that the DOE did not perform the necessary steps to receive reimbursement from the federal government for claims submitted to the DOE including obtaining written orders or referrals for services, verifying provider credentials, recording session notes, and obtaining parental consent to bill Medicaid. In response to this mismanagement, Comptroller Stringer recommended steps the DOE should undertake to ensure the agency receives all the federal Medicaid reimbursement funding that it is entitled to enshrined in the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA).

“New York City’s students with disabilities deserve the best quality education and every opportunity to succeed. Our audit found the DOE’s mismanagement of Medicaid claims for special education services resulted in the City losing out on hundreds of millions of dollars from a lack of accountability. This is money that could be in our classrooms supporting our children when they need it most,” said New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer. “This mismanagement is unacceptable, and the DOE must improve its process to capture every last dollar eligible for reimbursement. The stakes couldn’t be higher and our children deserve nothing less.”

The DOE is entitled to submit Medicaid reimbursement claims for covered services provided to Medicaid eligible students with disabilities who are between the ages of 3 and 21. The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) and the New York State Department of Education (NYSED) jointly developed the Preschool/School Supportive Health Services Program (SSHSP) to help school districts obtain Medicaid reimbursement. The DOE Office of Medicaid Operations (OMO) is responsible for the coordination of programmatic and administrative efforts to maximize Medicaid reimbursement claims for related services including Physical Therapy (PT), Occupational Therapy (OT), and Speech Therapy. OMO is charged with ensuring that Medicaid reimbursement claims submitted by DOE meet federal and State requirements, and with finding efficiencies to increase claims.

Comptroller Stringer’s audit found the following lack of controls with regard to the DOE’s management of maximizing Medicaid reimbursement claims for special education services:

• DOE did not have adequate controls in place to ensure that student occupational therapy (OT), physical therapy (PT), and Speech Therapy service encounters met all of the federal and State Medicaid reimbursement documentation requirements including obtaining written orders or referrals for services, verifying provider credentials, recording session notes to document that diagnostic and/or treatment services were provided to students, and obtaining parental consent to bill Medicaid. As a result, DOE could not submit Medicaid reimbursement claims for those services.
• For the 2018-2019 School Year, DOE did not realize gross Medicaid reimbursements totaling as much as $179,688,706, for OT, PT, and speech therapy services.
• DOE does not submit any Medicaid reimbursement claims for the following covered services including valuations and reevaluations, Psychological Counseling, certain speech services, Special Transportation, and Skilled Nursing provided to public and non-public school students; and covered services provided to pre-school students who attend public schools and private schools other than NYSED-approved pre-school special education programs, and pre-school students who receive instruction at home.
• For the 2018-2019 School Year, DOE did not realize gross Medicaid reimbursements totaling as much as $9,966,540 for Psychological Counseling, certain Speech Therapy services, and covered services provided to pre-school public and non-public school students.
• DOE did not maintain evaluation and re-evaluation data, and did not provide the Comptroller’s audit team with students’ Individualized Education Program (IEP) data including service start and end dates, frequency, or duration of recommended services for Special Transportation and Skilled Nursing.

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

• Perform a systematic analysis of those OT, PT, and Speech Therapy service encounters that do not pass the claim validation process to determine why those encounters did not meet Medicaid claiming requirements and to identify and prioritize corrective actions to maximize future Medicaid reimbursement revenues;
• Submit Medicaid reimbursement claims for Psychological Counseling service encounters which meet State and federal requirements;
• Ensure that evaluations are conducted and documented in a way that allows DOE to claim for covered services and submit Medicaid reimbursement claims for those services where appropriate;
• Reconsider the feasibility of submitting Medicaid reimbursement claims for Speech Therapy services provided under the supervision of a licensed provider and provided to students in all public and non-public schools, including but not limited to, running a pilot with adequate staffing levels and compliance with timely and complete session note;
• Ensure that contracted providers maintain electronic transportation logs which include Medicaid required elements for each trip and submit Medicaid reimbursement claims for Special Transportation services where appropriate;
• Immediately start claiming for Skilled Nursing services which meet federal and State requirements; and
• Take all necessary steps to ensure that Medicaid documentation claiming requirements are met for covered services provided to preschool-age students and submit Medicaid reimbursement claims for those services where appropriate.

To read Comptroller Stringer’s audit of the DOE’s Medicaid reimbursement program for special education services, click here.

NYPD and FBI New York Fight Asian Hate with New Joint Public Awareness Campaign

 

 The NYPD and our FBI New York partners announced a joint public service announcement (PSA) to encourage the reporting of anti-Asian hate crimes and to stand in solidarity with the Asian community. The NYPD and FBI encourage all New Yorkers, regardless of immigration status, to report any bias or hate crime incident – and it will be vigorously investigated.

The PSA's are spoken in English, Korean, Tagalog, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Vietnamese. They will be posted on the NYPD and FBI social media channels and disseminated across New York City communities. Leadership from the NYPD and FBI, as well as detectives and agents and former acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Joon Kim, participated in these videos to increase awareness of anti-Asian hate crimes and encourage New Yorkers from communities across the city to report any crime.

The NYPD and FBI need the help of all New Yorkers to bring justice to those that are victimized and so that the NYPD and FBI can hold perpetrators to account. Year-to-date as of July 11, 2021, as compared to last year, anti-Asian hate crimes have increased by 395% (104 v. 21).

"NYPD detectives work around the clock to prevent anti-Asian hate crimes from occurring, and vigorously investigate them if they do," said Police Commissioner Dermot Shea. "We need all New Yorkers to help to stop these hateful acts. We must continue to work together, with our federal partners and community members, to ensure safe communities for everyone. This public awareness campaign is another way we can reach New Yorkers and stop hate.”

“We each have a role to play to reverse the trends we’ve seen in New York City and beyond—let’s set the example,” said FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. “Pay attention to what’s going on around you and do what’s right. You may be surprised how big of a role you can play in keeping our communities safe.”

Doctor Selling COVID-19 “Cure” Pleads Guilty

 

 Jennings Ryan Staley, a physician who attempted to profit from the pandemic by marketing a “miracle cure” for COVID-19, pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting that he tried to smuggle hydroxychloroquine into the United States to sell in his coronavirus “treatment kits.”

Staley, the former operator of Skinny Beach Med Spas in and around San Diego, also admitted in his plea agreement that he abused his position of trust as a physician in making the extreme claims, and that he lied to the FBI when confronted about it.

The doctor pleaded guilty to one count of importation contrary to law, admitting that he worked with a Chinese supplier to try to smuggle into the United States a barrel that he believed contained over 26 pounds of hydroxychloroquine powder by mislabeling it as “yam extract.”  Staley admitted that he intended to sell the hydroxychloroquine powder in capsules as part of his 2020 business venture selling the COVID-19 “treatment kits.”

In his plea agreement, Staley also admitted that he wrote a prescription for hydroxychloroquine for one of his employees and then misused the employee’s name and personal identifying information and answered questions as though he were the employee to fill the prescription, all without the employee’s knowledge or consent. Staley agreed that he engaged in this conduct in order to obtain more of the drug for his enterprise. 

In late March and early April 2020, Staley marketed and sold his treatment kits to Skinny Beach customers.  According to the plea agreement, he described his products—which included hydroxychloroquine—as a “one hundred percent” cure, a “magic bullet,” an “amazing weapon,” and “almost too good to be true,” and stated that the products would provide at least six weeks of immunity. Staley admitted that these statements were material to his potential customers, and that as a doctor he abused a position of public trust. An undercover agent purchased six of Staley’s treatment packs for $4,000. 

Staley also admitted that he willfully impeded and sought to obstruct the federal investigation into his conduct by lying to federal agents.  Specifically, he falsely denied ever claiming that his treatment packages were a “one hundred percent effective cure,” adding “that would be foolish.”  Staley likewise falsely claimed that his medical practice would “absolutely” get all relevant information about each family member when sending out medications for a family treatment pack, when just a week earlier, he had dispensed a “family pack” of hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine, generic Viagra, Xanax, and azithromycin to the undercover agent without collecting any medical information from the agent or his five supposed family members.

“While healthcare workers around the world selflessly labored on the frontlines of an international pandemic, this doctor used his position of trust to cash in on COVID-19 fears,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “We are committed to protecting the American people from such scams and holding the scammers accountable.” Grossman commended the federal agents from FBI and FDA-OCI, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas Pilchak and Jaclyn Stahl, who worked hard pursuing justice in this case.  He also commended U.S. Customs and Border Protection for its assistance with the investigation. 

“Dr. Staley offered a 'magic bullet' - a guaranteed cure for COVID-19 to people gripped in fear during a global pandemic,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Suzanne Turner. “Today, Dr. Staley admitted it was all a lie as part of a scam to make a quick buck. The FBI will continue to vigorously pursue doctors who abuse their professions to defraud innocent victims with gimmicks of false hope and promises.”

“The FDA continues to work with its law enforcement partners to protect the public health by identifying, investigating and bringing to justice those who attempt to profit from the pandemic by offering and distributing COVID-19 treatments with unproven ‘miracle cure’ claims to American consumers,” said Special Agent in Charge Lisa L. Malinowski, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Los Angeles Field Office.

Staley’s next court date is October 8, 2021 before U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel.

On May 17, 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force, led by the Deputy Attorney General, to bring together the full resources of the federal government to bolster fraud enforcement efforts.

If you think you are a victim of COVID-19 fraud, immediately report it to the FBI (visit ic3.gov, tips.fbi.gov, or call 1-800-CALL-FBI). The public is also urged to report suspected fraud schemes related to COVID-19 by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) hotline (1-866-720-5721) or by e-mailing the NCDF at disaster@leo.gov.

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Importation Contrary to Law, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 545

Maximum Penalty: Twenty years in prison; fine; special assessment.

SCHUMER - OVER $7 BILLION EN ROUTE TO NEW YORK FAMILIES THROUGH ENHANCED CHILD TAX CREDIT;

 

The American Rescue Plan’s Child Tax Credit Expansion Provides Thousands of Dollars of Relief For Families Across Upstate New York for 2021 – More Than An Estimated $7 Billion Directly To Thousands Of Families 

 U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer heralded the Child Tax Credit expansion which will allow payments of up to $300 per child to automatically go out to families across New York each month. Schumer said the plan will impact over 86% of New York children.

“Help is here for working families across New York in the form of enhanced Child Tax Credits that put more money in families’ pockets to recover from COVID even as its boosts New York’s economy,” said Senator Schumer. “Over 86% of families throughout New York will benefit from the enhanced Child Tax Credit just as they begin to fully recover from the global health and economic pandemic that rocked our country for the past year. That is why I made sure this relief bill included help for New York families, because this significant expansion of the Child Tax Credit will cut the nation’s child poverty rate in half and bring necessary relief. The credit expansion – on top of the $1,400 direct checks that came earlier this year – will provide New York’s families with thousands of dollars of relief, directly in their pockets. Getting additional federal dollars into the hands of struggling families not only makes sense, but it’s what’s needed to help the New York recover from the pandemic.”

Schumer explained the Child Tax Credit (CTC), one of the most powerful and effective anti-poverty tools the federal government has, was significantly expanded for American households in the American Rescue Plan. This tax credit expansion will deliver an estimated $7.03 billion in additional economic relief to families with children across New York and have a major impact on working families.

The total amount of Expanded Child Tax Credit headed to each region in New York State can be found below:   

REGION	TOTAL EXPANDED CTC
Southern Tier	$264,503,932
Capital Region	$502,125,581
Central	$471,279,544
Hudson Valley	$847,414,412
Long Island	$1,028,580,062
NYC	$2,997,872,107
Finger Lakes	$435,560,223
Western	$482,651,024
TOTAL:	$7,029,986,887

  Schumer highlighted that researchers have estimated that the American Rescue Plan – including the expanded Child Tax Credit – will cut the child poverty rate in half nationally. Specifically, the relief bill increases the Child Tax Credit amount from $2,000 to $3,000 per child age 6 to 17 (and $3,600 per child below the age of 6) for 2021.

Additionally, the bill makes the CTC fully refundable and removes the $2,500 earnings floor to receive the credit for 2021, ensuring that the lowest income households will be able to benefit from the maximum credit amount for the year. This change importantly corrected flaws in the credit that prevented around 27 million children nationwide whose families have little or no income from receiving the full benefit – and in New York State alone, this credit expansion will benefit 1,546,000 of these children who were previously left out of the full Child Tax Credit.

The increased $3,000 or $3,600 CTC is available to families making less than $150,000, and it phases down above that income level, so households over $150,000 will see a reduced credit. This boosted credit amount is particularly impactful in lower-income households, as it has been found that increasing a low-income child’s family income early in their life has numerous, critical longer-term benefits on education, health, and even employment. Specifically, it is estimated that a $3,000 increase in annual family income for children under age five translates into an estimated 19 percent earnings increase in adulthood.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, an estimated 3,564,000 children across New York will benefit from this expanded tax credit – including 583,000 Black, 954,000 Latino, and 266,000 Asian American children. It will also lift 680,000 children in the state above or closer to the poverty line.

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

 

34,472 Vaccine Doses Administered Over Last 24 Hours

352 Patient Hospitalizations Statewide

2 COVID-19 Deaths Statewide Yesterday

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

"New Yorkers have fought COVID-19 every single step of the way during this pandemic, but there's one final push we have to make, and that's the need for everyone to get vaccinated," Governor Cuomo said. "Getting shots in arms is key to our success against this terrible virus, and if you haven't gotten yours yet, I urge you to make an appointment or walk into one of the many sites we have across the state. Help yourself, your family and your community by getting your shot today."

 

Today's data is summarized briefly below:

• Test Results Reported - 75,846
• Total Positive - 1,142
• Percent Positive - 1.51%
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 1.26%
• Patient Hospitalization - 352 (-2)
• Patients Newly Admitted - 63
• Patients in ICU - 79 (+0)
• Patients in ICU with Intubation - 32 (-4)
• Total Discharges - 185,845 (+83)
• Deaths - 2
• Total Deaths - 43,031
• Total vaccine doses administered - 21,789,805
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours - 34,472
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days - 233,402
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose - 71.0%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series - 65.7%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 73.8%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 67.3%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose - 59.2%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series - 54.5%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 61.6%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 55.9%

Treasurer Of Law Enforcement Union Pleads Guilty To Tax Evasion And Lying To Federal Officers

  

 Audrey Strauss, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that STEVEN WHITTICK, the former treasurer of the Law Enforcement Employees Benevolent Association (“LEEBA”) and an officer with the New York City (the “City”) Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”), pled guilty today before United States District Judge P. Kevin Castel, to charges of conspiring to evade more than $250,000 in federal taxes, including payroll taxes owed by LEEBA and its employees, and his own personal income taxes.  WHITTICK also pled guilty to lying to federal officers during the course of the investigation in this case.  LEEBA is a labor union that represents certain law enforcement officers employed by the City, including officers from DEP, the City Department of Sanitation, and the City Department of Transportation. 

U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “Steven Whittick today pled guilty to charges that reflect a betrayal of his duties as a law enforcement officer, his legal obligations as a union official, and his responsibilities as a taxpayer.  As a police officer, Whittick swore to uphold the law, not to obstruct it.  As a union official, he betrayed the rank-and-file membership by paying himself off the books.  As a taxpayer, Whittick evaded his legal obligation to pay what was owed.  Now, Steven Whittick awaits sentencing for his crimes.”

According to the Indictment and the underlying complaints filed in this case, as well as other publicly available information and prior court filings, and recent court proceedings:

Law Enforcement Employees Benevolent Association

LEEBA is a labor union that has acted as the collective bargaining representative principally for law enforce­ment personnel at various City agencies, and has entered into agreements on behalf of those law enforcement employees, including agreements for insurance and retirement benefits.  The City agencies whose employees LEEBA represented included, at various times, DEP, the Department of Sanitation, and the Department of Transportation.           

WHITTICK

WHITTICK is a DEP police officer, the former treasurer of LEEBA, and a member of the board of directors of LEEBA and the boards of trustees of the LEEBA Annuity Fund and the LEEBA Welfare Fund.  As LEEBA’s treasurer, WHITTICK had responsibility for LEEBA’s financial matters and accounts, including arranging for LEEBA to pay its payroll through an outside payroll processing firm (the “Payroll Processor”) starting in 2016.  WHITTICK also held signatory authority over LEEBA’s main operating bank account.

            The Tax Evasion Conspiracy

As charged in Count Two of the Indictment, to which WHITTICK pled guilty today, from at least in or about 2015 through 2019, WHITTICK participated in a conspiracy with Kenneth Wynder Jr.,[1] the president of LEEBA, to cause LEEBA to make payments to WHITTICK and Wynder, by check and in cash, and to conceal such payments from the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”).  WHITTICK further conspired to ensure that such payments were made outside of LEEBA’s Payroll Processor.  He then concealed these payments from the IRS – including off-the-books payments to himself of more than $100,000 and off-the-books payments to Wynder of more than $400,000 – in order to evade his own personal income taxes and the personal income taxes of Wynder, and to evade the payroll taxes that were owed by LEEBA and certain LEEBA employees.

WHITTICK’s False Statements to Federal Agents

In or about October 2019, while serving as LEEBA’s Treasurer and after learning of a federal investigation into LEEBA’s finances – including the investigation of an alleged embezzlement scheme that ultimately resulted in wire fraud charges against Wynder – WHITTICK repeatedly lied to federal agents in an effort to obstruct that investigation.  WHITTICK did so despite personal involvement in some of the financial improprieties with which Wynder is charged.  For example, as alleged, on at least two occasions, on or about February 1, 2018, and March 30, 2018, WHITTICK withdrew $16,000 in cash from a LEEBA bank account, and on each occasion deposited $15,000 cash into Wynder’s personal bank account and $1,000 cash into WHITTICK’s own personal bank account. 

After the FBI executed a search warrant of LEEBA’s offices in September 2019, WHITTICK attempted to obstruct and to influence the ongoing federal investigation by making, in two different interviews with law enforcement agents, false statements about, among other subjects, cash withdrawals he made from LEEBA’s bank accounts, unauthorized withdrawals from LEEBA’s Annuity Fund and from the individual retirement accounts of Fund participants, and LEEBA’s payment for certain travel and entertainment expenses for union officers, including WHITTICK and Wynder.

WHITTICK, 51, of Kingston, New York, pled guilty today to: (1) one count of conspiracy to evade personal and payroll taxes for the tax years 2015 through 2018 and the first three quarters of 2019; and (2) one count of lying to federal investigators.  Each of those charges carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, and an order of restitution.  WHITTICK is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Castel on November 17, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. 

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 a judge.

Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding work of the FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and the Department of Labor Office of Labor Managements Standards.  Ms. Strauss also thanked the New York City Comptroller’s Office and the New York City Department of Investigation for their assistance.

[1] Wynder is charged in six counts of the same Indictment in which WHITTICK was charged.  The charges against Wynder contained in the Indictment are accusations only.  Wynder remains presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

168 Days and Counting

 

I almost said to the Yankees with six players who tested positive for COVID after the All Star Game, that they should give me a try out. After all I throw a wicked curve, just ask most of the candidates who ran to replace me. Many wanted my endorsement, but I kept them in the dark, and didn't endorse any of them.

Getting back to baseball, I remembered that the Yankees were playing my favorite team the Boston Red Sox, so I would never help a team that was opposing them. Was that the bat boy on first base for the Yankees?