The departing head of the mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs said farewell to the office on Thursday by urging the Biden Administration to reverse the anti-immigration actions of the previous U.S. president by passing protections for the so-called “Dreamers” and legislation to keep families together when they arrive at the southern border.

The Commissioner, Bitta Mistofi, singled out the American Dream and Promise Act to create stability for immigrants who came here as children without papers under for permanent residency in the U.S. And the Citizenship Act to keep families safe and together at the border.

“This Act will benefit over 100,000 New Yorkers,
it’s good for the work force and the economy,” said Mostofi. “We live in Immigrant city.”

In her seven years in office Mostofi established programs for health care and a program for immigrants to know their rights.

The election of Donald Trump as president, she contended., showed the very clear intention to seek and harm immigrants to change the makeup
of our community and our country.”

Though President Biden has urged Congress to pass his Citizenship Act for immigrants the legislation has been put on the back burner as other pressing matters such as the Coronavirus relief bill and an infrastructure proposal have riveted his attention.

“We applaud the Biden administration for taking this crucial step and urge Congress to expeditiously pass the U.S. citizenship Act to bring long overdue relief to our immigrant families and communities,” said Mostofi.

Mayor de Blasio floated an idea on Thursday designed to lure back tourists to as the clouds of Covid-19 seemed to be clearing up: setting up kiosks where visitors to New York City can get the one-shot J&J vaccine as they enter town.

“We want to go the extra mile, make it easy for tourists if they’re here, get vaccinated while you’re here,” said de Blasio at his daily press briefing.

The mayor also suggested loading the kiosks with free souvenirs with the vaccine to sweeten the deal and make up for the $60 billion losses in tourism revenue during the pandemic.

He planned to open mobile immunization sites in the most high traffic areas like,
Time Square, Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge, and other places.

“This summer you’re going to see tourism come alive again in NYC, you’re gonna see a lot of jobs come back because of it,” said de Blasio.

Such measures would depend on state action to go forward. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says J&J shot is not fully protective until about two weeks after the shot.

State rules allow only residents, workers or students from out of state to receive the vaccine.

“We need the state to alter the rule that will allow us to provide vaccination to folks from out of town,” the mayor added. “Come here its safe its a great place to be and we’re gonna take care of you, We’re gonna make sure you get vaccinated while you’re here with us.”

So far over 3.6 million New Yorkers has received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine, officials said.

County Executive George Latimer  on Thursday urged Westchester residents to “show love to their mothers” by inviting them to get vaccinated at Westchester Community College on Mother’s Day weekend.

“I do think that you can show your mom that you love her, and you can say mom when I was a little boy you took me to get vaccinated so come on down for mother’s day let’s make sure you’re safe, protected,” he said.

The Mother’s Day event was scheduled for Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the college gymnasium.

“If you do have a mom who has not been vaccinated yet this is a great opportunity,” Latimer added. He jokingly suggested that the vaccine is not meant to be a substitute for flowers or candy.

“In addition to giving her the gift of a vaccine, get her a real gift for Sunday, maybe you go to the Sunday market at Irvington,” continued Latimer.

He announced that appointments could be made online through the county’s website where all the information regarding the event was available.

Westchester County, like many local areas,  has seen a sharp decline of infections due to the increase of vaccinations.

“The total number of vaccines given out in Westchester is about 350,00 which is very good, ‘said the County Executive.
“Our mission is to vaccinate as many people as we can to protect us from the spread of the virus.”

The Whitehouse on Wednesday declined to comment on A Facebook consulting board’s decision to uphold a ban on former President Donald Trump’s account for the time being, but stated that President Biden believes it’s social media giant’s duty to curtail fake news.

“This is an independent board’s decision and we’re not gonna have any comment on the future of the former President’s social media platform,” Press Secretary Jen Psaki said at her daily press briefing.

She added: “The president’s view is that the major platforms have a responsibility to the health and safety of all Americans to stop amplifying untrustworthy content: disinformation and misinformation, especially related to COVID-19, vaccinations, and elections.”

Social media giants such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have banned Trump’s official accounts since the deadly Capitol Hill riots on Jan. 6. The 45th President was Impeached (for the second time in his presidency) by a Democrat controlled House, for inciting the riot which killed six, with his false electoral fraud rhetoric. Trump was again acquitted by a Republican controlled senate.

“Free speech has been taken away from the President of the United States because the radical left Lunatics are afraid of the truth,” President Trump wrote in an emailed press release. “These corrupt social media companies must pay a price, and must never again be allowed to destroy and decimate our electoral process.”

Several congressional Republicans have opposed the move by Facebook, accusing the social media giant of censoring conservative voices and violating the First Amendment.

“For every liberal celebrating President Trump’s social media ban, if the big tech oligarchs can muzzle the former president, what’s to stop them from silencing you?”, tweeted Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R).

Prominent conservatives have accused the social media giant of violating Trump’s  right to freedom of speech.though the First  Amendment however, only prevents government  censoring speech, not a private entity.

The Trump Facebook fallout has added to the widespread conservative narrative that social media sites are silencing their voices. A 2020 Pew Research Center poll found that 90 percent of Republicans, 62 percent of Democrats and 73 percent of Americans over all, believe that social media sites censor political viewpoints. In contrast, a February 2021 NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights study found that while most tech employees are liberal,
most content moderation decisions are made by contractors based outside the U.S., and executives who make high-level
decisions “are determined to placate, rather than antagonize”  the political right.

The City Council Subcommittee of Landmarks, Public Sitings and Dispositions voted Thursday to make a 19th century abolitionists’ house in Downtown Brooklyn a landmark.

“Through the valiant efforts of so many people who worked to preserve that property, the Landmarks Commission did landmark it, and now we’re moving forward to make it a historic landmark,” Councilwoman Inez Barron said at the committee’s virtual meeting.

The property at 227 Duffield Street was the home of Harriet and Thomas Truesdell, a couple active in the abolitionist movement for over 30 years. The city Landmark Commission voted in February to name the property a landmark after several local officials spoke out against its potential demolition or reconstruction.

In the mid 1800s, Downtown Brooklyn’s waterfront was a notable stop for fugitive slaves boarding ships to head further North, which made the Truesdells’ home an ideal shelter. The Fugitive Slave Act, however, passed a year before the Truesdells moved into the house, prevented many abolitionists from documenting their property or actions, so the house has not been confirmed as a stop on the underground railroad.

“However, the building has significance as the surviving home of the Truesdells, abolitionists who resided there for more than a decade,” the Landmarks Commission wrote in its report.

The Truesdell family owned the Greek Revival style house until the 1920s. Owners through the remainder of the century made slight alterations to the building, but its structure has remained largely the same. In 2019, a developer applied to demolish the house and replace it with a 13-story apartment building and a museum for African Americans.

“I have a high respect for African Americans,” Samiel Hanasab told the Gothamist in August 2019. “This project will be in the basement.”

Attorney General Letitia James, Councilman Stephen Levin, and community members protested the project and petitioned the Commission to preserve the building.

The Subcommittee’s vote will bring the proposal to the full Council for a vote to establish the house as a landmark.

The City Council passed a bill on Thursday that would require the Department of Transportation to manage an open streets program allowing businesses and community organizers to reserve street space for pedestrians or outdoor restaurant seating.

“Under this program, open streets could be managed by DOT or by community organizations,” Councilwoman Carlina Rivera, sponsor of the bill, said at the council’s virtual meeting.

The DOT launched the Open Streets Program last summer after the city entered Phase 2 of New York’s reopening plan, which permitted outdoor restaurant dining. Though the DOT oversaw the program, the new bill requires the Department to provide resources to organizers and businesses that would otherwise be denied approval to open street spaces.

“This could be a benefit to any community who wants it, and I think it will be a raging success across the city,” said Rivera.

A number of councilmembers expressed concern that the bill would give businesses too much authority over streets, as open street areas have previously caused traffic congestion and sanitation issues.

“The city needs to remain cognizant of conflicting interests,” said Councilman Peter Koo.

Several councilmembers, while commending the bill’s intentions to strengthen community and local businesses, voiced worries for their districts to accommodate the open street areas with traffic flow.

“I don’t think open streets should be a one size fits all solution,” said Councilwoman Adrienne Adams.

Despite councilmembers’ concerns, the bill passed in a 39-8 vote. The bill’s passing comes just after Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city will reopen fully by July 1, allowing businesses, theatres, gyms, and other indoor venues to open at 100% capacity.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Thursday the full reopening of New York City on July 1, including all the venues of normal life as the Covid-19 pandemic seemed to be on the wane.

“What you have done everyday, New Yorkers, what you have done is the reason I can make this announcement today because you’ve gone out, you’ve gotten vaccinated,’ said the mayor at his daily press briefing, listing places and services to return to normal such as  restaurants, stores, gyms, hair salons, arenas, stadiums, theaters and music halls, and offices, among all the others.

The mayor cited  the big drop in infections as another reason for optimism.

“Percentage of people testing positive citywide for Covid-19, today’s report on a 7-day rolling average 3.18 percent and declining and I will say keep it declining,” added de Blasio.

He urged people to get vaccinated if they haven’t done so.

The mayor  also announced a program of universal mental health checks for school children starting in September.

“Today we’re gonna take a big step forward towards a more universal approach to serving those with mental health challenges,” by providing mental health screenings for the children at vaccination sites and at “every single school.”
ins at vaccination sites.

Replying to a news reporter’s questions de Blasio also weighed in on the recent sexual accusations made against mayoral candidate and City Comptroller Scott Stringer.

“We need the facts, we need the investigation immediately,” said the mayor.

Political lobbyist Jean Kim who formerly worked on a 2001 campaign for Stringer has accused him of sexually assaulting her 20 years ago saying that he “repeatedly groped and kissed her.”

At a press conference on Wednesday Stringer denied the allegations. “This isn’t me. I didn’t do this,” he insisted.

An influential environmental group on Thursday gave an Earth Day gift to two New York mayoral candidates and one Comptroller hopeful by awarding each of them an endorsement of their political races.

Mayoral candidates Dianne Morales and Scott Stringer and Comptroller candidate Brad Lander all got the nod from Sunrise-NYC in a virtual press event, painting the three Democrats as champions in the fight against climate change.

“We are very excited to announce today that Sunrise Movement New York City will be co- endorsing Dianne Morales and Scott Stringer for mayor and will also be endorsing Brad Lander for NYC Comptroller,” said  spokeswoman Grace Cuddihy.

Morales, a non-profit executive, Stringer, city comptroller and Lander, a city councilmen, all faced several rivals for the two offices on next June’s ranked choice ballot.

The Sunrise Movement describes itself as an organization that strives to end climate change while creating millions of well-paying jobs. Their goals entail investing in low-income communities by shifting to 100% renewable energy, banning fossil fuels, providing clean energy and structing rates to protect working class New Yorkers and taxing the rich.

“New Yorkers have a clear choice this June and they can vote for candidates committed to fighting for climate change in justice up and down the ballot,” Cuddihy said.

Morales, the first Afro-Latina and woman to run for mayor here said the endorsement was a “big deal.”
“We’re talking about a grassroots mobilization full of youth organizers and activists who know that New York City is in a unique position to lead on addressing climate change from a justice framework,” she said.

Stringer said that we need to think about the future generations.

“We cannot open this economy the same way we closed it,” he added. “We have got to think about the next generation and how we approach climate change.”

A Bronx woman was arraigned on Thursday, accused of stabbing her boyfriend to death when he tried to walk away from an argument they were having.

Yarelis Olmeda, 41, allegedly stabbed Edward Campos in his shoulder, causing him to bleed profusely and fall to the ground as the defendant fled the scene, police said.

“We will seek justice for the victim and his family, who lost their loved one due to domestic violence,” said Bronx DA Darcel D. Clark.

The incident occurred on February 20, when a 911 call brought police to the scene at 1710 Randall Avenue in the Soundview Houses where the victim lived. He was taken to Jacobi Medical Center, where he died nearly three weeks later, authorities said.

Olmeda was indicted for second degree murder, first degree manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon before Supreme Court Justice Albert Lorenzo.

The defendant was jailed and due back in court on May 19.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Thursday plans to make all New York City schoolbuses electric by the year 2035, paving the way to help making New York a zero-carbon city by the year 2040.

De Blasio said at his daily press briefing On Earth Day that he planned to begin the transition to electric buses immediately, starting with 75 electric school buses over the next two years. The new NYC Bus Company has already committed on making all their school buses electric by the year 2030.

Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter unveiled the first electric bus that will be used next week by local public schools to transport children to and from school with zero-emissions.

“This is such an important investment in New York City and such an important investment in New York City Public Schools, and most importantly, so much of an important investment in our families and in our communities,” said Porter. “This bus will become apart of what over the next 20 years will be 100% of our fleet going fully electric.”

De Blasio also said he will begin the task of creating more charging stations around the city. With more electric cars and buses being designed, the city is in need of more charging stations in parking lots and other areas in the city.

“We are going to work on a new law with the council to require that all new parking lots and garages have electric vehicle charging, that every spot has to be ready to have electric charging installed as we build out and that new spots have to come with electric chargers, many of them at least have to have electric chargers already installed from the very beginning, ” he vowed.

Last year de Blasio signed an executive order stating that New York City will be a zero-carbon city by 2040 and it will begin with the introduction of electric school buses leading the way in that goal to a zero-emission city.

Three prominent Senate Republicans on Thursday blasted congressional progressive Democrats’ plans to expand the Supreme Court from nine to 13 members as “a radical plan” to remake the judicial body into a “rubber-stamp” for liberal policies.

“Democrats are trying to pack the court to turn it into a super legislative body, so that they are going to have people that are going to rubber stamp everything that they believe in,” said Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn, further arguing that Democrats use the gambit to push issues like the environment, LGBTQ rights and abortion.

Ms. Blackburn was joined by powerhouse senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Lindsay Graham of South Carolina in a joint show of  staunch opposition to what they brand as court packing.

“What we shouldn’t be debating is a radical plan to destroy the United States Supreme Court, to destroy judicial independence..” declared Cruz.

The conservative lawmakers added that expanding the court to achieve ideological majorities threatened the independence of the legislative branch as neutral examiners of the law rather than political tools. Even President Joe Biden — though he has avoided speaking directly on the issue during his Presidency and campaign — as a senator in 1983 denounced the idea, calling it “boneheaded” and “a terrible mistake to make.”  He compared the notion to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s abortive plan to expand the court in 1939.

However, progressives like New York Rep. Ed Markey (D) have argued that a conservative majority would lead to a dominantly right wing interpretation of laws by the court, creating a case of minority rule as not every American agrees with Republican values. Markey and his colleagues said such a move was legal and answer former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s refusal to consider President Barack Obama’s appointment in 2016 of Merrick Garland to the high court and other measures designed to tilt the body to the right wing.

Still, the conservative trio balked at the progressive expansion plans, and went on to characterize liberals as hypocrites:

“Could you even imagine what Joy Reid [liberal cable news commentator] and her MSNBC friends would be saying if Republicans tried to pack the court,” said Blackburn. “They would just lose it” said Blackburn.

Cruz alleged that the Republicans could have expanded the court if they wanted to — but didn’t — back when they had a bicameral majority and president in 2017.

“You didn’t see Republicans when we had control of the senate try to rig the game,” Cruz said. “There was nothing that would have prevented Republicans from doing what they  are doing other than respect for the rule of law, other than basic decency.”

Lindsey Graham speculated that President Biden may eventually support the controversial plan because he wants to be “the most progressive Democrat since FDR”, and wants to appease yet retain party control from progressives like Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D – NY). Graham contended that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D – NY) was being pressured by “the most extreme people in the House and quite frankly the Senate” to support court packing.

Leaders of an extremist Jewish sect based in Guatemala were charged on Monday in Manhattan Federal Court with child exploitation offenses against a teenage girl illicitly married to one of their members.

According to the prosecutors, five leading members of the ultra-orthodox sect Lev Tahor have been charged with conspiracy to transport a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. The charges follow the 2018 kidnapping of a then 14-year-old girl and her younger brother. The two minors were brought across the border into Mexico to be reunited with 20-year-old defendant Jacob Rosner, who had been religiously “married” somewhere out of the U.S. to the girl the previous year.

“They were never legally married,” a press release filed by the Justice Department stated. “Lev Tahor leadership, including the defendants, required young brides to have sex with their husbands, to tell people outside Lev Tahor that they were not married, to pretend to be older, and to deliver babies inside their homes instead of at a hospital, partially to conceal from the public the mothers’ young ages.”

Lev Tahor’s leadership was won by Nachman Helbrans in 2017 and “embraced several extreme practices, including strict, invasive monitoring of members, frequent beatings, and forced marriages of minors to adult members.” In 2017, Helbrans arranged for his niece to be married to Rosner. The following year, the girl’s mother fled Lev Tahor’s community in Guatemala with her two children and relocated to New York.

Helbrans and several other defendants, Lev Tahor members Yakov Weingarten, Shmeil Weingarten, and Yoil Weingarten, located the family and kidnapped the children in December of 2018, according to prosecutors. After a three-week search from local, federal, and international authorities, the children were found in Mexico and brought back to New York. Helbrans and Rosner were deported to New York, where they were incarcerated on kidnapping charges.

Authorities said that, while in Westchester County Jail, Helbrans discussed recapture with the defendants and repeatedly attempted to communicate with the girl through smuggled cell phones to plan further contact.

The extremist group has previously been investigated for child abuse, including child marriage, fleeing to Guatemala from its Quebec headquarters after Canadian law enforcement opened a probe into its activities. Helbrans’ father, Rabbi Schlomo Helbrans, founded the group in the 1980s in Jerusalem and later moved the group to Brooklyn. When the elder Helbrans drowned in 2017, the younger Helbrans told a Hasidic news website he planned to make Lev Tahor more “open, normal.”

The first charge against the Lev Tahor leaders has a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of lifetime imprisonment, while the second charge has a maximum sentence of 30 years.

“International borders will not stop the FBI from pursuing justice and enforcing violations of our laws, especially when you target children,” FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said in a statement. “The behavior alleged today is outrageous, and there is no justification for it whatsoever.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Thursday the launch of a  $1.45 billion facelift to East River Park to add flood protection measures to the 2.4-mile tract stretching from Montgomery Street to East 22nd Street.

“We’ve gotta remember what we went through with Super Storm Sandy,” said de Blasio at his daily press briefing. “It gave us a warning that worse might be coming if we don’t get ahead of it,”

The project is jointly funded by the city and the federal government and is designed to combat an anticipated rise in water levels from climate change.

The five-year plan would consist of such measures as raising the elevation of East River Park by 8-10 feet of fill, installing flood walls, and reconstructing the waterfront, with amenities such as ball fields, tennis courts, soccer, track and field, basketball courts, playgrounds, picnic and barbecue area and comfort stations.

But some locals have been unhappy saying the project will reshape and shut off access to parts of East River Park, eliminating the only large outdoor green space they have for recreation and health.

City Councilwoman Carlina Rivera tried to allay their concerns.

“I have so many memories as a child,” she said. “East River park was an escape for me, I played little league and learned how to ride my bike there. I can’t wait to see families out there in the new East river Park and in the meantime East siders can use half the park throughout construction.”

The way was cleared on Thursday for accused sex offender R. Kelly to stand trial in Brooklyn on Aug. 9 as a federal judge declared courthouse virus protections here sufficient to move the notorious R&B singer from his lockup in Chicago where he faces more charges in a wide-ranging sex and racketeering investigation.

At a teleconference status hearing in the Eastern District of New York U.S. Judge Ann M. Donnelly signed the order for his extradition to New York where he faces several charges of racketeering, sexual exploitation of a child, bribery, kidnapping, forced labor and Mann Act Coercion and Enticement. The charges include preying on minors and women who attended his music venues by allegedly engaging in illegal sexual acts with them.

“There’s really nothing that should keep us from going forward,” said Donnelly.

In Chicago, the defendant is scheduled to again face trial in the fall, accused of witness tampering in his 2008 child pornography case and four other pending sexual abuse and assault cases.

There have been numerous delays in the legal proceedings against Kelly as his legal team has filed several motions related to the pandemic and other matters. A request to be released because of the danger of contracting Covid in jail was denied.

Kelly’s Lawyer Steve Greenberg voiced concern at the Brooklyn hearing that he would not be able to communicate effectively with his defendant during the pandemic.

“It’s going to be as normal as that is define in these unusual times,” said the judge. “It may be that communication will be through headsets but it’s been worked in other trials so I’m not too concerned about that.”

New York Police Department Chief Rodney Harrison defended the use of no-knock search warrants at a press briefing Thursday amid growing concerns over no-knock raids spurred by the protests surrounding the death of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Ky in March 2020.

“I assure you, our detectives are anything but careless,” Harrison said at the briefing at 1 Police Plaza. “We work closely with our partners in the District Attorney’s office, judges in the courts regarding the preparation for a warrant.”

Complaints about the department’s use of no-knock search warrants, by which police officers do not need to wait for a door to be opened by a habitant before entering a building, come after a raid on a home last week in Jamaica, Queens. The homeowner’s nephew was arrested during the raid for drug possession, but was subsequently released with dropped charges.

“No-knock warrants are a critical tool to the NYPD to keep narcotics off the streets & seize illegal firearms,” Harrison said. “It’s also critical for all New Yorkers & NYPD officers to be known and seen in these situations.”

Harrison reiterated that no-knock searches only result in a raid when doors are not opened. He also noted that officers go through training to conduct such searches and complete background checks on suspects before resorting to the warrant.

According to Harrison, the city’s courts approved 1815 no-knock search warrants last year. 792 firearms and 667 narcotics were recovered in the searches, and 40 searches yielded no evidence.

“Overall, our record in this work has been stellar,” Harrison said.

He emphasized the importance of targeting crime in the city to prevent more tragedies like the shootings of Davell Gardner Jr., Priscilla Vasquez, and Aamir Griffin. Last year, Gardner and Griffin were killed by stray bullets in two shootings, and Vasquez was shot by a gunman who opened fire outside a school.