MAYOR ADAMS, SBS COMMISSIONER KIM KICK OFF NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS WEEK WITH EVENTS PLANNED IN ALL FIVE BOROUGHS OVER FIVE DAYS

 

Mayor Signs Executive Order Establishing a Small Business Advisory Commission 

 

Five-Borough Celebration Tour Will Encourage New Yorkers to Shop Local, Raise Awareness of Services to Help Small Businesses Recover and Grow 

  New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS) Commissioner Kevin D. Kim today kicked off a grand celebration of National Small Business Week with five days of events planned in all five boroughs. The events will raise awareness of the many resources and services SBS offers to small businesses, encourage New Yorkers to shop local, and celebrate small businesses that are at the heart of the city’s economic recovery and growth. The week-long celebration will also recognize the city’s ethnically diverse neighborhoods and immigrant-owned businesses. 

 

Mayor Adams also today signed Executive Order 15 that establishes a Small Business Advisory Commission, a key commitment in the “Rebuild, Renew, Reinvent, A Blueprint for New York City Economic Recovery.” The commission, which is comprised of small business leaders throughout the five boroughs, will be tasked with helping the city cut red tape, improving business services and programming, and promoting an equitable, broad-based recovery. 

 

“New York is a big city of small businesses, which make our city vibrant, resilient, and reliable,” said Mayor Adams. “We are celebrating National Small Business Week by taking the city’s small business services on tour in every borough. And by establishing a Small Business Advisory Commission, we are empowering small business leaders to help shape an inclusive economic recovery.” 

 

“When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, it posed a historic challenge to New York City’s small businesses but in every borough, small business owners and workers demonstrated remarkable courage and resilience and stepped up to serve their communities,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic and Workforce Development Maria Torres-Springer. “That is why our ‘Renew, Rebuild, Reinvent’ report lays out a roadmap for a five-borough recovery, putting our small businesses front and center. This administration will continue to equip them with the resources they need to open, stay open and flourish.” 

 

“The best way to help New York City’s small businesses is to meet them where they are, and on their terms,” said SBS Commissioner Kim. “During National Small Business Week, we are bringing our mobile unit to every borough and celebrating our small businesses with everything from synchronized dance to food and giveaways. I hope every small business owner takes the time to join us at one of the events so they can learn more about our services and join the fun.”    

 

“Supporting small businesses is critical for our economic recovery,” said Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga. “I am proud to work with the mayor and the New York City Department of Small Business Services every day to build a city where workers, consumers, and businesses alike can thrive.” 

 

The celebration in each borough will feature neighborhood-specific themes and entertainment, starting with a speaking program, giveaways, and a resource fair where small businesses will learn about SBS services, including business mentorship and financial and legal assistance, as well as give businesses the opportunity to meet with representatives from a variety of city agencies in addition to community partners. Based on the specific neighborhood, materials will be available in a variety of languages including Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Korean, Haitian Creole, and Bengali.  

 

The SBS Mobile Unit will also be present at each location with SBS staff providing one-on-one access to services for small businesses and residents looking for employment. The Mobile Unit provides direct services to New Yorkers in their communities, with a range of services including connection to business technical support, workforce training opportunities, job matching, benefits screenings, and more in tandem with agency partners.  These services are an adjunct to the same services provided by SBS's 7 NYC Business Solutions Centers and 18 Workforce1 Career Centers located throughout the five boroughs. 

 

Throughout the week, SBS will be promoting its Shop Your City campaign, which encourages New Yorkers to support local small businesses. An updated version of the Shop Your City website includes a calendar of upcoming events, as well as maps and lists of small businesses grouped by location and owner demographic to help residents and visitors discover small businesses to support in New York City. As part of the campaign, SBS is running digital and print ads in community and ethnic media throughout May and June to increase awareness across the city’s diverse communities. 

 

Schedule of Events for National Small Business Week: 

Monday, May 2^nd: Kick-off celebration at Marcy Plaza in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn 

2:45 PM – 3:15 PM - Speaking program and partners:  

• Bridge Street Development Corporation   

• Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation   
• Bed-Stuy Gateway BID  

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Resource fair 

 

Tuesday, May 3^rd:  Celebrating with the Staten Island FerryHawks and Sri Lankan Dance Academy of NY at Staten Island Borough Hall in St. George 

1:30 PM - 2:00 PM: Speaking program and partners: 

• Staten Island Chamber of Commerce 

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Resource fair 

 

Wednesday, May 4^th: Celebrating Small Business Week and Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Month with partners featuring cultural performances of Chinese ribbon dancers and puppet theatre at Chinatown’s Chatham Square in Lower Manhattan 

1:30 PM - 2:00 PM - Speaking program and partners: 

• Chinatown BID  
• Welcome to Chinatown 

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Resource fair 

 

Thursday, May 5^th: Cinco de Mayo celebration with mariachi band El Mariachi Tapatio de Alvaro Paulino at the Manuel de Dios Unanue Triangle in Jackson Heights 

1:30 PM - 2:00 PM - Speaking program and partners: 

• 82^nd Street Partnership   
• Queens Chamber of Commerce 

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Resource fair 

 

Friday, May 6^th: Celebrating Bronx Week with Eid music and festivities at the Triangle on Rhinelander and White Plains Road in the Bronx  

1:30 PM - 2:00 PM – Speaking program and partners: 

• Yemeni American Merchants Association 
• Morris Park BID 
• Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation 
• Bronx Chamber of Commerce 

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Resource fair     

 

“Our mom-and-pop shops, restaurants, neighborhood bars, bodegas, barbershops, hair salons, and other local establishments are the lifeline and community anchors that shape the vibrant culture and diversity of our neighborhoods in the Bronx,” said Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson. “The pandemic had a devastating effect on our small business community, and while many of them struggled to stay afloat, they continued to serve and feed our communities. As we attempt to recover financially from COVID-19, it is important that we not only support our local businesses, but also provide them with the necessary tools to generate economic growth and wealth in our borough. I am excited this year to join Mayor Adams and Commissioner Kim from the New York City Department of Small Business Services in celebration of National Small Business Week and Bronx Week, to truly highlight and recognize our small business community, their resiliency, and vital contributions to our city.” 

 

“Our small businesses are essential fabric in the vibrant tapestry of Bronx neighborhoods and deserve special acknowledgement this week and every week,” said Lisa Sorin, president, Bronx Chamber of Commerce. “We are very grateful for the ongoing support of New York City Small Business Services and our fellow business-focused partner organizations to create a destination event that will both highlight local shops and allow for wider sharing of important small business resources by our Bronx Chamber outreach team and related networks.” 

 

DEC ANNOUNCES $2 MILLION IN GRANTS NOW AVAILABLE TO BOLSTER FOOD SCRAPS RECYCLING STATEWIDE

 

Funding Builds on Progress to Reduce Waste, Recycle Food Scraps

 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos today announced $2 million in new grant funding is now available to municipalities statewide to help establish or expand food scrap recycling programs and facilities. The first $1 million in grants will prioritize eligible projects that dedicate at least half of the funding to serving Environmental Justice communities to ensure these communities disproportionately overburdened by environmental pollution are able to participate in the initiative’s climate and waste-reduction benefits.

“Food scrap recycling infrastructure is critical to achieve New York’s waste diversion goals and these grants help ensure equitable access to this new funding opportunity,” said Commissioner Seggos. “Composting can help protect our shared environment by diverting food waste to help reduce our dependance on landfills, protect the planet from harmful methane emissions, and recycle organic nutrients back into the soil to grow healthy food. In addition, successful programs like the Food Donation and Food Waste Scraps Recycling Law support the State’s efforts under Governor Kathy Hochul’s leadership to reduce waste and climate-altering emissions while getting hundreds of thousands of pounds of quality food to New Yorkers in need.”

Commissioner Seggos celebrated the announcement at an event at the Radix Ecological Sustainability Center in the city of Albany with Mayor Kathy Sheehan, recognizing the city’s food scraps drop-off location and compost education program. The city received a $225,000 Food Waste Reduction grant from DEC in 2019 and is putting it to work in the community.

To qualify for the municipal food scrap recycling grants, municipalities must submit an application to DEC. For additional information visit https://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/97456.html.

This new funding is supported by the State Environmental Protection Fund (EPF). Among the many environmental victories in the enacted 2022-23 State Budget, Governor Hochul and legislative leaders increased the EPF to $400 million, the highest-ever level of funding in the program's history. This boost includes an increase of $500,000 for organics recycling that is part of a total increase of $3.7 million for municipal recycling over last year’s budget. The EPF supports climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts, improves agricultural resources to promote sustainable agriculture, protects water sources, advances conservation efforts, and provides recreational opportunities for New Yorkers.

Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19 - MAY 2, 2022

 

Central New York 7-Day Average Case Rate Has Declined 12% Over the Past Week

Finger Lakes 7-Day Average Case Rate Has Leveled Off Over the Past Week

15 Statewide Deaths Reported Yesterday

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

"I remind all New Yorkers to stay vigilant so that we can continue to safely navigate through this pandemic," Governor Hochul said. "Make sure to get vaccinated and stay up to date on the booster once you are eligible. Get tested if you're feeling sick, especially before travelling, and talk to your doctor about available treatments if you test positive."

Today's data is summarized briefly below:   

• Cases Per 100k - 26.13
• 7-Day Average Cases Per 100k - 37.11
• Test Results Reported - 69,991
• Total Positive - 5,107
• Percent Positive - 6.81%**  
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 6.77%**
• Patient Hospitalization - 1,920 (+72)
• Patients Newly Admitted - 287
• Patients in ICU - 199 (+10)
• Patients in ICU with Intubation - 70 (+6)
• Total Discharges - 297,053 (+213)
• New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 15
• Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 55,508

** Due to the test reporting policy change by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and several other factors, the most reliable metric to measure virus impact on a community is the case per 100,000 data -- not percent positivity.  

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.    

Important Note: Effective Monday, April 4, the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is no longer requiring testing facilities that use COVID-19 rapid antigen tests to report negative results. As a result, New York State's percent positive metric will be computed using only lab-reported PCR results. Positive antigen tests will still be reported to New York State and reporting of new daily cases and cases per 100k will continue to include both PCR and antigen tests. Due to this change and other factors, including changes in testing practices, the most reliable metric to measure virus impact on a community is the case per 100,000 data -- not percent positivity.  

• Total deaths reported to and compiled by the CDC - 70,860

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 - 38,371,731
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours - 10,304
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days - 167,996
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose - 92.4%  
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series - 83.7%  
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 95.0%  
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 86.9%  
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 83.1%  
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 73.1%  
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose - 81.9%  
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series - 74.2%  
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 90.2%  
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 76.9%  

Each New York City borough's 7-day average percentage of positive test results reported over the last three days is as follows **:      

Borough	Friday, April 29, 2022	Saturday, April 30, 2022	Sunday, May 1, 2022
Bronx	2.77%	2.74%	2.69%
Kings	3.60%	3.71%	3.76%
New York	4.30%	4.51%	4.49%
Queens	4.96%	4.87%	4.85%
Richmond	4.70%	4.45%	4.31%

U.S. Attorney Announces Settlement Of Fraud Lawsuit Against Online Pharmacy For Overdispensing Insulin

 

Amazon Subsidiary PillPack Will Pay $5.79 Million and Admits Dispensing Insulin Pens that Exceeded Days-of-Supply Limits

 Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Scott J. Lampert, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (“HHS-OIG”) New York Regional Office, announced today that the United States filed and settled a healthcare fraud lawsuit against online retail pharmacy PillPack, LLC (“PillPack”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc.  The settlement resolves allegations that PillPack improperly billed Government healthcare programs (“GHPs”), including Medicare and Medicaid, for more insulin pens than patients needed according to their prescriptions and falsely under-reported the days-of-supply of insulin dispensed.  Under the settlement, PillPack agreed to pay approximately $5.79 million to the United States and various States that were fraudulently overbilled for insulin.  As part of the settlement, PillPack also admitted and accepted responsibility for certain conduct the Government alleged in its Complaint, including that it dispensed insulin pens that exceeded days-of-supply limits imposed by GHPs.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said:  “Pharmacies are trusted to provide accurate information to Government healthcare programs and to prevent waste when dispensing medications to patients.  PillPack abused this trust by dispensing insulin refills long before patients needed them and by falsely reporting the days-of-supply of insulin actually dispensed to prevent its claims for reimbursement from being denied.  This Office will continue to hold pharmacies accountable when they submit false information and waste taxpayer dollars.”

Insulin pens (hard plastic pen-shaped cases containing syringes filled with insulin solution) are a common way for diabetic patients to self-administer insulin.  Manufacturers most frequently distribute insulin pens in five-pen cartons with each pen containing 300 units (3 mL) of insulin solution.  Pharmacies can dispense such pens to patients only with valid prescriptions from licensed prescribers.  Valid insulin prescriptions must set forth the “directions for use,” which typically designate both how much insulin to administer and the frequency and/or timing of when to administer it.

When PillPack sought reimbursement from GHPs for insulin pens, it was required to report, among other data, the quantity dispensed and the days-of-supply.  The “quantity dispensed” specifies the amount of medication being dispensed to a patient when the pharmacy fills the prescription, and the “days-of-supply” refers to the number of days that the dispensed medication should last if the patient uses it according to the directions for use in the prescription.  Typically, to calculate days-of-supply, a pharmacist divides the total quantity of medication being dispensed to a particular patient by that patient’s “daily dose,” i.e., the amount of medication that the prescriber directs the patient to use each day. 

GHPs impose dispensing limits for prescription drugs, including insulin pens, in terms of quantity and days-of-supply and will deny a claim if the reported days-of-supply exceeds those limits, unless an override is obtained.  GHPs typically calculate the date on which a prescription refill would be needed (the “refill due date”) based on the date when a patient last filled a prescription and the days-of-supply reported by the pharmacy for that prior fill.  GHPs also typically establish automated processes to deny claims for reimbursement for refills that are submitted too far in advance of the refill due dates.  The reliability of these processes depends on the accuracy of the days-of-supply reported by pharmacies.

As alleged in the Government’s Complaint:

From April 2014 through November 2019 (the “Covered Period”), PillPack’s general practice was to dispense insulin pens to patients using full cartons.  PillPack would dispense and bill for the full carton, and falsely under report the days-of-supply to make it appear that the dispensing did not violate the program’s days-of-supply limit.

The practice of under-reporting days-of-supply also led PillPack to dispense premature refills to program beneficiaries.  Whenever PillPack recorded in its internal system the inaccurate lower days-of-supply that were submitted to conform with the GHP’s days-of-supply limit, the system would generate a premature refill due date.  As a result, PillPack pharmacists frequently dispensed insulin pen refills days or weeks before patients actually needed them according to their prescriptions. 

The settlement requires PillPack to pay $5,616,136.85 to the United States, and PillPack has agreed separately to pay $175,522.55 to state governments, for a total of $5,791,659.40.  Under the settlement, PillPack admitted, among other things, that:

• During the Covered Period, PillPack’s insulin pen dispensing practice was to supply patients with a full carton of insulin pens.  In many instances, this resulted in exceeding the GHP’s applicable days-of-supply limit.  Instead of accurately reporting the days-of-supply and contacting the GHP or its agent to attain the requisite override, in many instances PillPack would dispense and bill for the full carton, and reduce the days-of-supply reported to the GHP to conform to the GHP’s days-of-supply limit.   As a result, for those claims, PillPack reported days-of-supply data to GHPs that were different from, and lower than, the days-of-supply that should have been reported had PillPack calculated days-of-supply according to the typical pharmacy billing formula of dividing the quantity of insulin dispensed by the daily dose.
• Prior to April 2019, PillPack’s prescription management and dispensing software determined refill dates based on the reported days-of-supply.  Thus, during this time period, when PillPack pharmacists reported inaccurate lower days-of-supply data to GHPs and payors working on their behalf, the software used this inaccurate data to generate premature refill due dates, causing PillPack pharmacists to dispense insulin pen refills to patients days or weeks before the patients actually needed them according to their prescriptions. 
• During the Covered Period, PillPack received audit reports from pharmacy benefit managers, acting on behalf of GHPs, requesting that PillPack repay the overpayments it had received for insulin pen prescription claims due to inaccurate days-of-supply reporting.
• GHPs and payors working on their behalf approved and paid claims submitted by PillPack for insulin pen refills that they would not have approved if PillPack had accurately reported the days-of-supply for previous fills according to the typical pharmacy billing formula of dividing the quantity dispensed by the daily dose.  Specifically, PillPack’s practice of dispensing and submitting reimbursement claims for insulin pen refills using inaccurate lower days-of-supply data prevented GHPs and payors working on their behalf from reliably calculating refill due dates and confirming that refills had not been prematurely dispensed before approving PillPack’s claims for reimbursement. 
• In certain instances, over time, patients accumulated multiple extra insulin pens that they did not need according to their prescriptions.

In connection with the filing of the lawsuit and settlement, the Government joined a private whistleblower lawsuit that had previously been filed under seal pursuant to the False Claims Act.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Office of Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services.  He also thanked the Medicaid Fraud Control Units for Washington and Texas for their assistance in this case.

MAYOR ADAMS LAUNCHES MAJOR CAMPAIGN TO TACKLE TRAFFIC VIOLENCE: “SPEEDING RUINS LIVES. SLOW DOWN.”

 

New $4 Million Campaign Targets Speeding, Dangerous Driving Behaviors That Increased During Pandemic With Ads in Nine Languages, Represents City’s Largest and Most Concentrated Public Education Investment in Vision Zero 

New Effort Follows Mayor Adams’ $900 Million Investment in Traffic Safety, Plan to Redesign 1,000 Intersections Across Five Boroughs, Campaign for Local Control of Proven Traffic Safety Tools

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez today launched a $4 million multi-platform, multilingual campaign to counter rising traffic violence and curb dangerous driving behaviors, like speeding, that have occurred at higher rates since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The city’s largest and most concentrated investment in public awareness since the start of Vision Zero in 2014, the campaign — titled “Speeding Ruins Lives, Slow Down” — also represents the largest education effort targeted at community and ethnic media with a $1.5 million commitment, helping to reach a range of communities across the five boroughs, including communities of color that disproportionately suffer as a result of traffic violence. Video ads and other content will appear in a total of nine languages, including English and Spanish. 

“Traffic safety is public safety, and today we are continuing to take action against traffic violence,” said Mayor Adams. “This unprecedented campaign will reach New Yorkers across the five boroughs in nine languages with one message: Slow down. And we are going to do all we can to focus on the ultimate goal of Vision Zero and eliminate traffic fatalities.”

“Over the next two months, New Yorkers will see for themselves the horrible aftermath of driving too fast,” said DOT Commissioner Rodriguez. “This campaign will be unprecedented in the extent of its outreach: It will be in more communities, cover more community and ethnic media, and speak to New Yorkers in nine different languages. We thank the mayor for his support and leadership as we use all the tools in the toolbox to fight this traffic violence crisis.”

The campaign launched with the unveiling of a new billboard on Pennsylvania Avenue in East New York, Brooklyn. With 35 traffic fatalities and more than 300 serious injuries since 2017, East New York is one of the neighborhoods hit hardest by traffic violence during the last two years of the pandemic and a Vision Zero priority area with major safety and street redesign projects also currently underway. Campaign content will reach all five boroughs through a variety of media, radio and television ads, billboards, bus shelters, LinkNYC kiosks, and gas station pumps. An extensive community and ethnic media presence — with a $1.5 million commitment marking the city’s first Vision Zero public education campaign focused on community and ethnic media with more than $1 million — will include newspaper and online digital ads, running in nine different languages: Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, English, Haitian Creole, Korean, Polish. Russian, and Spanish. 

The new effort follows Mayor Adams’ historic investment of more than $900 million in street safety as part of his fiscal year 2023 executive budget. Mayor Adams also announced a plan to redesign 1,000 intersections across New York City to protect pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers, and he has led a coalition of partners urging Albany to give New York City local control of automated enforcement, a tool proven to reduce dangerous driving. 

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) continues to increase its enforcement of speeding and reckless driving in areas where fatalities are occurring. In the 28-day period ending April 24, 2022, the NYPD issued 47.4 percent more summonses for all hazardous conditions on New York City’s roads than in the same period in 2021. The NYPD also issued 54.6 percent more summonses in that period than in the same period last year, including a 322 percent increase in East New York’s 75^th precinct, and they have issued five percent more speeding summonses citywide in the first four months of 2022 than they had at this point last year. 

“Speeding and reckless driving behavior puts everyone on New York City’s roads at risk, and eradicating it remains at the core of the NYPD’s intelligence-driven traffic safety policies,” said NYPD Chief of Transportation Kim Y. Royster. “We have stepped up enforcement on highways where data shows a rise in injuries and fatal collisions. Across the NYPD, we have focused relentlessly on drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians and cyclists at intersections. And we have continued to conduct Vision Zero high-visibility corridor enforcement and education operations, which strategically deploy personnel to carry out traffic enforcement and education in areas of the city where it is needed most: those locations with a high number of vulnerable road users hurt in traffic collisions. The NYPD’s layered approach reinforces our core philosophy that traffic safety is public safety — a philosophy that drives enforcement across all our police precincts and at our weekly traffic safety forum meetings.” 

“Getting around town by two wheels or two heels is the healthiest way to travel, but we need motorists to do their part to keep our roads safe for everyone” said New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan. “This is a great campaign to keep safety at the front of drivers’ minds.” 

“Speeding is the leading cause of pedestrian deaths,” said New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) Acting Commissioner Ryan Wanttaja. “We know that the slower you drive, the more time you have to brake and react, and the TLC is proud to stand with the Department of Transportation on this campaign. Crashes are preventable, and no one should be hurt because of speeding.” 

“We urge all drivers to slow down; it keeps pedestrians, cyclists, and other motorists safe,” said New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) Commissioner Dawn M. Pinnock. “At DCAS, we have been hard at work to improve the safety of our fleet vehicles and explore new technologies to standardize safe driving among city employees. We will continue to support DOT and all agencies on our shared mission to make city streets safer for all New Yorkers.” 

“DDC has more than $1.5 billion of Vision Zero, Great Streets, and Select Bus Service enhancements in its design and construction pipelines with DOT, and we’re finding ways to deliver those projects faster than ever before,” said New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC) Commissioner Thomas Foley. “We’re implementing design-build for the first time in city infrastructure projects, we’re incorporating private utility work directly into our contracts so we have more control and fewer delays, and we’re using more precast concrete elements that let us continue work in the colder winter months. We’ll continue to seek ways to build safe streets projects faster and more efficiently.”