Statement from Speaker Adrienne Adams Calls for Council Districting Maps to Ensure Communities of Interest Are Protected

 

As the New York City Council redistricting process continues with newly announced hearings by the New York City Districting Commission, Speaker Adrienne Adams outlined her concerns with the first draft maps for dividing communities of color and communities of interest, conflicting with the Charter-mandated protections to ensure fair representation. The Speaker also reiterated her encouragement for the public to participate in the next steps of the redistricting process. 

Speaker Adams released the following statement: 

“The Council is deeply committed to maintaining the integrity of the New York City Districting Commission, and it is critical that an independent process bound by the guidelines and protections set forth in the Charter is allowed to proceed. There are important foundational principles that need to be prioritized in this process, yet the first set of preliminary maps appear to violate these and do not ensure the adequate representation of certain groups of New Yorkers. 

Maintaining three districts that remain entirely in Staten Island is inconsistent with population changes, creates a malapportionment issue that undermines the ‘one person-one vote’ principle, and forces irrational changes to districts in other boroughs. This seems to be a driving factor in the Commission’s preliminary district boundaries undermining protections for historically marginalized communities of color and for communities of interest, as mandated by the Voting Rights Act and New York City Charter. 

In particular, the preliminary maps break up historically Latino communities in Sunset Park and Red Hook, diluting their voices across multiple districts. Communities of interest in South Brooklyn that have historically been kept together would be separated. Filipino and Tibetan communities in Western Queens would also be divided into multiple districts. 

In Southeast Queens, the draft maps threaten to significantly dilute the impact of Black voters by placing them in a new district as an overwhelming minority. Rochdale Village, which is now the largest affordable co-op development of Black homeowners in Queens, continues to be separated into different districts despite being a united community that deserves to be in a singular district. Additionally, South Asian communities in Southeast Queens continue to be unfairly divided, adding to the marginalization of their voices and representation. 

It is critical that new City Council district lines not only keep communities of interest together, but also preserve principles that were established to protect and enfranchise historically marginalized communities of color. 

As the redistricting process moves forward, with the next round of public hearings just announced for this month, it is absolutely critical for all New Yorkers to make their voices heard on these preliminary maps. As the New York City Districting Commission has indicated, public input is vital to ensure communities and their interests continue to be effectively represented in the New York City Council. I strongly encourage members of all communities to weigh in throughout this important process.” 

Below is a schedule of the New York City Districting Commission’s upcoming hearings: 

NEW YORK CITY DISTRICTING COMMISSION’S NEXT ROUND OF PUBLIC HEARINGS 

DATE & TIME	VENUE & BOROUGH
Tues., Aug. 16 5:30 to 9 pm	Museum of the Moving Image, Sumner Redstone Theater, 36-01 35 Ave Astoria, Queens 11106
Wed., Aug. 17 5:30 to 9 pm	Lehman College (CUNY), Gillet Auditorium, 250 Bedford Park Blvd West, The Bronx 10468
Thurs., Aug. 18 5:30 to 9 pm	Staten Island Borough Hall, 10 Richmond Terrace Rm 125
Sun., Aug 21 3:30 to 7 pm	Medgar Evers College (CUNY), School of Science Health & Technology, Dining Hall, 1638 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn.11225
Mon., Aug. 22 5:30 to 9 pm	Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 515 Malcolm X Blvd., Harlem, Manhattan, 10037

In addition to testifying in person or by Zoom, the public may also submit written testimony and maps by email to PublicTestimony@redistricting.nyc.gov, and by mail at NYC Districting Commission, 253 Broadway, 3rd Floor, NY, NY 10007. 

Cocaine Trafficker Convicted

 

Vicente Esteves Conspired to Import 150 Kilograms of Cocaine into the United States

 Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that a jury returned a guilty verdict today against VICENTE ESTEVES, a/k/a “El Bori,” on one count of conspiracy to traffic cocaine, as charged in a Superseding Indictment.  ESTEVES is scheduled to be sentenced on November 17, 2022, by U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl, who presided over the eight-day trial. 

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said:  “Esteves was a ‘boss’ of a drug trafficking crew that conspired to import 150 kilograms of cocaine into the United States.  Today, Esteves’s drug trafficking operation has been disrupted, and he stands convicted of his crime and faces the possibility of a lengthy prison sentence.”  

According to the Superseding Indictment and the evidence at trial:

Between at least in or about September 2020 and in or about December 2020, ESTEVES belonged to a New York/New Jersey-based drug trafficking organization (the “DTO”) that attempted to purchase 150 kilograms of cocaine from purported Colombian suppliers, who were in fact undercover law enforcement agents.  The DTO negotiated for the delivery of the cocaine in Puerto Rico, with the delivery of the purchase money in the Bronx, New York.  On the day of the exchange, December 4, 2020, ESTEVES and his coconspirators arrived in the Bronx to complete the transaction with two suitcases stuffed with more than $1.3 million cash, which was intended as a payment for part of the overall 150-kilogram transaction.  ESTEVES supervised the collection and delivery of the $1.3 million and carried a ledger for the transaction in his wallet.  A third suitcase, containing over $644,000 in additional cash, was later recovered in a stash house that ESTEVES and coconspirators met at in preparation for the transaction.

ESTEVES, 49, was convicted on one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute at least five kilograms of cocaine, which carries a mandatory minimum prison term of ten years and a maximum prison term of life.

The statutory maximum penalty is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Drug Enforcement Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the New York City Police Department, the New York State Police, the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor, Homeland Security Investigations, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Edison Police Department. 

Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19 - AUGUST 4, 2022

 

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

22 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.

NOTE: Updates to the CDC's cumulative death data files are being delayed, as the CDC upgrades its system. Any questions about this should be directed to the CDC. During this time, total deaths and new daily deaths reported through HERDS will continue as normal.

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

"As we continue to monitor the numbers and prepare for any potential surges in the fall, I remind all New Yorkers to take advantage of the tools we have that help protect against and treat COVID-19," Governor Hochul said. "The vaccine and booster are the best tools we have to prevent serious hospitalization from COVID-19, and I encourage those who are not up to date on their vaccine and booster doses to get caught up immediately. Take a test if you feel unwell and if you do test positive, talk to your doctor about potential treatment."

Today's data is summarized briefly below:

• Cases Per 100k - 40.46
• 7-Day Average Cases Per 100k - 31.48
• Test Results Reported - 88,251
• Total Positive - 7,906
• Percent Positive - 8.61%**
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 8.59%
• Patient Hospitalization - 2,628 (-69)
• Patients Newly Admitted - 423
• Patients in ICU - 243 (-6)
• Patients in ICU with Intubation - 87 (2)
• Total Discharges - 327,729 (456)
• New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 22
• Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 57,155

** 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 - 72,894

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, August 1, 2022	Tuesday, August 2, 2022	Wednesday, August 3, 2022
Bronx	9.20%	9.13%	8.98%
Kings	7.28%	7.32%	7.44%
New York	7.05%	6.91%	6.83%
Queens	9.33%	9.38%	9.37%
Richmond	8.31%	8.35%	8.43%