Monday, July 29, 2024

MAYOR ADAMS ANNOUNCES BACK-TO-BACK RECORD YEARS FOR CREATING AND CONNECTING NEW YORKERS TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING

 

Adams Administration Breaks Record for Financing Most Affordable New Construction, Housing for Formerly Homeless New Yorkers, and Permanently Supportive Housing 

 

Record Number of Homeless New Yorkers Moved Into Permanent Housing Using CityFHEPS Housing Vouchers, and Permanently Affordable Housing for Formerly Homeless 

 

Historic Year Comes as Adams Administration Addresses Housing Crisis with City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” Proposal to Produce as Many as 108,850 New Homes and Nearly 50,000 Housing Units From Neighborhood Planning Efforts Over 15 Years 


New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced back-to-back record-breaking years for producing and connecting New Yorkers to new, affordable homes. For the second year in a row, the city has produced the most supportive housing and housing for formerly homeless New YorkersAs the city faces a generational housing shortage and an affordability crisis, the administration, this year, financed the most new affordable homes in history. Following decades of disinvestment, the city also converted 3,678 New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) apartments into newly renovated residences. The Adams administration additionally moved a record number of homeless New Yorkers into permanent housing through the highest usage of City Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement (CityFHEPS) housing vouchersaffordable housing through the city’s housing lottery program, and placing formerly homeless households into permanently-affordable housing. In total, city agencies financed a combined 28,944 affordable and public housing units in Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 through new construction and preservation initiatives.  

 

“Over back-to-back years, our administration has faced a housing crisis head-on by building and connecting more New Yorkers than ever to affordable housing,” said Mayor Adams. “These record-breaking years are the result of countless city agencies coming together to make sure all New Yorkers — from our formerly homeless to families at the edge of poverty to those just struggling to make ends meet — have access to safe, stable housing. While today we celebrate our progress, tomorrow we get back to work and aim even higherCity of Yes for Housing Opportunity’ is another tool we have to produce over 108,000 new homes that our city needs and deserves in the next 15 years. Today, I’m calling on all of our partners in government to come together and say ‘yes” to helping the city build its way out of this crisis.” 

 

“I am proud that for the second consecutive year, the Adams administration has set record-breaking milestones in creating and connecting New Yorkers to affordable housing,” said First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright. “Our administration has achieved unprecedented levels of new supportive housing, while also delivering more affordable housing construction than ever before in our city’s history. We are committed to ensuring every New Yorker has a place to call home and we will continue to use every tool at our disposal to address this generational housing crisis.” 

 

Our housing agencies, with the mayor as our biggest housing champion, have made incredible progress in addressing our housing crisis over the last fiscal year, said Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Maria Torres-SpringerFaced with our near-zero housing vacancy, Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Housing Development Corporation, NYCHA, and Department of Social Services heeded the call and produced historic results. From the record amount of affordable new construction and supportive housing, to NYCHAs work with tenants in developing their communities, this has been an enormous team effort. By building and preserving record amounts of affordable housing year after year, this administration is demonstrating its unwavering commitment to ensuring that all New Yorkers can thrive in our city. 

 

“Every New Yorker deserves a permanent home,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom. “Since the start of our administration, we’ve made progress towards that vision by connecting more New Yorkers than ever to supportive housing, shortening the path between shelter and stable housing, and increasing the number of people accessing CityFHEPS, among other items. Over just the last two years, in sum, we’ve produced more affordable housing and connected more New Yorkers to housing supports than any time in our city’s history. While we continue to build more housing, we’re bringing relief to New Yorkers in need today, and making strides to tackle the structural challenges the city faces with a 1.4 percent vacancy rate, and more than half of New Yorkers being considered rent burdened. We will continue to deliver support as we fight for long term change to make our city more affordable for all.”  

 

“Today’s announcement reflects the power of city government to directly support working families and young adults by addressing the affordable housing crisis,” said Deputy Mayor for Strategic Initiatives Ana J. Almanzar. “By using all of the tools at our disposal, the Adams administration is immediately helping New Yorkers today and laying the foundation for lower housing costs for future generations.”  

 

"As New Yorkers continue to confront the unprecedented housing demand, our commitment to creating quality, accessible, and affordable homes remains unwavering,” said New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Adolfo Carrion Jr. “Today’s announcement demonstrates our effective efforts to meet that challenge with ingenuity, creativity, and empathy. Through the dedication of our team and our sister agencies, our collective work has resulted in an impressive surge of new homes and successful housing placements that will help lift up and steady communities across our cityOur dedication to equitable development and preserving and expanding affordable housing options underscores our belief that every New Yorker deserves a safe, stable place to call home. Through strategic partnerships, innovative approaches, and record-level investments in our housing budget, our administration is transforming the city's housing landscape to make sure it is advancing the needs of individuals and families of all backgrounds and incomes, ensuring that our efforts today lay the foundation for further success."  

 

Much of NYCHA's work is focused on using every tool at our disposal to deliver much-needed renovations to our housing stock — in the face of decades of federal disinvestment and mounting physical needs — to improve the quality of life for the New Yorkers we serve, said NYCHA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-HiattWe're very proud of the work we've accomplished, working in close partnership with empowered NYCHA residents over the course of the last city fiscal year. During this time, we conducted NYCHA’s first-ever votes at Nostrand Houses and Bronx River Addition, with residents electing to join the Trust in both cases, unlocking hundreds of millions of dollars to be invested across both campuses. We also reached a pivotal milestone with the PACT, having surpassed 20,000 units converted to Project-Based Section 8 through the program, representing an impressive $5.68 billion in capital repairs to the homes of NYCHA residents across the five boroughs. We thank the Adams administration for their steadfast commitment to housing affordability in New York City, their ongoing partnership, and their continued prioritization of NYCHA residents. 

 

“With another year of record affordable housing production and connections to housing, the Adams administration is again demonstrating its commitment to addressing the city’s housing crisis head-on while supporting our vulnerable and working-class communities,” said New York City Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Molly Wasow Park. “We continue to prioritize connections to housing by expanding access to subsidies and streamlining related processes. These efforts have allowed us to, again, significantly increase the number of households exiting shelter to permanent housing, and, for the second consecutive year, helped us connect a record number of New Yorkers to affordable, permanent housing with city funded CityFHEPS vouchers. While the data shows we are on the right path, we know there is more work to be done, and we need every level of government to come together and provide the resources necessary to create a more equitable and affordable city." 

 

“From its beginning, our administration has not only focused on the creation and preservation of affordable housing, but on what it takes to get New Yorkers from all communities better access to affordable housing — achieving those goals are major takeaways from today's housing production announcement, said New York City Executive Director for Housing Leila BozorgWe are delivering record numbers of new affordable housing construction, as well as housing for the homeless, those in need of supportive housing, seniors, and extremely low-income New Yorkers. Meanwhile, we're connecting a record number of New Yorkers, and homeless people specifically, into affordable housing. With new tools to create affordable housing from Albany, new capital in the adopted budget, and our efforts to build a little more housing in every neighborhood through ‘City of Yes,’ we're only going to build on this success. 

 

“Today’s announcement marks significant progress in addressing the city's affordable housing crisis,” said New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) President Eric Enderlin. “I am proud of the collaboration of the many city agencies involved in implementing Mayor Adams’s housing blueprint, including HDC, HPD, NYCHA, and DSS. Together, we have delivered a record number of new affordable homes to New Yorkers and brought essential new investment to preserve our city’s public housing stock. HDC looks forward to building upon this momentum to further expand its affordable housing production in the coming year, while continuing to advocate for additional resources in order to meet the affordability challenges faced by our city.” 

 

“New Yorkers feel the impacts of our housing crisis every day, with rising rents and limited inventory making it harder for residents to stay in their homes and communities. That’s why we’re working to tackle this crisis head-on by making record investments in affordable housing and advancing the most pro-housing zoning proposal in New York City history,” said New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) Director Dan Garodnick. “By working across government, we can create the homes New Yorkers need and ensure there are affordable, stable housing options in every neighborhood.” 

 

“New York City had another banner year in creating affordable housing and addressing the housing crisis,” said New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) President and CEO Andrew Kimball. “As NYCEDC works to advance housing initiatives throughout the city, including at Willets Point and on the North Shore of Staten Island, I applaud Mayor Adams and the entire administration for doubling down on their support for building housing and making New York City a great place to live, work, learn, play, and do business.” 

 

“One of our most pressing missions here in city government is the promotion and facilitation of affordable housing development,” said New York City Department of Buildings Commissioner Jimmy Oddo. “Since day one, Mayor Adams and our administration have been focused on cutting red tape and opening up development opportunities, to get as many safe affordable units into the construction pipeline as possible, and that work is getting results for New Yorkers with record numbers for the second year in a row.”    

 

“Today’s critical announcement is welcome news for the countless New Yorkers who are all too familiar with the struggle to find quality affordable housing,” said New York City Councilmember Rafael Salamanca, Jr, chair, Committee on Land Use. “The demand for safe, affordable housing is an issue that my district has experienced firsthand, and it’s an issue that I’ve made a pillar of my tenure in the City Council. Last year alone, the 17th Council District created more new, affordable housing than 26 council districts combined, which is more than half of the City Council. In the midst of one of the worst housing crises the city has experienced, the record-setting FY24 numbers the Adams administration has overseen, on the back of an equally impressive FY23 haul, sends a symbolic message to New Yorkers everywhere: when faced with great adversity, New York City is answering the call! I thank Mayor Adams and his team for understanding the severity of the issue, and as chair of the Committee on Land Use, I look forward to continuing to work with the administration on behalf of the City Council to promote the production of new, affordable housing.” 

 

Building a Historic Number of Affordable Housing  

 

As New York City faces a 1.4 percent rental vacancy rate, with half of all New York renters paying more than 30 percent of their income in rent, the Adams administration is delivering them a more affordable city by building a record amount of affordable housing to meet the moment.HPD and HDC financed 25,266 affordable homes, with a record 14,706 in newly constructed homes2,155 in permanent supportive housing units and 4,085 units of housing for formerly homeless New Yorkers. Additionally, the Adams administration produced 5,401 421-A standalone affordable units and 3,255 permanently-affordable inclusionary housing — both the most in the city’s historyHPD produced 2,130 homeownership units, more than double from the previous fiscal year. Finally, the city produced the second most homes serving older New Yorkers, as well as the second most city-subsidized units for extremely low-income New Yorkers.  

 

Connecting a Record Number of New Yorkers to New, Affordable Housing 

 

City agencies broke records connecting New Yorkers to new, critically-needed affordable housing in FY24 as well 

 

The Adams administration is continuing to prioritize transitioning homeless New Yorkers from streets, subways, and homeless shelters into stable, permanent housing. In FY24, the city built the highest ever count of supportive homes and homes for the homeless in the city's history, and increased production of housing for the formerly homeless by 15 percent.   

 

More New Yorkers are being connected to affordable housing at a faster rate. HPD approved 9,550 households for new housing lotteries, connected 3,990 homeless households to permanently affordable homes, and marketed a record 315 housing lotteries through Housing Connect. HPD exceeded its fiscal year completions target by more than 40 percent, completing a total 21,159 units of affordable housing.  

 

Finally, DSS helped 16,902 households move out of shelter and into permanent housing over FY24, 12,526 of which were placed into subsidized permanent housing — a more than 20 percent increase over FY23. DSS had back-to-back record-breaking yearconnecting New Yorkers to housing using CityFHEPS vouchers. 

DEC SEEKS PARTICIPANTS FOR 2024 SUMMER TURKEY SURVEY

 

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Public Encouraged to Report Turkey Sightings During Month of August

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar is encouraging New Yorkers to participate in the State’s annual survey for wild turkeys this summer.

“DEC’s Summer Wild Turkey Sighting Survey is a great opportunity for people to participate in wildlife science,” Interim Commissioner Mahar said. “Anyone with internet access can participate, simply by reporting their observations while exploring the outdoors.”

Throughout August, participants can record observed dates, locations, sex, and ages of wild turkeys by using an online form as they enjoy the State’s beautiful summer landscapes. The form can be filled out on a smartphone, tablet, or computer. The survey form and instructions are available on DEC’s website.

DEC has conducted the annual Summer Wild Turkey Sighting Survey with the help of the public since 1996. Many factors, including weather and habitat changes, can impact turkey reproduction and populations. By collecting observations of turkeys in August, DEC estimates how productive the turkey population is each year and compare reproductive success between years. Annual measures of poult production (number of young-of-the-year birds) are important data that help biologists manage wild turkey populations.

Citizen or community science opportunities like the Summer Wild Turkey Sighting Survey cultivate a collaborative partnership between the public and DEC while providing data that can be used to help manage wildlife species, including turkeys. Summary data from the survey is posted on the Fall Turkey Harvest and Productivity Dashboard on DEC’s website.

For additional information and resources, visit:

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

 

THE WEEK IN REVIEW
NOCHE QUISQUEYANA 2024
 
🇩🇴 Noche Quisqueyana ðŸ‡©ðŸ‡´
Friday night was epic, as we celebrated the Dominican community and its accomplishments… Congratulations to all the honorees and their contributions to making The Bronx and NYC a better place.

UPCOMING EVENTS


NOCHE QUISQUEYANA

This marks the third annual Noche Quisqueyana, which honors four special New York Dominicans in the Bronx.


https://bronx.news12.com/bronx-zoo-hosts-third-annual-noche-quisequenya
 

https://pix11.com/news/local-news/very-proud-to-be-a-dominican-new-yorkers-showed-up-to-celebrate-their-heritage/


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

Three Individuals Sentenced for Massive $88M Business Telephone System Software License Piracy Scheme

 

Three individuals have been sentenced for participating in an international scheme involving the sale of tens of thousands of pirated business telephone system software licenses with a retail value of over $88 million.

Raymond Bradley “Brad” Pearce, 48, of Tuttle, Oklahoma, a computer system administrator, was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to forfeit $4 million. In June, Dusti O. Pearce, 46, also of Tuttle, was sentenced to one year and a day in prison and ordered to forfeit $4 million. In July, Jason M. Hines, 44, of Caldwell, New Jersey, was sentenced to one year and six months in prison and an additional 18 months of home confinement, and ordered to forfeit $2 million. In addition, the three defendants have agreed to pay restitution—specifically, $17 million for Brad Pearce, $10 million for Dusti Pearce, and more than $5 million for Hines. The court will hold a separate restitution hearing in a few weeks to determine the details of the restitution order.

According to court documents, Brad and Dusti Pearce conspired with Hines to commit wire fraud in a scheme that involved generating and then selling unauthorized Avaya Direct International (ADI) software licenses. The ADI software licenses were used to unlock features and functionalities of a popular telephone system product called “IP Office” used by thousands of companies around the world. The ADI software licensing system has since been decommissioned.

Avaya Holdings Corporation, a multinational business communications company headquartered in California, sold IP Office to many midsize and small businesses in the United States and abroad. To unlock features and functionalities of IP Office, such as voicemail or telephones, customers had to purchase software licenses generated by Avaya from an authorized Avaya distributor or reseller. Avaya used software license keys to control access to Avaya’s copyright-protected software and to ensure that only customers who paid for the software could use it. Moreover, Avaya required that each software license on an IP Office system be associated with a proprietary memory card with a unique serial number that the end user had to keep in its possession to use the licenses.

Brad Pearce, a long-time customer service employee at Avaya, used his system administrator privileges to generate tens of thousands of ADI software license keys that he sold to Hines and other customers, who in turn sold them to resellers and end users around the world. The retail value of each Avaya software license ranged from under $100 to thousands of dollars. Brad Pearce also employed his system administrator privileges to hijack the accounts of former Avaya employees to generate additional ADI software license keys. Pearce concealed the fraud scheme for many years by using these privileges to alter information about the accounts, which helped hide his creation of unauthorized license keys. Dusti Pearce handled accounting for the illegal business.

Hines operated Direct Business Services International (DBSI), formerly known as Dedicated Business Systems International, a New Jersey-based business communications systems provider and a de-authorized Avaya reseller. He bought ADI software license keys from Brad and Dusti Pearce and then sold them to resellers and end users around the world for significantly below the wholesale price. Hines was by far the Pearces’ largest customer and significantly influenced how the scheme operated. Hines was one of the biggest users of the ADI license system in the world.

Altogether, the Pearces and Hines reaped millions of dollars from the scheme. To hide the nature and source of the money, the Pearces funneled their illegal gains through a PayPal account created under a false name to multiple bank accounts, and then transferred the money to investment and bank accounts. They also purchased large quantities of gold bullion and other valuable items.

In July 2023, Hines pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. In September 2023, the Pearces also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester for the Western District of Oklahoma; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jason Kaplan of the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Oklahoma City Field Office investigated the case.

Sunday, July 28, 2024

Estela Nears Leasing Completion At 414, 445 Gerard Avenue In Mott Haven, The Bronx

 Rendering of Estela - Courtesy of VUW

The Domain Companies has announced that Estela, a two-building rental development at 414 and 445 Gerard Avenue in Mott HavenThe Bronx, is 80 percent leased. Designed by S9 Architecture, the property yields 380 market-rate and 164 affordable rental apartments. Move-ins began in May 2023.

Rendering of Estela - Courtesy of VUW

Estela features more than 35,000 square feet of residential amenities, including outdoor spaces, screening and lounge rooms, a fitness center, a yoga room, and a pet spa. The property is also home to Mott Haven Marketplace, a deli and grocer, on its ground floor.

Apartments at the property feature stainless steel appliances, chef’s kitchens, and full-size washers and dryers. Both Estela buildings are expected to receive LEED Platinum level certification and offer sustainable features including in-building parking with electric vehicle charging stations, cogeneration systems, photovoltaic panels, acoustically upgraded windows, and rainwater harvesting for landscaping.

Rendering of the Estela clubroom – Courtesy of VUW

“With access to the new Bronx Point park, Yankee Stadium, the Bronx Terminal Market, The Bronx Children’s Museum, and many other cultural institutions and close proximity to a wide array of transportation, culinary experiences, employment opportunities, and more, Mott Haven is a bustling place people want to set roots,” said Jason Hill, director of marketing at the Domain Companies. “While Estela offers a dynamic residential environment, the broader Mott Haven neighborhood is drawing people in with its vibrant cultural character. Estela and Mott Haven compliment one another, and from this new leasing milestone, we know how eager tenants are to become a part of these communities.”