Mayor Bill de Blasio visited some of the damaged houses after the Nov. 30, 2019 disaster.

By Michael V. Cusenza

As the one-year anniversary of the South Queens sewage flood disaster approaches, attorneys for many of the homeowners affected by the incident say the City has failed to negotiate in good faith to pay for the damage incurred in their residences.

“Incredulously, the City’s reason for offering less than fair market value on everything that was lost, which had to be replaced and rebuilt, was that our clients do not all have a complete inventory of lost items with photographs of the items,” said Craig Phemister of Napoli Shkolnik PLLC. “The City’s position is abhorrent, given that the City is the one who rushed in to remove all the contaminated items. The City should have been the ones to properly inventory and photograph the removed items before disposing of them.”

In a December 2019 Department of Environmental Protection report, the City admitted that the collapse of an old pipe installed 32 years ago 40 feet underground along 150th Street near South Conduit Avenue caused an extensive flood of raw sewage on Nov. 30, 2019 that damaged more than 70 homes in South Ozone Park and Jamaica.

The DEP even stated in the analysis that it “accepts responsibility” for the calamity.

The City has confirmed that more than 70 homes in South Ozone Park and Jamaica were affected by flooding. File Photo

Napoli Shkolnik has filed a lawsuit “against the City to recover all that was lost and had to be replaced or repaired due to the City’s negligence in installing and maintaining the sewage system in Ozone Park,” Phemister said.

“It is imperative that the City take action on this, as they promised they would,” he added.

According to the DEP, the “road collapsing due to the subsidence of overburden demonstrates that the 42-inch sewer constructed in 1987 is significantly collapsed, and that any other cause for the November 30th blockage is extremely unlikely.”

“When our veterans return home they face a very unique set of challenges and it is our responsibility as elected officials to ensure that their transition from military life back to civilian life is as smooth as can be,” Sen. Addabbo said.

By Forum Staff

State Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach) on Friday noted that he’s looking forward to the 2020 legislative session in Albany and that working on helping veterans deal with mental health and other issues after returning from service, in an effort to reduce the military’s suicide rate, will be a top priority.

“When our veterans return home they face a very unique set of challenges and it is our responsibility as elected officials to ensure that their transition from military life back to civilian life is as smooth as can be,” the senator said.

Addabbo recently attended a State Senate public hearing in Rockland County on veteran’s mental health and well-being. The Senate Standing Committee on Mental Health and Development Disabilities heard testimony from medical professionals and institutions, veterans’ services agencies, and veterans themselves on the problems veterans and active military personnel face dealing with and accessing treatment for mental health issues.

According to a U.S. Veterans Administration study that was presented at the hearing, 22 veterans commit suicide every day, and according to the National Center for PTSD, more than 1 in 10 veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Many veterans also find it difficult to find work and housing after their service, leading to an increase in homelessness among veterans, which can negatively affect a veteran’s mental health, according to the VA.

During the testimony, Marianne Goodman, M.D., a psychiatrist and professor of psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, noted that many veterans do not seek VA care. They instead go to their primary care doctors, who may not even know their patient is a veteran. Without proper outreach to the veterans, many do not know of the services to which they are entitled.

Goodman also said that through funding in the budget, the State Psychiatric Association, Medical Society of the State of New York, and the New York Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers have been able to grow the Veterans Mental Health Training Initiative. The VHTI trains and educates the interdisciplinary team of primary care specialists and community mental health providers on veteran-specific mental health issues.

“The continued funding of these important programs is critical if our state is to continue its efforts to better assist our veterans when they return home,” said Addabbo, a member of the Senate Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs Committee. “However, we can fund the best programs in the country, but if veterans do not know about them, they are useless. We need to do a better job of outreach to veterans to make them aware of the services they can access.”

One such critical program that Addabbo said vets should be more aware of is the Joseph P. Dwyer Peer-to-Peer Veterans Mental Health Program, which allows veterans a chance to talk to other veterans about what they are experiencing since returning home.

According to Addabbo, due to an increase in State funding for the Dwyer Peer-to-Peer program, it will be expanded for the first time to a location within the five boroughs.

“Your fundamental legal obligation as mandated by your certificate of operation was to plan and provide for future needs,” the governor wrote to National Grid officials. “You failed by your own admission.”

By Michael V. Cusenza

Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday sent a blistering letter to National Grid CEO John Pettigrew and President John Bruckner giving 14 days’ notice of the State’s intent to revoke the utility’s certificate to operate its downstate gas franchise.

Cuomo indicated that he came to this conclusion following National Grid’s failure to provide “adequate and reliable service,” including failing to address supply issues, neglecting the needs of their customers, stalling private development, and the associated diminution of tax revenues to local governments.

National Grid has repeatedly claimed that there are gas-supply constraints in the northeast, and it is unable to provide utility service without a new pipeline. Since NY vehemently opposes the proposed Northeast Supply Enhancement (a.k.a. Williams) Pipeline program for the Rockaway Peninsula—Empire State officials have shot down the plan three times—area customers are the ones that have been left, quite literally, out in the cold.

“The essential responsibility for a utility to provide adequate and reliable service is to manage the supply and demand. The very lack of supply you now point to as the reason for your denial of service to thousands of customers exhibits your failure to plan for supply needs. Your fundamental legal obligation as mandated by your certificate of operation was to plan and provide for future needs,” the governor wrote in the 874-word missive. “You failed by your own admission.”

Cuomo went on to characterize Nat Grid’s self-imposed moratorium as “either a fabricated device or a lack of competence.”

Elected officials that have been locking horns with National Grid for months said they appreciated the governor’s direct message.

“Whether Nat Grid shapes up, or an alternative provider is found, it is vital that the people are provided with reliable gas service,” State Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach) said.

City Comptroller Scott Stringer applauded Cuomo’s letter because “it rightfully highlights the coercive and abusive tactics that National Grid undertook to try to drum up support for the environmentally backwards fracked-gas pipeline.”

“Rather than letting National Grid walk away with a fine or letting their franchise be taken over by an equally profit-driven competitor, the City and State should explore the feasibility of a public takeover of the natural gas system,” Stringer added. “We need to begin to responsibly develop plans to replace gas infrastructure with renewable and electric alternatives. After years of unchecked fossil fuel expansion, it’s clear we cannot count on the utilities being cooperative partners.”

Cuomo concluded his caustic message by positing two theories “to explain National Grid’s actions: Either National Grid was grossly negligent in relying exclusively on the speculative construction of a private pipeline to meet the demands that it was statutorily required to provide; or, National Grid deliberately defrauded the people of the state by not developing or pursuing existing supply options to force approval and reliance on a private pipeline to further their business interests at the cost of the consumer.

“Either alternative clearly violates your certificate of operation in the State of New York,” he added.

Due to the deterioration of the building, DOB issued an immediate emergency declaration allowing a city contractor to demolish the home.

By Michael V. Cusenza

An unoccupied residence that has teetered precariously on the lip of a Hawtree Basin inlet in Hamilton Beach since Superstorm Sandy inundated the area with water in 2012 partially collapsed into the drink on Monday, according to officials and eyewitnesses.
A City Department of Buildings spokeswoman told The Forum that the agency responded to reports of a leaning building at 102-39 Russell St. DOB inspectors found that the vacant, single-family home had shifted 2-3 feet toward the waterway behind it. Any utility services feeding the home were cut. Due to the deterioration of the building, DOB issued an immediate emergency declaration allowing a city contractor to demolish the home.
The spokeswoman indicated that DOB will continue to monitor the edifice until the home is demolished. In addition, the agency issued an aggravated violation to the building owner for failure to maintain the home in a code-compliant manner.
The property owner has pledged to DOB that they will hire a private contractor to perform the work; however, if they do not commence the demolition right away, a City contractor will perform the work and bill the owner.
The City Office of Emergency Management promised to conduct a follow-up probe of the site on Wednesday.
Area residents have been alerting elected officials and authorities about the home and others like it for years. Just last May, residents in Old Howard Beach made several calls to The Forum after a waterfront property located on Bayview Avenue near 163rd Avenue in Ramblersville, abandoned since Superstorm Sandy hit, began to sink further into Hawtree Creek.
Fears had been mounting that the shed and the deck attached to the property would soon break free and clog the waters of the creek, introducing dangerous conditions in the waterway and prohibiting any watercraft from passing.
As with all properties in similar condition, the homeowners were offered the choice to renovate, rebuild, or surrender the property for market value to the City’s Build it Back initiative. Due to the highly restrictive conditions and the extended time frame involved, the owners of the property chose to participate in the acquisition phase of the program and sold their home to the City.
The house, which was under the jurisdiction of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, has been demolished.

The mayor also touted past initiatives taken by his administration to prevent and address youth homelessness, including Marsha’s House in the Bronx, the first-ever DHS shelter for LGBTQ young people in the five boroughs.

By Forum Staff

The City will adopt new investments to help youth experiencing homelessness transition off the streets into shelter and from shelter into permanent housing, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Friday.
According to the administration, through collaboration across multiple agencies, including the Department of Youth and Community Development, the Department for the Aging, and the Department of Social Services, youth experiencing homelessness will have access to an array of new resources, including a new mobile service that will help youth experiencing homelessness find and access relevant support. Hizzoner said he will also establish a senior advisor for Youth Homelessness responsible for overseeing the development, implementation, and expansion of the interagency initiatives.
The new resources include:
• The Department for the Aging for the first time will connect youth experiencing homelessness to housing opportunities through their Home Sharing program (program already operating, effective immediately);
• A new mobile service that will help homeless youth more easily find and access support. The design of the service will be informed by youth with lived experiences of homelessness in the five boroughs, developed through a human-centered design process led by the Mayor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, with $200,000 allocated for research, scoping, and design to begin this fall;
• A new cohort of pregnant or parenting youth participating in the outcome-driven Parent Empowerment Program through the Department of Youth and Community Development, which provides access to childcare to young parents while they pursue their high school equivalency diploma and earn workforce credentials.
According to de Blasio, his administration is:
• Piloting the provision of DSS prevention resources within a DYCD 24-hour drop-in center in Queens
• Working with DYCD to connect certain eligible young people transitioning out of DYCD shelters and entering Department of Homeless Services shelters with CityFHEPS rental assistance
• Bidding out a two-year contract through the Department of Social Services-Human Resources Administration to support the NYC Youth Action Board, which will integrate people with lived experience within the NYC Coalition on the Continuum of Care
• Ensuring that DYCD providers are trained by DSS-HRA in applying to NYC Supportive Housing units;
• Partnering with members of the NYC Youth Action Board, DYCD and homeless service providers so that HRA can update the assessment for Supportive Housing applications to include specific eligible experiences of young people; and
• Relaunching the Youth Experiencing Homelessness page on Generation NYC, co-designed by Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity with members of the NYC Youth Action Board, DYCD, and homeless service providers so that there is an online resource guide specific to youth experiencing homelessness (no cost, to launch this summer, the mayor noted).
On Friday, de Blasio also touted past initiatives taken by his administration to prevent and address youth homelessness, including the NYC Unity Project, a $9.5 million investment to prevent and address homelessness for LGBTQ youth across the five boroughs; 500 new beds for homeless youth and expansion of youth drop-in centers; Marsha’s House in the Bronx, the first-ever DHS shelter for LGBTQ young people in New York City; and the commitment to allocate 1,700 supportive housing units for youth through the Supportive Housing NYC 15/15 Initiative.

“You are going to have to go back and study the history books to come up with a session that did more good than this session did,” Gov. Cuomo declared on Friday.

By Michael V. Cusenza

Ever since the 2019 Legislative Session wrapped up last week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Democrat-led Legislature have seemingly been on a victory lap, touting “historic progressive accomplishments” notched during what Cuomo has called the most productive Albany legislative confab “in modern political history.”
Even Mayor Bill de Blasio was effusive in his praise of the Executive and the Legislature.
“We haven’t seen a session this daring, productive, and progressive in decades,” Hizzoner gushed Friday.
Hyperbole aside, said “accomplishments” included:
• Passed the Jose R. Peralta DREAM Act, giving undocumented New York students the same advantages afforded to their citizen peers, including access to the Tuition Assistance Program and State-administered scholarships.
• Passed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, creating what Cuomo has characterized as “the most aggressive climate change program in the nation” with goals to: reach zero carbon emissions in the electricity sector by 2040; and directs State entities to work toward a goal of investing 40 percent of clean energy and energy efficiency resources to benefit disadvantaged communities. Additionally, the law creates the Climate Action Council comprised of the leaders of various state agencies and authorities as well as legislative appointments to develop a plan outlining how the State will achieve an 85 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2050, and eventually net zero emissions in all sectors of the economy.
• Made permanent the 2 percent property tax cap, building upon the approximate $25 billion in taxpayer savings since it was implemented in 2012.
• Funded the Metropolitan Transportation Authority with an estimated $25 billion raised through a promised congestion pricing plan, a new progressive mansion tax, and the elimination of the internet tax advantage.
• Enacted legislation in support of LGBTQ rights, including the elimination of the gay and trans panic defense—closing a loophole in State law that allowed individuals to use the gay and trans panic defenses after attacking another based upon that victim’s gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation. The governor also signed into law the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act and a ban on LGBTQ conversion therapy.
• Enacted additional sexual harassment protections via a package of reforms that will lower the high bar set for employees to hold employers accountable under the New York Human Rights Law for sexual harassment by amending the requirement that conduct be “severe or pervasive” to constitute actionable conduct; extend the statute of limitations for employment sexual harassment claims filed with the Division of Human Rights from one year to three years; and protect employees’ rights to pursue complaints by mandating that all non-disclosure agreements in employment contracts include language stating that employees may still participate in government investigations conducted by local, state, and federal anti-discrimination agencies
• Enacted legislation extending the statute of limitations for second- and third-degree rape and expanding the civil statute of limitations for claims related to these offenses, allowing victims greater opportunity to obtain justice.
• Increased school aid by more than $1 billion, bringing total school aid to a record $27.9 billion. In addition, Cuomo noted that new reporting requirements will address imbalances in the distribution of resources by prioritizing funding at the individual school level in order to advance a more transparent, equitable education system.
• Delivered criminal justice reform by, among other aspects, eliminating cash bail for misdemeanors and non-violent offenses, ensuring the right to a speedy trial, and transforming the discovery process.
“This was I believe, the most productive session in modern political history. You are going to have to go back and study the history books to come up with a session that did more good than this session did,” Cuomo added on Friday in an end-of-session media availability in the Red Room of the Capitol. “We laid out a 100-day agenda back in last December and said that this is a moment where we can make great change. You know change comes when the planets line up and the people are ready for change. Change is hard. The status quo is very difficult to overcome. It takes a lot of energy. It takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of advocacy. And it takes a lot of intelligence because it is not just, I want to change. Change to what? And what are the consequences of that change? It’s not just the political intent to make a change. It’s the legal effect of what that change is. It goes from politics to government. The political part is easy. I want to make change. Okay, the governmental part is hard. How do you do it and what are the consequences, et cetera? But we did it and the people were ready for change.”

The meeting was held on Tuesday evening at the Howard Beach Library.

By Michael V. Cusenza
For generations, excessive noise has been a seemingly endless source of irritation from Breezy Point to Beechhurst.
And in recent weeks, Queens’ quality-of-life cacophony has created a summer of discontent for several Howard Beach residents who brought the issue to the attention of 106th Precinct Neighborhood Coordination Officers Tuesday evening at the Sector A (Howard Beach, Lindenwood) Build the Block meeting.
The “mystery music,” along with decidedly not harmonious sounds are emanating from the Howard Beach-Brooklyn border. The 106 NCOs Pete Paese and Mike Petrizzo indicated that they have discussed the problem with their colleagues in East New York’s 75th Precinct.
“Brooklyn deals with a lot more than Howard Beach deals with,” Petrizzo said. “Noise might not be a priority for them.”
The NCOs on Tuesday also encouraged meeting attendees gathered in the Howard Beach Library to continue calling and/or texting 311.
Some weary residents let out exasperated sighs when the city’s non-emergency governmental services and information line was even mentioned.
“311 is not good at responding, but they are a very good tracking system,” said long-time Community Board 10 Chairwoman Betty Braton, who later noted that Howard Beach isn’t even the noisiest patch of the precinct. That honor is shared by South Ozone Park and Richmond Hill.

“As a shareholder I am terrified,” said Assemblywoman Pheffer Amato. “As an elected official, I am disgusted.”

By Michael V. Cusenza

Shareholders and elected officials are demanding answers from the City after a fast-moving fire in a Rockaway Beach cooperative building on Friday morning claimed the life of an elderly woman and injured 16 others, including nine police officers and three firefighters.
Ethel Davis, 91, who lived on the 12th floor of the Dayton Beach Park building on Shore Front Parkway near Beach 87th Street, succumbed to her injuries on Saturday morning. According to City Fire officials, the blaze broke out around 11:20 a.m. in an apartment on the 11th floor. Fire marshals have determined that a halogen lamp set up near combustible items sparked the inferno, while a paucity of smoke alarms stymied early evacuation efforts.
Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Howard Beach), State Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach), and City Comptroller Scott Stringer joined shareholders on Sunday in calling out the City Department of Housing Preservation and Development for lack of oversight in providing annual apartment inspections in Dayton Beach Park, a Mitchell-Lama housing development co-op.
Signed into State law in 1955, the Mitchell-Lama program provides affordable rental and co-op housing to moderate- and middle-income families through waiting lists kept by each development.
“As a shareholder I am terrified. As an elected official, I am disgusted. Something is not right,” an irate Pheffer Amato said. “Since being elected in 2016, I have expressed concerns regarding the absence of annual apartment inspections within DBP, as well as management and board of director issues. Apartment inspections are not only necessary, but required in order to ensure the safety and quality of life for all shareholders. This fire was an incident waiting to happen.”
Last August, Pheffer Amato sent a letter, at the request of hundreds of constituents and shareholders, to both HPD and First Service Residential (which managed the buildings until Dec. 31, 2017), expressing concerns regarding the inspections—or lack thereof.
“According to the contract between First Service Residential and the NYC HPD, management is required to conduct and prepare the annual apartment inspections and reports. Additionally, this is a requirement by HPD as stated in the Mitchell-Lama rules,” Pheffer Amato wrote.
HPD responded in a letter dated Aug. 30, 2017 by Assistant Commissioner Julie Walpert, who stated: “Please be advised that inspections will be conducted by management the third week of September.” Pheffer Amato noted on Sunday that, according to residents, zero inspections have been conducted.
Stringer called the situation “deeply, deeply alarming.”
“The agency must step up and ensure that all regulations are enforced, both in the Rockaways and across the city,” he added. “This is about the safety of New Yorkers, and it’s about right and wrong.”

The opioid addiction crisis is worse than most of us imagine. It impacts us all, from Rego Park to Rockaway Park to Redwoods Park. An expert panel, convened by STAT (an investigative medical news branch of the Boston Globe), estimates that opioids could kill nearly half a million Americans over the next decade. The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) recently released a report stating the economic cost of the opioid addiction crisis is six times higher than previous estimates. The CEA says the economic cost of the opioid crisis in 2015 was $504.0 billion, 2.8 percent of GDP (compared to the percent of GDP for Medicare, and Medicaid: 3.5 and 2 respectively).
A key tool to address the opioid addiction crisis is expanding access to safe disposal for unwanted household medications in the form of drug take-back programs. Removing unwanted medications from the home limits illegal diversion and decreases the chances of accidental child poisonings and aquatic contamination from trashing or flushing medications.
While State Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach) and other legislators should be applauded for their interest in addressing the public and environmental health impacts of over-prescribed medications, Gov. Andrew Cuomo should VETO the chain pharmacy take-back bill (S.6750). This chain pharmacy bill does a poor job of providing convenient take-back, and it gives little consideration to consumer convenience or public education.
With this bill, rural areas with no chain pharmacy will likely remain without a safe disposal option.
Where there are chain pharmacies, the $2 fee for a small take-back envelope will discourage consumer participation and will cause prescription drugs to remain in medicine cabinets. A manufacturer-funded drug take-back program would be free to the public and would better encourage safe drug disposal.
Instead, this bill puts the cost of recovering unwanted pharmaceuticals for safe destruction on chain pharmacies and consumers, while allowing drug manufacturers to avoid any financial responsibility for safely managing the disposal of their products. It further guarantees manufacturers a free pass by preempting local existing legislation (Rockland County), proposed legislation (Erie and Westchester counties), and future legislation that requires manufacturers to organize and pay for take-back programs. It is worth noting that in the last five years, pharmaceutical lobbyists contributed more than $1.7 million to NYS political campaigns and S.6750’s sponsor, State Sen. Kemp Hannon (R-Garden City), was one of the top individual beneficiaries, receiving more than $71,000.
This take-back bill does too little, and it puts the cost on consumers and pharmacies rather than on the drug manufacturers who profit most from medication sales.
Governor Cuomo should instead support extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation that establishes a drug take-back program fully funded by drug manufacturers, containing strong convenience and public education standards. Using pharmacy-based receptacles, take-back would only cost manufacturers about $0.01 per prescription. Two states, 18 municipalities, and many other countries have such pharmaceutical EPR laws. Now is the time for New York to establish a convenient, comprehensive, and well-promoted take-back program for unwanted pharmaceuticals that is paid for by drug manufacturers.

Gottlieb is :
Chairman, Tompkins County Coalition for Safe Medication Disposal; Board member, New York Product Stewardship Council; Member, National Association of Clean Water Agencies Pretreatment & Pollution Prevention Committee; Member, Product Stewardship Institute Pharmaceuticals’ Policy & Coordination Work Group Member, Tompkins County Water Resources Council (pending legislative approval) Member, New York Water Environment Association, Government Affairs Committee

Workers last week celebrated the new deal at Vireo’s medical marijuana cultivation and manufacturing facility in Tryon Technology Park.

By Forum Staff

 Local 338 of the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union, UFCW, and Vireo Health New York recently announced that they have reached a labor agreement – the first union contract in the history of New York State’s new medical cannabis industry.

The agreement, according to Vireo, covers current and future employees at its cultivation and manufacturing facility in Fulton County’s Tryon Technology Park, and at all four of its dispensaries in Albany, Binghamton, White Plains, and on Queens Boulevard in Elmhurst. The contract provides a living wage with guaranteed raises, paid time off, healthcare coverage and retirement benefits.

“The strong union contract approved by the workers at Vireo will ensure that they have secure, middle class jobs so that they can provide for themselves and their families,” said John Durso, president of Local 338 RWDSU/UFCW. “The workers in this industry are incredibly dedicated to the patients they serve. This agreement provides the peace of mind that will allow them to focus on what matters most: helping those who are suffering and creating quality medicine.”

Local 338 RWDSU/UFCW also represents approximately 16,000 workers based in New York who are employed in retail drug stores and pharmacies, food and grocery retail stores, assisted living facilities and non-profit agencies that serve the developmentally disabled. Local 338 actively partnered with patients, advocates, and elected officials to help pass the Compassionate Care Act in 2014.

Vireo Health, LLC, the parent company of Vireo Health of New York, operates subsidiaries in Minnesota and Maryland and is the only medical cannabis company in the country to have partnered with labor in three states.

“I am happy to learn of the labor agreement struck with Vireo Health of New York, Local 338 of the Retail, Wholesale, Department Store Union, United Food and Commercial Workers,” said State Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Flushing). “Securing labor unions means those charged with helping provide relief to people with debilitating illnesses remain a thriving part of the middle class and raise their families with pride.”

State Sen. Diane Savino (D-Brooklyn and Staten Island) added, “I am very happy to see that Vireo and RWDSU have reached agreement on a fair contract for medical cannabis workers at Vireo’s production facility and dispensaries. We have always had two goals with the New York medical cannabis program: to provide effective medicine and relief for patients suffering from severe illnesses, and to create economic development and good paying jobs. With the news of the contract negotiated between Vireo and RWDSU and the expansion of the medical cannabis program announced by the Department of Health last week, we have moved tremendously closer to accomplishing both of those goals. I salute Vireo and RWDSU for negotiating this contract. I hope the other four medical cannabis companies in New York will soon follow.”

Vireo opened the borough’s first medical marijuana dispensary at 89-55 Queens Blvd. in Elmhurst in January. Vireo is one of five companies to be awarded a license to manufacture and provide pharmaceutical-grade cannabis-based medications in the state. Bloomfield Industries runs the city’s only medical marijuana production facility in Long Island City.

By Michael V. Cusenza

Scientists and researchers have been reaching out to Jamaica Bay-area residents, urging them to complete an online survey that is part of a joint flood-protection project between Princeton University and the Science and Resilience Institute @ Jamaica Bay.

The study’s purpose, according to the SRI@JB, Its purpose is to better understand how residents are affected by flooding and how they value different flood protection options. Its goal is to also understand how public programs can best support the needs and values of the Jamaica Bay community.

​The survey takes about 10 to 15 minutes to complete, according to researchers. Responses are anonymous and confidential. For your participation, you will be entered into a raffle for a $500 Amazon gift card. Also, you may nominate a local organization to receive $1,000.

The survey can be found at https://princetonsurvey.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2uuPHmDLQ4oJKQd.

Flood protection took on a greater significance on Oct. 29, 2012. As the SRI@JB puts it, “for communities around Jamaica Bay, Superstorm Sandy’s landfall was a tragic reminder of how much damage a large-scale and rapidly moving disturbance can make. Lives were lost. Transportation, food, and energy were disrupted. Physical and natural infrastructure was destroyed. But successful stories of recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy were a more hopeful reminder of the many ways that people, plants, and animals can potentially re-group, recover, and sometimes thrive in the face of adversity. After Sandy, the human and natural worlds bounced back in various degrees, helped in part through coordinated and innovative efforts of community groups, local governments, the private sector, and state and federal agencies. But Sandy is just the latest catastrophic event in a coming century of unforeseen stresses and shocks. Resilience is about finding ways to recover more quickly and with less disruption not only from future coastal storms but also from other disturbances with intersecting and compounding effects, such as those related to urbanization and climate change.”

Putting resilience into practice

According to the institute, as a vision of the future, a more resilient Jamaica Bay would be able to withstand shocks and stresses to the social, physical, and ecological systems that support the well-being of living populations. To put resilience into practice and meet this vision we need to better understand how systems respond to disturbance but also make decisions about what constitutes well-being and what system interventions might get us there. This is not a straightforward effort. Resilience in practice is interpreted in various ways by different thinkers. Ecologists, for example, extend resiliency practice to the restoration of coastal wetland habitats that can help strengthen the capacity of the ecosystem to absorb stresses or shocks. Resilient local ecosystems can support well-being by protecting the biodiversity of a region and helping meet a range of human needs such as protecting environmental quality, reducing natural disaster risk, adapting to climate change, and enjoying recreation and natural amenities. Distinct from ecologists, engineers often emphasize a different aspect of resilience. They may envision resiliency practice as a structurally defensive notion—for example, building seawalls or abatements to defend against storm surge pushing into the bay. Furthering the complexity, communities of residents may have a still different concept of resiliency practice that focuses priority on strengthening the capacity of the human community to cope with stressors and shocks.

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

By Michael V. Cusenza

“It’s really an honor…a real distinction.”

MediSys Health Network Vice President Angelo Canedo, Ph.D., beamed with palpable pride last Friday morning as he described the significance of blemish-free verification as a Level I Trauma Center.

“It means that we can truly serve our community with the best of trauma care,” Canedo continued. “That’s our honor and privilege.”

Canedo was joined by Bruce Flanz, president and CEO of MediSys Health Network and JHMC, and the hospital’s trauma care team in announcing that JHMC received a perfect score on its trauma verification survey conducted by the American College of Surgeons. The accredited organization of experts in the trauma field reviewed Jamaica’s capabilities through an intense three-year audit, and verified that it meets the standards for Level I Trauma status – without a single deficiency.

“It’s the highest order of trauma center,” Canedo said. “It means that you should be able to handle the simplest and most complex of cases. Officer Healey was certainly a complex case.”

Canedo referred to NYPD Officer Kenneth Healey, who helped JHMC mark the occasion last Friday. Healey shared his own harrowing experience and detailed how Jamaica’s Trauma Service saved his life.

On Oct. 23, 2014, Healey and three fellow uniformed police officers – Joseph Meeker, Taylor Kraft, and Peter Rivera – were on a foot post on Jamaica Avenue near 162^nd Street around 2 p.m. when they were approached by a freelance photographer who asked them to pose for a picture. As the officers obliged, a man identified as Zale Thompson, 32, charged at them with a hatchet in his hand. Unprovoked and not speaking a word, Thompson then swung the hatchet at Meeker, striking his right arm. Thompson, who later was characterized by Bratton as a “self-radicalized” Muslim, continued swinging the hatchet, striking Healey in his head, causing him to fall to the ground.

As Thompson continued his assault, Bratton said, Kraft and Rivera opened fire, killing him. Healey’s brothers in blue lifted him into a police vehicle and rushed him to nearby Jamaica Hospital, where he “received life-saving treatment from the Trauma Team” and remained in critical condition for days.

Healey survived his wounds and made it all the way back to the job last December. On NYPD Medal Day, he received the Medal of Honor, and his former 103^rd Precinct colleagues Joseph Meeker, Taylor Kraft, and Peter Rivera earned the Combat Cross.

Jamaica has been a State-Designated Level 1 Trauma Center each year since 1987. According to JHMC, Healey is just one example of the more than 1,700 patients its Trauma Service treats annually, making it one of the busiest in the New York-Metropolitan Area.

Canedo told The Forum that JHMC definitely will rely on the new national trauma distinction when it applies for federal funding down the road. However, for now, it seems that Canedo and his colleagues are savoring a certain perfect score.

“It is, in our opinion, in our DNA,” Canedo said. “Our whole hospital responds to trauma.”

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

By Forum Staff

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday called on the federal government to increase funding to the city to continue to combat the Zika virus.

With the number of Zika cases in the five boroughs at 489 and seemingly rising, Hizzoner sent a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, urging them “to pass a clean Zika bill that will restore public health emergency program funding and enable New York City to address this outbreak and protect the health and wellbeing of all our residents.”

De Blasio reiterated several times on Tuesday the importance of immediate—bipartisan—action.

“We’re putting tremendous resources into the fight against Zika, but we need the federal government to get involved. We need the federal government to protect the people of New York City and the entire country. We need the federal government to act now and pass the authorization for $1.9 billion in funding for actions against Zika. That has to happen now,” he said. “It’s something that should transcend all partisanship, all sense of regionalism. This is something that’s in the interest of the entire country, and we need action now. Without federal dollars, we cannot deepen our work and we won’t have the assurance that other jurisdictions are doing all they can do to fight Zika.”

To date, de Blasio noted, the City has invested $21 million over three years to enhance mosquito surveillance and control, increase testing, and build greater public awareness around the virus. Since the announcement of the City’s Zika Action Plan in April, over 3,400 at-risk pregnant women have been tested, with 49 pregnant women testing positive and one baby born with microcephaly due to Zika.

Most people testing positive for Zika in the five boroughs acquired the infection from mosquito bites incurred while travelling to Zika-affected areas. Though the mosquito most associated with Zika has not been found in NYC, a related mosquito that is a potential carrier has, DE Blasio said. The Health Department has to-date completed mosquito treatments in every borough, totaling 79 community sprays, with Wednesday’s scheduled event in Queens and Manhattan marking the City’s fifth pesticide spraying in a mosquito-dense area.

Auburndale, Bayside, Corona, Flushing, Fresh Meadows, Murray Hill, Pomonok, and Queensboro Hill are the borough communities scheduled to get sprayed between Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

“Although public health experts do not expect that the United States mainland will see the kind of widespread outbreaks that are happening in Brazil or Puerto Rico, that does not mean we can sit by complacently and hope for the best,” said U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan). “We cannot afford to play politics with the health of the American people. It is time for Congressional leadership to act – and act responsibly. We must put adequate resources toward combating this virus to develop a vaccine and enable states to take precautions like the ones that have been implemented here in New York City by Mayor de Blasio and the dedicated team over at New York City Health.”

By Michael V. Cusenza

Two U.S. senators from opposite sides of the aisle penned and sent a letter this week to the White House, urging President Barack Obama to use his administration to develop and publish guidelines for prescribing opioids for acute pain treatment.

According to Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), right now, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is focused primarily on the treatment of chronic pain. Earlier this year, the CDC published its Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain to provide recommendations to primary healthcare providers regarding prescribing opioid pain medication to treat chronic pain in adults.

“However, not all individuals with opioid-use disorders began misusing opioids after receiving a prescription for chronic pain. For many, their difficulties with opioid addiction began after receiving an opioid prescription for acute pain,” the senators wrote in the letter. “For example, a study published in the Journal of the American Dental Association found that 64 percent of surveyed dentists preferred prescribing hydrocodone with acetaminophen for patients to use as needed after a wisdom tooth removal—a procedure common in young adulthood—for an average of 20 pills per prescription. These researchers recognized that a 20-pill prescription may be more than necessary, and that writing prescriptions for larger numbers of pills, when only a few pills will suffice, may cause patients to misuse the remaining pills.”

Gillibrand and Capito pointed out to the president that overprescribing of opioids for acute pain is potentially problematic in two ways:

“First, individuals with acute pain, particularly those who have not had previous exposure to any illicit substances, may be at heightened risk to abuse or become addicted to these substances in the future. This trend may be particularly relevant for younger patients. Second, as the research has shown, these prescriptions contribute to the available supply of opioids and are frequently and inappropriately diverted to others. More research on opioid prescriptions for acute pain and its relation to illicit opioid use would further illuminate these potential paths to addiction.”

This isn’t the first time Gillibrand and Capito have collaborated on this issue. In February, they introduced the Preventing Overprescribing for Pain Act, which would require the CDC to issue guidelines for prescribing opioids for the treatment of acute pain.

“While we are hopeful that the Senate takes up and passes the Preventing Overprescribing for Pain Act this year as part of the Mental Health Reform Act of 2016, this bill does not need to pass in order for the CDC to develop and publish guidelines for prescribing of opioids for the treatment of acute pain,” the senators noted in their missive to Obama. “Similar to CDC’s development of the Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain and the other ways in which your administration has taken initiative to use administrative authority to address the opioid epidemic, we encourage your administration to use its authority to develop and publish comprehensive guidelines for prescribing opioids for the treatment of acute pain.”

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

By Michael V. Cusenza

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration recently announced a policy change that would dramatically expand the number of agency-registered marijuana manufacturers.

Right now, incredibly, there is only one entity authorized to produce marijuana to supply researchers in the United States: the University of Mississippi, operating under a contract with the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

According to the DEA, the policy change should provide researchers with a more varied and robust supply of marijuana; and will allow additional entities to apply to become registered with DEA so that they may grow and distribute marijuana for Food and Drug Administration-authorized research purposes.

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) noted that she’s been urging the DEA for more than a year to change its “antiquated policies” on medical marijuana.

“This is an important first step toward helping countless children who suffer from seizures get the medicine they need,” Gillibrand said last Thursday. “It’s past due that we expand opportunities for medical research, and now the DEA needs to take the next step and remove marijuana from Schedule I. It shouldn’t take an act of Congress for the DEA to get past antiquated ideology and make this change, but in the meantime I’ll continue urging my colleagues to pass our bipartisan legislation on behalf of the children and families who are suffering.”

Gillibrand is the sponsor of the bipartisan Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States Act. The bill would reschedule marijuana to Schedule II from a Schedule I drug to recognize that it has accepted medical use, and would amend federal law to allow states to set their own medical marijuana policies. The bill would also permit Veterans Affairs doctors to prescribe veterans medical marijuana to treat serious injuries and chronic conditions. The legislation would not legalize the drug in all 50 states; rather, Gillibrand clarified, it would respect the states that set their own medical marijuana programs and would prevent federal law enforcement from prosecuting patients, doctors and caregivers in those states.

The DEA has consistently denied petitions to reschedule marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act.

“Based on the legal standards in the CSA, marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance because it does not meet the criteria for currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, there is a lack of accepted safety for its use under medical supervision, and it has a high potential for abuse,” the agency reasoned.

Still, the DEA policy change has many proponents of medical marijuana feeling cautiously optimistic.

“Expanding upon existing research could provide a science-based treatment foundation that will help engage more physicians and in return benefit even more patients, here in New York State and beyond,” said Stephen Dahmer, M.D., chief medical officer of Vireo Health of New York – a physician-led company that provides cannabis-based medications and patient care. “We strongly support passage of the bi-partisan CARERS Act; legislation that would acknowledge the scientific evidence that cannabis has accepted medical use and give states greater ability to regulate their own medical cannabis programs. Today is encouraging, but additional reforms are overdue at the federal level necessary to improve the accessibility and affordability of medical cannabis for our patients.”

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

This December, when the world drags Howard Beach back 30 years, back to a time when this community was branded with the scarlet “R,” and characterized the world over as the Ground Zero of racism – think about the past nine days.

Think about Karina Vetrano—not as she met her demise in our backyard—as the vibrant, expressive, creative soul who was proud of her hometown.

Think about that hometown, that proverbial tight-knit community, and how it has grown even closer in the oft-divisive wake of tragedy. Think about how Howard Beach, since that awful Aug. 2 evening, has sought to shelter the Vetranos from that singular, unimaginable sorrow in a communal embrace.

And think about how many times – in recent years, even – Howard Beach has emerged stronger than ever in the face of soul-crushing adversity.

Think back four years to October 2012. Superstorm Sandy. Everybody has their own silver-screen ready tale of unmitigated calamity, of helping neighbors escape sure death, and of the struggle to bounce back in the days, months, and years since Mother Nature reminded south Queens and Rockaway who runs what.

But Howard Beach has bounced back. Together. Stronger than ever.

Think back 15 months ago, on that May day, when we learned of the death of little Valentina Allen, the tenacious 2-year-old who succumbed to the heart disease that had cast a pall over her brief life since she was in the womb.

Howard Beach mourned with Danielle and Ryan, but the community didn’t stop there.

The many fundraisers organized in Valentina’s name have helped to raise awareness of hypoplastic left heart syndrome and hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

“I love that people still want to support her and come to her events,” Danielle Allen told The Forum earlier this year. “I feel it’s easy to get behind a little girl who’s still fighting, but the fact that people are behind her and supporting her hospital even though she’s gone, is just amazing. We are so thankful!”

#HowardBeachStrong.

And so now the community again finds its resolve, its sense of self, its familial identity tested. Karina, a native daughter of Howard Beach, torn violently from her communal embrace – and almost immediately, members of this large family unit spring into action, thoughts laser-focused on the Vetranos, true justice…and feeding the folks who are sworn to do everything humanly possible to track down the cold-hearted culprit. Neighbors and Cross Bay cornerstones like Lenny’s Clam Bar and Rag Time sent myriad trays of food to the investigators tasked with dragging such vermin in front of Cathy and Philip for some measure of closure.

So, four months from now, remember these days. Remember the power in our numbers.

Remember #HowardBeachStrong.

By Forum Staff

An indictment charging nearly four-dozen leaders, members, and associates of several organized crime families, including at least two borough residents, with wide-ranging racketeering offenses was unsealed last week in federal court, according to Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.

The 32-page indictment charges 46 defendants for their alleged roles in a long-running racketeering conspiracy composed of leaders, members, and associates of the Genovese, Gambino, Lucchese, Bonanno, and Philadelphia families of La Cosa Nostra, who worked together to engage in criminal activities throughout the East Coast between Springfield, Mass., and Southern Florida, Bharara said.

Thirty-nine of those charged were taken into custody last Thursday. During the arrests, law enforcement officers recovered, among other items, three handguns, a shotgun, gambling paraphernalia, and more than $30,000 in cash, the U.S. Attorney noted.

The suspects are charged with racketeering conspiracy, arson, illegal trafficking in firearms, and conspiracy to commit assault in aid of racketeering.

Bharara said that the “charges against 46 men, including powerful leaders, members and associates of five different La Cosa Nostra families, demonstrate that the mob remains a scourge on this city and around the country. From loansharking and illegal gambling, to credit-card and healthcare fraud, and even firearms trafficking, today’s mafia is fully diversified in its boundless search for illegal profits. And as alleged, threatening to assault, maim and kill people who get in the way of their criminal schemes remains the go-to play in the mob’s playbook.”

Among those taken into custody last week were Queens residents Frank Barbone, 44, and Israel Torres, 66.

According to the indictment, the suspects have been involved in gambling, extortionate collection of loans, other extortion activities, arson, conspiracies to commit assaults in aid of racketeering, trafficking in unstamped and cigarettes, gun trafficking, access device fraud, and healthcare fraud for several years.

To protect and expand business and criminal operations, as alleged in the indictment, members and associates assaulted, threatened to assault, and destroyed the property of people who engaged in activity that jeopardized: the power and criminal activities of the organization and the power and criminal activities of their respective LCN families; the power of leaders of the organization; and the flow of criminal proceeds to the leaders of the organization.

Members and associates promoted a climate of fear in the community through threats of economic harm and violence, as well as actual violence, including assault and arson.  Members and associates of the organization at times engaged in criminal conduct or coordinated their criminal activities with leaders, members, and associates of their respective LCN families. At other times, members and associates of the organization met with leaders, members, and associates of their respective LCN families to resolve disputes over their criminal activities.

And in order to avoid law enforcement scrutiny, members and associates conducted meetings surreptitiously, typically using coded language to make arrangements for meetings, and meeting at rest stops along highways and at restaurants, according to the indictment.

“The charges applied today to these 46 individuals deal a significant blow to La Cosa Nostra, which the NYPD is committed to putting out of business,” added Police Commissioner Bill Bratton. “As alleged, in typical mob fashion, the rackets ran from Springfield to South Florida and left no scheme behind. These mobsters seemed to use every scheme known to us, from arson, to shake-downs, violence, healthcare fraud, and even untaxed cigarettes to keep the racket going.”

By Patricia Adams and Michael V. Cusenza

The distraught dad of a vibrant Howard Beach woman discovered her dead body late Tuesday night in Spring Creek Park, according to authorities and witnesses.

Philip Vetrano, who was already out with investigators frantically searching for Karina, 30, found her face-down in a marshland area within the vicinity of 161st Avenue and 78th Street; she had been strangled and showed signs that indicated that her assailant had also sexually assaulted her.

Karina Vetrano was initially reported missing around 7 p.m. She was last seen at approximately 5 p.m. by family leaving her residence at 165^th Avenue and 84^th Street to jog near Gateway National Recreation Area and had not returned, nor answered her phone.

Philip was helping cops scour familiar jogging paths that he and Karina used to frequent when the search party came upon her cell phone. Vetrano then bolted forward another 15 feet and discovered his daughter’s lifeless body.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said on Wednesday that crime scene investigators had “recovered a lot of forensic evidence.” But as of early Thursday morning, cops had not made any arrests in the case. According to the New York Daily News Daily News, a police source told the paper that the killer was possibly a transient rather than a neighborhood local.

Karina Vetrano, who earned a master’s degree last year at St. John’s University, worked at nearby Vetro Restaurant & Lounge. The catering hall closed its Rooftop club on Wednesday night in tribute to Karina. Downstairs on the sidewalk, hundreds of mourners gathered for a candlelight vigil for the girl who “was always there, so beautiful and so talented,” Jackie Hartstein told the Daily News as she described her friend.

Vetrano was a passionate writer. At karinavee.com – “a collection of conversations, contradictions, & poetic conflict” – the expressive scribe bared her soul, at times, in an online journal:

“I write to savor the moments that I’m terrified will get lost and forgotten somewhere in time if I don’t document them. I write with the deepest intention to create a connection to anyone who takes the time out to read what I have to say. I write with the hopes that I can be understood; that I won’t feel so lost inside my own head, and that you, too, might find that solace as well.

“Most of the time I am thinking of ways in how I can be better, do better, feel better – whatever “better” really is. I spend the majority of my life in deep thought about everything. I think about how we all know we’re going to die, and yet that doesn’t seem to matter to any of us right now. How stupid and immature we all act, every one of us, when we focus on bullshit, when we are mean, and harbor anger. When we hurt people just to bring them down, when we put on fronts and play games with people we care most about – how completely pointless all that is, when we have a limited time here.”

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

By Michael V. Cusenza

Citing a new Consumer Reports analysis that suggests that 43 percent of sunscreen products fail to meet the Sun Protection Factor claim on the label, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer has urged the Food and Drug Administration to launch an investigation into the possible deceptive SPF marketing.

SPF is a measure of how much solar energy (UV radiation) is required to produce sunburn on protected skin (i.e., in the presence of sunscreen) relative to the amount of solar energy required to produce sunburn on unprotected skin. As the SPF value increases, sunburn protection increases.

According to the study, 28 out of 60 sunscreen lotions, sprays and sticks with SPF labels of 30 or higher actually offered less protection than what was listed on the bottle. Moreover, three of the tested products offered SPF levels of less than 15. For four years, Consumer Reports has tested SPF claims, Schumer noted. Of products that were listed as SPF 30-39, 65 percent of chemical and mineral sunscreens tested higher than SPF 30. Of products that were listed as SPF 40-110, 70 percent of chemical and mineral sunscreens tested higher than SPF 30.

“There is simply no doubt about it – some consumers are being totally burned when they buy sunscreen, which is why the FDA must give sunscreen labels the third degree,” Schumer quipped. “With beach season officially in full swing and with a New York City heat wave on the way, the FDA needs to make sure the SPF labels on sunscreen products match the SPF protection being offered. In light of this new study that reveals nearly half of tested sunscreens are offering less protection than its label claims, the FDA should launch a full-on investigation into deceptive SPF marketing. Beachgoers and vacationers deserve the peace of mind to know that the sunscreen they’re using is offering legitimate protection against the sun’s harmful rays.”

Schumer added that proper SPF labeling is important because of the prevalence of skin cancer in this country. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States.

“While the FDA is aware of the Consumer Reports article on sunscreen products, we cannot speculate on why Consumer Reports found differences between SPF values in its testing and those on product labels,” FDA spokeswoman Andrea Fischer told The Forum. “Manufacturers of sunscreen drug products are responsible for the quality of their products and for determining the SPF reported on the labels for their products, by following specific test methods set forth in FDA regulations. When performed according to current regulatory requirements, the FDA’s established SPF test method demonstrates a sunscreen’s effectiveness in helping prevent sunburn.”

Fischer later added that “All drug products, including sunscreens, are subject to FDA inspection and sunscreen products that are found not to be in compliance with applicable regulations are subject to FDA regulatory actions. At times, the FDA may also initiate targeted surveillance programs to evaluate compliance with specific requirements.”

The FDA also reminded consumers to regularly use sun protection measures, including:

• Limit time in the sun, especially between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., when the sun’s rays are most intense.
• Wear clothing to cover skin exposed to the sun
• Use Broad Spectrum sunscreens with SPF values of 15 or higher regularly and as directed

Reapply sunscreen at least every two hours, more often if you’re sweating or jumping in and out of the water.

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com