Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19 - FEBRUARY 21, 2023

 

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

24 Statewide Deaths Reported on February 17

 Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress combating COVID-19 and outlined basic steps they can take to protect against the spread of viral respiratory infections that become more common in the winter season.

"I urge all New Yorkers to remain vigilant and continue to use all available tools to keep themselves, their loved ones and their communities safe and healthy," Governor Hochul said. "Be sure to stay up to date on vaccine doses, and test before gatherings or travel. If you test positive, talk to your doctor about potential treatment options."

Governor Hochul is urging New Yorkers to take common prevention measures — like staying up to date on vaccines and practicing proper hygiene — to protect from the flu and COVID-19 and reduce the patient burden on local hospitals. The Governor reiterated these basic steps when she updated New Yorkers on the state's health preparedness efforts this winter.

The New York State Department of Health's weekly flu surveillance report for the week ending February 11 shows influenza remaining geographically widespread throughout the state for a nineteenth consecutive week, with a total of 313,261 positive cases across 57 counties reported to date. The report found that confirmed cases statewide increased 10 percent to 2,612 for the week, while overall hospitalizations were down 36 percent from the previous week, at 134 hospitalizations across the state.

Additionally, there were two outbreaks in acute care and long-term care facilities, the report determined. There was one influenza-associated pediatric death reported for the week, for a total of 10 statewide.

With flu season continuing, Governor Hochul reminds all New Yorkers that it's not too late to get their annual flu vaccine. The flu virus and the virus that causes COVID-19 are both circulating, so getting vaccinated against both is the best way to stay healthy and to avoid added stress to the health care system.

The Health Department is continuing its annual public education campaign, reminding adults and parents to get both flu and COVID-19 shots for themselves and children 6 months and older. For information about flu vaccine clinics, contact the local health department or visit vaccines.gov/find-vaccines/.

Governor Hochul also continues to urge New Yorkers to get their bivalent COVID-19 vaccine boosters. In December, the New York State Department of Health announced new guidance for bivalent COVID-19 booster doses, which are now available for eligible children down to 6 months of age.

The updated boosters are the first to be targeted to the original virus strain and recently circulating variants and are recommended for young New Yorkers and all those eligible. To schedule an appointment for a booster, New Yorkers should contact their local pharmacy, county health department, or healthcare provider; visit vaccines.gov; text their ZIP code to 438829, or call 1-800-232-0233 to find nearby locations.

Today's data is summarized briefly below:

• Cases Per 100k - 6.64
• 7-Day Average Cases Per 100k - 11.12
• Test Results Reported - 26,945
• Total Positive - 1,298
• Percent Positive - 4.18%**
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 4.25%**
• Patient Hospitalization - 2,062 (-45)*
• Patients Newly Admitted - 306*
• Patients in ICU - 236 (+4)*
• Patients in ICU with Intubation - 92 (-3)*
• Total Discharges - 401,343 (+334)*
• New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 21*
• Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 61,695*

** Due to the test reporting policy change by the federal Department of Health and Human Services 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 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 - 78,492

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	Saturday,   February   18, 2023	Sunday,   February   19, 2023	Monday,   February   20, 2023
Bronx	3.12%	2.99%	2.98%
Kings	2.94%	2.85%	2.45%
New York	3.81%	3.77%	3.86%
Queens	3.56%	3.45%	3.47%
Richmond	3.93%	3.82%	3.71%

Michael Brady Announces Departure from Third Avenue Business Improvement District

 

Comptroller’s Office Updates Agency Directive to Streamline Capital Project Approvals

 

Revisions to Directive 10 clarify and expand approval eligibility for City capital dollars aimed at improvements, such as tree planting, window replacements, and split HVAC systems

The New York City Comptroller’s Office announced updated guidance to City agencies that streamlines approvals for using capital dollars for certain kinds of climate, streetscape, park, infrastructure, and building improvements. The Comptroller’s Directive 10 revisions fulfill commitments proposed by the Mayor’s Capital Process Reform Task Force, which convened leaders in industry, labor, and the M/WBE community to recommend ways to deliver city capital projects faster, better, and cheaper.

“Improving the City’s ability to deliver capital projects on-time and on-budget is essential for an inclusive economic recovery,” said Comptroller Brad Lander. “By updating capital eligibility and providing clearer guidance to City agencies, we chip away at the bureaucratic steps that slow down our system for making necessary capital improvements to our streets, sidewalks, and parks. Capital project procurement, management, and delivery reforms are top priority for my office as we strive to make government work better for New Yorkers.”

“Directive 10 sets forth guidelines based upon generally accepted accounting principles for determining when capital funds may be used for the acquisition, construction, or improvement of a capital asset,” said Jacqueline Thompson, Deputy Comptroller for Accountancy. “The revisions will provide better guidance to agencies applying for capital eligibility, leading to a reduction in unnecessary delays and an acceleration of approvals that will allow projects to get underway in a timely manner. By partnering with the Office of Management and Budget General Counsel Scott Ulrey and their team, we were able to collaboratively transform the City’s capital process expeditiously and look forward to future opportunities to secure a thriving future for all New Yorkers.”

The Capital Process Reform Task Force proposed a package of 9 reforms that requires state legislative approval and 30 procurement reforms that various City agencies could implement, including proposed changes to Directive 10. Today’s revisions include:

• Increase the radius for combining work to meet minimum cost requirements from two blocks to half a mile for sidewalks, pedestrian ramps, street lighting, tree guards, and green/gray infrastructure such as right-of-way bioswales and catch basins;
• Expand scenarios where renovations to different areas of an asset may be combined for purposes of meeting minimum capital cost requirements;
• Allow Energy Conservation Measures to help the City meet climate goals to be eligible for capital dollars;
• Clarify eligibility rules for window replacements and various types of HVAC systems.

“The Adams Administration mantra is ‘Get Stuff Done’–and the Mayor’s Capital Process Reform Task Force, in partnership with the NYC Comptroller’s Office, has done just that,” said First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright.  “The updating of Directive 10 is principally about excellence in government. Streamlined approvals resulting from this work will allow us to more efficiently build public buildings and infrastructure for New Yorkers.”

“The Comptroller’s Directive 10 update provides essential guidance to ensure that we are financing the capital projects of today appropriately, and updating it was a priority of the Mayor’s Capital Process Reform Task Force,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations, Meera Joshi.  “I am grateful to the Task Force, the Comptroller’s Office, the City’s capital agencies, and the Office of Management and Budget for this work, which will streamline the initiation phase of capital projects and save the City time and money.”

“New York City’s capital process is widely known to be bureaucratic and unwieldy, and what better group to take that on than the Mayor’s Capital Process Reform Task Force, which brings together leaders in industry, the MWBE community, and labor,” said Mayor’s Office of Policy and Planning Director Sherif Soliman. “The Comptroller’s work on Directive 10 implements a key recommendation for streamlining project initiation while continuing to respect accounting standards, and all New Yorkers will benefit from the efficiencies generated.”

Delays and cost overruns have long plagued the City of New York’s procurement and delivery process for capital projects. Analysis by the Comptroller’s office in December 2022 found that over the last eight years, just 45.2% of capital projects started on time and more than a quarter of projects took longer than initially planned (27.4%). From 2008 to the present, as many as 33% of completed capital projects ran over their projected budget.

The Office of the New York City Comptroller, through its Bureau of Accountancy, issues Internal Control and Accountability Directives and Memoranda as authorized by the NYC Charter chapter 5 §93 to establish: (1) policy, procedures and standards for the accountability and control of The City of New York’s financial operations, policies and transactions, and (2) a uniform system of accounting and reporting based on generally accepted accounting principles for all City agencies. Comptroller’s Directives and Memoranda apply to a broad array of management issues, internal controls, and procedures to ensure the efficient and effective operation of City agencies and appropriate use of public funds.

The revised version of Directive 10 is available here, the revision history is available here, and the revised Frequently Asked Questions offering a variety of scenarios for further clarity is also available here.

Owner Of Insurance Firm Pleads Guilty In $40 Million Scheme To Steal Client Healthcare Funds And Defraud Lenders

 

 Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that ANTHONY RICCARDI, an owner and manager of the Connecticut insurance firm Employee Benefit Solutions LLC (“EBS”), pled guilty today in White Plains federal court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud.  Between 2015 and 2019, RICCARDI and his co-conspirators used EBS as part of a widespread, $40 million scheme to misappropriate and steal client healthcare funds and defraud multiple lenders.  RICCARDI pled guilty today before United States District Judge Philip M. Halpern.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Anthony Riccardi admitted today to leading a brazen, widespread scheme over nearly five years to abuse his position of trust by stealing millions in fiduciary money that was meant to pay for important employee healthcare expenses.  To keep the scheme going, Riccardi also defrauded lenders out of millions.  Thanks to the tireless efforts of our law enforcement partners to untangle this fraud, Riccardi will now be held accountable for these serious crimes.” 

According to the Indictment, the Complaint, other court filings, and statements made during court proceedings:

From at least 2015 and continuing through 2019, ANTHONY RICCARDI was the 50% co-owner and Executive Vice President of EBS, which offered a variety of healthcare insurance-related services to clients.  EBS, among other things, provided third party healthcare claims administration (“TPA”) services to clients that elected to “self-fund” (or self-insure) their employee healthcare plans.  As a TPA, EBS would purportedly administer, process, and pay healthcare claims for its clients’ employees in exchange for an administrative fee.

Between at least 2015 and continuing through 2019, EBS represented an automobile dealership chain (“Company-1”) headquartered in Westchester County, New York.  During this time period, EBS served as a TPA for Company-1’s self-funded employee healthcare program and purported to process and pay claims to medical providers that treated Company-1’s employees.  To do this, EBS generated bimonthly “check register” invoices for Company-1 that listed all employee healthcare expenses from healthcare providers during that two-week period.   EBS also administered a bank account on Company-1’s behalf for the express purpose of paying Company-1 healthcare claims.  Company-1 would fund each check register by paying the invoiced amount, expecting that EBS would promptly pay the claims to the healthcare providers.  During this time period, Company-1 transferred approximately $26 million to EBS for the payment of healthcare claims.

In reality, a significant number of purported checks listed on the EBS “check register” invoices were never actually deposited by the healthcare providers.  Instead, approximately $17.87 million in Company-1 healthcare payments were misappropriated with the overwhelming majority simply transferred by EBS into its own operating account, where they were used for non-healthcare expenses by the managers and owners of EBS.  For example, a review of bank records indicates that Company-1 healthcare funds were used by RICCARDI and his co-conspirators to pay their home mortgage expenses as well as a personal credit card account with expenses relating to boating, luxury cars, and golf.

EBS, through RICCARDI and his co-conspirators, made decisions on what few Company-1 healthcare claims they did pay based on which healthcare providers were likely to complain if they did not receive payment or if the claims were connected to Company-1 executives.

The “check registers” sent to Company-1 also contained millions of dollars in fraudulent or inflated healthcare claims that were eventually paid by Company-1.  EBS routinely inflated the Company-1 check registers at the direction of RICCARDI and his co-conspirators.  Such efforts were typically accomplished through RICCARDI and his co-conspirators instructing others to manually create fraudulent entries in the EBS claims processing software, including fake claims under the name of a business controlled by RICCARDI.  RICCARDI and his co-conspirators also took steps to conceal their fraud from Company-1 by creating and sending manipulated and fabricated bank statements and checks to create the appearance that healthcare claims were being paid by EBS, when in reality, they were not.   

By mid-2017, as EBS buckled under mounting outstanding fiduciary obligations, RICCARDI and his co-conspirators began an elaborate effort to conceal and perpetuate the ongoing fraud on Company-1 by applying for multiple fraudulent bank loans and merchant cash advances designed in part to pay various fiduciary obligations that EBS owed to Company-1.  RICCARDI and his co-conspirators fraudulently applied for and received millions of dollars in loans under the auspices of financing the purchase of upgraded billing software for EBS, which included RICCARDI and his co-conspirators submitting fabricated invoices from a fake company that supposedly sold the billing software.

RICCARDI, 46, of New Canaan, Connecticut, pled guilty to one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, which carries a maximum potential sentence of 30 years in prison.  In connection with the guilty plea, RICCARDI agreed to pay $14,870,653.36 in restitution and forfeit $2,000,000.00.

The statutory maximum penalty is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.   Sentencing has been scheduled for July 20, 2023.

RICCARDI’s co-defendant, Patricia Riccardi, previously pled guilty to one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud and bank fraud before Judge Halpern.  Patricia Riccardi’s sentencing is scheduled for June 20, 2023.

RICCARDI’s co-conspirator, Erin Verespy, was previously sentenced to 66 months in prison following her guilty plea to one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud and bank fraud before United States District Judge Cathy Seibel.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Special Agents of the United States Attorney’s Office.  Mr. Williams also thanked the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration; the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; and the United States Secret Service, which are assisting in the investigation, as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut.

Housing Lottery Launches For 4435 White Plains Road In Wakefield, The Bronx

 

The affordable housing lottery has launched for 4435 White Plains Road, a seven-story mixed-use building in Wakefield, The Bronx. Designed by Marin Architects and developed by Stagg Group, the structure yields 82 residences. Available on NYC Housing Connect are 27 units for residents at 130 percent of the area median income (AMI), ranging in eligible income from $68,572 to $187,330.

Amenities include pet-friendly policies, 24-hour surveillance, a shared laundry room, fitness center, community center, and parking. Units come with air conditioning, energy-efficient appliances, and name-brand kitchen appliances, countertops, and finishes. Tenants are responsible for electricity.

At 130 percent of the AMI, there are 11 studios with a monthly rent of $2,000 for incomes ranging from $68,572 to $138,840; 15 one-bedrooms with a monthly rent of $2,150 for incomes ranging from $73,715 to $156,130; and one two-bedroom with a monthly rent of $2,500 for incomes ranging from $78,858 to $187,330.

Prospective renters must meet income and household size requirements to apply for these apartments. Applications must be postmarked or submitted online no later than April 17, 2023.