Our Bronx People's Festival Recap

 

On behalf of the Bronx-wide Coalition, we’d like to thank everyone who was able to join us last Saturday, October 23rd for our first in-person coalition event this year, The Bronx People’s Festival. We absolutely couldn't have done it without you!

The day began with all coalition hands on deck despite some morning rain that eventually cleared and made way for plenty of sunshine and engaged Bronxites at the Mary Mitchell Family and Youth Center courtyard.

Attendees and onlookers could see, hear, and feel the excitement in the air as our coalition members and partners prepared planning, learning, healing, and civic stations for community members, along with an activity hub for children and youth.

Coalition organizations and partners were present to engage an inspiringly diverse group of Bronx residents coming together under a shared vision of advancing racial justice and economic democracy, and building community power.

The coalition also unveiled a beta version of the Bronx People's Budget Survey, an opportunity to reflect on and decide how public resources should be allocated for our borough and city. We believe that the City budget reflects a set of priorities, and we want to hear how you would allocate those resources in line with what’s important to you. Check out the survey here.   Last, but certainly not least, is that we didn’t forget all of the food, music, and culture that comes along with a festival. Amarilis Medina and Al-Aqsa Restaurant prepared our complimentary meals, the Bronx's own DJ KayKay47 provided our tunes, and a handful of local emcees, poets, performers, and speakers shared the communal microphone for the day. All while freebies and raffle prizes added further cheer throughout the celebration.

Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19 - OCTOBER 29, 2021

 

99,746 Vaccine Doses Administered Over Last 24 Hours  

33 COVID-19 Deaths Statewide Yesterday

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

"New Yorkers are doing a fantastic job of getting themselves and their loved ones vaccinated, but we can't stop now," Governor Hochul said. "As the weather gets colder and friends and family start to gather indoors it will become easier for the virus to spread and we risk losing much of the progress we've made so far. Don't hesitate - getting the shot is safe, easy, and more effective than anything else at stopping the spread and finally overcoming this virus." 

  

Today's data is summarized briefly below:

• Test Results Reported - 235,693
• Total Positive - 5,064 
• Percent Positive - 2.15%
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 2.14% 
• Patient Hospitalization - 1,913 (-39) 
• Patients Newly Admitted - 262 
• Patients in ICU - 469 (0) 
• Patients in ICU with Intubation - 256 (-12) 
• Total Discharges - 207,925 (+276) 
• New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 33 
• Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 45,509 

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 - 57,913 

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 - 27,029,827 
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours - 99,746 
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days - 502,222 
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose - 84.1% 
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series - 76.4% 
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 87.2% 
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 78.5% 
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose - 71.2% 
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series - 64.7% 
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 74.0% 
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 66.4% 

Pelham Parkway Neighborhood Association Holds Halloween Giveaway

There was a threat of rain and winds beginning to gust, but the Pelham Parkway Neighborhood Association with the help of the Albanian American Open Hands Association Inc. gave out almost three-hundred bags of candy, apples, and cookies to area residents. 

A table was set up outside of 2141 Holland Avenue so passing children from the nearby school and residents of Holland Avenue could receive a bag of candy, an apple, and a package of delicious cookies, while supplies lasted. A special guest showed up to help give out some Reses candy she had in her pumpkin, as Assemblywoman Fernandez joined with the PPNA for a group photo. 

(L-R) PPNA President Edith Blitzer, Volunteer Dila, Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez, PPNA Executive Board members Robert Press and Christian Amato, and Volunteer Adalina.

Candy, apples, and cookies are handed out to the children.

More Children receive candy from Christian as the other volunteers give out apples and cookies.

As it got colder PPNA President Edith Blitzer put on a warmer coat. Christian Amato and the volunteers continued to give out the bags of candy, and apples, but the cookies had run out.

Leader Of International Burglary Crew Sentenced To 8 Years In Prison

 

Burglary Crew Conducted Over a Dozen Heists and Attempted Heists in the United States and Europe Between 2006 and 2017, Stole Over $13 Million in Jewelry

 Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that DAMIR PEJCINOVIC was sentenced today to eight years in prison in connection with his participation and management of a criminal organization that committed a series of sophisticated burglaries and engaged in the interstate transportation of stolen goods between 2006 and 2017.  On November 19, 2020, PEJCINOVIC pled guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin Nathaniel Fox to participating in a racketeering conspiracy.  PEJCINOVIC was sentenced today before U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “For over a decade, the defendant supervised a sophisticated burglary crew that carried out multimillion-dollar heists all over the United States and on both sides of the Atlantic.  Today’s lengthy sentence sends an important message to members of criminal organizations that they will face justice for their crimes.”

As alleged in the Indictment and statements made in open court:

Between 2006 and April 2017, DAMIR PEJCINOVIC, a/k/a “Damian,” a/k/a “CoCo,” Gzimi Bojkovic, a/k/a Jimmy,” Adrian Fiseku, and Elvis Cirikovic, a/k/a “Gorilla,” participated in a criminal organization whose members and associates engaged in, among other things, the commission of burglaries and the interstate transportation and sale of stolen goods.  The criminal organization operated principally in New York City, California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, Massachusetts, Maine, and Europe.  Members and associates of the organization committed, conspired to commit, and attempted to commit numerous burglaries of jewelry stores and banks, as well as the interstate transportation and sale of stolen property from the burglaries.  PEJCINOVIC, Bojkovic, Fiseku, Cirikovic, and other members and associates of the criminal organization committed the following burglaries and attempted burglaries:

Between February 2006 and March 2006, PEJCINOVIC participated in a burglary of a restaurant and an attempted burglary of a jewelry store in Portland, Oregon.

On March 29, 2008, PEJCINOVIC, Bojkovic, and Cirikovic participated in a burglary of a jewelry store in New York, New York, that resulted in the theft of jewelry valued at over $2.5 million.

On October 11, 2008, PEJCINOVIC and Cirikovic participated in an attempted burglary of a jewelry store in Germany, attempting to steal gold valued at more than €10 million.

On July 26, 2009, PEJCINOVIC and Bojkovic participated in a burglary of a Manhattan jewelry store that resulted in the theft of jewelry valued at over $850,000.

On August 25, 2010, PEJCINOVIC participated in an attempted burglary of a jewelry store in Manhattan.

On August 28, 2010, PEJCINOVIC and Bojkovic participated in a burglary of a jewelry store in Beverly Hills that resulted in the theft of jewelry valued at over $70,000.

On September 5, 2010, PEJCINOVIC participated in a burglary of a jewelry store in Kansas City that resulted in the theft, interstate transportation, and sale of jewelry valued at over $1 million.

On February 19, 2011, PEJCINOVIC, Cirikovic, and Fiseku participated in a jewelry store in Los Angeles that resulted in the theft, interstate transportation, and sale of jewelry valued at over $3 million.

In the summer of 2011, PEJCINOVIC participated in an attempted burglary of a jewelry store in Brooklyn.

On September 16, 2011, PEJCINOVIC and Cirikovic participated in a burglary of a jewelry store in Los Angeles that resulted in the theft of jewelry valued at over $150,000.

In the fall of 2012, PEJCINOVIC and Bojkovic participated in an attempted burglary of a bank in Philadelphia.

On June 30, 2012, PEJCINOVIC and Cirikovic participated in an attempted burglary of a bank in Scarsdale, New York.

On July 22, 2012, PEJCINOVIC participated in an attempted burglary of a jewelry store in Manhattan.

In the fall of 2013, PEJCINOVIC, Bojkovic, and Cirikovic participated in the burglary of a jewelry store in New Jersey.

On December 31, 2016, PEJCINOVIC, Bojkovic, and Fiseku participated in the burglary of a jewelry store in Manhattan that resulted in the theft, interstate transportation, and sale of jewelry valued at over $3 million.

On March 20, 2017, PEJCINOVIC, Bojkovic, and Fiseku participated in the burglary of a jewelry store in Los Angeles that resulted in the theft of jewelry valued at over $2 million.               

In addition to his prison term, DAMIR PEJCINOVIC, 47, of New York, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release.  PEJCINOVIC was also ordered to pay restitution of $13,020,000.

Bojkovic, 39, of Staten Island, New York, pled guilty on October 7, 2019, to participating in a racketeering conspiracy.  He was sentenced on November 17, 2020, to 36 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of $9,020,000.00.

Fiseku, 38, of Staten Island, New York, pled guilty on March 13, 2020, to participating in a racketeering conspiracy.  He was sentenced on January 22, 2021, to 30 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of $8,600,000.00.

Cirikovic, 38, of Woodhaven, New York, pled guilty on August 26, 2019, to participating in a racketeering conspiracy.  He was sentenced on January 13, 2020, to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $2,505,500.00. 

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Police Department.  Mr. Williams also thanked the Los Angeles Police Department, Beverly Hills Police Department, Kansas City Police Department, Portland Police Department, German Federal Police, Interpol, Europol, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for their assistance in this investigation.

Attorney General James Secures $4.4 Million in Refunds for Customers Who Had Events Cancelled Due to COVID-19

 

TFS and Affiliate Websites Denied Refunds to Thousands of New York Consumers and Out-of-State Purchasers

TFS and Affiliate Websites Will Guarantee Refunds Going Forward for Cancelled Events

 New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced an agreement with Ticket Fulfillment Services, L.P. (TFS) and five ticket resale websites for failing to provide legally-mandated refunds to more than 11,000 affected consumers who purchased tickets — through one of TFS’s affiliate marketers — to events that were cancelled in the wake of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Under New York law, companies that facilitate ticket resales must guarantee refunds for cancelled events. However, collectively, these companies denied approximately $4.4 million in refunds that they were required to return to consumers.

“As New Yorkers were suffering from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, TFS and its affiliates illegally denied refunds to thousands of consumers for events that were cancelled — all while pocketing millions of dollars in the process,” said Attorney General James. “Today, I’m proud to announce that we’ve helped secure $4.4 million in refunds for any consumer who purchased tickets for events in New York that wants one, and that we’ve forced TFS and its affiliates to change their cancellation process going forward. If an event is cancelled, consumers can rest assured that they will have a right to a refund. My office is committed to delivering justice, which is why we will continue to do everything in our power to protect the welfare and wallets of New Yorkers.”

TFS — a subsidiary of Vivid Seats, LLC, which operates one of the nation’s largest ticket resale marketplaces — licenses the use of Vivid’s platform to independent affiliate marketers nationwide. These affiliate marketers host the online platform on their own websites and seek to convince consumers — through internet advertising — to use the Vivid platform on their websites to purchase tickets. The affiliates are paid a commission for each sale completed on their websites, while TFS retains operational control over the platform under a licensing agreement. Specifically, TFS provides the ticket listings, processes orders and refunds, verifies order details and confirms validity of payment information, charges buyers’ credit and debit cards, coordinates delivery of purchased tickets, and handles customer service. The affiliates were contractually obligated to post Terms of Service on their websites that met with TFS’s approval. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, these Terms of Service prominently informed consumers that they would receive a full refund if their event were cancelled.

Beginning in April 2020, TFS approved requests from five affiliate marketers to abandon refunds in favor of a policy that would only provide credits for future ticket purchases. TFS also drafted or authorized revisions to the various websites’ Terms of Service, where references to revisions to refunds were fully removed. TFS then drafted or approved, and then subsequently sent out tens of thousands of cancellation notices to consumers, informing them that they were subject to the new credit policy, notwithstanding New York law requiring companies that facilitate ticket resales to guarantee refunds for cancelled events. Employees of TFS even refused to provide refunds to many consumers who contacted customer service. 

Eventually, and only after Attorney General James began an inquiry and urged the companies to do so, TFS and its affiliates sent emails offering refunds to all New York consumers and out-of-state purchasers to New York venues whose events had been cancelled.

As part of the agreement, TFS will guarantee refunds to New York consumers and to out-of-state buyers to New York venues who purchased their tickets through an affiliate’s website — regardless of the affiliate marketer’s ability or willingness to refund its commission — if the event for which the tickets were purchased was cancelled. TFS will also discontinue an affiliate’s right to sell tickets through its platform if the affiliate fails to offer or intends to deny a refund to any such consumer. In additional agreements with the five marketing affiliates — Denver Media Holdings LLC; Event Ticket Sales, LLC; Internet Referral Services, LLC; RYADD, Inc.; and Theatreland Ltd. — each has authorized refunds for any affected New York consumer or out-of-state buyer to a New York venue, and will inform all future consumers of their legal right to a refund if their event is cancelled.

New Yorkers may be eligible for a refund if their event was cancelled, and if they are either a New York consumer or a consumer who bought a ticket to a New York venue, through any of the following companies’ websites: Albany Theater, Austin Theater, Bold Ticket, Boston Theater, Buffalo Theatre, Chicago Theater, Cincinnati Theater, Denver Theater, Durham Theater, Fort Myers Theater, Grand Rapids Theater, Hershey Harrisburg Theatre, Las Vegas Theater, Nashville Theatre, New York City Theatre, Norfolk Theater, Online City Tickets, Orlando Theatre, Philadelphia Theater, Pittsburgh Theater, Portland Theater, Rochester Theater, Salt Lake City Theater, San Francisco Theater, Sarasota Theater, Seats, Seattle Theatre, Secure Box Office, Syracuse Theater, Theatre Land America, Tickets Center, Tickets on Sale, Toronto Theatre, or West Palm Theater.

To claim a refund, consumers are encouraged to contact customer support for the website they used to purchase their ticket.

Today’s agreement is the latest in Attorney General James’ efforts to protect New Yorkers from unlawful business practices in the event ticket marketplace. Separately, but related to her work protecting ticket buyers, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Attorney General James has negotiated for New Yorkers to receive more than $78,000 in refunds for cancelled event tickets.

Also, at the start of the pandemic, Attorney General James worked alongside Ticketmaster to ensure all ticketholders with events that were cancelled due to COVID-19 were offered either refunds or tickets to a later event.

Additionally, in July 2019, Attorney General James announced an agreement with TicketNetwork, Inc., Ticket Galaxy, and their owner that forced the defendants to pay $1.55 million and make numerous reforms after the three unlawfully charged tens of thousands of unsuspecting customers for tickets to concerts, shows, and other live events that the sellers did not actually own.

The Office of the Attorney General reminds consumers that those who purchase tickets on the secondary market for events in New York state that have been cancelled are guaranteed a refund by the reseller of the tickets and/or anyone that facilitates the resale of the tickets.

Statement from Governor Kathy Hochul on Second Circuit Ruling on Vaccine Mandate

 

"On Day One, I pledged as Governor to battle this pandemic and take bold action to protect the health of all New Yorkers. I commend the Second Circuit's findings affirming our first-in-the-nation vaccine mandate, and I will continue to do everything in my power to keep New Yorkers safe."

64 Days and Counting

 

What's worse than getting another shot from Doctor Chakshi? Hearing that New York State Attorney General Letitia James will be running for Governor of New York. The only other pain in the neck would be to hear that Public Advocate Jumaane Williams has announced that he is running for governor. 

They should know that if all three of us run they are almost making sure that current placeholder for me, is re-elected as governor. The majority of the votes are downstate, but if the three of us run we will split that vote three ways. I don't know if I can get enough votes upstate to counter my other two opponents, or anyone else who thinks they can get elected governor. 

Attorney General James Releases Statement After Criminal Charges Are Brought Against Former Governor Andrew Cuomo

 

 New York Attorney General Letitia James today released the following statement after criminal charges were brought against former Governor Andrew Cuomo:

“From the moment my office received the referral to investigate allegations that former Governor Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women, we proceeded without fear or favor. The criminal charges brought today against Mr. Cuomo for forcible touching further validate the findings in our report.”