The NYC Streets Plan has been Released! Register now for a Listening Session - Tuesday Dec 14 1-3 PM, Thursday Dec 16 6 - 8 PM

 

Click the buttons below or go to nyc.gov/nycstreetsplan to read the NYC Streets Plan and register for a listening session: Register: Virtual Listening Session - Tuesday, December 14, 1-3 PM Register: Virtual Listening Session - Thursday, December 16, 6-8 PM On December 1, the New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) released the NYC Streets Plan! The five-year Plan is geared towards improving the safety, accessibility, and quality of the City’s streets for all New Yorkers. This summer, the NYC Streets Plan team heard from roughly 14,000 New Yorkers from across all five boroughs on how to improve the places they walk, drive, bike, ride the bus, and spend time with friends. This outreach featured a series of ten virtual public workshops, the launch of a virtual engagement platform in ten languages, and telephone interviews to ensure we received input from residents in areas of the city that have been historically underrepresented. Feedback helped us craft recommendations and identify priorities for the next five years. NYC DOT invites you to attend one of our upcoming virtual listening sessions to present the NYC Streets Plan and hear feedback from New Yorkers. This is a key component of the Streets Plan Public Education Campaign. Listening sessions will occur on Tuesday, December 14, from 1-3 PM and Thursday, December 16, from 6-8 PM. All sessions are open to anyone who would like to attend. They will be conducted in English and Spanish with the opportunity to request live interpretation services in other languages. For questions, please email nycstreetsplan@publicworkspartners.com.

Stay up to date with more information on the NYC Streets Plan

EDITOR'S NOTE:

The plan’s recommendations can be summarized as follows: 

Street Design: Do more – Build on our existing successful street design programs, including: 

» Implement more and better safety redesign projects to meet Vision Zero goals 

» Expand infrastructure for transit, cycling, and pedestrians 

» Solve bottlenecks in the project implementation process 

Transformative Ideas: Take on new efforts needed to achieve our goals, including: 

» Reduce dangerous vehicles and drivers on our streets 

» Dramatically increase automated enforcement 

» Reform on-street parking 

» Improve connectivity around our highways 

Equity Focus: Add an explicit equity lens to our work, including: 

» Focus investment in areas that need it most 

» Engage communities proactively about transportation in their neighborhoods 

» Make the city accessible to all.

Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19 - DECEMBER 7, 2021

 

105,392 Vaccine Doses Administered Over Last 24 Hours    

52 COVID-19 Deaths Statewide Yesterday     

Two More Omicron Cases Confirmed in Broome and Westchester Counties

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

"It will take all of us coming together and doing our part as New Yorkers to ensure we are able to enjoy this holiday season safely," Governor Hochul said. "We know what we need to do to limit the spread and prevent serious illness from the COVID-19 virus - get the shot if you haven't already, get the booster if you have, and keep your loved ones safe and healthy by making sure they get vaccinated too."

Today's data is summarized briefly below:  

• Test Results Reported - 149,184
• Total Positive - 8,210
• Percent Positive - 5.50%
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 4.87%
• Patient Hospitalization - 3,401 (+116)
• Patients Newly Admitted - 412
• Patients in ICU - 631 (+10)
• Patients in ICU with Intubation - 352 (+17)
• Total Discharges - 217,982 (+280)
• New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 52 
• Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 46,860
  
  
  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 - 59,645
  
  
  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 - 30,620,440
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours - 105,392
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days - 856,384
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose - 86.4%   
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series - 78.7%  
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 91.8% 
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 81.2%  
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose - 74.8%  
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series - 67.3%  
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 79.4%  
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 69.2% 

Defendant Sentenced To 18 Years In Prison For 2011 Murder Of Joshua Rubin

 

 Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that MICHAEL MAZUR was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Jed S. Rakoff to 216 months in prison for his role in the October 31, 2011, murder of Joshua Rubin in Brooklyn, New York.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Michael Mazur participated in the robbery that led to the murder of Joshua Rubin, and then he and his codefendants put Rubin’s body in the trunk of a car, drove it to Pennsylvania, dumped it in a garbage can, and set it afire to cover up the crime.  Thanks to our law enforcement partners and the Special Agents of my Office, Mazur will now serve a lengthy prison sentence for his callous crime.” 

According to the allegations in the Indictment and other documents filed in federal court, as well as statements made in public court proceedings:

On or about October 31, 2011, MICHAEL MAZUR, Kevin Taylor, and Gary Robles agreed to rob Joshua Rubin of a pound of marijuana.  Robles agreed to bring a firearm to the robbery.  Taylor lured Rubin to a Brooklyn apartment where, under the guise of purchasing the marijuana, the trio planned to rob Rubin of the drugs.  On the night of the robbery, Taylor and Robles waited inside the apartment while MAZUR was positioned outside to serve as a lookout.  After Rubin entered the apartment, Taylor and Robles demanded that Rubin surrender the marijuana.  When Rubin refused, Robles shot and killed Rubin.

After the murder, MAZUR, Taylor, and Robles placed Rubin’s body into the trunk of a car and drove to rural Pennsylvania.  There, MAZUR, Taylor, and Robles put Rubin’s body in a garbage can, doused it with an accelerant, and set the body on fire.  MAZUR, Taylor, and Robles then drove back to New York in the early morning hours of November 1, 2011.  Over 230 pounds of marijuana and approximately $200,000 were found in MAZUR’S residence at the time of his arrest.

MAZUR, 27, pled guilty to one count of Hobbs Act robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951, and in connection with his guilty plea admitted to his role in the murder.  In addition to his prison sentence, MAZUR, was sentenced to three years of supervised release.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York City Police Department, and the Special Agents of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.  He also thanked the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the South Whitehall Township Police Department for their assistance in the investigation.

Attorney General James Secures $40 Million From Vyera Pharmaceuticals, Bans Corporate Executive From Pharmaceutical Industry for Seven Years

 

Vyera and Former CEO Kevin Mulleady Stifled Competition After Raising Price on Lifesaving Drug More Than 4,000 Percent

Defendants to Pay Up to $40 Million as Disgorgement of Ill-Gotten Gains

Trial Against ‘Pharma Bro’ Martin Shkreli, Mastermind of Monopolistic Scheme, to Start Later This Month

 New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced an agreement that will end the illegal and monopolistic behavior of Vyera Pharmaceuticals — previously known as Turing Pharmaceuticals — and one of its former CEOs, Kevin Mulleady. The agreement also forces the company to pay up to $40 million and bans Mulleady from almost any role at a pharmaceutical company for seven years. Attorney General James continues to pursue her lawsuit against remaining defendant Martin Shkreli, the former Vyera CEO who was the architect of the illegal scheme. The trial against Shkreli is slated to begin on December 14. In January 2020, Attorney General James and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against Vyera, Shkreli, and Mulleady for antitrust violations that stifled competition and permitted the defendants to protect and maintain their monopoly profits from their more than 4,000 percent overnight increase — to $750 per pill — of the drug Daraprim (pyrimethamine). Daraprim is used to treat the parasitic disease toxoplasmosis, and, until relatively recently, was the only approved source of this life-saving medication by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

“Vyera and Mulleady, along with Martin Shkreli, shamelessly engaged in illegal conduct that allowed them to maintain their exorbitant and monopolistic price of a life-saving drug — letting pharma bros get rich, while others paid the price,” said Attorney General James. “We are forcing the company to pay up to $40 million to offset their ill-gotten gains and have now banned one of the CEOs from the pharmaceutical industry for seven years. Our trial against ‘pharma bro’ Martin Shkreli will commence later this month, where we will lay out Mr. Shkreli’s greedy, dangerous, and anticompetitive behavior. New Yorkers can trust that my office will do everything in its power to protect their health and their wallets, and will take every action possible to hold accountable companies — and individuals — for their illegal and anticompetitive behavior.”

Daraprim was, until recently, the only FDA-approved drug for the treatment of toxoplasmosis, a parasitic disease which may pose serious and often life-threating consequences for those with compromised immune systems, including babies born to women infected with the disease and individuals with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Until recently, Daraprim had been the only FDA-approved drug to treat acute toxoplasmosis, and it was the gold standard for decades — recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the HIV Medicine Association, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America as the initial therapy of choice for acute toxoplasmosis. Nevertheless — and despite being unpatented — there had never been a generic version of Daraprim sold in the United States, until recently. 

Before Mulleady and Shkreli’s involvement, Daraprim was cheap and accessible for decades. Then, in August 2015, Vyera purchased the drug, increased the price dramatically overnight, altered its distribution, and engaged in other conduct to delay and impede generic competition — all so that it could maintain the new sky-high price. The high price and distribution changes limited access to the drug, forcing many patients and physicians to make difficult and risky decisions for the treatment of a life-threatening disease.

The illegal scheme perpetrated by Vyera, Shkreli, and Mulleady involved restrictive distribution and supply agreements, as well as data secrecy, with the intent and effect of delaying entry by lower cost generic competitors.

In April 2020, the states of California, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia joined Attorney General James’ and the FTC’s lawsuit.

In the months leading up to this month's trial, the court issued several important rulings in favor of the plaintiffs, including a ruling addressing the Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) ability to obtain equitable monetary relief when individuals or companies repeatedly or persistently commit illegal acts in the state. That ruling confirmed the OAG’s authority to seek disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, regardless of where obtained, when the conduct has a nexus to New York. 

The terms of today’s agreement include a strict injunction against both the corporate defendant and Mulleady to avoid repetition of a similar scheme. In addition to the $40 million Vyera will pay for its wrongdoing, Mulleady will be subject to a seven-year ban from the pharmaceutical industry. Mulleady has also agreed to limit his shareholdings in any pharmaceutical company to nominal amounts, for 10 years.

Mulleady’s industry ban is a first for New York in an antitrust case and reflects Attorney General James’ policy that corporate executives who are personally and substantially involved with illegal schemes should be held accountable, not just the corporate entity.

The OAG wishes to thank the staff and leadership at the FTC for their partnership in this important matter, as well the assistance of the staff and leadership of its co-plaintiff states: California, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

Governor Hochul Announces $2 Million in Additional State Funding to Help Afghan Evacuees Resettle in New York State

 

First Gubernatorial Commitment of Funds to NYSESRP Brings Total State Commitment to $5 Million     

Enhanced Services to Help Nearly 1,800 Afghan Evacuees Acclimate to Life in New York State  

Focus on Helping New Arrivals Reach Economic, Educational, and Social Self-Sufficiency  

 Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that $2 million in additional state funding will be provided to help Afghan evacuees acclimate to life in New York, bringing the total state commitment to $5 million. This is the first gubernatorial commitment of such funds in New York State.

"For generations, immigrants have come to New York and the U.S. seeking freedom and opportunity—their contributions defining and strengthening the fabric of our state and nation," Governor Hochul said. "With Afghan evacuees fleeing widespread instability in their own country, New York State is proud to take a leading role in the massive resettlement effort, and with this historic, first-of-its-kind investment, we will connect people with the support they need to flourish in their new home. I also thank President Biden and Governor Markell for their efforts welcoming our friends and allies to our shores."

The funds will be administered through the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance's (OTDA) New York State Enhanced Services to Refugees Program (NYSESRP), and award letters will be issued within one week of the announcement. The funds will be distributed to more than one dozen nonprofit partners throughout the state that are providing intensive assistance to 1,790 Afghan evacuees that since September and continuing over the coming months have arrived or will arrive in New York State. Approximately 250 evacuees are scheduled to arrive in Albany, 495 in Buffalo, 190 in the New York City area, 50 in Niagara Falls, 275 in Rochester, 10 in Rockville Center, 420 in Syracuse, 50 in Utica, and 50 in Yonkers. Governor Hochul made the announcement while delivering virtual remarks on Afghan Resettlement efforts with White House Coordinator for 'Operation Allies Welcome' Jack Markell and Bard College President Leon Botstein. 

The New York State Legislature has secured $3 million in funding for NYSERP in the current year's budget. Governor Hochul is committing an additional $2 million so existing services can be supplemented and allow for more intensive acculturation services for an extended period of time to address the immediate and long-term needs of persons arriving from Afghanistan.  

The enhanced services supported with the additional funding include:  

• Culturally competent orientations to help individuals and families acclimate to life in New York State.  
• Additional support to help access mental health services to address recently experienced trauma.  
• English language instruction.  
• Access to job training and job placement services.  
• Case-management to ensure children are enrolled in school and accessing services to support academic success.  
• Help obtaining necessary benefits and drivers licenses.  
• Other services that meet the needs of the individual or family so they can attain economic independence and thrive.

NYSERP contracts with nonprofit partners across the state that provide services including case management, employment and training services, English language training, as well as health and medical services to newly arrived refugees in the U.S., Special Immigrant Visa holders and asylees. The program funds local refugee resettlement agencies which work with individuals and families to help them attain economic and social self-sufficiency and integrate into the community.  

This funding builds on existing State efforts to directly support and house Afghan refugees. For example, SUNY, partnering with OTDA and the NYS Office for New Americans, will provide housing, educational services, career and workforce supports, technology and a vast array of additional services with other community partners. In an effort to help Afghan evacuees resettle in New York, Governor Hochul announced in October that SUNY will open its 10 Educational Opportunity Centers to them by waiving the one-year residency requirement for admission. Some of SUNY's campuses are also partnering with local agencies to house evacuees in vacant dorms. SUNY will also provide excess laptops to Afghan evacuees to provide access to educational programming. 

The resettlement of families and individuals from Afghanistan is the largest resettlement effort in such a short period of time that has occurred in our lifetimes. New York is proudly taking a leading role in assisting the Afghan evacuees' successful integration into the U.S.   

Long Island Man Charged with Mailing Threatening Letters to LGBTQ+ Affiliated Individuals and Organizations

 

Defendant Allegedly Threatened Bombings and Mass Shooting That Would Make the 2016 Orlando Pulse Nightclub Attack “Look Like a Cakewalk”

 A criminal complaint was unsealed today in federal court in Central Islip charging Robert Fehring with mailing letters threatening to assault, shoot, and bomb LGBTQ+ affiliated individuals, organizations, and businesses. Fehring was arrested this morning and will make his initial appearance this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Steven I. Locke.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the arrest.

“As alleged, the defendant's hate-filled invective and threats of violence directed at members of the LGBTQ+ community have no place in our society and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," stated United States Attorney Peace.  “This Office is firmly committed to protecting the civil rights of all members of every community in this district, including the LGBTQ+ community and other minority communities.”

“Fehring’s alleged threats to members of the LGBTQ+ community were not only appalling, but dangerous, despite the fact he hadn’t yet acted on his purported intentions,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Driscoll.  “As the primary federal agency responsible for investigating civil rights violations, the FBI takes all threats of this nature seriously. If you or someone you know has received a similar threat, report it to us by calling 1-800-CALLFBI. In an emergency, always call your local police department.”  

As set forth in the complaint, since at least 2013, Fehring has been sending individuals associated with the LGBTQ+ community letters in which he threatened violence, including threatening the use of firearms and explosives. One letter threatened that there would “be radio-cont[r]olled devices placed at numerous strategic places” at the 2021 New York City Pride March with “firepower” that would “make the 2016 Orlando Pulse Nightclub shooting look like a cakewalk,” referencing the 2016 attack in which 49 persons were killed and dozens wounded at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. 

Fehring is also alleged to have a sent a letter threatening the organizer of a June 2021 Pride event in East Meadow, New York, which stated:

“[W]e were right there you…FREAK!!!  They couldn’t get a shot off at you, slithering around the back stage area like a snake.  Too many cops.  Very disappointed.  But your time has come. . .. They are out to KILL you….and your boyfriend.  You are being watched.  No matter how long it takes, you will be taken out…. high-powered bullet…. bomb….knife…. whatever it takes.”

On November 18, 2021, members of the FBI’s Civil Rights Squad and the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force executed a search warrant at Fehring’s home in Bayport, New York, and recovered photographs from a June 2021 Pride event in East Meadow, New York, two loaded shotguns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, two stun guns, and a stamped envelope addressed to an LGBTQ+ affiliated attorney containing the remains of a dead bird. 

The charge in the complaint is an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Former Head of LADWP Agrees to Plead Guilty to Bribery Charge

 

  The former general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) has agreed to plead guilty to a federal criminal charge for accepting bribes from a lawyer in exchange for his official action to secure a three-year, $30 million no-bid LADWP contract for the lawyer’s company, the Justice Department announced today.

          David H. Wright, 62, of Riverside, agreed to plead guilty to a one-count information charging him with bribery, a crime that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. In the plea agreement, Wright also admitted he participated in several other corrupt schemes while the head of LADWP.

          The information and Wright’s plea agreement were filed today in United States District Court. Wright is expected to make his initial appearance in this case on December 10.

          According to his plea agreement, Wright served as LADWP’s general manager from September 2016 until July 2019, when he resigned at the direction of the mayor of Los Angeles. In this role, Wright was the chief executive of the largest municipal utility in the United States.

          During 2016 and 2017, Wright developed a relationship with Paul O. Paradis, 58, of Scottsdale, Arizona, a lawyer appointed by the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office to represent LADWP in a lawsuit in which the department blamed the vendor of its billing system for the misbilling of hundreds of thousands of ratepayers. Paradis and his New York-based law firm also held a $6 million LADWP contract to provide project management services in connection with the department’s remediation of the faulty billing system.

          Paradis has agreed to plead guilty to a bribery charge for accepting an illicit kickback of nearly $2.2 million for getting another attorney to purportedly represent his ratepayer client in a collusive lawsuit against LADWP related to the billing debacle. Paradis is cooperating with the ongoing investigation into the collusive litigation and corruption at LADWP. Paradis is expected to make his initial court appearance on December 16.

          By early 2017, Wright and Paradis agreed that — in exchange for Wright’s support of a “no-bid” $30 million contract for Paradis’s downtown Los Angeles-based company Aventador Utility Services LLC — Paradis would give Wright a million-dollar-per-year job as Aventador’s CEO and a luxury company car once Wright retired from LADWP.

          In exchange, Wright lobbied members of the LADWP board of directors to persuade them to vote in favor of the contract for Aventador, whose company name was taken from a model of Lamborghini sports car. He also drafted a letter to the LADWP board touting the purpose of the contract and the company’s capabilities and explaining why the contract had to be granted on a no-bid basis, rather than allowing competitive bids from other companies. Wright enlisted the help of LADWP employees, including other senior executives, to support the Aventador contract, and he prepared an oral and written presentation to the LADWP board urging the contract’s approval.

          In his public presentation to the LADWP board, Wright cited to a report from a court-appointed independent monitor overseeing the ratepayer settlement and warned that LADWP could not meet its court-ordered obligations unless it contracted with Aventador. Wright did not inform the LADWP board that the independent monitor’s report had been secretly ghostwritten by Paradis, a fact that Wright knew because he had planned it with Paradis.

          At the time it approved the $30 million no-bid contract in June 2017, the LADWP board was also not informed of Wright’s agreement with Paradis to take a lucrative job as Aventador’s CEO upon retiring from LADWP.

          After the awarding of the contract, through early 2019, Wright continued to collaborate with Paradis to build and market Aventador and to seek additional lucrative business opportunities for it — and thus for Wright and Paradis — both inside and outside LADWP. For example, Wright directed Paradis to draft an LADWP settlement agreement in a way that would create future business opportunities for the company. Wright also told Paradis that they should do “the minimal possible” with respect to the LADWP billing system upgrade so that the project would not need to occupy Wright’s attention during his remaining tenure. Beyond LADWP, Wright used his position as LADWP’s general manager to advertise Aventador's services at industry events and in meetings and discussions with other industry officials and executives.

          In May 2018, Wright and Paradis met with executives from a global company providing cybersecurity training services, identified in court documents as “Cyber Company.” Wright and Paradis invested in a Cyber Company franchise in Los Angeles in which they each would have an ownership interest. They further agreed that Wright would use his position and influence as general manager to convince the LADWP Board to authorize the department’s purchase of $15 million in services from their Cyber Company franchise, which secretly would benefit both Wright and Paradis financially.

          By March 2019, Paradis had been forced to resign from his role as special counsel to the City Attorney’s Office. Around this time, the LADWP board voted to terminate Aventador’s contract, but agreed to retain the company’s services if Paradis sold his stake in the company and disavowed any interest in the company, which Paradis purported to do. In late March 2019, after Paradis sold the company to an employee, Aventador officially changed its name to Ardent Cyber Solutions LLC.

          In late March 2019, after Paradis had begun covertly cooperating with the FBI, Wright met with Paradis at Wright’s home and directed Paradis to destroy their incriminating text messages and emails from Wright’s cell phone and Apple iCloud account, and to take back an Aventador laptop and wipe it clean. Wright told Paradis that he had already gone through his office at LADWP and destroyed all incriminating physical evidence.

          At this meeting, Wright also told Paradis that he still wanted to continue their secret plans, stating that he felt that his future had been “resurrected” by the opportunity to further their corrupt scheme. Wright cautioned that they would need to create a new company, which they referred to as “Newco,” to replace Aventador and its successor Ardent, because those companies were tarnished because of bad publicity. The two men continued to contact and meet one another in private. Due to Wright’s fears that their corrupt communications would be detected, they orchestrated a clandestine dead-drop maneuver for Paradis to deliver Wright’s wiped cell phone and a “burner” cell phone for Wright’s use so that they could communicate in secret.

          In April 2019, Wright used his position to urge the LADWP board to support the award of a new cybersecurity contract to Ardent for more than $10 million. Wright again did not inform the board of his secret arrangement with Paradis, which by then included their agreement that Wright would receive a “substantial sign-on bonus” of $600,000 or $1.2 million, as well as an increase in his ownership of their company, in addition to a previously agreed-to $1 million annual salary and luxury car.

          In May 2019, Wright suggested to Paradis that he remain in his role as LADWP general manager for a few more months so he could help ensure that Ardent secured yet another contract from the department. Understanding that he could not legally receive payment from Ardent while he was still employed by LADWP, Wright suggested that he could secretly begin working for Ardent before his retirement and then later be compensated by “some retroactive money” for those services. In proposing this illicit payment arrangement, Wright referred to Paradis as his “ATM.”

          Wright admitted in his plea agreement that he deprived LADWP and its ratepayers of their right to his honest services and violated the fiduciary duty that he, as general manager, owed to LADWP and its ratepayers. Wright further admitted that he lied to federal investigators in June 2019 when he told them that he did not have any financial or business interest – including future interests – in any company in which Paradis was associated. Wright also admitted that he destroyed evidence with the intent to obstruct the federal investigation.

          The FBI is investigating this matter. Any member of the public who has information related to this or any other public corruption matter in the City of Los Angeles is encouraged to send information to the FBI’s email tip line at pctips-losangeles@fbi.gov or to contact the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office at (310) 477-6565.

SCHUMER: A KEY TO CONTROLLING OMICRON IS THE AT-HOME TEST; SENATOR URGES SURGE OF AT-HOME TESTS TO NEW YORK COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS & MOBILE SITES SO PEOPLE CAN JUST PICK ONE UP

 

With Omicron Now On-The-Move Across U.S., Schumer Says Expanding Access To At-Home Tests ASAP Is Critical Key To Keeping Variant Under Control

Senator Wants A Surge Of FREE At-Home Tests For NY; Says COVID Relief Bills He’s ALREADY Passed Can Foot This Cost 

Schumer: Omicron Shouldn’t Mean Panic, It Should Mean Planning 

 With COVID’s Omicron variant spreading, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer said the key to controlling it centers around the at-home tests now for sale across the country. Schumer praised President Biden for prepping a plan to be released on January 15th that will have insurance companies reimburse for the cost of an at-home test—but, he said, while we wait, he wants a surge of rapid at-home tests sent to New York community health centers and their mobile sites, across the state.  

“While many portions of the country are waiting for the omicron variant to arrive, New York already has cases—but this doesn’t mean we should panic. It means we should be planning,” said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. 

“You see, a key to controlling Omicron is the at-home test, where you can swab your own nose, follow simple steps, determine if you have COVID, and take the right steps thereafter. Right now, these at-home tests are pretty affordable across the country, but they’re not free, but they should be. So, I am asking for the feds to send a surge of these to New York CHCs and their mobile sites where they should come at no cost. We should be arming the public with at-home tests to stay ahead of this variant into the winter,” Schumer added.   

Schumer urged for these at-home tests to be totally free, as in no fine print. He said people should be able to walk into a CHC or visit one of their mobile sites and pick up an at-home test free of charge. Schumer urged a surge of the at-home tests to New York, especially, saying that omicron is already here and that we must work now to contain its spread. Schumer said the funds to pay for these free tests have already been appropriated to HHS via the American Rescue Plan (ARP) he helped pass through Congress and the president signed into law.

Last week, the Biden administration announced its winter plan to beat back COVID. The administration will soon mandate insurers reimburse Americans for purchasing at-home tests. Three federal departments will issue the guidance for this action on Jan. 15. The guidance will stipulate that people who buy the tests will be able to seek reimbursement from their group health plan or health insurer and have it covered during the public-health emergency, according to the Wall Street Journal. The administration has authority to do this under legislation that Congress passed in March that required group health plans and issuers to cover diagnostic Covid-19 testing, the Journal reported. 

In the meantime, Schumer, today, is saying that sending a surge of these at-home tests to New York can once again utilize the CHC infrastructure that made getting shots in arms successful during the earliest days of vaccine availability. 

The Omicron variant has been detected in 11 states so far, and about 40 countries. Scientists are also still investigating the impact of the Omicron variant, how contagious it is, how easily it might spread, and more. Schumer, today, said this is exactly why a surge of at-home tests and a campaign to have people use them could make all the difference.

“We have this tool we didn’t have early on—an at-home test,” said Schumer. “It’s one of the keys to keeping this recovery going, and we ought to use them.”

According to the WHO, the most effective steps individuals can take to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus is to keep a physical distance of at least 6-feet; wear a well-fitting mask; open windows to improve ventilation; avoid poorly ventilated or crowded spaces; keep hands clean; cough or sneeze into a bent elbow or tissue; and get vaccinated. 

There are more than 70 federal community health centers (CHC) with 800 sites throughout New York, according to the Community Health Care Association of NY.