Monday, June 26, 2017
NEXT STOP FOR “CITY HALL IN YOUR BOROUGH” IS QUEENS
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Queens Borough President Melinda Katz today announced “City Hall in Your Borough” will land in Queens on Monday, July 17. This will be the initiative’s third stop, following Staten Island and the Bronx.
Mayor de Blasio, deputy mayors, and senior Administration officials will run the city from Queens Borough Hall for a week to focus on the borough’s people and their concerns. The week will include a cabinet meeting, resource fair and town hall, as well as various stops and events throughout the borough.
“As we move City Hall from borough to borough, we hope to continue building a closer relationship between New Yorkers and their city government,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “In Queens, we will continue focusing city resources on the borough’s most pressing needs.”
"Queens welcomes the Administration to Borough Hall and the opportunity to engage on the needs and challenges unique to the World's Borough,” said Queens Borough President Melinda Katz. “With 2.3 million residents, there will be much ground to cover for the families of Queens."
First Lady Chirlane McCray will also hold a series of events.
The announcement was also made via Mayor de Blasio and Borough President Katz’s Twitter accounts, @NYCMayor and @MelindaKatz. More details about the Queens edition of “City Hall in Your Borough” will be made public in the near future.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
This was placed here because several Bronx residents grew up in the borough of Queens, and some people from Queens work in the Bronx. If you know who they are just place a comment, but remember this blog is moderated so keep your comment clean.
A.G. Schneiderman Leads 12-State Coalition In Opposing Regulatory Rollbacks That Would Jeopardize Americans' Health & Safety
AGs Tell U.S. Senators: Proposed “Regulatory Accountability Act” Would “Bollix, Stymie, and Derail” Implementation Of Popular And Necessary Laws
Bill Would Leave New Yorkers And All Americans Without Critical Protections From Toxic Chemicals, Predatory Marketing Practices, Dangerous Labor Conditions, Unsafe Food And Drugs, And More
AG Schneiderman: Senate Must Put The Public First And Reject This Ill-Conceived, Reckless Legislation
Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, leading a coalition of 12 state Attorneys General, today wrote U.S. Senate leadership expressing “strong opposition” to S. 951, the proposed Regulatory Accountability Act of 2017 (RAA), which would jeopardize the health, safety, and wellbeing of the American public. In a letter addressed to Senate leadership the coalition contends that the RAA would bring the federal regulatory process “to a grinding halt,” thereby obstructing the implementation of laws that protect Americans from toxic chemicals, predatory marketing practices, dangerous labor conditions, unsafe food and drugs, and much more.
Joining Attorney General Schneiderman on the letter are the Attorney Generals of California, Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.
“New Yorkers depend on our federal laws – whether they protect from dangerous drugs, predatory business practices, or toxic children’s products,” Attorney General Schneiderman said. “The proposed Regulatory Accountability Act would cripple the implementation of these popular and necessary laws by handing the regulatory process over to wealthy special interests, needless procedure, and endless litigation. I join my colleagues in calling on the US Senate to put the interests of the public first by rejecting this ill-conceived and reckless legislation.”
The RAA was introduced in the Senate in April, 2017. The Act’s stated purpose is to reform the federal regulatory process “to cut red tape so federal programs operate as intended, and are effective and efficient.”
While the Attorneys General recognize the laudable goal of promoting effective regulation, their letter forcefully argues that the many “ill-conceived and reckless provisions” of the RAA work against this goal by serving to “bollix, stymie, and derail the implementation of popular and necessary laws.” They point to several troubling provisions of the bill, including those that:
- increase the likelihood that so-called “high impact” rules and “major” rules will be subject to lengthy and burdensome trial-type hearings that advantage deep-pocketed special interests over the general public;
- give the federal agencies unreviewable discretion to determine a rule is “high-impact” or “major,” which would then trigger cumbersome new procedural rules and stymie the adoption of critical public safeguards; and
- require proposed rules to undergo a new ill-defined “most cost-effective” standard of analysis that will invite litigation from special interests seeking to block, delay, and weaken proposed federal regulations, whether they be to a protect the environment, public health, workplaces, or food and drug safety.
The letter provides a striking example of how an equally prohibitive standard derailed a decade-long effort to regulate the notoriously deadly material asbestos. In 1989, after studying the regulation of asbestos for over ten years and amassing a 100,000-page administrative record, EPA announced a final rule banning virtually all asbestos-containing products under the Toxics Substances Control Act. The asbestos industry and its supporters filed a lawsuit challenging EPA’s action. While the court agreed with EPA that “asbestos is a potential carcinogen at all levels of exposure,” it found the Agency had failed to demonstrate that it had met the standard for analysis – the “least burdensome alternative” – required by the Act, and vacated the rule.
Through the “most cost-effective” standard and many other provisions of the bill, the coalition argues that the RAA “would introduce unnecessary, unwieldy, and costly impediments into federal rulemaking that would dramatically increase the time necessary to put public safeguards in place, exclude the public from the rulemaking process, and lead to avoidable and prolonged litigation that favors deep-pocketed special interests.”
The letter urges the Senate leadership to oppose passage of the RAA.
A.G. Schneiderman Announces Arrest Of Registered Nurse For Allegedly Defrauding Medicaid
Private-Duty Nurse Collins Anyanwu-Mueller Fraudulently Billed Medicaid For Over $390,000 Of False Claims For Severely Disabled Patients
Schneiderman: Those Who Steal From Medicaid Will Be Prosecuted To The Fullest Extent Of The Law
Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the arrest and indictment of registered nurse Collins Anyanwu-Mueller, 47, for allegedly submitting over $390,000 of false claims over the course of nearly five years for private-duty nursing services that he did not provide.
“When healthcare professionals steal public funds, they undermine an important system that connects thousands of New Yorkers with necessary medical services,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “My office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit will continue to investigate cases involving fraud – and those who steal from Medicaid will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Anyanwu-Mueller was arraigned today in Westchester County Court in White Plains before the Honorable Larry J. Schwartz on an indictment charging him with Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony carrying a maximum sentence of up to 15 years in state prison, and Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, a class E felony that carries a maximum sentence of up to four years in state prison. If convicted, Anyanwu-Mueller faces up to 15 years in state prison.
Court papers filed by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) allege that Anyanwu-Mueller submitted claims for payment to Medicaid, in which he falsely purported to provide private-duty nursing services to two severely disabled Medicaid recipients who both required around the clock care at their respective homes located in New Rochelle and Peekskill, NY.
Between August 2010 and January 2015, Anyanwu-Mueller allegedly submitted false medical claims regarding a number of instances, including when the Medicaid recipients were in the hospital, when another nurse provided care, when the defendant was on vacation in Europe, when he was caring for another patient and for an extended period when he sent an unlicensed person to the recipient’s home but billed Medicaid as if he provided the care himself. Relying on the truthfulness and accuracy of his claims, which were uncovered as false during this investigation, Medicaid paid Anyanwu-Mueller over $390,000.
The judge set the bail at $75,000 and scheduled the defendant’s next court appearance on July 11.
The Attorney General would like to thank the New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General for referring this matter.
The investigation was conducted by MFCU Investigator Timothy Connolly and Principal Auditor Investigator Lora Pomponio with the assistance of Supervising Investigator Peter Markiewicz, Deputy Chief Investigator Kenneth Morgan and Regional Chief Auditor John Regan.
The charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
North Carolina Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison in Connection With Trafficking 33 Guns to Sell on the Streets of Brooklyn
Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a 24-year-old man from North Carolina has been sentenced to 10 years in prison following his guilty plea last month to first-degree criminal sale of a firearm in connection with trafficking 33 firearms from his home state into Brooklyn.
Acting District Attorney Gonzalez said, “Today’s sentencing is further evidence of our commitment to stop illegal guns from being sold on the streets of Brooklyn. Lax gun laws down South are responsible for most of the guns used to commit crimes here. This defendant will now spend 10 years in a New York State prison for his actions, which put the safety of Brooklyn residents at risk.”
The Acting District Attorney identified the defendant as Marcus Gamble, 24, of Charlotte, North Carolina. He was sentenced today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Martin Murphy to 10 years in prison and five years’ post-release supervision. He pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal sale of a firearm last month.
The Acting District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, on December 5, 2016, the defendant sold 10 loaded firearms to an undercover police officer and, on December 13, 2016, the defendant sold the undercover 15 loaded firearms for a total of about $27,000. The sales took place inside a car in the vicinity of Flatbush Avenue and Maple Street in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn.
On December 20, 2016, as the defendant was waiting for a third sale to commence, he was arrested inside a Golden Krust restaurant located at 568 Flatbush Avenue in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens. Eight guns and parts of an assault rifle were recovered from his backpack, according to the indictment.
The 33 guns the defendant transported to Brooklyn were mostly pistols and revolvers, including Smith & Wessons, Colts and Rugers. Some of the weapons were purchased legally in North Carolina to be sold illegally in Brooklyn and others were reported stolen, the investigation found. The defendant grew up in New York City, has extensive family ties to Brooklyn, but has been living in North Carolina for the past couple of years, according to the investigation.
Ydanis Rodriguez, NYC Council Member - : Widespread Coalition Calls for a 5 Boro Citi Bike Program
Elected Officials, Advocates, Business Leaders & Riders Rally for Five-Borough Citi Bike at City Hall
27 Council Members Sign Letter Calling on City to Take Action While #CitiBike4All Campaign Amasses Over 5,000 Signatures in Just a Few Weeks
Elected officials, community leaders, business leaders and riders gathered at City Hall on Wednesday to rally for a five-borough Citi Bike. Motivate, the company that operates Citi Bike, has offered to expand bike share to all five boroughs, bringing another 6,000 bikes further into Queens and Brooklyn and into Staten Island and the Bronx for the first time- all at no cost to New York City taxpayers. Advocates pushed for the city to accept the deal.
"This is too good a deal to pass up," said City Councilmember and Chair of the Transportation Committee Ydanis Rodriguez. "Improving our city's bus and subway networks will take time and money; Citi Bike is a quick, easy way to ensure that every New York resident can get around the city easily and affordably. The Citi Bike system is safe, it is affordable, it encourages healthy living, it opens up commercial and residential corridors, and at no additional cost to taxpayers, it should be allowed to expand to all five boroughs immediately."
#CitiBike4all, a campaign led by Transportation Alternatives, one of the city's lead pedestrian and bike advocacy organizations, has also amassed over 5,000 signatures to that effect in under a month.
The coalition is growing and reflects widespread public opinion: according to a Penn Schoen Berland and Transportation Alternatives poll in November 2016, 71% of likely New York City voters support Citi Bike expansion into all five boroughs. The Mayor previously expressed his support for a five-borough Citi Bike.
"Every New Yorker deserves access to bike share because it is a cheap, flexible addition to the existing public transportation network," said Paul Steely White, Executive Director at Transportation Alternatives. "Along with our partners in the #CitiBike4All coalition, we call for an equitable expansion of Citi Bike to all five boroughs so that neighborhoods in The Bronx, Eastern Queens, Staten Island and South Brooklyn can realize the health and neighborhood mobility benefits of bike share."
Citi Bike launched in May 2013 with 6,000 bikes at 332 stations in Manhattan and Brooklyn. By the end of 2017, the system will have doubled in size, with 12,000 bikes at 700 stations in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.
With over 126,000 members and over 60,000 trips per day in peak season, Citi Bike has become an integral part of New York City's transportation network. Expansion to all five boroughs is necessary to ensure it can be an even more effective and equitable mode choice.
Respectfully,
Ydanis Rodriguez
Chair, Transportation Committee
Council Member, District 10
Brad Lander, Council Member, District 39
Paul Vallone Council Member, District 19
Mark Levine
Council Member, District 7
Rafael Salamanca
Council Member, District 17 Carlos Menchaca
Council Member, District 38
Andy Cohen
Council Member, District 11
Corey Johnson
Council Member, District 3
Karen Koslowitz
Council Member, District 29
Antonio Reynoso
Council Member, District 34
Donovan Richards
Council Member, District 31
Robert Cornegy
Council Member, District 36
Elizabeth Crowley
Council Member, District 30
Ritchie Torres
Council Member, District 15
Fernando Cabrera
Council Member, District 14
Jimmy Van Bramer
Council Member, District 26
Vincent Gentile
Council Member, District 43
Jumaane Williams
Council Member, District 45
Bill Perkins
Council Member, District 9
Stephen Levin
Council Member, District 33
Daniel Dromm
Council Member, District 25
Helen Rosenthal
Council Member, District 6 Deborah Rose
Council Member, District 49
Margaret Chin
Council Member, District 1
Costa Constantinides
Council Member, District 30
Chaim Deutsch
Council Member, District 48
Vanessa Gibson
Council Member, District 16.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
The comments from those who are in favor and may have a special interest other than Mr. Steely-White's comment have been omitted. Most of the council members listed above in favor are term-limited after this election, and they will be LAME DUCK council members. They will have to find other jobs when their next term in office is up if they are re-elected.
News From Congressman Eliot Engel
Engel Statement on LGBT Equality Day
Congressman Eliot L. Engel, a member of the House LGBT Equality Caucus, issued the following statement on LGBT Equality Day:
“Today we celebrate LGBT Equality Day, right in the heart of Pride Month—a month when we commemorate the 1969 Stonewall riots and celebrate the progress the LGBT community has made.
“The last 8 years brought about incredible progress for the LGBT community. From the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell to the landmark Supreme Court decision guaranteeing same-sex couples the right to marry, America has advanced LGBT rights in numerous ways. However, there is still much that needs to be done.
“Too many in the LGBT community still face discrimination and are denied the full equality they deserve. Republicans in Congress and in the White House are determined to roll back the clock on the progress that we have made. The Trump Administration has withdrawn protections for transgender students in public schools, proposed cutting funding for HIV and AIDS treatment, and appointed a Supreme Court Justice with an anti-LGBT record. These acts against the LGBT community are shameful, discriminatory, and must be spoken out against.
“Throughout my career in Congress I have been a strong supporter of LGBT rights. I was one of only a handful of members to oppose the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1996, and I am currently a cosponsor of the Equality Act, which would extend civil rights protections to LGBT Americans. I have also cosponsored legislation to address LGBT discrimination in schools, in our military and in the workplace. Every year I introduce a resolution supporting the National Day of Silence, an annual day of observance in schools aimed at bringing attention to the bullying, harassment, and discrimination faced by LGBT students.
“No doubt, the LGBT community has come a long way in a short time. But we still have a long way to go. Please know that I will continue to fight for policies that ensure equal rights and protections for every American.”
Engel Announces $246,519,289 in Title 1 Funding for Bronx Schools
Congressman Eliot Engel, a leading member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, today announced that the U.S. Department of Education has allocated $246,519,289 in federal funds to schools in the Bronx as part of the Fiscal Year 2017 Title 1 allocations.
Part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, the Title I program provides financial assistance to school districts so that they can afford services to students at risk of not meeting state academic achievement standards, especially in areas with high concentrations of low-income families.
“The Title 1 program provides critical resources to help our local school districts with everything from modernizing their infrastructure to improving staffing, all to provide students with the best possible chance to succeed in the classroom” Congressman Engel said. “These funds also support preschool, after-school, and summer programming. They are critical to our schools, but unfortunately as part of his new budget proposal, President Trump has suggested cutting funding to schools districts and the students who need it most, including millions in cuts to aid through Title I. We cannot allow that to happen, and luckily Congress has the power of the purse. As the budget process progresses, know that I will fight hard to ensure Title 1 funding is sufficiently funded for 2018 and beyond.”