White Plains CitizeNetReporter

WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. SPECIAL TO WPCNR from Paul Feiner, Greenburgh Town Supervisor. September 21, 2019:

Earlier this week, a swastika was found at Scarsdale High School. In the past, swastikas were found on street signs in the River Villages of Greenburgh, and in a  nursery school in  Westchester  County. Usually, the person who commits the act is not caught. 

Two years ago, I received  threatening anti -semitic emails  directed to my work email summarized by the  Westchester  County District Attorney’s office below. The Greenburgh Police Department’s  Detectives were exceptional-they identified  the alleged person who made the threat against me and my family and made an arrest.  The  accused  pled not guilty after spending a night in jail and posting bail. This week, there was a trial in White Plains City Court and the individual (who does not live in Greenburgh) was convicted.

A special thank you to the outstanding efforts  and skills of the Greenburgh Police Department and to the Westchester County District Attorney’s office for their efforts and for  successfully prosecuting the  alleged crime.

We read, almost daily, of anti-semitic  and racist acts around Westchester, the Region and the Nation.  We should not become immune to  acts of intolerance  of any type.  I hope that this conviction will send a message to people who are considering threatening others that they could get caught and prosecuted.  Even more importantly, I hope we can all  learn to respect and support  each other.P

Sept. 20, 2019 — Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr. announced that Timothy Goetze,44, of White Plains was found guilty of three counts of Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree, class A misdemeanors, for threats made against Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner and his family in 2017.

Goetze was found guilty Thursday following a bench trial before Judge Jo Ann Friia in White Plains City Court. The court sentenced Goetze to a one-year conditional discharge with 75 hours community service and orders of protection for Feiner, his wife and his daughter.

DA Scarpino noted, “This verdict against Mr. Goetze is an important outcome which illustrates how we seek justice whenever there is a threat to a public figure or any residents of Westchester. Threatening messages will always be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Let anyone who might make such threats know we will go after them. We commend Greenburgh Police on their investigation and maintaining the safety of the Town. We hope the Feiner family can now rest easier.”

Background

In August 2017, Greenburgh Police investigated three threatening emails sent anonymously to Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner. The emails were prompted by a controversy regarding a confederate monument at a private cemetery. 

The content of the three emails was identical, but each contained a different subject line: “Human Rights Education;” “Letter to the Ugly Dumb Jew;” and “Letter to the Parasite.” Among other things the writer used profanities and directed numerous Anti-Semitic slurs to Mr. Feiner. 

The final sentence bore this threat: “You better run and hide you stupid f–king jew (sic). We are coming for you and your family,” signed by “Anti-Zionist.” Although the emails did not have the defendant’s name, an investigation led to Timothy Goetze as the sender. 

In court, the defendant’s sole defense was on First Amendment/free speech grounds.  The Court ruled against that theory, stating that the emails were not mainly political statements; rather the content was largely a personal attack on Supervisor Feiner and his family and constituted a “true threat.” 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Shameika Mathurin of the White Plains Branch and Laura Forbes of the Investigations Division of the DA’s Office.

NEW YORK STATE IMPLEMENTS FIRST-IN-THE-NATION BAN ON FLAVORED E-CIGARETTES

Public Health and Health Planning Council Votes to Adopt Emergency Regulations, Following Direction from Governor Cuomo to Convene on this IssueB

New York State Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker to Evaluate a Ban on Menthol Flavor and Offer Recommendation within 14 Days

WPCNR ALBANY ROUNDS. From the Statehouse September 17, 2019:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that New York State is the first state in the nation to implement a ban on the sale of flavored electronic cigarettes and nicotine e-liquids, following a vote on emergency regulations by the Public Health and Health Planning Council.

The ban, which is now in effect, is the latest in a series of actions to combat the increase in young people using vape products, largely as a result of e-cigarette companies marketing flavors that are intended to get children addicted to nicotine.

“It is undeniable that vaping companies are deliberately using flavors like bubblegum, Captain Crunch and cotton candy to get young people hooked on e-cigarettes – it’s a public health crisis and it ends today,” Governor Cuomo said. “New York is not waiting for the federal government to act, and by banning flavored e-cigarettes we are safeguarding the public health and helping prevent countless young people from forming costly, unhealthy and potentially deadly life-long habits.”

On Sunday, Governor Cuomo directed the Department of Health to convene an emergency meeting of PHHC to consider this ban.

The Governor also directed State Police and DOH to immediately partner to ramp up enforcement efforts against retailers who sell to underage youth, with the possibility of criminal penalties, in addition to announcing that he will advance legislation to ban deceptive marketing of e-cigarettes to teens and children. 

As part of the Family Smoking and Tobacco Prevention Act of 2009, the U.S. Congress banned the sale of cigarettes with flavors other than menthol and tobacco.

New York State Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said, “The alarmingly high numbers of young people in New York State who are using vape products is nothing short of a public health crisis. These regulations are a part of many critical steps we are taking to combat this disturbing trend. We will continue to be aggressive in our efforts to prevent nicotine addiction and bad marketing practices under Governor Cuomo’s leadership.”

Flavors are largely responsible for the dramatic increase in use of e-cigarettes by youth and are a principal reason that youth initiate and maintain e-cigarette use.

According to Department of Health data, nearly 40 percent of 12th grade students and 27 percent of high school students in New York State are now using e-cigarettes, and this increase is largely driven by flavored e-liquids.

High school use in 2018 (27.4%) is 160 percent higher than it was in 2014 (10.5%). While New York’s high school student smoking rate dropped from 27.1% in 2000 to a record low of 4.3% in 2016, aggressive marketing strategies promoting flavored e-cigarettes is primed to turn that trend.

Flavoring is a key youth marketing strategy of the vaping/aerosol industry just as it is in the cigarette, cigar and smokeless tobacco markets. E-cigarette marketing highlights flavors such as mint chocolate, bubblegum and cherry cola, and creates a deceptive belief that they are not harmful to users.

In a 2017 survey of 15 to 17 year-old adolescents in New York State currently using electronic vapor products, 19% of the adolescents said that flavors were the reason that they first tried an e-cigarette and 27% said flavors were the reason for maintaining use.

Studies also show nearly 78% of high school students and 75% of middle school students report being exposed to pro-tobacco marketing in 2016. Legislation will be advanced next session to prevent these deceptive and misleading advertisements to target our youth.

The Department of Health will provide retailers with an approximate two-week grace period before conducting visits to enforce the flavoring ban beginning on Monday, October 4. 

Local health departments and the Department’s District Offices, with State oversight, will handle enforcement.

Retailers who violate the ban will face fines of up to $2,000 per violation, which is defined as each unit of flavored e-liquid or product containing e-liquid that is possessed, manufactured, sold or offered for sale.

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Maintenance, Cleaning Workers and Others Get New Help When Buildings or Contracts Change Hands

WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From the Westchester County Board of Legislators and SEIU 32BJ. September 16, 2019:

On Monday night, the Westchester County Board of Legislators voted on a bi-partisan basis, 16-1, to strengthen a law protecting building service workers like cleaning staff and maintenance personal, who face displacement when building ownership or service contracts change hands.

The Displaced Service Employees Protection Law was originally passed also by a vote of 16-1 in 2013. It created a required transition period, during which new employers must offer workers the chance to remain on the job. It also created a time frame for those offers and for that transitional employment, and created limits on the size of contractors who are covered.

The changes passed Monday lower the threshold for covered contractors from 15 to 5 employees and extend the transitional employment period from 60 days to 90 days.

The SEIU issued this statement: “The Westchester County Board of Legislators passed an amendment to the Displaced Service Employees Protection Law to further prevent shady contractors from leaving workers jobless. That is what happened in White Plains exactly a year ago, when a new building owner let go of five loyal cleaners at 1 & 3 Barker Street. The county’s displaced worker law, passed in 2013, was intended to guarantee such workers a temporary period of employment after a contract changed hands at medium and large commercial buildings, if the contractor had 15 or more employees.

But the new owners of 1 & 3 Barker brought in a contractor whose size and identity still remains hidden from both the former employees and the union that represents them, 32BJ SEIU.

“It was hard for the employees to enforce their rights,” said 32BJ SEIU Assistant to the President Lenore Friedlaender in testimony before the Board of Legislators this evening. “We didn’t know the name of the new employer and we could not establish that the new employer had 15 or more employees…These amendments would strengthen the existing law, insure a more level playing field for responsible employers, and provide more transparency when service contracts change.”

In addition, there are expanded requirements for information sharing to ensure that workers know in a timely manner precisely whom they must communicate with at the new employer.

Leg. Catherine Borgia (D -Briarcliff Manor, Cortlandt, Croton-on-Hudson, Ossining, Peekskill), one of the co-sponsors, said, “Since 2013, it became clear that there were provisions that needed to change.  We needed to prevent employers from making an end run around the spirit of the law by using small companies, or avoiding their obligations by not being sufficiently transparent in their communications with workers.  We want to make sure the law does what it was intended to do — protect working families in Westchester.”

Another co-sponsor, Leg. Kitley Covill (D – Bedford, Lewisboro, Mount Kisco, North Salem, Pound Ridge, Somers) said,

“This law is about protecting people who, through no fault of their own, find their livelihoods threated. With the changes we’ve passed, these hard working people will now have a longer time to find new work or better yet to maybe make the case for themselves to their new employers, more people will be covered by the law, and new employers won’t be hidden behind a string of names, address and legal entities. We want to make sure service workers in Westchester County are getting a fair shake.”

Co-sponsor Leg. David Tubiolo (D – Mount Vernon, Yonkers) said,

“Today, we rectify the loopholes to stop corporate greed from taking advantage of working people. With our amendments, service workers will be reassured that they can’t just be displaced, because a company wants to make an insignificant profit. Protecting working people is part of our identity, being just and fair, but is also good government in action”.

Lenore Friedlaender, Assistant to the President of 32BJ SEIU and head of the union in the Hudson Valley, said, “When employers try to circumvent the intent of the law in an effort to reduce wages and benefits it destabilizes the playing field and creates a destructive race to the bottom. Workers wages, benefits and job security suffer as a result.”

“We all understand that our jobs could change very suddenly, if an owner of a building changes the contractor. I have seen it happen to friends of mine,” said Maria Trejo a cleaner at the BOSCES School in Valhalla and a member of 32BJ. “That is why we first passed the Displaced Worker Law. But we need to make that law stronger. We need to make sure that new contractors don’t hide, and it’s important that small contractors follow the rules just like big contractors.”

WPCNR COUNTY-CLARION LEDGER. SEPTEMBER 16, 2019:

With Service Employees International Union 32BJ on the dais with them, County Chairman of the Board of Legislators, Benjamin Boykin, held a news conference this morning introducing the significance of tonight’s upcoming vote on a new addition to the County Displaced Workers Law that would close a loophole allowing companies to evade treating service workers unfairly by hiding behind previous dispensations for number of employees.