By Jared Evan

Mayor de Blasio was campaigning in Iowa for his disastrous run as Democratic presidential nominee as 72,000 of his city’s residents experienced a massive blackout that left the West Side of Manhattan in the dark Saturday.

De Blasio took heat from the governor as City Council Speaker Corey Johnson ended up having to be the “defacto mayor” updating New Yorkers of the situation.

Last Saturday night, a blackout effected hundreds of thousands of con ed customers, along with thousands upon thousands of theater and concert goers, tourists and diners along a 30-block stretch from Times Square to about 72nd Street and Broadway, for several hours.

According to an AP report, those attending the Jennifer Lopez concert said that Madison Square Garden went dark about 9:30 p.m. in the middle of Lopez’s fourth song of the night. The arena was later evacuated. And at Penn Station, officials were using backup generators to keep their lights on.

Meanwhile hundreds of restaurants, stores and bars in the Times Square area were forced to close, and almost every Broadway performance was cancelled, spiraling the 30-block area into a surreal and confusing scene as thousands of theater goers lined up outside theaters.

“Look, mayors are important and situations like this come up, you know, and you have to be on site,” Cuomo told CNN, the entertainment/news network. “I’ve been governor of New York for eight years. In that time, I can count the number of times I left the state on my fingers.”

Clearly this was a swipe at de Blasio who recently missed D- Day celebrations and the Puerto Rican Day parade to campaign for his long shot presidential campaign.

Gov. Cuomo was forced to fly in from Albany to the emergency command center on the Upper West Side, where he held a press conference.

“We have to have a system that is designed to handle disruptions and rather than domino, we have a redundancy in the system, so this doesn’t happen” again, Cuomo told reporters at the press conference.

“We just can’t have a power outage of this magnitude in this city. It is too dangerous. The potential for public safety risk and chaos is too high. We just can’t have a system that doesn’t. It’s that simple at the end of the day and that’s what we’re goanna work on.”

The governor said he has directed the state Department of Public Service to investigate the cause of the blackout in hopes of preventing another of its magnitude, NY Post reported.

Many people went to social media to give credit to Corey Johnson for taking over in the mayor’s absence.

“Mayor Corey Johnson has done a bang-up job during the last five hours. We have no idea what that random guy in Iowa is doing but good luck to him.”, a Hell’s Kitchen resident commented on Twitter, while another local commented “Corey is mayor for the night.”

De Blasio appeared on CNN to defend himself on the entertainment and news channel: “When you’re a mayor or governor, you’re going to travel for variety of reasons. The important thing is to have the hand on the wheel, make sure things are moving effectively, and communicate to people.”

By Jared Evan

Sergeants Benevolent Association President Ed Mullins urged members to put politics aside and “stand shoulder-to-shoulder” with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during raids according to a letter the NY Post discovered.

“[ICE] will be apprehending individuals who are criminally wanted for crimes committed under the United States Code of Laws,” Sergeants Benevolent Association President Ed Mullins wrote in a letter sent out recently to union members, who are sergeants in the NYPD. “We, the members of law enforcement, do not write these laws, nor do we engage in the politics and or opinions of the laws”

“I further encourage you to NOT leave any ICE Agent abandoned if in need of assistance and to stand shoulder to shoulder with each agent so that they too can return home safely to their families,” Mullins further states.

“They are members of law enforcement just like you and we must never participate in the politics being applied upon our duty to uphold the law.”

Meanwhile, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Matthew Albence took a swipe at U.S. mayors who announced their opposition to planned immigration raids.

“The entire public is safer when law enforcement works together,” Albence said on Fox News, reacting to several mayors across the country who declared they would not be helping federal immigration authorities locate and apprehend illegal aliens living in their jurisdictions, Daily Caller News Foundation pointed out.

“It’s incredulous that it’s OK for these law enforcement agencies and these jurisdictions to enforce the laws that they’re sworn to uphold, but when we come in to do our enforcement that we’re sworn to uphold, all the sudden it’s a problem”, Albence continued.

The latest to join in on defying federal immigration enforcement by leftist mayors in “sanctuary cities” is Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot who began to block Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials’ access to the city’s police databases following news of possible raids in Chicago and other major U.S. cities.

Lightfoot said last week that the city has taken steps to ensure that the Chicago Police Department (CPD) will not cooperate with upcoming ICE sweeps that are expected to begin, The Hill reported.

“They will not team up with ICE to detain any resident. We have also cut off ICE access from any CPD databases and that will remain permanent,” she said, adding that she had spoken with the agency’s leadership to object to the planned raids.

“Chicago is and will always be a welcoming city that will never tolerate ICE tearing our families apart,” she said at a recent press conference.

ICE would be restricted from seeing the department’s incident narratives, arrest information, crime mapping systems and other databases, according to The Hill.

In addition to far-left leaning mayors, many high-profile Democrat figures have literally instructed illegals how to evade federal immigration officials. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, for example, said during her weekly press conference on July 11 that a deportation warrant is not the same as a search warrant and that illegal immigrants should simply not open the door if an agent comes knocking, Daily Caller News Foundation reported

 Fire Destroyed Victim’s Midwood Home and Severely Damaged Two Adjacent Properties; Video Surveillance Allegedly Captured Defendant Setting the Fire

By: David Ben Hooren

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez on Monday announced that a 41-year-old Pennsylvania man has been arraigned on an indictment in which he is charged with first-degree attempted murder, second-degree arson and related charges for intentionally setting fire to the home of a Brooklyn rabbi. The fire quickly spread to two adjacent houses, injuring 11 people, including a six-week-old infant, four first responders and two police officers.

District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This defendant allegedly traveled to Brooklyn with the sole intent to kill and had no concern for the dozens of people he deliberately put in harm’s way. Thanks to our firefighters and first responders, no one was seriously injured in this fire. I intend to prosecute this case vigorously and hold this defendant accountable for his alleged crimes.”

The District Attorney identified the defendant as Matthew Karelefsky, 41, of McKeesport, Pennsylvania. He was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Martin Murphy on a 17-count indictment in which he is charged with first-degree attempted murder, second-degree arson, second-degree attempted murder, and related charges. He was ordered held without bail and to return to court on September 10, 2019. The defendant faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted of the top count.

The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, on June 13, 2019 at approximately 3:50 a.m., a rabbi at a local yeshiva and his wife awoke to a fire in their three-story multi-family home at 1492 East 17th Street in Midwood. The fire spread to homes on either side of the property, causing 13 residents, including a six-week-old infant, to evacuate. Numerous individuals were treated for smoke inhalation.

Fire marshals determined the fire at 1492 East 17th Street was intentionally set and that it spread to the adjacent properties. Investigators also determined the fire began underneath the rabbi’s front porch, where K9 dogs identified the smell of an accelerant and fire marshals discovered remnants of a Kingsford charcoal bag, charcoal, a plastic milk carton, empty lighter fluid containers, lighter boxes and several rags believed to have been drenched in accelerant.

Video surveillance taken from across the street from the victims’ homes allegedly shows the defendant setting the fire. Additionally, video surveillance from a Midwood grocery store captured the day before the incident allegedly shows the defendant purchasing Kingsford charcoal and matches.

Police arrested the defendant in Manhattan on June 15. At the time of his arrest he was wearing a pink shirt with a white collar—a shirt he was allegedly seen wearing walking near the victims’ homes before and after the incident. It is alleged that the defendant has a tattoo on his forearm that reads, “Never let go of the HATRED – KILL Rabbi Max”. He also allegedly wrote numerous social media posts expressing his animosity for and intention to harm the victim.

The case was investigated by New York City Fire Department Marshal Stewart Hines.

Intelligence Analyst Alexandra Aber, of the District Attorney’s Crime Strategies Unit and Paralegal Supervisor Aneudy Mata, of the District Attorney’s Green Zone Trial Bureau, assisted in the investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Sara Kurtzberg, Deputy Chief of the District Attorney’s Green Zone Trial Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Aaron Fishkin, also of the Green Zone, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney James Lin, Bureau Chief.

By Howard M. Riell

When a scandal like the one engulfing Jeffrey Epstein breaks, it is always interesting to see where things lead. According to published reports, one of those Epstein connections may lead to Victoria’s Secret.

Italian model Elisabetta Tai says she was directed to Epstein — arrested last week for sexually abusing minor girls from 2002 to 2005 – back in 2004 was a contact who might help her get into modeling for Victoria’s Secret.

“He told me this is one of the most important people in modeling,” Tai told The New York Post. “He said that this man is in charge of Victoria’s Secret and he’s going to change your life.”

The meeting reportedly didn’t go as anticipated. “I rang the doorbell of this incredible mansion, and a butler answered the door,” said Tai in the Post interview. “It was astonishing. It was a very beautiful house, and I saw about five models walking around as soon as I walked in. I was so excited.”

The encounter went as one might guess, and when Tai tried to leave, as she recounts to the Post, a woman who worked for Epstein “told me that I couldn’t just leave. She said that this man is important, that he is a friend of President Clinton.”

Indeed, CNBC has reported that Clinton visited Epstein in prison while he was serving a 13-month criminal sentence in 2008 and 2009. There was, in fact, “a revolving cast of characters take turns visiting him… Those visitors included Epstein’s appeals attorney Alan Dershowitz, who showed up on New Year’s Day 2009, as well as Arnold Paul Prosperi, a college friend of former President Bill Clinton, documents show.”

Still other alleged connections have also emerged. ABC News has reported that Epstein “has been a prolific donor to various Democratic campaigns and party committees over the past couple decades… One of the biggest beneficiaries of Epstein’s contributions was then-Senate hopeful Hillary Clinton, who received $20,000 from him in 1999 through her joint fundraising committee with the Democratic Party, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign also received $1,000 from Epstein in 1992.”

Last week, the New York Times reported that Epstein had “asked a federal judge to release him on substantial bond. He offered both his New York mansion, which city tax documents valued at close to $56 million, and his private jet as collateral. Prosecutors said on Monday they sought to have Mr. Epstein held in jail until his trial, pointing to his wealth as they said he had “an extraordinary risk of flight and danger.” Mr. Epstein’s bail proposal is expected to be taken up in Federal District Court in Manhattan on Monday.”

By Pat Savage

Sex and drugs may bring down a high profile professor.

Hunter College psychology professor and sex and drug researcher Jeffrey Parsons has been accused of using cocaine at college events and organizing annual parties that included major amounts of alcohol and sex.

Parsons, described by the New York Post as “the youngest-ever “distinguished” professor at the public college and one of the CUNY system’s highest paid professors” left his job on July 3rd in the wake of a school investigation that reportedly supported staff complaints dating back to the spring of 2018.

Parsons served as the director of the Center for HIV Educational Studies and Training (CHEST), tasked with doing research on – what else – drug use and at-risk sex. The program was funded to the tune of a reported $37 million in grants between 1997 and 2016.

“Every year he’d host a party he claimed he paid for out of his expense account known as the CHEST fest, a former employee said. Last year’s bash is when his alleged bad behavior came to a head,” the Post reported. “The May 4, 2018, soirée was held at the iconic Stonewall Inn in the West Village, where Parsons rented out the bar’s second floor. The theme: rebellion. As he did at past events, Parsons encouraged attendees to imbibe.”

Parsons is known as a psychologist, researcher, and educator whose career includes stints as Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Hunter College and The Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). He was trained as a developmental psychologist and has applied this training to understand health, according to Wikipedia, with a particular emphasis on HIV prevention and treatment. “He is well-known for his research on HIV risk behaviors of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM), HIV-related syndemics, and sexual compulsivity.”

Parsons is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in HIV prevention and treatment, having been particularly influential on understanding health risk behaviors associated with HIV transmission and HIV-related health outcomes for GBMSM, Wikipedia noted. He was a pioneer in understanding the etiology and consequences of sexual compulsivity (now often referred to as hypersexuality) for GBMSM as well as having produced influential work on topics ranging from understanding intentional condomless sex (i.e., barebacking) and methamphetamine use to developing efficacious interventions to reduce substance use and HIV-related health risk behaviors.

By: Theodore Mikalis

The knives are out as Democrats view for the ideological control of their party.

The latest dispatch from the war zone sees Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff, Saikat Chakrabarti, attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He has called her a less than powerful leader, and moderate Democrats in general – of which Pelosi is purportedly one — of racism.

One Democratic party member told the New York Post that Chakrabarti has proven “incredibly polarizing” and is “pushing this conflict between Pelosi and AOC. He and AOC are looking for enemies, they are looking for fight, they are looking to create controversy. And it’s working. It’s raising money, getting more media, raising stature, increasing email lists, increasing profile.”

During the first week of July, Chakrabarti took to social media to insists that Pelosi “claims we can’t focus on impeachment because it’s a distraction from kitchen table issues. But I’d challenge you to find voters that can name a single thing House Democrats have done for their kitchen table this year. What is this legislative mastermind doing?”

Just a couple of weeks before, Chakrabarti let it slip that he thought the “New Southern Democrats” were “hell-bent to do to black and brown people today what the old Southern Democrats did in the 40s.”

NBC News’ Jonathan Allen has been following the action, and recently noted, “As they feud publicly, freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is slowly learning a painful lesson about American politics at the hands of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: Power is about numbers. Pelosi has them and Ocasio-Cortez does not. The more Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., lashes out over the limits of her own influence, the more obvious those limits become and the more the imbalance tilts in the direction of Pelosi, D-Calif. After all, their fellow politicians are nothing if not hypersensitive to even the slightest shifts in the winds of power.”

He continued, “Now, they’re freely dunking on Ocasio-Cortez and her allies in the wake of her not-so-veiled allegation that Pelosi is discriminating against her clique, known as “The Squad,” because of their lack of seniority, their gender and their skin color.”

Ocasio-Cortez had previously remarked that the House Speaker had been intentionally “singling out” freshman congresswomen of color. Oddly, President Trump came to Pelosi’s defense, saying that in his estimation she was not a racist.

Others are enjoying the infighting less. House Democrats and their aides “are quickly losing patience with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over her office’s nonstop sparring with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other long-serving members, suggesting the speaker’s dismissive comments toward her may represent the view of a growing section of the caucus,” noted Fox News. “She is a complete fraud,” one senior Democratic source told Fox News on Friday, succinctly summing up members’ frustration.”

By: Sanford Bergmeister

Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed into law S.6209A/A.7797A, which amends the Human Rights Law and Dignity for All Students Act to make clear that discrimination based on race includes hairstyles or traits associated with race.

“For much of our nation’s history, people of color–particularly women–have been marginalized and discriminated against simply because of their hair style or texture,” Governor Cuomo said in a statement. “By signing this bill into law, we are taking an important step toward correcting that history and ensuring people of color are protected from all forms of discrimination.”

The bill amends section 292 of the Human Rights Law and section 11 of the Dignity for All Students Act to add new subsections to the definitions of race, to include “traits historically associated with race, including but not limited to hair texture and protective hairstyles.” The bill’s provisions are effective immediately.

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said, “Discriminating against someone because of their hair style or texture is wrong, and now it is also against the law. We should celebrate the diversity that makes New York State great and that includes respecting the hair style choices of all New Yorkers. I commend Senator Jamaal Bailey for sponsoring this legislation which the Senate Majority was proud to pass, and I thank Governor Cuomo for signing it into law.”

Noted Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, “No one should face discrimination at school or in the workplace, but too often we see people of color, particularly women, who are told their hair is unprofessional or not appropriate in public settings. These discriminatory policies sideline people of color–keeping children out of their classrooms and diminishing who they are. That discrimination has no place in New York State. The Assembly Majority will continue to fight so every New Yorker is treated with dignity and respect.”

Added Senator Jamaal T. Bailey, “The way one chooses to wear their hair should be legally protected and supported–and in New York, now it will be. I thank Governor Cuomo for supporting and signing this bill that makes New York State a leader when it comes to ending racial discrimination based upon natural hair and hairstyles. I would also like to thank Assembly Member Tremaine Wright, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and her Chief of Staff and Counsel Shontell Smith for their leadership. When leadership is diverse, it understands and is reflective of the communities. Thank you for protecting our crowns”

Assembly Member Tremaine S. Wright said, “As a Black woman who prioritizes equity, and has worn my natural for 17 years, this bill is deeply personal for me. While chatting with racial and gender equity champion Adjoa B. Asamoah about the longstanding and problematic practice of hair discrimination, I recalled the action Congresswoman Marcia Fudge took during her tenure as Congressional Black Caucus Chair to confront new rules the army proposed to ban hairstyles that would disproportionately impact Black women. I determined a legislative fix was in order, and decided I’d carry the CROWN Act in NY. I am beyond proud to have done so, and for New York to be the first state to have had this historic bill passed in both chambers. Special thanks to Speaker Heastie and Majority Leader Stewart Cousins for their leadership.”

By Ilana Siyance

In 2019, an alarming 15 cyclists have already died in NYC, being struck by cars or trucks. This number already exceeds the total of 10 cyclists killed throughout the entire year of 2018. Last Tuesday night, hundreds of cyclists gathered for a “die-in” at Washington Square Park, as a call for action. There were heartfelt speeches lecturing about the necessity of better protecting cyclists in what is becoming known in the biking community as “the crisis.”

NYC has put effort into adding bike lanes onto roads, but cyclist fatalities are up. Council Speaker Corey Johnson supported the gathering. “It is heartbreaking that New Yorkers feel so unsafe walking and biking in our city right now that pedestrians, cyclists, and transit advocates feel they must stage a die-in in order for something to change,” Johnson said in a statement. “We must not stop fighting until every New Yorker can move around our city safely and efficiently. I hope you’ll fight with me.” In May, Johnson presented a bill that would oblige the city’s Department of Transportation to add 50 more miles of protected bike lanes each year till 2024.

For the protesters, the crisis refers to not only the dangerous reality of cyclist fatalities, but also to the unyielding values that still resists prioritizing road design and infrastructure that is truly biker friendly. As per the NY Times, under Mayor de Blasio, 337 miles of bike lanes have been added to the Big Apple for a total of 1,240 miles of bike lanes. This expansion was in line with the exciting announcement two years ago, issued by the NYC’s DOT to say that NYC is now safer and easier to navigate by bike than it has been for the last 20 years.

While cycling may have increased, proponents maintain that it is not safer. While the added bike lanes encourage cyclists to bike their way into freeways and to their destinations, the lanes don’t always follow through for cyclists. The side of the street reserved for cyclists, frequently faces obstructions in the form of double parked vehicles, construction, a premature end to the bike lane, and foot traffic, creating a sudden dead end for bikers.

Bike lanes face plenty of resistance. Communities have fought back against bike lanes on the grounds that they will take away parking spaces, compound already unbearable traffic conditions, and create a less safe environment for all. Also, opponents say cyclists sometimes are their own worst enemy, who disregard traffic rules and speed. Further, they maintain that cyclists suffer no penalties for their hazardous driving and are exempt from the requirement for any training, licensing, or insurance.

One of the speakers at the protest was Hindy Schachter, whose husband died in 2014 as a pedestrian hit by a cyclist in Central Park. “It’s not the cyclist that’s at fault,” she said. “It’s the city that has not designed safe pedestrian and cycling the whole way.”

One thing that both sides agree on is that we have a long way to go to make NYC a safe place for cyclists.

By: Benjamin Kaplanowitz

Department of Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia has unexpectedly resigned.

Elia drew criticism after she re-released regs that would have given New York State control over the number of hours of secular studies taught at private schools statewide. The regs also mandated curriculum requirements.

“Elia’s latest effort to exercise state control over private schools statewide sparked a flurry of activity. By state law, the guidelines mandated by Elia are subject to a public comment period,” reported Vos Iz Neias. “A campaign launched by PEARLS giving yeshiva parents a chance to voice their opposition to the plan resulted in 4,862 letters of protest, representing 14,100 yeshiva students, in just over one week.”

Torah Vodaath Rosh Hayeshiva Rabbi Yisroel Reisman has reportedly called for a letter-writing campaign targeting his school’s parents, grandparents, friends and alumni.

Reisman and Mir Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Elya Brudny “met with Commissioner Elia last year hoping to demonstrate that the vast majority of yeshivas were providing students with a substantially equivalent education to that offered in the public schools, as required by state law,” said the Jewish news site. “The two penned a letter to the editor that appeared in the Wall Street Journal… last December warning that New York’s yeshivas would not allow the state to make any curriculum changes that would in any way interfere with their emphasis on offering a Torah-true education.”

Published reports claimed that Elia resigned in order to take a position with a national company specializing in helping school districts draft and execute turnaround strategies. She had apparently failed to tell the board of her plan to resign before the news became public knowledge.

According to chalkbeat.org, Chancellor Betty Rosa “said the announcement “obviously caught us all off guard” but declined to comment further before walking into back-to-back board trainings, which are closed to the public and are a typical July agenda item for the Regents. Regent James E. Cottrell said the news came as a “total shock” and upset him. He said he thought the board had made positive strides under Elia’s four-year leadership.”

In an official statement, the board members “said they have made “much progress” with Elia to improve education and described Elia as “steadfast in her commitment to placing the interests of students first,” chalkbeat.org reported.

The letter drafted by Elia said in part that “our goal to close the opportunity gap in all districts across the state… Going forward, I hope to translate the experiences I’ve gained from one of the largest, most complex education systems in the country into lessons to help improve classrooms, schools and districts for students in every state.”

By: Cassie Petrizzio

NYC’s major blackout last weekend leaves Con Ed admittedly baffled. On Monday July 15th, the electric company warned that more blackouts could be imminent thanks to the upcoming heatwave. “We expect that there could be service outages — those things happen during heat waves,” said Con Ed’s chief spokesman, Mike Clendenin, during a morning appearance on PIX11. He said the power company invests roughly $2 billion annually to prepare for mounting electricity needs when the temperature rises. Clendenin said Con Ed will be “prepared.”

“We know it’s going to be intense,” said Clendenin, referring to the weather forecasts for the week which predict that temperatures will reach 100 degrees. “This heat wave coming up is something else and we’ve got to get ready for it.”

As reported by the NY Post, Clendenin admitted that Saturday’s outage was not caused by the heat and that the company’s engineers still do not know the reason for the outage, which left 73,000 NYC customers in the dark from West 30th to West 72nd streets, between the Hudson River and Fifth Avenue. “We are very, very focused on examining exactly what transpired and caused that outage,” Clendenin he said, saying they have yet to figure out why the breakers “did not isolate the problem”.

“In terms of the root cause, we have a team full-time on it working now. It takes time,” Con Ed President Timothy Cawley said at a news conference near the company’s Upper West Side Energy Control Center. While no one was hurt as a result of the blackout, more than 400 elevators got stuck, and about 2,800 people had to be rescued from subway trains that got stranded.

“There’s a lot of patience and poise that New Yorkers displayed during the outage itself. The same kind of patience and diligence is gonna be needed as engineers and experts dive into the date and actually analyze how equipment tripped off, or what went wrong, that led to the large outage,” said Clendenin. “Unfortunately, with outages like this, it takes a little bit of time and understanding.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo sent a warning to Con Ed on Sunday , saying that Con Edison “does not have a franchise granted by God”. “We’re getting to the point where Con Ed is going to have to deliver or we’re going to have to find a different delivery mechanism. The governor added, “They can be replaced”.

Clendenin did his best to dismiss criticism for the company, maintaining that Con Ed provides “the absolute best grid that New Yorkers expect and deserve.”

“In fact, New York’s grid is probably better than any other grid you’ll find anywhere else in the United States,” he continued, adding that the company was “open to anyone’s ideas” on how to further improve.

By Benyamin Davidsons

Senator Charles Schumer is taking a stand against Grubhub, telling the company to “eat any fees” they wrongfully charge their customers for phone calls in which no order is actually placed. On Sunday, the Senior New York senator asked the federal Small Business Administration to send a report to Congress detailing the “bogus fees” that Grubhub has been allegedly charging restaurants. As reported by Crain’s NY, Schumer also instructed the Federal Trade Commission to be prepared to act in response to the findings of that report.

In May, the food-delivery giant was accused of charging restaurants in NYC $4 to $9 fees for phone calls, even if no food order was placed. For the mobile food ordering company, which now boasts 19.9 million active users spanning 2,200 cities across the U.S., this can end up being a pretty penny. “Bogus fees of any kind add up fast—one dollar or two here and there—and before you know it, a big company like Grubhub has millions of dollars they never really earned,” Schumer said. “Today, I am putting in my own order at Grubhub and asking them to eat any fees they wrongfully charged restaurants or even customers.”

The issue is being taken seriously across the board by state and federal officials. In June, the City Council held a hearing about it, during which one federal SBA official said the added surcharges restaurants are paying for delivery are taking a bite out of the eateries’ capacity to pay SBA-backed loans. Councilman Mark Gnojaj is going after Grubhub by requesting Attorney General Letitia James to open an antitrust investigation into the ordering app’s acquisition of its competitor, Seamless.

A Grubhub spokesman denied any wrong doing and said the company will work with Senator Schumer to “disprove the flagrantly inaccurate narrative that our business practices are misleading or lack transparency.”

“Restaurants have the ability to review and audit recordings of phone calls through their dedicated portal,” Grubhubs’s statement continued, “and can easily dispute any charges by providing context details to their account adviser or our restaurant-care team. Not only are phone orders addressed in our restaurant contracts, but we give restaurants full disclosure into these orders in their monthly statements with a separate, dedicated line item.”

By Hadassah Kalatizadeh

Uber is adapting to the New York way of life by looking for a parking spot. It will require quite a large lot to park its idle ride-hail vehicles. The need for the lot is augmented by a new limit on the amount of time app-based drivers can drive around below 96th Street without a passenger. If the city’s proposed rule passes, Uber and Lyft drivers’ time driving solo below 96th street will be capped to no more than 31% of their time on duty. Furthermore, last week Mayor de Blasio’s office said it would continue to halt the issuance of new for-hire licenses, extending the year-old suspension in its attempt to restrain the growth of ride-hailing vehicles in the city.

Uber has already responded by tapping CBRE, the oversized commercial real estate services firm, to help find a lot for about 250 vehicles to park and wait until they are called upon to give someone a ride. The ride-share giant, which was established 10 years ago in San Francisco, doled out fliers to commercial real estate execs and brokers late last week, publicizing its quest to buy or lease a suitable location between 96th Street and 110th Street either on the East Side or West Side. “If the city passes the proposed ‘cruising cap,’ we want to be prepared to help mitigate the inevitable congestion that will be caused by app drivers waiting to access the central business district,” Uber said in a statement.

As reported by Crain’s NY, those knowledgeable in real estate expect Uber will have to pay a hefty price to procure such a garage. Bob Knakal, formerly of Cushman & Wakefield who is now the New York area chairman of investment sales for JLL, says this sort of large vacant lot is most often purchased by developers with an eye on constructing profitable residential buildings. “Uber is going to have to compete with developers, and a garage or land site is always going to be worth more as a residential development site than its existing use,” Knakal said. “It’s a tough requirement. They’re going to have to pay an exorbitant price.”

Still, in the past few years, some of the large parking garages have been losing business, because less people are driving their cars into the city, in part, paradoxically, because of the popularity of e-hailing ride companies. This could potentially open up an opportunity for Uber to purchase one such struggling garage.

Lyft too has formulated a response to the newly proposed city rule. Lyft said it will kick some of its drivers off the app when demand is down. Those drivers will most than likely just log onto Uber, multiplying the number of idle drivers that Uber needs to deal with. “Once drivers are kicked off of the Lyft app, they will immediately log on to Uber, significantly increasing the vehicles on our platform without taking a car off the road,” said an Uber spokeswoman in response to Lyft’s decision.

By Hellen Zaboulani

On Monday July 15th, Former Democratic Gov. David Paterson accepted a new role as vice president of Las Vegas Sands Corp., the casino company headed by Sheldon Adelson, a known supporter of and donor to Republican President Donald Trump.

“I think I’m doing what more Americans need to do right now. Mr. Adelson has a First Amendment right to vote for whoever he wants to vote for president and to spend his money giving contributions to whoever he feels would be the best candidate,” Paterson said on Monday.

“The acrimony that builds every day more and more between the two parties, I think this is a real example of what used to happen in this country where people didn’t even think about their political affiliations when business opportunity came through because business is about respect and as long as I feel respected, then I can work there.”

Paterson was the 55th Governor of New York, serving out the last three years of Eliot Spitzer’s term from 2008 to 2010. The 65-year-old Brooklyn native was also the Minority leader in the NY Senate from 2003 to 2006 in the 30th district, and a Senator for the 29th district from 1985 to 2002. Paterson began consulting for Sands this year, and supports the NY casino industry, arguing that the state should lower tax and licensing burdens to take advantage of the industry’s revenue. “The whole idea of bringing thousands of jobs into the state of New York, enticing people to stay rather than leave, enticing other people to move here and doing it through the entertainment industry that is gaming is an exciting new challenge for me,” said Paterson.

Upstate NY currently has four open commercial casinos. New York City’s metro area has three more on the way. Those will not, however, be given approval to begin construction until 2023, based on restrictions set into place in 2013. “Is it going to happen in 2023 or 2020? Why not start three years earlier?” said the former governor. “This is really a tremendous opportunity to create jobs in New York.”

As reported by the NY Post, Sands maintains that a metro-NY area casino program would add $1.5 billion in revenue for NY’s public transportation system and public education via an estimated license fee of $500 million per casino. The Las Vegas casino company also says the industry would bring 15,000 permanent union jobs, plus 15,000 union construction jobs, without government subsidies.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who succeeded Paterson as governor, has so far rejected talk of allowing early bidding on the casino licenses. “I am very skeptical about some casino deal put together by casino operators promising billions of dollars and everybody’s happy,” said Cuomo last year.

As brick and mortar retailers across the nation struggle to stay afloat financially, it has been reported that Barneys New York, the luxury men’s clothing chain is preparing to file bankruptcy proceedings at some point this month.

People close to the Barney’s business imbroglio told CNBC that the retailers are in the midst of a liquidity crunch that was precipitated by a significant increase in rent at its flagship store in Manhattan. The sources added that Barney’s has retained the legal services of Kirkland & Ellis and financial advisers to help with the impending preparations. The advisers are looking into the exploration of such options that would include a Chapter 11 bankruptcy as well as options that could possibly help in avoiding a bankruptcy filing. The latter option might include a sale of the company or devising a plan to secure further financing to keep the chain solvent.

At this juncture, the sources told CNBC that filing bankruptcy is far from certain and is only being explored to find a way to keep Barney’s alive.

A spokesperson for Barneys told CNBC, “At Barneys New York, our customers remain our top priority and we are committed to providing them the excellent services, products, and experiences they have come to expect.” The spokesperson added that, “our Board and management are actively evaluating opportunities to strengthen our balance sheet and ensure the sustainable, long-term growth and success of our business.”

Barney’s however, is not the only retailer to feel the crunch from online competition. According to the CNBC report, such clothing line competitors as Nordstrom are trading nearly $20 a share lower than a $50 a share buyout offer it rejected two years ago as too low. Saks-owner Hudson’s Bay Company is considering going private after its shares fell nearly 50% in the year through June. Shares of Macy’s are down 40% through the past year.”

Barneys has more than 10 namesake stores in New York, California, Chicago, Massachusetts, Las Vegas, Seattle and Pennsylvania, according to the CNBC report.

The Barney’s flagship store on Madison Avenue in Manhattan is currently owned by Ben Ashkenazy of the eponymously named Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp.

Ashkenazy Acquisition is a New York City-based firm that invests in retail and office real estate and asserts that it has a portfolio of over 100 buildings. Ben Ashkenazy is the chief executive, chairman, and founder of the company. In addition to having 660 Madison in its portfolio it also has other retail condominiums in shopping districts throughout Manhattan. Ben’s father, Izzy Ashkenazy, is a businessman also involved in real estate.

CNBC reported that Barney’s rent skyrocketed from approximately $16 million to around $30 million this past January. CNBC has previously reported that such a significant rent hike would essentially eradicate Barney’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization.

In January of 2018, the Jewish Voice reported that veteran Manhattan realtors have speculated that if Barney’s should decide to decamp from their flagship location in Manhattan, then it could translate into a major blow for the Ashkenazy company.

For the last few years reports have emerged indicating that retail rents in Manhattan have seen a significant decrease in price as many retailers have opted to relocate elsewhere and landlords have taken a hit. As the Manhattan market continues to adapt to current retail challenges, it was reported that in the third quarter of 2017, rents declined in 12 of the 16 main retail corridors tracked by CBRE, with the overall average asking rent falling 13.4% year-over-year. In tandem, the number of direct available ground floor spaces declined for the second consecutive quarter, dropping 2.5%, from 202 to 197 spaces. Despite the decline, availability remains high relative to 12 months ago.

In June of 2001, it was reported that Ben Ashkenazy paid $135 million to buy the Barneys New York store on Madison Avenue. It was also reported that his company purchased the freestanding Chicago and Beverly Hills stores for an additional $55 million from the Japan-based Isetan Corp. At the time, the New York Post reported that Ashkenazy obtained $135 million in financing from CDC Mortgage Corp. while the rest was provided in equity from “family and friends.”

In August of 2014, it was reported that Ashkenazy Acquisitions was in contract to buy the original Barney’s building at the corner of Seventh Avenue at West 17th Street. Ashkenazy paid the Rubin Museum of Art $60 million for the 45,000-square-foot space. The museum, which bought the building at 115 Seventh Ave., along with the adjoining 138-154 W. 17th St., for $20 million from Barney’s founders, decided that selling the property was in its best interest, according to a NYP report in 2014.

As many retailers and major department stores are fighting for their financial lives, CNBC noted that many retail landlord’s in midtown Manhattan “made investments in their property when retail was stronger, either by buying at high prices or taking out large loans predicated on high valuations. The rent they charge is a reflection of those valuations. As retail has struggled and sales have slumped, the disconnect has hurt both tenant and landlord.”

In January of this year, the iconic Lord & Taylor department store closed its Fifth Avenue location and designer Ralph Lauren was compelled to shutter his Fifth Avenue store in 2017.

CNBC has reported that since 2012, Barney’s has received financial backing from Perry Capital, the fund operated by Richard Perry. Four years later, Perry has closed his fund, saying that market and industry headwinds were the cause. Since its closure, Perry Capital has continued to own Barneys but has not invested any more money into it.

CNBC noted that Barney’s does about $850 million in sales. The retailer extended the term of its credit line by $50 million in April, in hopes of a lifeline. Still, the credit agreement with existing lender Wells Fargo and new lender, TPG Sixth Street Partners, has not been enough to siphon the losses.

Barney’s is almost a century old, having been founded in 1923 by Barney Pressman. Its original location was at Seventh Avenue and 17th Street in Manhattan and it operated as a men’s discount clothing store. The store made a transition to the luxury market in the 1960’s with the help of Barney’s son Fred. Soon thereafter, Barney’s acquired a stellar reputation as a luxury men’s fashion house and featured such internationally renowned designers as Giorgio Armani.