Chuck Schumer grovels to Jet Blue to remain in Queens

 

 

Queens Eagle

One of the nation’s most powerful lawmakers has joined the effort to keep JetBlue in Queens.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer paid a personal phone call to JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes following reports that “New York’s Hometown Airline” was thinking of taking off to Florida.

Schumer said he reminded Hayes of the airline’s roots in Queens, where JetBlue has remained since its founding 1998. He also said he and fellow New York leaders worked hard to secure  $14 billion for the airline industry in the $1.9 trillion stimulus package passed this month.

“With the critical pandemic relief dollars we just delivered on to help save airlines like JetBlue, and the thousands and thousands of New Yorkers they already employ, the airline should actually clear the runway to grow here, not recede,” Schumer said. “Bottom line, I am confident JetBlue will remain New York’s hometown airline for a long time to come.”

The airline has 1,300 employees who report to the Long Island City space and thousands more reporting to Queens’ two international airports 

Their current lease at 27-01 Queens Plaza North expires in 2023.

JetBlue, the seventh largest carrier in North America, started in Kew Gardens before moving to Long Island City in 2010. The company received a slew of incentives from New York City and state at the time, fueling speculation that the leaked memo was the start of a new attempt to extract concessions from a city eager to keep the company in Queens.

The airline has also contended with huge losses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the second quarter of 2020, for example, the company reported a nearly 90 percent loss of revenue as air travel ground to a near halt. Revenue decreased by 76 percent in the third quarter of 2020 and 67 percent in the fourth quarter. 

In a statement to the Eagle, JetBlue did not rule out fleeing Queens when their lease expires. The company said they “expect to have a plan in place later this year.”

Odometer ripoffs tied to Queens man and Israeli brother

From Consumer Affairs:

A Queens, New York, man and his Israeli brother were charged in indictments unsealed today with offenses related to a long-running odometer tampering and money laundering scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York announced.

Chaim Gali and John Triculy, 40, of Queens Village, New York, and Shmuel Gali, 42, of Israel, are charged in a 15-count indictment in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (EDPA) with conspiracy, securities fraud and false odometer statements. The Galis are also charged in a related two-count indictment in the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) with mail and wire fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy.

“Mileage is one of the most important factors in a consumer’s decision to purchase a used car,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Joyce R. Branda for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Misrepresenting the mileage on a used car fraudulently induces a consumer to pay more money for less value, and it hides necessary information that will affect how a consumer maintains and repairs that vehicle.”

The indictments allege that the Galis devised a scheme to defraud buyers of used cars by misrepresenting the mileage of approximately 690 vehicles they sold beginning as early as 2006 and through at least 2011.

The indictments charge that the Galis used fictitious dealer names to purchase high-mileage, used motor vehicles from a national vehicle leasing company. The defendants are charged with conspiring to alter the odometers in these vehicles, which they purchased in Florida, Maryland, Missouri and elsewhere, to reflect false lower mileages.

The indictments allege that the Galis then fraudulently altered the motor vehicle titles to reflect the false lower mileages and as a result, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania issued motor vehicle titles reflecting the altered mileages.

The defendants subsequently sold the vehicles at wholesale automobile auctions in Pennsylvania and New Jersey using various dealerships, including Chase Auto Center and Conestoga City Autos.

At the auctions, the Galis provided the buyers with Pennsylvania titles bearing the false lower mileages. The EDPA indictment alleges that in some instances, the title indicated mileage more than 100,000 miles less than the true mileage of the vehicle.

“The defendants created an elaborate odometer tampering and money laundering scheme to con would-be buyers into purchasing used cars at inflated prices,” said U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch for the EDNY. “They then used the proceeds of their crimes to continue their fraud against additional unsuspecting consumers."

Private eye catches rent scammer

From the NY Observer:

Like something out of a spy movie, residential building owners are now using private investigators and hidden surveillance to track down absentee tenants in rent stabilized buildings.

In a recent case, law firm Rosenberg & Estis represented Blair Hall Inc., the owner of a 200-unit rent stabilized building in Queens. Using surveillance techniques, the firm was able to ascertain that tenant Janina Vilcek’s primary residence was in the state of Florida.

In a decision dated February 13, Judge Gilbert Badillo of the Housing Part of the Civil Court of the City of New York in Queens, awarded possession of the apartment to Blair Hall, Inc.

Via video surveillance using hidden cameras in Exit signs and smoke detectors, it was learned that Ms. Vilcek, who was also under investigation by the Secret Service on suspicion of partaking in multiple marriages to convey citizenship, was subletting her apartment to another building tenant while living in Florida.

Ms. Vilcek’s defense was hardly convincing, according to Judge Badillo.“To this Court’s observation, whenever [Ms. Vilcek] was confronted with the contradictions, she would no longer remember or understand the question or information,” he wrote in his decision.

The law firm also subpoenaed Ms. Vilcek’s phone records to ascertain her location and used internet databases to learn the Polish-born woman was registered to vote in Florida and had cars registered in multiple states.

Illegals saying "adios?"

From the NY Times:

New York has far fewer illegal immigrants than California, Texas and Florida, and their ranks have been declining, according to a new analysis by the Center for Migration Studies’ International Migration Review.

The analysis by the academic journal estimated that New York was home to 750,000 of the nation’s 11.7 million unauthorized immigrants in 2010, compared with 2.9 million in California, 1.6 million in Texas and 1 million in Florida.

The influx of unauthorized immigrants peaked in 2000, the analysis said, and by 2009 New York was one of 29 states that recorded a net loss – 35,000 – in that population.

Meanwhile, Florida and several other southern states reported gains in their illegal immigrant population that year.

Generally, the decline reflected the impact of the recession on jobs.

NYers welcomed in sunny Florida

From the NY Post:

The city’s hedge-fund executives are flying south — and it’s not for vacation.

An increasing number of financial firms, especially private equity and hedge funds, are fed up with New York’s sky-high city and state tax rates and are relocating to the business-friendly climate in Florida’s Palm Beach County.

And they’re being welcomed with open arms — officials in Palm Beach recently opened an entire office dedicated to luring finance hot shots down south.

There are other perks, too — like the fact that it was 77 degrees and sunny there yesterday.

Federal tax rates are the same in Florida and New York.

But there’s no state income tax in the Sunshine State. Compare that to New York, where the state and local governments took $14.71 of every $100 earned in 2010, according to state records.

The only state with a higher rate is Alaska.

A nice place to represent, but they wouldn't want to live here

From the Daily News:

Deputy Mayor Robert Steel insists he lives in the city - but his wife, his Porsche, his Mercedes-Benz, his Lexus and his four yappy dogs all live in Connecticut.

"Where would you rather live if you were a dog?" Steel asked when the Daily News confronted him in the driveway of his extravagant Greenwich mansion. "I'd rather live here."

City law requires all top city officials to live in the city.

Although most major unions have negotiated the right for members to live in the suburbs, Mayor Bloomberg issued an executive order insisting that top officials - except those granted a waiver - reside in the city.

Just 32 employees have been granted that waiver. Steel never requested one.

That means he had 90 days to move to New York after becoming deputy mayor for economic development in August 2010.

Also from the Daily News:

The city official charged with fixing the problem-plagued $2 billion upgrade of our 911 emergency response system has been doing much of his work from home - in sunny Florida.

Glen (Skip) Funk, the man Mayor Bloomberg appointed in August 2010 to a $200,000-a-year post as director of the Office of Citywide Emergency Communications, still lists an address in St. Augustine, Fla., as his legal residence.

Property records show Funk and his wife are receiving a $50,000 "homesteading" tax exemption Florida grants to residents who claim a property as their primary home.

In addition, Florida voter records show Funk and his wife both cast ballots in that state's election last November - more than two months after he started his new job for New York City.

Bloomberg's take?

"He lives in the city. What is your evidence? What are the allegations? Why do you try to assassinate somebody?" Bloomberg demanded.

Lackluster participation in census affects Congressional representation

From NBC 4:

Five states — New York, California, Texas, Arizona and Florida — are perilously close to losing out on congressional seats because of lackluster participation in the U.S. census.

The five were average or below average in mailing back 10-question census forms when compared to other states, trailing by as many as 5 percentage points, according to the final census mail-in tally released Wednesday.

Based on recent population trends, New York, California and Texas had been estimated to fall just above the cutoff for the last House seats when they are redistributed next year. Waiting behind them in hopes of picking up additional seats are Arizona and Florida, which are already expected to gain one seat apiece.

Responses from these states also raise a red flag because of their higher shares of residents who are Latinos. The Census Bureau has said one of its main concerns is whether tensions over immigration will discourage Latinos, and particularly illegal immigrants, from participating in the government count. That issue returned to the forefront after Arizona passed a tough immigration enforcement bill.

Latino residents represent a predominant share of the population growth in New York, California, Texas, Arizona and Florida, making up more than 50 percent of total growth since 2000. As a result, those states could face big losses if there isn't full cooperation when the Census Bureau on Saturday begins knocking on the doors of those who did not respond by mail.

Of the five states on the cusp, the biggest potential losers are California and New York, which could have a net loss of one and two House seats, respectively. Texas may end up gaining just three House seats instead of four.

JetBlue staying in Queens

From the NY Times:

JetBlue Airways, which has grown from a low-priced start-up to the seventh-biggest airline in America while calling itself “New York’s hometown airline,” said on Monday that it would keep its headquarters in the city.

The airline, which started flying 10 years ago, had been weighing a package of financial incentives to relocate to Orlando, Fla., in a move that would have cost the city more than 800 jobs and its only locally based commercial airline. But JetBlue executives told Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Gov. David A. Paterson on Monday morning that they would move to new quarters in Long Island City, Queens, according to a person who had been briefed on the decision.

JetBlue mulling over its options

Sources tell NY1 that the airline JetBlue is still considering keeping its headquarters in sites in Queens, including Long Island City and Jamaica.

Then again, it still may go to Orlando.

LIC artist's murderer caught, charged

From the Times Ledger:

The boyfriend of the late Long Island City artist Susan Woolf allegedly used two different knives to murder her and then fled to Florida where he was arrested last week, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.

Tambiev Tigran, 43, lived with Woolf, 49, in the apartment at 43-35 10th St., Brown said. He was charged with second-degree murder, aggravated criminal contempt and weapon possession, the DA said. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

“This brutal and senseless stabbing resulted in the death of a talented sculptor,” Brown said in a statement. “This case will be vigorously prosecuted to ensure that justice is served for the victim and her family.”

A limited order of protection had been issued against Tigran last September prohibiting him from assaulting or harassing Woolf, Brown said. But on Dec. 11, Tambiev allegedly attacked her, using two knives to stab her 18 times in the back and chest and knocking her two front teeth out, Brown said. She was found the next day with packing tape around her neck by a friend who was concerned about her, authorities said.

Police sought Tigran for questioning after the murder but were unable to immediately locate him. He turned up at an apartment in Miami, the DA said. He was arraigned Friday and remanded without bail after being extradited from Florida, authorities said. His next court date is Feb. 2.

Florida today, New York tomorrow?

From Time:

There are many things public officials probably shouldn't do during a severe recession, but no one seems to have told the leaders in Florida about them. One thing, for instance, would be giving a dozen top aides hefty raises while urging a rise in property taxes, as the mayor of Miami-Dade County recently did. Or jacking up already exorbitant hurricane-insurance premiums, as Florida's government-run property insurer just did. Or sending an army of highly paid lobbyists to push for a steep hike in electricity rates, as South Florida's public utility is doing.

And you wonder why the Sunshine State is experiencing its first net emigration of people since World War II.

In a state that worshipped condo-flippers as great entrepreneurs, it was all a house of cards waiting to be blown down when the housing bubble burst. Now that it has happened, those Floridians who haven't left the state had hoped their officials might change the way they do things - or at least not attend a Kentucky Derby party hosted by the same FPL honchos lobbying them for a rate hike, as a Florida Public Service Commission director has admitted to doing a few months ago. But if Miami and Florida officials can't get their acts together, they can probably expect even lower head counts in the years to come.

God, this sounds eerily familiar...