A New York Doctor who conducted so-called “twisted” experiments on members of the NXIVM sex cult borrowed $60,000 from close friends and family members in order to stay afloat and recently filed for bankruptcy, according to the New York Post.

The Doctor, Brandon Porter, conducted “fright studies,” according to The Post, and declared that he has $170,469 in debt or liabilities as part of his bankruptcy filings.

The Post reported that Dr. Porter is currently living in a home near Albany that is almost 3,000 square feet, which they say that they discovered through a court filing.

The residence is allegedly owned by a corporation named Percenceo Inc. — which was allegedly founded by Sara Bronfman — the sibling of Clair Bronfman, who is also a Seagram’s heiress.

Clare entered a guilty plea last week on charges of conspiracy and some other criminal allegations in a Brooklyn courtroom.

The sisters invested heavily into the NXIVM sex cult, according to federal prosecutors. The sex cult was founded by a man named Keith Raniere — who was arrested and charged with Conspiracy, Identity theft, Sex trafficking, Sexual exploitation of a minor, and being in possession of child pornography.

“As alleged in the superseding indictment, for over a decade, Keith Raniere was the leader of a racketeering conspiracy in which he and members of his inner circle committed a broad range of serious crimes from identity theft and obstruction of justice to sex trafficking, all to promote and protect Raniere and Nxivm,” Richard P. Donoghue, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement. “This Office and the FBI will continue to investigate and prosecute those who prey on others to such destructive effect.”

“As alleged, this long-running conspiracy crossed multiple avenues of criminal activity, which included, among other things, electronic monitoring; identity theft; extortion; victim smuggling; and illegal trafficking of a victim after a period of unlawful confinement,” said William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the FBI’s New York field office. “The details of these alleged crimes become more and more grim as we continue to dig deeper into the conduct of this organization and its intended mission.”

“Today’s superseding indictment highlights our commitment to bringing justice to Nxivm’s many victims,” Mr. Sweeney added.

Notorious actress Allison Mack also entered a guilty plea this month with her role in the criminal cult.

Mr. Porter departed his job in 2017 after being charged and sold his home last year for $352,000.

Some major dollars are being put in place to keep New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio from getting rid of admissions tests for leading high schools.

Among the billionaires writing checks is said to be cosmetics king Ron Lauder, who graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 1961. He reportedly said this week that he would spend a million dollars or more to stop de Blasio’s plan, much of it on television commercials.

“The campaign will target Albany lawmakers, whom the mayor needs to amend a 1971 state law that created the Specialized High School Admission Test — and may even include attack ads against de Blasio,” a source is said to have told the New York Post.

Lauder reportedly circulated an email in which he explained that he was “joining a new effort called the Education Equity Campaign to achieve the goal of creating new Specialized High Schools” and “will be helping this campaign however I can.”

Lauder continued, “It’s my firm belief that we should be doubling the capacity of our specialized high schools by adding two new schools in each borough, guaranteeing free SHSAT prep for every New York City middle school student and ensuring that students in every school have access to a local Gifted and Talented program from an early age. “With these reforms, we could once again make our city’s education system second to none.”

It was nearly a year ago that de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza announced a new plan to make admissions to New York City’s eight testing Specialized High Schools fairer and improve diversity. Only 10 percent of specialized high school students are Black or Latino, despite making up 70 percent of the City’s overall student population, they said.

The two-part plan includes expanding the Discovery program to help more disadvantage students receive an offer. “The Discovery program is designed to increase enrollment of low-income students at Specialized High Schools,” the mayor’s office noted. “We will immediately expand the program to 20 percent of seats at each SHS and adjust the eligibility criteria to target students attending high-poverty schools. This would be a two-year expansion, beginning with admissions for September 2019. Based on modeling of current offer patterns, an estimated 16 percent of offers would go to black and Latino students, compared to 9 percent currently.”

“There are talented students all across the five boroughs, but for far too long our specialized high schools have failed to reflect the diversity of our city,” said de Blasio. “We cannot let this injustice continue. By giving a wider, more diverse pool of our best students an equal shot at admissions, we will make these schools stronger and our City fairer.”

The disturbing series of antisemitic acts continues, as police in Queens report that someone made off with $30,000 worth of doors and air vents from mausoleums at a famous Jewish cemetery.

The stolen doors to seven mausoleums – as well as 75 air vents – were discovered missing on Sunday from the Beth Olam Jewish Cemetery, which is located on the border between Queens and Brooklyn, reported the New York Post.

The theft reportedly took place between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning, a police spokesman reported.

In February, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio spoke at a local rally against antisemitism and pointed out that “This is not a small thing. People right here in this community in Brooklyn have seen in their own lives what happens when anti-Semitism goes unchecked, when people stay silent, when the authorities don’t do anything, in countries that families here came from, they watched complacency, silence. They watched opportunism that led to horrifying results. This is why if anyone tries to dismiss anti-Semitism, if anyone tries to suggest that it’s not such a big problem, they need to look at history, not just a little bit of history, two millennia of history, of bias and discrimination against the Jewish people in countries all over the world – and unfortunately we’re still grappling with it here. They’re still grappling with it and Europe. It never went away and we have to be blunt about it. It never went away and we’re dealing with it to this day and it’s very dangerous.”

Jonathan Greenblatt, who formerly directed the Obama administration’s Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation, recently told the Los Angeles Times that Jews today are “living in a charged political environment. Things are polarized in ways we haven’t seen in recent memory. People are on edge in part because they are following their leaders. When leaders at the highest levels use incredibly intemperate language and repeat the rhetoric of extremists, we shouldn’t be surprised when young people — let alone others — imitate what they see. Extremists feel emboldened by this. We know because we’re tracking extremists. We’re reading what they write on social media and what they’re saying in chat rooms.”

Nor are such antisemitic acts limited to America. “The week began with Alain Finkielkraut taking his mother-in-law to Sunday lunch in Paris. As he returned to his apartment on the Left Bank, he crossed through a crowd of “yellow vest” protesters. They recognized the well-televised philosopher,” Atlantic reported. “Despite the fact that he has professed sympathy for their grievances in his punditry, his presence enraged them. A viral video captured young men bedecked in the canary-colored uniform of the movement spewing insults at the slovenly 69-year-old: “Dirty Jew!” “Tel Aviv! Back to Tel Aviv!” “France is ours!”

New York City wants to save energy on big buildings – coincidentally, buildings like Trump Tower.

The Democrat-controlled New York City Council was set to vote on the Climate Mobilization Act, a groundbreaking package of bills that is one of the most ambitious and innovative legislative initiatives any major city has ever considered to combat the existential threat of climate change.

The centerpiece of the package is a bill that will require large and medium-sized buildings, which account for nearly a third of all greenhouse gas emissions in the city, to reduce their emissions 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. The very worst performing buildings will have to act by 2024 to curb their emissions.

1253-C, sponsored by Council Member Costa Constantinides, would mandate that buildings do not emit greenhouse gases at levels higher than the limits set in the legislation. The limits are set based on the occupancy group of the building and are calculated to require emissions reductions from the highest emitting 20% of buildings in each occupancy group for the first compliance date beginning in 2024, and the highest emitting 75% of buildings in each occupancy group for the second compliance date beginning in 2030.

The bill would also create the Office of Energy and Emissions Performance within the Department of Buildings (DOB) to oversee the implementation of this legislation, and future bills and policy around building emissions.

Based upon city audits of energy use, Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan used more energy per square foot than 93% of large residential buildings, according to ALIGN, a coalition of labor and community groups that supports the legislation. ALIGN examined data on 50,000 buildings, all more than 25,000 square feet, the same universe as is covered by the legislation, according to Executive Director Maritza Silva-Farrell.

“With so many people and cars in NYC, it can be hard to believe that our buildings are the number one contributor of harmful emissions. Bill 1251 is part of a package of bills that will create an energy efficiency grading system for buildings throughout the city. Hopefully this will encourage building owners to make the necessary upgrades to reduce the amount of negative impacts that these large buildings are having on our environment. Thank you to Council Member Constantinides, Chair of the Council’s Committee on Environmental Protection for his determination, and thank you to Speaker Johnson for his leadership,” said Council Member Andrew Cohen.

“The Climate Mobilization Act is a down payment on the future of New York City — one that ensures we lead the way in the ever-growing fight against climate change. Today, we sent that message to the world by enacting the boldest mandate to reduce carbon emissions, tackling one of the biggest drivers of climate change. Our legislation represents over two years of engagement with the various communities, industries and everyday New Yorkers impacted by climate change. This historic day would not be possible without the leadership of Speaker Corey Johnson or the support of my colleagues in the New York City Council,” said Constantinides.

The fur is flying – figuratively – in New York, as lawmakers say they want to ban fur.

Politicians are backing a bill to outlaw the sale of all new fur products in the city. Fur industry representatives warn that such a law might put 1,100 people out of a job in the Big Apple.

“Cruelty should not be confused with economic development,” said state Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, a Democrat from Manhattan, who is sponsoring the state legislation, in a statement. “Fur relies on violence to innocent animals. That should be no one’s business.”

If passed, Crain’s New York Business points out, New York would become the third major American city with such a ban, “following San Francisco, where a ban takes effect this year, and Los Angeles, where a ban passed this year will take effect in 2021.”

At the height of the fur business in the last century, New York City manufactured 80% of the fur coats made in the U.S, according to FUR NYC, a group representing 130 retailers and manufacturers in the city.

“Everyone is watching this,” Nancy Daigneault, vice president at the International Fur Federation, an industry group based in London, told Crain’s. “If it starts here with fur, it’s going to go to wool, to leather, to meat.”

Rosenthal, a Manhattan Democrat, appears to be trying to establish her brand. In March, she and State Senator Michael Gianaris announced the introduction of legislation to prohibit the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits in pet stores across New York State. The legislation would instead allow pet stores to make space available to shelters and rescues to display (feature) animals that are available for adoption.

“We must end the pet mill-to pet store pipeline,” said Rosenthal. “There is absolutely no reason that anyone should spend thousands of dollars on an often-unhealthy pet that was bred in abject horror when shelters and rescues statewide are bursting at the seams with healthy and innocent animals in need of “fur-ever” homes. Ending the demand for pet store animals will help to end the pet mill industry that supplies the stores.”

For years, “the USDA was not doing its job, but now under Trump, whose family has a well-documented legacy of violence toward animals, the agency has seemingly abandoned altogether the animals it is required by federal law to protect. As with all else, it is vital that states like New York step up to take action to protect animals and unsuspecting consumers,” said Rosenthal.

“With so many good animals in need of homes, there is no need for puppy mills to supply pet stores,” added Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris. “Our four-legged companions should be treated with respect, not like commodities.”

New York is well represented on Time magazine’s annual 100 Most Influential People list, with names like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Spike Lee, Gayle King, Lynn Nottage, Jennifer Hyman, Lady Gaga, Naomi Osaka and Glenn Close making the cut.

Heading the list of influential New Yorkers is, no surprise, President Donald Trump. Of him, Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, wrote: “Every modern U.S. President tries to influence the world. President Donald Trump has done this through opposing the NATO countries not paying their fair share, pushing China and our North American neighbors for fairer trade agreements and withdrawing from the Iran nuclear agreement. His boldest move in this direction is likely his personal efforts on the issue of North Korea. President Trump has, in fact, used the past year to place his imprint on a problem spanning more than six decades.

“Despite denuclearization agreements in 1992, 2005 and 2008, North Korea has become a nuclear power. President Trump decided to ramp up sanctions early in his tenure (which other Presidents have done) but decided to take a very different tack thereafter.

“In June 2018 President Trump broke with decades of U.S. policy and held a summit with North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un in Singapore. The President believes that only personal diplomacy can solve this crisis. The President’s supreme confidence in his own ability to persuade others to make a deal is now the basis for American denuclearization policy toward North Korea.

“President Trump deserves great credit for daring to try to personally persuade Chairman Kim to join the family of nations. This approach holds the possibility for history–making changes on the Korean Peninsula to make us all safer.”

Of Ocasio-Cortez, Sen. Elizabeth Warren noted, “The year 2008 was a reckoning. While millions of Americans lost their livelihoods to Wall Street’s greed, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez lost her dad to lung cancer, and her family fell off a financial cliff. She watched as our government bailed out Wall Street while it ignored families like hers. She learned the hard way that in America today, Washington protects the powerful while leaving hardworking people behind.

“Her commitment to putting power in the hands of the people is forged in fire. Coming from a family in crisis and graduating from school with a mountain of debt, she fought back against a rigged system and emerged as a fearless leader in a movement committed to demonstrating what an economy, a planet and a government that works for everyone should look like.

“A year ago, she was taking orders across a bar. Today, millions are taking cues from her. She reminds all of us that even while greed and corruption slow our progress, even while armies of lobbyists swarm Washington, in our democracy, true power still rests with the people. And she’s just getting started.”

Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey wants to make it more expensive for law-abiding citizens to have guns.

Folded into his $38.6 billion budget proposal that was unveiled last week, Murphy wants to raise gun fees, in some instances by a factor of 20 or more. He also wants to see special taxes added that will make it more expensive to buy and use a gun in his state.

“Murphy framed the proposal, which would bring in an estimated $9 million, as part of his larger effort to tighten the state’s already strict gun laws. He noted that gun fees haven’t been raised since 1966 and the $2 it currently costs to get a handgun permit is lower than the price of dog licenses in many towns,” reports northjersey.com.

The new law also outlaws 3D-printable guns, and gives New Jersey the distinction of having the nation’s toughest ban on the untraceable firearms, the governor said.

Murphy, a Democrat, has proposed fees that would be among the highest in the country. An identification card would cost $100, an owner’s permit would be $50 and a carry permit $400.

“There’s no war on responsible gun owners,” Mr. Murphy said in an interview with the New York Times. “We can support the efforts of the attorney general, state troopers, county and local law enforcement, to do the stuff we need to do: track crime, track gun violence, combat trafficking of illegal guns. I was in Jersey City. It’s at least $10 to get a dog license in Jersey City. It’s still $2 to get a permit to purchase a firearm in New Jersey.”

Only weeks ago, the NRA-ILA blasted Murphy, noting that he “might not be able to handle a snowstorm, but he sure knows how to attack law-abiding gun owners. This week, the New Jersey Governor delivered his budget address to a joint session of the Legislature, and his scheme to further attack the Second Amendment was unfurled in the form of increased “fees” for gun permits. It has been reported that Gov. Murphy’s budget proposes raising the FID card application from $5 to $100 and handgun purchase permits from $2 to $50 per application!

“These draconian increases on purchase permits and FID cards amount to a poll tax on a fundamental constitutional right,” the group continued. “Gov. Murphy tried to do this last year, but the Legislature resisted the move. In addition to the fee increases, the Governor is pushing for increasing excise taxes on both firearms and ammunition. Again, despite his rhetoric about helping the middle class, this millionaire Governor’s actions demonstrate he has no problem pricing the poor out of their right to self-defense. He’s essentially saying that only the wealthy should have guns.”

Tens of thousands of religious Jews who decided to spend Passover at a crowded hotel with their families are worrying about the measles outbreak.

As a result, program organizers across the Greater New York City region have been working hard to know – in most cases, of course, they can’t – that their clients are not carrying the disease.

More than one told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that they were asking their guests to be vaccinated before they arrive at the hotel.

“We notified all the people that if they are not taking shots, they cannot come to our hotel,” Rabbi Motty Katz, manager of the Katz Pesach program at the Long Island Hilton in Huntington, New York, told JTA. “We’re going to be very strict on that. If you don’t take a shot, don’t go to a public place.”

“Our guests are not coming from any of the Hasidic communities, so the other communities are very much in favor of it,” Rabbi Yitzchok Neger, one of the managers of the Passover program at the Wyndham Golf Resort in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, told Vos Iz Neias. “A lot of our people are coming from places where the rabbis sent a letter to everyone that they should be vaccinated. Some of the shuls here had free clinics.”

Over one hundred thousand Jews across the planet, most of them Orthodox, will be spending Passover at a hotel, reports Raphi Bloom, who founded TotallyJewishTravel.com, a website that serves as a clearinghouse for Passover vacation bookings.

L’via Weisinger, a member of Emes, a group comprised of Orthodox nurses that encourages vaccination, told Vos Iz Neias, “You don’t have a right as a citizen to go to a Pesach hotel,” she said. “It’s private, so if they say ‘Unless you’re vaccinated, you’re not welcome,’ there’s nothing wrong with that. Here’s your money back. Whatever. With people mingling from all different communities, from all different programs, all different places, it’s like [opening] a feather pillow [and] gathering all those feathers back.”

With the lack of vaccinations in the religious community at the heart of the problem, Agudath Israel of America released a statement saying its leadership is “deeply concerned about the recent outbreak of measles and the threat it poses to communities around the country. For that reason, countless rabbinical figures and leaders, including leading rabbis in the Agudath Israel movement and doctors serving these communities, have repeatedly encouraged vaccination in the strongest possible terms. Indeed, the overwhelming majority of children enrolled in Jewish schools are vaccinated. Governmental records indicate that the measles vaccination rates in yeshivos in Williamsburg, Borough Park and across New York State are high, with yeshiva averages statewide exceeding 96%. Similarly high rates were obtained in areas around the country with large Jewish populations. While vaccination rates in certain schools and for preschoolers may be lower, vaccination is the clear societal norm in Orthodox Jewish communities.”

Rents in Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan have all reached record-setting highs, with rates increasing in the first quarter of 2019, according to Streeteasy. Rents in Manhattan rose 2.6 percent to $3,217, while Brooklyn rents increased 2.2 percent to $2,608. Rents in Queens jumped 2.5% to $2,173.

This winter was a harsh season for renters — unlike years past.

“We’re coming out of an unusually competitive winter rental season in which many renters found themselves in a weaker negotiating position than in years past,” said Grant Long, the Senior Economist at StreetEasy. “As would-be buyers opt to embrace renting while sale prices are falling, the competition that new grads and other transplants entering the city’s workforce would typically bring this time of year will be even more pronounced. This spring, landlords will have the upper hand, and renters should be prepared to move quickly to make sure they get a place they love.”

Landlords were less likely to offer discounts as rents increased, according to Streeteasy.

Rents only declined in North Brooklyn — because of the shutdown of the L train.

“Manhattan home prices have reached lows we haven’t seen since 2015, and inventory levels are at historic highs, leading many to believe that now may be the time to buy. But with a median price above $1 million, purchasing a home in Manhattan is still too expensive for many in this market,” said Nancy Wu, an economic data analyst at Streeteasy. “Many would-be buyers are opting for the flexibility of renting in some of the most expensive areas of the city — which in turn is creating an unusually competitive winter rental season.”

The amount of concession from landlords in Manhattan dropped 8.6 percent since last year. In Brooklyn, rental concessions dipped 10.6 percent since last year. Rental concessions in Queens decreased 5.2 percent in the last year.

StreetEasy economist Grant Long said that the city’s rising employment rate has contributed to increased rental rates.

“It’s putting more money into pockets of some folks and helping to push rents up,” Mr. Long said. “For people able to participate in that, it can work out.”

Mr. Long called the rental increases “not terribly dramatic.”

“But for some people who haven’t enjoyed the same type of wage increase, it exacerbates the affordability crisis,” he added.

New York’s buyers market continues to struggle, according to Jonathan Miller, a local real estate appraiser. He described the behavior of prospective buyers as “camping out” in the rental market.

By: Gail Monroe