MARRICKA SCOTT-MCFADDEN NAMED DEPUTY BRONX BP

  Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. today announced that Marricka Scott-McFadden would serve as the new Deputy Bronx Borough President, beginning in January 2018.

“Marricka Scott-McFadden has decades of experience in both the public and private sector, and I am thrilled to welcome her voice to my administration,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. “My staff and I look forward to working with Ms. Scott-McFadden as we continue to advance a positive transformative agenda for The Bronx.

“I love The Bronx, and I am thrilled to serve it in this new capacity,” said Deputy Bronx Borough President Marricka Scott-McFadden. “I thank Borough President Diaz for this tremendous opportunity, and I look forward to working with stakeholders across the borough, city and state as we continue to implement a positive agenda for the betterment of the more than 1.4 million people who, like me, are proud to call this borough their home.”

Marricka Scott-McFadden has spent nearly 20 years in politics and public service. Ms. Scott-McFadden served as chief of staff for more than a decade to the current New York State Assembly Speaker, Carl E. Heastie. In this role she oversaw day to day operations of Mr. Heastie’s office and managed his legislative and policy units.

Most recently, Ms. Scott-McFadden served as a vice-president in the New York City and Albany offices of the nationally recognized consulting firm Mercury Public Affairs.

 

Ms. Scott-McFadden received her bachelor’s degree from CUNY’s Herbert H. Lehman College and her master’s degree in Public Affairs and Administration from Metropolitan College of New York. In 2009, she was named one of City Hall News’s “40 Under 40 Rising Stars in Politics. She has also earned a spot on City & State’s 2016 list of the Bronx Most Influential Persons.

Ms. Scott-McFadden is a proud resident of the Northeast Bronx and enjoys serving her beloved community.

Ms. Scott-McFadden replaces Hon. Aurelia Greene, who retired as Deputy Bronx Borough President in December.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

  We wish only the best for our friend Hon. Aurelia Greene upon her retirement from public office. We welcome Ms. Marrika Scott-McFadden to her new position as Bronx Deputy Borough President.

A.G. Schneiderman Leads 13 States Calling On Congress To Reject “Deep And Damaging” EPA Cuts, Anti-Environmental Budget Riders

House and Senate Would Eliminate Over $150 Million in Critical Funds, Could Slash EPA Staff by One-Quarter 

Proposed Budgets Would Mean More Polluted Air, Water, and Communities – Cutting Vital Programs like Enforcement, Scientific Research, and Environmental Justice, While Undermining Clean Water and Clean Air Acts and Limits on Climate Change Pollution 

In New York, Cuts Ignore $74 Billion Shortfall in Water Treatment Needs; Could Block Standards for Toxic Chemicals in Drinking Water 

   Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, leading a coalition of 13 states, called on the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to reject “deep and damaging” cuts in funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and anti-environmental riders in federal budget bills. In a letter to Congressional leadership, the coalition charges that the EPA cuts and riders currently proposed by both houses “will lead to more pollution of our air, water, and communities, and an accompanying increase in damage to public health.” The coalition is urging Congress to pass a final budget that fully funds EPA and omits any anti-environmental riders. 

Joining Attorney General Schneiderman in the letter are the Attorneys General of California, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, and the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

“As it stands, these budget bills would lead to untold – and perhaps irreparable – damage to clean water, air, and communities throughout New York,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “The EPA budget already represents just two-tenths of one percent of federal spending – yet the agency plays an essential role in protecting our environment and our health. We will continue to fight back against these dangerous cuts, and the very real threat they pose to the health and safety of New Yorkers.”

Congress is reported to be negotiating with the Trump Administration on a final fiscal year 2018 budget for the EPA based on the House-passed Interior, Environmental, and Related Agencies FY 2018 appropriations bill (H.R. 3354) and the Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman’s Mark for FY 2018 appropriations for these agencies. While not as draconian as the $2.4 billion in EPA cuts originally proposed by the Trump Administration, the House-passed budget bill would still cut the EPA’s budget by $650 million; the Senate bill would cut the EPA’s budget by $150 million. These budget cuts would leave EPA with its smallest budget since 1986, adjusting for inflation.

The bulk of the proposed cuts fall on central activities of EPA – environmental enforcement and compliance assurance, setting environmental standards, issuing permits, monitoring emissions, and providing technical and legal assistance to enforcement, compliance, and oversight. The House reduces funding for EPA’s core programs by 24 percent – an even deeper cut for these programs than proposed in the Trump Administration’s irresponsible budget – while the Senate shrinks this funding by 10 percent. The Senate budget provides funding to cut EPA’s workforce by one-quarter. 

As the Trump Administration continues to retreat from enforcing federal environmental laws, the Senate and House are proposing cuts in the EPA’s enforcement budget of 10 percent and 15 percent, respectively. The EPA’s enforcement work, often in partnership with the New York Attorney General’s office, has been critical to protecting New Yorkers’ health and environment– from the 2016 action against Volkswagen for emissions cheating, to the 2015 action against Tonawanda Coke Corp for violating federal and state air, water, and waste pollution laws, to the 2013 consent decree with the Lafarge cement company in Ravena to resolve claims for air pollution violations, and much more.

In addition, both the Senate and House follow the Trump Administration’s lead in targeting EPA programs that protect the health of disadvantaged communities, proposing a 10 percent and 15 percent cut, respectively, in funding for the EPA Office of Environmental Justice. 

The coalition’s letter highlights concerns about the Senate’s proposal to eliminate EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program, which, among other things, plays a fundamental role in the setting of national drinking water standards. The coalition letter notes that drinking water supplies across the country – including in Hoosick Falls, New York – are now contaminated with the toxic industrial chemicals perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). PFOA and PFOS are currently unregulated under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, with no national monitoring or enforcement mechanism in place to address their risk to the public. The coalition letter states, “the elimination or reduction of the IRIS program will likely delay, if not end, progress toward effective, science-based regulation of these dangerous chemicals, and toward ensuring the health and safety of the water Americans drink”.

The letter also flags several troubling policy riders added to the EPA funding bills, including those that would:

• Create a dangerous precedent by allowing EPA to by-pass federal law and allow the Trump Administration to shut the public out of its planned repeal and replacement of the “Waters of the United States” rule – regulations that define which waters will received protection under the federal Clean Water Act. 
• Delay the implementation of health-based standards for smog pollution for 10 years – even though 115 million Americans, including at least 1 in 3 New Yorkers, currently breathe air with harmful levels of smog.
• Block common-sense regulations for controlling emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane from the oil and natural gas industry. Controlling methane – which saves the industry money from the recovery of valuable natural gas – also reduces emissions of smog-forming pollutants, and hazardous air pollutants, including benzene and formaldehyde.

Finally, the coalition letter argues that there is a strong argument that more – not less – funding for EPA is needed. For example, it is clear that funding that the EPA provides to states and municipalities has not been sufficient for them to keep pace with the burgeoning challenge of providing safe drinking water and properly treating wastewater. In New York alone, over the next 20 years, it is estimated that over $38 billion will be needed to repair, replace, and update the state’s drinking water infrastructure and over $36 billion is to repair, replace, and update its wastewater infrastructure.

Comptroller Stringer Releases New, Data-driven Profiles Of Every Bus Route In The City

  After releasing a comprehensive report on New York City’s bus system last month, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer today released new route-by-route profiles for every bus in the five boroughs. The profiles give New Yorkers route-by-route data and information – including changes in ridership, average speeds, frequency of buses per hour, number of turns along the route, and more – to understand why and how New York City has a bus crisis.

The new profiles build on Comptroller Stringer’s report released in late November – The Other Transit Crisis: How to Improve the NYC Bus System – which revealed that over the last eight years, the MTA bus system lost 100 million passenger trips as buses traveled at the slowest speeds of any large city in the country. The report found New York City’s slow buses are a result of routes that are often long, unreliable, and meandering, and that too often they fail to connect working people to emerging job centers across the city, especially outside of Manhattan.

“It’s an under-the-radar crisis that’s harming New Yorkers on our streets each and every day. It’s our bus system. The slowest bus system isn’t in Los Angeles, or Boston, or Philadelphia. It’s right here at home. If we’re going to be a true five-borough economy, we have to modernize our buses and connect routes to new job centers. It’s time for an overhaul,” said New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer. “We put out this data to keep New Yorkers informed, to give them the tools they need to understand the problem we’re facing. We know that we need to take bold steps today to create a modern, best-in-class, 21st century bus system tomorrow.”

The Comptroller’s bus route profiles provide granular detail on ridership for each route, as well as the length of bus routes, number of stops along them, the average distance between stops, the number of turns along each route, and their proximity to subway stations, which illuminate the challenges that confront certain neighborhoods that are transit desserts. The profiles are also presented on-line in an interactive, user-friendly format.

Top Five Slowest Routes By Speed (MPH)

• M42 – 3.90
• M31 – 4.14
• M57 – 4.17
• M66 – 4.25
• M50 – 4.51

Worst On-time Performance (OTP)

• SBS15 – 33.9%
• M1 – 36.3%
• Q113 – 36.6%
• S86 – 37.8%
• SBS60 – 38.1%

 Top Five Longest Routes (In Miles)

• S78 – 20.8 miles
• S74 – 19.4 miles
• S59 – 16.0 miles
• B15 – 13.3 miles
• B82 – 12.8 miles

 Most Turns Along Route

• Bx8 – 29
• S57 – 28
• Q39 – 27
• Q102 – 26
• S52 – 26

Among the findings that are highlighted in Comptroller Stringer’s previous bus analysis include:

• The MTA bus system lost 100 million riders in the last eight years, falling from 868 million passenger trips in 2008 to 769 million in 2016.
• While the MTA has found that long and meandering bus routes are inefficient and unreliable, 38 local routes make at least 15 turns.
• The average New York City Transit bus travels at an average of 7.4 MPH – slowest among the 17 largest bus systems in the nation.

To read today’s release of bus profiles, click here.

To read the Comptroller’s initial bus report, The Other Transit Crisis: How to Improve the NYC Bus System, click here.

!00 PERCENT Looking back on 2017

100 PERCENT

By Robert Press

Looking Back at 2017

   As we look back at 2017, it was the year that could have been, your fired, and still a mystery. the Yankees could have won the World Series, if they had just one more player to take them there. Donald Trump took the office of president, and those words rang out as they did on television, "YOUR FIRED". The John F. Kennedy 'Conspiracy Theory' after declassification of most government documents still remains a mystery. Now let's get back to the political world where there was many things that happened.

 2017 opened with a potential hotly contested Democratic primary for Mayor of New York City. One by one the potential challengers to incumbent Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio dropped out, with one even saying that he would run for mayor 'only if de Blasio was indicted'. That proved to be true on the other side of the isle as potential Republican candidates for mayor were saying just about the same thing, dropping out one by one also as the mayor was not indicted. 

 Mayor de Blasio faced only a token opponent in the primary, and a weak opponent in the general election. The story however in the Bronx was the Democratic primary. Since Comptroller did not run for mayor people looked at the borough presidents. Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. decided that he had four more years to enhance his profile citywide, or run for mayor against an incumbent Democratic mayor. Diaz Jr. was re-elected BP of the Bronx, but it was his father who made a move to City Hall. Now former State Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. became City Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr. from the 18th council district. 

 Another former Albany legislator also made the move to the City Hall, when former Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj, was elected to the 13th City Council seat, replacing term-limited Jimmy Vacca. This has given the Bronx a vacant 32nd State Senate seat, and a vacant 80th Assembly seat. There is time to call a special election to fill both seats as well as one or two other state legislative seats that became vacant when the legislators decided to run for a different office. However the question of having a special election so close to the beginning of the regular petition process, and having a special election, then the federal primary for congress in June, the regular primary in September, and then the general election in November is a good argument for not having the special elections. 

  The relationship between Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo has widened as each is blaming the other for many of New York City's woes. Mayor de Blasio was not indicted, and was able to easily win the primary and general election. Within a week after the general election however another NYCHA scandal broke about false reports to the federal government on the removal of lead paint in some NYCHA Houses. Had this come out before the general election it could have possibly changed the outcome of the election. 

 As has become the norm as the state primary season approaches, anti State Senate IDC (Independent Democratic Conference) forces have announced two candidates that will be running against two IDC members. A third IDC member will be facing a challenge from a former Mayor de Blasio staffer. The idea is to have State Senator Jeff Klein and his IDC to rejoin the mainline Democrats or face primaries this year. Governor Cuomo has gotten involved in the matter, and now it seems that the mainline Senate Democratic Conference leader (who was at the anti IDC rally held in the Bronx) is trying to say that the governor's deal is no good to her conference. We will have to wait for 2018 to find out how that soap opera ends. 

  Lastly, with Mayor Bill de Blasio coming back from a visit to Iowa, people are saying that he wants to run for President. I think that de Blasio wants to run for Vice-President with a presidential candidate from California. This way if not elected they can start a movement to secede from the United State to form their own country. I may have left out some items, but there is only so much room here in this column. It also appears that you will see me back in 2018, as the job offers are coming in. I am enjoying my well deserved vacation, and will see you in 2018.  

  If you have any comments about this column you can e-mail me at 100percentbronxnews@gmail.com or call me at 718-644-4199.

  

TEAM DIAZ Christmas Party

  Above - (L - R) Bronx Democratic County Leader Assemblyman Marcos Crespo, 79th A.D. District Leader Cynthia Cox, Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., Not yet elected City Council Speaker Councilman Cory Johnson, newly elected Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr., Councilman Rafael Salamanca, and Assemblyman Victor Pichardo.

 It was a night of surprises at the TEAM DIAZ Christmas Party last night as there was no stage for the elected officials to sit, they mingled and took photos with the over 500 people in attendance. There was a special guest who was able to poke some fun at current State Senator Reverend Ruben Diaz Sr., an announcement by the Bronx Democratic County Leader, and lots of fun as the photos below will tell you.

Above - At first it was only Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda, 89th District Leader Andrea Seigel, and newly elected Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr.

Below - 78th A.D. District Leader Cynthia Cox, Assemblyman Victor Pichardo, and Councilman Rafael Salamanca shortly arrived. 

Above - By now Bronx BP Ruben Diaz Jr., and Assemblyman Marcos Crespo had arrived, and Assemblyman Crespo announced that a special guest was in the house.

Below - Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr. welcomes his new best friend Councilman and new Speaker of the City Council Councilman Cory Johnson.

Above - Councilman Disaz Sr., and Bronx Democratic County Leader Marcos Crespo (who was a big player in who became the new City Council Speaker) hold up the new Speaker's hands in victory.

Below - Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr. wanted to make sure he was real close to his new Speaker.

As for other announcements,

Above - Bronx Democratic County Leader Narcos Crespo announces that Ruben Diaz Jr. will be running for mayor in 2021.

Below - Assemblyman Luis sepulveda announces that he is running for the very soon to be vacant 32nd State Senate seat which Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr. will be leaving on January 1st. 

Additional Charges Announced Against Two Bronx Men For A 2014 Murder And 2014 Drug-Related Shooting

  Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Darcel D. Clark, the Bronx County District Attorney, Ashan M. Benedict, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”), James J. Hunt, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), and James P. O’Neill, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced additional charges in a Superseding Indictment[1] against members of a drug trafficking crew based in the Bronx.  In the Superseding Indictment returned on Tuesday, December 19, JASON POLANCO, a/k/a “Jin,” a/k/a “Wolfman,” is charged with the August 31, 2014, murder of Shawn Ross, a/k/a “S.B.,” and RENE RUIZ, a/k/a “Lil’ Rene,” a/k/a “Nae Nae,” is charged with a May 2, 2014, non-fatal shooting.

POLANCO, RUIZ, and 12 others were previously charged in an Indictment unsealed on February 6, 2017.  That prior Indictment charged narcotics trafficking, firearms possession, and participation in robberies of commercial establishments in the Bronx and Manhattan.  In addition to the new charges described above, the Superseding Indictment re-alleges the charges that had previously been brought in the Indictment against POLANCO, RUIZ, and 10 others.  The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain.  POLANCO, RUIZ, and the 10 other defendants charged in the Superseding Indictment were arraigned today.

Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said:  “As alleged, Jason Polanco and Rene Ruiz not only participated in a drug conspiracy, but also personally participated in the drug crew’s gun violence, including, for Polanco, a murder.  Fortunately, federal authorities and our local law enforcement partners, working together, can make our streets safer, as they did in this case.”

Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark said:  “We are pleased to have assisted our federal law enforcement partners in their superseding indictment charging Jason Polanco with the murder of a Bronx man.  It is one of numerous violent felonies that Polanco and his co-defendants allegedly committed in the Bronx and Manhattan.  In addition to facing justice in federal court, he will face justice in the Bronx for shooting two New York City police officers in 2015.  With seamless cooperation between city, state and federal agencies we will continue to do all we can to ensure safety for all who live and work in the Bronx.”

ATF Special Agent in Charge Ashan M. Benedict said:  “Jason Polanco, Rene Ruiz and his charged co-conspirators are alleged to have committed a litany of crimes, including firearms offenses and violent crimes.  The defendants are alleged to have possessed and used firearms in the commission of violent crimes with some crimes resulting in serious bodily injury and in one case death.  The members of this violent drug trafficking crew have been a plague to the citizens of the Bronx and Manhattan for some time.  I would like to commend our partners in the Bronx District Attorney’s Office and the United States Attorney’s Office for their collaboration that made this case possible.  I also would like to extend my gratitude to the special agents of the DEA and ATF, and the NYPD detectives, who worked tirelessly to bring these individuals to justice.”

DEA Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt said:  “This case shows the intrinsic link between drug trafficking, crime and gun violence.  New York law enforcement is committed to weeding out drug dealers in our neighborhoods so law abiding residents can live in neighborhoods  free from drugs and safe from the consequences of drug trafficking.” 

POLANCO is separately being prosecuted by the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office for his alleged shooting of two NYPD Officers in January 2015.  Mr. Kim thanked the District Attorney’s Office for their cooperation in the federal investigation of POLANCO for the alleged murder of Shawn Ross.  

The charges contained in the Superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

 [1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Superseding Indictment and the description of the Superseding Indictment set forth below constitute only allegations and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.

A.G. Schneiderman Files Lawsuit Alleging Bronx & Westchester Car Dealerships Illegally Charged Consumers For Bogus Theft Protection Product

AG Seeks Refunds For As Many As 1,100 Consumers Who Were Allegedly Charged As Much as $4,000 Apiece By Victory Mitsubishi of Larchmont and Victory Suzuki of the Bronx

Lawsuit Also Seeks To Permanently Stop Dealerships From Engaging In Deceptive Business Practices

Since 2015, Attorney General Schneiderman Has Obtained Approximately $19M In Restitution And Penalties From Fraudulent Auto Dealers

  Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced a lawsuit against Victory Motors, LLC (Victory Mitsubishi of Larchmont) and Victory Auto Group, LLC (Victory Suzuki of the Bronx) alleging that the car dealerships deceptively charged as many as 1,100 consumers for an unwanted and bogus anti-theft product that cost up to $4,000 per consumer. The lawsuit alleges that this item, known as an “after-sale” product, was often added onto the final cost of the vehicle without the consumer’s knowledge or consent, after the customer had agreed upon the purchase price of a vehicle but before the sale transaction was finalized. Since 2015, Attorney General Schneiderman has obtained approximately $19 million in restitution and penalties from auto dealers; nearly 29,000 consumers were eligible for restitution under these settlements.

“Consumers shouldn’t have to worry about being scammed by auto dealers when they buy a car,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “We will continue to protect New Yorkers – and take on those who seek to rip off consumers with hidden and unwanted fees and products.”

In April 2015, the Attorney General received a complaint from a consumer who, after purchasing a vehicle from Victory Mitsubishi in Larchmont, noticed that there was a puzzling charge of $1,995 labeled “Etch” on the bill of sale. When contacted by the Attorney General’s office, the dealership allegedly explained that the charge was for a glass etch product, a security add-on in which a serial number, often the vehicle identification number (“VIN”), is etched onto each of the vehicle’s windows. However, the consumer said that she had not been made aware by the dealership that she was purchasing the etch product, and that had she been made aware, she would have declined to purchase it. The dealership made a full refund.

Concerned that other consumers could have been charged for the product without their knowledge or consent, the Attorney General then launched an investigation that found that both Victory Mitsubishi and Victory Suzuki of the Bronx – another dealership with common ownership – had allegedly charged as many as 1,100 consumers for a product called the Etch Guarantee, which is intended to serve as a theft deterrent. 

Consumers were charged amounts ranging from $129 to $3,998. In many instances, the two Victory dealerships allegedly added this fee onto the final sales price without the knowledge or consent of the consumers. As a result, the final price paid by the consumers was inflated by the amount charged for the after-sale product.

Furthermore, the two Victory dealerships allegedly failed to clearly disclose the nature of the after-sale product to their customers. The “Vehicle Replacement Discount Allowance,” also known as the “Etch Guarantee,” is supposed to include a permanent etch or engraving of the vehicle’s VIN, or a registered serial number, on the windows of the vehicle – supposedly to deter theft. However, in many instances, the Victory dealerships did not actually etch the VIN onto the windows of the vehicles.

Consumers were also allegedly led to believe that there would be a guaranteed credit of up to either $2,500 or $5,000 towards the purchase of a new vehicle should their car be stolen. However, there were numerous conditions and limitations – such as that the credit would not be applied if it eliminated the dealership’s profit on the sale – which rendered the “credit” illusory.

The Attorney General commenced the lawsuit because the Victory dealerships – although they have ceased selling the Etch Guarantee – failed to offer full refunds to the other consumers who had been charged (i.e., the consumers not involved in the original complaint). The lawsuit seeks to permanently stop the dealerships from engaging in deceptive business practices and to obtain full refunds for the consumers. It also seeks an accounting to determine the precise number of consumers who were charged.

This lawsuit is part of the Attorney General’s wider initiative to end the practice engaged in by some auto dealers of “jamming,” or unlawfully charging consumers for products and services without their knowledge or consent. 

Since 2015, Attorney General Schneiderman has reached 14 settlements with auto dealerships, including over $19 million in total restitution and penalties; nearly 29,000 consumers were eligible for restitution under these settlements. For example, in October 2017, the Attorney General obtained two settlements with auto dealers that returned $900,000 in restitution and $135,000 in penalties.