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Presented by New York City Emergency Management & the Mayor’s Office of Mass Engagement |
Redesign will help 39,000 New Yorkers save time with faster, more reliable bus service and deliver safer streets
Tremont Avenue is a Priority Corridor in Next Stop action plan and will undergo future upgrades to create world-class bus service
New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Mike Flynn announced today that construction has begun on the long-stalled Tremont Avenue busway and safety upgrades in the Bronx.
The project will deliver safer streets and faster, more reliable bus service along one of the busiest bus routes in the borough, helping 39,000 daily bus riders spend less time stuck in traffic and more time where they want to be. Tremont Avenue is one of the Priority Corridors identified for its high ridership and frequent delays in the Next Stop action plan, the City’s historic partnership with New York State and the MTA to make bus service faster and more reliable along 175 bus routes.
“After years of slow and unreliable service, Tremont Avenue is finally getting the upgrades that Bx36 bus riders have long deserved,” said Mayor Mamdani. “Time is money, and this project will give 39,000 daily bus riders more of it back while making Tremont Avenue safer and easier to navigate for everyone. We are going to keep working with our partners at MTA to build better busways and make getting around our city faster, safer and easier for every New Yorker.”
“Bronx residents deserve world-class bus service — and that starts with finally delivering on upgrades promised years ago. This project will bring badly needed bus and safety upgrades on a critical crosstown route in the borough.” said NYC DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn. “Every day, 39,000 bus riders will spend less time stuck in traffic and more time where they need to be: with their families, loved ones and friends, or at work and appointments. We look forward to building off the success of this busway and working with the community to develop Tremont Avenue into a world-class rapid transit corridor.”
The Bronx’s first busway will lay the foundation for future bus rapid transit along a broader Tremont corridor, as outlined in Next Stop. Future upgrades will include streetscape improvements, station-like bus stops with improved shelter and other investments to create world-class bus service.
The redesign will deliver one mile of new busway and another 0.26 miles of bus lane. The project also includes safety-focused intersection redesigns along the corridor and on neighboring streets, as well as new bus priority treatments stretching from Webster Avenue to Southern Boulevard. These improvements will make it easier for riders to connect to eight subway routes, Metro North and several local bus routes. Busways in New York City have improved bus speeds by up to 60% and reduced pedestrian and cyclist injuries by up to 45%.
Tremont Avenue serves riders on the Bx36, where buses travel at less than 5 mph during rush hours and more than two traffic injuries are reported each week along the corridor. Faster bus service will be better connect riders to the nearby 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, A, B and D subway lines, Metro-North Railroad and other local bus routes. Along Tremont Avenue, 72% of households do not own a private vehicle, and 78% of residents commute to work by public transit, walking or biking.
The Tremont busway is also one of the key projects included in the City’s Reimagine the Cross Bronx vision. During more than two years of community outreach on rethinking the Cross Bronx Expressway, residents called for stronger east-west connections that serve as alternatives to the interstate built by Robert Moses, which divided the Tremont neighborhood in the 1950s. Residents also highlighted the long, unreliable bus commutes many Bronx residents face and the need for better bike infrastructure.
Since January, the Mamdani administration has advanced major projects to speed up bus service across the five boroughs, including on Fordham Road, 161st Street and Tremont Avenue in the Bronx; 34th Street, 116th Street, Madison Avenue and Lexington Avenue in Manhattan; Marcy Avenue, Flatbush Avenue, Utica Avenue, Church Avenue and Linden Boulevard in Brooklyn; Victory Boulevard on Staten Island; and Broadway in Queens.
BUSWAY DESIGN
The new street design will include an eastbound busway from Third Avenue to Southern Boulevard, a westbound busway from Southern Boulevard to Belmont Avenue, and an offset shared bus/bike lane eastbound from Webster Avenue to Third Avenue.
The shorter westbound busway segment will preserve vehicle access to every block for local pick-ups and drop-offs, truck loading and unloading and on-street parking.
The busway will be the eighth installed in New York City and will operate seven days a week, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Buses, trucks with six or more wheels, emergency vehicles and Access-a-Ride vans can travel through the entire corridor. All other vehicles, including taxis and for-hire vehicles, may enter from side streets for local access but must leave the corridor at the next available right turn.
The busway will be enforced through stationary cameras along the route, bus-mounted cameras and NYPD enforcement.
NYC DOT will also adjust curb regulations and install new loading zones to reduce double parking and provide dedicated space for loading, deliveries and parking while maintaining access for cyclists.
TRAFFIC SAFETY UPGRADES
Tremont Avenue is a Vision Zero Priority Corridor, meaning it is among the most dangerous streets in the Bronx, with among the highest rates of pedestrian deaths and serious injuries per mile. Between 2020 and 2024, nearly 630 people were injured in crashes on Tremont Avenue — an average of two injuries every week. During that period, 46 people suffered severe injuries and four people were killed. As part of the busway installation, NYC DOT will add safety improvements at eight intersections along the corridor and on nearby streets:
The redesigns will feature new painted sidewalk extensions that shorten pedestrian crossing distances and naturally slow turning drivers. Intersections were selected based on crash history and to accommodate traffic pattern changes resulting from Tremont Avenue’s redesign.
Painted sidewalk extensions will be reinforced with plastic flex posts, granite blocks and bicycle parking to deter illegal parking.
Continental Aerospace Technologies Inc. has agreed to pay $11,772,680.14 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting false claims to obtain a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan for which it was not eligible.
“PPP loans were intended to help small businesses in the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department remains committed to pursuing those who violated the requirements of this taxpayer funded program.”
“PPP loans were meant to help small American businesses survive the economic turmoil caused by the pandemic. Continental, however, was part of a large Chinese-owned corporation and allegedly provided false information to the SBA to obtain taxpayer funds to which it was not entitled,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Schimel for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. “This matter is just one of many cases in which our office continues to hold corporations, particularly those owned by a foreign government, accountable when they submit false claims to obtain American taxpayer money.”
“This settlement demonstrates our office’s steadfast commitment to relentlessly investigating and resolving fraud against American taxpayers,” said U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello for the Southern District of Alabama. “It also reflects the effectiveness of our collaborative False Claims Act investigations in holding companies and individuals accountable for fraudulent conduct and returning unlawfully obtained taxpayer funds to the United States, together with significant financial penalties.”
“The SBA is committed to rooting out every dollar of PPP fraud,” said SBA General Counsel Wendell Davis. “Alongside the Department of Justice Civil Fraud Section, U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the Eastern District of Wisconsin and Southern District of Alabama, and our other law enforcement partners, the agency will aggressively pursue bad actors to hold them accountable and recover pandemic relief funds improperly obtained from the program.”
Congress created the PPP in March 2020 to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the PPP, eligible businesses could receive forgivable loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA). Regulations provide various eligibility requirements for the PPP, including limitations on the number of individuals the borrower and its affiliated entities employed. In their loan applications, borrowers were required to certify that they were eligible for the PPP and that the information they provided was accurate.
Continental designs and manufactures aircraft engines and parts. At the time it applied for its PPP loan, it was part of a large multinational corporation partially owned by Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). AVIC is wholly owned by the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), an arm of the People’s Republic of China.
In applying for its PPP loan, Continental certified that it was eligible for the PPP. The United States alleges that Continental was not eligible because it was affiliated with other companies in the United States and China, and together with its affiliates across the globe, Continental employed more individuals than permitted by SBA’s size standard for its industry. The United States also contends that Continental was not eligible because it was ultimately owned by a government entity in violation of SBA rules.
The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private parties to file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The lawsuits were filed by GNGH2 Inc. in the Eastern District of Wisconsin and Andrew McCarley in the Southern District of Alabama. In connection with the settlement, GNGH2 Inc. will receive $1,765,902.02.
This year the Administration launched the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the National Fraud Enforcement Division to enhance the Administration’s war on fraud, waste, and abuse in federal programs. When unscrupulous actors exploit these programs for their own financial gain, they defraud the government, harm the people these programs are designed to aid and protect, and undermine American businesses that play by the rules. The Civil Division’s FCA enforcement plays a critical role in combatting such fraudulent schemes, recovering billions of dollars for the American taxpayers, and holding wrongdoers accountable. FCA matters will continue to be on the forefront of the battle against fraud, and the Civil Division’s FCA work will support and advance the mission of the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the National Fraud Enforcement Division.
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama, with assistance from the SBA’s Office of General Counsel and Office of the Inspector General.
Trial Attorney Lindsey Roberts of the Civil Division, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Carter for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nina Herring for the Southern District of Alabama handled the matter.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.
New York Attorney General Letitia James joined a coalition of nine other attorneys general in suing the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to defend state laws that require banks to pay interest to homeowners on funds held in escrow that cover property taxes and home insurance costs. For decades, states have enacted laws to protect homeowners by requiring banks to pay interest on funds that homeowners have to put in escrow. In May 2026, OCC issued two new rules to prevent state escrow interest laws from applying to national banks and federal savings associations, threatening the interest payments that help homeowners pay their bills. Attorney General James and the coalition allege that these new rules violate the law by exceeding critical limits that Congress placed on OCC’s ability to preempt state consumer protection laws in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Attorney General James and the coalition are seeking a court order declaring the rules illegal and preventing them from being implemented.
“At a time when homeownership is more expensive than ever, the Trump administration is trying to make it even more costly with these unlawful rules,” said Attorney General James. “Big banks and mortgage lenders should not be able to force homeowners to lock away significant amounts of money without paying interest. For decades, New York has prevented lenders from taking advantage of homeowners, and my office is taking action to defend our laws.”
Beginning in the 1930s, mortgage lenders required borrowers to make monthly payments into escrow accounts to cover property taxes and home insurance premiums. These monthly payments effectively functioned as interest-free loans to banks and mortgage lenders, and many often required significantly larger deposits than necessary. To address these abuses and protect homeowners, states began enacting laws in the 1970s requiring lenders to pay interest on funds held in escrow. New York enacted its law more than 50 years ago in 1974, requiring mortgage lenders to pay interest at a rate of at least two percent. As Attorney General James and the coalition argue in their lawsuit, these laws are critical consumer protection measures for millions of homeowners. As of 2016, about 80 percent of mortgages nationwide had an associated escrow account.
On May 15, 2026, OCC issued two final rules designed to preempt state escrow interest laws, preventing them from applying to national banks and federal savings associations. The rules determine that New York and 13 other states and territories’ escrow interest laws supposedly weaken national banks’ “flexibility” to set the terms of escrow accounts and therefore should not apply. Attorney General James and the coalition argue that the rules fail to demonstrate how current state laws interfere with national banks’ operations of escrow accounts. The OCC fails to identify any market disruptions and does not explain how its rules will protect consumers from abuse. Instead, OCC’s new rules are designed to create a conflict with state escrow interest laws to justify preempting them.
The coalition argue that OCC’s new rules violate the law in several different ways. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) has strict limits on OCC’s ability to preempt state consumer protection laws, which Congress set after OCC’s broad preemption of state laws contributed to the 2008 foreclosure crisis and recession. Dodd-Frank requires OCC to consider whether a state law “substantially interferes” with a national bank’s power. By that standard, state escrow interest laws should not be preempted because they only minimally affect national bank operations.
The coalition also argue that OCC is exceeding its authority by giving new powers to national banks in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The lawsuit also alleges that the rules lack any factual basis, are based on unsupported speculation, and fail to meaningfully consider how they harm consumers and the financial system, making them arbitrary and capricious under the APA and violating the requirements in Dodd-Frank. Attorney General James and the coalition are seeking a court order declaring the rules unlawful and preventing them from being implemented.
Attorney General James joins in this lawsuit with the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces the unsealing of an Indictment charging 13 defendants—all alleged members and associates of the Slime gang—with crimes including racketeering conspiracy, drug trafficking conspiracy, murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and retaliating against a witness. Slime was primarily active in the Northside and Oceanway neighborhoods of the greater Jacksonville, Florida area.
If convicted, some defendants face up to 20 years and others face up to life in prison for the racketeering conspiracy, and up to life imprisonment, for the drug conspiracy and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Finally, some of the defendants face up to life imprisonment or the death penalty for murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder for hire, and/or use of a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime resulting in death. The indictment also notifies the defendants that the United States intends to forfeit certain assets, which are alleged to be traceable to proceeds of the offense.
According to the indictment, the Slime organization has existed under various names, including Pearl World, BB4L (Block Burners for Life), K4T (Killers for Telly), and finally, Slime World. At all times relevant to the indictment, Slime was led by Brian Gregory Brightman and generated income through drug trafficking and used violence and intimidation to establish the group’s dominance in the greater Jacksonville area, protect its territory, encroach on rivals’ territory and trap houses, and maintain its drug trafficking operation. The violence and intimidation used included assaults, shootings, attempted murders, and murder.
The indictment alleges that, from no later than in or about 2019 and continuing until August 5, 2026, the defendants conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances including marihuana, crack cocaine, and methamphetamine, and maintained multiple trap houses to distribute the same, often arming themselves with firearms to protect their controlled substances and territory.
Additionally, the indictment alleges that in August 2021, Brightman, Raymond Cash, and Devin McFadden solicited the murder of a rival gang member. Later, on October 13, 2022, Brightman solicited a Slime member and a Slime associate to murder a different rival gang member. On November 30, 2022, and continuing through December 1, 2022, Brightman transported approximately 70 pounds of marijuana from California to Florida. On December 19, 2022, Brightman directed an individual to go to one of the trap houses under the ruse that he would be facilitating a drug deal. When the individual arrived at the home with others, Cash and Gary Harris robbed them of marijuana at gunpoint.
On January 29, 2024, it is alleged that Brightman and another Slime member assaulted a lower-level drug dealer and user to enforce a debt owed to Slime. On a different occasion, Blake Baker entered the home of a drug dealer and Slime associate, threatened her with a firearm, and assaulted her domestic partner to enforce a drug debt owed to Slime. On December 11, 2024, Devonne Rivers and Terrance Williams shot and attempted to kill another individual, in part, to intimidate any rival groups and gangs on behalf of Slime. Further, Andre Drinks solicited a physical attack on an individual that Drinks perceived to be proving evidence against Slime, causing injury to that individual.
Members of Slime are also charged in several substantive counts with committing violence to intimidate rivals and get revenge against opposing groups. It is alleged that beginning on an unknown date no later than on November 27, 2023, and continuing through December 2023, Brightman and Jacob Goodman conspired to commit, and did commit, the murder-for-hire of D.S.S. on November 29, 2023. It is further alleged that Brightman, Rivers, and Tarvares Watson Jr. conspired to commit and did commit the murder of A.B. and T.W. on or about April 7, 2024.
In additional to the individuals named above, also charged in the indictment are Roderick Leon, Rashawn Rankin, and Da’Veon Smith.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, Jacksonville Sherriff’s Office, Nassau County Sherriff’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and North Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area is investigating the case with valuable assistance from the State Attorney’s Office for the Fourth Judicial Circuit; Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation; United States Marshal Service; United States Postal Inspection Service; Naval Criminal Investigative Service; Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection; Florida National Guard Counter Drug Program; Florida Department of Law Enforcement; Florida Highway Patrol; Nassau County Sheriff’s Office; Baker County Sheriff’s Office; St. John’s County Sheriff’s Office; Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office; Clay County Sheriff’s Office; Putnam County Sheriff’s Office; Neptune Beach Police Department; Jacksonville Beach Police Department; and Green Cove Springs Police Department.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald, announced that Joshua Schuster was sentenced to four years in prison for his role in a scheme to defraud investors in large real estate development projects located in New York City. SCHUSTER pled guilty on February 27, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni, who imposed this sentence.
“To preserve the integrity of and confidence in our financial markets, this Office will work tirelessly to prosecute fraud and protect investors in these markets,” said U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald. “Joshua Schuster betrayed the trust of investors who believed their money would fund real estate projects throughout New York. Instead, he stole more than $13 million to finance his own lifestyle and repay earlier investors in a Ponzi-like scheme. As a result of his lies and deception at his investors’ expense, Schuster has been sentenced to a term in federal prison.”
According to the Indictment, plea agreement, and statements made in Court:
Over a five-year period, SCHUSTER engaged in a scheme to defraud investors who had entrusted him with millions of dollars to finance real estate development projects in New York City. SCHUSTER induced investors to contribute capital to his projects by promising them equity in high-end real estate developments, and by representing that investor funds would be used exclusively for the acquisition and development of specific New York-based projects. Instead, SCHUSTER misappropriated in excess of $13 million dollars in investor money to fund his lifestyle, including over $1 million in personal credit card payments and hundreds of thousands of dollars in gambling losses; to repay earlier investors in a Ponzi-like fashion; and to cover unrelated business obligations and payroll.
In addition to the prison term, SCHUSTER, 42, of Boca Raton, Florida, was sentenced to three years of supervised release and will be required to pay more than $13,830,665 in forfeiture. SCHUSTER will also be required to pay restitution, which will be determined at a later date.
Mr. McDonald praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Mr. McDonald also thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which has filed a separate civil action against SCHUSTER, for its assistance and cooperation in the investigation.
This criminal illegal alien was RELEASED into the country by the Biden Administration
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the following statement after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged a detainer asking officials in Broward County, Florida to not release a criminal illegal alien charged with murder after allegedly stabbing his roommate to death with a machete.
According to local reporting, the incident occurred on August 2 in Hallandale Beach, Florida. The suspect, Edy Jose Rivas-Rizo, a criminal illegal alien from Nicaragua, was allegedly caught on surveillance footage chasing after his roommate with a machete, eventually stabbing him and then fighting on the ground. After two witnesses disarmed Rivas-Rizo, the victim walked away but collapsed moments later. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. A witness told police that the victim’s last words were “that guy just killed me” as he pointed at Rivas-Rizo.
Edy Jose Rivas-Rizo
Police arrested Rivas-Rizo and charged him with first-degree murder. ICE lodged a detainer with the Broward County Jail on August 3.
“This violent criminal illegal alien has been charged with murder after fatally stabbing his roommate with a machete,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “His victim would still be alive if it weren’t for the Biden Administration releasing him into the country. ICE has lodged a detainer asking officials in Broward County to not release this criminal from jail. We will work with our partners in Florida to make sure this killer is removed from our country. Deporting illegal aliens saves lives.”
Rivas-Rizo illegally entered the United States through California in April 2022, and was arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol. He was then RELEASED into the country by the Biden Administration.
