Governor Andrew Cuomo claims there are only a handful of items slowing budget negotiations as the April 1 deadline approaches
Major cuts are in store for the state budget as New York faces billions in lost revenue due to the coronavirus crisis, Gov. Andrew Cuomo says.
The governor is pushing the Legislature for the power to adjust the budget periodically throughout the fiscal year.
The state could be in for a $15 billion loss in revenue due to the pandemic.
The warning comes as Democratic lawmakers, led by Yonkers’ Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Bronx Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie spent the weekend video conferencing about the budget.
Governor Cuomo and his team cautioned that education funding, which makes up about a third of state spending annually, could be in for a hit and hinted that dramatic belt-tightening could be in store.
State budget director Robert Mujica saysNew York will likely be forced to borrow money to cover immediate costs.
Gov. Cuomo keepsy pitching the idea of allowing his administration the flexibility to amend state spending throughout the year.
Yonkers legislators understand the fiscal situation, but they don’t want to cede any more authority to the executive as he seeks to deeply cut Yonkers schools and city services.
Kimber’s Desert Warrior 1911 is among the many pistols the NY-based gun maker will be delaying production on, because of the pandemic
Following New York’s declaration that it is in a State of Emergency, New York-based Kimber Manufacturing Inc. was forced to close its NY manufacturing effective immediately.
This is because NY is only allowing businesses that the government designates as essential to continue operation, and firearm manufacutrers and sellers are not among that list.
In response, Kimber Mfg. Inc. released the following statement.
Due to the New York state decision to shutter non-essential businesses as part of the COVID-19 response plan, Kimber Mfg. Inc. has stopped production at its New York facilities.
Production continues at Kimber’s new, state-of-the-art Troy, Alabama manufacturing facility, with the entire line of handguns and long guns being assembled. Due to the large number of parts manufactured in Yonkers and the state-mandated closure in New York, the Troy facility will suspend production on March 31st.
“This situation is unfortunate as we were off to an incredible start in gun shipments in 2020 and were running our factories seven days a week. We would like to thank our dealers and consumers for their overwhelmingly positive response to our 2020 new products,” said Greg Grogan, Kimber president. With that said, if you are in the market for a Kimber firearm, now is the time to make that purchase.”
Kimber’s Alabama based customer service and repair services remain open to help customers with any questions they may have. In addition, the Alabama-based Kimber online store is open and products are shipping as long as inventory lasts. Montana based dealer sales and customer service departments also remain open.
“We greatly appreciate the patience and understanding of our dealers and our fans,” Grogan said. “Rest assured that any disruptions in product manufacturing are temporary, but the duration is out of our hands. As soon as we are allowed, we have plans in place to restart production as quickly as possible.”
In addition to the temporary closure of the Kimber, New York facilities, Kimber has adopted CDC-issued guidelines to protect employee health and prevent the spread of COVID-19 at all Kimber locations.
“Much like all Americans, Kimber will be challenged by these closures,” Grogan said. “But no one here has any doubt that we will all soon be back in production and stronger than ever.”
Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and N.Y. state lawmakers fume over proposed Medicaid cuts amid coronavirus crisis
Governor Andrew Cuomo desires to cut spending in the state’s Medicaid program is being called out by Yonkers’ Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins.
Yonkers, Westchester County and New York City hospitals already being asked to shoulder the heavy burden of the novel coronavirus pandemic and state lawmakers are fuming over proposed Medicaid cuts that could slash funds to hospitals in the midst of a pandemic.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo convened a commission of hospital official and health care union representatives to assess ways of slowing spending amid a multi-billion dollar budget gap in the program.
The commission ultimately recommended $400 million in hospital
spending savings.
Privately, one other Yonkers legislator told this reporter that the Cuomo cuts were “cruel and inhumane” given the growing coronavirus crisis.
This month, usually reserved for state budget talks in Albany, the coronavirus pandemic hit in the state.
Many Yonkers residents think that for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to even consider cuts in the midst of an unprecedented public health crisis is really unconscionable.
During a Spectrum News interview, Yonkers senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins said those proposals and the creation of the Medicaid commission “was from a different world.”
“Now we have to look at everything very, very closely,” she said.
Andrew Cuomo convened the so-called Medicaid Redesign Team to help the state find ways to scale back Medicaid spending and close a projected $4 billion budget gap.
But that was before New York became the center of the coronavirus epidemic.
The panel unveiled a blueprint last week that included cutting some $400 million to hospitals over the next year.
Governor Cuomo on Tuesday announced new projections will require as many as 140,000 hospital beds to meet the expected crush of patients.
The state has ordered St Joseph’s And St. John’s Hopitals hospitals to expand their capacity by at least 50 percent and the governor wants them to set the goal of doubling bed space.
The budget, meanwhile, is expected date in three days and it’s likely the Legislature and Governor will carry those hospital funding discussion to the March 31 due date.
The discussions may become heated as legislators seek out the press to to reach their constituents with a message that the issue is about saving lives at this point, not budget cutting efficiencies.
But, Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins has been repeatedly quoted as saying that she thinks a budget will be finalized by deadline the March 31st deadline.
The conventional wisdom is the Legislature will wrap up work on the budget — whatever shape that spending plan takes — and leave Albany for the rest of the year.
The session was scheduled to end in early June.
But the Yonkers majority leader did not rule out lawmakers coming back for a post-budget session.
Could lawmakers vote remotely?
It’s being looked at.
Lawmakers and the governor agree, though, that federal intervention will be needed, most likely billions of dollars in bailed out aid.
New York operates one of the costliest Medicaid programs in the country, and health care overall makes up the largest share of the state budget each year.
While the state was already dealing with a significant budget gap, new projections from Cuomo budget director Robert Mujica show the state facing a potential $15 billion shortfall due to the coronavirus’s crippling impact on the economy.
Governor Cuomo, meanwhile, has railed against a proposal inserted in a federal coronavirus relief bill that would prohibit cost shifting in the Medicaid program to local governments — a provision that would hamstring budget efforts.
Yonkers school food workers fear for their health, as schools continue to churn out daily meals during the coronavirus shutdown
Some Yonkers food workers are elderly and have chronic health conditions say they’re being pushed to the limit. and say they need more in the way of protection.
The coronavirus pandemic, which has shut down Yonkers Public School until at least April and probably beyond.
The health emergency sent home 27,000 Yonkers students and has presented unprecedented challenges for school food workers in the city of hills
They who are still working full—time to churn out meals for needy families.
Off the record, CSEA 9169 workers say they are having to make a choice of getting paid or protecting their health.
Some have opted to stay home.
But School food workers, many of whom are elderly, have to pull from a limited pool of sick days if they want to stay home.
But the Public School food workers that are on the front lines of the Yonkers’ response to the sweeping pandemic have been getting tens of thousands of meals to children every weekday.
They work in crowded kitchens in old school buildings with little ventilation, and interact daily with families to whom they distribute the meals.
For now, CSEA 9169 Union President Lionel Turner’s members will continue hand out meals for the remainder of the school closure.
But the consolidation into a handful of feeding sites means that there is now even more crowding for the food workers.
The truth is that there’s no social distancing there,
However, Yonkers School Superintendent Edwin Quezada has ordered that every food distribution center be given directions on how to maintain social distancing protocols each staff member is required to wear gloves, and distribution site pick up areas are deep cleaned daily.
SAFER CITY? After The Coronavirus shutdown Yonkers schools and businesses, it appears that frightened criminals are staying locked in their homes.
A fourth precinct police source tells the Yonkers Free Press that crime dropped dramatically in the precinct and city after Governor Andrew Cuomo put the city and state on “pause”.
Yonkers crime is down compared to the same two week period last year according to a Yonkers Police Department insider.
That’s a dramatic reversal considering that many Yonkers residents were fearing that shootings and stabbings were on the way up in the city of hills during the first two months of this year.
But unofficially, all Yonkers crime categories saw a dramatic dip over the last week or so.
If a Yonkers criminal is listening to the advice to stay home and distance themselves from other people, then it becomes hard to rob them.
Perhaps the best advice is to visibly cough on your money if you are about to be mugged outside of a Getty Square cash machine.
However, one wonders if vehicle thefts will go up once Yonkers Hospitals are overwhelmed with deadly virus cases and Yonkersites, just want “to get the Hell out of Dodge.”
Assemblyman Nader Sayegh Calls for an Initiative Allowing Healthcare Accredited Inmates to Serve in COVID-19 Response; Gain Provisional Reinstatement for Licenses Previously Revoked
Assemblyman Nader J. Sayegh (D-Yonkers) is urging Governor Cuomo, state governmental and judicial leaders, and members of the New York Federal Delegation to establish and support an initiative allowing accredited Medical/Healthcare inmates currently in the custody of the various Departments of Corrections operating in New York State and elsewhere to serve in the Medical/Healthcare response to the Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak.
Assemblyman Sayegh recommended that all inmates currently in custody who have an accredited background as Physicians,
Physician Assistants and Specialist Assistants be given the opportunity to serve in a supplemental capacity in response to the Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak in New York State.
“New York State is actively requesting that retired Medical/Healthcare professionals, medical students, and medical faculty provide themselves in a supplemental capacity for this crisis,” said Assemblyman Sayegh “While I support these measures, It’s in my view that given the severity of the Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak, we have to do more in preparation for the fast-approaching apex of cases that we will soon have on our hands.”
In the letters, Assemblyman Sayegh urged the Department of Corrections Offices and Office of Professional Medical Conduct to expeditiously begin a review of all relevant cases and allow for the temporary restoration of licensing on a provisional basis to inmates who are prepared to participate in response to this outbreak.
“Even by our most conservative metrics, New York State is not prepared for the massive influx of patients that the Coronavirus COVID-19 will bring to our hospitals. At the time of writing, New York has over 20,000 cases of Coronavirus COVID-19, with cases increasing exponentially across many regions of our state. Drastic times like these require that we make the most use of all of our available resources. By reinstating licenses to medical professionals under supervision for the duration of the outbreak, we add to our capabilities and increase the likelihood that we can adequately serve the pressing medical needs of all New Yorkers.” wrote Assemblyman Sayegh.
Assemblyman Sayegh also noted New York State has recognized four makeshift hospitals across the state which would serve as ideal locations for these released inmates to begin their service to our community and our state in their respective professional fields.
“My team and I are determined to helping identify solutions in response to this rapidly spreading contagion.” wrote Assemblyman Sayegh. “I urge you to take this recommendation under consideration as we strive to defeat Coronavirus COVID-19. As always, I remain ready for any discussion related to this matter on behalf of my constituents in the City of Yonkers and the people of the State of New York.”
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Assemblyman Nader Sayegh is the first Jordanian-American elected to the New York State Legislature. An Assemblyman representing the 90th District of Yonkers, Assemblyman Sayegh is also an attorney and retired educator with over 40 years of experience.
Before his election to the New York State Assembly, he served as a Teacher, Adjunct College Professor, School Principal, President of Yonkers Public Schools Board of Trustees, and President of the New York State Conference of Big Five School Districts.
The biggest scandal in all of U.S. sports to come out in the past year, is bubbling under the Coronavirus headlines. Privately the Yonkers Raceway is the federal indictment of dozens of horse racing insiders involved in doping leading racehorses and cheating bettors.
The initial horse doping indictments came on March 9, other indictments trickled out even as the COVID-19 disaster commanded virtually the entire news cycle, everyday.
The stunning federal horse doping allegations are no less stunning because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The main indictments placed MGM’s Yonkers Raceway and its harness racing leading lights in its target.
The Yonkers horse racing community already was reeling from the deaths of three out of town horsemen from COVID-19.
Rene Allard, who at $5.8 million in purse winnings was third in the industry in North America last year, has been charged in a conspiracy involving longtime veterinarian Louis Grasso, who was indicted on Feb. 26 for allegedly misbranding drugs in interstate commerce.
Last fall, according to the indictment, veterinarian Louis Grasso and another alleged co-conspirator, Ross Cohen, discussed on a wiretap the fact that a number of Rene Allard’s horses had died.
There is a disturbing conversation where Ross Cohen, according to the indictment, asked veterinarian Louis Grasso, “What’s going on with the Allard death camp?”
Grasso then said “two or maybe three” horses have died from “amino acids” that caused “high fever, kidneys shut down.”
“One of them just died on the table, they just cut him open and poof it died,” Grasso is alleged to have said.
Cohen: “Holy f-ck f-ck did they do an autopsy.”
Grasso: “Their heart rate was like triple they were breathing real heavy their membranes were going f-cking purple.”
Rene Allard — second in earnings at Yonkers so far this year — also is alleged to have sent a text message to Grasso in October 2019 that read: “I will need 3 bottles of red acid to go to Canada Thursday.”
Red Acid was referring to an anti-inflammatory drug.
One of the indictments says that a barn raid on March 9 in Middletown, N.Y. — where Rene Allard stabled a number of horses — led to the discovery of multiple syringes and numerous bottles of mislabeled drugs.
The legal documents include the deposition of FBI agent Bruce Turpin.
Agent Turpin states that Rene Allard stabled at a training center run by Richard Banca in Middletown, NY and that his barn was raided.
There, the FBI found multiple empty syringes, the drug Glycopyrrolate, epinephrine and vials labeled “Thymosine Beta” and “for research purposes only.”
Also named is Donato Poliseno, owner of a veterinary supply business in Delaware who is alleged to have purchased and distributed PEDs from veterinarian Louis Grasso.
Trainers Thomas Guido III and Conor Flynn are alleged to have obtained the PEDs from veterinarian Louis Grasso as well.
Richard Banca, the leading trainer at Yonkers Raceway so far this year, was named in a separate indictment on similar charges and employed Flynn.
Richard Banca owns the Middletown, N.Y. facility that was raided, according to his indictment.
“Flynn has stated, in substance and in part, that Flynn administers horses owned, trained, or otherwise under Banca’ s control, with PEDs at Banca’s direction,” the indictment alleges.
Richard Banca first rose up to the top ranks at Yonkers in 2015, producing 174 winners — more than double his previous best — and another 200 in 2016 cheating hundreds of thousands of Yonkers Raceway bettors out of their hard earned cash over the years.
Rene Allard and Richard Banca were involved in a controversy at the Meadowlands Racetrack in 2017 and banned at that track, but allowed to race at the Yonkers Raceway.
Rene Allard had a horse racing at Woodbine test positive for codeine and morphine and was handed a one-year suspension and a $5,000 fine, but again he was allowed to race at the Yonkers Raceway.
Among the PEDs involved aside from “red acid”:
Erythropoietin, better known by brand name Epogen and nicknamed “epo” in the industry and designed to improve endurance.
A variety of “pain shots” or “joint blocks” designed to deaden a horse’s nerves, which can result in leg fractures that require a racehorse to be euthanized.
Bronchodilators, or “Bronk,” designed to increase a horse’s oxygen intake.
The New York Equine Drug Testing Programs Director Dr. George Maylin has also confirmed the presence IOX-2 is both a blood and gene doping agent that is the type of emerging small molecule synthetic doping agent in two standardbred horses racing at Yonkers Raceway.
IOX-2 is an HIF stabilizer that can trigger EPO like effects.
Previously, the New York State Gaming Commission immediately and indefinitely suspended the occupational license of owner-trainer Michael Temming.
Further, the ruling states, Michael Temming had purchased “a large quantity of iOX2.”
The latest federal indictments, if proven, echo the callousness for the welfare of racehorses.
In a January, 19, 2020 press release written by the Standardbred Owners Association of New York, Rene Allard discussed why he had been so successful.
“I have approximately 30 horses who are going to qualify between now and the middle of February. I’m very happy with the start of the year so far. During the Yonkers break, we kept them fit and trained and as soon as they opened, we were ready to go,” Rene Allard said.
But fortunately, the FBI stepped in protecting the horses and the hard earned cash of Yonkers Raceway bettors.
Harness trainer Rene Allard was not among the original list of 29 names of those who were indicted, by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
But Rene Allard, is second in the current trainer’s standings at Yonkers Raceway, behind only Richard Banca, was arrested quietly out of town days later, causing some racing insiders to think he is cooperating with federal authorities.
The Yonkers Raceway insiders say that there are more indictments to come.
In light of the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the Yonkers City Clerk’s office has taken precautionary measures in order to protect our employees and the public.
This could get ugly. Yonkers mental health providers say family violence may spike amid outbreak
YONKERS, NY: A combination of reduced services, and people isolated at home amid the coronavirus outbreak has already made for a dangerous situation in the city of hills. with family shootings, stabbings and violence from domestic partners.
Abusers seek to isolate their partners from other people and the situation with coronavirus enhances their ability to do that.
Making the situation even more difficult is the outbreak has changed how many Yonkers mental health providers are operating.
Pretty much all preventive face-to-face assessments have been temporarily suspended, and all anger management training sessions scheduled through the month of April have been postponed.
All domestic violence shelters for Women and children in Westchester County are well over capacity.
The decreased capacity and the potential for increased need is rapidly causing a dangerous situation in the city of hills, as Governor Andrew Cuomo has put the city on “pause’.
Yonkers mental health groups have temporarily suspended all support groups and “programs that serve those not in immediate crisis, with staff working remotely.
Other agencies are also ending or limiting in-person services as the Yonkers Police Department and medical providers must work in a city where programs that provide domestic violence services have closed their offices.
Some Yonkers not for profit staff members say their offices are closed but will continue to offer 24/7 hotline services, crisis intervention, remote counseling emergency shelter referrals and children’s services.
New York’s statewide sexual assault crisis hotlines remain intact.
This is brand new for Yonkers social service workers.
They have never experienced something like this.
It’s not like we really have anything to compare it to or see what has worked best in the past.
Family violence victims and survivors can contact an advocate through the United Way’s 211 referral line.
But it is unclear if domestic violence victims who need to leave a desperate situation, even though shelters are at capacity, will get the help they need remotely form mental health providers working from their kitchen tables.
Soon Yonkers Police Offers will start hearing, “Oh no, I can’t leave, I have no place to go’ .
But it’s still unknown what impact the crisis will have on requests for mental health services from family violence victims who are housebound due to COVID-19 and facing challenges.
Anytime there’s widespread fear, anxiety or economic strain, domestic violence advocates prepare for increased calls.
If you are in immediate danger call the Yonkers Police Department at 911 and if you need other services call the United Way’s referal line at 211.
Richard W. Baldwin, of Riverdale and Yonkers, passed away peacefully on March 7, 2020, at Calvary Hospital, after a long battle with acute myeloid leukemia and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. He was 83.
Born Sept. 24, 1936, in Yonkers to Gladys and George Baldwin, he was a devoted husband to wonderful wife and best friend of 60 years, Susan.
He also was a beloved father to Richard Jr., and Keefe (deceased). He was a faithful brother to Marie and her children Bill, Eileen and Kathy.
He attended Yonkers public schools where he excelled in academics, sports and was voted “best personality” in his senior class.
He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, from which he was honorably discharged after three years of active duty.
He was the first in his family to attend college, earning a bachelor’s degree from New York University’s University College in three years while working full-time.
He founded a campus civil rights group and picketed Woolworth stores for their discriminatory practices.
He was granted a scholarship to NYU Law School, from which he graduated second in his class, again while working full-time. He was admitted to the New York Bar in 1965.
His career highlights include being a partner at Cardillo & Corbett, where he conducted arbitrations and litigations. He was president of Diesel Machinery International.
He was brokerage and management president and later deputy chair of Toisa Ltd., a Bermuda company which owned a fleet in excess of 40 oil tankers, dry cargo ships and offshore support vessels.
His community service included president of Riverdale Neighborhood House, a commodore in the Riverdale Yacht Club, director of Friends of the Hudson River Greenway, a trustee at Horace Mann School, and honors from both the Riverdale Neighborhood House and Bronx Arts Ensemble in 2005 and 2001, respectively.
He loved practicing law, arguing cases and being right. His favorite hobbies included hiking, travel, tennis, platform tennis (he was on several championship teams), basketball, reading non-fiction, fine wines, and collecting Adirondack art.
His greatest love was his family, to whom he was a constant source of strength, wisdom, integrity, guidance, generosity and love.
