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Friday, November 26, 2021
THE NEW BXCC - Bronx Business News You Can Use
37 Day and Counting
So Rubensito, if I may call you that, since we know each other for what is it now more than fifteen years. The eight year I was Public Advocate, and my almost eight years as Mayor, what is your next move?
Has any candidate for governor asked you to be their running mate for Lieutenant Governor? I would, but I need someone from upstate who can balance my negative image up there. You know Brian Benjamin is in trouble, and maybe Kathy Hochul will find a new second banana, just like Andrew did when he ran for reelection his first time. I heard that former Bronx Borough President Freddy Ferrer was asked by Eliot Spitzer to be his running mate, but turned it down because he said it was a nothing position. Had he taken it he would have been the governor. Why don't you give Kathy a call Ruben, to see if she is looking for a new running mate?
Permits Filed For 188 East 135th Street In Mott Haven, The Bronx
Permits have been filed for a ten-story mixed-use building at 188 East 135th Street in Mott Haven, The Bronx. Located between the Major Deegan Expressway and Harlem River waterfront, the lot is near the 138 Street-Grand Concourse subway station, serviced by the 4 and 5 trains. Jacob Sofer under the 101 Macombs Place LLC is listed as the owner behind the applications.
The proposed 109-foot-tall development will yield 74,794 square feet, with 65,354 square feet designated for residential space and 9,440 square feet for commercial space. The building will have 85 residences, most likely rentals based on the average unit scope of 768 square feet. The concrete-based structure will also have a 28-foot-long rear yard and 93 enclosed parking spaces.
Hamish Whitefield Architects is listed as the architect of record.
Demolition permits were filed in September for the single-story building on the site. An estimated completion date has not been announced.
Housing Lottery Launches For 1769 Jerome Avenue In Morris Heights, The Bronx
1769 Jerome Avenue in Morris Heights, The Bronx via NYC Housing Connect
The affordable housing lottery has launched for 1769 Jerome Avenue, a 16-story mixed-use building in Morris Heights, The Bronx. Designed by Marvel Architects and developed through the Jerome Housing Development Fund, the structure yields 175 residences. Available on NYC Housing Connect are 60 units for residents at 60 to 80 percent of the area median income (AMI), ranging in eligible income from $34,972 to $118,400.
Amenities include a superintendent, elevators, front desk security, a community room, residential terrace, gym, bicycle storage room, and a shared laundry room. Residences will have energy-efficient appliances, air conditioning, and hardwood floors.
At 60 percent of the AMI, there are 16 studios with a monthly rent of $947 for incomes ranging from $34,972 to $57,300; three one-bedrooms with a monthly rent of $1,192 for incomes ranging from $43,715 to $64,440; 15 two-bedrooms with a monthly rent of $1,420 for incomes ranging from $52,423 to $77,340; and one three-bedroom with a monthly rent of $1,631 for incomes ranging from $60,583 to $88,800.
At 80 percent of the AMI, there are six studios with a monthly rent of $1,163 for incomes ranging from $42,378 to $76,400; two one-bedrooms with a monthly rent of $1,465 for incomes ranging from $53,075 to $85,920; 14 two-bedrooms with a monthly rent of $1,770 for incomes ranging from $64,423 to $103,120; and three three-bedrooms with a monthly rent of $2,037 for incomes ranging from $74,503 to $118,400.
Prospective renters must meet income and household size requirements to apply for these apartments. Applications must be postmarked or submitted online no later than January 18, 2021.
Thursday, November 25, 2021
Long Island Man Sentenced to 200 Months’ Imprisonment for Attempting to Provide Material Support to Terrorists
Elvis Redzepagic of Commack Planned to Travel to Syria to Wage Violent Jihad
Elvis Redzepagic was sentenced by United States District Judge Denis R. Hurley to 200 months’ imprisonment for attempting to provide material support and resources to the designated foreign terrorist organizations the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and the al-Nusrah Front. Redzepagic, a U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty to the charge in April 2021.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, and Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the sentence.
“With the imposition of today’s lengthy sentence, Redzepagic pays a steep price for his misguided embrace of terrorism and his attempts to join ISIS and the al-Nusrah Front in order to wage violent jihad,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This Office, together with our law enforcement partners, will remain vigilant in protecting the public from terrorist threats and in thwarting their violent attacks here and abroad.”
Mr. Peace thanked the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the FBI Legal Attaché Office for Serbia, and the Government of Montenegro Ministry of Justice, Prosecutor’s Office, and Special Police Unit for their assistance in this case.
In early 2015, Redzepagic began communicating with an individual he believed to be both the commander of a battalion in Syria and a member of ISIS or the al-Nusrah Front, and made attempts to join that individual’s battalion to engage in violent jihad. In July 2015, Redzepagic traveled to Turkey and made multiple unsuccessful attempts to cross the border into Syria. Unable to enter Syria from Turkey, Redzepagic traveled to Jordan in August 2016, but was stopped and deported by Jordanian authorities.
In Facebook messages from October 2015, Redzepagic explained that “jihad” is when “you fight for the sake of God” and “die for the sake of Allah.” Redzepagic stated that he traveled to Turkey to “perform Jihad and join Jabhat Al-Nusra.” He predicted, “there will come a time where people will only know to say Allahu Akbar.”
A search of the defendant’s laptop yielded a variety of ISIS-specific extremist propaganda, including ISIS nasheeds, or Islamist hymns, including the “ISIS Anthem” in English. Redzepagic also repeatedly accessed the website “Put hilafeta,” or “Way to the Caliphate,” a Bosnian-language website for prospective foreign fighters from the Balkans who primarily sought to join ISIS and wage jihad in Syria.
DOI INVESTIGATION RESULTS IN SIX GUILTY PLEAS BY TAXI AND LIMOUSINE-LICENSED TAXICAB DRIVERS WHO DEFRAUDED PASSENGERS THROUGH OVERCHARGING
Daniel G. Cort, Acting Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”), announced the guilty pleas of four current and two former taxicab drivers licensed by the City Taxi & Limousine Commission (“TLC”) for overcharging passengers with non-existing tolls and/or inflated toll charges. A seventh taxicab driver’s matter is pending in court. Each defendant was charged separately with Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, a class E felony, and the criminal complaints were unsealed Friday, November 19, 2021. The six defendants pleaded guilty to a violation, waived their right to seal their cases, and were ordered to attend sessions with the Manhattan Justice Opportunities, which provides community-based diversion and sentencing options to reduce the use of incarceration and criminal convictions for individuals charged with low-level offenses and felonies. DOI began its investigation into toll fraud in the City’s taxicab industry after receiving an allegation of misconduct regarding a taxicab driver and then investigated in partnership with the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr.
Acting Commissioner Daniel G. Cort said, “The City’s taxicab industry suffered a devastating economic blow over the last several years and, as a result, so many drivers have directly experienced a grave impact. While we have compassion for all those who have been affected, DOI acted to stop fraud by this group of drivers and protect taxicab passengers from being victimized. Fraud can never be allowed to fester anywhere in this City and must be brought to light. In addition, DOI issued recommendations to TLC so it can strengthen its procedures and prevent this conduct in the future. I thank the Manhattan District Attorney for their partnership on this matter and TLC for its cooperation and assistance.”
DOI’s investigation included analyzing driver information, GPS data, and trip data from TLC, and also included identifying suspicious toll charges, reviewing maps developed from the GPS records of the cabs driven by the defendant drivers, creating maps for each suspicious trip and examining each to see if the appropriate toll amount was charged. In these matters, the taxicab drivers overcharged passengers by charging toll rates that did not account for the E-ZPass discount required by TLC regulations and/or charged passengers for tolls when none should have been charged. When a driver overcharges a passenger, the overcharge amount is not collected by the TLC but kept by the driver who does not have permission or authority from TLC to obtain any funds that result from overcharges. DOI issued recommendations that led the TLC to strengthen its rules as they relate to passenger alerts regarding toll charges and driver ability to select tolls within the five boroughs.
The case of one taxicab driver remains pending in court: AYMAN ABDALLA, 51, of Elmhurst, N.Y., was charged with overcharging approximately 103 passengers for non-existent tolls and/or inflating toll charges for trips with a toll, totaling approximately $1,402 in overcharges between September 11, 2015, and March 17, 2017. The defendant is next due in court December 16, 2021.
The following six individuals pleaded guilty on Friday, November 19, 2021, to a violation. The details of their charges are below, according to each of their criminal complaints:
-MD ARIFUZZAMAN, 34, of Flushing, N.Y. was charged with overcharging approximately 620 customers for non-existent tolls and/or inflating toll charges for trips with a toll, totaling approximately $4,539 in overcharges between July 4, 2015, and March 18, 2017.
• YEVGENY OSTROV, 60, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was charged with overcharging approximately 600 passengers for non-existent tolls and/or inflating toll charges for trips with a toll, totaling approximately $2,151 in overcharges between July 1, 2015, and January 15, 2016. TLC revoked this defendant’s TLC license as a result of a matter unrelated to this fraud case.
• MANDEEP SINGH, 31, of Jamaica, N.Y. was charged with overcharging approximately 153 passengers for non-existent tolls and/or inflating toll charges for trips with a toll, totaling approximately $1,350 in overcharges between October 24, 2015, and March 15, 2017.
• ANVER KERIMOV, 62, of Staten Island, N.Y., was charged with overcharging approximately 116 passengers for non-existent tolls and/or inflating toll charges for trips with a toll, totaling approximately $1,270 in overcharges between approximately July 26, 2015, and February 7, 2017. • MOATAZ ATTIA, 44, of Queens, N.Y., was charged with overcharging approximately 330 passengers for nonexistent tolls and/or inflating toll charges for trips with a toll, totaling approximately $1,256 in overcharges between July 4, 2015, and January 25, 2017.
• ALY EL-DOKSH, 48, of Bethpage, N.Y., was charged with overcharging approximately 242 passengers for non-existent tolls and/or inflating toll charges for trips with a toll, totaling approximately $1,076 in overcharges between approximately July 1, 2015, and March 17, 2017. This defendant failed to renew his TLC license, according to TLC.
Acting Commissioner Daniel Cort thanked Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., and his staff, for their partnership and prosecutions of this matter; and thanked TLC Commissioner Aloysee Heredia Jarmoszuk, and her staff, for their assistance and cooperation.
The investigation was conducted by DOI’s Office of the Inspector General for TLC, specifically Assistant Inspector General Aleksandro Tilka, under the supervision of Deputy Inspector General Arturo Sanchez, Inspector General Whitney Ferguson, Deputy Commissioner/Chief of Investigations Dominick Zarrella, and Acting First Deputy Commissioner Philip Hung.
Manhattan Justice is made possible through a unique partnership between the Center for Court Innovation, CASES, the Osborne Association, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the New York City Department of Social Services, the New York State Unified Court System, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, the local defense bar, and dozens of community-based service providers. More information on the program can be found here.
DOI is one of the oldest law-enforcement agencies in the country and New York City’s corruption watchdog. Investigations may involve any agency, officer, elected official or employee of the City, as well as those who do business with or receive benefits from the City. DOI’s strategy attacks corruption comprehensively through systemic investigations that lead to high-impact arrests, preventive internal controls and operational reforms that improve the way the City runs.