Saturday, August 12, 2017

A.G. Schneiderman And Comptroller Dinapoli Announce 2 To 6 Year Prison Sentence For Former Councilman Ruben Wills In Public Corruption Scheme


  Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced the sentencing of former New York City Councilman Ruben Wills (D-Queens) to 2 to 6 years in prison; Will was also ordered to pay nearly $33,000 in restitution and a $5,000 fine.'
The sentencing followed an eleven-day trial in July that resulted in a guilty verdict on five counts related to Will’s theft of approximately $30,000 in public campaign funds and state grant money. The jury found Wills guilty of one count of Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, two counts of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree , and two counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree. Wills was previously expelled from the New York City Council; he was immediately taken into custody today. 

“New Yorkers deserve public servants whose priority is the needs of their constituents, not lining their own pockets. Instead of spending taxpayer money on projects to help his community, Ruben Wills betrayed the public trust by stealing tens of thousands for himself – and he’ll now pay the price,” said Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. “We will continue to ensure that public servants who act as though they’re above the law are brought to justice.”

"Ruben Wills stole money meant to benefit the community he was sworn to serve. Thanks to my investigators and auditors working with Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Mr. Wills has been brought to justice," said State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. “We must have a zero tolerance for public corruption and we will continue to partner with law enforcement to root out fraud and protect the taxpayers."  

In addition to serving 2 to 6 years in prison, Wills will pay $11,500 in restitution to the New York City Campaign Finance Board and $21,374 to the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS). He will also pay a $5,000 fine.

The jury found that, Wills used public matching funds from his 2009 campaign for City Council to pay $11,500 to Micro Targeting, a shell company purportedly created to translate and distribute campaign literature. Prosecutors proved that the money paid to Micro Targeting was instead redirected to NY 4 Life, a non-profit corporation  that Wills controlled. Wills withdrew the money and made a series of personal purchases, including at Macy’s, where he used a portion of the funds to purchase a $750 Louis Vuitton handbag.  

Prosecutors also detailed how Wills used $21,000 in State grant funds for personal and political expenses. 

The $21,000 was part of a $33,000 grant provided to NY 4 Life from the OCFS, earmarked by former State Senator Shirley Huntley while Wills was serving as Huntley’s chief of staff. The grant stipulated that the money had to be used to conduct four public service projects. Yet witnesses at trial testified that NY 4 Life only held one event during the contract period, while Wills used approximately $21,000 of the funds for personal and political expenses, including at Nordstrom and Home Depot. Wills also used a portion of the money to pay individuals who had carried out campaign work for his City Council race. 

Judge Ira Margulis presided over the trial and sentencing. 

Since 2011, Attorney General Schneiderman, through his “Operation Integrity” partnership with Comptroller DiNapoli, has brought charges against dozens of individuals implicated in public corruption schemes around the state – resulting in the return of over $11 million in restitution to taxpayers through these convictions. 

A.G. Schneiderman Announces $5.5 Million Multi-State Settlement With Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company Over 2012 Data Breach


Breach Involving 32 States Exposed Personal Information Of 1.27 Million Consumers, Including 2,810 New Yorkers
New York State Will Receive Nearly $104,000
  Attorney General Schneiderman  announced that New York, along with 32 other states, has reached a settlement with the Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and its subsidiary, Allied Property & Casualty Insurance Company, concerning an October 2012 data breach. The data breach, which the states allege had been caused by the failure to apply a critical security patch intended to prevent hacking or viral infection, resulted in the loss of personal information belonging to 1.27 million consumers – including 2,810 New Yorkers. The breach included social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, credit scoring information, and other personal data initially collected to provide insurance quotes to consumers applying for Nationwide insurance plans—many of whom did not ultimately become insured by the company. In addition to agreeing to improve its data security, Nationwide will pay a total of $5.5 million, including $103,736.78 to New York State.
“Nationwide demonstrated true carelessness while collecting and retaining information from prospective customers, needlessly exposing their personal data in the process,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “This settlement should serve as a reminder that companies have a responsibility to protect consumers’ personal information regardless of whether or not those consumers become customers. We will hold companies to account if they don’t.”
The settlement requires Nationwide to take a number of steps to both update its security practices and to ensure the timely application of patches and other updates to its security software. Nationwide must also hire a technology officer responsible for monitoring and managing software and application security updates, including supervising employees responsible for evaluating and coordinating the maintenance, management, and application of all security patches and software and application security updates. Additionally, Nationwide agreed to take steps during the next three years to strengthen its security practices, including:
  • Updating its procedures and policies relating to the maintenance and storage of consumers’ personal data.
  • Conducting regular inventories of the patches and updates applied to its systems used to maintain consumers’ personal information.
  • Maintaining and utilizing system tools to monitor the health and security of their systems used to maintain personal information.
  • Performing internal assessments of its patch management practices and hiring an outside, independent provider to perform an annual audit of its practices regarding the collection and maintenance of personal information.
Many of the consumers whose data was lost as a result of the breach were consumers who never became Nationwide’s insureds, but the company retained their data in order to more easily provide the consumers re-quotes at a later date. Following the breach, affected consumers were provided with free credit monitoring and identity theft protection, in addition to identity fraud expense coverage up to $1 million and access to credit reports. The settlement announced today requires Nationwide to be more transparent about its data collection practices, including by disclosing to consumers that it retains their personal information, even if they do not become its customers.
The settlement was signed by a total of 33 Attorneys General, including New York, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.

KRVC SOUTH RIVERDALE MERCHANTS FESTIVAL


Bronx Chamber of Commerce invites you to join us for our "Twilight Golf '5 at 5'" Golf & Networking Event


Bronx Chamber of Commerce - Bronx County Historical Society 17th Annual Golf Tournament


New York Comic Con 2017


October 5-8, 2017 | Javits Center | NYC

Wave Hill Events Aug 25–Sep 1


At Wave Hill, the week before Labor Day offers a quiet space for looking back on the summer season, and ahead to the glories—and busyness!of fall.

Sat, August 26    Family Art Project: Shades of Summer
See the world through rose (or green or blue or purple) colored glasses. Create your own custom sunglasses equipped with cool and colored lenses to feast your eyes on lush August gardens and river. Free, and admission to the grounds is free until noon
WAVE HILL HOUSE, 10AM‒1PM


Sat, August 26    Garden Highlights Walk
Join us for an hour-long tour of seasonal garden highlights. Free, and admission to the grounds is free until noon.
MEET AT PERKINS VISITOR CENTER, 11AM

Sat, August 26    Family Gallery Tour
Explore artwork on view in Glyndor Gallery on a family-friendly tour with a Curatorial Fellow. Children ages six and older welcome with an adult. Free, and admission to the grounds is free until noon.
MEET AT WAVE HILL HOUSE, NOON


Sat, August 26    Gallery Tour
Wave Hill’s Curatorial Fellow leads a tour of the summer exhibitions in Glyndor Gallery. An exuberant counterpoint to Wave Hill’s lush summer gardens, Flora Fantastica! shows the work of four artists who share an interest in using pattern derived from cultural and botanical sources to create fantastic hybrid forms.Nancy BlumAmy Cheng and Elisabeth Condon each has an entire room for their paintings. Jill Parisi creates an installation for the entry foyer. In the Sunroom Project Space, Jan Mun combines digital and living media to explore the movement of plant species and the immigrant experience, while a window installation by David Rios Ferreira contains drawings and collages with cartoon-inspired characters, along with historical, cultural and contemporary pop references. Free with admission to the grounds.
GLYNDOR GALLERY, 2PM

Sun, August 27    Family Art Project: Shades of Summer
See the world through rose (or green or blue or purple) colored glasses. Create your own custom sunglasses equipped with cool and colored lenses to feast your eyes on lush August gardens and river. Free with admission to the grounds. 
WAVE HILL HOUSE, 10AM‒1PM


Sun, August 27    Garden Highlights Walk
Join us for an hour-long tour of seasonal garden highlights. Free with admission to the grounds.
MEET AT PERKINS VISITOR CENTER, 2PM

Mon, August 28    
Closed to the public.


Tue, August 29    Garden Highlights Walk
Join us for an hour-long tour of seasonal garden highlights. Free, and admission to the grounds is free until noon.
MEET AT PERKINS VISITOR CENTER, 11AM

Tue, August 29    No Gallery Tour
Regular gallery tours resume in September.

A 28-acre public garden and cultural center overlooking the Hudson River  and Palisades, Wave Hill’s mission is to celebrate the artistry and legacy of its gardens and landscape, to preserve its magnificent views, and to explore human connections to the natural world through programs in horticulture, education and the arts.

HOURS  Open all year, Tuesday through Sunday and many major holidays: 9AM–5:30PM, starting March 15.  Closes 4:30PM, November 1–March 14.
ADMISSION  $8 adults, $4 students and seniors 65+, $2 children 6–18. Free Saturday and Tuesday mornings until noon. Free to Wave Hill Members and children under 6.

PROGRAM FEES  Programs are free with admission to the grounds unless otherwise noted.

Visitors to Wave Hill can take advantage of Metro-North’s one-day getaway offer. Purchase a discount round-trip rail far and discount admission to the gardens. More at http://mta.info/mnr/html/getaways/outbound_wavehill.htm

DIRECTIONS – Getting here is easy! Located only 30 minutes from midtown Manhattan, Wave Hill’s free shuttle van transports you to and from our front gate and Metro-North’s Riverdale station, as well as the W. 242nd Street stop on the #1 subway line. Limited onsite parking is available for $8 per vehicle. Free offsite parking is available nearby with continuous, complimentary shuttle service to and from the offsite lot and our front gate. Complete directions and shuttle bus schedule at www.wavehill.org/visit/.

Information at 718.549.3200. On the web at www.wavehill.org.

Friday, August 11, 2017

MAYOR DE BLASIO SIGNS LEGISLATION TO PROVIDE LOW-INCOME NEW YORKERS WITH ACCESS TO COUNSEL FOR WRONGFUL EVICTIONS


  Mayor Bill de Blasio today signed Intro. 214-B into law, and solidified the City’s commitment to providing all low-income tenants facing eviction with legal representation in Housing Court. The program, which is overseen by the Civil Justice Coordinator at the Human Resources Administration, will serve 400,000 tenants when it is fully implemented in five years.

“New York City will be the first city in country to ensure anyone facing an eviction case can access legal assistance thanks to this new law. New Yorkers should not lose their homes because they cannot afford a lawyer and stopping wrongful evictions from happening makes both ethical and economic sense,” said Mayor de Blasio. “I want to thank Speaker Mark-Viverito and the Council for bringing this legislation into fruition and helping keep New Yorkers in their homes no matter their income level, making our city an even fairer city for all.”

"Everyone deserves access to legal services, especially when it comes to something as important as their home," said Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. "Access to counsel is about leveling the playing field and providing all tenants facing eviction with access to legal advice or representation. No tenant should fear losing their housing simply because they could not afford a lawyer. This is landmark legislation that will greatly impact the lives of residents of this city and I want to thank Council Member Mark Levine and Council Member Vanessa Gibson for working diligently on this bill and the Mayor for his support on this critical issue of tenants' rights."

Prior to this legislation, nearly no tenants had legal representation in Housing Court – estimated at just 1% in 2013 by state court officials – which resulted in high incidences of evictions and unchecked tenant harassment. To help close the gap, the Administration dramatically increased the availability of City-funded legal services for low-income tenants, increasing funding for legal assistance for tenants facing eviction and harassment from $6 million in 2013 to $62 million in 2016, a tenfold increase. 

The program successfully increased tenant representation in Housing Court from 1% in 2013 to 27% in 2016, and provided more than 50,000 households with legal services since 2014. At the same time, residential evictions by marshals declined by 24 percent, allowing 40,000 people to remain in their homes during 2015 and 2016.

Last February, the Administration agreed to more than double this financial support, dedicating an additional $93 million at full implementation for a comprehensive program to provide access to legal representation to all low-income tenants facing eviction proceedings in Housing Court earning up to 200% of the federal poverty line and brief legal assistance for all tenants facing eviction in court whose income is above that level.  In total and once the program is fully implemented, the City will spend $155 million annually to cover the costs of the initiative.

Beginning this October, the program will also start providing legal services to NYCHA tenants in administrative proceedings to terminate their tenancy. There are approximately 3,200 cases that go through NYCHA administrative hearings annually.

To ensure that tenants know their rights and at-risk communities have access to these services, the City’s Public Engagement Unit and the Human Resources Administration will be conducting outreach across the program areas. Tenants are encouraged to call 311 if they are facing an eviction and/or visit HRA offices located in housing courts.

“Universal access to counsel in housing court will level the playing field for tenants facing eviction and prevent more New Yorkers from facing homelessness,” said Human Resources Administration Commissioner Steven Banks.  “This is the culmination of everything we have done over the past three years to expand access to counsel for tenants, and we’re looking forward to working with our partners in the legal services community as we implement this groundbreaking access to justice initiative.”

“Too many of the most vulnerable New Yorkers face eviction simply because they don’t have the means to hire an attorney. The Council’s passage of this bill marked a new beginning of a new era for tenants in New York City, and I’m proud to stand with the Mayor as he signs this landmark legislation,” said Council Member Mark Levine, lead sponsor of Intro 214. “New Yorkers have a right to affordable housing and to a fair justice system. No longer will low-income New Yorkers have to fend for themselves in Housing Court. This new law is a historic step forward in the fight against unlawful evictions.”

“This is a monumental day for tenants and a historic day for the City of New York. After four years of advocating, rallying, and marching, the ground breaking legislation that will curb the homelessness epidemic and end the cycle of eviction we've fought tirelessly to create will become New York City law. With access to counsel in place, tenants facing eviction will finally be on an even playing field with the landlords taking them to court. I am proud to have spent four years fighting for this critically important legislation and am so thankful to Mayor Bill de Blasio, Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, my partner in this endeavor Council Member Mark Levine, the many elected officials, advocates, tenant leaders, clergy leaders, and civil legal service providers who joined me in securing universal access to counsel for New Yorkers and bringing equity and justice to our housing court system,” stated Council Member Vanessa Gibson, co-sponsor of Intro 214.

“Too many tenants in New York City have been evicted from their homes simply because they cannot afford legal representation,” said Public Advocate Letitia James. “Providing access to counsel to all low-income tenants in housing courts will go a long way in ensuring our City’s most vulnerable citizens are protected and defended. I want to thank Mayor de Blasio for signing this landmark legislation, introduced by Council Members Mark Levine and Vanessa Gibson, into law and guaranteeing our tenants have the rights they deserve.” 

“For too long the deck has been stacked against low-income tenants, most of whom do not have attorneys, because most landlords have representation in housing court. That is no longer the case, thanks to the new system laid out by this incredibly important 'Access to Counsel' legislation," said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. "I want to thank Mayor Bill de Blasio and Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito for their strong commitment to tenants' rights, and for leading us to where we are today. I especially want to thank two of my colleagues from the City Council, Mark Levine and Vanessa Gibson, for their tireless advocacy on behalf of this important piece of legislation. Together, we have struck a blow for a more fair and just housing court, and that is something we can all be proud of.”



Above - Mayor Bill de Blasio talks about the importance of this bill, and the impact it will have giving tenants a fighting chance now in Housing Court.
Below - Bronx BP Ruben Diaz Jr. congratulates the mayor and City Council for passing this legislation. 




Above - The mayor gives the Bronx X to BP Diaz Jr.
Below - Mayor de blasio poses for photos before he uses the first of many pens to sign Intro 214. Each elected official, and selected tenant leaders were given a pen used to sign Intro 214 to keep.




Above - Mayor de Blasio starts to sign Intro 214 into law.
Below - A slimmer looking Bronx Democratic County Leader Assemblyman Marcos Crespo shows off the pen he received from Mayor de Blasio that was one of many used to sign Intr 214.