Council Member Marjorie Velázquez - 🦃Thanksgiving Turkey Distribution🦃

 

Dear Neighbor,

This year, I have the privilege of partnering with New York State Senators Jamaal T. Bailey, Nathalia Fernandez, and Gustavo Rivera, and New York State Assembly members Michael Benedetto and John Zaccaro Jr. in hosting several Thanksgiving Turkey Distributions throughout the district. Our mission is to ensure no one in our community goes without this holiday season, especially as food insecurity grows throughout the district.

Please register to ensure we have a turkey for you.  Any turkeys left over at the end of the distribution will be given out on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Important Information

• Turkeys are limited to one (1) per household.

• Limited Kosher turkeys are available at Bronx House

If you would like to register, please click the link associated with the location you would like to pick up your turkey. If you need assistance, call 718-931-1721.

Monday, November 20 @ 3 PM - 5 PM

Pelham Parkway Houses

780 Astor Avenue

Bronx, NY 10467

Monday, November 20 @ 4 PM - 6 PM

Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club

550 Balcom Avenue

Bronx, NY 10465

Monday, November 20 @ 5 PM - 7 PM

Bronx House

990 Pelham Parkway South

Bronx, NY 10461

Pelham Parkway

Kipps Bay/Throggs Neck

Bronx House

VCJC News & Notes 11/17/23

 

Van Cortlandt Jewish Center
News and Notes

Here's this week's edition of the VCJC News and Notes email. We hope you enjoy it and find it useful!

Reminders

1. Shabbos
   
   
   Shabbos information is, as always, available on our website, both in the information sidebar and the events calendar.
   Here are the times you need:  
   Shabbos Candles Friday 11/17/23 @ 4:18 pm
   Shabbos morning services at 8:40 am.  Please join the services if you can do so safely. 
   Shabbos Ends Saturday 11/18/23 @ 5:21 pm

   Kiddush sponsored by Ben Z Panush in Honor of Stanley Krell and Neil Harrow’s birthdays. 

   
   
    

2. Office closed Thursday & Friday in observance of Thanksgiving. 
   VCJC wishes everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving.

3. Help VCJC Support Israel as it recovers from and responds to the terrorist attack from Hamas.
   VCJC urges you to help support Israel following the terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas. We have set up a webpage at https://vcjc-israel.brizy.site/ where you can get some more information. That page will direct you to the UJA Federation’s Israel Emergency Fund page where you can make a donation directly to the fund.

1. You can go directly to the UJA page from here, if you prefer.

   There are many ways in which we can support Israel in this hour of need, as it recovers from the brutal attack and tries to remove Hamas as a player on the world stage.

   If you wish to provide support, but prefer to use another channel, you can find a list of channels here.

   If you do make a donation as a result of the VCJC, we’d love to hear about it! Please drop us a note.

Our mailing address is:

Van Cortlandt Jewish Center

3880 Sedgwick Ave

Bronx, NY 10463

Governor Hochul Expands Economic Opportunity for New Yorkers, Protects Public Safety by Signing the Clean Slate Act

S.7551A/A.1029C Allows Certain Criminal Records To Be Sealed Years After Their Sentence or Incarceration If An Individual Remains Crime-Free

Compromise Negotiated By Governor Hochul Allows Law Enforcement, Prosecutors, School Officials, and Courts To Access An Individual’s Full Criminal Record; Access To Records Of Convictions For Murder, Sex Offenses, Domestic Terrorism, Other Serious Crimes Will Remain Unchanged For All

New York Becomes 12th State To Enact Clean Slate Legislation; Analysis Shows Individuals Impacted By Record Expungement Have Been Less Likely Than General Public To Commit Criminal Offenses

Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Clean Slate Act (S.7551A/A.1029C), which allows certain criminal records to be sealed years after an individual is sentenced or released from incarceration if that individual is not subsequently convicted of an additional criminal act. Following their release from any incarceration, records of individuals with eligible misdemeanor convictions will be sealed after three years and those with certain felony convictions, after eight years. The Clean Slate Act will not seal the records of individuals convicted of sex crimes, murder or other non-drug Class A felonies; law enforcement, prosecutors, the New York State Education Department, the courts and other groups will continue to have access to all criminal records under this law.

“The best crime-fighting tool is a good-paying job. That’s why I support giving New Yorkers a clean slate after they’ve paid their debt to society and gone years without an additional offense,” Governor Hochul said. “I negotiated a compromise that protects public safety and boosts economic opportunity, and the final Clean Slate Law will help New Yorkers access jobs and housing while allowing police, prosecutors and school officials to protect their communities. And as our state faces a worker shortage, with more than 450,000 job openings right now, this new law will help businesses find more workers who will help them grow, expand and thrive."

The Clean Slate Act (S.7551A/A.1029C) takes effect in one year. It provides the New York State Office of Court Administration up to three years from that date to implement the processes necessary to identify and seal all eligible records. The law will seal certain criminal records following an individual’s release from any incarceration: eligible misdemeanor convictions will be sealed three years after release, and eligible felony convictions will be sealed eight years after release – on the condition that the individual convicted of the offense has not committed an additional crime in the intervening period.

The law also includes multiple components to protect public safety. Records will not be sealed to law enforcement or the criminal justice system. Records will not be sealed for individuals convicted of sex offenses, murder, domestic terror and other non-drug Class A felonies, and will also not be sealed until parole or probation is complete and there are no criminal charges in New York State. The clock restarts altogether if parole or probation is revoked or if there is a new conviction. Employers permitted by law to perform fingerprint-based criminal history checks on job applicants will continue to receive those records and use them to determine whether individuals should be hired. Conviction information will remain available for law enforcement purposes, the hiring of police and peace officers, the hiring of teachers at public and private schools, and background checks for firearm purchases and/or licenses.

A criminal record can impede an individual’s full participation in their communities after they have served their sentence. This is especially true for individuals from communities of color, who have been disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system. While New York State has the lowest incarceration rate among states with more than 10 million residents, racial disparities persist. Studies show that without Clean Slate, New York is missing out on $12.6 billion in annual economic activity – the total cost of lost wages each year due to the reduced earnings of individuals with unsealed records; nationwide, the cost to GDP is approximately $87 billion each year.

The law requires the Office of Court Administration to determine which criminal history records are eligible for sealing and notify the following entities of those sealed convictions: the state Division of Criminal Justice Services, which maintains the state’s fingerprint-based criminal history records; courts of conviction, county clerks, police departments, sheriffs’ offices, and district attorneys’ offices.

The law also builds upon other efforts implemented and enacted by New York State to help remove barriers faced by people with criminal convictions, especially the approximately 25,000 individuals who return to their communities annually after serving prison sentences. The state has reinstated the right to vote for people on parole; removed outright bans on occupational licenses; implemented fair-chance hiring at state agencies; and prohibited discrimination at state-financed housing based solely on an individual’s criminal record, among other initiatives.

Governor Hochul has prioritized public safety throughout her time in office, securing the most criminal justice system funding in a generation; and increasing investments to improve opportunities for young people and families and strengthen communities. The FY24 budget funds the Governor’s public safety plan and comprehensive plan to fight gun violence and violent crime, improve community safety and increase public trust in the criminal justice system. As part of this plan, the budget includes record investments to support programs and services that assist with re-entry, and pretrial programs designed to divert individuals from deeper involvement in the criminal justice system.

 

Justice Department Secures Agreement with New York City Health Care System to Resolve Allegations of Employment Discrimination

 

The Justice Department announced today that it has secured a settlement agreement with New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (NYCHH), which provides health care services to more than one million New Yorkers. The agreement resolves the department’s determination that NYCHH violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) when it rejected a worker’s valid work authorization document based on the worker’s national origin.

“Employers cannot reject valid documents showing someone’s permission to work based on the country the person was born in,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Federal civil rights law protects workers from discrimination that can occur when employers are checking their permission to work. The Justice Department will continue to hold accountable employers that treat workers differently because of where they were born or their national origin.”

The department’s investigation determined that NYCHH unlawfully rejected a worker’s valid employment authorization document (EAD), which was automatically extended through a notice in the Federal Register applicable to those with Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The department determined that NYCHH rejected the valid document and delayed the onboarding of the worker based on its incorrect assumption that the worker’s country of birth listed on her EAD had to be the same as the country designated for TPS.

TPS is a temporary immigration benefit that allows qualified individuals from designated countries to stay in the United States for a limited time period due to conditions in the designated country, such as on-going armed conflict, environmental disaster or other extraordinary and temporary conditions. Workers with TPS, like all workers, have the right to provide their choice of valid documentation to demonstrate their permission to work. Federal Register notices that automatically extend a TPS worker’s permission to work explain that the worker does not have to show additional documentation or prove their citizenship status, and that the country of birth listed on the worker’s documentation does not have to match the TPS-designated country.

Under the terms of the agreement, NYCHH will pay back pay to the affected worker to compensate for lost wages that the department determined the worker was eligible for due to the discrimination. It will also pay a civil penalty to the United States, train its staff on the anti-discrimination provision of the INA, review and revise its employment policies and training materials and be subject to departmental monitoring for three years.

The Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. The statute prohibits discrimination based on citizenship status and national origin in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee, unfair documentary practices and retaliation and intimidation. 

Find more information on how employers can avoid discrimination when verifying someone’s permission to work on IER’s website. Learn more about IER’s work and how to get assistance through this brief video. Individuals with TPS who have questions about their rights can find more information on IER’s website. Applicants or employees who believe they were discriminated against based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin in hiring, firing, recruitment or during the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify), or subjected to retaliation, may file a charge. The public can also call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); email IER@usdoj.gov; sign up for a live webinar or watch an on-demand presentation or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites.

Governor Hochul Advances Nation-Leading Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Buildout Program

 

Program Changes Will Accelerate Development of EV Charging Infrastructure and Stimulate $4 Billion in Total Investment in Charging Infrastructure

Overall EV Budget Increases From $701 Million to $1.24 Billion, with $372 Million in Funding to Support Programs in Disadvantaged Communities

Changes Aim to Increase Electric Vehicle Adoption, Especially in Disadvantaged Communities

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that the New York State Public Service Commission made major changes to New York’s electric vehicle “make-ready” program to speed up the transition to zero-emissions electric vehicles. Today’s changes are designed to accelerate the development of EV charging infrastructure to combat range anxiety and ensure New Yorkers have access to convenient and reliable EV charging. Combined, the programs announced today are expected to stimulate $4 billion in total investment in electric vehicle charging infrastructure. More and more New Yorkers are going electric every day, with 175,000 electric or plug-in hybrid EVs on the road today, and approximately 3 million anticipated by 2030.

“To reach our nation-leading climate goals, New York is energizing our transition to a clean transportation future,” Governor Hochul said. “More New Yorkers are making the switch to electric vehicles, and we’re working hard to build accessible charging infrastructure across the state. The program improvements announced today will encourage more people to own EVs, helping to build a clean and sustainable future.”

Public Service Commission Chair Rory M. Christian said, “The PSC has long recognized the importance of the electrification of the transportation sector in the attainment of New York State's climate goals. To advance these goals, the PSC has adopted policies to incentivize the development of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, and today’s decision moves forward with our nation-leading EV programs.”

The changes approved by the Public Service Commission (PSC) include increasing the overall ratepayer-funded EV Make-Ready Program from $701 million to $1.24 billion, with $372 million in funding to support programs in disadvantaged communities, a sharp increase from the previous budget of $206 million. The budget increase included expanding the direct current fast charging program target from 1,500 to 6,302 charging stations, along with higher incentive levels to accelerate the build-out of EV charging infrastructure across New York.

Investments in disadvantaged communities increased by 81 percent to $372 million across several programs, ensuring all New Yorkers benefit from the investments in clean transportation. Today’s decision introduced a new, innovative micro-mobility make-ready program, supporting charging infrastructure for e-bike, e-scooters and other forms of electric mobility in disadvantaged communities through New York.

Also today, the medium- and heavy-duty make-ready pilot budget designed for commercial customers more than doubled to $58 million, paired with increased flexibility for applicants regarding eligible costs and vehicles, targeting emission reductions in disadvantaged communities. The PSC expects the modifications to the medium- and heavy-duty make-ready pilot will unlock investment in this important sector, and generate critical experience for fleet owners and utilities, as the Commission considers broader programmatic needs in a separate proceeding.

Finally, the PSC approved new beneficial rates and programs for commercial EV-charging customers in a separate order. Under the new programs, commercial EV-charging will be eligible for rebates or subsidies of up to 50 percent of the demand charge costs on their delivery bills. Commercial EV-charging customers in downstate New York will also be eligible to participate in new managed charging programs to unlock even more savings that are also beneficial to the grid. Commercial managed charging programs are still under development in upstate New York and are expected to be available in 2024.

MAYOR ADAMS RELEASES NOVEMBER 2023 FINANCIAL PLAN UPDATE

 

As Asylum Seeker Crisis Continues to Grow, Federal COVID-19 Stimulus Funding Dries Up, and Tax Revenue Growth Slows, Adams Administration Takes Strategic, Essential Steps to Responsibly Manage City’s Finances 

With Migrant Crisis Set to Cost Nearly $11 Billion Over Just Two Fiscal Years and FY25 Budget Gap Expected to Surpass Unprecedented $7 Billion, Administration Implemented PEG to Identify Efficiencies and Deliver Balanced Budget as Required by Law 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams today released the City of New York’s November Financial Plan Update for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24). With the city facing outyear gaps reaching levels unprecedented for this stage of the budget cycle, the Adams administration took targeted but significant and necessary steps to responsibly manage the city’s finances with minimal impact to services New Yorkers rely on and deliver a balanced budget, as required by law. The FY24 budget is $110.5 billion and remains balanced.

 

The November Financial Plan Update was crafted in the face of significant fiscal challenges, with the city having spent $1.45 billion on the asylum seeker humanitarian crisis in FY23 and set to spend nearly $11 billion on this crisis over just FY24 and FY25 without significant and timely state and federal support. Through strong fiscal management and with the limited fiscal tools available — including a successful Program to Eliminate the Gap (PEG) — the administration kept the FY24 budget balanced with minimum disruption to services and without raising taxes on working-class New Yorkers — despite having received limited state and federal aid.

 

“For months, we have warned New Yorkers about the challenging fiscal situation our city faces,” said Mayor Adams. “To balance the budget as the law requires, every city agency dug into their own budget to find savings, with minimal disruption to services. And while we pulled it off this time, make no mistake: Migrant costs are going up, tax revenue growth is slowing, and COVID stimulus funding is drying up. No city should be left to handle a national humanitarian crisis largely on its own, and without the significant and timely support we need from Washington, D.C., today’s budget will be only the beginning.”

 

“Our administration has a legal and fiscal responsibility to come to the table, balance the budget, and make the tough decisions today to ensure a better tomorrow for New York City,” said First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright. “We cannot ask New Yorkers to balance their checkbooks without city leaders doing the same. These tough but necessary decisions were made to protect the city’s fiscal future while continuing to deliver vital government services. However, New York City should not carry this burden on its own. The federal and state government must play their part in delivering long-overdue support, funding, and resources.”

 

“By law, we’re required to balance our budget, and this November Financial Plan Update successfully does that with minimal disruptions to services,” said Chief of Staff Camille Joseph Varlack. “Our agencies have stretched dollars further than ever before to deliver as many services as possible to New Yorkers while securing our city’s financial future, and I’m grateful to the dedicated public servants who will have to do more with less as COVID stimulus dries up, tax revenue growth levels off, and the asylum seeker crisis continues to eat away at our city’s finances. But we’re not out of the woods yet, not by a long shot. If we don’t get the help we need from the federal government, we’ll have to take more drastic measures to balance our budget going forward.”

 

“We must balance our budget in wake of the $12 billion that we project to spend as a result of the migrant crisis. Our budget has been balanced with heavy hearts. Our administration is outraged to have to implement these cuts, which are a direct result of the lack of financial support from Washington, D.C., which is derelict in its responsibility to institute a national plan to mitigate a national crisis and has instead elected to dump its job to handle this migrant crisis upon the lap of a municipality and its mayor. A national crisis demands a national solution,” said Chief Advisor Ingrid P. Lewis-Martin. “The November Financial Plan Update we are releasing today reflects those realities and continues to demonstrate our responsible fiscal stewardship of this city. I am grateful to our agencies for their efforts to find efficiencies and minimize the impact that New Yorkers will feel, but unless we get the help we need and deserve from our federal partners, things will get worse for the most vulnerable New Yorkers. The federal government should be ashamed for putting those most in need in a more dire situation where services that they depend upon are being cut.”

 

In August 2023, Mayor Adams laid out new projections estimating the cost of the asylum seeker crisis to grow to at least $12 billion over three fiscal years — between FY23 and FY25 — if circumstances do not change. With sunsetting COVID-19 stimulus funding, slowing FY24 tax revenue growth, expenses from labor contracts this administration inherited after being unresolved for years, and a lack of significant state or federal government action on the asylum seeker crisis, the mayor took action the following month, announcing a 5 percent PEG on city-funded spending for all city agencies with plans for additional rounds of PEGs in the Preliminary and Executive Budgets. New city-funded spending was limited to those protecting life and safety, fulfilling legal mandates, maintaining necessary operations, or generating revenue.

 

The FY24 budget has grown $3.4 billion since budget adoption in June, in recognition of $2.6 billion in grant funds and $776 million of better-than-expected revenue growth, primarily driven by income and sales tax collections. Outyear gaps are $7.1 billion in FY25, $6.5 billion in FY26, and $6.4 billion in FY27.

 

To meet skyrocketing costs associated with care for asylum seekers, the city added $6.2 billion over FY24 and FY25 in this plan, bringing total funds budgeted for migrant needs over the two fiscal years to $10.8 billion. The administration added the following on top of previously budgeted funding: city funds of $1.4 billion in FY24 and $4.8 billion in FY25, state grants of $447 million in FY24 and $272 million in FY25, and federal aid of $10 million in FY24.

 

The PEG implemented by the administration in the November Financial Plan Update to keep FY24 balanced was successful, setting up the city to save $3.7 billion over two fiscal years. Every agency met their savings target.

 

Looking forward, asylum seeker costs in this plan contributed significantly to a historically large $7.1 billion FY25 budget gap — $2 billion greater than it was in June’s FY24 Adopted Budget — despite the successful PEG in this plan. By law, this gap must be closed in mid-January, two months from today.

 

Attorney General James and Multistate Coalition Secure $6.5 Million from Morgan Stanley for Failing to Protect Customer Data

 

Morgan Stanley to Pay New York $1.6 Million for Compromising the Personal Information of 1.1 Million New Yorkers

New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of five attorneys general today reached a $6.5 million agreement with global financial services firm Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (Morgan Stanley) for compromising the personal information of millions of customers nationwide. Morgan Stanley failed to decommission its computers and erase unencrypted data in certain computer devices that were later auctioned while still containing consumers’ personal information, including data belonging to 1.1 million New Yorkers. New York will receive $1,658,047 from today’s settlement and Morgan Stanley will be required to strengthen its data security measures.

“No one should have their personal information auctioned off without their knowledge because a company failed to take basic steps to erase it before selling their old computers,” said Attorney General James. “Today’s agreement requires Morgan Stanley to bolster its cybersecurity so consumers will never again have to risk their personal data unintentionally being sold at an auction. Companies, big and small, must all take their responsibility to protect their customers’ data seriously, and if they do not, my office will take action.”

Morgan Stanley hired a moving company with no experience in data destruction services to decommission thousands of hard drives and servers containing sensitive information of millions of its customers. Morgan Stanley failed to properly monitor the moving company’s work, and its computer equipment, some of which still contained private consumer information, was then sold at auction. Morgan Stanley was only made aware of the problem when a purchaser discovered the data and called the company.

In a second incident, Morgan Stanley discovered during a decommissioning process that 42 servers, all potentially containing unencrypted customer information, were missing. During this process, the company learned that the local devices being decommissioned may have contained unencrypted data due to a manufacturer flaw in the encryption software. The multistate investigation found that Morgan Stanley failed to maintain adequate vendor controls and hardware inventories, and that had these controls been in place, both data security events could have been prevented.

As a result of today’s agreement, Morgan Stanley has agreed to pay a $6.5 million fine and to adopt a series of provisions that better protects the personal information of its consumers going forward, including: 

• Maintaining a comprehensive information security program that includes regular updates that are necessary to reasonably protect the privacy, security, and confidentiality of personal information;
• Maintaining an incident response plan that documents incidents and responses;
• Maintaining a written policy that governs the collection, use, retention, and disposal of consumers’ personal information;
• Encrypting all personal information, whether stored or transmitted, between documents, databases, or elsewhere;
• Employing a manual process and automated tools to keep track of the locations of all hardware that contain personal information; and
• Maintaining a vendor risk assessment team to assess and ensure that vendors are in compliance with Morgan Stanley’s data security requirements.

Today’s agreement continues Attorney General James’ efforts to protect New Yorkers’ personal information and hold companies accountable for their poor data security practices. Last month, Attorney General James and a multistate coalition secured $49.5 million from cloud company Blackbaud for a 2020 data breach exposing the data of thousands of users. In September, Attorney General James reached an agreement with Marymount Manhattan College to invest $3.5 million to protect students’ online data. This past May, Attorney General James secured $300,000 from Sports Warehouse for failing to protect the data of 2.5 million customers. Also in May, Attorney General James recouped $550,000 from a medical management company for failing to protect patient data. In April, Attorney General James released a comprehensive data security guide to help companies strengthen their data security practices. In October 2022, Attorney General James announced a $1.9 million agreement with the owner of SHEIN and Zoetop for failing to properly handle a data breach that compromised the personal information of millions of consumers. In June 2022, Attorney General James secured $400,000 from Wegmans and required the retailer to improve data storage security after a data breach exposed consumers’ personal information.