Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19 - MAY 31, 2022

 

Statewide 7-Day Average Case Rate Has Consecutively Dropped For Past Two Weeks -- Lowest Level Since April 28

Cases Continue to Decline Across All Regions  

More Than 80 Million Over-The-Counter COVID-19 Tests Distributed To New Yorkers    

26 Statewide Deaths Reported Yesterday

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

"The best way to stay out of the hospital and avoid serious illness from COVID-19 is to remain up to date on vaccine doses and boosters. And, the most effective way to avoid spreading the virus to our loved ones and neighbors is to get tested early—and often," Governor Hochul said. "Over 80 million COVID-19 tests have already made it into the hands of New Yorkers since December 2021. With such great momentum as we head into the summer, now is certainly not the time to get complacent. Let's commit to continuing to use the tools that keep New Yorkers safe."

Today's data is summarized briefly below:

Note: The HERDS Survey (Hospital/Death data) had been paused due to the Holiday weekend. The survey will resume today and the Hospital/Death data will be displayed in tomorrow's report. The numbers below with an asterisk were report on Friday, 5/27.

• Cases Per 100k - 16.54
• 7-Day Average Cases Per 100k - 35.10
• Test Results Reported - 37,244
• Total Positive - 3,233
• Percent Positive - 9.43%**
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 6.82%**
• Patient Hospitalization - 2,426 (-57)*
• Patients Newly Admitted - 405*
• Patients in ICU - 231 (-3)*
• Patients in ICU with Intubation - 88 (-7)*
• Total Discharges - 306,700 (+422)*

• New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 26*
• Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 56,053*

** 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 - 71,570

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 - 38,932,413
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours - 6,385
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days - 132,567
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose - 92.6%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series - 84.0%
• 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) - 87.4%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 83.6%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 73.5%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose - 82.1%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series - 74.5%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 90.6%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 77.4%

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

Borough	Saturday, May 28, 2022	Sunday, May 29, 2022	Monday, May 30, 2022
Bronx	4.22%	4.07%	4.01%
Kings	5.74%	5.66%	5.59%
New York	6.69%	6.48%	6.46%
Queens	6.30%	6.09%	6.03%
Richmond	6.85%	6.69%	6.43%

Compared to the last update by Governor Hochul since no data is put out on weekends and holidays.

Borough	Tuesday, May 24, 2022	Wednesday, May 25, 2022	Thursday, May 26, 2022
Bronx	4.55%	4.30%	4.27%
Kings	6.46%	6.28%	6.00%
New York	6.79%	6.74%	6.62%
Queens	6.70%	6.48%	6.30%
Richmond	7.63%	7.50%	7.20%

Manhattan Man Pleads Guilty To Defrauding Victims Of Millions Of Dollars Through Offering Fictional Investment Opportunities

Ephraim Ullmann Defrauded Multiple Investors With False Statements About Loans and Letters of Credit 

 Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that EPHRAIM JOSEPH ULLMANN pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud victims by telling them that they could obtain large loans or letters of credit if they provided up-front investments as collateral for the loans. In reality, there were no loans available and the victims were defrauded of more than $3 million that they invested in reliance on ULLMANN’s false statements. ULLMANN pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said:  “Ephraim Ullmann admitted to participating in a scheme to defraud victims of millions of dollars by making false statements about fictional opportunities to obtain loans and letters of credit. As a result of his guilty plea, Ullmann will now face a term of imprisonment. Our Office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute those who defraud investors with false promises and lies.”

According to the Indictment, public court filings, and statements made in court:

From at least in or about November 2014 through at least in or about 2020, ULLMANN participated in a scheme to defraud investors by falsely telling them that they could obtain letters of credit or loans if they provided initial funds as collateral for the loans. ULLMANN told one group of victims who had started a home building company that he had been hired by an American Indian tribe to use tribal bonds as collateral to obtain large loans for companies seeking financing. ULLMANN told these victims to send hundreds of thousands of dollars to a bank account he provided them, which he described as “seed capital” to obtain the tribal bond-backed loan. In reality, ULLMANN had not been hired by the tribe and there was no loan available for the victims. ULLMANN also sent multiple forged bank documents to the victims to deceive them into thinking that the promised financing was being provided.

In addition to the tribal bond scheme, ULLMANN told a separate group of victims who were involved with starting a new oil company that he could obtain a multi-million dollar letter of credit for the company if the victims provided initial funding. In reality, there was no letter of credit available, and the victims were fraudulently induced to wire millions of dollars to bank accounts identified by ULLMANN and his co-conspirators.

ULLMANN, 58, of New York, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison, and agreed to restitution of $3,032,000.

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

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

BRONX MAN SENTENCED TO 19 YEARS IN PRISON FOR FATALLY STABBING MAN IN BODEGA

 

Defendant Pleaded Guilty to First-Degree Manslaughter 

 Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx man has been sentenced to 19 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree Manslaughter for fatally stabbing a man inside a Morris Avenue bodega in 2017.

 District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant stabbed a man inside a Claremont Village bodega in the middle of the day, in front of innocent bystanders. These despicable violent acts have no place in our communities. The defendant was sentenced today to 19 years in prison for the fatal stabbing.”

 District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Shondell Younger, 28, last of 3207 Park Avenue, was sentenced today to 19 years in prison and five years of post-release supervision by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Ralph Fabrizio. The defendant pleaded guilty to first-degree Manslaughter on February 22, 2022.

 According to the investigation, on June 29, 2017 at 12:38 p.m., Younger and the victim, Joshua Simpson, 22, along with other men, were involved in a dispute after one of the victim’s friends assaulted Younger several minutes before. Younger and two other men returned looking for Simpson and his friends, then chased the victim and cornered him inside a bodega located on 1224 Morris Avenue. The defendant, acting in concert with others, stabbed Simpson twice in the back and once in the shoulder. He was taken to Lincoln Medical Center where he was pronounced dead shortly after. The defendant fled to Pennsylvania and was apprehended on July 18, 2018.

 A second defendant, Leeford Wilson, pleaded guilty to first-degree Gang Assault for his role in the incident. He was sentenced to five years in prison by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Marcus Martin on October 27, 2020.

 District Attorney Clark thanked Detective Javier Fernandez of the Joint Terrorist Task Force and NYPD Detective Robert Klein of Bronx Homicide.

Statement from NYGOP Chairman Nick Langworthy on Hochul & Legislative Democrats' Gun Control Package

“In typical Albany fashion, Kathy Hochul is following in the footsteps of her mentor, Andrew Cuomo, and focused on making cheap headlines for her primary instead of making New Yorkers safe. Case in point: the Domestic Terrorism Task Force that was established and hasn’t even met once since its creation more than two years since its establishment. This package of bills does nothing to actually address the underlying mental health crisis at the center of the problem nor does it invest in securing our schools. If Hochul and legislative leaders cared about shooting victims, they would vote today to repeal their disastrous bail laws that have turned our streets over to violent criminals. Instead, they are focused on giving themselves election-year talking points and a pat on the back without doing the hard work. Shame on them.”  

Governor Hochul, Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins and Speaker Heastie Announce Introduction of Comprehensive Package of Legislation to Strengthen New York's Gun Laws

 

Governor Kathy Hochul, Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Speaker Carl Heastie today announced that ten bills have been introduced in both the Assembly and Senate that would tighten New York's gun laws, close loopholes and directly address the gaps in our laws exposed by the horrific shootings in Buffalo, Texas, and around the country. The bills would: require information sharing between state, local and federal agencies when guns are used in crimes; make threatening mass harm a crime; require microstamping for new guns; increase accountability for social media platforms; eliminate grandfathering of large capacity ammunition feeding devices; prohibit the purchase of body armor for anyone who is not engaged in an eligible profession; strengthen the Red Flag law by expanding the list of people who can file for Extreme Risk Protection Orders, and other measures; require that an individual obtain a license, with a minimum age of 21, to purchase a semiautomatic rifle; and close the "any other weapon" loophole.

"Within the last month, two horrific mass shootings in Buffalo and in Texas have rattled this nation to our core and shed a new light on the urgent need for action to prevent future tragedies," Governor Hochul said. "New York already has some of the toughest gun laws in the country but clearly we need to make them even stronger. New Yorkers deserve to feel safe in schools, in grocery stores, in movie theaters, in shopping malls, and on our streets -- and we must do everything in our power to protect them. Working closely with Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, Speaker Heastie, and all of our partners in the legislature, we will strengthen our gun laws, help keep New Yorkers safe, give law enforcement the tools they need to prevent crime, and stop the spread of dangerous weapons. As New York once again leads, we continue to urge the federal government to seize this opportunity and pass meaningful national gun violence prevention laws."

"Our nation has been brought to a moment of reckoning due to weapons of war that have been too easily accessed by those seeking to kill," Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins said. These weapons have made places in our communities like schools, grocery stores, houses of worship, and concerts, places of carnage. In these devastating times in New York and across the nation, we have worked with Governor Hochul, Speaker Heastie, and members of the Democratic Legislature to step up and send a message that this path of gun violence is unacceptable and we need real change."

"Just 10 days separated the mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde that took the lives of 31 people. Nowhere else in the world is this happening. We are in desperate need of a conversation about guns, but we are also in desperate need of action." Speaker Carl Heastie said. "Here in New York, we are ready to act. Working with our partners in the Senate and Governor Hochul, we have put together a package of legislation to address gun violence. We will strengthen our red flag law so those that are a risk to themselves and others don't fall through the cracks of the system. We will get rid of loopholes that permit large capacity ammunition feeding devices, make it harder to purchase body armor and work to address the role social media plays in violence and acts of domestic terrorism. The list goes on. I hope that one day we'll see the end to the horrific gun violence we see in this country. But until then, I will keep fighting."

The legislative package includes:

A.1023-A (Paulin)/S.4970-A (Kavanagh)

Requires all state and local law enforcement agencies to report seized or recovered guns to the criminal gun clearinghouse; participate in ATFs collective data sharing program; test-fire seized or recovered guns for national integrated Ballistic Information Network; and, enter the make, model, caliber, and serial number of the gun into the national crime information center. Also requires gun dealers to implement a security plan for securing firearms, rifles and shotguns; prohibit persons under eighteen and not accompanied by a parent from the certain locations of a gun dealer's premises; provide training to all employees on the conduct of firearm, rifle, and shotgun transfers, including identification of and response to illegal purchases; adhere to record keeping requirements; and require the State police to conduct inspections of gun dealers every three years.

A.6716-A (Wallace)/S89-B (Kaminsky):

Creates the crimes of making a threat of mass harm and aggravated making a threat of mass harm.

A.7926-A (Rosenthal, L)/S.4116-A (Hoylman):

Requires DCJS to certify or decline to certify that microstamping-enabled pistols are technologically viable and if certified as viable, to establish programs and processes for the implementation of such technology; and, establishes the crime of the unlawful sale of a non-microstamping-enabled firearm

A7865-A (Fahy)/ S.4511-A (Kaplan):

Requires social media networks in New York to provide a clear and concise policy regarding how they would respond to incidents of hateful conduct on their platform and maintain easily accessible mechanisms for reporting hateful conduct on those platforms

A.10428-A (People-Stokes)/S.9229-A (Hoylman):

Eliminates the grandfathering of large capacity ammunition feeding devices that were lawfully possessed prior to the enactment of the Safe Act or manufactured prior to 1994.

A. 10497 (Jacobson)/S.9407-B (Kavanagh):

Makes unlawful the purchase and sale of body vests for anyone who is not engaged in an eligible profession. Eligible professions include law enforcement officers and other professions designated by the Department of State in consultation with other agencies. Also requires that any sale of a body vest be done in person.

A.10501 (Meeks)/S. 9465 (Bailey)

Creates a new Task Force on Social Media and Violent Extremism in the Attorney General's office to study and investigate the role of social media companies in promoting and facilitating violent extremism and domestic terrorism online.

A. 10502 (Cahill)/S. 9113-A (Skoufis):

Expands who may file an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) petition to include health care practitioners who have examined the individual within the last six months; requires police and district attorneys to file ERPO petitions upon credible information that an individual is likely to engage in conduct that would result in serious harm to himself, herself or others; requires the State Police and the Municipal Police Training Council to create and disseminate policies and procedures to identify when an ERPO petition may be warranted; amends the firearm licensing statute to make it clear that when an individual has been reported by a mental health practitioner and a county mental health commissioner has concurred with such practitioner that the individual is likely to engage in conduct that would result in serious harm to themself or others, such report is considered in determining whether or not to issue a firearm license to the individual; and, expands the mental health practitioners who can make such reports.

A10503 (Jackson)/S. 9458 (Thomas):

Requires that an individual obtain a license prior purchasing a semiautomatic rifle. This is prospective and applies to purchases made on and after the effective date.

A. 10504 (Burgos)/S. 9456 (Sepulveda)

Expands the definition of a "firearm" to include any weapon not defined in the Penal Law that is designed or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by action of an explosive. This is intended to capture firearms that have been modified to be shot from an arm brace, which are evading our current definitions of firearms and rifles.

WILLIAMS & ARCHILA RELEASE END OF SESSION LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

 

New York City Public Advocate and candidate for Governor Jumaane Williams and candidate for Lieutenant Governor Ana María Archila today announced their top priorities for the end of the legislative session in Albany: 

“There is urgent work to do in what remains of the legislative session to ensure state government puts the needs of working families before the wants of billionaires–that tenants have the protections they need, that New Yorkers feel safe in their communities, that workers get paid enough to get by, and that we tackle the climate crisis. After Governor Hochul hijacked the legislative calendar to give away nearly one billion dollars of public money for the Bills stadium, further incarcerate Black and brown New Yorkers, and change election law to help her re-election bid, we have precious few days left in the legislative session. In that time, we urge legislators and the Governor to prioritize the needs of working people and struggling New Yorkers over the wants of billionaires. In particular, we urge legislators to pass, and the Governor to support and sign, the following:

Housing: to keep New Yorkers in their homes, Albany leaders must enact Good Cause Eviction legislation to immediately protect tenants from being evicted without cause and from unconscionable rent hikes and expand housing voucher assistance programs.

Gun violence: to stem and respond to the rise in gun violence afflicting our communities, Albany leaders should invest $1 billion of the $3.3 billion in unexpected tax revenues in underfunded gun violence prevention, youth programming, victims’ services, and trauma response programs.

Minimum wage: to ensure that workers are paid fairly for their work and have enough in their pockets to pay rent and the bills, New York must swiftly move to increase the minimum wage. We have proposed an immediate increase in the minimum wage to $20 per hour in New York City and $17.50 per hour outside of New York City. We also support the Raise Up NY coalition’s proposal.

Environment: to curb new sources of pollution and move us toward our climate goals, we need to make sure New York enacts a statewide ban on gas in new construction, the Build Public Renewables Act, and a moratorium on environmentally damaging proof-of-work Bitcoin mining.

Clean Slate: to ensure that all New Yorkers can be full and fair participants in their communities and our economy, pass legislation to automatically seal conviction records of formerly incarcerated New Yorkers once they are time eligible.

Voting rights: to begin protecting and strengthening NY’s democracy, at the bare minimum, we need to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and enact the comprehensive package of reforms–already passed by the Senate–that would increase efficiency, accountability, and professionalization of our Boards of Elections."

NYS Office of the Comptroller Tom DiNapoli Analysis Finds Worrisome, Uneven Economic Recovery Among NYC's Labor Force

 

Workforce Participation Near Pre-Pandemic Levels, But Unemployment Still High More Than a Third of Unemployed Workers Out of Work for 27+ Weeks  New York City lags behind the rest of the state and nation in regaining the jobs lost from the onset of the pandemic in March and April 2020, according to an analysis on the city’s labor force released by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today. By March 2022, the city recovered just under 71% of jobs lost, while the rest of New York state has regained 82% of jobs. By April 2022, the United States had regained 95%. The city’s unemployment rate remains substantially higher than the rest of the state and nation and higher than its pre-pandemic rate. The slow recovery of pandemic job losses has left the city with an unemployment rate of 6.5%, 2.8 points higher than the February 2020 level of 3.7%, while the nation’s unemployment rate is only one-tenth of a point above its February 2020 level of 3.5%. The remainder of the state reached its February 2020 rate of 4% by October 2021. “New York City suffered heavy job losses from the shock of the pandemic shutting down many businesses in early 2020, and it has not fully regained these jobs,” DiNapoli said. “The recovery is also uneven and unequal among the workforce, particularly with demographic groups and lower income workers. The pandemic intensified pre-existing inequities that left many unable to work. These issues are complex and will not be easily fixed. They warrant further study and require strong workforce development efforts to assist those disproportionally impacted by the pandemic that might take longer to recover.” About 36% of unemployed workers living in the city have been seeking work for longer than 27 weeks and are considered long-term unemployed. While the gap in the long-term unemployed share of job seekers between the city and the nation was largest one year after the onset of the pandemic in March 2021 (69% in the city versus 43% in the nation), it is still sizeable two years later (36% in the city versus 24% in the nation). Over the course of the pandemic, many people also left the workforce. DiNapoli’s report found that some demographic groups rebounded to pre-pandemic levels of labor force participation by 2021, while other groups have not yet fully returned. Major findings of DiNapoli’s report: Female workers were impacted especially hard in 2020, with the unemployment rate increasing by 8.7 points in the city compared to an increase of only 4.7 points in the nation. While men have historically participated at a higher rate in the work force than women, the gap in labor force participation rate between males and females narrowed between 2019 (68.3% vs. 53.5% and 2021 (65.5% vs. 54.5%) as more women sought employment. Female and male workers with children each dropped over 1 point in their labor force participation rates in the nation in 2020. Working parents in the city experienced a steeper drop, roughly 6 points for men and 2 points for women. Female workers with children in the city were more likely to seek jobs or remain employed (up 1.7 points to 64%) from 2019 to 2021 than male workers (down 4.2 points to 87.5%). The unemployment rate for Black male workers in the city increased in the two years prior to and during the pandemic and continued to rise in 2021 to 14.9%. Prior to the pandemic, Hispanic and Asian females had higher unemployment rates than males in the city (5.5% for Hispanic females versus 4.3% for Hispanic males and 1.9% for Asian females versus 1.8% for Asian males). Between 2019 and 2021, Hispanic and Asian men had a much larger rise in unemployment than their female counterparts (7.4 points for Hispanic males versus 4.7 points for Hispanic females and 6.6 points for Asian males versus 6 points for Asian females). The number of people with disabilities in the work force jumped to the highest level in a decade, potentially stemming from the shift to remote work. While the share of people with disabilities in the workforce grew by 4.8 points between 2019 and 2021 to reach a participation rate of 17.5%, their unemployment rate rose sharply and is still high at 17% in 2021. College-educated individuals fared better during the pandemic and had a smaller increase in unemployment (4 points to reach 6.2% from 2019 to 2021) than those with no college education (7.8 points to reach 12.9%). Young workers, age 16 to 24, are the only age group to see their unemployment rate rise in 2021 to 20.9% compared to 20.4% in 2020. The labor force participation rate of noncitizen immigrants continued to decline in 2021 to 62.1%, whereas the rate of citizens has almost rebounded to pre-pandemic levels (59.1% compared to 59.6%). Historically, noncitizen immigrants have higher rates of labor force participation, which may be tied to requirements to have employer-sponsored visa requirements to work and reside in the country. The city has seen a sharp decline in self-employed individuals as a share of total workers, which dropped 1.4 points to reach 8.1% from 2019 to 2021. This compared to a gain of 2.3 points to reach 10.8% in the rest of the state and 0.5 points to reach 10.4% in the nation. DiNapoli notes the city and state have taken steps to support employment more broadly and have targeted support at some groups, including those employed by tourism-dependent businesses, young workers and caretakers. He encouraged city and state officials to look closely at the city’s labor force and examine whether existing policies are reaching and helping struggling communities. Report New York City’s Uneven Recovery: An Analysis of Labor Force Trends Additional Resources Industry Dashboards Employment Trends for People with Disabilities in New York City