TO PROTECT ACCESS TO ABORTION AT NATION’S LARGEST PUBLIC HOSPITAL SYSTEM, MAYOR DE BLASIO AND NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS REJECT FEDERAL FUNDING TIED TO NEW “GAG RULE”

Under new federal rule, providers accepting Title X funds would be banned from sharing information about full range of reproductive health services, including abortion

  Mayor Bill de Blasio, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Dr. Herminia Palacio, and President and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals Dr. Mitchell Katz today announced the City’s public health system will cease participating in the federal Title X program for as long as the “gag rule” is in effect. The rule prevents medical providers from sharing information and counseling about abortion to their patients. In a directive to all NYC Health + Hospitals personnel, Dr. Katz today instructed doctors and nurses to support patients on whatever pathway they choose, including providing referrals to abortion and reproductive health services.

“The doctors and nurses at the heart of New York City’s public hospital system took an oath to protect and serve patients, and we will do whatever’s necessary to ensure they are able to provide the best medical treatment,” said Mayor de Blasio. “Our decision to reject Title X funds sends a clear message – we will not stand by while the Trump Administration tries to censor our providers and prevent them from giving patients information about abortions.”

“The Title X gag rule is yet another cruel attempt by federal government leaders to control reproductive rights,” saidFirst Lady Chirlane McCray. “New York City will not allow politicians with their regressive rulings to dictate what people can and cannot do with their bodies. We will protect New Yorkers access to reproductive health care – no matter what happens in Washington.”

In February 2019, the Trump Administration issued the federal “gag rule,” which bars health care providers who receive federal Title X funding from referring or counseling patients about their abortion options. A federal lawsuit – for which New York City filed an amicus brief – had been blocking the gag rule from taking effect. Last week, the Federal Court of Appeals in the Ninth Circuit vacated this injunction, allowing the gag rule to take effect immediately across the country. This would force doctors and medical providers who receive these federal funds for sexual and reproductive health to withhold information about safe, legal abortions from their patients.

Rather than censor providers, NYC Health + Hospitals will reject $1.3 million in federal funding from the Title X program — which funds a range of family planning and related preventive health services — until the gag rule is lifted. The City will cover the lost Title X funds, and NYC Health + Hospitals will direct doctors and nurses to continue providing referrals to abortion and reproductive health services. NYC Health + Hospitals remains committed to providing patients comprehensive reproductive health options and services the system has always offered, without interruption.

“This rule is unconscionable and an affront to the professional ethics of all doctors,” said Dr. Herminia Palacio, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services. “Physicians must have the freedom to provide accurate and unbiased medical information to their patients, and this rule runs counter to that basic fact. In refusing Title X funds, NYC Health + Hospitals reaffirms its commitment to protecting reproductive care rights – our doctors will not be silenced, and our patients will continue to receive the best care possible.”

“NYC Health + Hospitals delivers essential services to New Yorkers, and we will not let the federal government tell us how to limit the health care options for our patients,” said Mitchell Katz, MD, President and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals. “We are prepared to find other ways to compensate for the loss of funding and ensure that we remain true to our mission to care for all, without exception, and regardless of income, immigration or insurance status.”

“We object to the dangerous policies that are restricting access to the full spectrum of reproductive health care across the country and will not allow the censoring of our doctors and nurses,” said Machelle Allen, MD, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of NYC Health + Hospitals. “Our doors will remain open to all and we will continue to support our patients on whatever path they choose.”

NYC Health + Hospitals facilities offer comprehensive and confidential care for patients that includes contraceptive counseling, management of pregnancy loss, and elective medical pregnancy termination services and surgical termination services up to 24 weeks (2nd trimester). The system is committed to providing a safe and supportive environment. 

“As the Trump-Pence administration continues to undermine the Title X national family planning program as part of its larger anti-abortion agenda, New York City is once again standing strong for abortion access,” said Andrea Miller, president of the National Institute for Reproductive Health. “NYC Health + Hospitals has a long and proud history of providing comprehensive reproductive health services, including abortion, and we applaud H+H for its commitment to counseling patients without bias and offering this crucial care.”

Any New Yorker wishing to make an appointment at an NYC Health + Hospitals location can call 1-844-NYC-4NYC.

MTA NY Transit head Andy Byford Meets Bronx CM Andy King, Other Elected & Com. Leaders in Co-op City, Bronx, Speaks to Hundreds of Community Residents Rallying Against MTA BX Bus Redesign Plan

  MTA New York City Transit head Andy Byford came to Co-op City this evening to meet with local Council Member Andy King, Senator Jamaal Bailey, Assembly member Michael Benedetto, members of the Riverbay Cooperative Board and community leaders, as well as to address hundreds of local residents in the Co-op City community at a rally in opposition to current efforts by the Metropolitan Transit Authority [MTA] to radically change bus routes that go through the Co-op City community, the largest co-operative housing community in the world and the largest "Naturally Occurring Retirement Community" [NORC] in the nation.

Byford, after explaining it was a draft and a willingness to compromise, joked that residents who didn't want addition bus transfers would ensure he saw a transfer if an amended plan were not made a reality

King, who has represented Co-op City in the Council since 2012, stressed that the current plan was unacceptable, but offered he felt Byford was genuine in expressing openness to the community's suggestions to amened the draft plan.

The rally rook place outisde in a courtyard next to a public community engagement meeting at the Bartow Community Center.

The MTA has stated that the draft proposal seeks to update the bus routes, "which have largely remained unchanged since they were converted from trolley lines nearly a century ago, within the Bronx’s existing grid system. These recommendations take into consideration the service performance of each route, the speed, ridership and reliability on key corridors, and how individual routes contribute to the larger network. Recommendations were developed in collaboration with NYCDOT, with focus given to identifying key corridors where roadway treatments and traffic signal improvements can be implemented to expand bus priority and better support sustainable, all-day bus service. The details of NYCDOT’s proposed bus priority plan for the Bronx are included in the draft plan for the Bronx Bus Network Redesign." - MTA Bus Design press release<http://www.mta.info/press-release/nyc-transit/mta-releases-draft-plan-redesign-bronx-bus-network>, June 5, 2019

Information about the Bronx Bus Network Redesign can be found at https://new.mta.info/bronxbusredesign .

Bronx Man Convicted In Manhattan Federal Court Of 2014 Murder

  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JASON POLANCO, a/k/a “Jin,” a/k/a “Wolfman,” was found guilty today of the August 31, 2014, murder of Shawn Ross, a/k/a “S.B.,” on Decatur Avenue in the Bronx, as well as participating in a narcotics conspiracy, a robbery conspiracy, the robbery of a Citgo gas station in the Bronx, and the discharge of a firearm in connection with the Citgo robbery.   A jury convicted POLANCO today on all six counts of the Indictment following a one-week trial before U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “This morning, a unanimous jury found that Jason Polanco is a drug dealer, a robber, and a killer.  We hope that the family of Shawn Ross finds a measure of justice in today’s verdict.  We thank the NYPD, ATF, and DEA for their outstanding work on this case, and for their invaluable partnership with our office.”

According to the allegations contained in the Indictment and the evidence presented in court during the trial:

On August 31, 2014, POLANCO shot and killed Shawn Ross, a/k/a “S.B.,” in connection with POLANCO’s membership in a drug crew that controlled drug sales on Decatur Avenue between 194th and 195th Streets in the Bronx.  This drug crew was responsible for distributing over a kilogram of heroin, as well as quantities of marijuana, from at least 2011 through 2015.  In 2014 and 2015, POLANCO and other members of the crew also committed a string of armed robberies of businesses across Manhattan and the Bronx, including the robbery of a Citgo gas station on Pelham Parkway in the Bronx.  During the Citgo robbery, POLANCO carried a loaded firearm, which he fired just feet away from a customer.

POLANCO, 29, was found guilty of one count of participating in a conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute one kilogram and more of heroin and quantities of marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(b)(1)(A), 841(b)(1)(D), and 846, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life; one count of murder through the use of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(j), which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of life; one count of murder while engaged in a narcotics offense, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 848(e), which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life; one count of participating in a conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robberies, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; one count of committing a Hobbs Act robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and one count of discharging a firearm in connection with the robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(iii), which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life.

Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the New York City Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Manhattan Doctor Pleads Guilty To Accepting Bribes And Kickbacks From Pharmaceutical Company In Exchange For Prescribing Fentanyl Drug

  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that TODD SCHLIFSTEIN, a doctor who practiced in Manhattan, pled guilty today to conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, in connection with a scheme to prescribe Subsys, a potent fentanyl-based spray, in exchange for bribes and kickbacks from Subsys’s manufacturer, Insys Therapeutics.  SCHLIFSTEIN pled guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn.  The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Kimba M. Wood.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “As he admitted today, Todd Schlifstein prescribed patients a powerful fentanyl drug in exchange for bribes and kickbacks from the drug’s manufacturer.  This case shows that doctors who let illegal payments corrupt their medical judgment will be held accountable.”

According to the allegations contained in the Indictment against SCHLIFSTEIN and filings in related proceedings:

The Insys Speakers Bureau

Subsys, which is manufactured by Insys, is a powerful painkiller approximately 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.  The FDA approved Subsys only for the management of breakthrough pain in cancer patients.  Prescriptions of Subsys typically cost thousands of dollars each month, and Medicare and Medicaid, as well as commercial insurers, reimbursed prescriptions written by SCHLIFSTEIN.

In or about August 2012, Insys launched a “Speakers Bureau,” a roster of doctors who would conduct programs (“Speaker Programs”) purportedly aimed at educating other practitioners about Subsys.  In reality, Insys used its Speakers Bureau to induce the doctors who served as speakers to prescribe large volumes of Subsys by paying them Speaker Program fees.  Speakers were supposed to conduct an educational slide presentation for other health care practitioners at each Speaker Program.  In reality, many of the Speaker Programs were predominantly social affairs where no educational presentation about Subsys occurred.  Attendance sign-in sheets for the Speaker Programs were frequently forged by adding the names and signatures of health care practitioners who had not actually been present.

SCHILFSTEIN’s Participation in the Scheme

SCHLIFSTEIN, a doctor certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation, worked at a medical office in Manhattan.  From in or about March 2014 until in or about September 2015, SCHLIFSTEIN received approximately $127,100 in Speaker Program fees from Insys in exchange for prescribing large volumes of Subsys.  SCHLIFSTEIN became approximately the 19th-highest prescriber of Subsys nationally in the second quarter of 2015, accounting for approximately $593,373 in total net sales of the drug during that quarter.

SCHILFSTEIN, 50, of New York, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.  The maximum potential sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.  SCHLIFSTEIN is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Wood on September 26, 2019.

Mr. Berman praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and thanked the Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Inspector General for its participation in the investigation.

NYPD Response to OIG Report

 June 26, 2019

STATEMENT

"The NYPD understands that constitutional, biased-free policing is foundational to building community trust and keeping New York City even safer. The NYPD is committed to addressing misconduct in any form, and has created comprehensive policies and procedures to prevent, investigate, discipline, and monitor any and all instances of biased policing. Whether enhancing training for officers; outfitting all 22,000 patrol cops with body-worn cameras; or dramatically reducing stop-question-frisk, every change is designed to bring police and community closer together -- and each has been overseen by the Federal Court and its monitor.

"These efforts are producing results: biased policing complaints to IAB are down more than 33.1% year-to-year as of May 31, 2019, and the NYPD has imposed more discipline on the substantiated cases of racial or protected-class slurs than any other major city police department.

"Importantly, the instances cited in the OIG report represent less than .001% of the millions of annual NYPD interactions with the public. At the same time, the period of review of the Report does not capture the effect of all of the reforms the NYPD has implemented since 2014. And while the OIG highlighted a number of bias policing allegations, the OIG itself did not identify a single allegation out of the 888 they reviewed that they believe should have been substantiated on the basis of the available evidence – underscoring the difficulty in proving these allegations.

"Even with the positive changes already made, and the full context of this report, the NYPD knows there is more to do. The Department will continue to work with fellow agencies to improve its efforts in line with many of the recommendations contained in the Report. For example, NYPD will continue to work with CCRB to establish a mediation program for biased policing complaints handled by NYPD.

"The NYPD has initiated a number of significant changes over the past five years to create greater trust, build mutual respect, and strengthen coordination between the police and neighborhoods we serve -- and that essential work continues."

BACKGROUND

Expanded BWCs: The issuing of Body Worn Cameras to all 22,000 police officers, detectives, sergeants and lieutenants on patrol is transformational. It provides the enhanced ability to supervise generally and to specifically investigate complaints of biased policing. Critically, the period of time covered in the Report predates the full roll-out of Body Worn Cameras.

Increased and Improved Training: Since 2014, the NYPD has established in-depth biased policing-related training modules taught at the Police Academy; has undertaken mandatory day-long, in-service training on implicit bias; has instituted a revised and significantly strengthened written policy covering both biased policing and racial profiling; has instituted an additional day-long in-service training on investigative encounters, focused in part on the prohibition of utilizing race or other protected class factors in the decision to question or stop an individual; has established a process to ensure thorough investigations of every allegation of racial profiling or biased policing; and has collected data related to such allegations and associated complaints, which is analyzed to determine if any patterns or trends exist.

Reduced Complaints: For the period of January 1, 2018 through May 31, 2018 there were a total of 329 biased policing complaints received by IAB. This number was reduced to 220 complaints for the same period in 2019.

Zero Tolerance for Slurs: OIG's conclusion that NYPD has substantiated zero biased policing investigations does not take into consideration that 49 cases of racial or other protected class slurs have been substantiated with the imposition of penalties of up to 30 days lost vacation. This is more such substantiations than by any other major city police department. The NYPD has zero tolerance for racial and other protected-class slurs. The policy prohibiting slurs is drilled into members of the service from their earliest training as recruits in the Academy and is reinforced in a variety of different ways by in-service training (Patrol Guide 203-10 Public Contact- Prohibited Conduct).

Context: The number of allegations of biased policing, when considered in the context of the tens of millions of public interactions over the past five years, represents less than .001% of those interactions.

Substantiation: While OIG highlighted a number of bias policing allegations, OIG itself did not identify a single allegation out of the 888 they reviewed that they believe should have been substantiated on the basis of the available evidence.

Scope of OIG Review: Importantly, the period of review of the OIG-NYPD's inquiry, which ends mid-2017, does not reflect all of the reforms the NYPD has implemented since 2014. Mentioned above, the period of time covered in the Report predates the full roll-out of Body Worn Cameras.

In addition, two issues raised in the Report have been fully addressed since mid-2017. 1) A department case management system, instituted in January 2018 and now used to document biased policing investigations, does not permit investigators to close cases until they have documented at least three attempts to contact a complainant. The system also requires investigators to sub-classify each case in accordance with the NYPD's nine defined sub classifications. 2) With respect to training since mid-2017, an additional eight hours of instruction dedicated to biased policing has been added to the recruit curriculum and is also mandatory training for all uniformed members of the Department.

BRONX MAN INDICTED FOR SLASHING THROATS OF 12-YEAR-OLD SON AND TEEN STEPDAUGHTER

Defendant Also Tried to Escape From Custody; Hit NYC DOC Officer with Metal Pipe

  Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx man has been indicted on Attempted Murder and additional charges for stabbing his 12-year-old son and 18- year-old stepdaughter in their apartment, and for assaulting two New York City Department of Correction Officers. 

 District Attorney Clark said, “In a chilling act of violence, the defendant allegedly tried to kill his 12-year-old son and teen stepdaughter by slashing their necks with a knife. A few days after the attack, the defendant allegedly assaulted two Correction Officers while trying to escape from custody. We will pursue justice for these innocent siblings and for the Correction Officers who were attacked while performing their duty.” 

  

 District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Carlos Camilo, 43, of the Bronx, was arraigned today on Attempted Murder in the second degree, Attempted Assault in the first degree, seconddegree Assault, second-degree Menacing, Endangering the Welfare of a Child, fourth-degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon, second-degree Obstructing Governmental Administration, Attempted Escape in the first degree and Resisting Arrest before Bronx Supreme Court Justice George Villegas. The defendant was continued on remand and is due back in court on November 6, 2019.

 According to the investigation, on the night of May 28, 2019, the defendant stabbed his son and stepdaughter inside the home they shared in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx, after the mother of the victims allegedly talked to Camilo about ending their relationship. The defendant allegedly went to the 12-year-old victim, who was lying on a bed, and grabbed him by the shirt and slit his throat. Camilo then went to the bathroom, where his 18-year-old stepdaughter was in the shower, and allegedly pinned her against the wall and slashed her neck. The mother and the victims who were slashed fled the apartment after the attack and went to a hospital where they were treated for their wounds. The defendant barricaded himself inside the apartment and slashed himself before NYPD officers were able to remove him. On May 31, 2019, the defendant allegedly attempted to escape from custody at St. Barnabas Hospital and assaulted two Correction Officers in the process. Camilo also hit one of the Officers with a metal pipe which caused a large gash to his head.

 District Attorney Clark thanked Assistant District Attorney James McPartlon of the Rikers Island Prosecution Bureau for his assistance in the case. District Attorney Clark also thanked NYPD Police Officers of the 50th Precinct, the Emergency Services Unit and the Hostage Negotiation Team.

An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.

Bronx Council Members Gjonaj and King Rally At City Hall For Small Businesses

  Bronx Council Member Mark Gjonaj and Andy King were joined by Council Member Robert Cornegy and from Brooklyn, Joseph Borelli from Staten Island,Robert Holden and Eric Ulrich from Queens, as well as independent supermarket workers with the National Supermarket Association, on the steps of City Hall this afternoon in support of the city's small business owners who are struggling, forced to cope with a maze of confusing and outdated regulations and rising property taxes.

Above - Councilman Mark Gjonaj a leader in fighting for small businesses tells the horrors of what some small business owners must go through with new regulations and mandates by the city.

Below - William Rodriguez President of the National Supermarket Association also tells of hoe his members of the NSA are being forced to close because they can no longer make a profit due to the new regulations and laws out in place.

The rally responds to a crisis with small business corridors in the Bronx and around the city.  Since the arrival of the retail chains and online shopping, small businesses have shut their doors after years of providing services to their local communities. Furthermore, data shows that it has become harder for startups to survive – approximately 50% of small business and 80% of restaurants never make it past year five