Studies show coronavirus outbreak in New York is sourced from Europe

NY Post

Two separate studies show that the coronavirus outbreak in the New York City area – by far the most deadly in the US – originated from Europe, not China, according to a report.

Researchers conducting one of the studies have detected seven separate lineages of viruses that have arrived in the New York City area and they expect to find more, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

The two studies are being conducted by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the New York University School of Medicine.

Despite examining different examples of the outbreak, researchers from both teams reached largely the same conclusions about its origins, the Times reported.

“The majority is clearly European,”

Travelers likely carrying the virus had already been arriving in New York from Europe before Jan. 31, when President Trump limited entry by foreign nationals who’d been in China and March 11, when the president announced plans to block travelers from most parts of Europe, the Times reported.

On March 19, the newspaper reported that travelers arriving from Europe – where outbreaks in Italy and Spain were severe – were being asked at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport only if they had been to China or Iran, not if they had visited the hardest-hit nations in Europe.

“People were just oblivious,” Dr. Adriana Heguy of the NYU research team told the Times.

I expect the comment thread to be filled with ad hominem excoriation of the Times, but Fox News and the NY Post found reason enough to republish it. Which is why its here. Flame On.

Bill de Blasio, world traveler

From the NY Post:

Mayor de Blasio claims he has taken only “limited” excursions overseas, but he has actually flown outside the continental US 11 times since taking office, records show.

Besides last week’s jaunt to Germany to support protesters at the G-20 summit, the mayor has logged four trips to Puerto Rico, three to Italy and separate treks to Israel, England and France.

In all, he has taken at least 53 trips outside New York City over the past 3 ¹/₂ years — spending 77 weekdays away from City Hall.

Trips to Albany and Washington, DC, are not included in the count.

Former Mayor Mike Bloomberg logged just 44 workdays outside the Big Apple in his first four years.

Meeks, Clarke are international tweeders

From the Washington Post:

The state-owned oil company of Azerbaijan secretly funded an all-expenses-paid trip to a conference in Baku for 10 members of Congress and some of their spouses in 2013, according to a report by the Office of Congressional Ethics. Lawmakers received a number of gifts, but only one lawmaker reported them on his financial disclosure form. The lawmakers said they were unaware of the oil company's involvement and thought the gifts did not meet the reporting threshold.

One additional lawmaker attended while on a separate congressional delegation and did not have his expenses covered by the conference.

Schumer is a frequent flyer

From the NY Post:

All of those Sunday press conferences don’t come cheap, but at least Sen. Charles Schumer makes it home to New York frequently — unlike some colleagues.

Schumer, known for popping up on Sunday talk shows and staging press events for issues big and small, jets home more often than almost any other senator, an analysis of campaign travel reveals.

He also spent dramatically more than anyone else, racking up nearly $1 million in travel costs over the last three years, according to an analysis of office disbursements conducted by the Washington Examiner.

Schumer flew home more than any other Democrat except one, and was third overall among all 100 senators.

A March trip to upstate Binghamton and Rome cost $6,000, typical of his trips, which averaged nearly $8,000.

By comparison, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made it home to Nevada only 11 times over three years, the paper reported.

What a tangled web they tweed

From the NY Post:

Brooklyn’s borough president and a top deputy spent 11 days traveling in China at the expense of a nonprofit run by one of their own volunteer staffers, The Post has learned.

The Sino-America New York Brooklyn Archway Association Corp. shelled out nearly $7,000 for Beep Eric Adams and his deputy, Diana Reyna, to visit seven Chinese districts between May 22 and June 1.

The Chinese government kicked in an additional $787 for hotels, meals and travel in the city of Yiwu.

Winnie Greco, Borough Hall’s honorary ambassador to the local Chinese community for the past several years, formed the corporation as a noncharitable group in October 2012 — meaning it’s not required to file annual reports with the state attorney general.

Adams’ staffers say the trip, which was intended to promote economic development and tourism by signing two sister-city agreements and by securing a “Friendship Archway” for the Chinese community in Sunset Park, was cleared by the city’s Conflict of Interest Board one day before the departure date.

But they refused to provide a copy of the board’s letter clearing the trip, citing a policy of not releasing “interagency communications regarding official counsel.”

An itinerary of the trip shows the delegation, which included Greco and several members of the nonprofit, toured local schools on five of the six days that listed planned events — but the visits produced just a single proposal for a “teacher exchange and classroom learning exchange through Skype.”

Discussions for securing the archway, which would be donated by the Chinese government, but installed and maintained at Brooklyn’s expense, took up just one day.

Malcolm lived high life off campaign donors

From the Times Ledger:

State Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-Hollis) received more than 86,000 votes in November, which was more than enough to secure him another term in office considering the fact he ran unopposed in 2012.

But the lack of competition did not stop the senator from spending more than $100,000 worth of donor’s dollars last year on miscellaneous campaign expenses, including travel, meals and hotel stays, according to state finance records.

Lodging in cities such as Philadelphia and West Palm Beach, Fla., meals at swanky Manhattan restaurants and tens of thousands of dollars spent on airfare are just some of the items that showed up on the political heavyweight’s financial disclosure forms.

In all the categories specified by the state Campaign Finance Board, Smith spent a total of $270,000 throughout the year, with a little more than $6,000 as listed going to printing costs and another $105,000 for professional services.

In the “other” category, the southeast Queens politician spent $110,088 on expenses such as $1,270 billed to the Hilton Hotel in West Palm beach, $175 for a meeting at an Italian restaurant in Tampa and thousands in payments to American Airlines and Jet Blue.

Smith also documented nearly $30,000 in fund-raising expenses, including $23,378 for an annual golf outing at the Cold Springs Country Club in Huntington, L.I.

A spokeswoman for Smith declined to comment on his expenditures beyond the golf outing and a car expense.

NY Times' Queens coverage is in travel section

So the NY Times’ Metro desk is supposed to cover Queens, but they have it in their travel section.

Twice.

36 Hours? In Queens, Enough Frugal Options for a Week

36 Hours in Queens, N.Y.

OMG, everything is so exotic and ethnic there!

Queens native back home

From NBC:

A 26-year-old Queens man who was banned from flying without explanation while trying to return home after visiting family in Montenegro is finally back in New York.

Samir Suljovic arrived at Penn Station Monday night after spending three weeks fighting to get back to the U.S. He went to Montenegro in July, and when he tried to fly back home out of Vienna, Austria on Oct. 1, airline officials told him he couldn't board the flight, citing orders from the Department of Homeland Security.

Suljovic, who was raised in Queens and lives in Oakland Gardens, believes he was banned from flying because he's Muslim.

Traveling Queens student denied re-entry into USA

From the Daily News:

A Queens man has been trapped in Europe for the last 17 days, says a civil rights group, because his name is allegedly on the no-fly list.

Samir Suljovic, 26, first tried to fly back home to New York from Vienna, Austria, on October 1. Airline agents told the New Yorker that he could not board a return flight at the request of his own government.

On Wednesday, the New York Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) issued a statement that demands that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) allow Suljovic to return home from his current location, Germany.

Suljovic tried to contact the DHS and CBP liaison at JFK International Airport but has not received a response, says the rights group. He was advised to ask for help from the Germany's U.S. embassy. But instead of support he was allegedly interrogated and his cell phone was searched without his consent.

Suljovic, born and raised in Oakland Gardens, Queens, was attending Queensboro Community College, according to CAIR-NY’s statement. He initially traveled to Europe to visit family and friends in Montenegro.

City wants more Mexican tourists

From Crains:

After the estimated number of Mexicans visiting the city nearly doubled in six years, tourism arm NYC & Co. is ramping up its presence in Mexico City, part of its series of far-flung tourism offices.

"We want to be visible and make sure we're top of mind" to Mexican travelers, NYC & Co. President George Fertitta said.

The agency has had a representative in the Mexican capital, but the new office represents a significant boost in New York's efforts to market its attractions there.

The new office won't cater to travelers themselves. Instead, it's meant to help forge closer relationships with Mexican tour operators, travel media, airlines and others who steer where tourists go—"to be able to have day-to-day contact," Mr. Fertitta said.

An estimated 376,000 Mexican travelers took in New York last year, up from 192,000 in 2005.

And how many Mexican travelers did NYC take in permanently?

The traveling man

From the Daily News:

Campaign cash gave Queens State Sen. Malcolm Smith a ticket to travel the globe.

Smith drained more than $41,000 from his campaign war chest on airfare, rental cars and hotel stays in more than a dozen cities, the Daily News has learned.

As his cash-strapped Democratic colleagues struggled to boost their campaign war chests, Smith’s donor-funded world tour included stops in Beijing, Shanghai, Montreal, Chicago, Tampa, Baltimore, Philadelphia, San Antonio and Saratoga Springs.

Along the way Smith’s campaign paid for golf at the exclusive Breakers resort in Palm Beach, barbecue at Dick’s Last Resort in San Antonio, accommodations at the Beijing Grand Hotel and a “meeting” at Big Daddys liquors in West Palm Beach, campaign records show.

Closer to home, Smith billed his campaign for hotel stays in Newark, Newburgh and the Crowne Plaza LaGuardia — which is just a few miles from Smith’s district.

“With all that time spent traveling, did he spend any time in Albany?” quipped Dick Dadey of watchdog group Citizens Union.

“His liberal use of campaign funds for travel to far flung locations just shows how bad our campaign finance laws are in New York,” Dadey added.

Joe the jet-setter

From the Daily News:

If you want to write your Congressman next week and your rep is Joe Crowley, you'll need a lot of stamps: He'll be in Burma and India.

Crowley's jaunt to strife-torn Myanmar on Jan. 12 and 13 will make him the first House member to travel there on official business in more than 12 years, his office said in announcing the trip.

"I am visiting the country to assess the situation on the ground, as well as to encourage the government to continue on the path of reform," he said of the Burma visit. "While the government has taken some steps in the direction of reform, there is more that needs to be done."

Crowley and a delegation led by Virginia Sen. Mark Warner will hit New Delhi, Jaipur, Hyderabad and Kolkata to discuss trade, defense and cultural ties with the U.S.

EDC lives high on the hog on taxpayer money

From the Daily News:

The agency that collects rent on city property failed to turn over millions to the city - but still managed to spend big bucks on extravagant travel.

The Economic Development Corp. paid for luxury hotels in China, London, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Miami and Washington, expenses from January 2008 through April show.

The records show that EDC operates under looser travel rules than city employees, who are supposed to fly coach, stay in economy hotels and limit how much they spend on food and drink.

In contrast, EDC dropped nearly $17,000 to fly two workers to China to drum up investments, charging taxpayers $600 for a meal at a Beijing restaurant.

The agency also paid for:

* A $55 bottle of wine in San Francisco.
* A $368-per-night room at the Club Quarters in London.
* A $119 lunch for four city employees.
* $48 for room service and $80 for extra legroom on a flight.

An EDC spokesman said its travel guidelines adhere to the "spirit" of city worker rules.

A spokesman for Mayor Bloomberg defended the agency, saying EDC has trimmed its travel budget to "less than $45,000" in fiscal year2010.

"We are in a worldwide competition for jobs and investment, and the notion that New York City's economic development arm should act less aggressively than those in other cities is short-sighted," spokesman Andrew Brent said.

City workers must follow an edict known as Directive 6 restricting expenses for travel. EDC officials "do not believe EDC is subject to Directive 6," spokesman David Lombino said.

The Daily News also found the EDC often didn't even follow its own less restrictive rules.

Time to reform public authorities. Now.

Daily News explains how illegals can travel within the U.S.

From the Daily News:

Q. I'm undocumented. Can I travel within the United States by plane, train or bus? My husband and my three children are all U.S. citizens, but I've never managed to get legal status. I'm not sure that I'll ever get it.

Narda Robinson, Bronx

A. Many undocumented immigrants travel freely throughout the U.S. without encountering immigration officials.

It is unlikely that traveling by car, bus or train will be a problem unless you visit an area near a land border. For instance, if you were to visit Niagara Falls, N.Y., near the Canadian border, your risk of getting caught increases. As for air travel, some experts don't recommend it, but many of my undocumented clients have flown within the U.S. To board an airplane, all travelers need an ID issued by the government. A foreign passport meets that requirement. Of course, if an incident occurred on the plane and the authorities carefully interviewed all passengers, you could face problems. For information on documents that qualify you to travel by air, go to the U.S. Transportation and Safety Administration (TSA) Web site at www.tsa.gov. Click on "For Travelers," then "Acceptable Identification at the Checkpoint."

Don't forget to pick up the official NYC Guide, "Welcome to Our Sanctuary City" translated into 15 languages for your convenience.