Housing Lottery Launches For 1042 Longfellow Avenue In Longwood, The Bronx

 

The affordable housing lottery has launched for 1042 Longfellow Avenue, a two-story residential building in Longwood, The Bronx. Designed by Santoriello Architects and developed by Restoring Communities HDFC, the structure yields four residences. Available on NYC Housing Connect are four units for residents at 90 percent of the area median income (AMI), ranging in eligible income from $41,109 to $157,590.

Building features include an accessible entrance and security cameras. Residences come with washers and dryers, energy-efficient appliances, hardwood floors, and intercoms. Tenants are responsible for electricity.

1042 Longfellow Avenue in Longwood, The Bronx via NYC Housing Connect

At 130 percent of the AMI, there are two one-bedrooms with a monthly rent of $1,114 for incomes ranging from $41,109 to $114,390; one two-bedroom with a monthly rent of $1,347 for incomes ranging from $49,955 to $137,250; and one three-bedroom with a monthly rent of $1,549 for incomes ranging from $57,772 to $157,590.

Prospective renters must meet income and household size requirements to apply for these apartments. Applications must be postmarked or submitted online no later than November 1, 2023.

Hispanic Heritage Month Luncheon at St. Catharine Academy

 

It was another rainy Saturday which may have kept some of the crowd away for the Hispanic Heritage Month Luncheon by State Senator Jamaal Bailey, Assemblyman John Zaccaro Jr., and Councilwoman Marjorie Velazquez at St. Catharine Academy. 

Sister Patricia Wolf the President of St. Catharine Academy spoke of the very diversified enrollment at the school, whose graduates include the councilwoman and the wife of State Senator Bailey. Each of the three elected officials spoke, there was a dance act by students from the school, and delicious Hispanic food.

Students from St. Catharine Academy gave a rousing dance performance.

The three elected officials posed with the dance students.

State Senator Jamaal Bailey spoke, adding that his wife graduating from St. Catharine Academy, and that it would be a fine for a school for his two young daughters to attend.

Assemblyman John Zaccaro Jr. visited a table where State Committeewoman Christine Culpepper De Ruiz, and Community Board 11 member Cynthia Rodriguez were sitting. 

QUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO 17 YEARS IN PRISON FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER IN FAR ROCKAWAY SHOOTING

 

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Marvin Mitchell was sentenced to 17 years in prison for a shoot-out on a Far Rockaway street in a territorial dispute among drug dealers in March 2022.

District Attorney Katz said: “This defendant opened fire in broad daylight on a busy street with no regard for where those bullets might end up. Our streets are not the Wild West and we will continue to do everything in our power to rid them of illegal guns and drugs.”

Mitchell, 37, of 229th Street in Springfield Gardens, was convicted by a jury in September of attempted murder in the second degree, attempted assault in the first degree, two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and reckless endangerment in the first degree. Justice Michael Yavinsky on Wednesday sentenced Mitchell to 17 years in prison.

According to the charges and trial evidence:

• On March 21, 2022, at approximately 4:00 p.m., Mitchell, who is known as “Fab,” fired multiple shots at another individual near 10-25 Beach 21st Street in Far Rockaway. As the target ducked behind cars, Mitchell continued to fire. Shots from the defendant hit multiple cars along his path.
• Video surveillance footage shows the area was filled with pedestrians who scattered in all directions, running for cover once the defendant began shooting.

Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Speck, Section Chief of the District Attorney’s Cyber Crime Unit within the Major Economic Crimes Bureau, prosecuted the case, with the assistance of Assistant District Attorney Catherine Jahn, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Mary Lowenburg, Bureau Chief, Assistant District Attorney Catherine Kane, Senior Deputy Chief, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Gerard Brave.

Former CEO Pleads Guilty to Causing the Distribution of Adulterated and Misbranded Medical Devices Intended to Treat Migraine Headaches

 

Mark Wright, 67, pleaded guilty in federal court to misdemeanor charges of causing the introduction of misbranded and adulterated devices into interstate commerce.

According to documents filed with the court, from July 2013 to July 2017, Wright served as the chief executive officer of Dolor Technologies Inc., a Utah-based medical device company. Dolor sold a device known as the SphenoCath, which was intended to treat migraine headaches by administering nerve blocks to the sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG), a collection of nerves located in the midface of the skull.

As part of his guilty plea, Wright admitted that Dolor did not seek approval or clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to distribute the SphenoCath for this intended use, rendering the SphenoCath devices adulterated and misbranded under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Wright also admitted that, while FDA had recommended in April 2014 that Dolor proceed with investigational studies regarding the SphenoCath’s safety and effectiveness, Dolor never conducted any such study. Instead, Wright and Dolor continued to market the SphenoCath with the intention that it be used to treat migraine headaches by administering SPG nerve blocks. Among other things, Wright provided healthcare providers with marketing materials and unsolicited directions for unapproved use of the SphenoCath.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Cecilia M. Romero presided at the plea hearing and set sentencing for Nov. 8.

“Patients must be able to trust that they are being treated with medical devices that have been shown to be safe and effective,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to take action against companies and individuals that put public health at risk by not complying with the law.”

“The United States will continue to prosecute those who flout the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by marketing unapproved, adulterated, and misbranded drugs and devices to the public,” said U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins for the District of Utah. “These individuals pose a danger to the community and put the public’s health and safety at risk.”

“U.S. consumers rely on the FDA to ensure that their medical devices are safe and effective for their intended uses,” said Special Agent in Charge George M. Scavdis of the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations Metro Washington Field Office. “We will continue to investigate and bring to justice those who threaten the health of consumers by evading FDA requirements.”

The FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys David Hixson and Emily C. Powers of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Strain for the District of Utah prosecuted the case.

Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah, visit its website at www.justice.gov/usao-ut.

Statement from Speaker Adams on Council Member Inna Vernikov’s Arrest

 

“It is unacceptable and unlawful for a civilian to ever bring a firearm to a rally or protest, and especially important for elected officials to model a respect for the law that is expected of all New Yorkers. It is the responsibility of the NYPD and the Brooklyn District Attorney to enforce the law in what is a criminal matter, and the Council will respect that process. The Council is investigating the impact of Council Member Vernikov’s actions and the disposition within the legal process on her participation in the body. I am referring this matter to the Standards and Ethics Committee, which may require the recusal of committee members.”

Three Gang Members Convicted of Racketeering Murder

 

A federal jury in Santa Ana, California, convicted three Orange County men of murder in aid of racketeering as part of their association with the Mexican Mafia, a prison gang.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on Aug. 21, 2017, Mike Escobar, aka Risky, 40, a member of the Little Hood gang in Anaheim; James Mendez, aka Buck, 44, a Sureño gang member from Garden Grove; and Kevin Trejo, aka Minor, 36, a member of the Jeffrey Street gang in Anaheim, murdered their victim in Orange, California. Escobar, Mendez, and Trejo tricked the victim into driving with them from the victim’s home in Anaheim to a residential neighborhood near Orange, where they shot him seven times in the back and once in the head. Escobar, Mendez, and Trejo were acting on orders from co-defendant Johnny Martinez, aka Crow, 47, a member of the Mexican Mafia. Martinez issued the order to kill the victim because he stole drugs and money controlled by Martinez on two occasions.

The jury convicted Escobar, Mendez, and Trejo of murder in aid of racketeering. They are scheduled to be sentenced on March 25, 2024, and each face a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney E. Martin Estrada for the Central District of California, Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, and Assistant Director in Charge Donald Alway of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Los Angeles Field Office, Orange Police Department, Santa Ana Police Department, Anaheim Police Department, Fullerton Police Department, Placentia Police Department, Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Orange County Probation Department, Orange County District Attorney’s Office, and California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation investigated the case.

Attorney General James Leads Multistate Coalition to Urge Supreme Court to Reverse Lower Court’s Ruling on Medication Abortion

 

Coalition of 24 Attorneys General Argues that Lower Court’s Ruling Halting FDA Actions to Improve Access to Mifepristone Could Cause Devastating Harms to Patients and Health Care Systems

New York Attorney General Letitia James today led a multistate coalition of 24 attorneys general to protect access to medication abortion nationwide. The coalition of attorneys general filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) and Danco Laboratories LLC’s petitions to reverse the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s ruling that reinstated certain medically unnecessary restrictions on the medication. Mifepristone is the only FDA-approved abortion medication, and the coalition argues that the Fifth Circuit’s ruling has dangerous consequences on reproductive health care outcomes, particularly for low-income and underserved communities. 

“The Fifth Circuit’s decision to reinstate medically unnecessary restrictions on the FDA-approved drug mifepristone was dangerous and misguided,” said Attorney General James. “The availability of medication abortion is critical to ensure safe reproductive health care for millions of Americans, particularly those in low-income, underserved, and rural communities. I am proud to lead this coalition of attorneys general to protect access to reproductive health care.”

Attorney General James and the coalition are urging the Supreme Court to grant the petitions to bring the case on medication abortion before the court. The coalition asks the Supreme Court to reverse the Fifth Circuit’s poorly-reasoned decision that restricts how mifepristone can be prescribed and dispensed. The amicus brief highlights that the Fifth Circuit’s decision ignores decades of high-quality evidence and clinical research that shows mifepristone is safe and effective.

The coalition notes that if the Fifth Circuit’s decision is permitted to take effect, it could disrupt access to the most common method of abortion, harming countless individuals in need of abortion care or management of pregnancy loss, with widespread implications for the health care system. Among other things, the ruling could lead many individuals to undergo procedural abortion, push abortion procedures later in pregnancy, drive up risks, costs, and delays, and deprive many individuals of access to reproductive health care altogether. The coalition further argues that the ruling would create widespread confusion among providers, distributors, and pharmacies, and radically destabilize the regulatory process for drug approvals, stifling scientific innovation and imperiling the development and availability of thousands of drugs nationwide.

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

Attorney General James has been a national leader in protecting access to reproductive healthcare, including medication abortion. In April, Attorney General James led the multistate coalition in this case in the district court and on appeal before the Fifth Circuit. She further led the coalition in the successful request that the Supreme Court intervene and stay the district court’s decision, which would have invalidated the approval of mifepristone altogether. In March, Attorney General James, together with Governor Hochul, sent a letter to the CEOs of Walgreens (owner of Duane Reade), Rite Aid, and CVS to demand answers about the companies’ plans to make the abortion medication mifepristone available in New York state. She has fought to preserve access to abortion care in medical emergencies, leading a series of briefs in support of the United States Department of Health and Human Services interpretation of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). 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 healthcare providers nationwide. Attorney General James has helped lead a coalition of attorneys general to defend abortion access in Idaho, Texas, Arizona, Indiana, and Mississippi.

Governor Hochul Announces $13.5 Million Awarded to New York State Under Federal Inflation Reduction Act to Support Urban and Community Forestry

Historic Funding to Expand Public Access to Trees and Green Spaces In Disadvantaged Communities, Increase Urban Tree Cover, and Support New York’s Aggressive Climate Goals

 

Governor Kathy Hochul announced today that New York State was awarded $13.5 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program. Funded through President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, this grant program is designed to increase equitable access to trees and green spaces in urban and community forests to support building a clean energy economy, advance environmental justice, and create economic opportunity.

“New York’s urban and community forests play an extremely important role in our environment and ensuring that all neighborhoods and communities have access to the benefits that trees provide, including in addressing the threats of our changing climate,” Governor Hochul said. “Thanks to this historic level of funding announced under President Biden and his Administration, we take another major step towards investing in and improving our environment and enhancing community green space for the next generations.”

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said, “This program is yet another way that the Biden-Harris Administration is investing in America and ensuring that all people, regardless of ZIP code or neighborhood, have equitable access to the benefits that trees and green spaces provide. Whether it’s reducing heat stress or creating jobs in tree-planting and maintenance, this grant funding will support local communities and partners who are working on the ground to advance environmental justice by mitigating the impact of climate change on communities who lack tree cover in urban spaces while giving kids more safe spaces to play outdoors.”

This significant funding for New York is part of a $1.5-billion federal investment in Urban and Community Forestry projects across the country, including more than $73.5 million for 28 forestry projects across the state that can be found here. This historic support highlights the importance of urban forests in combatting climate change through cooling air, buildings, and pavement; reducing stormwater runoff; improving air quality; and much more. New York State’s $13.5 million allocation will be managed by the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and provide grant opportunities through the State’s Urban and Community Forestry Program.

DEC will soon be opening a grant application period for nearly $13 million of the IRA funding. Ten million dollars in grants will support Community Forest Management Plan Implementation, and $2.9 million will support Ash Tree Management. The remainder of the funds awarded will support grant administration. There is no applicant match required for the federal grant program for full projects in disadvantaged communities. The maximum request is $500,000 per application. The open application period for the grant opportunity will be announced in coming weeks.

DEC is holding a virtual information session on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. to provide information on this new, limited-time funding opportunity to support urban and community forestry projects in disadvantaged communities. The information session will cover eligible applicants and projects, application requirements and scoring, and other information that will help applicants plan their projects. Register for this webinar here.

For more information on DEC’s Urban and Community Forestry program, visit the DEC website.