Permits Filed For 1818 Prospect Avenue In Crotona Park East, The Bronx

 

1818 Prospect Avenue in Crotona Park East, The Bronx via Google Maps

Permits have been filed for a seven-story residential building at 1818 Prospect Avenue in Crotona Park East, The Bronx. Located between East 175th Street and East 176th Street, the interior lot is closest to the 174th Street subway station, serviced by the 2 and 5 trains. Moses Freund of The Vaja Group is listed as the owner behind the applications.

The proposed 75-foot-tall development will yield 32,019 square feet designated for residential space. The building will have 46 residences, most likely rentals based on the average unit scope of 696 square feet. The concrete-based structure will also have a basement, a 30-foot-long rear yard, and 15 enclosed parking spaces.

BTE Design Services is listed as the architect of record.

Demolition permits will likely not be needed as the lot is vacant. An estimated completion date has not been announced.

Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19 - FEBRUARY 25, 2022

 

Statewide 7-Day Average Positivity is Now Under 2%

7-Day Cases Down Another 33% From Previous Week, Hospital Admissions Down 25% From Week Prior

31 Covid-19 Deaths Statewide Yesterday

 Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress combating COVID-19.

"I want to thank New Yorkers for doing their part to keep cases and hospitalizations at sustained low levels across the state over the past weeks," Governor Hochul said. "We can't afford to let our guard down now. Those who have yet to get their vaccine, their second dose, or their booster shot should do so as soon as possible. The vaccine and booster are also critical in protecting our children's health against COVID-19. Let's continue to use these tools and make sure we keep our children and our communities safe."

Today's data is summarized briefly below:

• Test Results Reported - 121,988
• Total Positive - 2,320
• Percent Positive - 1.90%
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 1.86%
• Patient Hospitalization - 2,128 (-146)
• Patients Newly Admitted - 246
• Patients in ICU - 358 (-19)
• Patients in ICU with Intubation - 196 (-2)
• Total Discharges - 284,994 (+327)
• New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 31
• Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 54,628

The Health Electronic Response Data System is a NYS DOH data source that collects confirmed daily death data as reported by hospitals, nursing homes and adult care facilities only.

Total deaths reported to and compiled by the CDC - 69,057

This daily COVID-19 provisional death certificate data reported by NYS DOH and NYC to the CDC includes those who died in any location, including hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities, at home, in hospice and other settings.

• Total vaccine doses administered - 36,774,826
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours - 11,856
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days - 104,860
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose - 91.6%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series - 82.8%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 95.0%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 85.5%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 81.4%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 71.4%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose - 80.9%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series - 72.9%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 88.8%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 75.4%

Attorney General James Issues Statement on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Historic Nomination to Supreme Court

 

New York Attorney General Letitia James issued the following statement in response to President Joe Biden’s nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the United States Supreme Court: 

“Today is an important, historic day for all Americans, but especially for every little Black girl who, for the first time, will soon see herself represented in the highest court of the land.  

From her time as a public defender, through her current role as circuit judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is a brilliant legal mind who has dedicated her life and career to public service and justice in all forms.  

The Supreme Court must reflect the diversity and inclusivity of our nation. I congratulate Judge Jackson on her trailblazing nomination, and I look forward to hearing more about her accomplishments in the upcoming hearing.” 

Attorney General James is the first Black attorney general in New York state history, the first woman elected attorney general in New York, and the first Black woman elected statewide in New York. 

WILLIAMS' STATEMENT ON THE NOMINATION OF JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON TO THE SUPREME COURT

 

 "One hundred and twenty-five years after our nation’s highest court upheld segregation, the first Black woman has been nominated to the Supreme Court. I congratulate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on her historic nomination, one which I hope will send a powerful message to young Black women across the nation, like my daughters, about what they can do, and what still has to be done. I also hope that as we continue to progress, we can go from groundbreaking ‘firsts’ to seconds, thirds, and new paradigms.

"In addition to the historic nature of her nomination, Judge Jackson is ideally suited for this moment and for the challenges facing our country and the court. On civil rights and racial justice; on protecting reproductive freedoms and workers rights; on combating gun violence and threats to our democracy; and so much more, the Supreme Court will be vital. It is critical that even with the realities of a conservative majority, we have jurists like Judge Jackson guiding the court and helping us to move forward with the gains we have made across decades, not recede from them.  

"Judge Jackson’s legal background also sets her apart and makes her a crucial voice – as a former federal public defender – the first in the court’s history – she understands and involves herself in the fight for the marginalized. She understands the justice system in its many structural injustices, and has worked unremittingly to improve it. I urge the Senate to move quickly to confirm her appointment, and look forward to seeing her take her place on the Court and in our history."

STATEMENT FROM BOROUGH PRESIDENT GIBSON ON PRESIDENT BIDEN'S NOMINATION OF KETANJI BROWN JACKSON TO THE SUPREME COURT

 

"I applaud President Biden for his HerStoric nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson, who could be the first African-American woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court.

Ketanji Brown Jackson is an accomplished judge and public defender, who is dedicated to the rule of law, and has always made civil rights and equity a priority. She has worked tirelessly with the utmost of integrity to serve our nation throughout her career, and she will bring a legal and human perspective that will improve the Supreme Court for years to come.

Ketanji Brown Jackson is also representative of the diversity of our nation and her nomination will show young girls and women of color across our country that they can also achieve their dreams and serve at the highest levels of government. Women continue to shatter glass ceilings this year and I believe this is only the beginning. 

We have a lot of work ahead of us at this critical moment in our nation when we must continue to defend and uphold our principles and values. Today’s historic nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson is a significant step in the right direction and I am hopeful the United States Senate will move quickly to confirm this HerStory maker.” 

MAYOR ADAMS’ STATEMENT ON HISTORIC NOMINATION OF JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON TO U.S. SUPREME COURT

 

 “Throughout our history, extraordinary people have run their leg of the relay toward a fairer, more just society. Harriet Tubman ran her leg of the relay. Rosa Parks ran her leg, as did Shirley Chisholm and Marsha P. Johnson, and so many more. And then New York’s own Judge Constance Baker Motley opened the doors as the first Black female federal judge in our nation. Now, with her history-making nomination, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is poised to continue her leg of the relay as the first Black woman to be nominated as an Associate Justice to the highest court in the land. Throughout her impressive legal career, Judge Jackson has been a clear and consistent voice for the voiceless, and someone who has been willing to identify and address the enduring inequalities that still plague our nation. Not only does Judge Jackson’s nomination represent an historic moment for this country, but by making her his first Supreme Court pick, President Biden is showing that he is serious about having a court that better reflects the diversity of the United States. I commend President Biden on this stellar choice, and I thank Associate Justice Stephen Breyer for his years of service to this nation.” 

Ohio-Based Stock Trader Pleads Guilty To Securities Fraud

 

Steven Gallagher Tweeted False Information to over 70,000 Twitter Followers To Orchestrate a Virtual Pump and Dump Scheme

 Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that STEVEN GALLAGHER pled guilty to one count of securities fraud.  GALLAGHER, using the alias “Alex DeLarge,” created a stock promotion account on Twitter that gained over 70,000 followers, and used that account to tout certain over-the-counter penny stocks.  GALLAGHER disseminated false and misleading information about at least one of those stocks in order to induce his followers to purchase that stock and drive up its price, while he secretly sold his holdings.  GALLAGHER pled guilty in front of United States District Judge Valerie E. Caproni.

According to the Information, the Complaint, and other statements made in court:

STEVEN GALLAGHER is an active day trader in over-the-counter securities, or “OTC securities.”  Those securities typically do not trade on centralized exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ Stock Exchange.  OTC securities often trade for less than one dollar per share, and thus are often referred to as “penny stocks.”  Many OTC securities are thinly traded, and therefore are particularly susceptible to stock manipulation schemes.

In September 2019, GALLAGHER created a Twitter account using the alias “Alex DeLarge,” a character from the Anthony Burgess novel A Clockwork Orange and the Stanley Kubrick film of the same name (the “DeLarge Twitter Account”).  As of October 19, 2021, the DeLarge Twitter Account had over 70,000 followers.  GALLAGHER regularly used the DeLarge Twitter Account to tout various penny stocks in which he personally held substantial positions.  GALLAGHER also regularly posted images of his brokerage account balances and trading gains on the DeLarge Twitter Account in order to bolster his reputation and induce his followers to trade in accordance with his suggestions.  

From approximately December 2020 through February 2021, GALLAGHER used the DeLarge Twitter Account to operate a fraudulent pump-and-dump scheme with respect to penny stock issued by a public company known as SpectraScience, Inc. (“SCIE”).   As part of his fraudulent scheme, GALLAGHER began acquiring a substantial volume of SCIE shares in December 2020.  As he acquired shares, GALLAGHER and a few close associates discussed their plans to push the stock price up after they obtained substantial holdings at relatively cheap prices.  GALLAGHER then used the DeLarge Twitter Account to artificially “pump” SCIE stock.  This included both re-tweeting posts that purported to announce potentially positive news for SCIE, such as FDA approvals for their products, and making materially false and misleading statements about GALLAGHER’s own position in SCIE stock.  For example, in or about January 2021, GALLAGHER repeatedly tweeted that he planned on holding and had not sold any of his shares of SCIE.  These statements, however, were false and GALLAGHER had in fact sold millions of shares of SCIE at heightened prices.

While GALLAGHER was engaged in this scheme, he knew or purposely avoided learning that SCIE was a shell company with no actual operations or prospects for success.  For example, in direct messages with some of his followers, GALLAGHER received information suggesting that SCIE was really just a “shell with not guts.”  Nevertheless, GALLAGHER engaged in his Twitter-based pump and dump scheme, thereby earning tens of thousands of dollars in illicit profit.

GALLAGHER, 51, of Maumee, Ohio, plead guilty to one count of securities fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison.  The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

GALLAGHER is scheduled be sentenced on June 27, 2022, by Judge Caproni.

U.S. Attorney Williams praised the work of the HSI.  Mr. Williams further thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission for their cooperation and assistance in this investigation.  

Attorney General James' Statement on Civil Investigation Into Donald Trump

 

New York Attorney General Letitia James released the following statement in response to media reports that Donald J. Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., and Ivanka Trump would appeal a decision that they must all appear for sworn testimony in compliance with subpoenas from the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) as part of its ongoing civil investigation into Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization’s financial dealings:

“Donald J. Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., and Ivanka Trump were ordered by the court to comply with our lawful investigation into Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization’s financial dealings. While they have the right to seek a delay, they cannot deter us from following the facts and the law wherever they may lead. Make no mistake: My office will continue to pursue this case without fear or favor because no one is above the law.”

Last week, the Honorable Arthur Engoron of the New York County State Supreme Court ruled that Donald J. Trump and his children must all appear for sworn testimony, and Donald J. Trump must produce additional documents in compliance with subpoenas from OAG. The judge ordered Donald J. Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., and Ivanka Trump to appear for testimony within 21 days, and ordered Donald J. Trump to produce additional documentation within 14 days.