What’s News, Breaking: Thursday, December 21, 2023

December 21, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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EPA, ENERGY DEPT. AWARD NEW YORK
$8M FOR METHANE GAS REDUCTION

STATEWIDE — THE U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY AND THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AWARDED New York State $8 million from the methane emissions reduction program, Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Thursday. The funds, included in the Inflation Reduction Act, bolster the state’s ongoing efforts to help reduce climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas infrastructure, as well as protect ground and surface waters. The $8 million will be used to further the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) efforts to monitor and mitigate methane emissions from the oil and gas sector as the State works to plug wells with a focus on wells with individual landowners listed as operators.

The Methane Emissions Reduction Program also provides a combination of technical and financial assistance to New York to help well owners and operators voluntarily identify and eliminate methane emissions from low-producing conventional oil and gas wells, also referred to as marginal conventional wells, with disproportionately high methane emissions.

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PARENT COMPANY OF ADULT VIDEO SERVICE
ENTERS DEFERRED PROSECUTION AGREEMENT

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — PORNHUB’S PARENT COMPANY ON THURSDAY, DEC. 21, ADMITTED in Brooklyn Federal Court to receiving proceeds of sex trafficking and agrees to thre-year monitor. This was part of a Deferred Prosecution Agreement between the federal government and Aylo Holdings S.A.R.L. (formerly MindGeek S.A.R.L.) that resolved a money laundering charge. The proceeding, at which United States Chief Magistrate Judge Lois Bloom presided, was the arraignment that followed the Deferred Prosecution Agreement. In addition to the monitoring, the parent company must make reparation payments to the United States and to individuals who were adversely impacted by the underlying sex trafficking.

Aylo operates free and paid adult websites that allow third parties to post and distribute adult videos, including on its websites Pornhub.com and PornhubPremium.com. As part of its business, Aylo contracted and/or partnered with adult entertainment companies who were given personalized channels on Aylo’s websites, which Aylo promoted and from which Aylo profited.

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NY ATTORNEY GENERAL URGES CONGRESS
TO PASS NCAA ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

NATIONWIDE — NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL LETITIA JAMES JOINED A BIPARTISAN COALITION OF 18 attorneys general which on Thursday, Dec. 21, urged Congress to pass the NCAA Accountability Act of 2023. The bill, if it becomes law, would ensure that the NCAA provides transparent due process in its investigations and would create fairness for college athletes, coaches and institutions. The Act imposes due process requirements that require transparency, confidentiality and efficiency in any NCAA investigation, with a cap of one year on investigations and a two-year statute of limitations. The bill also prohibits the NCAA from relying on secret informants to make enforcement decisions. The Act additionally maintains the integrity of the confidential investigative process by preventing the NCAA from publicly disclosing information about an ongoing investigation until formal charges are filed.

Earlier this month, Attorney General James and a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general sued the NCAA for its transfer eligibility rule. She won a preliminary injunction that allows transfer students to continue playing.

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REP. VELAZQUEZ: U.S. MUST ANNUL MONROE DOCTRINE,
UPDATE FOREIGN POLICY ON LATIN AMERICA

CAPITOL HILL — BROOKLYN CONGRESSMEMBER NYDIA VELÁZQUEZ IS AIMING TO ANNUL THE MONROE DOCTRINE, which, since the early 19th century (during President James Monroe’s administration) dictated U.S. foreign policy in Latin America. Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-09) on Thursday, Dec. 21, introduced a resolution, timed for the document’s bicentennial, which calls for the annulment of the Monroe Doctrine and has joined House colleagues, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-14)/Queens and Bronx, in doing so. The resolution calls for the Department of State to formally confirm that the Monroe Doctrine is no longer a part of United States policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean, and for the federal government to develop a ‘‘New Good Neighbor’’ policy to replace the Monroe Doctrine and a new approach to promoting economic development.

Among other points, the resolution also urges prompt declassification of all United States Government archives that relate to past coups d’états, dictatorships and periods in the history of Latin American and Caribbean countries involving violations of human rights.

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GUILTY PLEA IN AMMUNITION POSSESSION

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — A PENNSYLVANIA MAN ON WEDNESDAY, DEC. 20, PLEADED GUILTY IN BROOKLYN FEDERAL COURT to a felony possession of ammunition. United States District Judge Dora L. Irizarry presided over the arraignment and guilty plea from Leo Oliver, in connection with a non-fatal shooting of a man in East New York. Oliver had committed two shootings, in July 2020 and September 2021. The first victim was working behind the counter when the defendant pulled a black firearm and shot the person in the chest and hand. In the second incident, Oliver was in a dispute with Victim #2, whom he shot in the torso. The victim was hospitalized but survived.

Court filings also indicated that the defendant took steps to destroy evidence and conceal his crimes: deleting firearms evidence from his cell phone, and throwing the firearm used in the 2020 shooting into a river. When sentenced, he faces up to 10 years in prison.

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DINAPOLI: NY WAS UNPREPARED TO RESPOND
TO INFECTIOUS DISEASE AT NURSING HOMES

STATEWIDE — THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH HAS MADE LIMITED PROGRESS IN ADDRESSING THE WIDESPREAD FAILURES related to the pandemic, according to a follow-up report released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The initial audit found the state was unprepared to respond to infectious disease outbreaks at nursing homes, even before the pandemic, under the previous administration. Also, the state’s persistent underinvestment in public health over the past decade may have limited DOH’s ability to prepare and respond most effectively. If DOH had better data, accurate information systems and an established system of proactive infection control for facilities before the pandemic, it could have helped facilities be better prepared, the initial audit found.

Of the four recommendations to DOH in the initial audit, one was fully implemented, one was partially implemented, two others were unaddressed, and one recommendation to the Governor was partially implemented.

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SENATORS PUSH TO ENFORCE RULE
TO MAKE COPAY ASSISTANCE
COUNT TOWARD INSURANCE

CAPITOL HILL — A RULE THAT LIMITS THE USE OF “COPAY ACCUMULATORS” MUST BE ENFORCED so that patients can more easily afford their medications, say a group of U.S. Senators, including Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). She joined members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and a bipartisan group of colleagues, to urge the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor (DOL) and the Treasury to lower out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs by enforcing a rule limiting the use of harmful “copay accumulators,” a policy that prevents copay assistance from counting toward a patient’s deductible or out-of-pocket maximum, which makes it harder for patients to afford their medications.

Patient assistance programs (PAPs) help low-income and vulnerable patients with complex conditions access life-saving medicine. Historically, these copay assistance programs counted toward the annual limitation on cost-sharing, and the policy was reaffirmed under the Affordable Care Act.

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CITY COUNCIL VOTE ENDS SOLITARY CONFINEMENT

CITYWIDE — THE NEW YORK CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION IS PRAISING CITY COUNCIL’S PASSAGE OF A BILL BANNING solitary confinement. The City Council’s vote, on Wednesday, Dec. 20, effectively gives all people in city custody at least 14 hours of out-of-cell time in shared spaces. The new disciplinary bill will allow separation from the general population only in instances where a person engages in a violent incident in custody. Donna Lieberman, NYCLU executive director, said, “By effectively banning the torture of solitary confinement in all its forms in our city jails, the City Council has taken action that will save New Yorkers’ lives. Given the daily horrors and culture of impunity at jails like Rikers Island, we urge the Mayor to heed the call of incarcerated New Yorkers and their families and sign this bill into law immediately.”

Lieberman said, “Solitary confinement is a form of torture that has inflected enduring harm on generations of incarcerated New Yorkers, especially Black and Brown people.”

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NY ATTORNEY GENERAL: SIRIUSXM RADIO REFUSED CUSTOMERS’ CANCELLATION PLEAS

NATIONWIDE — SIRIUSXM RADIO INC. IS THE DEFENDANT IN A LAWSUIT by New York Attorney General Letitia James alleging that the company is trapping consumers in subscriptions and maintaining deliberately long and burdensome cancellation processes. Attorney General James filed the lawsuit following an investigation that found NYC-based SiriusXM forces its subscribers to call or chat online with an agent to cancel a subscription, then deliberately refused to complete the cancellation. Furthermore, the Office of the Attorney General also found that the company trains its agents to not take “no” for an answer when customers try to cancel, instead pressuring them with other offers. Through this lawsuit, Attorney General James seeks restitution, penalties and disgorgement from SiriusXM for violating New York’s business laws.

The OAG’s lawsuit charges that SiriusXM violated state and federal laws concerning subscriptions that renew automatically by failing to provide subscribers with a cancellation mechanism that is simple, timely and easy to use. The OAG’s lawsuit also alleges that SiriusXM engaged in fraud and deception by misleading subscribers seeking to cancel the service.

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RITE AID BARRED FROM USING FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY THAT PRODUCED FALSE-POSITIVE IDS

NATIONWIDE — RITE AID WILL BE PROHIBITED FROM USING FACIAL RECOGNITION technology for surveillance purposes for five years as part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC charges that the retailer, which operates several stores in Brooklyn, failed to implement reasonable procedures and prevent harm to consumers in its use of facial recognition technology in hundreds of stores. According to the complaint, Rite Aid contracted with two companies to help create a database of images of individuals considered to be “persons of interest” because Rite Aid believed they engaged in or attempted to engage in criminal activity at one of its retail locations. The FTC alleges that this system generated thousands of false-positive matches, leading store employees to confront customers and unjustly accuse them of shoplifting or other crimes. The proposed settlement order will require Rite Aid to implement comprehensive safeguards to their automated systems to prevent these types of harm to consumers.

Rite Aid operates several stores in Brooklyn, including in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Sunset Park and Marine Park, although the FTC didn’t specify whether these locations were involved.

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PROPOSED BUILDING ON GRACE COURT ALARMS NEIGHBORS

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — A PROPOSED GRACE COURT DEVELOPMENT THAT HAS ALARMED RESIDENTS OF THIS BLOCKLONG STREET was the subject of Community Board 2’s Land Use Committee Meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 20, according to a notice posted Tuesday on the Brooklyn Heights Blog. Documents on the Land Use Committee’s web page indicate the meeting agenda included a public review of the Certificate of Appropriateness for a three-story building where a garden now stands. According to the rendering, the firm handling the design is Ryall Sheridan Carroll Architects. The Brooklyn Heights Blog entry quoted Grace Court resident Lucy Small as saying, “We are opposed to this project because it will change the historic landscape of our street, obliterate the garden and cause major disruption during construction.” Small urged her neighbors to attend this meeting, being held at 350 Jay St., 8th floor.

Community Board 2 indicates that all board and committee meetings are open to the public, per city law.

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PUBLIC REVIEW OF MONTAGUE ST. BUILDING’S TERRA COTTA REPLACEMENT APPLICATION

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — FAÇADE IMPROVEMENTS AND REPAIRS FOR A MONTAGUE STREET BUILDING WENT BEFORE PUBLIC REVIEW at Community Board 2’s Land Use Committee meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 20. The building, at 105 Montague St. between Hicks and Henry streets, has been covered in scaffolding since September 2022. According to the Certificate of Appropriateness application documents, 105 Montague was built in 1885 and is “a small co-op of 8 stories and 25 units, plus ground floor commercial space.” The exterior front has black masonry and ornamental terra cotta. The application is to remove the terra cotta units and replace them with pre-cast concrete for safety and timelines.

The Certificate of Appropriateness pointed out that terra cotta is considered a strong but brittle material that can fail without warning and is subject to freeze-thaw cycle damage in colder climates. Moreover, there remain only two terra cotta manufacturers in America.

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