MAYOR ADAMS CELEBRATES CITY COUNCIL PASSAGE OF RESILIENT EDGEMERE COMMUNITY PLAN

 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams today celebrated the New York City Council’s passage of the Resilient Edgemere Community Plan. The vote paves the way for the creation of approximately 530 new affordable homes, 35 percent of which will be set aside for affordable homeownership opportunities. The plan includes a new Community Land Trust that will identify partners to own up to eight acres of city-owned land, new resiliency, and coastal protection measures for vulnerable areas in the neighborhood, new retail and commercial opportunities near transit and pedestrian corridors, and millions of dollars in new infrastructure investments to create a stronger, more resilient Edgemere neighborhood.

 

“With the Resilient Edgemere Community Plan, my administration is delivering over 500 new affordable homes, urgent resiliency measures, and critical neighborhood infrastructure investments — an important step forward for residents of Edgemere, the Rockaways, and the entire city,” said Mayor Eric Adams. “I want to thank Speaker Adams and Councilmember Brooks-Powers for working with us so closely to pass this plan, and I look forward to continued partnership with the speaker and the City Council to tackle our affordable housing crisis, equip our neighborhoods for a changing climate, and help our city recover from the pandemic.”

 

“The Resilient Edgemere Community Plan will bring deeply needed affordable housing opportunities, resiliency upgrades, and coastal protections to the Edgemere neighborhood,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic and Workforce Development Maria Torres-Springer. “As we plan for an equitable recovery in the face of a housing crisis and the growing threats of climate change, this multi-year, interagency effort is an important model of thoughtful, holistic neighborhood planning. Thank you to Speaker Adams and Councilmember Brooks-Powers for their partnership in the successful passage to build a stronger, more resilient Edgemere.”

 

“This is a great win for the Edgemere community and the city as a whole,” said Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz. “The Resilient Edgemere Plan shows how important community-based planning is to ensuring we continue to build critically needed new homes, while also prioritizing vital protections for our coastal neighborhoods in the face of a changing climate. I want to thank HPD, DCP, and Councilmember Brooks-Powers for working together and helping us become the ‘City of Yes’ we need to be in order to house our neighbors.”

 

“This momentous step forward for the Resilient Edgemere Plan is the result of a multi-year partnership between HPD and the Edgemere community and a testament to the value of community-based planning,” said New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Adolfo Carrión Jr. “Together we developed a comprehensive framework that creates desperately needed affordable housing, increases homeownership opportunities, improves flexibility for more diverse retail and other desired community uses, and activates vacant land for public benefit. The plan achieves these goals, while adopting measures that invest in resiliency-focused infrastructure and land use policies that will protect this neighborhood from climate change and sea-level rise. We are grateful to Mayor Adams, Speaker Adams, Councilmember Brooks-Powers, and the other members of the City Council who voted to approve this application and look forward to continuing on our path to realizing this vision for the future of Edgemere."

 

“As a new special coastal risk district, which includes resiliency measures and affordable housing, this community-first plan for Edgemere puts the health, safety, and equity of its residents and workers front and center,” said New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) Director and City Planning Commission Chair Dan Garodnick. “The plan will help this underserved Rockaways neighborhood thrive for years to come. Congratulations to Councilmember Selvena Brooks-Powers, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, and everyone involved in getting it to the finish line.”

 

The plan builds on the city’s broader resiliency planning efforts in the area, including over $80 million in investments in coastal protection projects and nearby NYCHA upgrades in recent years. This includes $14 million for a raised shoreline, an elevated berm that will protect Edgemere against 30 inches of sea level rise, and $68 million in improvements to NYCHA’s Beach 41st St. Houses and Beach 41st St. Cornerstone Community Center.

 

New infrastructure investments associated with the plan include $2.3 million in critical sewer and drainage infrastructure upgrades. The city will also prioritize the widening of portions of Edgemere Avenue, between Beach 38th Street and Beach 62nd Street, and the construction of a new publicly owned parking lot at Beach 60th Street and Rockaway Beach Boulevard.

 

Today’s vote is the culmination of over seven years of community planning work led by HPD in coordination with multiple city agencies and community partners and memorialized in the 2017 Resilient Edgemere Community Plan document.

Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19 - JULY 14, 2022 Borough Monday, July 11, 2022 Tuesday, July 12, 2022 Wednesday, July 13, 2022 Bronx 9.81% 9.54% 9.13% Kings 8.64% 8.63% 8.53% New York 8.82% 8.83% 8.22% Queens 11.19% 10.88% 10.77% Richmond 10.37% 10.24% 9.45%

Governor Encourages New Yorkers to Keep Using the Tools to Protect Against and Treat COVID-19: Vaccines, Boosters, Testing, and Treatment

14 Statewide Deaths Reported Yesterday 

NOTE: Beginning June 24, 2022, the Vaccine data will be updated weekly on Fridays to align with CDC's updated data refresh schedule. For additional information on COVID-19 Vaccination Data provided by CDC, see https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations_vacc-total-admin-rate-total.

Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress combating COVID-19. Earlier today, Governor Hochul announced the launch of a new public awareness campaign on treatment options for people who test positive for COVID-19 and have symptoms. Yesterday, Governor Hochul announced the launch of a new free Hotline for those who test positive for COVID-19, but don'thave a health care provider.

"We've made significant progress in our fight against COVID-19, but as new variants continue to spread we remain vigilant in our ongoing efforts to protect New Yorkers," Governor Hochul said. "I encourage all New Yorkers to keep using tools that we know protect against and treat COVID-19. Stay up to date on your vaccine and booster doses, and consult with your child's pediatrician about getting them vaccinated as soon as possible. Test often if you have symptoms, and if you test positive stay home and talk to you doctor about available treatment options."

Today's data is summarized briefly below:

• Cases Per 100k - 47.35
• 7-Day Average Cases Per 100k - 36.54
• Test Results Reported - 97,605
• Total Positive - 9,253
• Percent Positive - 9.08%**
• Patient Hospitalization - 2,460 (+63)
• Patients Newly Admitted - 506
• Patients in ICU - 233 (+3)
• Patients in ICU with Intubation - 70 (-1)
• Total Discharges - 320,033 (+413)
• New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 14
• Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 56,740

** 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 - 72,417

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.

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

Borough	Monday, July 11, 2022	Tuesday, July 12, 2022	Wednesday, July 13, 2022
Bronx	9.81%	9.54%	9.13%
Kings	8.64%	8.63%	8.53%
New York	8.82%	8.83%	8.22%
Queens	11.19%	10.88%	10.77%
Richmond	10.37%	10.24%	9.45%

Long Island Man Convicted of over $600 Million Health Care Fraud, Wire Fraud and Identity Theft Scheme

 

Defendant Impersonated Patients on Calls to Insurance Companies and Staged Fake Emergency Room Visits to Fraudulently Inflate Claims

 A federal jury in Central Islip returned a guilty verdict on eight counts of a superseding indictment charging Mathew James with perpetrating an over $600 million health care fraud scheme, which also included wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges.  The verdict followed a six-week trial before United States District Judge Joanna Seybert.  

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Kenneth A. Polite Jr., Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the verdict.

“The defendant stands convicted of carrying out an audacious scheme in which he used insurance companies like ATM machines.  He stole hundreds of millions of dollars until he was finally exposed by a paper trail a mile-long, phone recordings on which he impersonated patients, and text messages and emails with his co-conspirator doctor clients demonstrating his nefarious billing practices. For this massive fraud, a federal jury convicted him today,” stated United States Attorney Peace.  “Health care fraud is not a victimless crime, because fraudulent billing ultimately affects consumers who must pay the cost of higher insurance premiums.”

“James orchestrated a fraudulent medical billing scheme to steal from insurance companies and businesses, in order to line his own pockets,” said Assistant Attorney General Polite of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This conviction shows that medical billers who fuel health care fraud will be brought to justice.”

As proven at trial, James operated medical billing companies to provide billing services for physicians, primarily plastic surgeons throughout the United States, and used his companies to carry out a massive scheme to defraud insurance companies.  As a third-party medical biller, James submitted claims to insurance companies and when necessary, requested reconsideration or appeals of denied claims.  The evidence showed that James billed for procedures that were either more serious or entirely different than those his doctor-clients performed.  For example, the government presented evidence that James impersonated Jeff Pash, the National Football League’s general counsel, and Marcus Smart, a professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association, in calls the defendant made to insurance companies in which he exaggerated medical procedures.  James made thousands of impersonation calls resulting in over tens of millions of dollars in additional reimbursement to his doctor-clients and from which he received a percentage of the fraudulent proceeds.

James also directed his doctor-clients to schedule elective surgeries through the emergency room so that insurance companies would reimburse at substantially higher rates. When insurance companies denied the inflated claims, James impersonated patients to demand that the insurance companies pay the outstanding balances of tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Attorney General James Demands National Gun Distributors Immediately Stop Selling and Bringing Illegal Ghost Gun Parts Into New York

 

Following Lawsuit Against Gun Distributors, AG James Files Motion for Preliminary Injunction Against Companies That Sold and Delivered Illegal Ghost Gun Parts to Undercover Investigators in New York

 New York Attorney General Letitia James took action to stop national gun distributors from selling and bringing illegal ghost gun parts into New York. Following her landmark lawsuit against these distributors, Attorney General James filed a motion for a preliminary injunction against six of those gun distributors that sold and shipped unfinished frames and receivers to undercover investigators in New York. An investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found that these businesses sent thousands of similar unfinished frames and receivers to individuals in New York who later committed violent crimes.

“Every single day people across the country are losing their lives to gun violence,” said Attorney General James. “We cannot and will not allow our children and our communities to continue to live in fear that their school, parade, or grocery store will be next. Today, we are taking serious action to immediately stop these companies from illegally selling and bringing these dangerous ghost gun parts into New York. We will continue to fight to protect New Yorkers and bring justice to communities devastated by gun violence.”

Attorney General James is seeking a preliminary injunction against six of the gun distributors that her office sued. These six gun distributors were caught red-handed when they sold and shipped nine unfinished frames to undercover investigators in New York. They include Brownells, Inc. (Brownells), Rock Slide USA, LLC (Rock Slide), Arm or Ally, LLC (Arm or Ally), Rainier Arms, LLC (Rainier Arms), Salvo Technologies, Inc. (80 P Builder or 80P Freedom Co), and Indie Guns, LLC (Indie Guns).

In the filing for a preliminary injunction, Attorney General James asserts that these businesses sell these dangerous products with the intention that their customers will convert them into working firearms, and even take steps to assist them in doing so. Rainier Arms’ web page marketing an AR-15-compatible receiver links to a PDF of milling instructions, while Brownells offers step-by-step video instructions on finishing a Glock-compatible pistol frame, and a telephone support line where customers can ask for assistance. They also sell their products inside a “jig,” a plastic structure for the product that guides the user’s tools through the simple steps required to finish the frame. In the words of 80 Percent Arms, the jigs “make it ridiculously easy for a non-machinist to finish their [handgun frame] in under 1 hour with no drill press required.” This process is designed to be a workaround to avoid federal gun serialization, recordkeeping, and background check requirements. Once turned into a working firearm, these illegal weapons have been used to commit crimes and harm New Yorkers.

Attorney General James is asking the court to order these businesses to immediately stop selling, shipping, distributing, or otherwise supplying unfinished frames or receivers to any person or entity with a New York address.

Last month, Attorney General James filed a landmark lawsuit against multiple gun distributors for fueling the gun violence crisis and endangering New Yorkers. The nation-leading lawsuit alleges that these businesses violated several laws, including New York’s licensing laws, by selling weapons to felons and others without a background check. Attorney General James’ lawsuit stands out by detailing how these businesses repeatedly undermined the law and flooded New York’s streets with illegal ghost guns that harmed New Yorkers.