ManhattanTimes

10/23/2020

New crackdown on illegal debt collectionsNuevas medidas contra la cobranza ilegal de deudas - Manhattan Times News

New crackdown on illegal debt collections

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is cracking down on unlawful debt collectors.

In a national effort, dubbed “Operation Corrupt Collector,” the agency is collaborating with federal and state law enforcement partners to target collection agencies that use illegal scare tactics and attempt to collect on debt that a consumer does not owe, a practice the FTC calls “phantom debt collection.”

“These are the most egregious types of violations,” said Andrew Smith, Director of the FTC Consumer Protection Bureau, who announced the crackdown during a conference call with reporters on September 29. “These are collectors that harass people for debts they don’t actually owe or don’t have the right to collect.”

Smith said that unscrupulous collectors are impersonating government organizations, using abusive and threatening langues, profanity and racial slurs and sometimes threatening citizens with arrest or deportation.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is cracking down on unlawful debt collectors. In a national effort, dubbed “Operation Corrupt Collector,” the agency is collaborating with federal and state law enforcement...

10/23/2020

Hope MattersLa esperanza importa - Manhattan Times News

Hope Matters

Lose hope, game over.

The words of a dear friend ring in my ears these days. But it’s hard to stay hopeful. Just when it seems like things cannot get worse, they do. The events of these days feel like a deluge that is distressing and disturbing. They feel like a darkness that poses real threats to our mental health.

Now more than ever, we need to find the cracks in this night and turn to the light.

Now more than ever, we cannot lose hope. I promise you.

Hope matters. We can cultivate it. We can teach it.

Lose hope, game over. The words of a dear friend ring in my ears these days. But it's hard to stay hopeful. Just when it seems like things cannot get worse, they do. The events of these days feel like a deluge that is distressing and disturbing.

10/23/2020

Coalition seeks Supreme Court review of "gag rule"Coalición busca que la Corte Suprema revise la "ley mordaza" - Manhattan Times News

Coalition seeks Supreme Court review of “gag rule”

The AGs are going after the “gag rule.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James is leading a coalition of 22 attorneys general asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a circuit court decision upholding the Trump Administration’s Title X family planning rule.

Also known as the “gag rule,” the mandate reduces access to reproductive health care services, including birth control and referrals for abortions.

“Since day one, the Trump Administration has done everything in its power to deny women access to reproductive health coverage,” said James in a statement. “By removing so many of the vital and essential services funded by Title X, President Trump and his administration are essentially holding women’s reproductive freedoms captive. These rules are baseless, dangerous, and will prevent millions of women from accessing quality, safe reproductive health care, which is why we are asking the Supreme Court to intervene and protect women’s reproductive rights.”

James said that the “gag rule” places an unlawful and unethical restriction on the ability of health care providers at clinics receiving Title X funds to fully inform patients of the reproductive health services available to them by disallowing referrals for abortions and restricting counseling related to abortions.

The Title X family planning program is considered instrumental in the delivery of preventive and reproductive health care to low-income and underserved women and families.

The AGs are going after the "gag rule." New York Attorney General Letitia James is leading a coalition of 22 attorneys general asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a circuit court decision...

10/23/2020

First FellowsPrimeros becarios - Manhattan Times News

New program announced by CUNY and NYC Comptroller

They are public sector partners.

New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer and City University of New York (CUNY) Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez have announced a new partnership that will provide recent CUNY graduates with paid fellowships.

A group of 20 graduates has been selected for a six-month, paid fellowship program at various bureaus of the Office of the New York City Comptroller that began on October 5 and will conclude in April 2021.

Fellows will gain hands-on experience in core government functions, including law, policy, contracts, auditing, engineering, accountancy, communications and diversity initiatives.

The program is designed to help the next generation of New York City leaders enter the job market, Stringer said in a statement.

“Our young people are our future. We always need a strong bench of driven, talented civic leaders ready to step up and shape the city of tomorrow — and it’s our responsibility to create pathways of opportunity for the next generation,” said Stringer. “That’s why I am proud to launch the first-ever fellowship program with the City University of New York at the Office of the Comptroller, so young people can attain first-hand knowledge and experience in public service and use these skills to push our city forward. I know this passionate cohort of fellows will be an invaluable asset to our city, and that this program will be a stepping stone for a lifetime of civic engagement.”

Son socios del sector público. El contralor de la ciudad de Nueva York, Scott Stringer, y el canciller de la City University de Nueva York (CUNY, por sus siglas en inglés), Félix V. Matos Rodríguez...

10/23/2020

Get Yours: Let's Save Our Democracy

The latest edition of Uptown's bilingual community newspaper is out now.

Art: Andrea Arroyo Artist

www.manhattantimesnews.com

#Election2020 #PresidentialElection2020 #ManhattanTimes #WashHts #Inwood #Harlem #UptownLove #WashingtonHeights

10/22/2020

Tenant eviction moratorium extended to January 1Moratoria de desalojo de inquilinos extendida hasta el 1 de enero - Manhattan Times News

Tenant eviction moratorium extended to January 1

It’s a break- just til year’s end.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has extended New York’s eviction moratorium until January 1, 2021.

On September 28, Cuomo issued an executive order that expands the state’s Tenant Safe Harbor Act, which protects tenants from eviction if they are suffering financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As New York continues to fight the pandemic, we want to make sure New Yorkers who are still struggling financially will not be forced from their homes as a result of COVID,” Cuomo said in a statement. “We are extending the protections of the Safe Harbor Act through January 1 because we want tenants to have fundamental stability in their lives as we recover from this crisis.”

Es una pausa, solo hasta fin de año. El gobernador Andrew Cuomo ha ampliado la moratoria de desalojo de Nueva York hasta el 1 de enero de 2021. El 28 de septiembre, Cuomo emitió una orden ejecutiva...

10/22/2020

Coronavirus exposure app launchedLanzamiento de aplicación de exposición al coronavirus - Manhattan Times News

Coronavirus exposure app launched

There’s an app for this too.

The state has announced the launch of COVID Alert NY, a smartphone app that will alert New Yorkers if they were in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.

The free app is currently available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Bengali, Korean, Russian and Haitian Creole.

COVID Alert NY does not track your location or collect any personal data, Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

The app uses Bluetooth technology to sense proximity to another phone that has the same app. It can send an alert if a user has been within 6 feet of another app user who tests positive for the coronavirus.

The state has announced the launch of COVID Alert NY, a smartphone app that will alert New Yorkers if they were in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19...

10/22/2020

UC Recap – October 5th – October 10th - Manhattan Times News

Op-Ed: Remember, Remember the 8th of November

By Led Black

That was the day that democracy died. That day, four years ago, marks the beginning of the end of the American Experiment. Our long national nightmare, which we have not woken up from, began on that day, November 8, 2016. That was the day that America, the wealthiest and most powerful empire the world has ever known, gave the keys to the kingdom to a malignant narcissist who is utterly devoid of morality, empathy or decency. There would be a heavy price to pay for what transpired on that day.

When the history of The Great Unraveling of the once-mighty United States is written, that day will be known as the day this nation began its descent. That day, more than any other day, conclusively validated the concept that elections have consequences. We are living – better yet, we are suffering – from the consequences of electing a senile, racist former reality TV star to the highest office in the land. That day will go down in infamy.

It is of little consolation that Trump actually lost the popular vote by three million votes, or that Putin The Puppeteer tipped the scales in his favor, or that the media, in their frenzy to cash in on the Trump phenomenon, gave him a free pass that he used to his full advantage. Those things matter not anymore. The Tyrant came to power on that day. America and the world would never be the same again.

Nothing says a democracy in terminal decline quite like a Trump presidency. On that day, Donald “The Defiler” Trump began the process of completely remaking this country in his image. The Swamp Thing was about to take over the swamp. That day led to these dark days of this terrible pandemic that has upended and diminished our lives beyond recognition. The COVID chickens have come home to roost.

Remember, Remember the 8th of November. That was the day that democracy died. That day, four years ago, marks the beginning of the end of the American Experiment. Our long national nightmare, which we have not woken up from, began on that day, November 8, 2016.

10/22/2020

"It took us by surprise""Nos tomó por sorpresa" - Manhattan Times News

“It took us by surprise”

When Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson announced in December 2019 that the city was committing to provide another $54 million annually to nonprofits for funding overhead costs, human services organizations were heartened.

“It was like a light at the end of the tunnel,” remarked Maria Lizardo, Executive Director of Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation (NMIC), which provides legal assistance to residents in Northern Manhattan and the Bronx. “The money we get from city contracts doesn’t cover much of our operating expenses, so we were thrilled to think we’d have more of our essential costs covered.”

The Indirect Cost Rate (ICR) funding initiative was designed to help nonprofits with city contracts by paying them more to cover indirect costs, which can include rent and payroll as well as IT, maintenance, human resources and accounting expenses.

However, after the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the city’s finances, de Blasio and Johnson declared they were slashing $20 million a year from the initiative — including retroactively from FY20 — as the city’s latest budget was approved.

The about-face left many in the nonprofit sector stunned.

Cuando el alcalde Bill de Blasio y el presidente del Concejo de la ciudad, Corey Johnson, anunciaron en diciembre de 2019 que la ciudad se comprometía a proporcionar otros $54 millones de dólares anuales...

10/22/2020

Get Yours: YOUR VOTE IS YOUR VOICE!

The latest edition of Uptown's bilingual community newspaper is out now.

Art: Andrea Arroyo

www.manhattantimesnews.com

#Election2020 #PresidentialElection2020 #ManhattanTimes #WashHts #Inwood #Harlem #UptownLove #WashingtonHeights

10/21/2020

Refugee RebootCuenta a cero de los refugiados - Manhattan Times News

Refugee Reboot

Safe harbor is at a standstill.

As the Trump administration approaches a deadline to announce the number of refugees the United States plans to admit in 2021, advocates for refugees fear for the future of the country’s resettlement program.

At a media briefing on Tuesday, members of the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) said the resettlement program in the U.S. “has been dismantled under the Trump administration,” noting that the number of refugees admitted in 2020 will be an all-time low.

“A program that [once] took nearly 100,000 refugees each year, this year will probably not take in more than 11,000 people,” said Sunil Varghese, Policy Director at IRAP.

The President is required by law to consult with Congress about the new refugee cap number for the coming fiscal year, which begins on October 1. Though that cap number is typically set by the end of September, Trump had not yet held those discussions as of September 29, Varghese said.

El puerto seguro está estancado. A medida que la administración Trump se acerca a la fecha límite para anunciar el número de refugiados que Estados Unidos planea admitir en 2021...

10/21/2020

New crackdown on illegal debt collectionsNuevas medidas contra la cobranza ilegal de deudas - Manhattan Times News

New crackdown on illegal debt collections

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is cracking down on unlawful debt collectors.

In a national effort, dubbed “Operation Corrupt Collector,” the agency is collaborating with federal and state law enforcement partners to target collection agencies that use illegal scare tactics and attempt to collect on debt that a consumer does not owe, a practice the FTC calls “phantom debt collection.”

“These are the most egregious types of violations,” said Andrew Smith, Director of the FTC Consumer Protection Bureau, who announced the crackdown during a conference call with reporters on September 29. “These are collectors that harass people for debts they don’t actually owe or don’t have the right to collect.”

Smith said that unscrupulous collectors are impersonating government organizations, using abusive and threatening langues, profanity and racial slurs and sometimes threatening citizens with arrest or deportation.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is cracking down on unlawful debt collectors. In a national effort, dubbed “Operation Corrupt Collector,” the agency is collaborating with federal and state law enforcement...

10/21/2020

Hope MattersLa esperanza importa - Manhattan Times News

Hope Matters

Lose hope, game over.

The words of a dear friend ring in my ears these days. But it’s hard to stay hopeful. Just when it seems like things cannot get worse, they do. The events of these days feel like a deluge that is distressing and disturbing. They feel like a darkness that poses real threats to our mental health.

Now more than ever, we need to find the cracks in this night and turn to the light.

Now more than ever, we cannot lose hope. I promise you.

Hope matters. We can cultivate it. We can teach it.

Lose hope, game over. The words of a dear friend ring in my ears these days. But it's hard to stay hopeful. Just when it seems like things cannot get worse, they do. The events of these days feel like a deluge that is distressing and disturbing.

10/21/2020

Coalition seeks Supreme Court review of "gag rule"Coalición busca que la Corte Suprema revise la "ley mordaza" - Manhattan Times News

Coalition seeks Supreme Court review of “gag rule”

The AGs are going after the “gag rule.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James is leading a coalition of 22 attorneys general asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a circuit court decision upholding the Trump Administration’s Title X family planning rule.

Also known as the “gag rule,” the mandate reduces access to reproductive health care services, including birth control and referrals for abortions.

“Since day one, the Trump Administration has done everything in its power to deny women access to reproductive health coverage,” said James in a statement. “By removing so many of the vital and essential services funded by Title X, President Trump and his administration are essentially holding women’s reproductive freedoms captive. These rules are baseless, dangerous, and will prevent millions of women from accessing quality, safe reproductive health care, which is why we are asking the Supreme Court to intervene and protect women’s reproductive rights.”

James said that the “gag rule” places an unlawful and unethical restriction on the ability of health care providers at clinics receiving Title X funds to fully inform patients of the reproductive health services available to them by disallowing referrals for abortions and restricting counseling related to abortions.

The Title X family planning program is considered instrumental in the delivery of preventive and reproductive health care to low-income and underserved women and families.

The AGs are going after the "gag rule." New York Attorney General Letitia James is leading a coalition of 22 attorneys general asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a circuit court decision...