“The Second Circuit, while finding that the evidence was more than sufficient to convict Dean and Adam Skelos, held that a part of the jury instruction is no longer good law under the Supreme Court decision in McDonnell. While we are disappointed in the decision and will weigh our appellate options, we look forward to a prompt retrial where we will have another opportunity to present the overwhelming evidence of Dean Skelos and Adam Skelos’s guilt and again give the public the justice it deserves. Cleaning up corruption is never easy, and that is certainly true for corruption in New York State government. But we are as committed as ever to doing everything we can to keep our government honest. That is what we will do in this prosecution as well.”
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
STATEMENT BY COUNCIL MEMBER YDANIS RODRIGUEZ ON BILLS 1075-A, 1076-A, AND 139-C BEFORE THE COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
I am Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez and lead sponsor of bills 1075-A and 1076-A, two actions to protect our youth from becoming susceptible to smoking and its accompanying health risks.
"New York, at the city and state levels, has been successful in curbing cigarette use and its health impacts. Now we're faced with similar challenges where the use of hookah is becoming prevalent, advertising makes it appealing to youth, and the public knows little about the consequences of use. We must address the issue of non-tobacco shisha use in our city and we must do it now. We must get ahead of this issue before it gets out of our hands.
"Forty minutes of smoking hookah is equal to 120 cigarettes. As with cigarettes, our communities of color are most negatively affected. In the last decade, hookah smoking has more than doubled among Hispanic youth and more than tripled among black youth. According to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New Yorkers between 18 and 20 are three times more likely to smoke hookah than people 21 and older. Bills 1075-A and 1076-A will require signage warning of the health risks associated with smoking shisha at non-tobacco smoking establishments and raise the age for hookah use form 18 to 21 year of age, respectively.
"We must also be mindful of the secondhand hookah smoke health impacts on workers of hookah establishments. They're exposed to harmful particulate matter and toxicants that may cause cancer, cardiovascular disease, and decreased lung function. I want to commend my colleague Council Member Gentile for addressing these dangers by introducing bill 139-C which would include non-tobacco shisha in the Smoke Free Air Act and regulate its use in bars, restaurants, and other places.
"This package of bills, 139-C, 1075-A and 1076-A, puts the health and well-being of New Yorkers first. I want to thank Council Health Committee Chair Johnson, Council Member Gentile, the members of the Committee on Health, Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett, and her team at DOHMH."
Engel Signs Discharge Petition to Force Vote on Dream Act
Congressman Eliot Engel, a top member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, joined over 100 of his House colleagues on Monday in signing a discharge petition to force a vote on H.R. 3440, the Dream Act, a bipartisan bill which would grant lawful permanent resident status to undocumented immigrants who came to this country as children. The legislation would fill the void left by the cancellation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, an Obama era initiative that granted legal status to the more than 800,000 young individuals, commonly referred to as DREAMers, who attended school, joined the workforce, and have contributed to American society in spite of never having legal status here. President Trump announced he would end the DACA program in March of 2018.
Engel, a cosponsor of the Dream Act, believes Congress cannot wait to act on this crucial issue.
“The President’s short-sighted decision to end DACA in 6 months means that for the 800,000 DREAMers who call America home, time is of the essence,” Engel said. “These young men and women, who were brought to this country as children, should not be punished for their parents attempts to give them a better life. Congress needs to stand with our DREAMers in this critical moment, which means we must take up the Dream Act as soon as possible. I signed this discharge petition because we cannot wait till the 11th hour to act. Letting 800,000 people who are facing deportation twist in the wind is cruel and can only serve to hurt us economically. It’s imperative that we take up and pass the Dream Act immediately.”
Monday, September 25, 2017
Anthony Weiner Sentenced To 21 Months In Prison For Transferring Obscene Material To A Minor
Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ANTHONY WEINER was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to 21 months in prison for transferring obscene material to a minor. WEINER pled guilty on May 19, 2017, before U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska. Today’s sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote.
Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said: “Anthony Weiner, a former Congressman and candidate for Mayor, asked a girl who he knew to be 15 years old to display her naked body and engage in sexually explicit behavior for him online. Justice demands that this type of conduct be prosecuted and punished with time in prison. Today, Anthony Weiner received a just sentence that was appropriate for his crime.”
In sentencing ANTHONY WEINER, Judge Cote said: “This is a serious crime that deserves serious punishment.”
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court proceedings:
Between January and March 2016, WEINER used online messaging and video chat applications to communicate with a minor girl he knew to be 15 years old (the “Minor Victim”) and to transfer obscene material to her. Those communications began the evening of January 23, 2016, when the Minor Victim initiated contact with WEINER by sending him a direct message on Twitter. That night, the Minor Victim and WEINER exchanged a series of messages. Early in the exchange, the Minor Victim revealed to WEINER that she was in high school. As their communications progressed, the Minor Victim made plain that she was a minor. Despite that knowledge, WEINER participated in increasingly suggestive exchanges. The exchanges occurred over Facebook messenger, Skype, Kik, Confide, and Snapchat, the latter three of which are messaging and photo-sharing applications that delete messages and images once viewed.
Between February 17 and 23, 2016, WEINER and the Minor Victim participated in three video chat sessions on Skype. The Minor Victim made clear during those chat sessions that she was not just a minor; she was, in fact, only 15 years old. Nevertheless, during the latter two Skype sessions, on February 18 and 23, 2016, and in a Snapchat communication on March 9, 2016, the defendant used graphic and obscene language to ask the Minor Victim to display her naked body and touch herself, which she did. He also sent an obscene message to the Minor Victim on Confide, describing what he would do to her if she were 18. As part of these criminal exchanges, the defendant also sent the Minor Victim adult pornography, or a link thereto. In approximately March 2016, after several months of intermittent exchanges, communications between the defendant and the Minor Victim largely stopped.
In addition to the prison term, WEINER, 53, of New York, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release.
Mr. Kim praised and thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Special Victims Division of the New York City Police Department for their outstanding work.
MAYOR DE BLASIO ANNOUNCES 11 SITES ADDED TO COMMUNITY PARKS INITIATIVE
NYC Parks�� Community Parks Initiative will now fully reconstruct 67 total sites �C reaching 500K New Yorkers who live within a short walk of one of these parks
Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, announced the next set of parks added to the Community Parks Initiative portfolio �C the City��s first major parks equity initiative investing $318 million to revitalize everyday community parks that have received less than $250,000 over the past 20 years. With 67 park sites to receive full reconstruction with the additional 11, CPI is one of the largest data-driven park equity programs in the nation, with 500,000 New Yorkers within a short walk of one of the parks.
��When we talk about improving parks in New York City, we��re really talking about improving the lives of New Yorkers,�� said Mayor Bill de Blasio. ��The Community Parks Initiative focuses on parks and neighborhoods that have faced the most historic disinvestment and serve dense, growing populations �C so every New Yorker can be proud of their neighborhood park.��
"Since 2014, the Community Parks Initiative has brought New Yorkers together to improve their parks and playgrounds - and in doing so, to strengthen their communities. With the addition of eleven more parks to the program, thousands more will now have the opportunity to reimagine and rebuild their most precious resource: their shared public space," said NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP.
Launched by Mayor de Blasio in October 2014, CPI is a multi-faceted investment in the neighborhood/local parks that are located in New York City��s densely populated and growing neighborhoods where there are higher-than-average concentrations of poverty. CPI is NYC Parks' first major equity initiative and part of the Mayor��s OneNYC: The Plan for a Strong and Just City.
Entering the design process this fall, the 11 parks bringing the CPI portfolio total to 67 are:
Bronx
�� Prospect Playground
�� Mapes Ballfield
Brooklyn
�� Bartlett Playground
�� Lewis Playground
�� Penn Triangle
Manhattan
�� Bill Bojangles Playground
�� Harlem Lane Playground
�� Joseph C. Sauer Park
�� Playground One
Queens
�� Chappetto Square
Staten Island
�� Mariners Harbor Playground
Newly reconstructed CPI parks began opening ahead of schedule this summer �C five across Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens, from the initial 35 announced in 2014: twelve sites will be open by the end of 2017 and the balance in 2018. The 12 parks announced in 2015 are in procurement, and are expected to enter construction in 2018; and the nine announced in 2016 will enter procurement next year. The final 11 parks, entering design next month, are expected to be completed in winter 2020/21.
Additionally, CPI receives capital program support for many of these sites from DEP, which has committed $50 million in funding for the construction of green infrastructure installations. The green infrastructure will manage the precipitation that falls on the parks, and some of the surrounding streets, keeping it out of the combined sewer system and helping to reduce combined sewer overflows that sometimes occur during heavy rainfall. New York City has the most ambitious and aggressive green infrastructure program in the nation, with thousands of installations currently under construction across the city. In addition to managing stormwater, green infrastructure helps to improve air quality while also providing shade and lowering summertime temperatures. In addition, CPI parks has also received support from city and state elected officials, sister agencies including HPD, as well as Parks-related conservancies and private developers.
In addition to CPI��s capital investment in neighborhood parks, the initiative has an impact on these neighborhoods through community partnership building, park programming, enhanced sustainability, and operating support. Through funding from the City Council, in-kind donations from park conservancies; and community engagement �� through partners including City Parks Foundation, New York Road Runners, the Uni Project and El Museo del Barrio �� resources are allocated across critical categories including community outreach, recreational programming, green infrastructure, and park maintenance.
For additional information on the Community Parks Initiative, please visit nyc.gov/parks .