P.S. 110 & Phipps Neighborhoods Host Back to School Event
By Robert Press
Bronx Politics and Community events
P.S. 110 & Phipps Neighborhoods Host Back to School Event
By Robert Press
With the first day of in person school over, the Van Nest Neighborhood Alliance held its first in person meeting in over a year. The agenda was getting to know the new councilman for the 15th City Council District Oswald Feliz, and the councilman's challenger in the November election Ariel Rivera.
VNNA Chair Bernadette Ferrera opened the meeting by welcoming everyone back to the first in person meeting in over a year, She introduced her Executive Board sitting up front, and then introduced Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez. Assemblywoman Fernandez gave a review of what went on in the recent special session of the legislature called by new Governor Kathy Hochul. She said that the eviction moratorium has been extended to January 15, 2022, and if tenants need help to get Rent Relief her office her office will work to get the needed help. Her office is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and the office is open remotely on Monday and Friday. If anyone needs help with Flood problems they should call Mr. Jerome Williams of FEMA at 256-454-6461. She also mentioned that she will be taking part in a clean up with the Friends of Pelham Parkway on September 25th from 2 - 4 PM on the South Parkway at Wallace Avenue. She ended by saying that the state owes Nine Billion Dollars to the federal government for loans given to the state.
Incumbent 15th City Councilman Oswald Feliz was next to talk about his short tenure in the council. Councilman Feliz said that he was first elected in a special election that took place in March, but because of Rank Choice voting the results were not official until one month later in April. He said that he has brought fifteen million dollars to the district already, 4.5 million for NYCHA upgrades, 4 million for schools, and 4 million for parks. He added that the mayor has committed to .5 million dollars to renovate Poe Park to add more green space, and get rid of asphalt and concrete. Also he expects from the speaker 3.5 million to redesign the MS 45 playground. He then spoke of a garbage problem in the district, putting cameras where the illegal dumping is going on, he continued funding to the Wildcat clean up crew, and that some newer state laws need to be modified.
Councilman Feliz's opponent in November spoke next, introducing himself. Ariel Rivera said that he is twenty-two years old, ran for assembly at age eighteen, and currently works at the Board of Elections. He spoke of a housing crisis, and that he wants to use more section 8 vouchers in the NYCHA buildings. Hazel Nura then spoke about NIDC, a housing advocacy organization which helps not only tennants, but landlords oust bad tenants. A representative from Assemblywoman Karines Reyes spoke, and it was said that October 23rd will be the Annual Van Nest Fall Festival in Van Nest Park from 12 - 4 PM. The meeting was then adjourned.
Coinseed Put Thousands of Investors’ Money at Risk Despite Ongoing Lawsuit
New York Attorney General Letitia James today secured a judgment against the virtual currency trading platform Coinseed, as well as founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Delgerdalai Davaasambuu, that permanently halts their illegal and fraudulent operations and puts in place a permanent receiver to protect investors’ funds. The receiver has also taken control of the company’s website so that it may no longer be used as part of the defendants’ fraudulent schemes. Additionally, the court awarded a $3 million judgment against the defendants. In February, Attorney General James filed a lawsuit against Coinseed and its CEO for defrauding thousands of investors across the nation out of millions of dollars. In the months since the suit was filed, Coinseed and its CEO have continued their fraud and commenced additional fraudulent conduct by trading in investors’ accounts without permission and then blocking investors from accessing those accounts.
In June, the New York County State Supreme Court granted Attorney General James’ motion for a preliminary injunction and the appointment of a temporary, court-appointed receiver with special powers to safeguard investments already made on the trading platform. Coinseed and its CEO defied that preliminary injunction by creating, offering, and selling a new virtual currency — including to New York investors — and failed to respond to Attorney General James’ complaint.
“For years, Coinseed and its CEO have engaged in egregious and fraudulent activities that have cheated investors out of millions,” said Attorney General James. “In defiance of court orders, this company has continued to operate illegally and unethically, holding investors’ funds hostage and underscoring the dangers of investing in unregistered virtual currencies. We will continue to pursue all who attempt to abuse and manipulate the system and ensure investors are protected.”
Since Attorney General James filed this lawsuit, the Office of the Attorney General received more than 175 complaints from investors who were concerned about protecting their assets due to Coinseed’s fraudulent conduct. The judgment secured by Attorney General James today permanently appoints the court receiver to obtain, safeguard, and return all assets invested and traded through Coinseed and orders a money judgment against the defendants in the amount of $3,061,511, both together and separately. Investors who are victims of Coinseed’s fraud should contact the court-appointed receiver at CoinseedReceiver@crowell.com to obtain information about their ability to request funds.
38,558 Vaccine Doses Administered Over Last 24 Hours
29 COVID-19 Deaths Statewide Yesterday
Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress combating COVID-19.
"We are continuing to closely monitor the numbers across the state and working with localities to identify hotspots and dispatch resources as necessary," Governor Hochul said. "We all want to put COVID-19 behind us, but the reality is we still have more work to do — and we need to stay vigilant. The vaccine is still our greatest weapon in this fight, and those who are still unvaccinated need to understand the power they have in their hands to help New York and our nation finally beat this virus."
Today's data is summarized briefly below:
“No matter how powerful or how rich, companies in New York must follow the law,” said Attorney General James. “In a single year — as the nation faced a pandemic and a financial crisis — GTV Media and Saraca Media’s corporate greed led the companies to illegally take in nearly half a billion dollars from investors by cutting corners and failing to follow New York laws. Firms that want to sell stocks and digital currencies to New York investors or conduct business in New York must abide by the same regulations as everyone else. We secured a recovery of $480 million dollars and are forcing these companies to play by the rules because no company is above the law.”
GTV Media was founded in April 2020 and is majority-owned by Saraca Media. Both are New York-based media companies that operate Chinese-language news and social media platforms. Attorney General James’ investigation revealed that GTV Media conducted an offer and sale of its stock, beginning in April 2020, that raised hundreds of millions of dollars from over 1,200 investors, including from dozens of New Yorkers.
Simultaneously with the stock offering, in May 2020, GTV Media and Saraca Media conducted pre-sales of two digital instruments — G-Coin and G-Dollar — that were promoted as digital or cryptocurrencies. These pre-sales raised more than $30 million in additional money from purchasers.
Under New York’s Martin Act, GTV Media and Saraca Media were required to register as securities dealers and/or commodities broker-dealers in selling the stock and digital instruments, but failed to do so.
Under the agreement announced today, GTV Media and Saraca Media will get credit toward the $479.9 million settlement for payments that they make to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with that agency’s investigation. Money secured by this agreement will be placed in a fund to provide money back to harmed investors.
Today, Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), a member of the House Committee on Education and Labor, touted investments in child care, education, job training, and child nutrition advanced through the Committee’s section of the Build Back Better Act. The historic investments will lower costs for families, secure good-paying jobs for American workers, and set a strong foundation of America’s children.
"It's simple, the Build Back Better Act is a monumental investment in America's working families. With the our portion alone, we're injecting over $700 billion into our communities that need it most - delivering for Main Street, not Wall Street," said Rep. Espaillat.
"We can't mince words: this past year and a half has taken an unfathomable toll on our children, families, and their communities - and they need our support. By lowering child care costs, reducing barriers to entry for higher education, bolstering our public school systems, preventing child hunger, and helping workers get good-paying jobs, we're taking strides to ensure our working families can build back better, and stronger than ever before.
"Levelling the playing field is how we rebuild, rebound, and revitalize – and this once-in-a-generation investment is a down payment for us to rebuild from the middle out. The time is now for us to deliver for our working families – and the Education and Labor committee has delivered on that promise," Espaillat concluded.
The investments advanced through the Committee last week will:
The Build Back Better Act also includes several of Rep. Espaillat's priorities, including:
For a summary on the Committee on Education and Labor’s portion of the Build Back Better Act, click here.
Habitat NYC and Westchester, Camber Property Group and Almat Urban developers will lead homeownership project and transfer ownership to Interboro Community Land Trust
Transformation of Anthony Avenue site advances key commitment of the Jerome Avenue rezoning
The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) today announced plans to bring 40 new homeownership opportunities for low-income families to the Bronx. This announcement with Habitat for Humanity New York City and Westchester County, Camber Property Group, Almat Urban and Interboro Community Land Trust (CLT) advances a key commitment of the Jerome Avenue Rezoning to transform the vacant city-owned Anthony Avenue site into permanent affordable housing.
This project represents the first time HPD selected a team proposing the CLT model for homeownership in response to a Request for Proposals (RFP) to create affordable housing on vacant, City-owned land. This milestone delivers on the Administration’s commitment to advance new housing models designed to expand community and collective ownership. Transferring the project’s land to the Interboro CLT will facilitate ongoing home sales to lower-income households, ensuring that future generations of first-time home buyers benefit from the project’s long-term affordability.
“With this plan, we make a dent in the unjust circumstances that, by design, have prevented homeownership opportunities for low-income families,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Vicki Been. “I commend Habitat for Humanity NYC, Camber Property Group, and Almat Urban for their tireless work to make homeownership opportunities open to all.”
“Thanks to this plan, forty families will get the opportunity to buy a home and live the American dream. We know that affordable homeownership is an important vehicle for building family wealth and giving communities a greater stake in their neighborhoods,” said HPD Commissioner Carroll. “Through the transformation of the Anthony Avenue site into affordable housing, we are making good on our commitments to the community in the Jerome Avenue Neighborhood Plan. I’m thankful to Council Member Vanessa Gibson for her ongoing partnership and want to congratulate Habitat NYC, Camber Property Group, and Almat Urban for this dynamic, forward-looking proposal.”
“This plan to bring 40 low-income homeownership opportunities to the Bronx is a huge win for our city and the residents that will benefit from having affordable housing options in our borough,” said Council Member Vanessa Gibson. “The development on 1640-1642 Anthony Avenue was one of several commitments made as a result of the Jerome Avenue Neighborhood Plan that will help combat growing housing insecurity and bring 100 percent affordable housing to the Bronx. I am extremely proud to see this project come into fruition and I want to thank the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Community Land Trust, Habitat NYC, Camber Property and Almat Urban for their work on this vital project that will give land ownership back to our community.”
The project will result in an 8-story, 100 percent affordable residential building to include a mix of 20 one-bedroom, 16 two-bedroom, and four three-bedroom apartments. Each home will be affordable to households earning up to $93,000 for a family of three and all are fitted with a balcony and installation for washer and dryer units. Communal amenities for residents include a rear yard, community room, wellness gym, and hydroponic center. Additionally, as a part of the development, homeownership education and assistance will be provided to first-time home buyers and residents whose applications have been denied.
“We are honored to partner with the City and an incredible development team in creating new homeownership opportunities for hard-working New Yorkers in the Bronx,” said Karen Haycox, CEO, Habitat for Humanity New York City and Westchester County. “Claremont House exemplifies the power of permanently affordable homeownership to transform lives and communities by enabling New York City families to build equity and by ensuring low- and moderate-income New Yorkers have access to owning a piece of their neighborhood for generations to come.”
“Affordable homeownership not only provides low and moderate income New Yorkers with quality homes, but also the opportunity to build wealth and equity in their neighborhoods,” said Rick Gropper, Principal of Camber Property Group. “Our project will create 40 low- and middle-income apartments for sale in the west Bronx, fulfilling a key promise of the Jerome Avenue Neighborhood Plan. We look forward to working with our partners at the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Interboro Community Land Trust, Habitat NYC and Almat Urban to deliver on that promise.”
“Almat Urban looks forward to developing Claremont House with our partners, Camber, Habitat for Humanity, SoBro and our architect Robert AM Stern’s office,” said Almat Urban Principal Donald Matheson. “We strive to continue developing the gold standard of affordable housing in the Bronx and New York City as a whole.”
"Interboro is proud and excited to partner with Camber, Almat Urban, and Habitat NYC and Westchester – one of our founding organizations and partners – in the creation of 40 affordable homeownership units in the borough with the most dire need for such opportunities,” said John Edward Dallas, Coordinator of the Interboro Community Land Trust. “By placing these new homes on the Interboro CLT, the development team is contributing to growing the citywide stock of permanently affordable homeownership units for current and future lower-income New Yorkers, ensuring the investment collectively made to build Claremont House is an investment in equity-building opportunities for generations of working-class families.”
Located on 1640-1642 Anthony Avenue across from Claremont Park, the City-owned vacant site’s transformation into affordable housing advances a key commitment of the Jerome Avenue rezoning. The rezoning is bringing more than $189 million in capital projects and services to the Bronx neighborhood in new and improved parks and playgrounds, pedestrian safety improvements near the Cross Bronx Expressway, business assistance and new schools. Covering a 2-mile stretch of Jerome Avenue, roughly from 167th Street to 184th Street, the rezoning promotes housing, including permanently affordable housing.
The City is continuing to make significant investments in affordable housing in the area, preserving 750 homes since the plan was adopted on top of 5,500 units that were preserved during the planning process, and advancing new affordable developments on City-owned sites.
The project is being financed through HPD’s Open Door program, which funds the new construction of affordable cooperative and condominium buildings, as well as, new one to three-family homes. The architect, Robert A.M. Stern Architects, designed the building to connect to the Bronx’s rich architectural history with most homes exceeding the HPD Design Guidelines for unit size. Additionally, the development team will partner with community organizations on a jobs outreach plan to employ local residents on the construction site.
A complete rundown of the Jerome-Anthony RFP, including the Jerome Avenue Neighborhood Plan, can be found on the Jerome-Anthony RFP webpage.