MAYOR ADAMS DELIVERS RAISE FOR ESSENTIAL GIG WORKERS

 

Raise for High-Volume, For-Hire Vehicle Drivers Fulfills Promise to Put Much-Needed Money in Pockets of Working-Class, Immigrant New Yorkers

 

NYC’s Groundbreaking Pay Standard Guarantees Drivers Minimum Take-Home Pay for Each Trip, Significantly Increasing Driver Earnings

 New York City Mayor Eric Adams today gave a raise to hard-working essential workers, many of whom are immigrants, and all who helped New Yorkers get around the five boroughs during the COVID-19 pandemic. With today’s order from the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC), drivers for high-volume, for-hire vehicle services will see their minimum pay rates increase by 5.3 percent.

 

“Today, a group of New Yorkers who have put themselves and their families at risk throughout the pandemic are getting the help they need and deserve,” said Mayor Adams. “Drivers have served on the frontlines and have been there for their neighbors — driving them around the city and delivering food to those in need. This is about respect and paying each one of these individuals a fair and decent wage. I am proud to stand with these drivers and honor their sacrifice by giving them the raise they have earned.”

 

“A few years ago, New York City set a national and international standard, guaranteeing minimum pay rates for app drivers, and other cities have followed suit and now look to us as a model,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi. “Today, we continue this important and landmark protection by ensuring that 2022 driver minimum pay rates represent the real increases we all feel in the price of goods and services.”

 

“TLC-licensed drivers are among the hardest-working New Yorkers, and I am incredibly proud of their dedication to serving our city,” said TLC Commissioner and Chair Aloysee Heredia Jarmoszuk. “I am committed to working to advance the entire industry and improve conditions for all of our licensees. The increase in the minimum pay for high-volume, for-hire drivers being announced today is a critical step forward, and I extend my gratitude and congratulations to our drivers.”

 

“This raise helps keep the city’s promise to keep app drivers out of poverty wages and on the path to a dignified and secure living,” said Bhairavi Desai, executive director, New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA). “NYTWA proudly worked with Deputy Mayor Joshi to establish this first-in-the-country standard in 2018, and, today, we are proud to stand with Mayor Adams, the deputy mayor, and the TLC chair to announce the implementation of the increase in time and distance pay rates on all New York City trips based on a rise in the Consumer Price Index, an adjustment we expect annually to move forward as required under the rules. The raise is triggered by NYTWA’s demand letter to the TLC on drivers’ right to the raise under TLC regulation, and we are thankful for Mayor Adams’ swift action. Uber, Lyft, and Via drivers are part of the largest private sector workforces in the state. They are the anchor in many neighborhoods and are majority immigrants of color working to transition out of poverty. We all know the price of basic needs, like bread and milk, have gone up, and, for drivers, so have operating costs, like fuel and repairs. This 5.3 percent raise will help thousands of families find security and give many the chance to live under better conditions. Today is a good day. Thank you, Mayor Adams.”

 

Effective March 1, 2022, for most high-volume, for-hire vehicle trips, the minimum driver pay rates will increase to $1.161 per mile and $0.529 per minute. Per TLC rules, the rate of increase reflects the change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers for the New York-New Jersey-Pennsylvania metropolitan area, which increased 5.3 percent from 2019 to 2021.

 

Enacted in 2018, the city’s minimum driver pay standard for high-volume, for-hire services has significantly increased earnings for the majority of drivers working for high-volume companies. Drivers earned nearly $500 million more in the first six months the policy was in place than in the same period the previous year. The rules do not set the passenger fare or establish a minimum wage, but instead regulate the minimum amount the largest for-hire vehicles companies must pay drivers for each trip.

 

High-volume, for-hire services refer to TLC-licensed for-hire vehicle bases that dispatch more than 10,000 trips per day. Currently, two companies have these licenses: Lyft and Uber.

 

“Today’s announcement by Mayor Adams affirms New York City’s world-leading role in regulating gig companies to ensure that tens of thousands of gig workers are fairly compensated for the essential services they provide,” said James Parrott, director of economic and fiscal policies, Center for New York City Affairs at The New School, and a co-author of the TLC study that led to the implementation of the city's driver pay standard. “In most cities where these services exist around the world, drivers struggle to secure fair compensation from gig companies. The TLC’s regulation ensures that drivers are fairly paid for their time and expenses. This cost-of-living adjustment makes a big difference for workers given the high inflation we’re experiencing right now and is a reminder that New York State needs to adjust its statutory minimum wage level for the inflation that has taken place over the past three years.”

Affordable Housing Lottery Launches For 227 Units At 425 Grand Concourse In Mott Haven, The Bronx

 

The affordable housing lottery has launched for 425 Grand Concourse, a 26-story mixed-use building in Mott Haven, The Bronx. Designed by Dattner Architects, the structure yields 277 residences, a neighborhood supermarket, a community health center, a cultural center, and a 30,000-square-foot educational facility for CUNY’s Hostos Community College. Available on NYC Housing Connect are 248 units for residents at 30 to 130 percent of the area median income (AMI), ranging in eligible income from $15,360 to $192,400.

Residents will have access to a wide range of amenities including a recreation room, landscaped roof terrace, a lounge space and fitness room, laundry rooms, bike storage, and a parking garage. Units come with dishwashers and energy-efficient appliances.

At 30 percent of the AMI, there are 28 units with a monthly rent ranging from $362 to $650 for incomes between $15,360 and $44,400. At 40 percent of the AMI, there are 55 units with a monthly rent ranging from $522 to $927 for incomes between $20,846 and $59,200. At 70 percent of the AMI, there are 55 units with a monthly rent ranging from $1,003 to $1,760 for incomes between $37,338 and $103,600. At 100 percent of the AMI, there are 41 units with a monthly rent ranging from $1,212 to $2,121 for incomes from $44,503 to $148,000.

At 130 percent of the AMI, there are 69 units with a monthly rent ranging from $1,532 to $2,676 for incomes from $55,475 to $192,400.

Prospective renters must meet income and household size requirements to apply for these apartments. Applications must be postmarked or submitted online no later than April 11, 2022.

Governor Hochul Announces Start of Construction of New York's First Offshore Wind Project

 

South Fork Wind Project to Kickstart New York's Offshore Wind Industry, Provide Clean Energy to Long Island

Supports the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act Goal to Develop 9,000 Megawatts of Offshore Wind by 2035

 Governor Kathy Hochul today, alongside United States Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and other elected officials, celebrated the start of construction of South Fork Wind, New York's first offshore wind project, jointly developed by Ørsted and Eversourceoff the coast of Long Island. Building on the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM) January issuance of the Final Sale Notice for the New York Bight, the recent key offshore wind contract milestone, and the State of the State announcement of a nation-leading $500 million investment in offshore wind ports, manufacturing, and supply chain infrastructure to accompany New York's next offshore wind solicitation, New York continues to advance the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act goal to develop 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035.

"The harsh impacts and costly realities of climate change are all too familiar on Long Island, but today as we break ground on New York's first offshore wind project we are delivering on the promise of a cleaner, greener path forward that will benefit generations to come," Governor Hochul said. "South Fork Wind will eliminate up to six million tons of carbon emissions over the next twenty-five years benefiting not only the Empire State, but our nation as a whole. This project will also create hundreds of good-paying jobs, helping spur economic growth across the region as we continue to recover from COVID-19. This is a historic day for New York, and I look forward to continue working with Secretary Haaland as we lead our nation toward a greener, brighter future for all."  

New York Man Pleads Guilty to Felony Charges For Offenses Committed During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach

 

  A New York man pleaded guilty today to assaulting law enforcement and other felony charges related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, which disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress that was in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the presidential election.

Greg Rubenacker, 26, of Farmingdale, New York, pleaded guilty to all 10 counts of an indictment returned in the District of Columbia, including charges of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers, civil disorder, obstructing an official proceeding, and committing an act of physical violence on the Capitol grounds.

According to court documents, Rubenacker engaged in a series of confrontations with law enforcement inside the Capitol Building on Jan. 6. At approximately 2:13 p.m., he entered the Capitol Building through the Senate Wing Door, recording a video in which he stated, “This is history! We took the Capitol.” He was in a crowd that was yelling “where are they counting the votes” and that was re-directed by a U.S. Capitol Police officer who was securing the area. He left the building at 2:21 p.m. but returned 21 minutes later through the Rotunda Door. While in the Rotunda, he smoked marijuana, recording another video that he later posted to a social media website with the caption, “Smoke out the Capitol, baby.”

Rubenacker and others resisted officers who were attempting to remove individuals from the Rotunda. At approximately 3:08 p.m., he swung a plastic bottle at an officer’s head. He then sprayed water from his bottle across law enforcement officers engaging with other individuals. Law enforcement pepper-sprayed the crowd, including Rubenacker, who exited the Capitol at 3:20 p.m.

Rubenacker was arrested on Feb. 9, 2021, in Farmingdale, New York. He is to be sentenced on May 13, 2022. He faces up to 20 years in prison for obstruction of an official proceeding, up to eight years in prison for assaulting law enforcement, and additional time for the other offenses. The charges also carry potential fines. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington and New York Field Offices. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.

In the one year since Jan. 6, more than 725 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 225 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing. More than 165 individuals have pleaded guilty to federal charges, including 22 to felony offenses.

Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov. 

MAYOR ADAMS, NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS/GOTHAM HEALTH OPEN NEW COVID-19 CENTER OF EXCELLENCE IN BROOKLYN

 

Third of Three, COVID-19 Centers of Excellence Provide Comprehensive Short- and Long-Term Care to Support Recovering COVID-19 Patients

 

Mayor Adams, New York City Test & Trace Corps Also Announce At-Home Testing Kits Will Be Available at Community Sites Across All Five Boroughs

 New York City Mayor Eric Adams and NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health today opened the third of three COVID-19 Centers of Excellence — all three in communities of color hit hardest by the pandemic. The new community health clinic located in Bushwick, Brooklyn will support recovering COVID-19 patients beginning the week of February 14, 2022, and will provide comprehensive ambulatory services to the community. Mayor Adams also announced that 14 landmark city cultural sites and 27 branches of The New York Public Library, Queens Public Library, and Brooklyn Public Library will receive at-home COVID-19 test kits to provide to New Yorkers free of charge. Weekly walk-up distributions will begin next week, and a list of locations and hours will be available and updated daily on Test & Trace’s testing page.

 

“The opening of this third COVID-19 Center of Excellence is amazing news for New York City’s comeback,” said Mayor Adams. “It was in these neighborhoods that this pandemic hit New Yorkers the hardest and I’m proud that as we recover, the neighborhoods hit the hardest will have access to world-class health care and support.”

 

“We are so excited to open our third COVID-19 Center of Excellence in a community that has suffered so much during this pandemic,” said President and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals Mitchell Katz, MD. “As we continue to learn more about the long-lasting health impacts of this pandemic, we’re being proactive to create medical homes for New Yorkers. This site will not only provide critical health support to those still recovering from COVID-19, but will also provide new opportunities for this community to access high-quality, ongoing primary care.”

 

“Our third COVID-19 Center of Excellence is another example of NYC Health + Hospitals fulfilling its commitment to beating back this pandemic and supporting New Yorkers’ health, especially in our hardest hit communities,” said Senior Vice President for Ambulatory Care at NYC Health + Hospitals and Executive Director of the NYC Test & Trace Corps Dr. Ted Long. “We have been with New Yorkers every step of this pandemic, from wide-spread community testing, intensive care, quarantine support, and even vaccinating them in the comfort of their home. This new site is the future, dedicated to the long-term impacts of this virus, to help all of us recover from the pandemic.”

 

“Working under the emergency construction rules in place for the pandemic, DDC was able to build three COVID-19 Centers of Excellence for the public hospital system in record time; several years faster than we could have under the usual lowest bidder contracting rules,” said New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC) Commissioner Thomas Foley. “We are exploring ways we can work the same way for most projects in order to maximize taxpayer value. Thank you to the staff at DDC and H+H for their dedication and hard work and thank you to Mayor Adams for his support for communities in need.”

 

The new COVID-19 Center of Excellence site, located at 815 Broadway in Bushwick, Brooklyn, is designed to meet the unique needs of patients recovering from COVID-19, including specialized services like pulmonary and cardiology care, radiology and diagnostic services, and mental health services. The community health clinic will also include primary care and pediatrics, specialty medicine, behavioral health, dental and oral health needs, and state-of-the art digital imaging to provide comprehensive care to adult and pediatric patients.

 

The site will also offer comprehensive primary care health services for Brooklyn residents, including cancer screenings, dental and vision care, diabetes management, podiatry, adult medicine, pediatrics, and much more. The three COVID-19 Centers of Excellence were opened in communities of color that have been hardest-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, including Bushwick, Jackson Heights, and Tremont.

 

“I’m proud that we are able to offer comprehensive, high-quality care to our community, especially those that have suffered the effects of COVID-19,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health CEO Michelle Lewis. “This new, state-of-the art community Center of Excellence demonstrates that we’ll be here to support the health care needs of our patients and fellow New Yorkers for the duration of their recovery and beyond.”

 

Patients can be referred to the Brooklyn COVID-19 Center of Excellence after a hospital visit or through their primary care provider to receive short- and long-term care to address their recovery from COVID-19. Positive COVID-19 test results, antibody or not, are not required to receive care at this site.

 

COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on communities of color, with Black and Latino New Yorkers dying at approximately twice the rate of their white counterparts when adjusted for age. According to the latest NYC.GOV data, one of every three residents in Bushwick has been diagnosed with COVID-19.

 

CONSUMER ALERT: Attorney General James Warns New Yorkers of Deceptive Online Sports Betting Companies Ahead of Super Bowl

 

As New Yorkers Bet Online for the First Time This Super Bowl,

AG James Tells New Yorkers: Don’t Let Scammers Game Your Gamble

 New York Attorney General Letitia James today issued a consumer alert urging New Yorkers to be aware of deceptive online sports betting companies this Super Bowl, which will be the first major sports event that New Yorkers can bet on online. Since online sports gambling became legal in New York last month, New Yorkers have been bombarded with misleading ads on social media and streaming sites that claim “risk-free” bets and “$1,000 welcome offers,” which sound like free money, but often come with strings attached without consumers’ awareness.

“I urge all New Yorkers watching the Super Bowl and betting online for the first time to be careful — don’t let scammers game your gamble,” said Attorney General James. “Before placing a bet, do your research into the platform, read the fine print of the offer, and follow our other tips to avoid any red flags and keep the odds in your favor. Online sports betting companies that fumble their advertising to mislead New Yorkers can expect to hear from my office.”

Online sports betting platforms allow consumers to place bets through websites or mobile apps for a variety of sporting events. Attorney General James offers the following tips to protect consumers from predatory and misleading sports betting platforms:

1) Learn what other users are saying about the platform

Read the consumer reviews on sites like the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and Trust Pilot. The BBB complaints are often detailed and include responses from the platforms.

Avoid reviews from sites that may be connected to the sports betting industry.

2) Read the fine print on bonuses and other promotion

Platforms sometimes require users to gamble their own money before accessing the bonus they advertised. One platform advertises enrollment bonuses up to $1,000, but to actually receive that much, users have to play through $25,000.

Be aware that not all bets count toward accessing promotions. One platform excludes bets “placed at tournaments … or at play money areas” from counting toward some promotions, and other platforms have even more conditions.

Risk-free bets may not be what they seem. Some platforms are offering “risk-free bets” of $1,000 or more (depending on how much a user deposits). But if a user loses their bets, they don’t get their money back — instead, it becomes a credit that can only be used to gamble on the platform.

Online gamblers might be penalized for behaving strategically. Many users sign up for gambling platforms because they want to take advantage of a good deal — the advertised bonus — without spending too much money. It’s a common way to shop, and most regular businesses accept the behavior (like a local bakery that leaves out free samples). But at least one gambling platform treats “exploiting bonuses” as an offense. It has a long list of activities it considers suspicious, and if you engage in them, it may prevent users from cashing out account funds and/or withhold any winnings derived from the gambler's use of the bonus.”

3) Beware of unexpected restrictions on accessing your account

Platforms reserve the right to restrict a user’s activity without warning — not just for suspicion of illegal conduct, but also for seeming to have an “unfair advantage” or “irregular playing patterns.” Platforms exercise this right. Users have posted complaints online about their accounts being frozen when they’re doing well or when they’re trying to withdraw winnings.

One example is “hedging strategies.” Online gamblers might see them recommended by someone online. The strategies involve placing bets on opposite sides of the same game. At least one platform treats hedging as a violation of its policies, and it will block users from withdrawing their funds as a penalty.

Users report battling red tape or simply being ignored when they want to withdraw funds from their account — even if the funds are just their original deposit, with no winnings or bonuses involved.

Resources

The ease of online betting may cause consumers to forget that they are gambling with real money and that they can suffer devastating financial losses if gambling becomes problematic. The New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports recommends setting limits on the amount of time and money one plans to spend gambling and limiting the use of alcohol or other substances while gambling. If gambling is a problem for you or someone in your life, Attorney General James urges you to seek assistance. Here are some resources that might be able to help:

• New York Council on Problem Gambling
• 24-Hour Problem Gambling Helpline
• 1-877-846-7369, TEXT: HOPENY (467369)
• Gamblers Anonymous

Money Launderer Sentenced To 84 Months In Prison

 

 Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that VICTOR AHAIWE was sentenced to 84 months in prison today for participating in a multi-million-dollar conspiracy to launder the proceeds of business email compromise frauds targeting businesses and non-profit organizations and romance frauds targeting individual victims.  AHAIWE was convicted by a jury in June 2021 of bank fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and aggravated identity theft in a trial presided over by U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote, who also imposed today’s sentence. 

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “The defendants in this case were part of a wide-reaching conspiracy to launder over $10 million stolen from businesses and individuals. The sentences imposed on the ten defendants send a message: that this type of activity will be prosecuted and punished to the full extent of the law.”

According to court filings and statements made in court proceedings, including the trial at which AHAIWE was convicted:

From at least in or about March 2018 up to and including at least in or about January 2020, AHAIWE and his coconspirators conspired to launder the proceeds of numerous business email compromise schemes and romance schemes, in which corporate, organizational, and individual victims were fraudulently induced to send over $10 million to bank accounts controlled by members of the conspiracy, in the mistaken belief that those accounts belonged to the intended recipients of the funds.  Members of the conspiracy received the victim funds by opening bank accounts in the names of the intended recipients, transferred the funds through additional accounts to hide the origin and fraudulent nature of the proceeds, and ultimately transferred most of those proceeds to foreign bank accounts or withdrew them in cash.

AHAIWE participated in the scheme by stealing the identity of a recently deceased friend and using that identity to open and operate bank accounts to launder a portion of the proceeds from a $500,000 business email compromise fraud against a foreign public agency that provides health insurance and pension benefits.  AHAIWE also previously laundered hundreds of thousands of dollars of proceeds from other business email compromise frauds and, in connection with those activities, stole and used the identities of several other individuals.  In imposing today’s sentence, Judge Cote also found that AHAIWE engaged in obstruction of justice in connection with his sentencing by submitting fabricated sentencing letters. 

AHAIWE was the tenth defendant to be sentenced for participating in the money laundering conspiracy.  The nine previously sentenced defendants, each of whom pleaded guilty, received the following sentences:

Defendant	Age	Hometown	Sentence
PRINCE UKO	46	Jonesboro, GA	41 months (prison)
SUNDAY OKORO	41	Jonesboro, GA	41 months (prison)
IKECHUKWU ELENDU	41	San Leandro, CA	41 months (prison)
ARINZE OBIKA	33	Queens, NY	33 months (prison)
BRITT JACKSON	43	Columbus, GA	33 months (prison)
HERMAN BASS	37	Hawthorne, CA	30 months (prison)
JACOB SAGIAO	47	Oxnard, CA	30 months (prison)
MARYLYNN PENEUETA	46	Oxnard, CA	12 months (prison)
JOSHUA FITTEN	25	Hacienda Heights, CA	5 years (probation)

In addition to the prison sentence, AHAIWE was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $514,063, as recompense to the victims affected, and to pay forfeiture in the amount of $590,123, reflecting criminal proceeds that he received in connection with his money laundering and identity theft.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Secret Service and its Electronic Crimes Task Force, the FBI, CBP, and special agents of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.  The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit.  Assistant United States Attorneys Jun Xiang, Kevin Mead, and Michael McGinnis are in charge of the prosecution.