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NY Anti-Semitic Candidate Sued For Allegedly Extorting Company over Racial Quotas

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Thomas Lopez-Pierre, who ran unsuccessfully for New York City Council in 2017, is in trouble for allegedly extorting a media company with threats, unless the company conformed to his racial diversity demands (You Tube)

By: Hayley Quigstone

Thomas Lopez-Pierre, a failed City Council candidate who was known for his “ greedy Jewish landlord” remarks and hurling insults at black supporters of his opponents has targeted a media company with threats of violence and economic harm if they do not comply with his social justice demands of racial quotas.

The media company has filed a lawsuit accusing Lopez-Pierre of threatening to send “gang members” to protest until they guaranteed half the speakers it books for various events would people of color or women the NY Post reported.

Lopez-Pierre is threatening Bisnow, a media and events business that that produces news and live events, focused on such as real estate, technology and businesses.

The NY Post reported: Lopez-Pierre started his “extortion scheme” in November 2019, sending letters to Bisnow’s sponsors saying he would have “recently incarcerated Black and Hispanic men … disrupt and hold up banners” at their events, the company charges in an $18 million Manhattan Federal Court lawsuit filed Saturday.

“Diversity has always been a priority for Bisnow, and they have a strong track record of outreach and inclusion in their company and events,” said Judd Burstein, a lawyer for Bisnow.

During his campaign for city council in 2017 against Upper Manhattan Councilman Mark Levine, Lopez-Pieree used vitriolic anti-Semitic attacks on Levine and on property owners he blames for the gentrification of Upper Manhattan, Observer reported.

“Together, we can defeat the greedy Jewish landlords that are engaged in ethnic cleansing”, The NY Post reported Lopez-Pierre saying in one of his campaign videos

He also provoked controversy in 2013 by appearing at a campaign event with former Gov. Eliot Spitzer during the fallen pol’s failed bid for city comptroller, by trading claims of sexual molestation with Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal and by labeling an African-American supporter of Levine’s an “Uncle Tom ni**ger bitch”, in a another political campaign Observer reported.

Observer reported Lopez-Pierre had pleading guilty a few years ago to violating an order of protection taken out by his ex-wife and the NY Post reported:

In 2013, Lopez-Pierre allegedly groped Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal at a news conference.

“Stop grabbing my ass! Get off me!” Rosenthal, then 55, exclaimed at the event.

Lopez-Pierre denied Rosenthal’s allegations.

“I’m at a political event — I’d grab some old woman’s ass?” he said. “Why would I grab some old lady’s ass. That’s insane.”

NY Post reported that Lopez-Pierre threatened that unless sponsors Bisnow withdrew, “Our protestors will visit the corporate offices, homes and houses of worship of the speakers and sponsors … and yell that ‘XYZ’ person and/or firm is RACIST and SEXIST, until NYPD Officers arrive and drag them out kicking and screaming (which will be recorded on cellphones for social media),” Lopez-Pierre vowed, according to court papers.

TJV also reported last year: Lopez-Pierre had to pay back $54,107 of the $99,180 in matching funds the Campaign Finance Board gave him for his failed bid against City Councilman Mark Levine of Manhattan. Lopez-Pierre has also been assessed $6,182 in fines for assorted forms of malfeasance. The panel charged him with a long list of wrongs including: neglecting to report over $12,000 in contributions; failing to cite over $10,000 in transactions; exceeding the $100 limit on individual cash expenditures; using campaign funds for personal use; and making campaign expenditures after the election was already over.

Virus-Fueled Anxiety Grips NYC Therapists

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New York City’s health professionals have been scrambled to adapt to social distancing in sessions.  Thanks to congress’s emergency legislation passed in early March allowed psychologists to use telehealth treatment in lieu of in-person sessions. Photo Credit: societyforpsychotherapy.org

By Ilana Siyance

NYC’s busy hustle and bustle regularly affords its residents with a generous dose of anxiety, but the novel coronavirus pandemic has kicked it up several notches.  New Yorkers are not used to being cramped in at home in isolation.  Social distancing is bringing families are roommates too close for comfort.   Moreover, people have been losing their jobs, some are sick or grieving.  Fear of illness and economic woes top it all off.

As per a recent article in the NY Times, New York’s mental health mental health professionals say the problem is real, and overwhelming even for them.  “Never have I ever gone through a trauma at the same time as my clients,” said Melissa Nesle, a psychotherapist in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. “All I am hearing all day, hour after hour, is what I am experiencing also.”  Ms. Nesle said that at times her patients seem hesitant to unload their troubles, knowing she is in the same boat. “They are aware to some extent that I am sitting in a New York City apartment, too,” she said. “So I will say to them, ‘Yes this is really stressful; I feel you; I hear it.’ But I want to reassure them that I am OK.”  She added, though,“I am not always.”

New York city’s health professionals have been scrambled to adapt to social distancing in sessions.  Thanks to congress’s emergency legislation passed in early March allowed psychologists to use telehealth treatment in lieu of in-person sessions. To maintain client confidentiality, however, some of the professionals are forced to hold the phone, zoom or Facetime meetings from their cars or even closets, to find space away from their households.  Other therapists have found too much in common with their patients.  They have been juggling their patients’ anguish while sometimes managing their own grief from the loss of elderly relatives or parents.

So now, the emotional health of mental health professionals seems to be shaken, due to the virus-oriented anxiety they face at home and again at work.  “I am so used to feeling angry or sad or a moment of joy for my patients, and this was a completely different experience,” said Dr. Lucy Hutner, a psychiatrist who specializes in women’s mental health. “I realized what it was: It was just all of the fear and the panic and the trauma and the stress that I had been absorbing from every side.”

NYC therapists are practicing the very coping techniques that they preach, like breathing, meditating and reaching out to their own mentors.  They leave time between sessions for a walk, take break when possible, and try to maintain routine.

Dr. Donna Demetri Friedman, the executive director at Mosaic Mental Health in the Bronx, says her patients have even more to deal with than most.  The low-income residents in the neighborhood don’t have the computers or even ample cell phone credits to be in touch with a therapist.  Further, African Americans and Latinos make up 62 percent of NYC’s coronavirus deaths, though they account for only 51 percent of the population, as per data from the city’s health department.  “I do a lot of self-care so that I don’t take on the intensity of what we see day to day,” Dr. Friedman said. “But with this, it’s so pervasive, there’s so much death, there is so much uncertainty, the helplessness can creep in, in ways that it typically doesn’t.  We are doing everything and anything to help each other and our patients to get through this,” she added. “Sometimes, that’s crying together.”

NY’s Private Clubs Continue to Collect Dues in Midst of Pandemic; Offers New Benefits

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Soho House locations are still collecting membership dues. Founded by restauranteur Nick Jones, it is only offering in-house credits for the time the club is closed, in a quest to cover costs associated with the club’s portfolio of 18 sought-after properties. Photo Credit: SoHoHouse.com

By: Hadassa Kalatizadeh

NYC is home to a wide variety of member-only clubs.  These clubs too are feelings the negative effects of the novel coronavirus. Many of these private clubs are still collecting hefty membership fees, despite the fact that many of these exclusive hotspots are closed during the pandemic.  While they know the situation isn’t ideal, the clubs say they too have continuing expenses.

As reported by the Real Deal, Soho House locations are still collecting membership dues. Founded by restauranteur Nick Jones, it is only offering in-house credits for the time the club is closed, in a quest to cover costs associated with the club’s portfolio of 18 sought-after properties.  The members club, first opened in 1995, has multiple lush locations in New York, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles and around the world.  Last year, Soho House was planning a major expansion after raising $100 million.

But it is not the only club to continue collecting membership dues.  Otto Car Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, which offers vehicle storage, club space, and concierge services, is also still charging full dues.  As per Bloomberg, clubs are doing what they can to keep members happy.  Otto Car Club is still providing members with small group drives, but members must stay in their cars in order to adhere to social distancing.

Classic Car Club in New York is doing its best to keep members.  It is offering members who have the less expensive club-house only, non-driving memberships access its fleet of supercars. The club also has open a racing series on its high-tech track simulators.  The club staff spends roughly three hours disinfecting each car used by members to keep them germ free, but they consider it the cost of doing business. About 30 members dropped their memberships since the onset of Coronavirus.  However, co-owner Michael Prichinello said optimistically that applications are up.

There are a few clubs that are refunding members for the months that services are inaccessible.  San Vicente Bungalows in Hollywood, CA is letting members suspend their memberships and apply dues to pay for future months. In London, wine enthusiast club 67 Pall Mall Club, is giving members credit for unused months and has also initiated virtual wine tasting events for members.

Like most business across the board, the members-only clubs can only hope that the shutdown is short-lived.

Utah Hospital Workers Volunteer at NY’s Northwell Health & NY Presbyterian

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Brad Whitcomb, RN traveled to NY from Utah to help (intermountainhealthcare image)

By:  Justin Gatorwolf

A large hospital system in Utah lent a helping hand to New York

In early April, staff at Intermountain Healthcare in Utah were told that the 24-hospital system would be sending a delegation to New York to treat Covid-19 patients, Crain’s reported.

Intermountain ended up sending 100 employees—nurses, doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and respiratory therapists—to work at Northwell Health and New York–Presbyterian hospitals

Here are some accounts of Utah health care workers who came to NY to help a city in need during a crisis

Reflections on the deployment to the New York Presbyterian hospital system from Brad Whitcomb, RN, from Utah Valley Hospital

Almost two weeks ago I came out to NYC to help and be of service to both the people in the New York that were ill and my fellow healthcare providers. With almost 99 other coworkers from Intermountain Healthcare, we came out here not knowing which hospital or department we would be working in. There were many unknowns for us, but what we did know is that we all felt this urge, this pull to come. We knew that if we were able to go, we should. I found out about this opportunity to travel to NYC exactly one week before I left.

Then I saw a nurse come out of a patient’s room. She washed her hands, grabbed some meds from the med cabinet, then sat down and put her head in her hands at her desk. She took a quick breather, got back up and started to get back into her full PPE to go back into the room to give the medications to the patient. I thought, “This is why I’m here; this is why they sent RNs.” We’re here to care for, to learn from, but also to give relief to those that provide care. I have seen patients die and patients get better. I’ve learned a lot. I’ve seen some amazing leadership. I’ve met some of the strongest and most awesome caregivers. While in the face of all that is happening around them, they can still laugh, they can still find happy moments, they can still find the best during the worst. They are extraordinary people! Their teamwork is above and beyond, they anticipate each other’s needs. I have now seen angels at work. I am humbled. These are the true heroes!!

Libbey Steed, an RN at Dixie Regional Medical Center, about her thoughts and feelings surrounding her experience in New York as part of Intermountain’s COVID-19 Response Team:

On 4/26/2017, I was in an ICU hospital bed at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah. I was intubated and taken to emergency surgery to have a colectomy that many thought I would not survive. Throughout my own personal crisis, my hospital staff provided hope, comfort, love and support. My medical team MADE me survive when the odds were grim. My medical team became my “heroes.”

Three years later, I’m standing at the doors of Southside Hospital in Long Island, New York in the middle of the New York City COVID-19 crisis working as an emergency room nurse because this is what I was made for. Today, I know without a doubt why I survived. I survived to provide hope, love and comfort to those in need during this crisis.

The partnership between Intermountain and the metropolitan area’s hospitals has benefits for the Utah system too. Although Utah had only about 4,500 confirmed Covid-19 cases as of April 29, the group of 100 clinicians will bring back experience on how to treat patients who have the virus, Crains reported.

NY Teams with 6 States To Develop Supply Chain of Protective Equipment

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Governor Andrew Cuomo delivers daily briefing on the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic.

By TJV Editor

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, Delaware Governor John Carney, Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo and Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker today announced a joint multi-state agreement to develop a regional supply chain for personal protective equipment, other medical equipment and testing, NY.gov announced.

While the states will continue to partner with the federal government during this global and national public health crisis, they will also work together to identify the entire region’s needs for these products, aggregate demand among the states, reduce costs and stabilize the supply chain. The states will also coordinate policies regarding the inventory of PPE each state’s health care infrastructure should have to be prepared for a possible second wave of COVID-19. The states will also coordinate policies on what supplies local governments should have on hand for their First Responders, and if any requirements regarding PPE for the non-for-profit and private sector are needed.

The states will then seek to identify suppliers within the country, region or state who can scale to meet the demand of the entire region over the next three months. The goal of this approach is to decrease the potential for disruptions in the supply chain for PPE and medical equipment, including sanitizer and ventilators, and testing, and promote regional economic development.

In addition, the states are discussing how to collectively explore emerging technologies on an ongoing basis to take advantage of the potential associated with alternative methods of production for existing products and innovation that would lead to more effective and/or less expensive alternatives. For example, 3D Printers may represent an attractive alternative to manufacturing certain personal protective equipment and medical products.

“The COVID-19 pandemic created a mad scramble for medical equipment across the entire nation – there was competition among states, private entities and the federal government and we were driving up the prices of these critical resources,” Governor Cuomo said. “As a state and as a nation we can’t go through that again. We’re going to form a regional state purchasing consortium with our seven northeast partner states to increase our market power when we’re buying supplies and help us actually get the equipment at a better price. I want to thank our neighboring states for their ongoing support, generosity and regional coordination on these important efforts.”

Governor Murphy said, “Our states should never be in a position where we are actively competing against each other for life-saving resources. By working together across the region, we can obtain critical supplies as we begin the process to restart our economies, while also saving money for our taxpayers. This concept is at the heart of the regional approach we’ve established.”

Governor Lamont said, “With global supply chains continuing to experience a major disruption due to the pandemic, combining the efforts of our states into a regional purchasing initiative will help our states obtain needed PPE and other medical equipment without competing against each other. I’ve long been advocating for the federal government to get involved because pitting all 50 states against each other to compete for these supplies has never made any sense. Partnering with our neighbors helps make our purchasing power stronger and more dependable.”

Confusion Clouds the Forgiveness Terms of PPP Loans

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A notice of closure is posted at The Great Frame Up in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan. The Paycheck Protection terms are still not clear according to many nation’s small businesses. (Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

By: Jared Evan

Small business that received loans from the second round of the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program still don’t know how much they may have to repay after the government missed a deadline to give specific guidance, Crain’s reported.

Reuters reported: In principle, the forgiveness terms are straightforward: borrowers must spend 75% of the loan on payroll costs, such as salaries, tips, leave, severance pay and health insurance, within the first two months. The remaining 25% can be spent on other running costs, such as rent and utilities. Money spent on non-qualifying expenses must be repaid at an annual rate of 1% within two years.

There still are issues that need to be clarified. Crain’s reported that companies and lenders say they need more guidance on how to calculate the amount that is eligible for forgiveness and what documentation is required to support the claims.

Reuters pointed out calculating partial forgiveness sums for borrowers who have not met the 75% threshold, tends to be an area of confusion.

As a result, some business owners are holding onto the loans and may even return them, according to interviews with small business groups, lenders and borrowers.

The Paycheck Protection Program was designed as a lifeline for small firms, many of which were shuttered due to stay-at-home orders, have no revenue coming in and may be forced to close for good.

The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that the economy shrank at an annual rate of nearly 5% in the first quarter, with consumer spending dropping 7.6%; the virus began spreading in the U.S. midway through the quarter, according to AP.

Reuters reported on an example: Josh Mason, founder of Maryland catering company Vittles Catering, said his bank only gave him instructions on how to maximize his eligibility for forgiveness on April 24, two days after he received the funds. Those instructions warned clients that the forgiveness process was “not yet clear.”

“I have read all the guidelines, but I wouldn’t be able to say exactly how much will be forgiven and not forgiven. I think that ambiguity is going to create a little bit of a mess when all of this comes to a close,” said Mason.

The U.S. Small Business Administration was supposed to clarify by April 26 how loans it approved as part of the Trump administration’s multitrillion-dollar coronavirus stimulus package can be spent and still qualify to become grants.

The SBA said late Wednesday it had approved more than 960,000 loans totaling nearly $90 billion in this round of funding. Banks have thousands more loans to submit, and many owners are still applying for the relief, AP reported.

Angry College Students Want Refunds for “Subpar” Online Classes

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One of the colleges in which subpar online classes were offered was at NY's Touro College. Photo Credit: ThoughtCo

By: Rusty Brooks

Angry college students and parents are demanding their money back for “subpar” online learning, at the same time universities are pushing for more signups as the fall semester might be cancelled as well, the NY Post reported.

AP Reported: Grainger Rickenbaker, a freshman who filed a class-action lawsuit against Drexel University in Philadelphia, said the online classes he is been taking are poor substitutes for classroom learning. There’s little interaction with students or professors, he said, and some classes are being taught almost entirely through recorded videos, with no live lecture or discussion.

“You just feel a little bit diminished,” said Rickenbaker, 21, of Charleston, South Carolina. “It’s just not the same experience I would be getting if I was at the campus.”

Class-action lawsuits demanding tuition refunds have been filed against at least 26 colleges, targeting prestigious private universities, including Brown, Columbia and Cornell, along with big public schools, including Michigan State, Purdue and the University of Colorado, Boulder, A.P reported.

Meanwhile, The N.Y Post reported:  “The online learning options being offered to NYU students are subpar in practically every aspect, from the lack of facilities, materials, and access to faculty. Students have been deprived of the opportunity for collaborative learning and in-person dialogue, feedback, and critique,” the federal class action suit filed last month against NYU stated.

Christina Rynasko claims in a new lawsuit against New York University that her daughter, Emily, a musical theater major, is not getting what she paid for from the online classes and who paid $36,000 in tuition for the spring semester, is seeking a prorated refund.

Ken McConnellogue, a spokesman for the University of Colorado, said it is disappointing that people have been so quick to file lawsuits only weeks into the pandemic. He said the suits appear to be driven by a small number of “opportunistic” law firms, AP reported.

“Our faculty have been working extremely hard to deliver an academic product that’s got the same high standards, high-quality academic rigor as what they would deliver in the classroom,” he said. “It’s different, no doubt. And it is not ideal. We all would prefer to have students on our campuses, but at the same time, we’re in the middle of a global pandemic here”, McConnellogue told A.P

“You cannot keep money for services and access if you aren’t actually providing it,” said Roy Willey, a lawyer for the Anastopoulo Law Firm in South Carolina, which is representing students in more than a dozen cases told Associated Press.  “If we’re truly going to be all in this together, the  universities have to tighten their belts and refund the money back to students and families who really need it, universities have to tighten their belts and refund the money back to students and families who really need it.”

Bklyn Born Jewish Comedian’s Cousin Mistakenly Buried in Catholic Cemetery

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Comedian Elayne Boosler’s Jewish cousin was buried in a Catholic cemetery (elayneboosler.com)

By Justin Caper

Comedian Elayne Boosler says her elderly Jewish cousin, who died last month, inexplicably got saddled with a pricey Christian burial package while in a Brooklyn nursing home, The City reported.

“Now my beautiful Jewish cousin is clutching rosary beads after a fake funeral that never — couldn’t have — happened because of coronavirus,” Boosler, who grew up in Sheepshead Bay, told THE CITY from her California home.

The family was never notified, and after three weeks of calling, they finally got through to the facility, Elayne Boosler wrote on Facebook. Nursing home officials said Buschell had died on April 15, according to Boosler.

By then, Buschell had already been interred at Forest Green Park Cemetery in Morganville, Monmouth County, which charged her with a $15,000 Catholic funeral package, the media outlet reported.

Despite no one being present for the funeral, the burial included costs for $600 flowers, $34 for bridge and tunnel tolls, and a $595 limousine, as well as $95 for makeup and $400 for clothes, Boosler wrote on Facebook.

The City reported: The ordeal began, Boosler recalled, when her cousin Harriet Saltzman phoned her from Florida on April 14 and said, “Are you sitting down? Pull the chair closer to the table in case you fall over.”

Saltzman told her that she had been trying to reach their mutual first cousin Dorothea Buschell at the Hamilton Park Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, to wish her a happy 83rd birthday.

When no one answered in Buschell’s room, Saltzman said she began leaving voicemails at the main number, but no one returned her calls for weeks.

Finally, on April 14, a frazzled staffer who happened to pick up the phone said, “Oh, no one called you yesterday? Uh, she died this morning.”

“And then Harriet said, ‘Why would someone have called yesterday if she died this morning?’,” Boosler said.

“That’s right folks, they buried my Jewish cousin, who never wore makeup & never spent more than $25 on an outfit, who always tipped 20% and would have known to take Queensboro Bridge to avoid tolls, IN A CATHOLIC CEMETERY HOLDING A ROSARY, WITH A $16,000 FAKE FUNERAL THAT NEVER HAPPENED,” Boosler wrote on Facebook.

Boosler said she had ensured in paperwork as recently as August 2018 that her cousin would be buried at New Montefiore Cemetery in Farmingdale.

“She had a burial plot (Jewish) next to her mother, sister & dad, which I myself reaffirmed was still in her record when I visited her August 2018,” Boosler wrote.

Richard J. Brum, who represents the Allure Group, the company that owns Hamilton Park nursing home, declined to comment on Buschell’s situation, citing resident privacy concerns, The City reported

Kehila Chapels of Brighton Beach, which claimed Buschell’s remains, didn’t respond to a request for comment, the outlet said.

In 1986, Boosler became the first woman to get her own one-hour comedy special on cable when Showtime aired Party of One.

Having no credit cards or borrowing power, Boosler saved her money to produce the special herself when cable executives told her that they did not believe people would tune in to see a woman do an hour of comedy. She successfully toured for 50 weeks a year performing a two-hour comedy show. She was discovered by Andy Kaufman and was close frinds with the legendary comedian  Boosler was born into a Jewish immigrant family and raised in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn.

NYC’s 1st Lady Tackles Mental Health Issues During Pandemic

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I dont want to see. Depressed cheerless young man sitting on the chair and covering his eyes while feeling unhappy

By: Chaya Gurkov

While COVID-19 deaths and infections continue to decline, New York City may be entering a grim new chapter that posits the question of what the collective mental health can endure.

NYC Well, the city’s behavioral health helpline and a signature part of First Lady Chirlane McCray’s ThriveNYC program, reported that the number of incoming calls and web sessions has swelled this month compared to previous years. In March of last year, NYC Well outlined an average of 6,496 calls and chats- a 25% increase to this month’s average of 8,712.

However, this has not gone unnoticed by local and state authorities. Governor Cuomo, in his Friday briefing, directed insurers to waive cost-sharing, co-pays and deductibles for essential workers seeking mental health services.

This necessary action comes on the heels of the troubling effects COVID-19 is having on the front line workers in NYC.

The piling up pull of mental health issues was accentuated with the two recent health care worker suicides – including that of emergency medical technician John Mondello from the Bronx and emergency physician Lorna Breen, who worked in the NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital.

U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens) spoke to this point as well, in a letter to President Trump, calling for the next coronavirus relief package to include mental health resources for frontline health care workers.

“The stress and anxiety from the exhaustive work they do – treating daily floods of coronavirus patients, high COVID-19 death rates, fear over lack of PPE, long hours, and separation from loved ones – is taking a huge emotional toll on many of these professionals,” the letter read.

The lawmakers who signed the letter urged that the CARES 2.0 package contains significant funding for mental health services for the people who will deal with impacts of COVID-19 far past its end date.

Queens Borough has seen a deadly uptick in suicide rates since the beginning of coronavirus lockdown. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz released figures that showed a doubling of suicide deaths from March 15- April 28 since last year.

By comparison, since the beginning of the shutdown in late March, about the same number of people have committed suicide as those who died by suicide between Jan. 1 and April 19 in 2019.

“There is a mental health component to this health crisis that needs our attention,” Katz told reporters. “Since this pandemic began the numbers of suicides in Queens County have soared. The victims are young and old – no one is immune. Please reach out to your friends and neighbors. Check-in on each other because nobody should be alone in this and there is absolutely no shame in reaching out for help.”

According to the City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), as of April 26, there has not been an increase in emergency room visits for suicide-related concerns across all ages in the city since the COVID-19 outbreak. There have been, however, a spike in the volume of calls, texts, and chats to NYC Well.

“In the last available week (April 13-19) the volume of answered contacts remains elevated compared to the average number of weekly answered contacts in 2019,” said DOHMH spokesperson Patrick Gallahue in an email.

“We recognize that people are suffering during this crisis but help is available. We urge anyone who is experiencing a mental health crisis to reach out to NYC Well,” he added.

For more information on mental health services go to https://nycwell.cityofnewyork.us/en/ or call: 1-888-NYC-Well (1-888-692-9355); text: “Well” to 65173; or chat: www.nyc.gov/nycwell (Kings County Politics)

Intel Buys Israeli Urban Mobility Startup Moovit For $900m

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In this Nov. 14, 2009 file photo, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man is seen next to Intel’s office building in Jerusalem. Intel said Monday, May 4, 2020, that it has purchased Israeli urban mobility startup Moovit for $900 million. The California-based chipmaker said the purchase buttresses its plan to become a “complete mobility provider. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File)

By: AP

Intel said Monday that it has purchased Israeli urban mobility startup Moovit for $900 million.

The California-based chipmaker said the purchase buttresses its plan to become a “complete mobility provider.”

The acquisition deepens Intel’s reach in Israel, where the company has spent billions buying other companies, and where it has a chip-making factory.

Intel Corp. paid $15 billion in 2017 for Mobileye, an Israeli company at the forefront of autonomous vehicle technology. That purchase created another major player in self-driving technology and strengthened predictions that autonomous cars will someday come in large numbers and change the way people get around.

Moovit will join the Mobileye team, accelerating its “ability to truly revolutionize transportation,” Intel said.

Headquartered in Ness Ziona, Moovit was founded in 2012 by Nir Erez, Yaron Evron, and Roy Bick and developed the first free crowd-sourced app that provides real-time bus, train, subway, and light rail schedules and offers route options to help users find the quickest, most efficient way to their destinations.

Today, Moovit has over 750 million users on its free mobile and web app, providing mobility options in 3,100 cities, 100 countries, and in 45 languages.

In addition to its public transportation data features, Moovit’s mobility options are quite extensive and include ride-hailing companies (Uber, Lyft, Gett), car-sharing companies (Zipcar, Car2Go), station-based bike-share systems (CitiBike), dockless bikes (JUMP, Mobike), scooters (Circ, Voi, Lyft Scooters, Skip, and others) and Mopeds (Coup, eCooltra, MiMoto).

The company also sells transit data analytics to municipalities and public transport operators through its Smart Transit Suite, a platform that provides real-time information on people’s movement, optimal routes, wait times, locations of buses and trains and other data for network managing.

In February 2018, Intel led a $50 million investment in Moovit and announced a partnership with Mobileye, the Jerusalem-based tech company that develops cutting-edge driving-assistance technologies and which was acquired by Intel in 2017 for over $15 billion – the biggest exit by an Israeli company to date. Mobileye co-founder Professor Amnon Shashua, the senior vice president at Intel Corporation, became a member of Moovit’s board of directors as part of the deal.

Using information from users and bus and train schedules, Moovit’s app provides urban transit solutions, combining public transport schedules and options with taxis, bicycles, electric scooters and more, to provide a comprehensive picture of how best to travel.

“Combining the daily mobility habits and needs of millions of Moovit users with the state-of-the-art, safe, affordable and eco-friendly transportation enabled by self-driving vehicles, we will be able to make cities better places to live in,” said Nir Erez, Moovit’s chief executive.

Moovit has more than 800 million users and services in 3,100 cities across 102 countries, according to Intel.

  (AP)

Israel Announces Breakthrough in Development of Coronavirus Antibody

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By: Aryeh Savir

Israeli scientists have made a significant breakthrough in the fight on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and have developed a potent antibody that attacks the virus.

Defense Minister Naftali Bennett visited the Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) in Ness Ziona on Monday, where he was presented with a significant breakthrough in finding an antidote to the Coronavirus.

The researchers have developed an antibody that attacks the virus uniquely and can neutralize it in a patient’s body.

According to the Institute’s researchers, led by IIBR Director-General Professor Shmuel Shapira, the antibody’s development phase is over.

The institute will continue the patent registration process and in the next phase, the researchers will contact international companies who can produce the antibody in commercial quantities.

The antibody’s name has yet to be determined.

Bennett stated he is “proud of the Biological Institute’s people who have made a huge breakthrough. The creativity and Jewish mind have brought this amazing achievement. The entire security system will continue to operate on the frontlines of the battle against the Corona.”

Shapira at the end of March spoke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the progress in the institute’s research and development efforts regarding a vaccine and antibodies.

Shapira noted that there has been “significant progress” in planning for the vaccine and added that preparations are now being made ahead of a model for the start of experimentation on animals, a crucial stage before trials on humans are carried out.

The news came as the number of deaths worldwide from the virus topped 252,420 out of over 3,646,000 cases in 212 countries.

In other developments, last week it was reported that Jerusalem Chief Rabbi Aryeh Stern wrote a letter to the residents of the Arab town of Abu Gosh, near the capital, conveying his holiday greetings in honor of the commencement of the Muslim month of Ramadan.

In the letter addressed to the town’s mayor Salim Joubran, Rabbi Stern strengthened his hands in dealing with the Coronavirus and lauded the good Jewish-Muslim relations he was cultivating in his municipality.

Joubran responded by whishing Stern and the entire Jewish nation health and prosperity, especially during these trying times.

“We will always maintain good ties with our Jewish cousins,” he wrote.

Rabbi Stern occasionally invites Muslim leaders from the Jerusalem area to meet with him to strengthen the relations and coexistence with the moderate leadership in eastern Jerusalem and the area.

He has previously issued an unprecedented ruling that Israel has an obligation to help free Palestinians who have been imprisoned for selling land to Jews.

Stern’s letter came in response to the abduction of Issam Akel, a resident of Jerusalem who was arrested by the Palestinian General Security Service on the suspicion that he had sold land to Jews at the end of 2018.

(TPS)

Israel: For First Time, Iran is Retreating from Syria

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IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi (Flash90)

Israeli defense officials say they are seeing Iran retreat for the first time since it entered Syria to help President Bashar al-Assad.

By: David Isaac

“Iran has turned from being an asset for Syria to being a burden. For the first time since Iran entered Syria, it’s shrinking its forces and evacuating bases,” senior Israeli defense officials said on Tuesday at a news briefing, adding that “Israel will increase the pressure.”

The comments were made following reports of an airstrike on two military facilities in Syria overnight Monday. Israel did not take responsibility for the attack but Syria blamed it. Fourteen were reported killed by a Syrian war monitoring group.

That attack joins at least five others last month that were attributed to Israel, the most recent last Monday, April 27 in which seven were reported killed and an ammunition dump destroyed.

“Syria is paying higher prices because of the Iranian presence in its territory, for a war which is not its own. Iran has become a burden to Syria,” the officials said.

Defense Minister Naftali Bennett said on Tuesday, “We are determined, more determined, and I will tell you why – for Iran, Syria is an adventure 1,000 miles from home. For us, it is life. We are much more determined.”

”We will not give up and will not allow the establishment of a forward Iranian base in Syria,” Bennett said.

Israel has carried out hundreds of attacks in Syrian territory, mainly targeting Iranian forces and installations. Israel has made clear it won’t tolerate Iranian entrenchment on Syrian soil.

Ynet reports that at the height of the civil war, five years ago, Iran sent thousands of fighters and advisers to assist Syrian President Bashar al-Assad battle ISIS and other rebels.

However, Iranian force remained and continued to strengthen its forces in the country in what analysts say is part of a strategy to build a land bridge of Iranian influence to the Mediterranean. Such a land bridge would encompass Israel on its northern border.

(World Israel News)

read more at: www.worldisraelnews.com 

Israel Will Invest $60M in Coronavirus Research, Netanyahu Tells World Leaders

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Netanyahu announced during the online meeting that Israel will invest $60 million in research and development in the fields of diagnostics, therapies and developing drugs and a vaccine for the Coronavirus. Image courtesy: Twitter/Michael Dickson

By: TPS Staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participated in the leaders’ conference on dealing with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic with the European Union’s (EU) leadership and leaders from other countries, at the personal invitation of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The leaders’ summit focused on improving the international efforts to develop solutions for dealing with the Coronavirus, with an emphasis on developing and producing a vaccine and developing drugs and equipment for patients.

Leaders from around the world, senior officials from international organizations including the Gates Fund were in attendance. The leaders discussed fostering cross-country cooperation in finding medical tools in the struggle against the Coronavirus.

Netanyahu announced during the online meeting that Israel will invest $60 million in research and development in the fields of diagnostics, therapies and developing drugs and a vaccine for the Coronavirus.

Netanyahu told the conference that “defeating the global pandemic demands a global partnership.”

He noted Israel’s “relatively low” casualties from the virus which are the result of “early action to contain the disease, advance technology to locate those infected, first-rate medical professionals and a disciplined population that largely adhered to the mitigation policies” enacted by Israel.

He underscored that the epidemic “is far from over. At best, we’re only at the end of the beginning,” and Israel is now trying to find the “right balance” between protecting the health of its citizens by preventing another spike in infections while enabling the reopening of the economy.

He called on the European leaders to “work together on improving diagnostics, accelerating therapies and ultimately developing a vaccine.”

He expressed confidence that “Israel’s leading research institutions, its world-renowned scientists and our unique culture of innovation can enable us to play an important role in advancing solutions on all three fronts.”

Hours after the conference, the Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) in Ness Ziona announced a significant breakthrough in finding an antidote to the Coronavirus.

The researchers have developed an antibody that attacks the virus uniquely and can neutralize it in a patient’s body.

“We hope to work with other countries to leverage our unique capabilities to find solutions for the benefit of all,” he said.

Among the participating heads of government and ministers were French President Emanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Jordanian King Abdullah II, Omani Health Minister Dr. Ahmed Al-Saidi, Saudi Arabian Health Minister Dr. Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and World Economic Forum Chairman Klaus Schwab.

(TPS)

Netanyahu Threatens New Elections as High Court Weighs Unity Agreement

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Israel’s prime minister urged the country’s Supreme Court on Monday not to interfere in his efforts to build a coalition government, threatening that a decision against him could drag the country toward an unprecedented fourth straight election in just over a year. Photo Credit: Flash 90

Speaking to reporters following a briefing on coronavirus developments, Netanyahu pressed the court not to get involved in the country’s political affairs lest it risk forcing new elections.

By: AP

Israel’s prime minister urged the country’s Supreme Court on Monday not to interfere in his efforts to build a coalition government, threatening that a decision against him could drag the country toward an unprecedented fourth straight election in just over a year.

“We hope the court doesn’t interfere. It doesn’t need to interfere. There is the will of the people, the clear expression of the will of the people,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, speaking to reporters after a coronavirus-related address.

If a court ruling picks apart the coalition deal, it “increases the chances that we will be dragged to fourth elections, something that will be a catastrophe,” he added.

Netanyahu made his comments shortly after the court heard a second day of arguments in a series of legal challenges to the coalition deal.

The court’s rulings, expected by the end of the week, will dictate whether Israel breaks out of its prolonged political paralysis with Netanyahu and his former political rival Benny Gantz joining forces in government, or whether the country is plunged into another election.

The court is looking into two key questions: whether a politician facing corruption charges, such as Netanyahu, can form a new government; and whether his coalition deal with Gantz violates the law.

An unusually large panel of 11 justices, all wearing face masks and separated by plastic barriers, heard the case against the emerging coalition. Reflecting the case’s importance, the court took the rare step of streaming the proceedings on its website and on national TV.

Netanyahu and his allies view the high court as a liberal bastion that overreached its boundaries to meddle in political affairs, accusing it of undermining the will of the people as expressed in national elections.

After deadlocking in three closely contested election campaigns, Netanyahu and former military chief Gantz reached a deal last month in which they would be sworn in together for an emergency government ostensibly to battle the coronavirus and its economic fallout.

The deal calls for Netanyahu to serve first as prime minister and Gantz as the designated premier, with the two swapping posts after 18 months. The new position will enjoy all the trappings of the prime minister, including an official residence and exemption from a law that requires all public officials, except the prime minister, to resign if charged with a crime.

The court will be asked to rule on this arrangement — and there is a sense of urgency as Thursday marks the deadline for presenting a new government before new elections are called.

Zeev Elkin, a Cabinet minister from Netanyahu’s Likud party, warned that any court intervention could trigger a highly unpopular election.

“The coalition agreement is very complex. Moving a single brick could bring the entire structure down and force fourth elections,” Elkin told Israel’s Army Radio.

Israel’s attorney general, Avichai Mandelblit, said in an opinion to the court that while Netanyahu’s indictments “raise significant problems,” there was no legal basis for barring him from serving while facing criminal charges. But good governance groups have appealed against this, citing the precedent of forcing Cabinet ministers and mayors to resign if indicted.

     (AP)

PA Police Illegally Arrest Israeli Archeologists in Samaria

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Armed Palestinian Authority (PA) policemen on Monday arrested a group of Israelis, including two archeologists, at an archeological site in northern Samaria, in an area under full Israeli jurisdiction and in contravention of the peace accords. Photo by TPS on 4 August, 2019

By: TPS Staff

Armed Palestinian Authority (PA) policemen on Monday arrested a group of Israelis, including two archeologists, at an archeological site in northern Samaria, in an area under full Israeli jurisdiction and in contravention of the peace accords.

Shomrim Al Hanetzach (Preserving the Eternal), an organization dedicated to the preservation of archaeological and historical sites in Judea and Samaria, has recently carried out a mapping project of ancient sites suffering from illegal pirate excavations, looting and severe damage to artifacts.

This project was launched after President Donald Trump unveiled his Deal of the Century peace plan, which led to massive damage at over 100 antiquities sites.

The situation was further aggravated by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown, when 70% of the Civil Administration’s Archeology Inspection Unit was put on leave.

Eitan Melet, Field Coordinator for Shomrim Al Hanetzach, set out Monday morning with two archaeologists to the Tel Parsin site in northern Samaria, in Area C and under full Israeli jurisdiction, to inspect and document damage to the site.

The site, which is a five-minute drive from the Israeli community of Hermesh, preserves the biblical name Parash and the Talmudic name Kfar Parshai.

The site contains the remains of a large settlement that existed for centuries almost continuously from the Iron Age to the Ottoman period.

The remains include a mikveh, ritual bath, that was excavated during the Second Temple period and remained in use until the Byzantine period, burial caves, an oil press cave, various underground systems, and impressive Ottoman-era structures.

The team of archaeologists was surprised to encounter a PA police checkpoint in an area under full Israeli control, where PA police are not permitted to operate or bear arms.

“The Palestinian Police officers demanded that we get our of our vehicles, and we refused,” says Melet. “These were unpleasant moments, but the situation was more infuriating than frightening.”

The policemen, armed with assault rifles, took their ID cars and personal weapons.

After contacting the IDF, and with the mediation of Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council, the PA policemen decided to hand them over to the IDF at the nearby Dotan checkpoint.

“The city of Parash has never been excavated by archaeologists – but it has been thoroughly and aggressively excavated by local Arab looters and grave-robbers because the State of Israel does not take responsibility,” Melet stated.

“To me, this is the flip side of the coin of Palestinian Police operating, fully armed, in areas that are clearly and unarguably under Israeli jurisdiction. We urge the Israeli government to formulate a plan of action that will protect our heritage sites,” he demanded.

Shomrim Al Hanetzach has noted that the phenomenon of antiquity destruction is pervasive and affects all sites that are not under permanent preservation, and a survey of the sites in Judea and Samaria shows that a staggering 95% of the archeological sites have been robbed, vandalized or disturbed.

  (TPS)

Jewish Voice Calls on France & England to Ban Hezbollah

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Although the French have been hit with dozens of deadly Islamist attacks, have many of their communities closed to all but Muslims, with no government law enforcement permitted, they still bow down to Iran, the leading supporter of Iran and its terror surrogates, Hezbollah, its leading one. Photo Credit: Brittanica.com

On May 8th, the free world will tearfully commemorate and celebrate the 75th anniversary of VE Day, the Victory in Europe event. That day saw the defeat of hatred, terrorism and totalitarianism, that freed tens of millions of Europe’s people from the jaws of their Nazi occupiers. Sadly, many of those same nations have short memories nor gratitude for our nation’s sacrifice of over 300,000 military to remove the yoke of racism, terror, slaughter and racism from their necks.  Opposing our nation’s efforts, they now support, do business with and finance the new face of terror in the form of Iran and its surrogate, Hezbollah. Shame on them!

Richard Grenell, our Ambassador to Germany who functions, as well, as acting Director of National Intelligence, is pressing, France, of all nations, to outlaw the entire Lebanese terrorist movement, Hezbollah, and for an entire EU-wide ban on every facet of the Iranian proxy terror group. Although the French have been hit with dozens of deadly Islamist attacks, have many of their communities closed to all but Muslims, with no government law enforcement permitted, they still bow down to Iran, the leading supporter of Iran and its terror surrogates, Hezbollah, its leading one. France does much business with Iran a major supplier of petroleum to that country and is the major block to President Trump’s plan to squeeze that terror state to comply with its nuclear deal and to cease and desist from funding terror groups such as Hezbollah. How do their leaders sleep at night?

Germany, to its credit, totally banned that terror group’s entire movement from doing business within its borders. Prior to this week’s actions, Germany, like most of the European Union, foolishly outlawed only Hezbollah’s military wing, while closing its eyes to the operations of its diplomatic wing. We ask, “What’s the difference between the two?” In a show of forcefulness and hopefully, as an example to the rest of Europe, the Berlin government planned and executed raids on mosques, warehouses and offices of the Hezbollah terror group. This indicates their intelligence services had knowledge of activities within these venues that endangered German citizens. Good for them. Just a thought: What do our own federal agencies know of American mosques being used as planning centers for nefarious terror activities? Are we still in the politically correct mode of our previous administrations?

The United States and Israel have been major leaders in the move to designate all of Hezbollah as a terrorist group. Grenell welcomed Germany’s move to confront Iranian terror by calling on “all European Union member states to take similar action.”Israeli Foreign Minister, Israel Katz extolled what he called “a significant step in the global fight against terrorism” and urged the rest of the EU “to do the same.” It’s sad that France, whose wartime Vichy government played footsie with the Nazis should hesitate to recognize and condemn other fascist, hate filled, terror exponents, Hezbollah and Iran as the Germans have done. Will they eve learn?