Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson - Community Resources & Updates

 

Dear Neighbor,

 

The secret is out. Savor the Bronx is back! We are thrilled to partner with the Bronx Tourism Council, the Bronx Economic Development Corporation, and the Business Initiative Corporation of New York for the return of this beloved and historic event. For six days, we'll showcase the rich, diverse culinary offerings our borough is known for, as local restaurants come together to celebrate the flavors of the Bronx. The Bronx Tourism Council is currently recruiting restaurants to participate in this exciting event, where each will offer a prix fixe menu with discounted options for diners to enjoy. This is a fantastic opportunity to experience the unique and delicious flavors of our community. Click HERE for more information on how to get involved.

 

Our Winter Wonderland Extravaganza is also making a comeback! Get ready to kick off the holiday season with a night of festive fun, music, giveaways, and more on Thursday, December 5th at 5 PM at Bronx Borough Hall. It’s the perfect way to celebrate the season and spread some holiday cheer with family, friends, and neighbors.

 

Lastly, as we approach Thanksgiving, we want to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude to all of you. We wish you and your loved ones a safe, healthy, and joyful holiday season filled with warmth and togetherness. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our office at 718-590-3500 or email us at webmail@bronxbp.nyc.gov.

In partnership,

Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson

IN THE COMMUNITY

We partnered with Hot 97, WBLS, Compare Foods, Eat Clean Bro, and more to host a Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway at Tracey Towers. A big thank you to Congressman Adriano Espaillat, Senator Gustavo Rivera, Assembly Member John Zaccaro Jr., and Council Member Eric Dinowitz for supporting and making this event a success.

Last week, we hosted the Movember Men’s Health and Resource Fair in partnership with Bronx Fathers Taking Action and Planet Fitness! This event focused on promoting men’s health, wellness, and access to vital resources. November is recognized as Men’s Health Awareness Month, largely due to the global Movember movement and the goal of dedicating November to men’s health is to reduce stigma, promote early detection, and emphasize the importance of physical and mental well-being for men worldwide. The month serves as a reminder for men to prioritize regular check-ups, seek support, and take proactive steps to maintain their health.  Thank you to everyone who joined us in supporting a healthier Bronx! We celebrated community and connection at last week`s Senior Luncheon at Golden Corral kicking off the thanksgiving season We marked a major milestone with the ribbon cutting and groundbreaking ceremony for the new 40th Precinct in the Bronx! This state-of-the-art facility represents our commitment to improving public safety and strengthening community partnerships.  UPCOMING EVENTS GENERAL INFORMATION

Housing Lottery Launches for Greenpoint Central at 75 Dupont Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn

 

The affordable housing lottery has launched for Greenpoint Central, an eight-story mixed-use building at 75 Dupont Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Developed by Madison Capital Realty and designed by Hill West Architects with Whitehall Interiors as the interior designer, the structure yields 471 residences. Available on NYC Housing Connect are 59 units for residents at 80 to 130 percent of the area median income (AMI), ranging in eligible income from $67,475 to $218,010.

All residences feature in-unit washers and dryers, large windows for ample natural light, quartz countertops, and stainless-steel appliances. Amenities include a shared laundry room, bike room, storage, on-site parking, resident lounge, business center, library, furnished interior courtyard, and a rooftop deck with lounging, grilling, and dinning areas. Tenants are responsible for electricity.

At 80 percent of the AMI, there are nine studios with a monthly rent of $1,869 for incomes ranging from $67,475 to $99,440; 15 one-bedrooms with a monthly rent of $1,993 for incomes ranging from $72,172 to $111,840; and six two-bedrooms with a monthly rent of $2,375 for incomes ranging from $86,298 to $134,160.

At 130 percent of the AMI, there are nine studios with a monthly rent of $3,423 for incomes ranging from $117,360 to $161,590; 15 one-bedrooms with a monthly rent of $3,661 for incomes ranging from $125,520 to $181,740; and five two-bedrooms with a monthly rent of $4,376 for incomes ranging from $150,035 to $218,010.

Prospective renters must meet income and household size requirements to apply for these apartments. Applications must be postmarked or submitted online no later than January 21, 2025.

Governor Hochul Signs New Legislation to Fight Crime and Keep New Yorkers Safe

 

Fighting Harassment or Threats Against New Yorkers Who Wear Religious Clothing, Like a Yarmulke or Hijab

Expanding Eligibility For School-Based Anti-Violence Programming To Protect At-Risk Youth

Taking Action Against Cell Phone Theft Through "Detective Brian Simonsen's Law"

Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation to fight crime and keep New Yorkers safe. The three new laws protect individuals from hate-fueled violence, enhance anti-violence education in schools and crack down on stolen cell phones.

“Public safety is my top priority, and I'm committed to using every possible tool to keep New Yorkers safe,” Governor Hochul said. “The data is clear: New York has gotten safer since I took office in 2021, but there is more to do to stop hate and prevent violence in our communities. Signing these bills today will create three new laws to help protect New Yorkers and further reduce crime.”

Violence and crime continue to decline across New York State, with shootings in communities participating in the State’s Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) initiative down 26 percent through October and overall crime is down 11 percent through the first six months of the year outside of New York City. GIVE jurisdictions account for roughly 90 percent of violent crimes involving firearms and 85 percent of violent crime reported outside New York City. Last week, Governor Kathy Hochul announced the State’s one-of-a-kind network of Crime Analysis Centers was recognized with an Excellence in the Field of Criminal Justice Award, one of six presented recently by the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance to mark the 40th anniversary of the federal law that created the bureau. The State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) funds and supports 11 Crime Analysis Centers statewide in partnership with local law enforcement agencies. Staff at these Centers handled nearly 95,000 requests for service in 2023, providing critical data analysis, information and investigative support to help local law enforcement agencies deter, investigate and solve crimes.

Legislation S5302/A8849 amends State law to classify removal or threat of removal of religious clothing, such as a yarmulke or hijab, as aggravated harassment in the second degree. Over the past year, there have been multiple incidents where individuals' religious clothing has been threatened in acts of hateful violence.

Legislation S4598D/A4917D would allow anti-violence educational programs to receive funding from the Omnibus School Violence Prevention Grant program. Newly-eligible programs would provide evidence-based trauma support for at-risk youth, group counseling and anti-violence education.

Legislation S7739B/A8994A enacts "Detective Brian Simonsen's Law", which aims to crack down on cell phone theft by requiring wireless service providers disable services to stolen wireless phones. The law is named after Detective Brian Simonsen, a heroic NYPD officer who lost his life in 2019 while responding to an armed robbery at a cell phone store.

Founder of U.S. Freight Forwarding Company Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Illegally Export Goods from the United States to Prohibited Chinese Companies

 

Richard Shih, 77, the founder and former chief executive officer of a California-based international logistics and freight forwarding company with offices in Grapevine, Texas, pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate export laws by shipping goods to Chinese companies on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Entity List.

According to court documents, as of September 2018, Shih’s U.S. company had an existing business relationship with Chinese freight forwarder Seajet Company Limited (Seajet). In September 2018, Seajet and its Chinese co-owner were both added to the Entity List for engaging in activities that were contrary to the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States, to include unlawfully procuring and diverting U.S.-origin items to North Korea. In addition, in June 2021, Hisiang Logistics Company Limited (Hisiang) was added to the Entity List as an alias for Seajet. Hisiang is the Chinese transliteration of Seajet. As a result of being added to the Entity List, a specific license was required to export goods from the United States to Seajet, its co-owner, and Hisiang. Nonetheless, between September 2018 and May 2022, Shih and others at his company continued to transact with and export items to Seajet and its affiliates.

Specifically, between September 2018 and May 2022, Shih’s company conducted more than 1,000 shipments of items from the United States to Seajet and its alter-ego Hisiang. During that time period, Seajet’s co-owner and his affiliated businesses, including Hisiang, transmitted 34 international wire transfers to accounts held by Shih’s company. The company used the funds to pay various expenses on the transactions, such as air carriers and trucking companies, while retaining a portion of the funds as profit.

Shih and his company knew that Seajet and its co-owner were on the Entity List and that Hisiang was established as an alias for Seajet. For example, Seajet’s co-owner notified Shih by email that Seajet had changed its name to Hisiang for purposes of its international business but that “[t]here is nothing else changed such as company address, structure and policy etc.” Shih then forwarded the email to ten of his employees, copying Seajet’s co-owner and several Seajet employees.

In addition, federal officials repeatedly educated Shih’s company about the Entity List and related laws. In December 2018, after Seajet and its co-owner were added to the Entity List, a BIS official visited Shih’s company to discuss the prohibition against exporting items to Seajet, because it was on the Entity List. Yet, company records from the time revealed that it had used an account code assigned to Seajet for a shipment to Hisiang. In November 2020, another BIS official reached out to Shih’s company and received a list of foreign persons and companies with which Shih’s company would not do business. Yet, the company’s list did not include Seajet, its co-owner, or Hisiang.

Shih pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Export Control Reform Act, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371, which carries a maximum sentence of up to five years in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod of Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton for the Northern District of Texas, and Executive Assistant Director Robert Wells of the FBI’s National Security Branch announced the case.

The FBI and BIS are investigating the case.

Doctor Sentenced To Five Years In Prison For Defrauding The NBA Players’ Health And Welfare Benefit Plan

 

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that WILLIAM WASHINGTON was sentenced to five years in prison for his participation in a scheme to defraud the National Basketball Association (“NBA”) Players’ Health and Welfare Benefit Plan (the “Plan”).  WASHINGTON was convicted on June 28, 2024, following a one-week jury trial and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni. 

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “William Washington, a licensed medical doctor, had a solemn responsibility not to abuse his position of trust.  Instead, Washington used his license and his clinics to generate fraudulent invoices for medical services he never performed.  Over just one year, Washington pocketed nearly a half-million dollars for himself and his co-conspirators.  This sentence sends a clear message that those who engage in health care fraud schemes, particularly medical providers, will face stringent penalties.” 

According to the Indictment and the evidence at trial:

From approximately in or about 2019 through July 2020, WASHINGTON, a licensed medical doctor who operated medical clinics located in the Seattle, Washington-area, participated in a scheme with retired NBA players to defraud the Plan.  In furtherance of the scheme, WASHINGTON generated fraudulent invoices purporting to document nearly $500,000 worth of medical services that he never provided – such as $10,000 office visits and $25,000 shoulder injections – and repeatedly lied to the Plan by claiming that he had performed those services.  WASHINGTON also swiped Plan-issued debit cards to collect money on these fake invoices. As a result of these debit card swipes, WASHINGTON received over $450,000 from the Plan, which he cashed out and distributed to his co-conspirators.   

In addition to the prison sentence, WASHINGTON, 47, of Seattle, Washington, was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $20,000 fine, forfeit $475,042, and pay restitution in the amount of $475,042.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

NYC Comptroller’s Office Releases Fiscal Year 2024 Popular Annual Financial Report

 

The Office of New York City Comptroller Brad Lander released the Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR) for the fiscal year (FY) ending June 30, 2024. The PAFR is a comprehensive summary of the previously released Annual Comprehensive Financial Release (ACFR) containing the City’s audited financial statements and detailed data on the City’s finances.

“New York City’s economy has many core strengths and continues to recover from the pandemic, but nonetheless faces significant challenges in areas like housing affordability and employment,” said New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. “This year’s PAFR underscores the importance of better deploying the City’s sizable but nonetheless limited resources to most effectively meet the needs of all New Yorkers for a safer, thriving, healthy, well-educated, affordable, and well-managed city. I am thankful to the dedication of my Office’s Bureau of Accountancy who compiled this crucial report, continuing our commitment to transparency and accountability for the City’s fiscal resilience.”

The PAFR serves as an illustrative guide to the ACFR for residents and explains New York City government and finances in a concise and easy-to-understand manner. The PAFR is also enhanced with several explanatory visuals for readers.

For the 44th consecutive year, the City of New York was awarded the prestigious Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). This report will be submitted specifically for consideration of GFOA’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting which the City of New York has received for the last nine fiscal years.

This year’s PAFR highlights:

New York City’s Economy

New York City’s economy continued to rebound from the pandemic during FY 2024, though at a slower pace than in the prior year.

Employment Across New York City

• The Leisure and Hospitality sector continued to add jobs, however, these job gains were offset by modest job losses in three of the city’s key sectors—Information, Professional and Business Services, and Financial Activities—as well as in Retail Trade and Construction.
• Employment in these last two sectors also continued to run well below pre-pandemic levels.

New York City’s Finances

Program and General Revenues

• In FY 2024, program and general revenues were approximately $115.2 billion, an increase of $4.9 billion from FY 2023. The major components of the changes in governmental activities revenues were operating grants and contributions, and real estate taxes.
• Real estate taxes had the most revenues, totaling $32.9 billion, followed by operating grants and contributions at $31.5 billion.
• Operating grants and contributions increased as a result of higher Federal and State revenues in FY 2024, primarily in Education Foundation Aid and Asylum Seeker and Federal Stimulus.
• The increase in real estate taxes resulted from growth in billable assessed value during the fiscal year.

Expenses

• FY 2024 expenses were approximately $122.1 billion, an increase of close to $15.3 billion from FY 2023.
  • General Government expenses increased due to an increase in Department of Citywide Administrative Services expenses for costs related to Asylum Seekers.
  • Education expenses increased due to collective bargaining agreements, growth in mandated costs for special education pupils, and increased charter school expenses.
  • Social Services expenses increased due to increased spending on daycare by the Administration for Children’s Services.
  • Housing expenses increased due to housing voucher rent increases, full roll-out of the Emergency Housing Voucher program, new shelter and service costs associated with the Asylum Seekers response, and increased funding for the New York City Housing Authority.
  • Health expenses increased due to costs related to Asylum Seekers.
  • Transportation expenses increased due to MTA’s decreased fare revenues, escalating MTA costs, and the State mandated higher City contributions.
• The major components of the changes in governmental activities expenses were within general government and education.

The full Popular Annual Financial Report for 2024 is available here.

NYC Council Secures $5 Billion in Commitments for City for All Plan to Invest into Communities and Increase Affordability

 

Investments will strengthen affordability, homeownership, neighborhood infrastructure, tenant protections, agency capacity, and planning efforts while advancing zoning reforms to produce over 80,000 new homes

The New York City Council released the full overview of the $5 billion in commitments the Council secured for its City for All housing plan, as part of its agreement on the Zoning for Housing Opportunity (ZHO) citywide zoning text amendment. Together with modifications to ZHO, it is one of the most significant housing plans in New York City history, with $1 billion committed by Governor Kathy Hochul and the State of New York. The agreement is estimated to produce 80,000 new homes and invests in solutions that deepen the affordability of housing, support affordable homeownership, bolster neighborhood infrastructure, preserve affordable housing (including NYCHA), protect tenants, strengthen housing agencies’ capacities, and support new planning efforts that can produce more housing. The Council put forward City for All to advance a holistic housing plan that could support working- and middle-class New Yorkers and invest in solutions that met their housing needs, recognizing that zoning reform was only one part of addressing the housing crisis.

“The committees’ approval of the Council’s comprehensive housing plan to modify the Zoning for Housing Opportunity text amendment with major investments in City for All demonstrates that it is possible to create a significant amount of new housing in every neighborhood, while respecting neighborhood character and investing in more affordable housing, communities, and homeownership,” said Speaker Adrienne Adams. “This is an important step forward to address the city’s housing crisis that is making it unaffordable for working- and middle-class New Yorkers. Residents of our city need affordable and stable homes to rent and own and addressing that shortage, while supporting existing homeowners and tenants, deepening affordability, and strengthening the infrastructure of neighborhoods, are goals we must all share for a safer and stronger city.”

A more detailed summary of the $5 billion in commitments to City for All can be found here.

The commitments include: 

Deepened Affordability and Preserve Affordable Housing

• $2 billion secured in additional housing capital investments to finance affordable housing development and preservation, support Mitchell-Lama developments, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), and HDFCs
• Larger projects that take advantage of the Universal Affordability Preference (UAP) program with 10,000 or more square feet of UAP floor area will be required to deliver 20% of their total income-restricted units at 40% area median income (AMI) or below to deliver deeply affordable housing
• For the first time in New York City’s zoning code, affordability requirements in low-density zoning districts will be established to enact inclusionary zoning citywide
  • Town Center, Transit Oriented Development, and community facility developments of a certain size will be required to provide permanently affordable housing at an average of 80 AMI
• The MIH Option 3 deep affordability option that requires the delivery of 20% of income-restricted housing at 40% AMI deep affordability will become a stand-alone option opening up new opportunities for deeply affordable housing through the MIH program.

Support for Affordable Homeownership

• Double funding for the HomeFirst Down Payment Assistance Program with $41 million and expand its eligibility to more moderate-income New Yorkers up to 120% AMI to increase homeownership opportunities.
• Expand HomeFix 2.0 which supports working-class homeowners’ ability to maintain their homes with a commitment of $27.7 million.
• In addition to the funding commitments to support Mitchell-Lama developments, a joint City-State Mitchell-Lama Action Group will be established to improve and stabilize Mitchell-Lama developments that have accumulated billions of dollars in deferred maintenance.
• Increase funding of legal services for homeowners through the Homeowner Help Desk by $25.6 million to protect and support existing homeowners.

Investment in Infrastructure, Including Parks and Open Space, to Support Growth

• Dedicate $2 billion for infrastructure investments, including stormwater and drainage systems, street improvements, open space, flood mitigation, and sewer upgrades.
• Allocate $3 million to assist the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in designing new flood maps that guide where flood mitigation measures are required.

Protecting Tenants and Bolstering Utilization of Housing Vouchers  

• Add $215 million in funding for CityFHEPS vouchers across FY25 and FY26
• Increase funding by $187 million for CityFHEPS rental assistance for the rehabilitation and conversion of homeless housing to create permanent affordable homes for New Yorkers in the shelter system over ten years
• Dedicate $150 million to cover NYCHA rental arrears for eligible resident households, in addition to $35 million in state funding and $160 million of assistance distributed through the Emergency Rental Assistance Program.  
• Commitment to work on issues related to Justice Involved Supportive Housing and the 15/15 Supportive Housing program with $137 million in capital funding
• Create a new unit in CCHR with new attorney positions to support enforcement against violations of NYC’s Human Rights Law, including source-of-income discrimination.  
• Restore $7.6 million in baselined funding to sustain Anti-Harassment Tenant Protection (AHTP) program in FY2025 and beyond; add $1.41 million annually to Partners in Preservation tenant organizing program to expand to 9 community districts.

Funding Agency Capacity    

• Add 200 new staff positions to strengthen the capacity of housing agencies to combat the housing crisis.
  • Staff for the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to support a range of development, planning, and enforcement functions across the agency.
  • Staff for the Department of Buildings to bolster the enforcement, inspection, and examination of buildings, including ADUs and basement and cellar apartments.
• Add $5.9 million to support the Department of City Planning’s (DCP) capacity to advance neighborhood plans across the five boroughs.

Neighborhood Planning and Public Sites

• Initiate new DCP neighborhood planning studies for Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn Community Boards 12 and 14, East Flatbush in Brooklyn Community Board 17, Harlem River North in Bronx Community Board 7, and White Plains Road in Bronx Community Board 12. Public engagement will begin in 2025, and these studies could result in rezoning actions that deliver thousands of housing units, including affordable housing.
• Commitment for DCP to review potential densities in the Park Avenue area of the Bronx, with an eye toward a neighborhood plan that increases housing capacity, including homeownership.
• Commitment to working with the Speaker and Council to accelerate redevelopment of appropriate library properties into new state-of-the-art libraries co-located with residential housing that Speaker Adams advocated for in her State of the City address.
• Commitment to work with the Council to explore the Speaker’s State of the City proposal to redevelop new Section 9 apartments as part of mixed-income buildings on NYCHA land.
• Commitment to work with the Council to develop a vision for creating new community health, wellness and recreation centers in districts with health and safety challenges. These centers could feature access to health and mental health services, community and recreation spaces.

The Council, under Speaker Adams, has prioritized the advancement of housing solutions. Since 2022, it has approved over 27,500 units of housing, more than 50% of which are affordable, through its land use process. This includes the approval of major land use projects – Innovation QNS and Hallets North in Queens, Innovative Urban Village in Brooklyn, and the Bronx Metro-North Stations and Bruckner Boulevard rezonings in the Bronx. Speaker Adams has led by example within her own district by approving projects to create affordable housing, including the South Jamaica Gateway Rezoning, 141-05 109th Avenue Rezoning, and the 97-04 Sutphin Boulevard Rezoning, among others.

In December 2022, Speaker Adams released her Housing Agenda to Confront the City’s Crisis, outlining comprehensive actions for the City to tackle the housing shortage, deepen affordability, preserve housing, and restore support for City agencies, and in November 2023, the Council enacted Speaker Adams’ Fair Housing Framework Act, which will require the City to establish targeted housing production goals for each community district.

New York City is currently facing a severe housing crisis, with a citywide housing vacancy rate of 1.4 percent– the lowest percentage since 1968. The lack of housing is greatest for the most affordable homes, and most New York City renters are rent-burdened (paying 30 percent or more of their income on rent). Record homelessness, rising evictions, and widespread housing insecurity are impacting New Yorkers across the city, resulting in less safety and stability for communities.

As part of the agreement, the City will publicly track the status of implementation and completion of the commitments and provide an annual report.

Attorney General James and DFS Superintendent Harris Secure $11.3 Million from Auto Insurance Companies over Data Breaches

 

GEICO and Travelers’ Poor Data Security Allowed Hackers to Steal New Yorkers’ Driver’s License Numbers and Fraudulently Obtain Unemployment Benefits

New York Attorney General Letitia James and New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris secured $11.3 million in penalties from two auto insurance companies, the Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO) and The Travelers Indemnity Company (Travelers), for having poor data security which led to the personal information of more than 120,000 New Yorkers being compromised. These events were part of an industry-wide campaign by hackers to steal consumers’ personal information, including driver’s license numbers and dates of birth, from online automobile insurance quoting applications, including those used by GEICO and Travelers. The hackers then used some of the stolen driver’s license information to file fraudulent unemployment claims at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The OAG investigation concluded that the auto insurance companies did not implement sufficient data security controls to protect consumers’ private information. The DFS investigation concluded that the auto insurance companies did not comply with DFS’s cybersecurity regulation that requires them to implement policies, procedures, and controls designed to protect consumer data and the financial institutions themselves. As a result of today’s settlements, GEICO will pay $9.75 million in penalties and Travelers will pay $1.55 million.

“GEICO and Travelers offer drivers protection during times of emergencies, but these companies failed to protect consumers’ personal information,” said Attorney General James. “Data breaches can lead to serious fraud, and that is why it is important for all companies to take cybersecurity and data protection seriously. I thank the Department of Financial Services and the Department of Labor for their partnership and continued work to hold companies accountable when they fail to protect consumers."

“DFS’s groundbreaking cybersecurity regulation establishes a vital foundation for ensuring the safety of sensitive consumer data and the resilience of financial institutions,” said Superintendent Adrienne Harris. “These enforcement actions reinforce the Department’s commitment to ensuring that all licensees, especially those entrusted with consumer financial information like GEICO and Travelers, uphold their duty to implement robust measures that shield New Yorkers from potential data breaches and cyber threats. I thank the Attorney General’s office for their coordination during these investigations.”

Starting in November 2020, GEICO experienced a series of cyberattacks on its auto insurance quoting tools. Hackers were able to obtain New Yorkers’ driver’s license numbers from GEICO’s publicly-facing website because GEICO failed to protect this information on the website’s back end. Despite being notified by DFS of an industry-wide cyberattack campaign to obtain driver’s license numbers, and suffering, disclosing, and remediating separate cybersecurity incidents, GEICO failed to conduct a comprehensive review of its systems to prevent and detect future cyberattacks. After GEICO remediated  its website vulnerabilities, hackers exploited vulnerabilities in GEICO’s insurance agents’ quoting tool, a separate platform from the consumer-facing insurance quotes website. The personal information of approximately 116,000 New York residents was exposed in the GEICO cyberattacks, with the vast majority being lifted from GEICO’s insurance agents’ quoting tool. Some of the exposed data was later used to file unemployment claims during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Travelers experienced a cyberattack on its auto insurance quoting tool for independent agents. Between January and April 2021, Travelers received several industry alerts warning that hackers were obtaining driver’s license numbers through insurance quoting tools. In April 2021, hackers gained access to Travelers’ agent portal through the use of compromised agent credentials, which allowed users to generate reports that included consumers’ full driver’s license numbers in plain text. The insurance agent portal was password protected but did not use multifactor authentication or any other compensating controls, making it easier to exploit. Travelers did not detect the breach of its agent portal for more than seven months and was alerted to the attack by a third-party prefill data provider. The Travelers attack exposed the personal information of approximately 4,000 New Yorkers.

Today’s agreements require GEICO and Travelers to significantly enhance their security and pay penalties to the state. GEICO will pay $9,750,000 in penalties, of which OAG secured $4,750,000 and DFS secured $5 million. Travelers will pay $1,550,000 in penalties, of which OAG secured $350,000 and DFS secured $1,200,000.

In addition to the penalties, the OAG settlement agreement requires the companies to adopt a series of measures aimed at strengthening their cybersecurity practices going forward, including:

• Maintaining a comprehensive information security program designed to protect the security, confidentiality, and integrity of private information; 
• Developing and maintaining a data inventory of private information and ensuring the information is protected by safeguards; 
• Maintaining reasonable authentication procedures for access to private information; 
• Maintaining a logging and monitoring system as well as reasonable policies and procedures designed to properly configure such system to alert on suspicious activity; and    
• Enhancing their threat response procedures.   

As part of this settlement with DFS, GEICO agreed to conduct remedial measures, including a comprehensive cybersecurity risk assessment and penetration testing, and the development of an action plan to address any resulting concerns. Travelers agreed to review its systems, assess access controls, and improve protections against unauthorized access to NPI (nonpublic personal information).

Attorney General James thanks the New York State Department of Labor’s Office of Special Investigations for their work on this matter.