de Blasio's boondoggle COVID hotel inmate shelter security contract deemed antiquated by elected officials

 

THE CITY

Since the start of the pandemic, 1,700 inmates released from city jails and state prisons have stayed in hotel rooms at taxpayers’ expense, including more than 200 who have been checked in for more than a year, according to new data obtained by THE CITY.

THE CITY previously reported on the dramatic expansion of the program run by Exodus Transitional Community, including at a Fresh Meadows, Queens, hotel where a former inmate alleged she was sexually assaulted by an Exodus employee. THE CITY also found that the security firm hired by Exodus operated without the required state license.

Now, Queens elected officials are demanding that Mayor Eric Adams pull the plug on Exodus, which has run the hotel-release program since 2020 and which recently scored a new $40 million deal.

U.S. Rep. Grace Meng, state Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky, Assemblymember Nily Rozic and Councilmember Linda Lee — all Democrats — wrote to Adams Monday demanding that he reevaluate the effort, which began in an attempt to curb the spread of COVID.

“It has been nearly two years now, COVID-19 rates are at the lowest they have been since last summer and these disturbing reports by THE CITY make it imperative that the contract be terminated immediately,” they wrote.

Last week, two years after the program started, there were still 800 former inmates staying in six hotels scattered across the city, and the mayor’s office could not say how much money has been spent to date on hotel rooms alone.

 peaking with THE CITY Tuesday, Rozic stated, “Our understanding is the housing situation was always intended to be temporary and always contingent on there being a pandemic. Because there’s no metric, they’ve been able to extend and extend no matter how many times we ask them to provide us with an end date.”

Rozic noted that “this state of emergency narrative is what the city hid behind for the hotel to be used,” and added: “We’re ending all sorts of other [pandemic-related] protocols and for one reason or another this one hasn’t ended.”

And though city officials said the hotel program would end once the state of emergency was over, Adams aims to keep it going, even as it’s no longer designated as pandemic related.

The Queens officials pointed to an August 2020 letter to them from Elizabeth Glazer, then-director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, who wrote, speaking of the Wyndham hotel in Fresh Meadows: “There are no future plans for use of this hotel beyond the COVID-19 response.”

THE CITY found that the initial COVID contract with the non-profit Exodus Transitional Community to run the program expired in December, but Mayor Eric Adams awarded a second contract in January as a way of “keeping 800 people from flooding the homeless system,” according to mayoral spokesperson Jonah Allon.

That decision contrasts with an effort that began nine months ago in the de Blasio administration to begin moving homeless shelter residents out of hotels where they’d been placed during the pandemic back into shelters as part of the effort to re-open the city.

This falls right in line with Adams keeping mask mandates for toddlers and allowing employers to extort their employees into getting vaccinated. But they are saying nothing about those systems that also abuse pandemic protocols.

Queens elected officials endorse basement dwellings because they lived in them

 

LIC Post 

A group of Queens officials who have lived in basement apartments themselves said Wednesday that calls to remove such units are not realistic.

Critics who want the city to crack down on illegal basement apartments and end their use say the units are unsafe and lead to overcrowding. They point to the 11 New Yorkers who died last week when flooding from Hurricane Ida turned their subterranean homes into death traps.

However, advocates of basement units and elected officials such as Queens Borough President Donovan Richards say the city should find a way to legalize the units, while increasing safety standards. They note the city has little choice but to adopt this approach.

Richards, who held a media roundtable with Congress Members Grace Meng and Hakeem Jeffries Wednesday, said people will continue to live in basement-level apartments as long as there’s a housing affordability crisis in the city.

“One of the reasons people in Queens County live in basements is because we’re in an affordability crisis and basements play a key role in providing affordable housing,” Richards said. “… We’re going to need some real solutions moving forward on how we bring these illegal basements into compliance with the city.”

The three elected officials said the city needs to have a serious conversation and come up with a plan to address the multitude of basement apartments across the city.

There are 312,658 such units that could potentially be converted to safe, legal and affordable homes, according to NYC BASE Campaign, a group formed to fight for the legalization of basement apartments in New York City.

Richards said he has lived in basement apartments himself.

“I’m a basement baby I like to say,” he said. “A basement apartment helped get me through college as well to an extent.”

Meng said she also spent the early years of her life in a basement apartment.

“I too am a basement baby,” she said. “I spent the first six years of my life in a basement in Queens and Donovan’s right, people are going to live in basements whether we like it or not — whether we legalize them or not, they are going to live in basements.”

Likewise, Jeffries said he lived basement apartments in college, graduate school and even during his first four years as a Congress member in Washington D.C.

“Basement apartments are a reality because we have a housing crisis that exists here in New York City and the United States of America,” Jeffries said.

Meng said that she met a seven-month-old “garage baby” Tuesday while out surveying storm damage and assisting constituents in her district. The garage was converted into a small two-bedroom apartment, which was flooded in the storm.

She said the family didn’t know it was illegal for them to be housed in a garage. In fact, most tenants of basement apartments who she spoke to didn’t know their homes were illegal, Meng said.

Grace's tangled real estate web

From Crains:

A rising power in city politics for years reported owning a piece of her parents' home, but now says she was wrong about that.

That's just one of the oddities Crain's found upon examining personal-finance, campaign and property records of Rep. Grace Meng, who is perhaps positioning herself to become head of the Queens Democratic organization.

Reports have suggested that Meng could take over the vaunted party machine from Rep. Joseph Crowley, who lost the Democratic primary for his seat in June to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

The nexus of the Meng clan's holdings is the house where the congresswoman's parents apparently reside, at 211-18 34th Avenue. From the first time she ran for her Flushing-based seat in 2012, Meng listed this property—then valued at $500,000 to $1 million—among her assets in personal financial disclosures to the House clerk's office. But on August 14 of this year, Meng filed multiple amendments with the overseer requesting to remove the Bayside home from her official list of possessions, despite having claimed it for the five previous years.

Meng's spokesman said the congresswoman recently confirmed by consulting with her accountant that she never had any ownership stake in the home.

City property records show no change in deedholder for 211-18 34th Avenue since 2002. But they do show an elaborate and idiosyncratic ownership structure, and a network of real estate limited-liability companies involving the congresswoman, her mother Shiao Mei Meng and her father Jimmy Meng.

Jimmy Meng made his fortune as a lumberyard owner and became prominent in his community as president of the Flushing Chinese Business Association. New York politicos remember him as an ex-state assemblyman who resigned amid a voter fraud scandal in 2006 and pleaded guilty in 2012 to soliciting bribes. His daughter served as his campaign manager and later succeeded him in the state Legislature before winning election to Washington with Crowley's support.

Sordid petition fraud story comes to its conclusion

I like how Grace Meng is involved in this! Amazingly sloppy.

Glendale trainyard repairs moved

From the Times Ledger:

Congresswoman Grace Meng (D-Flushing) and other Queens officials announced last week that the New York and Atlantic Railway will reduce noise in Glendale by moving its train repair facility to East New York, providing needed relief to residents in the area.

The freight line will relocate its “Track 11” repair track – which runs alongside Otto Road from 67th Place to 69th Place – to a non-residential area in East New York. The track is located in the railway’s Fresh Pond Rail Yard and is currently used to fix rail cars. Repairs usually consist of hammering, drilling, welding, and includes everything from changing wheels and brake shoes, fixing mechanical problems, and repainting identifying letters and numbers.

NYA plans to complete its repair track move by the end of June. The new location will be in an area that abuts the L train in the NYA’s East New York Tunnel and the existing NYA rail yard.

The train company, which is based in Glendale, operates on Long Island Rail Road tracks and carries lumber, paper, plastics and food, among other types of freight.

Meng said the relocation is good news for Glendale residents, who have been plagued by noise caused by rail car repairs.

Vallone stands alone in support of new school

From QNS:

A meeting with Councilman Paul Vallone and education officials on Monday couldn’t quell the concerns of Bayside residents still adamantly opposed to a school proposed for the former Bayside Jewish Center.

Vallone was only a few minutes into his introductory remarks when the audience interruptions began. The councilman pointed out that, as the Bayside Jewish Center and the School Construction Authority (SCA) had already entered into a contract, he thought it unlikely that plans for the school would be squashed at this point.

“I’m more of a realist than someone who’s going to stand on the corner and say it’s not going to happen,” Vallone said over the grumbling of audience members.

The councilman added that the situation was delicate and would likely draw criticism from residents no matter which site was chosen, and that he believed the SCA site selection process in general should be changed to increase transparency. Vallone also noted that his constituents in Community Board 11 have often commented about a dire need for school seats in the area.

In a joint letter sent to SCA President and Chief Executive Officer Lorraine Grillo on Tuesday, Congresswoman Grace Meng and Assemblyman Edward Braunstein asked that the SCA rescind its contract with the Bayside Jewish Center due to the lack of support from the Bayside community.

“The process that the School Construction Authority (SCA) uses to purchase property for siting new schools is flawed, and does not offer the residents, the community board, or elected officials any opportunity for input until after the contract negotiations have begun,” read the statement.

State Senator Tony Avella previously opposed the plan, holding opposition rallies outside the center in recent months.

From the Queens Tribune:

Addressing his disgruntled constituents, Vallone argued that the proposed school was a deal between two private parties and that it wasn’t in his power or anybody else’s to stop it.

“We go along with this journey as it happens,” he said, “We can’t stop it.”

Chadney Spencer, who opposed the school, said Vallone had taken a different stance when a high school was proposed in Whitestone.

“You ran around defending Whitestone to get the vote,” he said.

The SCA abandoned plans for the Whitestone site, at 150-33 6th Ave, after Vallone and other community members protested and petitioned.

The Queens Tribune reported in April 2014 that “Vallone personally delivered more than 500 signatures against the plan to [SCA CEO Lorraine] Grillo.”

Vallone said in a statement at the time “I never stopped pushing the SCA to commit to abandoning this plan.”

A Vallone staffer said the Whitestone site had not progressed as far in the sales process at the time that Vallone opposed it, and that Vallone had been acting as a private individual to protest the site, as he was not an elected official at the time. The staffer also said the Whitestone site had been a more inappropriate site than the Bayside one.

Isn't it interesting that this Vallone staffer is anonymous in this story and that he/she doesn't seem to know that Vallone assumed power on January 1, 2014 and the school was nixed April 2014?

Meng wants the EPA to take over plane noise issue

From DNA Info:

A lawmaker wants a federal environmental agency to take over efforts to fight airplane noise because the current overseer is "doing virtually nothing" to deal with it.

U.S. Rep. Grace Meng first introduced legislation in July that calls for the Environmental Protection Agency to take over work being done to mitigate noise in neighborhoods close to airports.

She's been vocal about the EPA stepping up its monitoring of noise for months, but now wants it to take over the whole process, currently handled by the Federal Aviation Administration.

"The FAA has failed the residents of Queens," she said, adding that the EPA is "better suited to handle the problem."

Her bill, the Quiet Communities Act of 2015, would bring back the EPA's Office of Noise Abatement and Control — which monitored noise issues until President Ronald Reagan defunded it in 1981, Meng said.

Airplane noise in Queens isn't new, the congresswoman pointed out.

But it's gotten worse since 2012, when the FAA implemented new flight paths.

Pan Am Hotel rejected a third time for permanent shelter

From the Queens Courier:

For the city’s Department of Homeless Services (DHS), the third time was not a charm.

City Comptroller Scott Stringer has once again rejected the agency’s proposal, which was submitted twice before, to convert the former Pan American Hotel located at 79-00 Queens Blvd. into a permanent homeless shelter.

“The Comptroller’s Office rejected for the third time a permanent contract for Samaritan Village Inc. to operate a shelter at the Pan American Hotel. We have asked the Department of Homeless Services to revise its plan to address outstanding health and safety violations,” said Eric Sumberg, spokesman for Stringer.

The emergency homeless shelter at the former Elmhurst hotel was supposed to close last December, yet even after facing large opposition from community members, an application was submitted to convert it into a permanent shelter under a five-year, $42 million contract with DHS.

This third rejection comes after Stringer already sent the proposal back to DHS in July and May citing that changes, such as clearing all outstanding violations and complaints, needed to be made before he considered accepting.

Congresswoman Grace Meng applauded Stringer’s decision and voiced her opinion on the proposed shelter.

We're number 1!

From the Queens Chronicle:

A new report by the Migration Policy Institute found that New York City is home to more than a half-million undocumented immigrants, with the largest concentration of that population living in Queens.

“I think that Queens, to many people, symbolizes opportunity,” said Congresswoman Grace Meng (D-Bayside), who was unsurprised to learn of the figure. She cited the large amount of small businesses in Queens, many of them immigrant-owned, as a potential reason.

State Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) echoed Meng’s sentiments.

“Queens is the center of this promise of the American Dream,” he said. “It’s a wonderful mix of diversity. In my district, you can practically walk into another country as you move between different enclaves.”

Peralta sees the new data as an opportunity, highlighting the potential these immigrants represent if they can be properly naturalized and brought into the taxpaying workforce.

According to the MPI report, Queens is home to an estimated 246,000 of the city’s 643,000 illegal immigrants, with 91,000 of them eligible for President Obama’s deferred deportation programs, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents.

Meng gets bill passed that might fund historic sites

From the Times Ledger:

U.S. Rep Grace Meng’s (D-Flushing) bill to study the viability of the National Park Service supporting Queens historic sites associated with the signing of the Flushing Remonstrance passed the Senate last Friday night.

The Flushing Remonstrance Study Act would require the secretary of the Interior, who oversees federal parkland, to consider the possibility of giving Flushing sites, such as the John Bowne House and the Old Quaker Meetinghouse, support from the National Park Service.

The bill passed the House 20th century in September. If President Barack Obama signs the bill, the National Park Service will be able to look at whether the sites meet the requirements for national significance, suitability and feasibility.

It could also lead to the sites becoming either a national historic park or a national historic site or creating partnerships to support the facilities.

While this sounds like something positive on its face, the reality is that the National Parks budget is frequently subject to budget cuts, and more often it's the local governments that have to step up with funding to save national parks than the other way around.

Glendale may get its own zip code

From the Queens Courier:

Is it Glendale or Ridgewood? You can’t tell from the ZIP code.

But the confusion may be a thing of the past if new legislation, introduced by U.S. Rep. Grace Meng, gets passed.

“For years, the residents of Glendale have sought to obtain a ZIP code for their community and now I join them in their fight,” Meng said. “Most areas in the borough are recognized by their neighborhood names, which provide a sense of identity and pride for local residents. That is true for Glendale, and it’s time for the Postal Service to accept and recognize that by creating a ZIP code that the community can finally call its own.”

The pleas for a Glendale ZIP code have been constant for over a decade but have continually fallen on deaf ears, according to published reports. The neighborhood currently shares its 11385 ZIP Code with Ridgewood.

You are who your friends are

Let's recap who supports John Liu, and in turn supports everything dubious:

Reps. Joe Crowley, Grace Meng and Gregory Meeks

Former Congress Member Gary Ackerman

The NY Times, The Daily Kos & Queens Politics

New York Communities for Change, CWA Local 1180, UCFW Local 1500, the New York City Coalition of Operating Engineers, the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, and the Working Families Party

The Queens Times, Queens Gazette and Queens Tribune

State Senator Liz Krueger and Manhattan BP Gale Brewer

Queens Borough President Melinda Katz; and practically every Democratic assemblymember and senator in Albany, and in the City Council in New York.

Civic leaders

Holy macaroni, there are a lot of dumb, brainwashed bunnies in politics! (And I didn't even include them all.) You'll also note the way he tries to make it seem like Cuomo endorsed him, when he didn't:

You can't hide from the Parking Avenger!

Hi Crapper,

Look what I found today, an unmarked Chevy Impala at the corner of
80th Road and Kew Gardens Road, standing at a hydrant without even a
placard. Does the car owner think that having tinted windows and
protruding rooftop antennae entitle it to block a fire hydrant near a
tight street corner?

Across the street from this office are the offices of DA Richard
Brown, Borough President Melinda Katz, Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz
and Rep. Grace Meng. Imagine someone violating a law as basic as
keeping a hydrant clear in such a politically sensitive neighborhood.

I doubt any of the listed elected officials will confront the cops
about their placard and parking abuses. I must now return to my
office.

Parking Avenger.

Grace's brother is in a bit of trouble

From the NY Post:

The brother of Rep. Grace Meng could face a homicide charge in the hazing death of a Baruch College fraternity pledge, according to a Pennsylvania law-enforcement official close to the investigation.

Andy Meng — the younger brother of the Flushing Democrat and the president of the Pi Delta Psi national fraternity — could be charged with manslaughter or murder if he helped delay medical treatment for Baruch pledge Chun “Michael” Deng, the source said.

“He is a person of interest,” the source told The Post. “If by deliberate delay someone’s ability to seek medical help was compromised, then that could be a form of homicide.”

Deng, 19, died Dec. 8 from head injuries after fraternity brothers blindfolded and tackled him in the freezing cold. He was not taken to the hospital until more than 90 minutes after he was knocked unconscious, and fraternity members changed his clothes after pummeling him.

Pocono Mountain Regional Police and the Monroe County district attorney are examining phone records that show Meng, who was not at the house at the time, was in contact with the Baruch frat boys “immediately after” the hazing, the source said.

Meng, 28, of Bayside, is also being probed for whether or not he ordered the destruction of evidence after the incident. He’s suspected of instructing Pi Delta Psi brothers to get rid of anything with the frat’s insignia on it before police arrived, the source noted.

Meng is a national rep for Pi Delta Psi, a Flushing-based Asian-American fraternity founded in 1994. After Deng’s death, he announced that his umbrella group would revoke the Baruch frat’s chapter.

Now we can see why the family sent Grace to law school.

And a 28-year old frat boy? I graduated from college when I was 22...

Meng mugged

From the Politicker:

Queens Congresswoman Grace Meng was attacked Tuesday night in Washington D.C., her office announced today.

Ms. Meng was hit over her head and robbed of her Gucci handbag, but did not suffer serious injures, according to the account; she was left with a bruise on her chin and underwent a CAT scan at George Washington University Hospital.

In a statement, Ms. Meng said she would resume “normal activities” today despite the scare.

Helen's words of wisdom

From the Queens Chronicle:

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall referred to Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushing), the first Asian-American congresswoman from New York, as “Chinese” at a rally for the Voting Rights Act on Friday.

“We have this wonderful young Chinese woman who works in this borough,” Marshall said to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), who also spoke at the event, held at Borough Hall. The borough president was speaking of the greater role minorities have come to play in the electoral process in recent years.

Marshall’s aides were quick to jump in and mention it was Meng — who was not in attendance — the borough president was referring to.

“Yes, she has done wonderful things for our borough and is a prime example of the strides our borough has made,” Marshall said after she was reminded.

Her office later added that the borough president’s statement was not malicious but that Meng’s name had briefly slipped her mind.

In fact, Marshall spoke quite highly of Meng during the rally and quickly corrected herself by saying, “Oh yes, Grace Meng,” after the initial statement was made.

The congresswoman’s office could not immediately be reached for comment.

Shortly after, Helen made an endorsement:

Hypocrites, a bit?

Photo from The Forum

From the Queens Gazette:

More than 500 people filled outreach center Ohr Natan on Thursday, July 25 to fight for the facility to remain open. Members of the community, spiritual leaders and elected officials voiced their support for Ohr Natan, where thousands of people depend upon for their food distribution, classes, children’s programs, events, lectures, referrals, ESL classes and Judaic studies each year. Ohr Natan is being evicted and possibly taken over by a developer who plans to convert the center into an apartment building. In attendance were Congressmember Grace Meng, state Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, Assemblymember Michael Simanowitz, Councilmember Karen Koslowitz, borough president candidate Melinda Katz and Barbara Baruch representing City Comptroller John Liu. Proclamations were presented to Ohr Natan by Meng, Stavisky, Koslowitz and Liu. The theme of the event was “We are here together with Ohr Natan —No to development! No to Destruction!”

No to development, no to destruction?!?

When was the last preservation rally that this cast of characters showed up for? They usually are the ones proclaiming that a structure needs to be torn down in the name of progress.

Melinda Katz is the reason that they are being evicted in the first place because she told the LPC in 2006 that the site was not worthy of landmarking (at the congregation's urging).  The other dopey electeds have caused similar harm throughout the borough.  So why all of a sudden is preservation so important?  How deep are the pockets of this crowd?

Kids' community garden being sold out from under them

From the Queens Courier:

Residents and volunteers are asking the city not to squash their community garden.

Until last year, the vacant lot at Kneeland Avenue and Manilla Street in Elmhurst was growing weeds as tall as the average resident, attracting illegal dumping and unwanted vermin. After taking a look at the site, Young Governors, a teen community organizing program, got together and turned the lot into a community garden that is verdant with fruits and vegetables today.

But the garden the teens created side-by-side with residents is at risk of becoming a multi-family house since the property’s owner put it up for sale.

“What we need here in Elmhurst is a garden, not another high rise development,” said Senator Toby Ann Stavisky. “We need a place for children to play. We need gardens where people can till and nourish and eventually eat the produce.”

The community hopes to get the opportunity to save the garden — or relocate it another area — with the help of the city.

“These volunteers literally have turned what has been an eyesore in Elmhurst into a project that is productive, into an area that is not only beautiful and prevents it from being a blight on our society, but has literally turned into a productive project that feeds people,” said Councilmember Grace Meng.

Volunteers go week after week to care for the crops. They have donated fruits and vegetables from the garden to the New Life Community Development Corporation, a local organization that helps people in need in the community.

Well then I'm sure Grace Meng and Toby Stavisky will find a way for the city to purchase the lot so that the kids can keep on farming and feeding people. It's not like there's any place left in Elmhurst that's undeveloped that it can be relocated to. The current lot has been empty and abandoned for DECADES, so it's interesting that the owner, Queens Blvd attorney John Blaha, suddenly resurfaced and is taking an interest in selling it now. Here's what's next door and what they have to look forward to:


Except it will be worse, since it's a corner lot that allows for more density.

LIRR considering re-opening Elmhurst Station

From CBS New York:

The Long Island Rail Road’s Elmhurst station closed in 1985, when ridership was measured in the dozens, but the railroad thinks there might be a reason to reopen it.

LIRR President Helena Williams said there’s been early enthusiasm for the project, which would cost an estimated $30 million, but they want that yearning down in black and white.

So surveys will arrive in the neighborhood mailboxes in early July. It will be in English, Spanish, and Mandarin.

“We need evidence that there’s true ridership,” Williams said

Williams said adding a new station to the Port Washington Line would not slow service, especially with improvements being made already.

Rep. Grace Meng said it’s a good fit for a vibrant neighborhood.

Rep. Joe Crowley joined Meng, saying it could be a boost to quality of life.

Not only that, think of the scads more development we can encourage!

Limited love for Quinn?

From the Politicker:

When arguably the most powerful county organization in New York City, the Queens Democratic Party, endorsed Christine Quinn for mayor, political observers believed it was a coup for Ms. Quinn because Queens’s famously loyal elected officials would quickly back the Council speaker. But since party chairman Joe Crowley announced he was supporting Ms. Quinn on May 20, few Queens elected officials have followed suit.

“They’ve been surprised by the lukewarm reception for Quinn,” said one Queens Democratic operative, unaligned with any candidate. “Especially considering only three district leaders dissented at her endorsement.”

The black political leadership in southeastern Queens was irked on May 20 when Ms. Quinn was chosen over the race’s one African-American candidate, Bill Thompson, but the dissent was still relatively limited to a few older power brokers like former Councilman Archie Spigner. Ms. Quinn has secured the backing of some Queens elected officials, including Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras, but thus far most have remained neutral.

Congresswoman Grace Meng, for example, has not endorsed Ms. Quinn, despite her close ties to the county organization. The same is true for elected officials like State Senator Toby Stavisky, State Senator Joe Addabbo and Assemblyman Michael Simanowitz. There is still time for elected officials to endorse Ms. Quinn and political insiders believe more, like Councilman James Gennaro, will back her. But she may also have an uphill battle in pressing her case to representatives of certain ethnic enclaves that have their own chosen candidates.

In addition, sources tell me that a lot of Dem club members are refusing to carry petitions for Quinn. This could get interesting.