150 Days and Counting

 

Let's see now, to become governor of New York what do I need? I'm going to need a lot of money, but my developer friends can help me, after all I gave them the keys to the city, I can always give them the keys to the state. I am going to need union support, let's see, the UFT, DC37, 32 BJ, what other unions do I need?

What do I have to look out for. Challengers, Kathy Hochul, she will become the governor if Cuomo is ousted or calls it quits, but she is weak or she would have been the acting governor already. That State Senator from Riverdale Alessandra Biaggi told Errol Lewis that she is looking at higher office. Tish James the AG that did the investigation of Cuomo, I can say she did it to run for governor. Then there are a couple of other people I have to think about, well let me try to enjoy the coming week off, and see how I can build my image using the Homecoming concerts. 

New York State Announces $35 Million In Construction Financing To Facilitate Supportive Housing Developments

 

Rendering of 1325 Jerome Avenue (formerly 1331 Jerome Avenue) - GF55 Partners; The Doe Fund

The State of New York has announced a sixth round of funding for the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative, an ambitious plan to create or preserve over 100,000 affordable and at least 6,000 supportive housing units. For this round, the state will release $35 million in financing aimed at creating at least 1,400 supportive housing units.

Abbreviated as ESSHI, the initiative was founded in 2016 and has provided operating funds for more than 5,400 units of supportive housing. The State intends to develop a total of 20,000 units over the next 15 years.

In the New York City area, projects financed by the initiative include 1159 River Avenue and 1325 Jerome Avenue in The Bronx and Dayspring Commons and Hudson Hill in Yonkers.

“New York State is leading the nation in the development and preservation of supportive housing, and these safe, stable, and secure homes are giving people with mental illness the support they need to live successful and productive lives in their own communities,” said Office of Mental Health commissioner Dr. Ann Sullivan. “The Governor’s ESSHI program has been a tremendous accomplishment that has helped thousands of individuals and families, and I’m proud of the role OMH has played in its success.”

Aerial rendering of 1159 River Avenue – Urban Quotient

To ensure the maximum benefit of this investment, the state adhered to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development’s “Continuum of Care” model that engages localities and not-for-profit providers in developing and implementing data-driven strategies to address homelessness in specific populations. This includes victims of domestic violence, runaway and homeless youth, at-risk veterans and their families, formerly incarcerated individuals, the intellectual or developmental disabled, those living with HIV or AIDS, and individuals suffering from substance abuse.

“For the past six years, the governor’s Empire State Supportive Housing initiative has been providing New Yorkers with developmental disabilities the opportunity to live independently within their communities with the right services and supports to meet their individual needs,” said NYS Office for People With Developmental Disabilities commissioner Dr. Theodore Kastner. “[We are] pleased to join our partner agencies to support this initiative once again this year to provide even more people with developmental disabilities the opportunity to be thriving, active members in the center of their communities.”

The request for proposals for the funding awards was developed by the governor’s ESSHI Interagency workgroup, which includes representatives from seven state agencies that serve homeless, at-risk, and other vulnerable New Yorkers. Awards will provide up to $25,000 per unit per year for service and operating funding needed to operate permanent supportive housing units.

Applicants are expected to secure separate capital funding to finance the development and construction of proposed housing projects. Awarded funding may be used to provide rental assistance and services to eligible target populations to ensure their housing stability.

Convicted Bronx Fraudster Who Fled To Ghana Prior To Serving Sentence Is Extradited To The United States

 

 Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jacqueline Maguire, the Acting Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and Thomas Fattorusso, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”), announced that TOUREY AHMED RUFAI, a/k/a “Joe Thompson,” a/k/a “Joe Terry,” a/k/a “Rufai A Tourey,” a/k/a “Ahmed Rufai Tourey,” who was previously sentenced to four years in prison and fled to the Republic of Ghana (“Ghana”) prior to surrendering to serve his sentence, was arrested in Ghana on April 14, 2021, and extradited to the United States earlier today to serve his sentence.  RUFAI’s sentence of four years was imposed by U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote on April 12, 2019, in connection with RUFAI’s participation in a fraud scheme based in Ghana involving the theft of over $10 million through business email compromises and romance scams that targeted elderly victims from at least 2014 through 2018.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said:  “When a defendant released on bail like Tourey Ahmed Rufai cuts his ankle bracelet and flees the country, it is an affront to the victims of his crimes and the Court.  Thanks to the extraordinary work of the FBI, IRS-CI, and our law enforcement partners both in the United States and in Ghana, this fugitive was apprehended in Ghana and has been returned to the United States to serve his four-year sentence.”  

FBI Acting Assistant Director Jacqueline Maguire said:  “Justice will now rightfully be delivered – both to Mr. Rufai as he serves his prison sentence, and to the innocent victims from whom he stole millions of dollars. When Mr. Rufai decided to cut off his ankle bracelet and flee the United States, he did not understand the FBI’s ability to find fugitives in foreign nations through our extraordinary international law enforcement partnerships. We thank everyone involved, and especially our IRS-CI colleagues and our Ghanaian partners, in ensuring Mr. Rufai will be held accountable for his crimes.”

IRS-CI Acting Special Agent in Charge Thomas Fattorusso said: “This extradition reflects that despite his best efforts, Tourey Ahmed Rufai could not outrun justice, even after two years on the run, and by fleeing to another continent.  Tourey Ahmed Rufai perpetrated an elaborate scheme driven by insatiable greed and a blatant disregard for the tremendous damage inflicted on innocent victims.  He will now rightfully serve out the prison term as originally handed down.”

According to court filings in Manhattan Federal Court:

Between 2014 and 2018, RUFAI, a Ghanaian national who was residing in the Bronx, New York, was a member of a criminal enterprise (the “Enterprise”) based in Ghana that was involved in defrauding more than 100 American businesses and individuals of more than $10 million through business email compromises and romance scams.  RUFAI and his co-conspirators received or otherwise directed the receipt of millions of dollars in fraud proceeds from victims of the Enterprise in bank accounts that they controlled in the Bronx, New York.  Some of these bank accounts were opened using fake names, stolen identities, or shell companies in order to avoid detection and hide the true identities of the members of the Enterprise controlling those accounts.  Once the defendants received the fraud proceeds in bank accounts under their control, the defendants withdrew, transported, and laundered those fraud proceeds to other members of the Enterprise, including those located in Ghana.     

RUFAI was released on bail shortly after his arrest on January 9, 2018, on conditions including a $150,000 bond co-signed by three individuals, surrender of all travel documents, and home detention with electronic monitoring through an ankle bracelet.  At his sentencing on April 12, 2019, RUFAI was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to self-surrender to prison on May 24, 2019.  Then, on May 12, 2019, 12 days prior to his surrender date, U.S. Pretrial Services learned that the defendant’s ankle bracelet had been removed and that the defendant had fled.  A bench warrant was thereafter issued for the defendant’s arrest.

On April 14, 2021, after the defendant’s bond was forfeited, the defendant was arrested in Ghana pending his extradition to the United States to serve his sentence.  

RUFAI, 33, of the Bronx, New York, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on  January 9, 2019.  In addition to a prison term of four years, he was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $109,868.61 and pay restitution of $320,449.97 to victims. 

Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and IRS-CI in locating RUFAI in Ghana so that he could be arrested by Ghanaian law enforcement.  Ms. Strauss also thanked the FBI Legal Attaché in Accra, Ghana, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs of the Department’s Criminal Division, the U.S. Marshals Service, Ghana’s Economic and Organised Crime Office, Interpol - Ghana Police Service’s Criminal Investigative Division, Ghana National Security, and the Ministry of Justice & Attorney General’s Office of Ghana, for their assistance in the extradition of RUFAI to the United States.

Governor Cuomo Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress During COVID-19 Pandemic - AUGUST 7, 2021

 

49,799 Vaccine Doses Administered Over Last 24 Hours   

11 COVID-19 Deaths Statewide Yesterday   

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

"The progress New Yorkers have made has been remarkable - and our comeback is proof of what it means to be 'New York Tough'," Governor Cuomo said. "Our fight is not over yet, and the Delta variant remains a threat to all that we have accomplished together. The vaccine is the most effective weapon we have against COVID, so if you still need to get your shot, I urge you to do so quickly at one of our many sites across the state."   

    

Today's data is summarized briefly below:  

• Test Results Reported - 145,813  
• Total Positive - 4,385  
• Percent Positive - 3.01%  
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 2.86%  
• Patient Hospitalization - 1,121 (+71)  
• Patients Newly Admitted - 193  
• Patients in ICU - 232 (+19)  
• Patients in ICU with Intubation - 83 (+11)  
• Total Discharges - 187,552 (+134)  
• Deaths - 11  
• Total Deaths - 43,128  
• Total vaccine doses administered - 22,548,493  
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours - 49,799  
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days - 293,689 
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose - 73.4%  
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series - 67.4%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 76.3%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 69.1%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose - 61.5%  
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series - 56.2%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 63.9%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 57.6%  

Governor Cuomo Announces Start of $45.1 Million Project to Reconstruct Key Ramp to Cross Bronx Expressway

Ramp from Northbound Sheridan Boulevard to Westbound Cross Bronx Expressway in the Bronx to be Rebuilt and Four Nearby Bridges Repaired

 

Project Builds on the State's Unprecedented Investment in the South Bronx 

 

 Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the start of a $45.1 million project to reconstruct and realign the 700-foot-long entrance ramp leading from northbound Sheridan Boulevard to westbound Cross Bronx Expressway (Interstate 95) in the Bronx. The 70-year-old ramp will be replaced by a modern structure with wider shoulders, concrete protective barriers and a smoother curvature that will ease traffic flow and enhance safety along this busy corridor. Reconstruction of the ramp, which handles more than 8,000 vehicles a day, will help keep highway traffic off local roads. Structural repairs will also be made to four nearby bridges and new landscaping added to the pedestrian and bicycle path leading to Starlight Park. The project complements the state's unprecedented investment to enhance infrastructure in the South Bronx.

"This project will further the tremendous progress we have made in the South Bronx  by removing the physical barriers that for years have hampered growth and impacted quality of life," Governor Cuomo said. "The reconstructed ramp and other improvements help to reduce congestion and create better travel conditions along this vital corridor, fostering vitality and economic opportunity throughout the community."

The existing ramp, which currently consists of nine bridge spans, will be rebuilt using four spans, which will reduce the number of required bridge joints and significantly decrease future maintenance needs. Rebuilding with fewer spans, including the elimination of one pier that currently extends into the Bronx River, will also create more open space below the bridge and improve the environmental quality of the river. Scheduled for completion in spring 2023, the new ramp will provide a service life of approximately 75 years. New, energy-efficient LED lights will also be installed on the ramp. 

During construction, a temporary ramp will be built from southbound Sheridan Boulevard to the westbound Cross Bronx Expressway to ensure continued traffic flow. In addition, a temporary left turn signal will be installed at northbound Sheridan Boulevard to allow traffic to access the westbound Cross Bronx Expressway. 

Improvements - including bearing and joint replacements, pavement resurfacing and repairs to the concrete, railings and bridge decks - will also be made to three bridges along the Cross Bronx Expressway between West Farms Road and the Bronx River Parkway and the eastbound Cross Bronx Expressway exit ramp to southbound Sheridan Boulevard.

Additionally, the project will plant native trees and vegetation to enhance the natural landscape along the pedestrian and bicycle pathway leading from East 177th Street to Starlight Park. 

 

This project builds on the South Bronx's transformational progress under Governor Cuomo's leadership that also includes the transformation of the Sheridan Expressway from an interstate highway to a pedestrian-friendly boulevard; the rehabilitation of the Bruckner Expressway; and the ongoing Hunts Point Access Improvement Project.

New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said, "The start of this project marks another great step forward for the Bronx and demonstrates yet again Governor Cuomo's commitment to building a 21st Century transportation network that benefits all residents. The Department of Transportation is proud to have played a major role in helping to make the Governor's vision for a revitalized Bronx a reality through our work on the Hunts Point and the Sheridan Boulevard and Bruckner Expressway projects; and we are delighted to get going with this new and exciting project."

 

Senator Biaggi's Week in Review: 8/2/21-8/6/21

 

Dear Community,

On Tuesday, the New York State Attorney General’s Office completed its independent investigation into claims of sexual harassment by Governor Andrew Cuomo. The investigation concluded that Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed former and current staff, violated federal and state law, and upheld a toxic and hostile work environment that allowed him to sexually harass and intimidate employees. You can read the entire Attorney General report here.

The report is beyond troubling, and my heart goes out to the victims of the Governor’s abuse. No one should have to endure such harassment as these women have faced. I commend the brave women who came forward to share their experiences in the face of actual and potential retaliation. I believe you, I support you, and I stand with you always. No longer can we let powerful men abuse their positions without facing consequences. It is time for Governor Cuomo to face accountability for his actions. We must draw a clear line –– harassment is in the workplace is unacceptable –– even when they are committed by the most powerful people in our state. The Governor’s actions are an abuse of power and they impact not just the individual women who came forward, but the function and integrity of New York State government. 

My hope is that the Governor will listen to the chorus of calls for him to step aside and resign— but that seems very unlikely at this moment. That is why I am calling on the State Assembly and Speaker Carl Heastie to move to impeach immediately. In New York State, the impeachment process begins in the Assembly who must draft and vote on articles of impeachment, before sending them to the Senate to conduct the impeachment trial. A key factor in New York’s impeachment process is that once the impeachment process is initiated, the Governor is required to step away from his duties as the trial takes place. In his absence, the Lieutenant Governor assumes the position of the Executive. Those of us who have called for the Governor’s resignation agree that he is no longer fit to lead our state, so it is our responsibility to ensure he does not serve another day in office.

Simply put, if we fail to hold the Governor accountable, we are sending a message that harassment and abuse are okay, and that he can get away with abusing his staff because he has a position of power. Additionally, New York is in a pivotal moment as we navigate the Delta variant, continue to help our communities recover, and distribute COVD-19 relief funds. We cannot afford to continue business as usual and allow this dysfunctional governor and his executive to be at the helm of our government during this critical time.

Finally, with the surge in the Delta variant, I also want to remind everyone to stay safe and vigilant. The best way for us to protect ourselves and our loved ones still lies in getting our communities vaccinated, and I encourage everyone who is eligible but has not yet been vaccinated to do so immediately. The threat and widespread existence of the Delta variant cannot be understated, and as New York gears up to face this spike in the new strain, getting vaccinated is more important than ever. 

With Gratitude,

State Senator Alessandra Biaggi

ALEKSANDER MICI RESPONSE TO VELÁZQUEZ DISHONESTY REGARDING BRUCKNER BLVD UP-ZONING

Editor's Note: 

The Following Comes from the Mici For City Council Campaign.

"Marjorie Velázquez is lying."

Aleksander Mici, candidate for New York City Council in the 13th District in the Bronx, released the following statement following Marjorie Velázquez's dishonesty regarding Bruckner Blvd up-zoning.

"Marjorie Velázquez is being dishonest about her opposition to the Bruckner Blvd up-zoning, which came less than 24 hours after I held a press conference and rally with hundreds of residents in attendance.

"Velázquez is endorsed by Open New York, an organization that expressly advocates for 'policies that encourage ... upzoning for greater densities, raising height-limits and reducing setbacks, and streamlining the approval process for social housing.'

"My opponent can't have it both ways. If she truly opposes up-zoning on Bruckner Blvd, she MUST renounce her endorsement by Open New York. If she refuses, she is either lying to them or lying to voters. But make no mistake, either way Marjorie Velázquez is lying."

Affordable Housing Lottery Launches For 283 Units At 1755 Watson Avenue In Soundview, The Bronx

 

 1755 Watson Avenue In Soundview, 

The affordable housing lottery has launched for 1755 Watson Avenue, a nine-story mixed-use building in Soundview, The Bronx. Designed by Aufgang Architects and developed by Azimuth Development Group, the structure yields 312,880 square feet for 326 residences, amenities, parking, ground-floor retail, and space for the Bronx Pentecostal Deliverance center. Available on NYC Housing Connect are 283 units for residents at 30 to 100 percent of the area median income (AMI), ranging in eligible income from $15,052 to $148,000.

Residents will have access to a wide range of amenities including outdoor terraces, outdoor recreation area, a community lounge, media room, yoga room, bicycle storage, shared laundry room, and parking. Units will have name-brand appliances and finishes and laminate flooring.

At 30 percent of the AMI, there are 33 units ranging from studios to three-bedrooms with a monthly rents ranging from $375 to $672 for incomes ranging from $15,052 to $44,400.

At 40 percent of the AMI, there are 50 units ranging from studios to three-bedrooms with a monthly rents ranging from $535 to $949 for incomes ranging from $20,538 to $59,200.

At 50 percent of the AMI, there are 31 units ranging from studios to three-bedrooms with a monthly rents ranging from $696 to $1,227 for incomes ranging from $26,058 to $74,000.

At 60 percent of the AMI, there are 75 units ranging from studios to three-bedrooms with a monthly rents ranging from $856 to $1,504 for incomes ranging from $31,543 to $88,800.

At 100 percent of the AMI, there are 94 units ranging from studios to three-bedrooms with a monthly rents ranging from $1,225 to $2,143 for incomes ranging from $44,195 to $148,000.

Prospective renters must meet income and household size requirements to apply for these apartments. Applications must be postmarked or submitted online no later than October 4, 2021.