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donderdag 17 augustus 2023

WORLD WORLDWIDE USA New York NY New York City NYC the city THE CITY News Journal Update - THE CITY SCOOP: City Agency Sent Every Worker Their Colleagues’ Personal Info

 

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Dear New Yorkers,

The city Department of Finance accidentally shared the home addresses, cell phone numbers and personal email addresses of more than 1,700 employees among all those workers.

It happened when the department — the city’s tax collection agency — inadvertently emailed a roster of all of its staff’s information in a botched test of its emergency notification system, THE CITY has learned.

The snafu was accompanied by automated calls to agency employees that were mistakenly made around 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday, rather than at the planned time of 10 a.m. They featured a brief recording saying the calls were a test of the emergency notification system. 

One Department of Finance employee, who asked THE CITY for confidentiality, said a number of workers had expressed concern about the widespread sharing of their personal information.

“We don’t know who out there has our information, how they’re going to use it and who they’re going to share it with,” the staffer said.

Read more here.

In other news:

Migrant Rift Opening Between NY’s Top Dems

The alliance between Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams over how to handle the migrant crisis just cracked. Late Tuesday, Hochul submitted a legal brief claiming the state has offered the city lots of support — but the city has failed to use much of it or to request repayment for what it has spent. 

The filing came from a private attorney after Attorney General Letitia James declined to represent the governor — a rare move showing a big gap between the two. 

A judge had asked for the letter ahead of a coming court hearing in a lawsuit seeking to strictly apply the city’s right-to-shelter legal agreements, after Adams began to cut corners. In recent weeks, migrants slept outside the city’s “welcome center” in midtown Manhattan for multiple nights. 

Hochul’s filing makes some legal sense, as a way to try and ensure a judge doesn’t extend the city’s right to shelter, which stems from a clause in the state constitution, to all of the Empire State.

But what’s meant to be an indictment is also a confession, given how the city is only an agent of the state, with only the powers the state delegates to it. That means a governor blaming a mayor for not doing his job is admitting she hasn’t done her own by stepping in. 

— Harry Siegel 

 

Interboro Express Approaches 

Last night the MTA updated commuters on the anticipated Interboro Express light rail line, which would largely run along an existing freight rail line and connect Bay Ridge in Brooklyn with Jackson Heights in Queens.

Michael J. Shiffer, the MTA’s senior vice president of regional planning, said during the “town hall” webinar that he expects a two-year environmental review process to kick off in the next few months, paving the way for what he called “a transformative new transit connection” linking up to 17 subway lines and the Long Island Rail Road.

He noted that in order to preserve freight service along the corridor, the MTA would have to reconfigure trenches and as many as 45 bridges. “That’s where most of the expense comes in,” he said. “You have a lot of complexity in this right of way.”

The Port Authority is spearheading a separate review of a potential freight service upgrade that could include a long-envisioned Cross Harbor Freight Tunnel linking New Jersey and Brooklyn. Currently, the line carries no more than three freight trains a day.

One recurring question popped up Wednesday night: Why can’t the Interboro Express reach The Bronx, as earlier route concepts did? Blame the coming Penn Access project that will connect four Bronx Metro-North stations to Penn Station in Manhattan, said Shiffer: 

“The existing corridor is completely subscribed.” 

— Alyssa Katz

Some other items of note:

  • A long-simmering conflict between locals and vendors at Corona Plaza in Queens has boiled over in recent weeks — with law enforcement shutting down vendors who lack licenses, and advocates saying the city hasn’t provided a pathway to getting licenses. Earlier this week, vendor advocates filed a complaint with the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) alleging that an officer from the 110th Precinct had encouraged opposition groups to protest vendors. Concerned about being targeted by a group that appeared to be working with the NYPD, the vendors canceled a planned event.  

  • In hand: about $1 billion. Requested: $1.5 billion. Being pursued by Mayor Eric Adams’ administration: Billions more in federal funds for transportation projects — which NYC must compete for against other municipalities. Money to rebuild the Brooklyn Queens Expressway and to create an electric vehicle fleet and charging ports throughout the city are reportedly at the top of the administration’s wishlist.

  • A new $10 million loan program for Bronx businesses, funded with money left over from the long-forgotten Bronx empowerment zone, will be announced today by Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-The Bronx) and Borough President Vanessa Gibson. The loans, to be handed out by the Bronx Economic Development Corp., will range from $5,000 to $350,000 and can be used for a variety of purposes including payroll, inventory and equipment. Eligible businesses will be primarily in the South Bronx, which was the heart of the federal empowerment zone.

Weather scoop by New York Metro Weather

Thursday's Weather Rating: 4/10. An unsettled feel continues, with high temps in the low 80s and rising dew points as the day goes on. We'll have to dodge a few scattered showers and storms throughout the day, too. The vibes are uncomfortable out there once again.

Things To Do

Here’s what’s going on around the city this week.

  • Thursday, Aug. 17Shakespeare on the Beach, with a performance of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” through Sun. Aug 20, at Beach 94th Street and Shorefront Parkway, Rockaway Beach. 7:30 to 9 p.m. Free.

  • Saturday, Aug. 19: August Farmhouse Family Day, with clay leaf printing activities, at Wyckoff Family Museum in Brooklyn. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free.

  • Sunday, Aug. 20: Endea Owens: The Community Cookout at Marcus Garvey Park Sankofa Pavilion in Harlem, 3 p.m. Free. (Plan ahead: This is the first of many free events connected to the annual Charlie Parker Jazz Festival next week.)

THE KICKER: Yesterday, NYC joined lots of other local, state and federal governments in banning TikTok on government-issued devices over security concerns. It won’t affect normal devices — but the TikTok accounts belonging to some city agencies, and the mayor’s office, are no longer monitored.

Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Thursday.

Love,
THE CITY

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