The Bronx Museum of the Arts - You're Invited to the Opening Reception for "Michael Richards: Are You Down?" // Friday, September 8, 6pm-8pm

The Board of Trustees of The Bronx Museum of the Arts,  Chairperson Joseph Mizzi, and Executive Director Klaudio  Rodriguez cordially invite you to attend the opening of Michael Richards: Are You Down? Friday, September 8, 2023 6:00pm to 8:00pm With music by Uptown Vinyl Supreme. Michael Richards: Are You Down? is the first museum  retrospective of Michael Richards’s visionary artwork— engaging Blackness, flight, diaspora, spirituality, police  brutality, and monuments—created during a prolific  decade between 1990 and 2001. Curated by Alex Fialho and Melissa Levin, and  organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art  North Miami. RSVP is not required to attend.

Learn More  Bronx Museum of the Arts 1040 Grand Concourse at 165th St  Bronx NY 10456

After Completing Extensive Repairs, Governor Hochul Announces Key Bear Mountain State Park Facilities to Reopen for Labor Day Weekend

 

Trailside Museums and Zoo, Bear Mountain Inn and Perkins Memorial Drive Opening Saturday, September 2

Parking and Trail Access Remains Limited as Other Repairs Continue

 Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that popular Bear Mountain State Park facilities will reopen Labor Day weekend following extensive repairs to damage caused by flooding from a major storm on July 9 and 10. The park’s Trailside Museums and Zoo, Bear Mountain Inn and Perkins Memorial Drive will reopen Saturday, September 2, following an extensive recovery effort that included repairs to the treatment plant that provides water to Bear Mountain’s buildings and facilities.

“New York State is making incredible progress in recovering from the destructive force of the July storm, which dumped more than eight inches of rain over a few short hours in parts of the Hudson Valley,” Governor Hochul said. “With crucial repairs now complete, I’m pleased that Bear Mountain State Park and the famed Bear Mountain Inn will reopen for this Labor Day weekend so that New Yorkers can get back to enjoying these popular destinations.”

The Park’s picnic grounds and Hessian Lake loop trail reopened August 23. Additional facilities to be open for Labor Day weekend include:

• Hessian Lake paddle boat rentals
• Bear Mountain Carousel
• Bathrooms and drinking water fountains
• The Trailside Museums and Zoo – opens on Saturday
• South Entrance Road – between US 9W and the Bear Mountain Circle – opens on Saturday
• Seven Lakes Drive from the Palisades Interstate Parkway Exit 19 to Bear Mountain Circle – opens on Saturday
• Perkins Memorial Drive – opens for vehicular access on Saturday
• Bear Mountain Inn guest rooms, restaurant, bar, hiker’s café, and spa all open as of Saturday. Additional information available here: visitbearmountain.com

Parking remains limited. Visitors should plan ahead, including making alternative plans if Bear Mountain fills to capacity.

Many of the Park’s hiking trails were also damaged and will remain closed until repairs can be completed in the coming months. Bear Mountain’s Trail map will be updated on an ongoing basis as repairs are made to help inform visitors about the status of their favorite hikes. The latest version of the map can be viewed here. The Bear Mountain Pool bathhouse was also damaged and is planned to reopen for the 2024 season.

The storm caused widespread damage throughout Bear Mountain and portions of Harriman State Park, including embankment collapses, rock and mudslides, significant washouts along park hiking trails, roads, bridges, and culverts. Repairs were also needed to address significant damage to the Park’s maintenance garage, and carpentry and plumbing shops.

With the assistance of the New York State Office of General Services, contractors have been working non-stop to address the most critical damage. Significantly, the Park could not re-open without repairs to its water treatment facility, which required the replacement of components that were submerged when the plant was flooded during the storm.

State Parks Commissioner Erik Kulleseid said, “I am grateful to Governor Hochul, our partners at OGS and DOT and our dedicated staff for fast-tracking these key health and safety repairs to Bear Mountain infrastructure. With well over two million visitors each year, Bear Mountain is a vital destination for people in the region for healthy rest and recreation. I am happy to welcome visitors back for Labor Day weekend and beyond.”

Bear Mountain State Park, a part of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC), is situated in rugged mountains rising from the west bank of the Hudson River. The Park features a large play field, shaded picnic groves, lake and river fishing access, a swimming pool, Trailside Museums and Zoo, hiking, biking and cross-country ski trails. An outdoor rink is open to ice skaters from late October through mid-March. The Perkins Memorial Tower atop Bear Mountain affords spectacular views of the Park, the Hudson Highlands and Harriman State Park. Perkins Memorial Drive and Tower are open from April through late November, weather permitting.

About the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees more than 250 parks, historic sites, recreational trails, golf courses, boat launches and more, which saw a record 79.5 million visits in 2022. For more information on any of these recreation areas, visit parks.ny.gov, download the free NY State Parks Explorer app or call 518.474.0456. Joins us in celebrating our Centennial throughout 2024, and connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and the OPRHP Blog.

About the Palisades Interstate Park Commission

Formed in 1900, the Palisades Interstate Park Commission is the nation’s first bi-state entity established to protect and conserve natural lands. Today it manages 21 parks and 9 historic sites spanning over 125,000 acres in New York and Northern New Jersey. PIPC’s early work helped inspire the emerging fields of environmental stewardship and education, pioneered the goal of exposing children to nature through its group campgrounds, and served as a model for the early growth of the national park system. The Commission’s maple and oak leaf logo represents the official state trees of New York and New Jersey.

New York City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce - 18th Annual Banquet and Scholarship Ceremony - Save the Date

 

New York City Hispanic Chamber   159 E 116th St, Second Floor, New York, NY 10029

Statement from Speaker Adrienne Adams and Criminal Justice Chair Carlina Rivera on the Deadline to Close Rikers

 

“For decades, Rikers Island has cultivated a culture of brutal violence and dysfunction, compelling the City Council to pass legislation to end the humanitarian crisis in our city’s jails and transition to a more effective and safer borough-based system. Thursday marked four years to the day that New York City must close Rikers to comply with the law. Public safety demands that we remain on-track to closing Rikers without delay. To achieve this goal, it is imperative that Mayor Adams’ administration take responsibility for implementing the law, including working collaboratively with stakeholders involved in the criminal legal system to advance necessary progress. The City must make consistent investments in pretrial services, alternatives to incarceration, and re-entry services, while addressing unacceptable lengths of stay with the courts, district attorneys, and public defenders. The Council has taken recent actions as a contributing partner in these efforts by advancing increased mental health interventions and greater resources for supervised release programs, among others, but far more is needed.

“We cannot allow Rikers to continue undermining public safety and must continue the necessary work of implementing a more effective approach to public safety. The record deaths and continued violence, which endangers both staff and detained individuals, reaffirms the Council’s 2019 decision to bring this shameful chapter in the city’s history to an end and only emphasizes the urgency we must act with moving forward.”

D.A. BRAGG RETURNS $50,000 IN STOLEN WAGES TO NEW YORK CITY WORKERS THROUGH OFFICE’S "STOLEN WAGE FUND"

 

Seven Workers Receive First Set of Checks Distributed through Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s Stolen Wage Fund with NYS Department of Labor Ahead of Labor Day

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. announced the first-ever repayment of wages to workers through the Manhattan D.A.’s Office’s Stolen Wage Fund, created in partnership with the New York State Department of Labor. Seven employees of the now-defunct Ampak Electrical Services who performed electrical work at the site of the midtown Virgin Hotel in 2021 received the $50,000 pay promised to them for nearly 1,800 total hours of work. 

D.A. Bragg personally distributed the checks to the seven workers.

“All workers deserve to be fairly compensated for the labor they provide. When Manhattan workers are taken advantage of by unscrupulous employers, we are fiercely committed to making them whole,” said D.A. Bragg. “I hope the return of these wages provides some closure to these hard-working individuals. I urge anyone who has been a victim of wage theft to call our Worker Protection Unit at 646-712-0298.”

New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said, “This wage recovery marks a significant step forward in our commitment to justice and fairness for New York’s workers. In collaboration with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, we stand united in our resolve to hold accountable those who look to exploit workers. The first-ever repayment of wages from the Stolen Wage Fund is a testament to our dedication to ensuring that hardworking individuals receive the compensation they rightfully earned.”

New York City Department of Investigation Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber said, “Today we return wages to construction workers denied full and fair pay by their employer.  DOI and its law enforcement partners will seek to hold accountable those who steal from the City’s workers, and also to repay those workers what they are owed. I thank the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for their shared commitment to this important mission.”

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, the New York State Department of Labor, and the New York City Department of Investigation conducted a joint investigation after workers reported missing paychecks and wage theft in March 2021. In September 2021, Ampak Electrical Services pleaded guilty to the felony of Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree and was required to pay $112,176 to 18 workers as part of the disposition. The seven workers receiving a total of $50,000 in payments today came forward after restitution was paid and the company folded.

Created in February 2023, the D.A.’s Stolen Wage Fund helps Manhattan victims of wage theft who may not be made whole through the Office’s criminal prosecutions. In partnership with the Department of Labor, the Fund helps victims of wage theft who come forward after a criminal case has concluded and case-related restitution has already been distributed. The Fund also assists victims of companies that declare bankruptcy or otherwise cannot repay stolen wages.

After evaluating the initial one-year pilot, the Office may invest up to $500,000 in the Fund. According to the Memorandum of Understanding signed earlier this year, the Department of Labor will vet claims and calculates stolen wages, which the D.A.’s Office will then distribute to claimants. Claims must be for work performed in Manhattan, reported within one year of a criminal conviction for theft, and filed under penalty of perjury.

U.S. Attorney Charges 40-Year-Old Man With Coercion And Enticement Of A Minor

 

 Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, James Smith, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and Melvin Padilla, the Chief of the Bedford Police Department, announced the arrest of JOHN LORD.  LORD is charged with persuading, inducing, enticing, and coercing a 15-year-old minor to engage in sexual activity.  LORD was presented  Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew E. Krause in White Plains federal court.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “This case underlines the urgent need for law enforcement to continue its efforts to protect children from those who prey on them.  As this arrest shows, we will use every tool available to law enforcement to investigate and prosecute those who sexually exploit children.” 

FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Smith said: "Lord’s alleged actions, enticing a vulnerable member of our society – a child – for sexual activity, are abhorrent.  The FBI takes the alleged crime very seriously, we are tireless in our efforts to investigate and hold accountable any person who harms a child.”

Bedford Police Chief Melvin Padilla said: “The safety and security of our residents is our primary focus, and thanks to the diligent work of our officers and the cooperation and assistance from our federal partners, the defendant was quickly identified and apprehended.”

According to the Complaint filed on August 31, 2023, in White Plains federal court:[1]

On or about August 30, 2023, LORD persuaded and enticed a 15-year-old minor (“Victim-1”), who he had met and communicated with on an online application, to engage in sexual activity with him. 

On August 30, 2023, LORD sent text messages to Victim-1 asking to meet to engage in sexual activity.  Hours later, LORD was discovered with Victim-1 in a wooded area in Katonah, New York.  LORD was naked from the waist down with his penis exposed.  Victim-1 was in his underwear.  When approached, LORD grabbed his underwear and fled.

Later that evening, LORD was apprehended and arrested by the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the Bedford Police Department.  LORD was interviewed by Bedford Police and admitted that he engaged in sexual activity with Victim-1 on August 30, 2023, as well as on prior occasions.  On August 30, 2023, LORD was charged in Bedford, New York, with Criminal Sexual Act in the Third Degree. 

Mr. Williams stated that the investigation is ongoing.  Mr. Williams requests that any individuals who may have encountered JOHN LORD or whose children may have had any communications with LORD to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov.  

LORD, 40, of Sedona, Arizona, is charged with one count of coercion and enticement, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison. 

The statutory minimum and maximum sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Williams praised the efforts of the FBI’s Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force, the Bedford Police Department, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, and the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office in connection with this investigation.  He added that the investigation is ongoing.          

The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Shaun E. Werbelow is in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. 

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.

Governor Hochul Announces Swimming on Long Island Ocean Beaches Has Resumed Ahead of Labor Day Weekend as Hurricane-impacted Conditions Subside

 

Swimming Has Reopened at Robert Moses, Hither Hills and Jones Beach State Parks After Rough Conditions Caused By Hurricane Franklin Subside

New Yorkers Encouraged to Sign Up for Real-Time Emergency Alerts via NY-Alert to Receive Real-Time Weather and Emergency Alerts During Hurricane Season

 Governor Kathy Hochul today announced swimming can resume safely at Long Island state beaches now that rough conditions resulting from Hurricane Franklin have subsided.

“With the peak hurricane season upon us, keeping New Yorkers prepared and out of harms way is a top priority,” Governor Hochul said. “I am pleased the flooding and rough surf on our Long Island coast has diminished, and New Yorkers can enjoy a wonderful Labor Day weekend at the beach.”

State Park lifeguards and staff assessed conditions Friday morning and determined conditions were safe for swimming. Swimming resumed at 9 a.m. at Robert Moses and Jones Beach State Parks and at 10 a.m. at Hither Hills State Park. All three ocean beaches experienced significant water levels, rough surf and rip currents, with extensive flooding at the Jones Beach beachfront and unpassable areas at Robert Moses and Hither Hills. The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation will continue monitoring conditions across state parks.

New York State Parks Commissioner Erik Kulleseid said, “I’m grateful for the extensive knowledge of our oceanfront staff, lifeguards and Park Police, who always put the safety of our visitors first. Though conditions have improved greatly, we urge park visitors to stay alert when at our beaches and pools, and follow all direction of our lifeguards and park staff.”

For information on swimming at state parks across New York, visit parks.ny.gov/recreation/swimming.

While the Atlantic hurricane season began in June, the threat of tropical storms impacting New York state is traditionally highest in the months of September and October. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently increased its prediction for the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season, shifting from a “near-normal” level of activity to an “above-normal” level of activity. As of August, NOAA forecasters predicted a total of 14-21 named storms during the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.

Federal Court Permanently Enjoins Tax Return Preparer in Texas and Orders Disgorgement of Tax Prep Fees

 

A federal court in the Southern District of Texas has permanently enjoined a Galveston-area tax return preparer from preparing federal tax returns for others and, among other things, from owning, operating or franchising any tax return preparation business in the future.

The amended complaint alleged that Johnathan Perry, individually and dba X-Pert Taxes and JOHNATHAN PERRY, prepared over 4,000 federal income tax returns during the 2017-2022 filing seasons. According to the amended complaint, in a substantial number of these tax returns, the defendants significantly overstated the customers’ tax refunds by claiming fictitious employee business expenses, fabricating household help income, fabricating or inflating business losses and/or claiming education credits or fuel excise tax credits to which customers were not entitled.

The terms of the injunction order require that Perry disgorge $324,432 to the United States in tax preparation fees. The order further requires that Perry send notice of the injunction to each person for whom Mr. Perry, X-Pert Taxes or JOHNATHAN PERRY prepared federal tax returns. The order also requires Mr. Perry to post the injunction in all locations where he conducts business and on all social media accounts and websites used to advertise the tax preparation services.

Deputy Assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.

Taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant against unscrupulous tax preparers as return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’s Dirty Dozen Tax Scams. The IRS offers tips on how to accurately file returns and how to choose a tax return preparer, as well as steps taxpayers can take to get a jumpstart on filing. The IRS has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers and offers information on how to avoid “ghost” tax preparers, whose refusal to sign a return should be a red flag to taxpayers. 

In addition, IRS Free File, a public-private partnership, offers free online tax preparation and filing options on IRS partner websites for individuals whose adjusted gross income is under $73,000. For individuals whose income is over that threshold, IRS Free File offers electronical federal tax forms that can be filled out and filed online for free.

In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found here.