Sunday, July 23, 2023

Wave Hill Weekly Events: August 11–August 17 | Bees, Butterflies & Blooms Weekend

 

Did you know that one out of every three bites of food you eat is thanks to pollinators? Learn all about these vital winged creatures on Bees, Butterflies & Blooms Weekend. We’ve gathered experts on all our favorite pollinators to help answer your pollinator-friendly garden questions, plus events that will have the whole family buzzing. This is a premium-admission weekend! 

Summer Birding also starts early Sunday morning for those who like the pollinators a little bigger. We have binoculars and walking sticks to borrow or bring your own.  

 

Bees, Butterflies & Blooms Weekend 
Praise the pollinators! Celebrate the winged creatures who beautify our gardens and put food on our tables. Wave Hill is home to many different pollinators, including native bees, butterflies and our resident honeybees. Spend the day chatting with naturalists and beekeepers, visiting our honeybee hives, creating art, joining walks to see pollinators in action and more. It’s peak monarch migration, so expect to see monarchs and other late-season butterflies snacking on plants in the garden. Swing by The Shop to purchase tasty honey, beeswax candles and a host of bee and butterfly-themed gifts. 

Bees, Butterflies & Blooms Weekend is a premium-admission weekend, with a $2 surcharge per visitor; there is no admission charge for children under six. 


Welcome Table and Pollination Info Station 

Free with admission to the grounds               

Plan your visit here! Pick up self-guided tours and activities, chat with an insect expert and go home with a list of pollinator-friendly plants. 

 

Family Art Project: Can You Bee-Weave It? 
Free with admission to the grounds 
Have you tried weaving? Hone your cardboard loom weaving technique by making hexagonal creations in the shape of a beehive’s cells. Beautify your soft beehive with yarn scraps and cork-bees while learning about life in the hive.  

 

Hives and Honey Headquarters 
Free with admission to the grounds  

Chat with beekeepers Mufti Ahmed, Pam Golben and Junior Schouten. Peek inside an empty hive, check out live bees in an observation hive (weather permitting) and learn fascinating facts about honeybees.  

 

Meet the Butterflies 
Free with admission to the grounds  

Meet butterfly experts from the Tenafly Nature Center as they showcase a collection of beautifully colored butterflies and their caterpillars, sipping nectar, taking flight and munching on their favorite plants.  Learn about the life cycle of butterflies and their importance to our ecosystem. Visit a butterflies' mini habitat tent and ask questions or simply relax and enjoy the space while butterflies flit and fly about.  

 

Drop-in Candle-Making Workshop 
$15 materials fee per kit 

Drop by Armor Hall and try your hand at creating rolled beeswax candles to take home and enjoy. Materials fee collected upon entry to workshop; each kit includes enough supplies to make several candles. Appropriate for adults and children 5 and up with an adult companion. Space is limited—you may be asked to wait if all workspaces are full.  
 

Native Pollinator Walk 
Free with admission to the grounds 

Flowers attract the attention of both human and animal visitors. Honeybees, bumblebees and butterflies are easily spotted in the garden, but solitary bees, beetles and other native pollinators are often overlooked. With net in hand, naturalist Chris Kreussling scours the garden for all sorts of hard-working pollinators, offering a close-up look at a variety of insects before returning them to their pollinating duties. Ages 10 and older welcome with an adult.  

 

Yoga for Busy Bees 
Free with admission to the grounds 

Join environmental educator and yoga instructor Corinne Flax as she guides young yogis through a sequence of fun poses inspired by our favorite pollinators.  Learn a cooling “bee’s breath” technique, move together through a celebratory “sun salute” and pose like a lotus flower or butterfly. Bring your own yoga mat or towel. Rain cancels.  Appropriate for ages five and older with an adult companion.  

 

Nature Detectives: Pollinator Walk for Families 
Free with admission to the grounds 

Join environmental educator Olivia Kalin on an expedition to find colorful butterflies, busy bees and other creature pollinators and their favorite flowers. Appropriate for ages five to nine with an adult companion. Space is limited. 

 

Summer Birding 
$15; including admission to the grounds 
Registration required, online or by calling 718.549.3200 x251. 

Naturalists and Audubon guides Paul Keim or Gabriel Willow lead birders through the gardens and woodlands to seek out summer birds. Observe the plants, insects and habitats at Wave Hill that make it so appealing for such a wide variety of birds. A limited number of binoculars, monoculars and walking sticks are available to borrow at the Perkins Visitor Center. Ages 10 and older welcome with an adult. 

 

Cooking Demo: A Taste of Honey  
Free with admission to the grounds 

Honey is a sweet liquid produced by honeybees from the nectar of flowers. Discover fascinating facts about honey and compare the complex tastes of honey with a Wave Hill beekeeper and Chef Nick Acosta of Great Performances, Wave Hill's exclusive caterer. Sample delicious recipes using local honey and take home recipes designed to take advantage of honey harvest season. Ages 10 and older welcome with an adult. Registration not required. Space is limited. 

 

Public Garden Highlights Walk 

Free with admission to the grounds 
Join a knowledgeable Wave Hill Garden Guide for a leisurely stroll in the gardens. Topics vary by season and the expertise of the Guide--come back for an encore; each walk varies with the Guide leading it. This walk lasts a half-hour to 45 minutes. Severe weather cancels. 

 

Stories in the Garden 

Free, and admission to the grounds is free on Thursdays 
Join Wave Hill and Literacy Inc. educators for storytime in the garden! Stories will come to life through interactive book readings and related activities. In rain or other extreme weather, the program meets in the Gund Theater in Wave Hill House. Ideal for children ages three to six with an adult. 

 

Public Garden Highlights Walk 

Free, and admission to the grounds is free on Thursdays 
Join a knowledgeable Wave Hill Garden Guide for a leisurely stroll in the gardens. Topics vary by season and the expertise of the Guide--come back for an encore; each walk varies with the Guide leading it. This walk lasts a half-hour to 45 minutes. Severe weather cancels. 


HOURS: 10AM–5:30PM, Tuesday–Sunday 
Shuttle Service runs Thursday–Sunday 

Information at 718.549.3200. On the web at wavehill.org.  
 

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KRVC -Concert in Van Cortlandt Park Today

 

The weather is beautiful --

Join us on the grounds of the

Van Cortlandt House Museum

Bring a picnic and enjoy!


Sunday, July 23rd, 5-7pm


Morrisania Band Project

will be here...


Morrisania Band Project is an award-winning R&B soul collective founded in September 2016. Their mission is to add vibrancy to the South Bronx through music, community engagement, and social initiatives. With creative energy and loads of talent, MBP delivers the sounds of iconic soul, pop, and funk artists, while promoting awareness for issues like gun violence and adult literacy.

​MorrisaniaBand.com



 






Thank you to Van Cortlandt House Museum

and Van Cortlandt Park Alliance

for helping to make this event happen!


Check out their entire calendar of events

this summer at VanCortlandt.org


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Saturday, July 22, 2023

Florida Attorney Charged in Fraudulent Charitable Contribution Tax Scheme

 

Allegedly Earned Over $10 Million

 A federal grand jury in Fort Lauderdale returned a 34-count indictment, unsealed today, charging an attorney with conspiracy to defraud the United States, mail and wire fraud conspiracy, aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, and other crimes arising out of his promotion of an illegal tax shelter scheme involving false charitable contribution tax deductions. 

According to the indictment, Michael L. Meyer of Davie, Florida, organized and sold an illegal tax shelter called the Ultimate Tax Plan to assist high-income individuals in reducing their taxes.  Meyer allegedly marketed the scheme as a way for clients to claim charitable contribution tax deductions without giving up control over the assets they purportedly donated to charity and advised that clients could still access their donated assets for their own personal use through tax-free loans and execute an “exit strategy” to buy back their donations at a significantly discounted rate.  The indictment further alleges that, to execute the scheme, Meyer prepared the boilerplate transaction documents, prepared appraisals of the purported donations, assisted clients in filing false tax returns, and controlled the charities that received the purported donations.  For several clients, Meyer and his co-conspirators allegedly created backdated transaction documents to make it appear that a client had made a charitable contribution in a prior year and, in turn, assisted clients to falsely claim charitable tax deductions for the prior year. 

The indictment further alleges that Meyer represented clients in audits with the IRS, during three of which Meyer allegedly provided false documents to the IRS. 

In April 2018, the United States filed a Complaint for Permanent Injunction and Other Relief against Meyer seeking to enjoin him from, among others, continuing to promote the Ultimate Tax Plan.  The United States allegedly issued civil subpoenas to witnesses requesting records related to the Ultimate Tax Plan.  In response to the civil subpoenas, Meyer and his co-conspirators allegedly prepared backdated documents and directed clients to submit those backdated documents in response to the subpoenas.  Meyer also allegedly provided backdated documents in response to document requests from the United States.  In April 2019, a federal district court entered a permanent injunction against Meyer.  The indictment alleges that Meyer violated the terms of his permanent injunction through various means, including filing tax returns, assisting clients in taking charitable tax deductions, and providing advice on charitable tax deductions.

Since 2013, Meyer and his co-conspirators allegedly earned more than $10 million from selling the Ultimate Tax Plan.  Meyer allegedly used that income to purchase a multi-million-dollar estate and a luxury vehicle collection that included Lamborghinis, Rolls Royces, Mercedes Benzes, a Bentley, and a Ferrari.

Meyer made his initial court appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alicia M. Otazo-Reyes of the Southern District of Florida.  If convicted, Meyer faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for conspiracy to defraud the United States, twenty years in prison for mail and wire fraud conspiracy, three years in prison for each false return count, three years for each count of endeavoring to impede the internal revenue laws, and twenty years each for obstructing and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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