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vrijdag 14 februari 2025
WORLD WORLDWIDE US USA - New York NY - New York City NYC - THE CITY - U.S. Attorney resigns rather than obey Trump DoJ
Dear New Yorkers,
A taxpayer-funded program to house incarcerated people released from Rikers in hotels during the COVID-19 pandemic became an elaborate fraud conspiracy, Brooklyn federal prosecutors charged Thursday.
Julio Medina, the CEO of Exodus Transitional Community, as well as his associates Christopher Dantzler, who owns an unlicensed security firm that provided security for the hotels, and Weihong Hu, the owner of two hotels, were charged with a wide variety of federal felonies.
“Through kickbacks and bribes, the defendants…capitalized on the COVID-19 crisis and exploited the Emergency Housing Program by engaging in a corrupt scheme to line their own pockets with millions of dollars intended to protect the public,” a 17-page indictment unsealed Thursday alleged.
THE CITY first reported on problems with Exodus’ finances in 2022, highlighting how the original no-bid contract amount had skyrocketed and flagging that one of the firms providing security at Hu’s hotel in Fresh Meadows, Queens, did not have a license.
After THE CITY’s reporting, Medina resigned as a member of the Board of Correction, the oversight committee that monitors Rikers Island.
THE CITY later exposed that millions of taxpayer dollars that could not be accounted for had been steered by Exodus into a secret subcontractor run by Dantzler that the city did not know existed.
And if the name Weihong Hu sounds familiar, that’s because we’ve investigated her mutually beneficial relationship with Adams — including her involvement in the Adams campaign’s receipt of illegal straw donations.
Read more here about the charges brought against Julio Medina, Weihong Hu and Christopher Dantzler.
Weather ☀️
The sun is back! Cold and breezy, with highs in the mid 30s.
MTA 🚇
There’s no 4 train in Brooklyn starting at 11:30 p.m. tonight and going through early Tuesday morning — the MTA advises you take the 2 or 3 instead. Find all the MTA’s planned changes and the latest delays here.
Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon resigned Thursday after refusing to obey an order by President Trump’s Justice Department to dismiss the pending corruption indictment against Adams. In her letter to Attorney General Pamela Bondi a day before, Sassoon argued that the “law does not support a dismissal,” adding that she is “confident that Adams has committed the crimes with which he is charged.”
Mayor Eric Adams emerged from his 90-minute meeting with U.S. “Border Czar” Tom Homan pledging to allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement to operate on Rikers Island, as it had until a decade ago when a “sanctuary city” law forbade cooperation. And before the mayor met with Homan to discuss immigration enforcement, the City Council’s Common Sense Caucus had its own sit-down with the federal immigration enforcer.
Jesse Hamilton, a longtime associate of Mayor Eric Adams, forced a real estate brokerage to hire his friend, new court papers allege. As a high-ranking commissioner at the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, he told the brokerage his agency works with on city leases that they would be pushed out if they didn’t hire his friend Diana Boutross, which the complaint claims boosted her commission on lucrative city deals.
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How to educate your kids now about creating long-lasting healthy money habits
Whether your kids are in elementary school, high school, or college — it’s never too early to start talking about money in a realistic way so kids can understand how it's used to support your lifestyle and help you achieve your goals and dreams. Here are tips that make it easier for kids of all ages to learn how to save, budget and begin managing their finances more independently:
Take notes and use tools: As your kids get older, explain the budgeting basics. There are many budgeting resources out there, so you can find the one that works for you and helps your kids learn to track spending.
Get organized and go digital: Find easy-to-use budgeting tools that work for kids and parents both, with different levels of parental oversight and management suitable for different age groups.
Plan for the future: Unexpected events in life can happen, so planning ahead may help reduce stress and better cope with whatever may occur. Building an emergency fund or saving for a rainy day is a crucial skill to learn.
The City Council on Thursday passed two bills that aim to protect homeowners from predatory real estate speculation and deed theft.
One bill, sponsored by Councilmember Crystal Hudson (D-Brooklyn), would require those who make unsolicited offers to purchase one- to three-family homes to disclose in writing the estimated market value of the property when making the offer.
The other, introduced by Councilmember Kevin Riley (D-The Bronx), would require the city to refer homeowners and their heirs to organizations that provide support related to estate planning, mortgage counseling and scam prevention.
The bills were prompted in part by an investigative series from THE CITY that featured family members who found themselves dispossessed from their own homes after investors forced a sale. The investors had purchased shares of homes for pennies on the dollar from far-flung heirs who had inherited the property.
— Samantha Maldonado
Jump in NYC Population
New York City’s population is growing again, according to an analysis of new census data by economists working for city Comptroller Brad Lander.
While city-specific data won’t be released until next month, the economists used statewide data released earlier this year to come up with city estimates. They believe the city gained 22,000 people in 2023. The U.S. Census had previously reported that the city’s population had declined by 78,000 that year. Last year may have seen an increase of 101,000, bringing the total to 8.46 million.
Many experts believe the 2020 census overstated the city’s population at 8.8 million, which made the COVID-related exodus from the city seem larger than it was. The new data also helps explain the reason why rents keep rising in the city, something that would not be happening with a major decline in population.
— Greg David
Things To Do
Here’s what’s going on around the city this weekend.
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