By: AP

As New York City prepared to reopen after a more than two-month coronavirus shutdown, officials on Sunday lifted a curfew that was put in place amid protests of police brutality and racial injustice. But they also urged that demonstrators be tested for COVID-19.

“Get a test. Get a test,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo urged people who have been participating in rallies and marches in memory of George Floyd.

He said the state planned to open 15 testing sites dedicated to protesters so they can get results quickly.

“I would act as if you were exposed, and I would tell people you are interacting with, assume I am positive for the virus,” Cuomo added.

The call is similar to what officials in Seattle, San Francisco and Atlanta have made following massive demonstrations, with free testing set up for protesters who may have been exposed to the virus.

“There is a pandemic going on out there. People are aware of that. I don’t think any of us have forgotten that’s happening,” Jennifer Cota, who was protesting in a Seattle suburb, told KCPQ-TV. “It’s still a risk a lot of people are willing to take.”

Demonstrations across the country Saturday were perhaps the largest one-day mobilization since Floyd died May 25 at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. The turnout continued around the globe Sunday even as U.S. cities lifted curfews imposed amid last week’s spasms of arson, assaults and smash-and-grab raids on businesses. Recent days of U.S. protests have been overwhelmingly peaceful.

New York City prepared to enter its first phase of reopening after shutdowns due to the pandemic. Between 200,000 and 400,000 people are expected to head back to the workplace Monday, with many using a subway system that most New Yorkers have avoided since March because of crowded conditions.

On Sunday, Mayor Bill de Blasio lifted the city’s 8 p.m. curfew put in place for the Floyd protests.

“Last night was the best by far,” de Blasio told reporters. “We had the biggest number of protesters, the fewest arrests, the fewest problems and that convinced me it was time for the curfew to go away. I have no intention of bringing it back.”

   (AP)

By: Rusty Brooks

A Nonprofit Public Health Solutions recently sealed a  $1.2 billion contract focusing mainly on services to prevent HIV/AIDS from the NYC Health Department

According to the foundations homepage: Public Health Solutions (PHS) was first established as the Medical and Health Research Association of New York City (MHRA) by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) in 1957. We were created to foster research in the NYC DOHMH by providing more flexibility to seek grants and contracts from government and private sources. What began in 1957 as a city agency’s innovation in research administration has successfully evolved into a major public health organization. Today, we not only continue in our original mission to conduct significant research and assist NYC DOHMH, but also provide vital services that improve the health of low-income and high-risk families and communities throughout New York City

The Health Department contract comes as the city is recording historic lows in new HIV diagnoses, according to an agency report in November, the NY Post reported.

The department said that in 2018, the city figure “fell below 2,000 for the first time since annual HIV reporting began in 2001.

“According to the 2018 HIV Surveillance Annual Report, 1,917 people were newly diagnosed with HIV in New York City in 2018, down 11% from the 2,157 new diagnoses reported in 2017, and down 67% from 2001,’’ it said.

The NY Post asked department spokesman Patrick Gallahue about the contract: “This is the master contract for HIV services”

“PHS will be responsible for the procurement, subcontracting and management of a portfolio of human service contracts going to various providers across the city.

“Through the subcontracts, most of the $1.2B will be passed onto community-based social service providers for the provision of services to prevent new HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections, to decrease morbidity and mortality among individuals with HIV, to prevent/respond to the outbreak of infectious diseases in New York City, and to ensure and promote the health of New Yorkers.’’

Queens Councilman Robert Holden was not thrilled with this gigantic contract. He told the publication. “A contract of this size over this long period of time should be put on hold,” said the pol, a registered Democrat who was elected as a Republican. “We have a budget shortfall. We shouldn’t be committing this much money long-term that we don’t have.”

By Ilana Siyance

The tragic death of George Floyd has led to even more tragedy, loss and death all around the nation.  In NY, close to 300 of New York’s finest have been injured during the ongoing protests.  As reported by the NY Post, 292 NYPD officers have been hurt in violent clashes that erupted during demonstrations, police said.

NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea called for an end to violence against officers.  “Violence has been used multiple times during what could have been and what should have been peaceful protests,” Shea said Thursday night at a live-streamed press conference.  “Violence poisons the well of democracy. It has done so at a time when we so desperately need civil discourse about issues that all of us, black, white — all of us that we care so much about.”

The protests should be peaceful, but many times they are not.  NYPD police said it seems multiple different groups including Al Qaeda, ISIS, neo-Nazis, other political extremists and hate groups have unified for the goal of opportunistic propaganda to “accelerate conflict, incite violence.”

“What they’re seeking is more disorder, more violence, more mayhem,” said Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller.  As reported by NBC, police officials said “there’s been a pretty dramatic escalation in terms of rhetoric and propaganda from these extremist entities” in posting online and on social media trying to use George Floyd protests for their own agendas and to create unrest in the country.  “It’s our responsibility and obligation to make sure that we track down which of these propagandists has security implications for the large number of protests in New York City,” police officials said.

As of Saturday, the NYPD said they have made 1,024 protest related arrests and given 1,164 summonses. These numbers do not include curfew violations. Some 467 arrests have been linked specifically to felonies.  While the data still needs to be studied before making any inferences, 3.6 percent of those arrested had previous arrests or incidents with law enforcement tied to shootings, homicides, or weapons charges; 6 percent had ties to gangs; and 2.3 percent of those arrested were repeat offenders.

“You have anarchist groups that are actively planning to do destruction and violence against police,” said Miller, explaining that those groups don’t generally loot, but rather break glass, and damage buildings.  Then, “You have the looters who have tried to blend with the protesters for cover and then break off with the sole purpose of looting merchandise,” he continued.

By: Jared Evan

Two attorneys were taken back into custody Friday for charges in connection with a Molotov cocktail attack on a police patrol car during protests in Brooklyn last weekend in the wake of George Floyd’s death. One of the alleged attackers was interviewed by an online outlet ,before her attack,  lambasting the mayor for using the police to keep the violent riots peaceful.

“This has got to stop. And the only way they hear, the only way they hear us is through violence, through the means that they use”, suspect and lawyer Urooj Rahman said in the newly unearthed interview.

The first several nights of the George Floyd protests were extremely violent, particularly in Brooklyn. Hours of footage of the crowd gathered from social media display the protestors, spitting at cops, cursing them out, and some rioters physically confronting them. By all accounts it was perfectly reasonable for NYPD to have a presence, since the initial protests triggered violence, looting and several murders all across the nation.

The radicalized Brooklyn born lawyer Urooj Rahman however did not see a need for police at these violent riots. Urooj Rahman, 31, was one of the two suspects in the brazen Molotov cocktail attack on a police car.  In most circumstances this would be considered a serious act of terrorism, and the suspect held without chance of bail for up to 14 days, if  arrested under the Terrorism Act,  however the suspects had been out on $25,000 bail with electronic monitoring, CNN pointed out.

On Saturday night, Brooklyn federal prosecutors charged Rahman and  fellow lawyer Colinford Mattis, with causing damage by fire and explosives to a New York Police Department car after they allegedly drove a tan minivan to the Fort Greene neighborhood and Rahman threw a makeshift explosive into the broken window of an empty patrol car, according to court filings, according to CNN.

These are fairly lenient charges, considering if the police car had officers in it, there could have been dead cops. It would not be beyond reason for prosecutors to throw the full extent of the law at these two radicalized lawyers, who’s backgrounds are of storybook like success.

The NY Post reported on the newly uncovered interview from online entity Loud Labs.

“I think this protest is a long time coming,” lawyer Urooj Rahman said in a videotaped interview filmed near the Barclays Center in Brooklyn at around 12:15 a.m. May 30.

“This s–t won’t ever stop unless we f–kin’ take it all down. And that’s why the anger is being expressed tonight in this way,” she said.

The video surfaced Friday, as Rahman and co-defendant Colinford Mattis were taken back into custody by US marshals.

The NY Post continued: During the four-minute interview, Rahman claimed to be unaware that cops had been hurt by protesters during violent clashes sparked by the police killing of George Floyd — but said de Blasio should have held back the NYPD “the way that the mayor in Minneapolis did.”

The Minneapolis model was obviously a failure as millions of dollars of damage was done to the city, with buildings and a police station in flames.

“I think the mayor should have done that, because if he really cared about his police officers, he should have realized that it’s not worth them getting hurt,” she said.

Rahman was then caught on surveillance video just before 1 a.m. that day lighting a Molotov cocktail and tossing it into an empty police vehicle near the 88th Precinct, according to court papers, the Post reported.

By: David Bauder

The New York Times’ editorial page editor resigned Sunday after the newspaper disowned an opinion piece by U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton that advocated using federal troops to quell unrest, and it was later revealed he hadn’t read the piece prior to publication.

James Bennet resigned and his deputy, James Dao, is being reassigned at the newspaper, the Times said Sunday.

The fallout was swift after the Arkansas Republican’s piece was posted online late Wednesday. It caused a revolt among Times journalists, with some saying it endangered black employees and calling in sick on Thursday in protest.

Following a review, the newspaper said Cotton’s piece should not have been published, at least not without substantial revisions.

Katie Kingsbury, a Pulitzer Prize winner for editorial writing who joined the Times from the Boston Globe in 2017, will oversee the opinion pages through the November elections, the Times said.

Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger said in a statement that he was grateful for changes Bennet had made to the paper’s opinion pages, including broadening the range of voices. Bennet, who was editor of The Atlantic before taking over the Times’ opinion pages in 2016, had received some heat for adding new voices, including conservative columnist Bret Stephens.

It was the second high-level journalism job lost because of mistakes made in coverage of the nationwide protests about the treatment of blacks by law enforcement. The top editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer, Stan Wischnowski, resigned Saturday after uproar over a headline that said, “Buildings Matter, Too.”

Even before Bennet’s resignation and the paper rescinding its support for Cotton’s piece, Sulzberger had called for beefing up the opinion section’s fact-checking and suggesting that it was publishing too many opinion pieces by outsiders.

The Times reported that Cotton’s piece was edited by Adam Rubenstein. But Dao, in a tweet on Saturday, revealed that he supervised the acceptance and review of Cotton’s piece and that blame should be placed on the department’s leadership and not Rubenstein.

Cotton on Sunday tweeted an initial copy of a Times article about Bennet’s resignation, saying it was “false and offensive.” He said he advocated using military force as a backup, only if police are overwhelmed, to stop riots — not against protesters.

Cotton retweeted President Donald Trump, who said that “the State of Arkansas is very proud of Tom. The New York Times is Fake News!”

Bennet, who had revealed in a meeting in a meeting on Friday that he had not read Cotton’s piece before it was posted online, had defended it following the initial protests, saying it was important to hear from all points of view.

But the Times review criticized several aspects of Cotton’s piece, starting with the headline, “Send in the Troops,” which the newspaper said in an editor’s note Saturday was “incendiary and should not have been used.”

Cotton’s essay referred to “left-wing radicals like antifa infiltrating protest marches to exploit” Floyd’s death when, in fact, there has been little evidence of antifa’s involvement in the demonstrations. Cotton’s statement that police had borne the brunt of violence stemming from the demonstrations should have been challenged, the newspaper said.

The newspaper said that “given the life-and-death importance of the topic, the senator’s influential position and the gravity of the steps he advocates, the essay should have undergone the highest level of scrutiny.”

(AP)

By: Jared Evan

A group of social justice anti-police activists compromised of allegedly city hall workers appeared on the Instagram social media platform and announced their intentions to rally against the mayor Monday morning.

Identifying themselves as the City Workers for Justice Group, they laid out their demands on Instagram. The activists wrote:

As current & former @nycgov employees, we are outraged by the escalation, violent misconduct & civil rights violations by the NYPD, and the Mayor’s failure to protect our communities.

We demand justice for NYC’s Black and Brown communities.

Police exacerbate systemic failures, they don’t resolve them. Our communities need investment & support, not overpolicing. #DefundNYPD & reallocate funds to housing support, rental relief, food assistance, education & healthcare.

We are outraged by the NYPD’s rampant violence against black & brown communities, protesters, bystanders, essential workers, medics & legal observers. These officers are a danger to the communities they claim to serve. Each of them must go.

For far too long, police have abused our communities and violated the rights of New Yorkers with near-impunity and little public accountability. This changes now. #Repeal50a and release all disciplinary records for public review.

From rank-and-file to leadership, recent events have shown NYPD misconduct is systemic at all levels. We demand answers. An independent commission of civil rights attorneys, journalists & activists must investigate the response to May & June 2020 protests.

The recent curfew gave NYPD free license to indiscriminately attack and arrest New Yorkers exercising their most fundamental rights. This is a dangerous precedent rife for abuse. We demand that any future curfew must be approved by a ⅔ City Council vote.

These are only the first steps. There must be real change to regain the trust of our communities & the legitimacy to serve them. These systemic failures will not be fixed with minor reforms or with new leadership, but with new structures & accountability.

This apparent rebellion occurred on the heels of de Blasio after resisting for a week  of calls to slash police funds from City Council members, announcing that he has a plan to reform the NYPD, including diverting funding from the NYPD to social programs.

The far-left activist anti-police agenda has risen to prominent heights after the George Floyd murder and subsequent violent riots and peaceful disobedience.  De Blasio is facing opposition from the uber progressive City Council & simultaneously facing heat from supporters of the NYPD and police brass.

Rumors have been flying on NYPD social media accounts and on local podcasts that the NYPD police commissioner is about to resign, and other top-ranking NYPD officials were resigning or being replaced. PIX11 reported: “This is not true,” tweeted Freddi Goldstein, press secretary to Mayor Bill de Blasio, said in response to the rumors

NYPD Deputy Commissioner Richard Esposito, over the phone to PIX11 also said the rumors wasn’t true.

By Ilana Siyance

New York City has always had a special allure.  Despite the high costs of living in the Big Apple, for many being in the center of the business world made it all worthwhile.  It afforded opportunities that not many other places could live up to.  Now, with the breakout of the pandemic, the will to social distance from other people, the prolonged shutdown, and finally the violent riots have residents questioning if NYC still holds its appeal.

For months now, New Yorkers have  been leaving their homes.  This new challenge, where protestors have proved violent, has kicked it up a few notches leading to fear.  Many residents are contemplating whether or not to return at all.  As reported by the NY Times, some 420,000 New Yorkers have already left between March and May as a response to the pandemic, according to cellphone data analyzed by the Times.   Those who left were mostly affluent, or those who had the means to do so.

Of course, this city has seen its fair share of problems in the past.  We had the 1970s recession, the Sept. 11 terror attack, hurricanes, and prolonged power outages.  Each time, however, there was a resurgence and the city and its residence bounced back.  Why would this be different?  Some say the very nature of the pandemic threatens the way of life that NYC optimizes.  This is the bustling city that never sleeps.  If it can’t be bustling and it has to be put to sleep, then maybe it loses its allure.  Further, if people are working remotely then why opt to pay the higher price of living in NYC.  Why not move to other places where the same rent can provide a backyard and more square footage?

One New Yorker who left is Rebekah Rosler, 40, a therapist and doula.  She picked up with her husband and two children and is looking for a home in Connecticut.  She grew up in Manhattan.  Her parents and grandparents lived here since the 1870s, but she decided to leave.  “I had never felt an energy like that before, like the city was on the brink of something, and I don’t know what it is,” she said. “I was like, ‘We need to get out of here right now.’”  She said the recent curfews and violence further confirmed her decision to relocate.  “I live near Union Square, and it was terrifying to watch what was happening,” she said. “It made me realize what a relief not being there is right now.”

At the same time, there are other New Yorkers who feel differently.  They wouldn’t consider leaving their city when the going gets tough.  “These times of crisis, when things get tough in the city, it’s where I want to be, it’s where my neighbors are,” said Joseph Holmes, 66, a photographer in Park Slope, Brooklyn, who moved here in 1984. He takes offense to those who are leaving, and particularly to those who say that the city has no value if the museums, bars and restaurants are shuttered.  “I hate to admit it, but I do feel like if you don’t want to be here, ‘So long, I wish you the best of luck and goodbye,’” said Holmes.

“I don’t understand people who would consider leaving the city because of events that happen once every few decades and last for a matter of days,” added Holmes.  He sides with those who have faith that NYC will return to its prime, and will overcome all obstacles as it has in the past.

By Hadassa Kalatizadeh

The COVID-19 pandemic, the ensuing shutdown, the social distancing and masks all came as a shock to New Yorkers.   Now, New Yorkers are looking to one thing for relief– antibody testing. Doctors and scientists have given clues that possessing antibodies means patients have had some exposure to the virus. It is not yet conclusive, however, whether having these antibodies means a person cannot get Covid-19 again.  It is not known if they can still pass on the virus on to other people.  Still, the idea has circulated that antibodies will play a role in determining who can go back to work, or start to socialize or travel again.

“In general, a positive antibody test is presumed to mean a person has been infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, at some point in the past,” as per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. “We currently don’t have enough information yet to say whether someone will definitely be immune and protected from reinfection if they have antibodies to the virus.”

As per a recent article in the NY Times, many people across the city, however, have already come to the conclusion that the test results will be a prediction of their future necessity to continue the labor of social distancing.  Some people who have received positive antibody results, are celebrating that they have already beat the virus and have the whole thing behind them.   They feel less anxious, knowing their body already fought off the disease to a certain degree.

Testing for antibodies has become very popular.  Even when the test comes out negative, there is reason to feel triumph.  It can be taken to mean that the social distancing has been successful, and all the sacrifices made were not for naught.  In the early days of the pandemic, people did not have access to testing.  They still do not know if they fought a regular cold or if it was indeed the coronavirus.  Now that testing is readily available, New Yorkers have been eager to see the results.

“I would hate to never actually know,” said Lauren McFarland, 48, who lives in Brooklyn with her three sons. “It’s one fact we can count on in this whole thing.”  Her family has tested positive for antibodies, and she hopes the results will have positive ramifications for their impending future. “What if there is a stamp in our passport, or we are a different color on an app, or it means the boys can go to sleepaway camp?” said Ms. McFarland. “My friends and I joke that the positives can hang out with the positives.”

These ideas all stem from statements made by The World Health Organization.  The WHO has suggested, via a science brief put out in April, that in the future antibodies “could serve as the basis for an ‘immunity passport’ or ‘risk-free certificate’ that would enable individuals to travel or to return to work assuming that they are protected against re-infection”.  Still, there is no evidence that antibodies can protect someone from getting infected again.

Doubtlessly, there is still a lot that is unknown in regards to this novel pandemic.  Any bit of confidence and assurance is welcome in these times.   This is likely where the allure of the antibody testing comes in.  Even if the testing can bring can only bring a bit of peace of mind to some people, it will be considered quite worthwhile.  So, while there is still no certainty of immunity for those who test positive, many have decided they will take any reassurance they can get for now.

By: AP

A dozen new coronavirus cases in the Philadelphia area have been traced to someone who attended gatherings at beach houses at the Jersey Shore, health officials said.

Eleven cases reported Saturday were linked to a New Jersey resident at gatherings in the past two weeks, Bucks County officials said. One case reported Friday also was traced to the person.

It’s an important reminder not to let one’s guard down at the beach, said Dr. David Damsker, health director of the large county, which borders Philadelphia to the south and New Jersey to the east. He did not disclose exactly where the gatherings took place.

The region’s mass transit system on Monday reinstated a requirement that passengers wear masks. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority had eased the requirement to a recommendation in April after a viral video showed a rider being dragged off a bus by police after boarding without a mask.

Employees will now remind riders of the requirement, SEPTA said.

In a somewhat related development, it was reported that the World Health Organization says it still believes the spread of the coronavirus from people without symptoms is “rare,” despite warnings from numerous experts worldwide that such transmission is more frequent and likely explains why the pandemic has been so hard to contain.

Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s technical lead on COVID-19 said at a press briefing on Monday that many countries are reporting cases of spread from people who are asymptomatic, or those with no clinical symptoms. But when questioned in more detail about these cases, Van Kerkhove said many of them turn out to have mild disease, or unusual symptoms.

Although health officials in countries including Britain, the U.S. and elsewhere have warned that COVID-19 is spreading from people without symptoms, WHO has maintained that this type of spread is not a driver of the pandemic and is probably accounts for about 6% of spread, at most. Numerous studies have suggested that the virus is spreading from people without symptoms, but many of those are either anecdotal reports or based on modeling.

Van Kerkhove said that based on data from countries, when people with no symptoms of COVID-19 are tracked over a long period to see if they spread the disease, there are very few cases of spread.

“We are constantly looking at this data and we’re trying to get more information from countries to truly answer this question,” she said. “It still appears to be rare that asymptomatic individuals actually transmit onward.”

(AP)

By: AP

The president of the U.N. General Assembly said Monday that world leaders will not be coming to New York for their annual gathering in late September for the first time in the 75-year history of the United Nations because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But Tijjani Muhammad-Bande told a news conference that he hopes to announce in the next two weeks how the 193 heads of state and government will give their speeches on pressing local and world issues during the assembly’s so-called General Debate.

“World leaders cannot come to New York because they cannot come simply as individuals,” he said. “A president doesn’t travel alone, leaders don’t travel alone” and “it is impossible” to bring large delegations to New York during the pandemic.

“We cannot have them in person as we used to — what happened in the last 74 years — but it will happen” Muhammad-Bande said of the annual event.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recommended last month that the gathering of world leaders, which was supposed to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, be dramatically scaled back because of the pandemic.

Guterres suggested in a letter to the General Assembly president that heads of state and government deliver prerecorded messages instead, with only one New York-based diplomat from each of the 193 U.N. member nations present in the assembly hall.

Muhammad-Bande said Monday that by late September “maybe a hundred or so” people might be allowed in the General Assembly chamber.

The meeting of world leaders usually brings thousands of government officials, diplomats and civil society representatives to New York for over a week of speeches, dinners, receptions, one-on-one meetings and hundreds of side events.

This year was expected to bring an especially large number of leaders to U.N. headquarters to celebrate the founding of the United Nations in 1945 on the ashes of World War II.

Muhammad-Bande said the 75th anniversary celebration “is not conceived as one moment” but will continue throughout the year starting on June 26, the 75th anniversary of the signing of the Charter of the United Nations in San Francisco.

He said a political declaration on the United Nations at 75 is also being negotiated, and world leaders will have the opportunity to mark the occasion — only not in person.

(AP)

By: Walter Sorensteen

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has unveiled a 13-Point Action Plan for a Safe Return as New York City begins Phase 1 reopening on Monday, June 8.

The MTA moved more than 8.3 million riders prior to the pandemic across New York City Transit, Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road. Since dropping more than 90 percent systemwide – ridership has started to return in advance of Phase 1 with subways and buses now moving 1.5 million customers.

To continue moving essential workers, welcome back additional riders and invest in the future of the system, the MTA is reimagining operations with one core mission: doing everything possible to ensure the safety of all New Yorkers. Its 13-Point Action Plan for A Safe Return includes:

• Increased Service
• Unprecedented Cleaning & Disinfecting
• Mandatory Face Coverings
• Enhanced Safety & Security
• Nation-Leading Employee Safety Initiatives
• Innovative Cleaning Solutions
• Hand Sanitizer
• Floor Markings, Directional Arrows and New Signage
• Staggered Business Hours
• 2 Million Mask Contribution from State & City
• Contactless Payments
• New Partnership & Technology to Make System Safer
• Data Dashboard

“The MTA, a global leader among transportation agencies and the largest in North America, has acted expeditiously since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic’s arrival in New York,” officials said in a release. “To date, the agency has distributed 2.6 million masks, 5.1 million pairs of gloves, 35,000 gallons of hand sanitizer and 112,000 gallons of cleaning solutions to its heroic frontline employees and implemented an unprecedented cleaning and disinfecting regimen across subways, buses, commuter rails and stations.”

“As more New Yorkers return to work, the MTA continues to lead the nation in customer and employee safety and we are doing everything possible to transform our system and operations for the future,” said Patrick J. Foye, Chairman and CEO of the MTA. “This aggressive plan includes global best practices, input from the business and labor communities and public health officials, and is the product of months of work from the talented team at the MTA. We thank our frontline employees – the heroes moving heroes – whose dedication has been unwavering.”

“We understand our critical duty to provide safe and reliable transportation to our customers and help the New York metropolitan region get back on its feet,” said Mario Peloquin, MTA Chief Operating Officer. “A lot of planning and careful attention to detail went into figuring out how to strategically reopen the MTA for Phase 1, and our top priority remains the same: to continue to be the vehicle by which the entire region not only recovers, but thrives once again.”

“Safety is our north star and will always be the top priority for all of us at the MTA,” said Sarah Feinberg, Interim President of New York City Transit. “We’re ramping up service as we head into Phase 1, and we’ll be there every step of the way to ensure customer and employee safety going forward. We’ve been working closely with our partners in labor and I thank the incredible 54,000 men and women of NYC Transit for their unwavering dedication.”

By: Arthur Popowitz

Prince Andrew’s life will apparently never be the same in the wake of revelations of his friendship with the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The latest involves an important federal prosecutor basically suggesting the prince doesn’t always tell the truth.

Attorneys for the royal family member say he’ll be glad to answer questions relating to an investigation into sex trafficking – in writing. But the prosecutors insist they need an in-person interview.

Geoffrey S. Berman, the US attorney in Manhattan, said during a press conference three months ago that the prince had “completely shut the door” on assisting his office with the investigation. In fact, he used the phrase “zero cooperation.”

Now, the prince’s representatives are claiming that’s a lie – that the price is happy to help, but in writing. Next came dueling statements.

AP reported that Andrew’s lawyers said in a statement that he has offered three times this year to speak with U.S. investigators after being assured that he “is not and has never been a ‘target’ of their criminal investigations into Epstein.”

That offer, though, came with a request that “our co-operation and any interview arrangements would remain confidential,” said the firm Blackfords LLP in London.

“Unfortunately, the DOJ has reacted to the first two offers by breaching their own confidentiality rules and claiming that the Duke has offered zero cooperation. In doing so, they are perhaps seeking publicity rather than accepting the assistance proffered,” the lawyers said.

Berman noted in his statement: “Today, Prince Andrew yet again sought to falsely portray himself to the public as eager and willing to cooperate with an ongoing federal criminal investigation into sex trafficking and related offenses. If Prince Andrew is, in fact, serious about cooperating with the ongoing federal investigation. Our doors remain open, and we await word of when we should expect him.”

“Under mutual legal assistance treaties, the British government could compel the prince to submit to an interview with its own officials if he were to persist in refusing to grant one to the federal prosecutors in New York,” the New York Times reported.

AP reported that Attorney General William Barr told Fox News on Monday that prosecutors are not seeking to extradite Andrew.

“I don’t think it’s a question of handing him over,” Barr said. “I think it’s just a question of having him provide some evidence, but beyond that I’m not going to comment.”

The world got even more complicated for the royal today when it was learned that a charitable trust supporting his work must give back in excess of $445,314 (£350,000) in payments made to a trustee after a public watchdog intervened.

“The Charity Commission has revealed the Prince Andrew Charitable Trust broke the law by handing over large sums to the prince’s household to compensate for time spent on other activities by one of his employees,” reported The Guardian. “The Charity Commission has revealed the Prince Andrew Charitable Trust broke the law by handing over large sums to the prince’s household to compensate for time spent on other activities by one of his employees.”

The problem, the piece continued, “emerged last year following publicity over the prince’s interview on BBC Newsnight about his friendship with the disgraced financier and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The highly critical report is a further blow to his position.”

By: Denis Cyr

A Word of advice for any conservatives out there who express themselves thru memes, be careful.

A female NYPD officer was suspended after was referred to the state court system’s inspector general for an investigation over a post on her Facebook page over the weekend, which shows doctored images of the former president and former secretary of state.

The memes are largely symbolic images conveying the common belief of those on the right that Obama and Hillary Clinton are criminals and should be brought to law.

Sgt. Terri Pinto Napolitano’s gun was taken away after posting: the first meme: “The True American Dream,” the post shows Obama hanging from a rope, with the words “We Will Not Yield” and “Your day is coming TRAITOR!”

The second meme appears to show Clinton as she is walked to the gallows by seven people, with the words “IT’S NOT OVER TILL THE FAT LADY SWINGS.”

The NY Post reported:  The memes which has since been deleted, drew a sharp rebuke Saturday from New York Chief Judge Janet DiFiore.

“This conduct is abhorrent, by anyone, at any time, and under any circumstances,” DiFiore wrote to court system personnel. “But at this critical moment in our history — when our nation is reeling from the death of George Floyd and its aftermath — it is a sickening and unpardonable offense against every colleague in our court system, as well as the vast and diverse public we serve.”

“We assure you that we have already begun the process and will take every step within our power so that this conduct is condemned and punished appropriately.”

“The images have absolutely nothing to do with George Floyd or the protests. While they are controversial images, they are basically a call to justice for many Americans believe both Obama and Hillary are criminals, these are not racial images, they are political, I suppose the Obama image was too much, however I wonder how many police officers on the other side post Kill Trump memes, those kind of memes seem to be perfectly acceptable, I thought political speech was safe, evidently if it’s against Democrats, free speech becomes a privilege, not s right, my Facebook is filled with violent anti-Trump images”, political analyst Jared Evan told TJV.

By: Sally McPhee

New York State legislators in Albany want to squeeze insurance firms into paying small businesses for losses incurred due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

A bill was introduced by Assemblyman Robert Carroll that suggests the entire insurance business is responsible for business interruption insurance claims that have been denied to those small businesses due to legalistic contractual minutiae.

“Carroll is targeting the clauses that exclude liability for traditional business interruption induced by a virus—ones typically reserved for e-coli on food—for the coronavirus,” reported Crain’s New York Business.

“It is within the state’s power to say that we are retroactively finding these clauses unconscionable and null and void, starting on day one of the emergency and running through when the emergency is over,” Carroll told Crain’s. “Furthermore, we are saying it’s for businesses under 250 employees, legit small businesses that don’t have bargaining power.”

Experts have been warning all along that commercial insurers have been braced for a pair of major threats. “The first is millions of claims by small businesses that want their insurers to cover their losses from COVID-19 lockdowns,” Reuters reported. “The industry… is of the view that the vast majority of those claims are either unwarranted under the language of their policies or specifically excluded because of exceptions that insurers began to impose in 2006.”

Another risk, the piece pointed out, is from “state legislatures considering laws to force the industry to provide retroactive coverage to policyholders, regardless of the language of their insurance contracts. Lawmakers in seven states, including hard-hit New York, New Jersey and Louisiana, have introduced such bills, though no law has yet been enacted.”

Chubb Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Evan Greenberg reportedly said during an earnings call that the fallout of the pandemic could prove a permanent game changer for the insurance industry.

“This event will be the largest event in insurance history,” Greenberg said, according to Bloomberg News. Wednesday on an earnings call discussing Chubb’s first-quarter results. The virus and its ripple effects will impact both the asset side and the liability side of the balance sheet, he said.

“We’re in an unprecedented moment of historic proportions,” Greenberg noted during the call. “None of us living today has experienced an event of this nature or magnitude. It is at once surreal and catastrophic. As a country, we will manage through and heal both our society and economy, and it will take time.”

Insurance companies find themselves challenged by the likelihood of lawmakers in a variety of states putting together bills to forces them to cut checks for business interruption losses.

By: Mike Mustiglione

The New York Police Department’s captains union has criticized elected officials for putting cops between a rock and a hard place: blamed if they react too strongly or weakly to the ongoing George Floyd riots.

Chris Monahan, who took over as President of the Captains’ Endowment Association back in December of 2019, is pointing the finger of blame at politicians. “They do not have your back and will use you as a political pawn!” he reportedly noted in an emailed letter. “My assessment is ‘Hands off the protester/looter you will be assaulted by them. Hands on the protester/looter you will be assaulted by our elected officials.’ BE CAREFUL!”

Monahan told The New York Post, “We just have to see who votes ‘Yes’ for the series of anti-police legislation and who votes no Monday in Albany.”

The email reportedly began this way: “We are encountering troubling times, between COVID-19, the day after day protest and looting happening in our city, the long hours and cancellation of our RDO’s. I commend each one of our members.” It continues, “Rest assured if the wheel of misfortune falls on any of you, the CEA will be there to defend and protect you. Religious or not, at this time Saint Michael must pray for us because our leaders have abandoned us.”

New York City’s Mayor Bill de Blasio has often incurred the wrath of the NYPD. Just yesterday, he announced a series of new reforms to the New York City Police Department designed to strengthen trust between New Yorkers and officers. The City will shift funding from the NYPD to youth and social services for communities of color, move vendor enforcement out of the NYPD, and establish a community ambassadors program within the NYPD. The Mayor also announced his support of the new 50-A reform bill introduced in Albany. The Mayor also lifted the citywide curfew effective immediately.

“While we have taken many steps to reform policing in this city, there is clearly more work to do to strengthen trust between officers and the New Yorkers they serve,” said de Blasio. “These will be the first of many steps my Administration will take over the next 18 months to rebuild a fairer City that profoundly addresses injustice and disparity.”

Among his planned reforms:

– Shift Funding from NYPD to Youth and Social Services: The City will find significant savings in the NYPD budget. This funding will go towards youth development and social services for communities of color. The amount will be finalized with the City Council during the budget process.

– 50-A Reform: The Mayor announced that he supports the State Legislature’s efforts to take away the provisions in 50-A that prevent transparency while still protecting the personal information of police officers. The Mayor also commended the Legislature for taking this step to ensure more accountability in the Department’s disciplinary system and give the public confidence.

– Move Vendor Enforcement Out of NYPD: The City will shift enforcement for street vending out of NYPD so our officers can focus on the real drivers of crime instead of administrative infractions. This will further the Administration’s de-escalation agenda by reducing interactions between uniform officers and New Yorkers, particularly immigrant communities and communities of color.

Edited by: JV Staff

Brooklyn Communities Collaborative (BCC) announced last week the first round of grants from its $3M Strong Communities Fund with over $180,000 going to four local nonprofits – the Arab American Family Support Center, CAMBA, exalt Youth, and Elite Learners.

BCC is a not-for-profit 501c3 organization partnering closely with the City University of New York, Maimonides Medical Center, One Brooklyn Health System, 1199SEIU, and key community partners focused on strengthening health, wealth, and leadership in Brooklyn communities.

As recent events have painfully highlighted the gaping inequities and structural racism that continues to affect our Black communities, BCC’s mission is to address the toxic triggers of poor health in historically and currently underserved communities throughout Brooklyn.

“BCC stands in solidarity with all people of good conscience who are peacefully demonstrating and voicing their determination to challenge the structural barriers that prevent a more just society and a beloved community,” said Roger L. Green, Vice Chair, BCC Board, and former member of the NYS Assembly representing Brooklyn. “To this end, we propose that our Strong Communities Fund will be embraced as a constructive tool to advance the moral imperatives of equity and social solidarity during these momentous times.”

BCC’s work is driven by a commitment to ensuring that the voice of communities of color is strong and present in all advocacy, research, policymaking, and healthcare reform efforts.

While the recent events of the COVID-19 pandemic came suddenly; structural racism was centuries in the making. A central goal of BCC has been to foster the development of durable, healthy, vibrant, and economically strong communities.

BCC made $3M available to nonprofits through the Strong Communities Fund at the end of April to address the immediate needs of organizations most affected by COVID-19. While this crisis has heightened health and safety risks for the poor, hungry, homeless, and other vulnerable populations, it is more important than ever to support the nonprofits that provide critical services to these people.

Each recipient organization aligns with BCC’s mission by promoting health and wealth in underserved communities and fighting back against inequities.

Arab American Family Support Center: $50,000 to support remote access to mental health services, personal protective equipment, and emergency funds.

CAMBA: $60,500 to cover data plans for 500 cell phones, provided at no cost through a corporate donation, for 3 months. These phones will help clients access remote services and telemedicine.

exalt Youth: $50,000 to support virtual internships for youth with justice system involvement, including student stipends and equipment necessary to implement and transition to a virtual platform.

Elite Learners: $25,000 to continue an anti-violence program in Brownsville that provides mentoring to at-risk youth to prevent incarceration of low-level youth offenders in partnership with the Brooklyn DA’s Office and the 73rd Precinct.

(Kings County Politics)