As Title 42 Expires, Governor Hochul Issues Executive Order Providing State And Municipalities With Greater Flexibility to Support Expected Arrivals of Asylum Seekers in New York

 

New Executive Order Will Boost Support for Asylum Seekers By Expanding State and Municipal Procurement Capabilities And Increasing Capacity Of National Guard To Provide Logistical Support

Order Will Allow State To Rapidly Deploy More Than $1 Billion to Support New York City's Aid Efforts Included In FY24 State Budget

 Governor Kathy Hochul today issued an Executive Order to help provide aid to asylum seekers expected to arrive in New York as federal Title 42 immigration policy is set to expire on May 11. The Executive Order will provide the State with greater flexibility to procure the resources necessary for municipalities to support asylum seekers while also allowing the State to increase the number of National Guard service members providing logistical and operational support.  

"For more than a year, we have been working closely with Mayor Adams to provide support and advocate for federal resources to address the large numbers of asylum seekers arriving in New York City," Governor Hochul said. "With Title 42 set to expire, the circumstances on the ground are expected to change significantly and this Executive Order will be an important part of our coordinated response. I have spoken to Mayor Adams and County Executives throughout New York as we work to address this situation"   

A copy of the Executive Order is available here.

Executive Order 28 allows the State and localities to quickly respond to the anticipated arrivals of asylum seekers. It will allow New York State to mobilize an additional 500 members of the National Guard, who are currently providing logistical and operational support at the Port Authority and shelter sites, bringing the total mobilization to approximately 1,500 service members. It will also allow the State and localities to quickly purchase necessary supplies and resources, including food and equipment.  

Governor Hochul worked with the legislature to secure more than $1 billion in funding to help New York City support asylum seekers in the FY24 Budget, and the new Executive Order will allow State and municipal officials to quickly mobilize these resources to address large numbers of asylum seekers expected to arrive after Title 42 expires. This includes $741 million for shelter costs, $162 million to support the ongoing National Guard presence, $137 million in health care through NYC Care, $26 million in public assistance, $25 million for the voluntary relocation of families to permanent housing and an additional $5 million for enhanced support through the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, and $10 million for legal assistance through the Office of New Americans.   

Governor Hochul has consistently pushed for additional federal support, specifically regarding funding and shortened waiting periods before asylum seekers can legally work. Governor Hochul and her administration have raised this issue directly with President Biden, DHS Secretary Mayorkas, Chief of Staff Zients, former Chief of Staff Klain and others.    

Since asylum seekers began arriving in New York last April, Governor Hochul has provided significant support to New York City's efforts. This includes mobilizing more than 1,000 members of the National Guard to provide logistical and operational support, making a portion of the Port Authority Bus Terminal available as a welcome center for new arrivals and mobilizing MTA buses to provide transportation assistance between shelter sites. In addition, the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance continues to provide support to New York City and all impacted areas providing shelter and other services. The State continues to work with New York City on selecting appropriate sites within the city to shelter asylum seekers as they arrive and await legal work status.  

News, updates and more from NYC Council Member Rafael Salamanca, Jr.

 

Bronx Week 2023 Kickoff at Children's Museum

 

Monday May 8th was the kickoff to Bronx Week 2023 at the Children's Museum. Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson announced that Bronx Week runs from the kickoff on May 8th through Sunday May 21st when the Bronx Week Annual Parade, Food and Arts Festival, and The Bronx Week Grand Finale Concert will happen. Bronx Borough President Gibson said that the Bronx Week parade, Food and Arts Festival, and Concert on May 21st would take place on the Grand Concourse with the Parade going from West 167th Street to West 158th Streets on the Grand Concourse as it did twenty years ago. Go to www.ilovethebronx.com/ for more details on events of Bronx Week 2023. 

Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson also announced the Bronx Week Walk of Fame Inductees for 2023. They are Juliet Papa Reporter, 1010 WINS, God-is Rivera VP Marketing Disney Entertainment, Sunny Hostin Attorney and Multi-Platform Journalist, SMV R & B Vocal Trio, and Luis Torres Principal PS 55 who was the People's Choice Recipient this year. Juliet Papa and Principal Torres were both present at the announcement and both thanked Borough President Gibson for the honor. The Bronx Walk of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on Saturday May 20th at 1 PM in front of the Bronx Borough Hall located at 851 Grand Concourse at East 161st Street. 

Veronica Guity Marketing & Social Media Manager of the Bronx Tourism Council was the Mistress of Ceremony.

Marcos Crespo represented Montefiore Hospital a major sponsor of Bronx Week 2023.

Silvia Poada represented Essen Health Care also a major sponsor of Bronx Week.

Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson speaks about the many different events that will be a part of Bronx Week 2023, before she introduced the 2023 Bronx Week Walk of Fame inductees.

One by one the 2023 Bronx Week Walk of Fame Inductees were announced by Borough President Gibson. (L - R) Juliet Papa, Sunny Hostin, God-is Rivera, SWV, and Luis Torres. 

(L - R) Walk of Fame Inductee Luis Torres, Veronica Guity Bronx Tourism Council, Denise Rosario Adusei Executive Director Bronx Children's Museum, Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson, Walk of Fame Honoree Juliet Papa, John Calvelli Executive Vice-President Wildlife Conservation Society, Marcos Crespo of Montefiore Hospital, and Sulma Arzu-Brown Executive Director of the Bronx Tourism Council.

Team AOC - Are you graduating this month?

 

Are you graduating this month? Or perhaps you know someone who is?

A few days ago, a supporter asked Alexandria if she had also felt lost and scared when she graduated from college. Check out her response below:

“Yes! Be kind to yourself during this time! This photo is of me, bartending at 28, just a few months before I would find myself elected to Congress. I had no idea what was about to happen to me.

I was very scared graduating college! I felt “behind” and like a failure for a long time. My biggest piece of advice is to be gentle with yourself. Take risks, fail, get up, try again. There is so much pressure to be “successful” (whatever that means) right out of school, but I find that can be a trap or a curse of its own.

Bartending was really hard, I beat myself up a lot over this idea of “not living to my potential.” I lost some friends who wanted to be around more “successful” people, but looking back I also feel like it was the best thing to happen to me. It was a very grounding time where I feel like I really developed myself, maintained and made the realest friendships I have, and tried to do lots of new and different things. I spent a lot of that time wishing I was “doing better” and scared I would “never amount to anything” (hi, eldest daughter checking in!!) or have any stability to my life. But looking back I wouldn’t change it at all. I would just have been more patient and kind to myself.”

In our capitalist society, it can be so hard to separate our sense of self-worth from the job that we do or what we produce. But, we must be gentle with ourselves and look at our career path as just one piece of our development as a whole, complex person.

Please be gentle with yourself ,

Team AOC

News, updates and more from NYC Council Member Rafael Salamanca, Jr.

 

Visit our District Office at:  1070 Southern Boulevard Bronx, New York 10459 (718) 402-6130 salamanca@council.nyc.gov

Former Coinbase Insider Sentenced In First Ever Cryptocurrency Insider Trading Case

Ishan Wahi Was Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Tipping His Associates Regarding Crypto Assets That Were Going to be Listed on Coinbase Exchanges 

 Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that ISHAN WAHI, a former product manager at Coinbase Global, Inc. (“Coinbase”), was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska to two years in prison for providing Coinbase’s confidential business information about upcoming Coinbase crypto asset listings to his brother and his friend so that they could place profitable trades in advance of Coinbase’s listing announcements.  WAHI previously pled guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Ishan Wahi – a former Coinbase product manager – violated the trust placed in him by his employer by tipping others with valuable confidential information regarding Coinbase’s planned token listings.  Today’s sentence should send a strong signal to all participants in the cryptocurrency markets that the laws decidedly do apply to them.  The Southern District of New York will hold those who engage in insider trading to full account, regardless of whether their illegal conduct occurs in the equity markets or in the market for crypto assets.”

According to the allegations in the Indictment and statements made in public court proceedings:

At all relevant times, Coinbase was one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world.  Coinbase users could acquire, exchange, and sell various crypto assets through online user accounts with Coinbase.  Periodically, Coinbase added new crypto assets to those that could be traded through its exchange, and the market value of crypto assets typically significantly increased after Coinbase announced that it would be listing a particular crypto asset.  Accordingly, Coinbase kept such information strictly confidential and prohibited its employees from sharing that information with others, including by providing a “tip” to any person who might trade based on that information.

Beginning in approximately October 2020, ISHAN WAHI worked at Coinbase as a product manager assigned to a Coinbase asset listing team.  In that role, WAHI was involved in the highly confidential process of listing crypto assets on Coinbase’s exchanges and had detailed and advanced knowledge of which crypto assets Coinbase was planning to list and the timing of public announcements about those crypto asset listings. 

On multiple occasions between June 2021 and April 2022, WAHI violated his duties of trust and confidence to Coinbase by providing confidential business information that he learned in connection with his employment at Coinbase to Nikhil Wahi and Sameer Ramani so that they could secretly engage in profitable trades around public announcements by Coinbase that it would be listing certain crypto assets on Coinbase’s exchanges.  Following Coinbase’s public listing announcements, on multiple occasions, Nikhil Wahi and Ramani sold the crypto assets for a profit. 

On April 12, 2022, a Twitter account that is well known in the crypto community tweeted regarding an Ethereum blockchain wallet “that bought hundreds of thousands of dollars of tokens exclusively featured in the Coinbase Asset Listing post about 24 hours before it was published.”  The trading activity referenced in the April 12 tweet was trading previously conducted by Ramani based on tips provided by WAHI.  Coinbase thereafter publicly replied on Twitter, noting that it had already begun investigating the matter and, a few weeks later, stated in a public blog post that any Coinbase employee who leaked confidential company information would be “immediately terminated and referred to relevant authorities (potentially for criminal prosecution).”  On May 11, 2022, Coinbase’s director of security operations emailed WAHI to inform him that he should appear for an in-person meeting relating to Coinbase’s asset listing process at Coinbase’s Seattle, Washington, office on May 16, 2022.  WAHI confirmed he would attend the meeting.

On the evening of May 15, 2022, WAHI purchased a one-way flight to India that was scheduled to depart the next day shortly before WAHI was supposed to be interviewed by Coinbase.  In the hours between booking the flight and his scheduled departure, WAHI called and texted Nikhil Wahi and Ramani about Coinbase’s investigation and sent both of them a photograph of the messages he had received on May 11, 2022, from Coinbase’s director of security operations.  Prior to boarding the May 16, 2022, flight to India, WAHI was stopped by law enforcement and prevented from leaving the country.

In addition to the prison sentence, ISHAN WAHI, 32, of Seattle, Washington, was ordered to forfeit various crypto assets that he received in connection with the scheme.

Mr. Williams praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  He also acknowledged the assistance of the Justice Department’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, as well as that of the Securities and Exchange Commission, which separately initiated civil proceedings against WAHI.

Governor Hochul Announces Plans for the Coca-cola Company to Build $650 Million fairlife® Production Facility in Monroe County

 

Company Selects Location Due to New York State’s World-Renowned Reputation as Agribusiness Global Leader: Expects to Create Approximately 250 New Jobs in the Town of Webster

Investment Complements “Finger Lakes Forward” – The Region’s Comprehensive Strategy to Revitalize Communities and Grow the Economy

 Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that The Coca-Cola Company has selected New York State for its preferred location for a new fairlife production facility. The 745,000 square-foot facility is expected to create up to 250 new jobs and be built on property on Tebor Road in the Town of Webster, Monroe County. The company expects to break ground on the project sometime this fall, subject to appropriate approvals and final diligence, with the facility slated to be operational by Q4 of 2025. The total project investment has been estimated at $650 million.

“This decision by fairlife to expand their operations in Monroe County marks the next chapter in New York’s agricultural success story,” Governor Hochul said. “New York’s dairy industry serves as a crucial economic engine for our state, and this $650 million investment from fairlife will create jobs and drive economic impact, particularly in the Finger Lakes. We were in tough competition with other states for what will be the largest dairy processing plant in the Northeast and this decision, which comes on the heels of investments from major companies like Micron and Li-Cycle, confirms that New York continues to offer a competitive business environment. Coming from a family of dairy farmers in Ireland, I am proud to have secured this major opportunity to position our state as one of the nation’s top dairy producers.”

Founded in 2012, fairlife has designed a line of products that are made through an ultra-filtered milk process that removes the lactose and much of the sugar and leaves behind more of the protein and calcium. The company offers a wide range of products including fairlife® ultra-filtered milk, Core Power® protein shakes, and fairlife® Nutrition Plan® meal replacement shakes. The Coca-Cola Company has been a strategic partner to fairlife since it was launched in 2012 through the company’s ultimate acquisition of it in 2020.

fairlife Chief Executive Officer Tim Doelman said, “Consumer demand for fairlife products is at an all-time high, and a new production facility will allow us to significantly increase capacity and deliver fairlife to even more households across the country. As we continue to grow in the Northeast, Webster’s proximity and access to best-in-class dairy farmers make it an excellent location to support our next phase of growth in the region and beyond. We are sincerely grateful for the collaboration from Governor Hochul and her administration throughout this process.”

ESD is providing up to $21 million in assistance for the project through the performance-based Excelsior Jobs Tax Credit Program in exchange for the job creation commitments. Additionally, the Monroe County IDA is expected to apply to ESD for a $20 million Capital Grant so that they can work to provide adequate power and other related infrastructure costs to service the site. The NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, the Monroe County Industrial Development Agency, the Town of Webster, Rochester Gas and Electric and Greater Rochester Enterprise were additionally instrumental in bringing the company to New York State. The company selected New York State due to the invaluable assistance of these committed stakeholders, and to its world-renowned reputation as an agribusiness global leader with an unparalleled, innovative dairy community.

The research for fairlife’s® branded milk process using state of the art ultrafiltration originated at Cornell University over a decade ago. Unique to fairlife®, the ultrafiltration process gives their milk a longer shelf life and creates a product with less sugar, more protein and more calcium over conventional milk for sale in the marketplace. Expected utilization is equal to an estimated 5 million pounds of locally sourced milk per day, making it the largest dairy plant in the Northeast and positions New York to regain its position as the 3rd largest producer of milk in the U.S.

Today’s announcement also delivers on the Governor’s promise in her 2023 State of the State to address the need for additional agricultural processing capacity to help alleviate the gaps in the supply chain by developing an interagency team with Empire State Development and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets that will work with new and expanding businesses to spur further investment in food manufacturing in the State.

Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, “We are incredibly excited to welcome fairlife to Monroe County. The company’s plans to put down roots in this upstate community, and its potential to create up to 250 new jobs, is well suited because New York has the unmatched farm and dairy infrastructure to support this project and is a clear leader in dairy production and research and development as well.”

Attorney General James Leads Coalition to Protect Patients’ Access to Emergency Abortion Care

New York Attorney General Letitia James today co-led a multistate coalition in a legal fight to protect Americans’ access to abortion care during life-threatening medical emergencies. In an amicus brief filed in Texas v. Becerra, the coalition of 22 attorneys general supported the Biden Administration’s U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s defense of its Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) guidance, which directs hospitals to provide emergency abortion care in appropriate circumstances. In July 2022, Texas filed a lawsuit challenging the EMTALA guidance, and in August 2022, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas enjoined the guidance from being enforced in Texas. The coalition of attorneys general noted that the district court ruling, if allowed to stand, would not only endanger patients in Texas, but would also have serious repercussions on the health systems of other states. 

“Denying critical care to patients during emergency situations is dangerous and inhumane,” said Attorney General James. “Politics should not interfere with medical care delivered in emergency rooms for patients in need. Abortion care is health care and we will continue to fight to ensure that all patients have access to quality reproductive health care.”  

Every hospital in the United States that operates an emergency department and participates in Medicare is subject to EMTALA. Under the law, emergency rooms are required to provide all patients who have an emergency medical condition with the treatment required to stabilize the condition. In June 2022, the federal government issued guidance restating hospitals’ obligation to provide abortion services when needed to stabilize a patient experiencing an emergency medical condition. 

The district court's ruling blocking the application of the EMTALA guidance in Texas has put multiple patients’ lives at risk by plunging providers into a climate of uncertainty and fear about the legal and criminal repercussions they may face for performing abortions on patients in emergency situations.  

On March 10, 2023, the federal government filed an appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, asking it to reverse the Texas district court's ruling regarding the EMTALA guidance. In their brief, the coalition of states wrote in support of the federal government’s appeal arguing that: 

• For decades, EMTALA has been interpreted to require the treatment of pregnancy-related conditions that need emergency abortion care, and states have relied on that determination to protect their residents' health and safety; 
• Prohibiting hospitals from providing emergency abortions causes serious harm to pregnant patients and puts their lives in jeopardy; and 
• When Texas hospitals and providers do not provide the emergency abortion care required by EMTALA, patients are forced to turn to out-of-state hospitals and doctors, adding strain to other states’ emergency departments that are already struggling with overcrowding, long wait times, and staff shortages. The added strain will cause more delays and threaten the safety and health of all patients who need emergency care. 

Joining Attorney General James and California Attorney General Rob Bonta in filing today’s amicus brief are the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Washington.