Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19

 

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

 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.

"Despite the warmer weather ahead, New Yorkers must continue to be vigilant and use all available tools to keep themselves, their loved ones and their communities safe and healthy this spring," Governor Hochul said. "Get boosted and stay up to date on vaccine doses, be sure to test before gatherings or travel and 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 COVID-19. The Governor also continues to urge New Yorkers to get their bivalent COVID-19 vaccine boosters, which target both the original virus strain and circulating variants.

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.

The New York State Department of Health is continuing its 12-week COVID-19 campaign on television, social media and streaming services to encourage New Yorkers with underlying medical conditions to recognize the importance of getting and staying up-to-date with the recommended bivalent booster to avoid serious illness or death. These conditions including being 65 or older, pregnant, obese, diabetic, or suffering from heart or lung disease, or having a weakened immune system.

Ahead of the federal government's planned expiration for the COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11, New York State's COVID-19/vaccine news release will be issued weekly on Fridays until further notice. The latest COVID-19 and vaccine data will continue to be available 24/7 on the New York State Department of Health's online tracker.

Additionally, the state Department of Health is assessing changes to COVID data collection and reporting in collaboration with local health departments and health care providers, to alleviate the burden on providers and leverage other data sources to maintain its ability to monitor the state of the disease and health care delivery system capacity. The agency remains committed to responding to the COVID-19 threat and continues to encourage New Yorkers to use the tools to protect against and treat COVID-19: Vaccines, boosters, testing and treatment.

The weekly COVID-19 data is summarized below:

• 7-Day Average Cases Per 100k - 4.08
• Total Positive Cases Over Last 7 Days - 5,577
• Test Results Reported Over Last 7 Days - 291,763
• 7- Day Average Patient Hospitalization - 977
• 7- Day Average Patients Newly Admitted - 134
• 7-Day Average Patients in ICU - 108
• 7-Day Average Patients in ICU with Intubation - 47
• New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS over last 7 days - 61
• Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 62,273

The Health Electronic Response Data System is a New York State Department of Health data source that collects confirmed data as reported by hospitals, nursing homes and adult care facilities only.

• Total deaths reported to and compiled by the CDC - 79,272

This daily COVID-19 provisional death certificate data reported by the Department of Health and New York City 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 - 43,942,146
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days - 17,996
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed primary vaccine series - 85.6%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed primary vaccine series (CDC) - 90.8%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older who are up to date - 16.4%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with completed primary vaccine series - 74.7%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with completed primary vaccine series (CDC) - 76.4%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 who are up to date - 6.7%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 5-11 with completed primary vaccine series - 40.2%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 5-11 with completed primary vaccine series (CDC) - 41.1%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 5-11 who are up to date - 4.0%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 0-4 with completed primary vaccine series - 8.0%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 0-4 who are up to date - 8.0%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed primary vaccine series - 76.6%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed primary vaccine series (CDC) - 80.9%
• Percent of all New Yorkers who are up to date - 14.2%

Each region's 7-day average of cases per 100,000 population as of Thursday, April 6th:

Region	7-day average, cases per 100k
Capital Region	4.36
Central New York	5.07
Finger Lakes	5.14
Long Island	4.34
Mid-Hudson	5.40
Mohawk Valley	3.12
New York City	3.39
North Country	4.16
Southern Tier	4.24
Western New York	4.03
Statewide	4.08

Over the past seven days, 5,577 New Yorkers tested positive for COVID-19 in New York State, bringing the total to 6,660,543.

New Yorkers looking to schedule vaccine appointments for 5-to-11-year-old children are encouraged to contact their child's pediatrician, family physician, county health departments, Federally Qualified Health Centers, rural health centers, or pharmacies that may be administering the vaccine for this age group. Parents and guardians can visit vaccines.gov, text their ZIP code to 438829, or call 1-800-232-0233 to find nearby locations. Make sure that the provider offers the Pfizer-BioNTechCOVID-19 vaccine, as the other COVID-19 vaccines are not yet authorized for this age group.

The Department of Health website has new information, frequently asked questions and answers, and resources specifically designed for parents and guardians of this age group.

Regional Vaccination Data by Provider Location

Cumulative totals of New Yorkers who have been vaccinated and boosted by geographic region:

 

Region	Completed Series	Up to date
Capital Region	911,289	229,940
Central New York	616,910	150,159
Finger Lakes	830,809	242,465
Long Island	2,026,176	379,767
Mid-Hudson	1,576,357	341,612
Mohawk Valley	312,174	70,346
New York City	7,487,153	1,021,607
North Country	285,669	63,504
Southern Tier	420,769	108,191
Western New York	914,819	232,453
Statewide	15,382,125	2,840,044

The COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker Dashboard is available to update New Yorkers on the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. The New York State Department of Health requires vaccinating facilities to report all COVID-19 vaccine administration data within 24 hours; the vaccine administration data on the dashboard is updated daily to reflect the most up-to-date metrics in the state's vaccination effort. New York State Department of Health-reported data from NYSIIS and CIR differs slightly from federally reported data, which is inclusive of federally administered doses and other minor differences. Both numbers are included in the release above.

Important Note: Today's report includes data from Friday, March 31 through Thursday, April 6.

MAYOR ADAMS ANNOUNCES ACTION PLAN TO STRENGTHEN PROTECTIONS FOR VULNERABLE HISTORIC BUILDINGS

 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) Chair Sarah Carroll, and New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) Acting Commissioner Kazimir Vilenchik today announced an action plan to strengthen enforcement tools that will preserve the city’s most vulnerable historic buildings. The plan will aid in protecting buildings designated as historic landmarks that are at risk due to pre-existing unknown structural conditions, owner neglect, and contractor negligence, and focuses on early detection of risks to designated buildings, more robust engineering oversight, increased coordination, and communication between LPC and DOB, and enhanced community tools, including new digital tools.

“New York City is home to some of our nation’s richest history and protecting our most fragile landmark buildings is a crucial way to ensure those stories continue to be told,” said Mayor Adams. “I am proud of our administration’s ability to drill down, locate the gaps in the preservation process, and create a plan to fix it. This action plan will undoubtedly help save the incredible historic buildings that decorate our city.”

“The rich cultural and historical significance of New York City's buildings are some of the things that set us apart as the greatest city in the world,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic and Workforce Development Maria Torres-Springer. “I thank Chair Carroll and Acting Commissioner Vilenchik for taking these important steps to identify issues in the city's buildings preservation process and swiftly addressing them to protect New York’s rich architectural history.”

“It’s a priority that our city’s most vulnerable historic buildings are protected and preserved,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi. “Through increase enforcement and community engagement, our historic architectural jewels will remain safe and standing for this generation and the next ones to admire and enjoy.”

“Through LPC and DOB’s action plan, we will be able to identify at-risk buildings earlier and take meaningful steps to protect our aging and most vulnerable landmark buildings,” said LPC Chair Carroll. “The plan also outlines enhanced communications to property owners, community organizations, residents, and other stakeholders to address issues early on to further protect our historic buildings.”

“Time and lack of proper maintenance by owners have a compounding effect on our city’s aging historic buildings,” said DOB Acting Commissioner Vilenchik, P.E.. “These new initiatives spearheaded by LPC and DOB are going to help us proactively identify at-risk landmarked buildings in our city, so we can intervene before structural stability issues worsen and the buildings deteriorate beyond repair.”

While the risk of demolition or deconstruction of landmark designated buildings is very low, LPC and DOB worked together to analyze threats to these buildings and reviewed their policies and protocols to strengthen protections. LPC also recently convened an expert engineering roundtable, undertook stakeholder engagement, including with preservation and community groups and preservation professionals in other large cities across the country. As a result, LPC and DOB have identified three primary risks to landmark designated buildings: pre-existing unknown structural conditions, demolition by neglect, and illegal work by contractors/contractor error. They have therefore developed additional strategies to identify vulnerable buildings earlier and strengthen their enforcement:

Earlier Detection and Enhanced Monitoring of At-Risk Buildings

• DOB will share more data with LPC so vulnerable conditions can be identified earlier and monitored by LPC.
• LPC will work with DOB and the Fire Department of the City of New York to use data to help identify compromised roofs.
• LPC and DOB will enhance existing coordination with DOB’s Forensic Engineering Unit of at-risk landmarks.
• LPC recently hired additional enforcement staff to enhance monitoring of identified buildings.

Engineering Review and Increased Oversight

• Increase the types of applications that will undergo review by LPC’s consulting engineer to help identify pre-existing unknown structural conditions before an LPC and DOB permit is issued and work commences.
• DOB’s Construction Safety Engineering Unit will review certain applications for work, including excavation and additions that require significant demolition of the rear walls prior to approval by LPC.
• DOB and LPC will require joint inspections during certain construction work that involves extensive construction, demolition, and excavation.

Enhance Community Tools and Outreach

• LPC will upload violation information to its maps for increased transparency and collaboration with communities.
• LPC will provide additional violation information directly to community boards and other stakeholders to provide earlier notification to communities.
• LPC will partner with citywide and local groups on educational programming for property owners.

Buildings Under Consideration for Designation

In addition to these new steps to protect designated buildings, LPC and DOB have taken action to protect buildings that are under consideration for designation by LPC by requiring all new full demolition jobs to be filed in DOB’s online public portal, DOB NOW: Build, instead of the previously used Buildings Information System (BIS) — creating  more transparency and accountability. DOB will also require certain jobs filed in BIS prior to DOB NOW’s launch to be refiled in DOB NOW.

LPC and DOB are committed to protecting designated buildings and have had considerable success in resolving structural and potential demolition by neglect situations. Some examples include the Samuel Treadwell Skidmore House, an individual landmark at 37 East 4^th Street in the East Village, 243 and 245 Lenox Avenue in Harlem’s Mount Morris Park Historic District, and an individual landmark at 86-15 Lefferts Boulevard in Richmond Hill, Queens. The vast majority of property owners maintain their designated buildings, and incidents of neglect or illegal structural work are very rare. These new steps will enhance protections by allowing LPC and DOB to identify pre-existing conditions before work is approved and to identify potentially neglected buildings earlier to ensure that all necessary steps are taken to protect the structural integrity of these structures.

Attorney General James Releases Statement on Decision to Restrict Access to Medication Abortion

 

New York Attorney General Letitia James today released the below statement after the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas ordered the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to stay its decades-old approval of mifepristone for use in medication abortion. The court stayed its decision for seven days to give the federal government an opportunity to appeal.

“Today’s decision blatantly disregards decades of medical research for politically motivated reasons that will jeopardize the health of millions of people nationwide. Restricting access to safe and effective medication is a dangerous attack on reproductive freedom, public health, and scientific integrity.

“Let me be clear: abortion continues to be legal in New York and New York will remain a safe haven for anyone seeking abortion care. The fight for reproductive justice is not over. New York will continue to do everything within its power to protect reproductive rights, because it should always be your body, and your choice.”

Abortion is still legal in New York and is protected under state law. Mifepristone was approved by the FDA more than 20 years ago. It is used for abortion care and to treat other health issues, such as miscarriages and gastric ulcers. More than half of abortions in the U.S. are conducted through medication abortion. Last November, a coalition of anti-abortion groups sued the FDA and asked the court to order the agency to rescind or suspend its approval of mifepristone. Last month, Attorney General James led a multistate coalition in filing an amicus brief in this case to defend and protect access to medication abortion.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Attorney General James, national law firms, and reproductive rights organizations launched a hotline to offer free legal guidance on reproductive health care for individuals and providers. To get legal assistance, call the New York abortion rights legal hotline (212) 899-5567 to know your rights.

Attorney General James has been a national leader in protecting access to reproductive health care. In February, Attorney General James and a coalition of attorneys general sent a letter to CVS and Walgreens supporting their decision to offer medication abortion after a group of anti-abortion states wrote a letter to the companies warning of legal repercussions. Following the Supreme Court’s decision to end Roe v. Wade, Attorney General James launched a pro bono legal hotline to provide legal support to patients and health care providers nationwide. Attorney General James has also supported state legislation to provide funds to abortion providers in New York and called for an amendment to the state constitution to ensure the right to an abortion. Attorney General James has helped lead a coalition of attorneys general to defend abortion access in Idaho, Texas, Arizona, Indiana, and Mississippi.

California Resident Sentenced To Four Years In Prison For Conspiring To Violate U.S. Sanctions Against Iran

 

 Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that NILOUFAR BAHADORIFAR, a/k/a “Nellie Bahadorifar,” was sentenced to four years in prison for conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) by providing services, including financial services, to Iran and the Government of Iran, in violation of U.S. sanctions against Iran, and for structuring.  BAHADORIFAR pled guilty on December 15, 2022, before U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams, who imposed today’s sentence.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Niloufar Bahadorifar willfully violated sanctions and knowingly provided financial support to Iranian intelligence assets, who in turn were engaged in a plot to kidnap an Iranian human rights activist living in the United States whom the Iranian Government has sought to silence for years.  Assisting malign foreign governments by violating sanctions can have devastating consequences, including for those targeted by hostile regimes for retribution.  This Office will continue to prosecute efforts to subvert sanctions and is proud to protect victims from repressive regimes.”

According to the Indictment and other documents in the public record, as well as statements made in public court proceedings:

The IEEPA confers upon the President authority to deal with unusual and extraordinary threats to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.  Since 1979, the President has found that the situation in Iran constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.  Among the Government of Iran’s malign practices, it has targeted and sought to repress, including through harassment, intimidation, and violence, those who defend human rights and criticize the regime.  Pursuant to the IEEPA, and applicable Executive Orders and regulations, U.S. persons are prohibited from exporting any services, including financial and banking services, to Iran or the Government of Iran without a license from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”).

For years, the Government of Iran has targeted a prominent Iranian dissident living in New York City (“the Victim”).  The Victim is a journalist, author, and human rights activist who has publicized the Government of Iran’s human rights abuses and suppression of political expression.  Beginning in at least 2020, Iranian intelligence officials and assets, including co-defendant Mahmoud Khazein, plotted to kidnap the Victim from within the United States for rendition to Iran in an effort to silence the Victim’s criticism of the regime.  As part of that plot, on multiple occasions in 2020 and 2021, agents of the Government of Iran procured the services of private investigators to surveil, photograph, and video record the Victim and the Victim’s household members.  These agents of the Government of Iran, including Khazein, procured the surveillance by misrepresenting their identities and the purpose of the surveillance to the investigators and laundered money into the United States from Iran in order to pay for the surveillance, photos, and video recordings of the Victim. 

Beginning in approximately 2015, BAHADORIFAR, a U.S. citizen residing in California and originally from Iran, provided financial and other services, including access to the U.S. financial system and U.S. financial institutions, to Iranian residents and entities, including to Khazein.  BAHADORIFAR, who is not charged with participating in the kidnapping conspiracy, provided financial services that ultimately supported the plot.  Among other things, BAHADORIFAR caused a payment to be made to a private investigator for surveillance of the Victim on behalf of Khazein.  BAHADORIFAR’s payment obscured the origin of those who had hired the private investigator, who surveilled the Victim without knowing it was on behalf of Iranian intelligence services.  At no time did BAHADORIFAR obtain permission from OFAC to provide services to Iran. 

Beginning in approximately 2019, BAHADORIFAR also structured cash deposits totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars.  In total, BAHADORIFAR structured at least approximately $476,100 in more than 120 individual deposits.  All but two of the deposits were less than $10,000. 

In addition to the prison term, BAHADORIFAR, 48, of Irvine, California, was sentenced to three years of supervised release.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (“FBI”) New York Field Office Counterintelligence-Cyber Division and the New York FBI Iran Threat Task Force.  Mr. Williams also thanked the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) and the NYPD Intelligence Bureau, the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office Orange County Resident Agency, and the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Counterintelligence and Export Control Section for their assistance.