WORLD WORLDWIDE US USA - New York NY - New York City NYC - the city THE CITY - Wage theft at HotHead Grabba factory, Landers’ storm report

 

Dear New Yorkers,

Just weeks after THE CITY exposed a Brooklyn sweatshop where women say they got sick from processing HotHead Grabba tobacco  sold in local smoke shops, two former workers at a Queens factory have filed wage theft complaints.

The former workers are two Ecuadorian migrants. In the complaints submitted to the state Department of Labor, they assert that they typically worked between 10 and 13 hours a day, seven days a week at an Ozone Park assembly line packing tobacco into five-gram plastic tubes.

A man they knew only as El Niño told them they would be paid $10 an hour, the men said in their complaints. The New York minimum wage at the time was $15 an hour, now up to $16.

They were never paid even the $10 an hour, according to the complaint — either getting shortchanged or not paid at all, earning total wages that amount to less than $4 an hour.

They only realized the extent of how much money they were owed after they attended a know-your-rights workshop at the Jackson Heights office of the immigrant advocacy organization Make The Roade.

The younger brother said he hopes that HotHead will stop denying other workers their due wages.

“We’re angry, and we feel like we were cheated,” he said. “We want [HotHead] to really think about what they’ve done with our pay, and to stop cheating workers out of their pay and taking advantage.”

Read more about the new complaint here, and THE CITY’s first exposé about a HotHead Grabba sweatshop here.

Weather scoop by New York Metro Weather Tuesday's Weather Rating: 7/10. A very nice start, with high temperatures in the low 60s and plenty of sunshine. A sea breeze cools things down by afternoon, with clouds moving in later ahead of our next storm system. For most of the day though, the vibes are pretty good!

Our Other Top Stories

Both Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams have praised the housing deal that emerged as part of the state budget that was finalized in Albany over the weekend. The provisions offer a tax break for new developments that guarantee some affordable apartments, speed the conversion of obsolete office buildings to residential use, increase the number of apartments that can be built in a single building and let landlords invest in renovating vacant apartments. But each one of those elements contains restrictions and requirements that make their impact uncertain. Yesterday, City Comptroller Brad Lander released a report on how city agencies handled Tropical Storm Ophelia, which dumped 8.65 inches of rain in some parts of the city on September 29, 2023. Among the litany of shortcomings that the report said hampered the city’s response: poor communication, staff shortages and out-of-service equipment. On the latest episode of FAQ NYC, Citizens Budget Commission President Andrew Rein breaks down what we know about the nearly quarter-trillion dollar state budget that just dropped weeks late. The hosts also delve into what to expect from the city’s ongoing budget negotiations, and much more. Listen here.

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Things To Do

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

Tuesday, April 23 through Friday, April 26: Spring Break! Family Activities, a daily roster of activities and workshops for children and families. Times vary; registration recommended. Free with admission at the Museum of the City of New York. Tuesday, April 23 through Tuesday, April 30: Spring Break in Prospect Park, a variety of family-friendly nature activities. Free from 12 to 5 p.m. at the Prospect Park Audubon Center. Friday, April 26 and Saturday, April 27: The 12th Annual Black Comic Book Festival, an event featuring panel discussions, workshops and cosplay showcases to celebrate Black comic books and graphic novels. Free from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Friday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem.

THE KICKER: A new Parks Department unit is crushing abandoned boats that have been sitting on a lot since Hurricane Sandy, reports Curbed.

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

Love,

THE CITY

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