MAYOR DE BLASIO ANNOUNCES LOW-COST BROADBAND ACCESS FOR ANOTHER 10,000 NYCHA RESIDENTS IN THE BRONX

 

Bloc Power to make high-speed internet access available for up to 10,000 residents in five Bronx NYCHA developments

 

Major milestone in Internet Master Plan for Universal Broadband

 Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York City Mayor’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer (MOCTO) John Paul Farmer announced today a major milestone in the City’s effort to bring new internet connectivity options to New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) residents and to create a shift in the local broadband market. As part of New York City’s implementation of the Internet Master Plan for Universal Broadband, the City of New York and NYCHA have executed agreements with a sixth vendor: New York City based internet service provider, Bloc Power, to offer high-speed internet access for up to 10,000 residents in five NYCHA developments in the Bronx.

 

The developments include Melrose, East 152 Street-Courtlandt Avenue, Forest, Morris I, and Morris II. Access to broadband for residents who sign up will be free for the first year and $15/month beyond.

 

“Building a recovery for all of us means giving New Yorkers the tools they need to stay connected, at prices they can afford,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “Expanding access for another 10,000 NYCHA residents will make our city fairer and more accessible for generations of New Yorkers, and I’m proud to see the Internet Master Plan deliver for communities who need it the most.”

 

“As COVID-19 has increased our dependency on Internet access, it has further exposed the inequity of resources available in our Black and Brown neighborhoods. Universal broadband is a lifeline for the communities hardest hit by COVID-19, affecting their connections to employment, education and financial tools,” said First Lady Chirlane McCray. “This expansion means that more New Yorkers will have access to remote learning, telemedicine and new opportunities for employment in the 21st century economy.”

 

“With every additional New Yorker who gains access to affordable, high-speed internet, we bring this City one step closer to being the fairest, most equitable big city in the country,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Laura Anglin. “We celebrate this additional deployment of broadband in the Bronx, bringing thousands of residents consistent connection to the digital world.” 

 

Bloc Power is the sixth finalist selected from the City’s Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) issued in partnership with the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) in June 2020. This effort is part of the Mayor's commitment to extend broadband to New Yorkers in the hardest-hit communities identified by the Taskforce on Racial Inclusion and Equity. The first five licensing agreements will increase access for up to 30,000 residents, bringing the total number of residents with increased broadband options due to the RFEI to up to 40,000.

 

“This announcement is part of the first phase of moving the Internet Master Plan for Universal Broadband from bold vision to New Yorkers’ everyday reality,” said John Paul Farmer, Chief Technology Officer for the City of New York. “Bloc Power will bring affordable internet connectivity to 10,000 residents in the Bronx, illustrating just how powerful partnerships between the public and private sectors can be when they are founded on principles that prioritize what New Yorkers really need: equity, performance, affordability, privacy and choice.” 

 

“This pandemic has highlighted the need for broadband access in every corner of the city, especially where children need to learn and folks need the option to work safely,” said NYCEDC President and CEO Rachel Loeb. “Bringing high-speed Internet access to all New Yorkers is key to making the city more equitable and economically more viable.”

 

“The infrastructure of our buildings, public spaces, and common areas is interwoven into the fabric of New York City. It’s significant that we are able to leverage these assets by working with partners like Bloc Power to provide free and reduced-cost internet service options,” said Eva Trimble, New York City Housing Authority Executive Vice President for Strategy & Innovation. “Expanding opportunities through broadband access is a central part of our mission to supporting the economic mobility, public health, and public safety of our residents.”

 

This RFEI offered a unique opportunity for internet service providers, both large and small, to propose their plans and partnership ideas to use new access to NYCHA buildings and facilities to rapidly close the digital divide for this slice of New Yorkers. Respondents proved that when the City offers new assets – including building common areas, facades, rooftops, light poles, and other physical structures that can be used for broadband installation – a diverse set of companies will enter the market with lower cost service options that compete with large companies offering limited high-quality service options to New Yorkers. These new companies prove that you can bring new connectivity options to public housing communities and to low-connectivity neighborhoods to close the digital divide.

 

In the target neighborhoods, internet service providers charge anywhere from $40/month to $110/month. With this RFEI, vendors will provide free or low-cost internet service residents can sign up for no more than $20/month.

 

“We are excited to support the City's leadership in closing the digital divide and creating employment opportunities for underserved communities,” said Keith Kinch, General Manager and Co-Founder of Bloc Power. “We are delighted to kick off the installation phase of this project and bring WiFi to hundreds of thousands of families in the South Bronx.”

 

About the Internet Master Plan

 

In January 2020, the City announced the New York City Internet Master Plan, a first-in-nation plan that provides the roadmap to universal broadband in New York City, and the steps the City will take to close the digital divide. Providing equitable broadband is vital to ensuring economic prosperity, digital inclusion, and full participation of all New Yorkers in the digital economy. Universal broadband will also pave the way for next generation technologies such as 5G to be fully accessible to all New Yorkers.

 

“The pandemic showed us that broadband access in the 21st century should not be viewed as a privilege for a select few that can afford it, but instead should be a universal right for all New Yorkers. For many of our historically underserved communities, the digital divide persists and is a constant obstacle to success. This new partnership with Bloc Power will ensure that thousands of NYCHA residents in the Bronx have equitable access to high-speed internet and is a step forward towards achieving universal broadband access for those that need it the most in our city,” said Council Member Vanessa L. Gibson.

 

"Free broadband Internet for public housing has been a dream of mine for more than a decade and 10,000 residents at 5 NYCHA developments in the Bronx will be getting it for the next year," said Council Member Ben Kallos. "Congratulations to Mayor de Blasio and CTO John Paul Farmer on getting this done for tens of thousands of public housing residents."

 

Governor Cuomo Announces Sweeping $125 Million Debt Relief Program for at Least 50,000 Students

 

'CUNY Comeback Program' Earmarks Funding to Eliminate Outstanding Balances Accrued During the Pandemic

One of the Nation's Largest Student Debt Forgiveness Plan of its Kind, Enables Students to Push Forward in Pursuit of Educational and Career Goals

 

 Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the CUNY Comeback Program, a sweeping plan to eliminate up to $125 million in unpaid debt for at least 50,000 students who attended CUNY and suffered financial hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative is one of the nation's largest student debt forgiveness plan of its kind. Additionally, students who did not accrue unpaid tuition and fee balances during the period but experienced financial hardship stemming from the pandemic will receive relief in the form of enhanced Student Emergency Grants. The CUNY Comeback Program will be funded through federal stimulus assistance allocated to CUNY.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has caused hardships in the lives of so many New Yorkers, and our students were among those most impacted," Governor Cuomo said. "This landmark new program eliminates millions of dollars in unpaid debt, providing much-needed relief to tens of thousands of CUNY students as they work to get back on their feet after the pandemic and plan for their futures."

Many CUNY students come from communities that were the hardest hit by the pandemic and its resultant economic fallout. During the pandemic, students' debt to CUNY nearly doubled. The objective of the CUNY Comeback Program is to remove financial barriers to access the education New Yorkers of limited means need to move up the economic ladder.

"CUNY students showed their great resilience in the face of the immeasurable hardships they faced over the past 16 months, from employment and income loss to food and housing insecurity, amid an unprecedented health crisis that brought sickness and tragedy to thousands of New York families," said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. "This compassionate action will allow CUNY students and recent graduates to move ahead in pursuit of their educational and career objectives without the specter of unpaid tuition and fees. This landmark measure will also enhance CUNY's important contributions to New York's economic recovery."

At its meeting on July 6, the CUNY Board of Trustees approved the use of $125 million in federal stimulus funds for student support and retention, including this student debt relief initiative. While final numbers are unknown until student eligibility and hardship applications have been fully assessed, the University estimates that at least 50,000 students will receive a pandemic debt-relief benefit. The average debt balance is about $2,000. As of August 2020, more than two-thirds of undergraduate students, or 69.2 percent, attend tuition-free. Three in four undergraduate students graduated debt-free.

Eligible students who were enrolled at the University from March 13, 2020, the date the coronavirus was declared a national emergency, through the Spring 2021 semester and accrued tuition and fee balances during that time, will have those unpaid debts to the University wiped clean. This action covers the Spring, Summer and Fall 2020 semesters and the Spring 2021 semester, including students who have graduated. It is a one-time action to aid students who faced and overcame numerous difficulties during the public health and economic crises. In most cases, outstanding student balances will be cleared without an application process, allowing students to register for Fall semester classes and obtain their official transcripts.

The program will be funded through federal stimulus assistance allocated to CUNY through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act in December 2020 and President Biden's American Rescue Plan Act, which was passed by Congress in March.

Eligibility Criteria

Tens of thousands of students who meet the below criteria will automatically have their eligible tuition and fees forgiven in August 2021. These are the criteria to be applied:

1. Students determined to have hardship, using criteria similar to what CUNY employed to allocate federal Student Emergency Grants in Spring 2020 and Spring 2021. This includes any student who was eligible for Pell Grants, based on their Expected Family Contribution as provided after completing the FAFSA, even if the student did not receive Pell. This may also include students who are eligible for the New York State Tuition Assistance Program but did not meet eligibility requirements for the maximum award.
2. Students who graduated from CUNY since the national emergency was declared on March 13, 2020 and owe any outstanding balance from Spring 2020 through Spring 2021.
3. Students who have an outstanding balance of $100 or less per semester, for any of the Spring 2020, Summer 2020, Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters.

Thousands of other students who accrued debt during the aforementioned semesters, but were not eligible for financial aid, may have their unpaid debt forgiven by applying based on financial hardship. CUNY campus financial aid offices will review those requests to determine eligibility. Hardships may include the need to pay medical expenses not covered by insurance; unusually high childcare costs; being homeless or a dislocated worker; recent unemployment of a family member on whom they depend for support; food or housing insecurity; or other changes in the family's income or assets that rendered them unable to pay off their liability to CUNY.

In order to assist students who paid all or some of their tuition and fee charges out of pocket between the Spring 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters and do not owe any amount to CUNY for that period, all such students who are eligible for federal Student Emergency Grants may receive an additional $200, on top of any other Student Emergency Grant allocation that the student will be entitled to in Fall 2021.Those students may also be eligible for aid from the Chancellor's Emergency Relief Fund and campus-based aid programs.

The City University of New York is the nation's largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation's first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City's five boroughs, serving 500,000 students of all ages and awarding 55,000 degrees each year. CUNY's mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University's graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city's economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city's workforce in every sector. CUNY's graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur "Genius" Grants. The University's historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Settles Civil Fraud Lawsuit Against Clothing Companies And Their Former CEO For Misrepresenting The Value Of Goods To Avoid Paying Customs Duties

 

Defendants to Pay $6 Million and Admit to Engaging in Fraudulent Schemes Involving Use of False and Inaccurate Invoices

 Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Peter C. Fitzhugh, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Office of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), and Marty Raybon, Acting Director, Field Operations, New York, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”), announced today that the United States has settled civil fraud claims brought under the False Claims Act against STARGATE APPAREL, INC. (now named EXCEL APPAREL CORP.) (“STARGATE”), RIVSTAR APPAREL, INC. (“RIVSTAR”), and JOSEPH BAILEY.  Stargate and Rivstar are apparel companies headquartered in New York, New York, and BAILEY is the companies’ former CEO and owner.   As alleged in the Government’s lawsuit, filed in 2019, BAILEY, STARGATE, and RIVSTAR employed a variety of schemes to defraud the United States by submitting invoices to CBP that falsely understated the true value of the clothing that they imported into the United States in order to avoid paying millions of dollars in customs duties.  RIVSTAR is no longer operating.

Under the civil settlement approved today by U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken, BAILEY will pay $3.2 million to the United States, and STARGATE, RIVSTAR, and the employee stock ownership plan that currently owns the companies will together pay a total of $2.8 million to the United States.  BAILEY, STARGATE, and RIVSTAR admitted and accepted responsibility for their conduct as further described below.  As part of the settlement, STARGATE and RIVSTAR (to the extent that it resumes operations) will also implement a written compliance policy that will include measures designed to ensure that they pay duties on the full, actual value of all future imports and otherwise comply with applicable customs laws and regulations.  Last year, BAILEY pled guilty and was sentenced to six months in prison for engaging in certain of the conduct related to STARGATE imports that is at issue in the Government’s civil complaint.  This civil settlement is in addition to the $1,661,617 forfeiture amount that BAILEY was ordered to pay in the criminal proceedings. 

U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “Stargate, Rivstar, and their former president engaged in a variety of fraudulent schemes to short-change the Government of customs duties owed for imported clothing by falsely under-reporting its value.  This settlement, along with the separate criminal action against Bailey, demonstrate that our Office will hold companies, as well as their executives, accountable when they try to evade paying the legally required custom duties on imported goods.”

HSI Special Agent in Charge Peter C. Fitzhugh said: “For over a decade these clothing companies used ‘double-invoice’ schemes to underpay customs duties that were owed to the U.S. for garments being imported into the country, resulting in millions of dollars in customs duties lost.  HSI worked closely with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York to achieve this settlement, requiring the defendants not just to accept responsibility, but also to pay the Government $6 million and enhance their compliance policies.”

CBP Acting Director of New York Field Operations Marty Raybon said: “The settlement reached today is a testament to the dedication of our partners in the United States Attorney's Office, Homeland Security Investigations, and the men and women of CBP in enforcing our nation’s trade laws and punishing those perpetrating this type of fraud.”

The Government’s complaint alleges that in order to avoid customs duties, from 2004 through 2015 (the “Covered Period”), STARGATE, RIVSTAR, and BAILEY engaged in two types of “double invoicing” schemes to fraudulently underpay customs duties owed to the United States in connection with the garments that they brought into the country.  Under the first scheme, the exporter would provide one invoice that reflected the amount Defendants actually paid the exporter for the goods, and a second invoice that fraudulently reflected a fabricated lower amount that was submitted to CBP.  These two invoices were virtually identical (e.g., same invoice number, description of goods, quantity of goods), except that they included different prices for the same shipments of goods.  Under the second scheme, the exporter also would provide two invoices, which together reflected the actual price paid for the shipment.  However, Defendants would only submit one of the invoices to CBP.  The other invoice, which purported to be for “samples,” “accessories,” “commissions,” or “testing costs,” reflected an additional payment made by Defendants for the same goods described in the first invoice and was not submitted to CBP.  The purpose of each of these two schemes was the same – to fraudulently under-report the value of the goods in order to pay less duties.   

As part of the settlement, BAILEY, STARGATE, and RIVSTAR admit, acknowledge, and accept responsibility for the following conduct:

STARGATE Conduct:

• During the Covered Period, Stargate’s primary supplier was Taizhou Jiali Garments Co. Ltd. and its affiliated manufacturers (collectively, “Taizhou”), which are all located in China.  At the direction of BAILEY, STARGATE engaged in two different fraudulent schemes that involved the preparation and use of false and inaccurate invoices to underreport the actual value of goods imported from Taizhou in order to avoid paying the customs duties due.  BAILEY knew that this conduct was wrong and in violation of customs laws.
• As part of the first scheme, from 2007 through 2010, at BAILEY’S direction, Taizhou provided STARGATE with two sets of invoices for each shipment of goods.  One invoice, referred to in email communications as the “pay by” invoice, reflected the actual price paid by STARGATE for the goods.  The second invoice reflected a fake, lower price for the goods and was the invoice that STARGATE presented to CBP through its customs broker.  Stargate, at the direction of Bailey, routinely declared this false, lower value on CBP entry forms in order to pay lower customs duties on goods imported from Taizhou.
• Beginning around 2010 and continuing through at least 2015, BAILEY and STARGATE engaged in a second scheme.  At BAILEY’S direction, Taizhou provided two separate sets of invoices for a given shipment that together reflected the true price Stargate actually paid for the goods.  The first invoice, typically entitled the “commercial invoice,” described the goods purchased, and was submitted to CBP by STARGATE’s customs broker.  The second invoice purported to reflect amounts paid by Stargate for “sample” goods and was not submitted to CBP.  The “sample” invoice was not, in fact, for samples actually purchased by STARGATE.  Rather, STARGATE used the “sample” invoice to make an additional payment to Taizhou for the goods purchased by STARGATE that were described in the “commercial invoice,” while hiding the full value of those goods from CBP.  STARGATE, at the direction of BAILEY, routinely declared only the values recorded on the “commercial invoices,” which were less than the full price paid for the goods, on CBP entry forms in order to pay lower customs duties on goods imported from Taizhou.
• During the Covered Period, STARGATE also imported goods that it purchased from Tex-Prime International, Ltd., and its affiliated manufacturers (collectively “Tex-Prime”), which are located in China.  Beginning in at least 2004 and continuing through 2014, STARGATE, at the direction of BAILEY, also engaged in two different fraudulent schemes that involved the preparation and use of false and inaccurate invoices to underreport the actual value of goods imported from Tex-Prime in order to avoid paying the customs duties due.
• The first scheme involved Tex-Prime providing two nearly identical invoices for each shipment that differed only in the stated price.  The first invoice reflected the amount that STARGATE actually paid for the imported goods.  The second invoice (frequently identified by a “C” suffix following the invoice number, or the term “Custom” following the invoice number in the file name), reflected a false and inaccurate lower price and was the invoice that STARGATE submitted to CBP through STARGATE’s customs broker.  STARGATE, at the direction of BAILEY, routinely declared the values recorded on this second, false invoice on CBP entry forms in order to pay lower customs duties on goods imported from Tex-Prime.
• The second scheme also involved Tex-Prime providing two invoices.  In this scheme, the two invoices together reflected the actual price paid by STARGATE for the shipment.  The first invoice, entitled a “commercial invoice,” described the goods purchased and was submitted to CBP by STARGATE’s customs broker.  The second invoice, entitled a “statement,” purported to be an invoice for accessories charges, commissions, testing charges, or samples.  This second invoice was not submitted to CBP and in reality reflected an additional payment made by STARGATE to Tex-Prime for the same shipment.  STARGATE, at the direction of BAILEY, routinely declared only the values recorded on the “commercial invoices,” which were less than the full price paid for the goods, on CBP entry forms in order to pay lower customs duties on goods imported from Tex-Prime.
• Through the practices described above, STARGATE misrepresented the value of the goods it purchased and imported into the United States.  STARGATE and BAILEY were aware at all times that the reported information was incorrect and grossly understated the actual value of the imported goods, but continued to make the incorrect entries in order to reduce the amount of duties owed.  As a result of their conduct, STARGATE and BAILEY underpaid customs duties that were due and owing to the United States. 

RIVSTAR Conduct:

• During the Covered Period, RIVSTAR imported goods purchased from Pacific Potential Trading Co., Ltd., and its affiliated entities (together, “Pacific Potential”), as well as from Dongguan Bestsign and Trading Co., Ltd., and its affiliated entities (together, “Bestsign”), all of which are located in China.
• During the Covered Period, at RIVSTAR’s request and BAILEY’s direction, Pacific Potential and Bestsign provided two sets of invoices for each shipment imported into the United States by RIVSTAR.  The first invoice described the goods imported and was submitted to CBP by RIVSTAR’s customs broker.  The price reflected on the invoices declared to Customs did not reflect the full price RIVSTAR paid for the merchandise.  The second invoice purported to be for “testing costs” relating to the imported goods and was not submitted to CBP.  Together, the two invoices reflected the true total price that RIVSTAR paid for the goods; RIVSTAR, however, did not declare the amount reflected on the invoice for “testing costs” to CBP.  For the most part, the amounts reflected on the invoice for “testing costs” were not for actual testing, but instead reflected an additional payment made by RIVSTAR to Pacific Potential and Bestsign for the same shipment that was not declared to CBP.  To the extent that any such payments actually related to testing costs, such charges were still dutiable and should have been declared to CBP. 
• Through these practices, RIVSTAR at BAILEY’s direction misrepresented the value of the goods it purchased and imported into the United States.  RIVSTAR and BAILEY were aware at all times that the reported information was incorrect and grossly understated the actual value of the imported goods, but continued to make the incorrect entries in order to reduce the amount of duties owed. As a result of their conduct, RIVSTAR and BAILEY underpaid customs duties that were due and owing to the United States.

The conduct in this matter was first brought to the attention of federal law enforcement by a whistleblower who filed a lawsuit under the False Claims Act.

Ms. Strauss thanked U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations for their assistance with the case.

DEC SEEKS PARTICIPANTS FOR 2021 SUMMER WILD TURKEY SURVEY

 

Citizen Scientists Help DEC Monitor Turkey Population

 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos today encouraged New Yorkers to take part in the State's annual survey of wild turkeys.

"As New Yorkers continue to get outside this summer and reconnect with nature, we ask that they keep an eye out for the State’s most popular game bird, the wild turkey,” Commissioner Seggos said. "Reporting the turkeys you see this August helps DEC monitor the turkey population and contributes to our ongoing scientific efforts to survey this species.”

Since 1996, DEC has conducted the Summer Wild Turkey Sighting Survey to track wild turkey populations and estimate the number of wild turkey poults (young of the year) per hen statewide. Weather, predation, and habitat conditions during breeding and brood-rearing seasons can significantly impact nest success, and hen and poult survival. This index allows DEC to gauge reproductive success and predict fall harvest potential.

During August, survey participants record the sex and age composition of all flocks of wild turkeys observed during normal travel. Those interested in participating can click the “Summer Wild Turkey Sighting Online report” on the DEC’s website - https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/48732.html.

Additional information is available on the following DEC websites: Summer Wild Turkey Sighting Survey and Citizen Science Initiatives.

To improve public safety and encourage visitors to State-owned lands to practice responsible recreation, this spring DEC launched the 'Love Our New York Lands' campaign. The campaign is responsive to the steady increase in the number of visitors to state lands, both during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the decade prior, as more and more New Yorkers and visitors from other states and countries discovered the natural beauty of New York State lands. For details and more information, visit the Love Our New York Lands webpage.

Rare Cuneiform Tablet Bearing Portion of the Epic of Gilgamesh Forfeited to the United States

 

Auction House Sold the “Gilgamesh Dream Tablet” to Hobby Lobby Using a False Provenance

 United States District Judge Ann M. Donnelly entered an order yesterday forfeiting a rare cuneiform tablet bearing a portion of the epic of Gilgamesh, a Sumerian poem considered one of the world’s oldest works of literature.  Known as the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, it originated in the area of modern-day Iraq and entered the United States contrary to federal law.  An international auction house (the “Auction House”) later sold the tablet to Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. (“Hobby Lobby”), a prominent arts-and-crafts retailer based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for display at the Museum of the Bible (the “Museum”).  Law enforcement agents seized the tablet from the Museum in September 2019.

Jacquelyn M. Kasulis, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent-in-Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI), announced the forfeiture decree.

“This forfeiture represents an important milestone on the path to returning this rare and ancient masterpiece of world literature to its country of origin,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Kasulis.  “This Office is committed to combating the black-market sale of cultural property and the smuggling of looted artifacts.”

“Forfeiture of the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet demonstrates the Department’s continued commitment to eliminating smuggled cultural property from the U.S. art market,” stated Assistant Attorney General Polite.  “Thwarting trade in smuggled goods by seizing and forfeiting an ancient artifact shows the department’s dedication to using all available tools, including forfeiture, to ensure justice.”

“The trafficking of cultural property and art is a lucrative criminal enterprise that transnational criminal organizations exploit to make a profit, regardless of its destructive consequence to cultures around the globe,” stated HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Fitzhugh.  “HSI continues to partner in art and antiquities investigations to ensure looted pieces are no longer trafficked through commerce for an illicit profit, because the cultural value of this tablet that travelled the world under false provenance exceeds any monetary value.” 

A 12-tablet Babylonian version of the Gilgamesh epic, written in Akkadian, was discovered in 1853 in the ruins of the library of the Assyrian King Assur Banipal in Nineveh (located in modern-day northern Iraq).  The events in the epic revolve around King Gilgamesh of Uruk (located in modern-day southern Iraq). 

The government’s investigation showed that in 2003, a U.S. antiquities dealer (the “Antiquities Dealer”) purchased the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, encrusted with dirt and unreadable, from a family member of a coin dealer in London.  The Antiquities Dealer and a U.S. cuneiform expert shipped the tablet into the United States by international post without declaring formal entry.  After the tablet was imported and cleaned, experts in cuneiform recognized it as bearing a portion of the Gilgamesh epic in which the protagonist describes his dreams to his mother.  The protagonist’s mother interprets the dreams as foretelling the arrival of a new friend.  She tells her son, “You will see him and your heart will laugh.”  The names of the hero, Gilgamesh, and the character who becomes his friend, Enkidu, are replaced in this tablet with the names of deities Sin and Ea.  The tablet measures approximately 6-inches by 5-inches and is written in the Akkadian language.

As alleged in the government’s amended complaint, in 2007, the Antiquities Dealer sold the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet with a false provenance letter that stated the tablet had been inside a box of miscellaneous ancient bronze fragments purchased in an auction in 1981.  This false letter traveled with the tablet as it was sold several times in different countries, and a later owner provided the letter to the Auction House in London.  In 2014, the Auction House sold the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet to Hobby Lobby in a private sale and an Auction House employee carried it on a flight from London to the United States and then transferred it to New York.  Hobby Lobby consented to the tablet’s forfeiture based on the tablet’s illegal importations into the United States in 2003 and 2014.

The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sylvia Shweder and Trial Attorney Ann Brickley of the Department of Justice’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS).

The Department of Justice has a remission process for judicially forfeited property. An interested party may submit a petition to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. The U.S. Attorney then will forward a package to MLARS containing the petition, the seizing agency’s report and recommendation, and its own recommendation as to how MLARS should proceed. MLARS makes a determination about the petitions based on the papers received, and in accordance with the governing law and department policies.

Comptroller Stringer Audit: DOE’s Inadequate Controls Over Remote Devices Increased Risk of Learning Loss, Inequitable Distribution and Waste

 

DOE did not ensure that students received only one DOE remote learning device during COVID-19 pandemic and lacked procedures to ensure that its criteria for distributing and recalling remote learning devices are applied consistently across DOE’s 1,800 schools

DOE’s distribution processes resulted in the erroneous shipment of more than one remote learning device to at least 3,045 students

16,451 requests students made in 2020 for remote learning devices remained under review or unresolved as of March 25, 2021

 Today, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer released an audit that revealed the Department of Education (DOE)’s inadequate controls over the distribution of remote learning devices amid the COVID-19 pandemic could have contributed to their inequitable distribution and increased the risk of waste. When DOE schools were forced to transition to remote learning due to the pandemic, DOE’s Division of Instructional and Information Technology (DIIT) was tasked with procuring, preparing, and distributing internet-enabled iPads to hundreds of thousands of students. Comptroller Stringer’s audit found that DOE lacked procedures to ensure that its criteria for distributing and recalling remote learning devices were applied consistently across DOE’s 1,800 schools.

From the 357,000 remote learning devices DOE purchased in April and June 2020, DOE erroneously shipped more than one device to at least 3,045 students. As of April 2021, DOE was still reconciling its data and this number could potentially increase. Meanwhile, 16,451 requests DOE received in 2020 from students seeking remote learning devices remained under review or unresolved as recently as March 25, 2021.

“For years, lower-income children and families have struggled without reliable connectivity, and the severe impacts of this digital divide were only exacerbated when the COVID-19 pandemic hit,” said Comptroller Stringer. “The DOE had a responsibility to provide remote learning devices to hundreds of thousands of students, but our audit shows the agency did not have consistent protocols in place to ensure that devices were distributed when they were needed most. Even one child falling behind in schoolwork because of these errors is unacceptable. The DOE must promptly correct the deficiencies and implement our recommendations to make sure remote learning devices are distributed equitably and that every student who needs a device receives one.”

Comptroller Stringer’s investigation uncovered the following findings:

• DOE does not centrally track devices schools issued from their in-house inventories to help ensure that DIIT does not issue additional devices to students who already received them from their schools.
• DOE has not formalized procedures for the tracking and distribution of devices, which increased the risk that the criteria for device request validation, device distribution, and device recall would not be understood and applied on a consistent basis throughout DOE, including at the numerous individual schools throughout the City that, as of the 2020-2021 school year, review and validate students’ requests.
• DOE does not perform timely reviews of device-related data. DOE does not have an ongoing process for tracking and reconciling requests for devices and devices that have been distributed. Illustrating this problem, as of March 25, 2021, 19,425 requests from students were still “under review” and “unresolved.” In fact, 16,451 of these requests dated back to 2020, some as early as March 18, 2020. DOE did not explain why these requests remained “under review” or “unresolved” for such an extended period of time.
• Deficiencies exist in DOE’s management of control numbers, specifically, request IDs from DOE’s request data and asset tag numbers assigned to iPads were not sequential.

To address these issues, Comptroller Stringer recommended the following actions:

1. DOE should ensure that a central tracking system to account for all devices issued to students is established, regardless of whether they are issued by DIIT or by schools from their in-house inventories.
2. DOE should develop and timely disseminate detailed written policies and procedures governing the agency’s management of validating student requests for a device, distributing and tracking those devices, and recalling those devices, including specific return deadlines.
3. DOE should ensure that its device request data is reconciled to the device distribution data to provide an accurate account for all requests made and for the students who received devices.
4. DOE should ensure that reports are generated from its device request data and reviewed timely so that anomalies in the data are quickly identified and addressed, and that request dispositions are properly classified.
5. DOE should ensure that the 19,425 requests that are still “under review” and “unresolved” are investigated to determine whether these students already received devices.
6. DOE should ensure that it immediately provides devices to the students whose requests are “under review” and “unresolved” if it determines any eligible students are still awaiting a device.
7. DOE should ensure that Request IDs are issued in sequential order and tracked, and that any gaps in these numbers are investigated in a timely manner and the reasons for them adequately documented.
8. DOE should modify its policy to ensure that asset tag numbers are issued in sequential order and tracked, and that going forward, any gaps in these numbers are investigated in a timely manner and the reasons for them adequately documented.
9. DOE should take steps to ensure that the remaining devices that were shipped to students in error are returned and put back into inventory to be distributed if needed.
10. DOE should take appropriate action where devices have not been returned, including referring matters to the agency’s investigative units or DOE’s Special Commissioner for Investigation when warranted.

In response, DOE agreed with 8 of the audit’s 10 recommendations. However, for two of these recommendations (#3 and #4), officials’ assertion that the agency was already in compliance is contradicted by the audit findings. Additionally, DOE disagreed with the audit’s recommendations that it ensure that Request IDs and asset tag numbers are issued in sequential order and tracked (#7 and #8).

To read Comptroller Stringer’s investigation on the Department of Education’s controls over the distribution of remote learning devices, click here.

160 Days and Counting

 

It's City Hall in the Bronx, where I get to go around the Bronx to make it seem like I care about the borough. Today I will be on Arthur Avenue to play basketball and eat pizza with a knife and fork. I hope Councilman Oswald Feliz joins me so I can show him how to play basketball.

If I can walk the streets and visit Bronx amenities all the people of the Bronx should do the same. Today's playground visit is near where Councilman Feliz held an anti-gun rally, and he was not well accepted by the community there. Let's see what they do when I come to play basketball.

Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Porter Visit COVID-19 Vaccination Center at Lehman High School

 

This is City Hall in the Bronx Week, and after hosting his morning briefing from the Rotunda of the Bronx Courthouse, the mayor stopped at a refurbished playground at the Edenwald Houses where he met Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, State Senator Jamaal Bailey, and Councilman Kevin Riley. The mayor thanked Washington and Albany for the increased funding that will help fix up many NYCHA houses, and was off to Lehman High School to visit the new vaccination center there that will vaccinate many of the high school's students. 

Mayor Bill de Blasio and Chancellor Meisha Porter arrived at Lehman High School to check up on the vaccination center set up in the school's auditorium. Several Lehman students were given the first of two Pfizer doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Some of the students were a little afraid, but all had no problem receiving the COVID-19 vaccination. They were later joined by local Assemblyman Michael Benedetto for a group photo.  

Isabel, a fifteen year old Lehman High School student is given the first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine by Katrina Taormina of Daybreak Health, as Mayor de Blasio, and NYCDOH Commissioner Dave Chokshi look on.

Everyone claps as Isabel has received her first of two Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination shots, with no apparent reaction. The needle used is placed in the waste container.  

It was then time for a group photo with other Lehman High School students who received the first of two Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination shots. Mayor de Blasio, Chancellor Porter, and Assemblyman Benedetto are with the students.