Comptroller Lander revokes Adams’ emergency authorization for migrant services citywide

COMPTROLLER LANDER REVOKES ADAMS’ EMERGENCY AUTHORIZATION FOR MIGRANT SERVICES

CITYWIDE — NYC COMPTROLLER BRAD LANDER’S OFFICE has revoked Mayor Eric  Adams’ emergency authorization to make deals with contractors for migrant services without prior approval, according to the Daily News, which obtained the comptroller’s letter to the Mayor’s Office dated Nov. 30. “The Comptroller’s Office citywide prior approval is hereby revoked,” the letter said. Lander had issued a public report on Nov. 30 identifying significant problems with the emergency contracts, including delays in submitting the required paperwork and an apparent failure to report the vast majority of subcontractors as required.

On Sept. 5, Lander’s office retroactively rejected the Adams administration’s $432 million, no-bid contract with DocGo for migrant services, over the vendor’s lack of experience and the agency’s process for selecting the company. DocGo was also accused of mistreating migrants. 

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COMMUNITY BRIEFING ON WIND POWER TRANSMISSION LINES IN WESTERN BROOKLYN

WESTERN BROOKLYN — ANABARIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS HAS SUBMITTED AN APPLICATION TO BUILD transmission cables carrying 1200MW of current from offshore wind turbines in the Atlantic Ocean to either the Con Edison Gowanus substation or the Con Edison Brooklyn Clean Energy Hub in Vinegar Hill, where the power will be injected into New York City’s power grid. The Hera Power Link project will involve building cables undersea and beneath Brooklyn streets. Residents of  District 33 in Brooklyn, which includes DUMBO, Brooklyn Heights, Vinegar Hill, Boerum Hill and Gowanus are invited to join Councilmember Lincoln Restler’s office and representatives of Anabaric for a community briefing on their proposed transmission lines on Tuesday, Dec. 19, from 6-7 p.m. via Zoom.

Register on Zoom or email Councilmember Restler’s office for a link at [email protected].

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DUMBO MENORAH AND TREE LIGHTING THURSDAY

DUMBO — THE ANNUAL DUMBO MENORAH AND TREE LIGHTING will take place on Thursday, Dec. 7, at 5:30 p.m. on Water Street between Adams Street and Anchorage Place. There will be music, hot cocoa, sweet treats, a Santa photo booth and animated projections. The Vinegar Hill Pantry Food Drive will accept non-perishable food donations, and there will also be a toy and coat drive.

Go online for more details.

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ATIBA EDWARDS NAMED TO HEAD POST AT BROOKLYN CHILDREN’S MUSEUM

CROWN HEIGHTS — ATIBA T. EDWARDS HAS BEEN NAMED PRESIDENT AND CEO of the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, the first of its kind in the world. Edwards, a native of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, has served the museum since August as acting president and has also been chief operating officer and executive vice president since 2019. During this time, Edwards rebranded the institution and oversaw the debut of new programs and offerings for the Crown Heights museum’s diverse young clientele. The new attractions include a state-of-the-art auditorium, a mini-golf course and the novel ArtRink exhibition — an outdoor skating rink and art exhibit.

After his family immigrated to the U.S, Edwards was raised in Brownsville. Before arriving at the BCM, Edwards co-founded the FOKUS nonprofit community arts organization and he directed operations for the Brooklyn East Collegiate Charter School.

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TOWN HALL ON SCHOOL BUDGET CUTS IN NORTHWEST BROOKLYN

NORTHWEST BROOKLYN — TO HELP PARENTS UNDERSTAND HOW MAYOR ADAMS’ SCHOOL BUDGET CUTS and the imminent expiration of federal pandemic relief funds will affect schools in District 33 (from Greenpoint to Brooklyn Heights, and Boerum Hill to Williamsburg), Councilmember Lincoln Restler’s office is hosting a school budget information session with Comptroller Brad Lander and his team on Wednesday, December 13 at 6 p.m.

The town hall will cover the basics of school funding and provide an opportunity to ask questions. Register on Zoom or for more information email [email protected]

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CHARGED IN FEDERAL COURT WITH OBSTRUCTING JUSTICE, ASSISTING ESCAPE

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — A BOSNIAN NATIONAL IS BEING CHARGED IN BROOKLYN FEDERAL COURT for assisting in the escape of a Russian businessman accused of transnational fraud and smuggling. A two-count indictment was unsealed on Monday in federal court in Brooklyn, charging Bosnian national Vladimir Jovancic with obstructing justice and assisting escape for his role in helping Artem Uss flee extradition to the U.S. following an Italian court’s ruling. Uss was previously charged in United States v. Orekhov et al. with heading a global scheme to smuggle millions of dollars in sensitive military and dual-use technologies. Jovancic, who helped Uss flee to Russia, was himself arrested Monday, Dec. 5, in the Republic of Croatia and is being extradited to the U.S. He will be arraigned in the Eastern District of New York at a future date and faces a maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment if convicted.

The State Dept. has also announced a reward offer of up to $7 million under the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Artem Uss.

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SANTOS THREATENS ETHICS COMPLAINTS AGAINST MALLIOTAKIS AND OTHER HOUSE MEMBERS

WASHINGTON, D.C. — GEORGE SANTOS HAS NOT FORGIVEN HIS COLLEAGUES who voted to remove him from the chamber, NY1 reports. On his way out the door Friday, he pledged to file ethics complaints against House members, including Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, who represents southern Brooklyn and Staten Island. Santos accused Malliotakis of insider trading in a bank stock — a trade that has come under scrutiny in the past. A spokesperson for Malliotakis told NY1 that Santos was “a scorned and known serial liar” and said the stock trade in question was handled by a financial adviser. Santos also attacked Hudson Valley Rep. Mike Lawler and Long Island Rep. Nick LaLota.

Santos faces 23 federal criminal charges in New York, including wire fraud, identity theft, lying to federal election officials, money laundering and stealing thousands in credit charges. 

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COMMUNITY BOARD 7 URGES DOT TO EXTEND FULL TRUCK STUDY TO SUNSET PARK

SUNSET PARK — A TRAFFIC STUDY THAT INCLUDES ONLY A SMALL PORTION OF COMMUNITY BOARD 7 ALONG 3RD AVENUE IS THE FOCUS OF A PUBLIC MEETING taking place at 6 p.m. this Thursday, Dec. 7, at the Joseph Miccio Cornerstone Community Center on West 9th Street. While residents of Red Hook have already been advised of the meeting, Community Board 7’s Transportation Chair Katie Walsh is urging Sunset Park residents to attend and learn how the study impacts the section of 3rd Ave. through Sunset Park running northward from 19th St. to Red Hook. According to a map on the Community Board 7 website, the district begins at 15th St., near the Hamilton Ave./Gowanus and Prospect Expressway interchange. The NYC DOT had in October declined CB7’s request to do a full truck study for the portion of the district starting from 65th St., notwithstanding longtime advocacy on this.

“A truck study would mean that NYC DOT would collect traffic data and preliminary analyses to identify and define traffic/transportation issues, in an effort to address community concerns, like they are doing for the Red Hook community,” wrote Walsh.”

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STATE AGENCY’S NEW, ENHANCED WEBSITE GEARED FOR MOBILE USERS

STATEWIDE — THE NY STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION HAS LAUNCHED ITS NEWLY-DESIGNED PUBLIC WEBSITE, making it more accessible for those using mobile phones and other portable devices. The new site streamlines navigation, including more powerful search capabilities, and offers expanded, task-focused navigation, helping visitors find regulatory, environmental protection, licensing, and environmental education content and resources more quickly. Larger call-to-action sections make it easy to purchase licenses, find permit information, search for job openings, sign up for topic-specific newsletters through DEC Delivers, or subscribe to DEC’s Conservationist Magazine. The new website also features a DECinfo Locator — an interactive map that lets the public access DEC documents and public data about the environmental quality of specific sites in New York State.

DEC’s prior website, which according to DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos got 28 million visitors annually, had been launched in 2005 on a now-antiquated platform that was not optimized for cellphones and other small-screen devices.

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DINAPOLI: PANDEMIC SAW 1 IN 100 RESIDENT TAXPAYERS LEAVE NEW YORK STATE

STATEWIDE — ONE PERCENT OF NY-RESIDENT PERSONAL INCOME FILERS LEFT THE STATE DURING 2020, according to a new report from state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The report found that one of every 100 residents moved out of New York, which DiNapoli attributes to the COVID-pandemic that caused a major shift in taxpayer movement. Out-migration quadrupled in 2020 compared to the previous year. And although the number of taxpayers who left New York declined during 2021, it remained a third greater than the pre-pandemic average. The report examines Personal Income Tax filings for the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021 and follows up on DiNapoli’s May 2022 report that examined pre-pandemic taxpayer migration trends.

However, the pandemic was not the only factor in taxpayer departures, the report also found. From 2015 to 2019, a consistently larger number of taxpayers left the state than moved here, with an average annual net out-migration of roughly 28,700 taxpayers during this period.

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NEW PILOT PROGRAM WILL ENABLE SAFE PUBLIC LITHIUM-ION BATTERY CHARGING

CITYWIDE — NEW YORK CITY WILL LAUNCH A NEW, LITHIUM-ION BATTERY-CHARGING PILOT PROGRAM early next year that will allow an initial group of delivery workers to safely charge their bikes in public, Mayor Eric Adams announced on Tuesday, Dec. 5. The pilot program will test a variety of technologies to charge e-bike batteries at multiple locations across the city, and is being developed as part of the administration’s “Charge Safe, Ride Safe” plan to protect New Yorkers from fires caused by lithium-ion batteries and to promote safe electric-micromobility usage. Those technologies will include battery-swapping networks, as well as secure bike parking docks that supply fast charging to delivery workers’ e-bikes. This pilot builds upon several other initiatives to develop more outside-of-home charging options for New Yorkers, including establishing “deliverista hubs” in vacant newsstands in partnership with Los Deliveristas Unidos and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Schumer.

The city also received an emergency $25 million U.S. Department of Transportation grant earlier this year to install 173 outdoor electric-micromobility charging and storage stations at 53 New York City Housing Authority developments.

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BROOKLYN DIOCESE HOSTS ANNUAL CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING

PROSPECT HEIGHTS — THE ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF BROOKLYN’S OFFICIAL CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY AT GRAND ARMY PLAZA takes place Wednesday, Dec. 6, at 5 p.m. The location is just blocks up Vanderbilt Ave. from the diocesan headquarters and Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph. This year because of construction, the tree is located adjacent to the Dr. Alexander Skene monument on the southeast of Grand Army Plaza’s main ellipse. The ceremony will include remarks from Bishop Brennan, a scripture reading, Christmas songs from the Cathedral’s cantors and a blessing of the Nativity and the Christmas tree. Christine Persichette, anchor of Currents News on NET-TV, will serve as the Mistress of Ceremonies.

The 21-foot Balsam Fir tree will be decorated with more than 15,000 multi-colored LED lights to represent the diversity of the Diocese of Brooklyn, as well as lighted large red Christmas balls. A four-foot star will top the tree, from Elwood Farms in Huntington, Long Island.

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