Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation Opens Investigation Into Civilian Death in Brooklyn

 

 The New York Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation (OSI) has opened an investigation into the death of Jamie Liang, who died on October 13, 2021, following an encounter with an off-duty member of the New York Police Department (NYPD) in Brooklyn, New York. The NYPD Officer involved in this incident is Officer Yvonne Wu.

On the evening of October 13, 2021, other members of the NYPD responded to 911 calls of shots fired at a residence located at 7901 19th Avenue in Brooklyn. When the officers arrived at the residence, they found Ms. Liang and another individual with gunshot wounds. Both individuals were taken to Maimonides Hospital for treatment, where Ms. Liang was later pronounced dead. Preliminary information suggests that this may be the result of a personal or domestic dispute, without connection to Officer Wu’s law enforcement duties.

Pursuant to New York State Executive Law Section 70-b, OSI assesses every incident reported to it where a police officer or a peace officer, including a corrections officer, may have caused the death of a person, by an act or omission. Under the law, the officer may have been on-duty or off-duty, and the decedent may have been armed or unarmed. Also, the decedent may or may not have been in custody or incarcerated. If OSI’s assessment indicates an officer caused the death, OSI proceeds to conduct a full investigation of the incident.

These are preliminary facts and subject to change. 

Aquilino Torres Sentenced To Over 24 Years In Prison For Brutal Kidnapping Of Mother And Child

 Damian Williams, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that AQUILINO TORRES was sentenced to 292 months in prison for his kidnapping and stalking of an adult woman (“Victim-1”) and the kidnapping of her seven-year-old son (“Minor Victim-1”) in or around October 2020.  TORRES was convicted following a one-week jury trial in July 2021 before U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote, who imposed today’s sentence.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Aquilino Torres carried out a brutal kidnapping of a 7-year-old child and his mother, and threatened to kill the child.  He held his victims captive and physically abused both mother and child.  Thanks to the FBI and NYPD, Torres was apprehended, prosecuted, and convicted of these horrific crimes, and has now been sentenced to a lengthy prison term.”

According to court documents and the evidence presented at the trial of TORRES:

On or about October 5, 2020, TORRES texted and called Victim-1 hundreds of times, including a text threatening to “kick [Minor Victim-1’s] teeth out.”  Later that night, TORRES took Victim-1 and Minor Victim-1 to a motel in the Bronx, where he hit Minor Victim-1 in the face and assaulted Victim-1, breaking both sides of her jaw.  While TORRES assaulted Victim-1, he told her that he would hang Victim-1 and that Minor Victim-1 would be found dead in the river.  TORRES then had sex with Victim-1 against her will.  For the next five days, TORRES held Victim-1 and Minor Victim-1 against their will at an apartment in Washington Heights, without medical treatment for Victim-1’s broken jaw.  On or about October 10, 2020, Victim-1 and Minor Victim-1 escaped from the apartment and were admitted to a hospital shortly thereafter.  In response to their escape, TORRES once again sent Victim-1 hundreds of threatening text messages and called Victim-1 hundreds of times.  For example, TORRES texted Victim-1, telling her that he had put GPS on her phone and that, if he made the decision to go looking for her, “there won’t be turning back.”  TORRES then followed through on those threats and attempted to track down Victim-1 and also posted nude photographs of Victim-1 on the internet. 

At the time of the events described above, TORRES had absconded from parole supervision, having been placed on such supervision following a 2014 New York State conviction for second degree assault against the mother of TORRES’s children, who was then pregnant. 

TORRES, 27, was found guilty after trial of (i) one count of kidnapping, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1201(a)(1) and (b); (ii) one count of kidnapping of a minor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1201(a)(1), (b), and (g); and (iii) one count of stalking, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2261A(2)(A) and (B), 2261(b)(3), and 2265A. 

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI-NYPD Violent Crimes Task Force.   

Senator Biaggi's Week in Review: 10/11/21-10/15/21

 

Dear Community,

October 15th marks the end of Hispanic Heritage Month. To close out this month, I would like to highlight Taste & Sabor, a local Latinx-owned restaurant in District 34. Not only does Taste & Sabor, located on West 231st Street near Riverdale Avenue, serve delicious Latin and Greek food, but the restaurant has also been serving as a food distribution site for the community since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

When Nikki De Leon, the owner of Taste & Sabor, realized she was receiving more restaurant deliveries than she needed, her immediate instinct was to give back. She started with putting out a sign in the front of the restaurant encouraging anyone interested in the extra boxes of fruits and vegetables to grab what they needed. Ultimately, the effort took off and De Leon noticed scores of people lining up for the extra produce boxes. 

Recognizing that there was an extreme need in the community, De Leon worked to expand Taste & Sabor’s food distribution efforts, ultimately distributing greater amounts of produce and holding the distribution two to three times a week. I commend Nikki and Taste & Sabor for their amazing efforts, and I would like to thank them for all of their work to combat food insecurity in the Bronx. 

You can learn more about Taste & Sabor’s food distribution here. I recommend that everyone visit the restaurant to try out their food as well! 

With Gratitude,

State Senator Alessandra Biaggi

Eligible constituents of Senate District 34, if you need assistance in setting up an appointment to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, please fill out this form and my team will get back to you. 

On October 13th, Governor Kathy Hochul announced the statewide 7-day average COVID-19 positivity rate is 2.5%.

The application for the Excluded Workers Fund has closed. As of October 8th at 7:30pm, the Department of Labor is no longer accepting new Excluded Worker Fund applications. Due to funding constraints, there is no guarantee applications received after September 24th will be approved. Both the Governor's Office and Legislature are working in collaboration to replenish the fund and provide additional COVID-19 relief funding next year during legislative session.

As a reminder, Governor Hochul launched a $125 million fund to give landlords the financial relief they need to pay their basic bills and mortgages. The new Landlord Rental Assistance program ensures landlords whose tenants have declined to participate in tenant rental assistance programs or who vacated with arrears (unpaid rent) are able to receive help. If you are a landlord who hasn’t been able to access funding, visit otda.ny.gov/lrap to learn more and apply.

As a reminder, Governor Hochul announced an implementation of booster doses into the State's COVID-19 vaccination program for eligible New Yorkers. There are four groups of New Yorkers who are now eligible for their COVID-19 booster dose: 

• New Yorkers who received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine SHOULD receive their booster dose at least six months after their primary vaccine series IF:
  • They are 65 years and older or residents in long-term care settings.
  • They are 50 - 64 years of age with underlying medical conditions. 

• New Yorkers who received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine MAY receive their COVID-19 booster dose at least six months after their primary vaccine series IF:
  • They are 18-49 years with underlying medical conditions, based on your individual benefits and risks.
  • They are 18-64 years and are at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission because of your occupational or institutional setting, based on your individual benefits and risks. 

On October 13th, Governor Hochul announced 21 new #VaxtoSchool pop-up vaccination sites to increase vaccination rates among school-aged New Yorkers. Click here for the full list of locations.

As a reminder, Governor Hochul announced a vaccine incentive program in partnership with all three New York professional football teams to support vaccinations among currently unvaccinated New Yorkers. Eligible New Yorkers 18 and older can enter to win prizes for the whole family from the Buffalo Bills, the New York Giants, and the New York Jets including up to four game tickets, special in-game experiences, stadium tours, signed team gear, FaceTime calls with alumni players, and more. Eligible New Yorkers who received their first vaccine dose September 9 through October 24 can enter Here. First winners were announced September 29th, Drawing Schedule Available Here.

As a reminder, Governor Hochul announced that masks are required at state-regulated child care facilities for children ages two and up, all staff and visitors. 

• New masking requirements will also apply to congregate programs and facilities licensed, registered, operated, certified or approved by the Office of Mental Health, the Office of Addiction Services and Supports, the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities, Office of Children and Family Services and the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.
• This includes but is not limited to certified residential and day programs, inpatient and outpatient mental health facilities, substance abuse programs, juvenile detention programs, juvenile residential facilities, congregate foster care programs, runaway and homeless youth, domestic violence and other shelter programs. These requirements apply regardless of vaccination status.

As a reminder, Governor Hochul has mandated that all healthcare workers in New York must be vaccinated by September 27th with no testing alternative. 

As a reminder, President Joe Biden mandated that all private employers with 100 or more workers require their workers to be vaccinated or tested weekly. He also mandated that all healthcare workers in hospitals, clinics and other facilities that accept Medicare and Medicaid payments and all federal contractors must get vaccinated, with no opt out option. 

NYS Office of the Comptroller DiNapoli

 

STATE TAX RECEIPTS EXCEED INITIAL PROJECTIONS BY $7.2 BILLION THROUGH FIRST SIX MONTHS

 State tax receipts in State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2021-22 exceeded the Enacted Budget Financial Plan forecast (May estimates) by $7.2 billion through the end of September, according to the monthly State Cash Report released by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. Tax collections were $1.8 billion greater than forecast by the Division of the Budget (DOB) in the First Quarter Update to the Financial Plan, released last month. Tax receipts through September 30th are $13.4 billion greater than they were through the same month in SFY 2020-21.

“Strong tax collections halfway through the fiscal year are an encouraging sign of economic recovery,” DiNapoli said. “This provides an excellent opportunity to improve the state’s long-term fiscal standing by using surplus revenues to bolster rainy day fund reserves and fund critical infrastructure projects instead of issuing debt.”

Tax receipts through September totaled $52.9 billion, bolstered by collections from the higher tax rates included in the SFY 2021-22 Enacted State Budget. Personal Income Tax (PIT) receipts totaled $35.8 billion and were $8.9 billion greater year-to-date than last year. PIT collections exceeded May estimates by $4.8 billion and the First Quarter Update forecast by $583.2 million.   

Year-to-date, consumption and use tax collections totaled $9.8 billion, 27.1% or $2.1 billion, higher than last year. Business taxes totaled $5.9 billion, $1.9 billion higher than last year.

All Funds spending through September totaled $91.8 billion, which was $4.7 billion, or 5.3%, higher than last year for the same period, primarily due to higher pandemic-related costs including rental assistance and stabilization grants. All Funds spending through September was nearly $5.1 billion lower than DOB’s May estimates and nearly $1.5 billion lower than forecast in the First Quarter Update, primarily due to lower than anticipated spending from federal funds. 

The state’s General Fund ended September with a balance of just under $20 billion, $4.5 billion higher than last year at the same time reflecting, in part, higher than anticipated tax collections and lower than anticipated spending.

Report

September Cash Report

Related Publications

Enacted Budget Financial Plan Report, State Fiscal Year 2021-22

COVID-19 Relief Program Tracker

77 Days and Counting

I have pictures with almost all of the Bronx elected officials together with some exceptions like Assemblyman Jose Rivera, who only likes to videos other elected officials, and the new Bronx Democratic Party Leader State Senator Jamaal Bailey. Here we are on split screen, and at the Bronx Democratic Party Dinner Senator Bailey had me speak from a platform on one side of the room. 

At least I was with that rising star in the Bronx soon to be 14th Councilwoman Pierina Sanchez, and I got to see my young basketball player 15th Councilman Oswald Feliz. Those two council districts seem to produce people in higher office like Congressman Ritchie Torres, and what was the name of the Bronx Borough President who is now a Vice-President of Stagg Developers, Adolfo Carrion. 

NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS/JACOBI OPENS NEW PRIDE HEALTH CENTER FOR LGBTQ PATIENTS

Center will provide LGBTQ-affirming care for a variety of services, including primary care, OB/GYN, family planning services,

behavioral health, hormone therapy, testing for sexually transmitted infections and HIV, PrEP, and more

 NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi today announced the opening of its new comprehensive Pride Health Center. The Center will serve lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning/queer (LGBTQ) patients as they receive high-quality, culturally competent, respectful care in the hospital’s state-of-the-art facility. The new Pride Health Center will provide LGBTQ-affirming care for a variety of services, including primary care, adolescent care, OB/GYN, family planning services, behavioral health, dental services, ophthalmology, hormone therapy, testing for sexually transmitted infections and HIV, and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and more. Social work support will also be available for patients to assist with continuity of care.

 

“Each Pride Health Center our public health system opens demonstrates our level of commitment to ensure every single New Yorker has access to culturally sensitive and respectful health care,” said NYC Health + Hospitals Chief Diversity Officer Matilde Roman, Esq. “This group of patients have been excluded from competent care for far too long, and we recognize our responsibility to make sure to provide a welcoming environment that affirms their right to receive expert care they need most.”

 

“We treat everyone who seeks care at Jacobi with respect and we affirm who they are,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi CEO Christopher Mastromano. “It’s been well documented that our LGBTQ community faces barriers when trying to access healthcare and we are committed, at Jacobi and throughout our NYC Health + Hospitals System, to tear those barriers down.”

 

The Pride Health Center at NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi is located within Building 8 on the first floor (1D). The Center will have sessions on Thursday afternoons from 1:30-5:00PM and will have a cadre of full-time dedicated providers who are supported by a team of nurses, administrators, and patient care associates.  In addition to Center hours, LGBTQ-affirming care is available 24/7 at Jacobi via the Emergency and Ambulatory Care Departments.

 

This is the latest in a long history of services NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi has made over the years to provide care to the LGBTQ community.  Jacobi pioneered the first HIV/AIDS daycare in the nation back in the 1980s.  In 2018, the hospital was recognized by the Human Rights Campaign as being a “Leader in LGBTQ Healthcare Equity,” and in 2019 opened a “health and empowerment center” for sexual health services. This year also marked the fifth annual LGBTQ pride event at Jacobi.

“Since 2009, the Bronx continues to be ranked last out of New York State’s 62 counties in health outcomes by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation County Health Ranking Report. Today I congratulate NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi in working to change these statistics by opening their new Pride Health Center for LGBTQ+ patients. This is a vital step in addressing the historic health disparities faced by our borough. I look forward to working with institutions like NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi to bring much needed resources to our shared communities,” said Council Member Oswald Feliz.

 

NYC Health + Hospitals has long been a leader in caring for LGBTQ patients and continues its commitment to providing staff with specialized trainings to ensure LGBTQ patients who seek care at any location across the health system receive responsive health care in a welcoming environment.

 

NYC Health + Hospitals’ Pride Health Centers are:

 

• NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue

462 1^st Avenue, New York, NY 10016

 

• NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Gouverneur

227 Madison St., New York, NY 10002

 

• NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Judson

34 Spring St., New York, NY 10012

 

• NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan

1901 1^st Avenue, New York, NY 10029

 

• NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull

760 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11206

 

NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln also opened a new comprehensive Gender Affirming Integrated Services Practice, dedicated to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning/queer (LGBTQ) patients in June 2021.

 

NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan was the first public hospital to open a health center dedicated to the health care of LGBTQ patients and has since expanded health services for transgender patients, including gender-affirming surgeries and increased access to hormone therapy. In addition to the Pride Health Centers, NYC Health + Hospitals will continue to provide services to LGBTQ youth through their Bridge Program at NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Judson Health Center, which offers a one stop shop for adolescents’ medical, mental health services and other support services, with specialized expertise in servicing this audience.

 

For more information about any of the Pride Health Centers at NYC Health + Hospitals or to make an appointment, please contact 844-NYC-4NYC (1-844-692-4692).

  

California Man Pleads Guilty To Making Threats Directed Against A Journalist Relating To The Outcome Of The 2020 Presidential Election

  

 Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that ROBERT LEMKE pled guilty to making threatening interstate communications to a New York City-based family member of a journalist (the “Journalist”), citing the Journalist’s statements about the outcome of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. LEMKE pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated: “Robert Lemke was frustrated with the result of the 2020 Presidential Election. Rather than attempting to effect change through legal discourse or any of the other freedoms of expression that all Americans enjoy, he instead sent threatening messages to the family member of a journalist. Inevitably, elections result in frustrations for some – that is part of the political process – but trying to instill fear in others by threat will not be tolerated by law enforcement.”

According to the allegations in the Complaint, Superseding Indictment, and other documents in the public record, as well as statements made in public court proceedings:

From November 2020 through early January 2021, the defendant sent threatening electronic and audio messages to approximately 50 victims, including journalists and politicians, targeting those individuals as a result of their statements expressing that then-President Trump had lost the 2020 presidential election. On January 6, 2021, the same day that individuals purporting to protest the 2020 presidential election gathered in Washington, D.C. and stormed the Capitol Building, LEMKE sent a series of these threatening text messages to journalists, members of Congress, other politicians, and their families.

As the attack on the Capitol Building was ongoing, LEMKE sent threatening text messages to a relative of the Journalist, stating: “[The Journalist’s] words are putting you and your family at risk. We are nearby, armed and ready. Thousands of us are active/retired law enforcement, military, etc. That’s how we do it.”

At approximately the same time that LEMKE was sending threats directed at the Journalist, LEMKE also sent threats to the brother of a New York City-based U.S. Congressman (the “Congressman”), citing the Congressman’s statements about the result of the 2020 presidential election. LEMKE’s text messages, which included a picture of a home in the same neighborhood as the home of the Congressman’s brother, stated:

Your brother is putting your entire family at risk with his lies and other words. We are armed and nearby your house. You had better have a word with him. We are not far from his either. Already spoke to [the Congressman’s son] and know where his kids are.

. . . your words have consequences. Stop telling lies; Biden did not win, he will not be president. We are not[] white supremacists. Most of us are active/retired law enforcement or military. You are putting your family at risk. We have armed members near your home . . . . . Don’t risk their safety with your words and lies.

LEMKE acquired and used at least three different phone numbers and various electronic accounts to mask his identity when sending threats to his victims. LEMKE was not in fact affiliated with law enforcement or the U.S. military as he claimed in some of his threats. On or about November 7, 2020, LEMKE posted to Facebook: “Folks. Be ready for war. Trump has refused to cede. Evidence shows fraud occurred and the Supreme Court cases will be successful. We blockchained and watermarked ballots in 16 states. Trump will prevail.[] Spread this message. . . . FAITH my fellow Republicans. Do not give up.”

ROBERT LEMKE, 36, of Bay Point, California, pled guilty to one count of making threatening interstate communications, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. LEMKE is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Hellerstein on December 14, 2021.

The maximum potential sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which consists of investigators and analysts from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), the New York City Police Department, and over 50 other federal, state, and local agencies. Mr. Williams also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California and the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office for their assistance.

Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19 - OCTOBER 15, 2021

 

66,510 Vaccine Doses Administered Over Last 24 Hours

30 COVID-19 Deaths Statewide Yesterday

 Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress combating COVID-19.

"COVID-19 is still a threat to many New Yorkers who haven't been vaccinated yet, and even through we've made progress on getting shots in arms, the vaccination rate needs to continue going up," Governor Hochul said. "We're operating convenient vaccination sites across the state, getting the word out to the 12 to 16 age group and offering exciting incentives to get the shot, but the buck stops with New Yorkers. Each and every eligible New Yorker should get vaccinated right away to protect their friends, families and communities."

 

Today's data is summarized briefly below:

• Test Results Reported - 236,861
• Total Positive - 5,693
• Percent Positive - 2.40%
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 2.50%
• Patient Hospitalization - 2,112 (+7)
• Patients Newly Admitted - 289
• Patients in ICU - 458 (-2)
• Patients in ICU with Intubation - 255 (+5)
• Total Discharges - 204,619 (+254)
• New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 30
• Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 45,045

The Health Electronic Response Data System is a NYS DOH data source that collects confirmed daily death data as reported by hospitals, nursing homes and adult care facilities only.

• Total deaths reported to and compiled by the CDC - 57,288

This daily COVID-19 provisional death certificate data reported by NYS DOH and NYC to the CDC includes those who died in any location, including hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities, at home, in hospice and other settings.

• Total vaccine doses administered - 26,157,135
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours - 66,510
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days - 379,842
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose - 83.0%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series - 75.1%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 85.4%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 76.6%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose - 70.3%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series - 63.5%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 72.4%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 64.8%