Bronx State Sen. Gustavo Rivera goes back to his roots in academia to teach a series of civics classes that start tonight at 6 p.m. at the Bronx Library Center. Click here for the full story from the Norwood News.
Showing posts with label Bronx politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bronx politics. Show all posts
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Bronx Reps Say Debt Limit Deal Unfairly Burdens Middle Class, Gives Free Pass to Rich
[Video: Engel talks about his opposition to the debt limit deal.]
Earlier today, the U.S. Senate voted in favor of a budget agreement that would allow the nation to raise its debt ceiling while making trillions of dollars in cuts to government spending programs. Last night, the Republican-controlled House approved the same plan and President Obama is expected to sign it immediately before the country starts defaulting on its debt obligations.
While Democrats were split evenly between yays and nays, the three Bronx representatives, all Democrats, in the House -- Jose Serrano, Eliot Engel and Joe Crowley (who's more of a Queens guy than a Bronx guy, but he still counts) -- all voted against the deal.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Bronx News Roundup, Thursday, July 21
Weather: Today's high of 96, which will really feel more like 104 with the humidity, will be roundly trumped by tomorrow's high of 101, which will really feel more like the seventh circle of Hades.
Story of the Day: Bronx Charter School on Probation for Shady Lottery Practices
The Academic Leadership Charter School, which opened on East 141st Street in 2009, is in hot water and in danger being closed after city investigators discovered that the school may have manipulated its lottery selection process to weed out unwanted students. City officials accused the school's leadership of investigating students' past history and possibly even testing them before the selection played out, a huge charter school no-no. The lottery system, which is mandated by state law, "is at the heart of being a charter school," says James Merriman of the New York City Charter School Center. If the school doesn't revamp its lottery process and implement other changes, the school could be closed.
Quick Hits:
Residents say the city should have shuttered a Morris Heights brownstone that had been chopped up into illegal subdivisions before a fire that engulfed the house resulted in the death of a 65-year-old man.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera of the Bronx Now Selling Real Estate
We missed this in our earlier roundup. Joel Rivera, the City Council's majority leader is going to work for RE/MAX Results, a Bronx real estate broker based in Throgs Neck.
Rivera, now a "newly licensed sales associate," had this to say in the company's press release:
“I have been committed to public service my entire life so working in a service industry like real estate is a natural extension for me. I enjoy helping to build communities and working with Bronx families to help them make the best decisions and achieve the American Dream. Real estate is the best investment a person can make and I want to offer the top notch service. People deserve to have the anxiety removed from the buying and selling process and for it to be as seamless as possible.”Rivera, who is term limited, will not be able to run again for his seat in the 15th District in 2013, though it is possible that his father, former Bronx Democratic Party chairman Jose Rivera, will vacate his Assembly seat so his son can run to replace him.
(Hat tip to the New York Observer for alerting us to this.)
Thursday, June 23, 2011
BP Diaz's Testimony From Last Night's Muller Center Hearing
The public hearing over the future of the Muller Army Center in Wakefield took place last night, at P.S. 21 on 225th Street.
BxNN reporter Alex Kratz was there and will post a more detailed account later, but he said the majority of those who attended--a strong showing of Wakefield and Woodlawn residents, and many members of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition--are against the city's plan to fill the building with a homeless shelter, and support the idea of moving the National Guard from an annex at the Kingsbridge Armory into the Wakefield site to free up school space (you can read some more background in yesterday's news roundup).
Kratz said that Father Richard Gorman of CB 12 got the crowd going with an impassioned speech that took several hilarious digs at Mayor Bloomberg. Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., who sits on a panel overseeing the building's redevelopment, also testified--you can read his full statement in the document below.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Rent Law Pact "Terrible Deal," For Tenants, Advocate Says
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| Local leaders and residents rally on the Bronx Courthouse steps last week for stronger rent laws (photo by Jeanmarie Evelly) |
Housing advocates and many Bronx elected officials have been pushing to see the laws not only extended, but strengthened in favor of tenants. But the legislature's tentative deal, struck last night, does little to meet most of the goals these groups wanted to see addressed.
"It's a terrible deal," said Michael McKee, of the Tenants Political Action Committee, who has been camped out in Albany since last week.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Bronx Sen. Gustavo Rivera Says Dems Want Strengthened Rent Laws, Not Just Extension of Old Ones
Last night, Democrats voted not to extend rent regulations because they say the status quo isn't good enough. Today, Bronx State Senator Gustavo Rivera, whose 33rd District includes a wide swath of the northwest Bronx and 72,000 rent regulated apartments, said they are holding out for strengthened rent regulations. See the video above.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Bronx News Roundup, June 14
Morning, Bronxites! Your weather forecast for today calls for some cooler weather, with temperatures hanging around the low 60s, and a chance of rain this afternoon.
Story of the Day: Getting Down to the Wire in Albany
It's the last week of business for our state legislators before this year's session ends on Monday and they adjourn until January--meaning just five more (business) days to tackle a number of high profile issues and turn some bills into law. As we wrote yesterday, a slew of Bronx representatives are pushing to pass stronger state rent laws before the week ends, including Assemblyman Jose Rivera, who was arrested during a lively protest outside Gov. Cuomo's office.
While the rent issue still lingers, the Senate and Assembly quickly passed an ethics reform bill yesterday. The Public Integrity Reform Act of 2011 will supposedly keep a closer eye on lawmakers and lobbyists for signs of corruption and conflicts of interest, establishing an independent ethics commission to keep watch over things, and requiring lawmakers to fully disclose sources of income.
Other items still on the legislative agenda this week: a property tax cap and same-sex marriage. Bronx Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr., is now the lone Democrat opposing gay marriage. Three other Dems who'd previously been against it, and one Republican, announced yesterday that they now intend to vote yes.
Quick Hits:
Jerome Raguso, owner of Gino's Pastry Shop in Belmont, is taking a delicious stand: he sent City Council members a batch of empty cannoli shells, sans the cream filling, to protest budget cuts to arts and civic groups. The missing cream symbolizes "just how much the city's small businesses need its leading attractions," the Daily News writes.
A 17-year-old boy has been arrested for the weekend shooting of 15-year-old DeWitt Clinton student Yvette Torres.
Residents at a number of NYCHA housing complexes in the South Bronx and Manhattan are demanding that the authority make needed repairs on their apartments.
Giant rats are taking over a neighborhood in Pelham Bay.
The Bronx Re-entry Working Group is trying to help the formerly incarcerated turn their lives around.
A ring of 16 Bronx residents were arraigned yesterday for allegedly scamming car insurance companies out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Grim LeRogue, the man arrested in October for storming the field at Yankee Stadium and writing threatening notes to player Alex Rodriguez (similar to a bizarre letter sent to one of our publications, the Norwood News), was sentenced to community service yesterday.
A potential strike of union workers at retail department chain Macy's could mean a shutdown for the store's Parkchester branch, and three other city locations.
More drama in the Bronx NYPD ticket-fixing scandal.
Police are looking for a man suspected of robbing and sexually assaulting a South Bronx woman; photo at the link.
Monday, June 13, 2011
As Deadline Nears, A Final Push for Stronger Rent Laws
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| Bronx legislators at a rally for stronger rent laws on Thursday (photos by J. Evelly) |
The Emergency Tenant Protection Act guarantees rent-stabilized status for over a million apartments across the city, and hundred of thousands in the Bronx. Sunday night, Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos moved to extend the law’s deadline to this Friday, June 17, in the event that a deal isn’t reached before Wednesday.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Bronx News Roundup, Thursday, June 9
Weather: Outrageously hot. Because of the extremely temperatures and humidity today in the Bronx and the rest of the region, the National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory until 8 p.m. tonight as well as an air quality alert from 2 to 11 p.m. Stay inside, drink lots of water and if you can, spend some time chillin' in one of the city's 400-plus cooling centers. Click here to locate the center nearest you. Thankfully it is supposed to cool down slightly tomorrow and then temperatures should drop significantly this weekend.
Story of the Day: Shooter Takes Aim at Bronx Students, Hits 16-year-old in the Hip
This is the type of terrifying random-act-of-violence story that keeps parents up at night. Yesterday afternoon, a man stepped off a BX5 bus near the Rincon de Gautier Institute for Law and Public Policy on Story Avenue and opened fire. Fortunately, this didn't turn Columbine-esque. Though "several shots" were fired, only one bullet found a victim, a 16-year-old girl who was hit in the hip and is expected to survive. The scariest part of this is that the shooter remains on the loose as of this posting. One student who attends a nearby school summed it up best for the Daily News: "I don't understand how people can just start shooting at a pack of kids."
Quick Hits:
Speaking of random acts of violence in the Bronx, a Sarah Lawrence College professor who was visiting the Bronx Zoo with his wife and 19-month-old son was hit by a BB gun pellet after parking on Bronx Park South near Daly Avenue.
Okay, enough with the random violence. How about some housing policy? Bronx State Senator Gustavo Rivera says Democrats are pushing hard for stronger rent regulations as the current Emergency Tenant Protection Act is set to expire on July 15, just six days from now. (Note: The story wrongly says regulated apartment rent increases are set by the Rent Stabilization Association, which is lobbying and advocacy group that represents landlords. Rent increases are set by the Rent Guidelines Board.)
The New Jersey Nets are taking a hard look at Bronx hoops product Corey Fisher.
The retired cops of the 41st Precinct, which covers the Longwood-Hunts Point area and was known back in the day as "Fort Apache," will gather to reminisce about the good/bad old days tomorrow night.
Alright, here's a positive, even heroic, Bronx story. A Bronx court officer performed emergency CPR on a 2-year-old girl who had stopped breathing after suffering a seizure. His father told the Daily News: "You're talking about a guy who brought my daughter back to life. I don't know how to thank him. I didn't know we still had people like that out here."
Our favorite Bronx political gossip columnist Bob Kappstatter reports that Bronx Assemblyman Peter Rivera's campaign treasurer pleaded guilty to mail fraud after facing obstruction of justice charges and will spend six months in jail. Meanwhile, former Bronx State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr., had his trial on embezzlment charges moved to Oct. 17. It will be a busy month for legally-entangled Bronx pols. Councilman Larry Seabrook's corruption trial is set to begin Oct. 11.
Bronx rapper Fat Joe may have to change his moniker to Svelte Joe after noticeably slimming down for his latest music video, "Drop a Body," a track from his upcoming "The Darkside II" album. Maybe he should have renamed the song, "Drop a Body Weight." What's your secret Joe? Hopefully he's not trying to live up to his other nickname, "Joey Crack."
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Cuomo Pulls New York From Federal Deportation Program
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced today that he'll be suspending the state's participation in the controversial Secure Communities program, a measure that requires local law enforcement agencies to share the fingerprints of anyone who's been arrested with federal immigration officials, who then check the prints for a person's green card status.
Cuomo's move comes after weeks of mounting pressure from local legislators and immigrant advocacy groups, who say the program is not meeting its supposed goal of deporting serious and violent criminal offenders. Critics point to data showing that since its start in 2008, a majority of the people who have been deported through Secure Communities--some 79 percent--had never actually been convicted of a crime.
Last month, a number of Bronx legislators and others from across the state sent a letter to the governor asking him to withdraw.
"There are concerns about the implementation of the program as well as its impact on families, immigrant communities and law enforcement in New York," Cuomo said in a statement sent out today.
Other states, like Illinois, also dropped out of the program recently.
“Governor Cuomo has demonstrated tremendous leadership," Congressman Jose Serrano, who represents the South Bronx, said in a statement this afternoon.
"He is firmly in line with our state’s pro-immigrant tradition, and on behalf of the immigrants and their friends in our community, I would like to thank him. Having New York State pull back from this aggressive program should be a wakeup call to the Department of Homeland Security. It is time to end this program and I am glad my home state will no longer take part."
The Department of Homeland Security had previously stated that participation was mandatory, but announced this week that there would be an investigation into how the program has been carried out.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Bronx Pols Want Out Of Federal Immigration Program
Local elected officials are speaking out against a program that requires law enforcement agencies to share digital fingerprint records of people who are arrested with federal immigration officials, who then check the prints for a person's green card status.
The program, known as "Secure Communities" and run by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was originally intended to deport criminals who were determined to be in the country illegally and to focus on "the most dangerous and violent offenders," according to the ICE's website.
But data shows that the so far, 79 percent of the 102,000 immigrants deported under the program have never been convicted of any crime, according to the Gotham Gazette.
A group of 38 New York legislators, including 13 Bronx Senate and Assembly members, sent a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo last month imploring him to withdraw the state from the program.
"Our communities are far less safe because of this program," State Sen. Jose Serrano told the Gazette.
"It will only further fuel what law enforcement officials and immigrant advocacy communities have been saying for years: immigrants will be distrustful of their local law enforcement and will allow for crimes to go unreported or unsolved," State Sen. Gustavo Rivera said in a press release.
At the moment, counties in 44 percent of the state have been activated in Secure Communities--none yet in New York City.
In early May, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn announced that the state would stop participating, though the Department of Homeland Security has said the program is mandatory and that all U.S. counties will have to be enrolled by 2013.
Congressman Jose Serrano, representing the Bronx, also issued a letter urging Cuomo to withdraw, and along with several other member of Congress, called for President Obama to halt the policy entirely until it can be reviewed further.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Diaz Sr. Blasts Mayor and Speaker, Forgets Supporting Espada's 'Rent Freeze' Bill
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| Diaz at a rally in Albany last year for former Sen. Pedro Espada's "rent freeze" bill, which tenant advocates called a "de-control bill in disguise." (File photo by Alma Watkins) |
But, over the past year and a half, Diaz himself has done his share to divert attention away from the strengthening of rent regulations.
"I would love to see Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn set their priorities straight and spend a day in Albany to push for an extension of our affordable housing laws before the deadline passes," Diaz wrote in a statement sent out last week after Bloomberg and Quinn had trekked to the capitol to lobby for gay marriage.
"The Rev" has spent a fair amount of his own time focusing on same-sex marriage -- he organized a rally last Sunday against its legalization -- but he says that was just in response to other politicians pushing the issue.
"I'm not putting [same-sex marriage] as a priority," he said in a phone interview last week.
His priority, he says, is the Emergency Tenant Protection Act, the set of state laws that protect the rent-regulated status of hundreds of thousands of apartments in the Bronx, and about a million across the city. Tenant advocates have been pushing to see the laws not only renewed before the June 15 deadline, but strengthened to close some of the loopholes that landlords use to hike rents in regulated units.
Diaz said the mayor and Gov. Andrew Cuomo were ignoring the approaching June 15 deadline, and that, he says, "is a crime."
But last year, Diaz supported a bill (former senator and housing committee chair Pedro Espada's "Rent Freeze" legislation) that many tenant and housing advocates say would have done the opposite of what he now says is his priority.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
In Living Wage Battle, Vacca Remains Unconvinced
Editor's note: A version of this article first appeared in this week's Norwood News, out today.
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| Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. at a rally last week in support of the living wage bill. (Courtesy Borough President's Office) |
The Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act, sponsored by Bronx Council Members Oliver Koppell and Annabel Palma, would require developers of projects receiving taxpayer subsidies of more than $100,000 to pay workers $10 an hour with benefits, or $11.50 without.
The bill, which sprang from the living wage fight that derailed a plan to develop the Kingsbridge Armory into a shopping mall, has the support of every Bronx Council member, with the exception of James Vacca, who had said he was waiting for a hearing on the issue before taking a side.
“He’s wary of any legislation that might prevent jobs, and I’m not sure he’s convinced,” said Vacca spokesman Bret Nolan Collazzi, in a phone interview after the hearing.
“We’re not planning on signing on at this time,” he said.
The legislation currently has the support of 30 Council Members; 34 are needed to override a mayoral veto.
The assertion that a living wage mandate would kill jobs was put forth in a report released by the city’s Economic Development Corporation last week. The 44-page study concluded that requiring employers to pay a higher wage would ultimately stifle commercial development and job growth.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Bronx Politics: Party at Gustavo's Place
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| Bronx State Sen. Gustavo Rivera moved into his new office at 2432 Grand Concourse last week. Tonight, he's inviting the public to attend an open house at the office from 5 to 8 p.m. (Photo by Adi Talwar). |
Like every New York state senator, when 33rd District representative Gustavo Rivera moved into his local office, he received two flags – the stars and stripes of the United States of America and the goddesses of Liberty and Justice of New York state – as well as a copy machine and a dated set of rectangular office furniture.
“They [senate administrative staffers] told me they only had rectangular furniture,” said Rivera’s communications director Conchita Cruz, sitting in the new office on the fifth floor of the Poe Building on the Grand Concourse, across from the Loew’s Paradise Theater. “But they said they had received a lot of requests for oval tables.”
Monday, March 21, 2011
Questions Raised Again About Bronx Councilman Cabrera's Residency
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| Cabrera at his Kingsbridge Heights apartment in 2009. (File photo) |
The move scored Cabrera a $1,513 tax break via a property tax credit known as School Tax Relief, according to the article, which names three other council members from other boroughs as having done the same.
Although Cabrera himself would not comment about the finding, his office confirmed its accuracy. Cabrera's camp told us the listing of the Westchester property as his primary residence was an "honest oversight" and that Cabrera did not know the tax relief credit would be automatically renewed each year. They said the councilman is in the process of paying the money back and that he does, indeed, live in his Bronx district, as required by law. They couldn't say who lived in the Westchester home.
Legitimate residency was a hot-button issue in 2009 when Cabrera was running for City Council against then-incumbent Maria Baez. His opponents sought to portray him as a Bronx outsider and "Pelham Republican," chastising him for having been formerly registered with the Republican Party.
Though he had lived in Pelham, Cabrera maintained Bronx connections: he founded New Life International Church on Morris Avenue two decades ago, and served for a few years as a member of Community Board 7. He officially moved into his Bronx home, on Sedgwick Avenue near 197th Street, back in July 2008, a few months before he announced his intentions to run for Baez' seat.
During his campaign, Cabrera gave one of our reporters a tour of his home, which appeared legitimately lived-in. At the time, he said that he still owned his home in Westchester and that his daughter and her family lived there.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
New Assemblyman Vows to Fight Budget Cuts
Editor's Note: This story first appeared in this month's issue of the Tremont Tribune, on the streets and online now.
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| FILE PHOTO BY JAMES FERGUSSON |
His first battle? Tackling Gov. Cuomo’s proposed budget cuts, which take an axe to funding for state agencies and programs across the board in an attempt to reduce the state’s huge deficit.
“There’s going to be some uprising from the South Bronx, and the 79th District,” the new legislator said during a phone interview from Albany.
“He’s talking about $1.5 billion in cuts to education, and then $2.8 billion to Medicaid," Stevenson said. "What is that going to do to a district like mine? If I don’t stand up, what do my constituents say?”
Monday, February 7, 2011
Bronx Weekend News Roundup, Feb. 7
From Green Bay to Beloit, from Milwaukee to Madison, frome Brandon to Kenosha, Cheeseheads rejoiced following the Packers 31-25 Super Bowl victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers last night. As a descendant of a long line of Pack fanatics, I can tell you with certainty that Wisconsinites will revel in this moment for months, if not years. Dairyland might not as productive for the next few days, but it will definitely be happier.
OK, back to the Bronx, where this relatively tropical weather (high of 42 degrees today!) will not last as temperatures will drop into the teens mid-week. We might see a small amount of rain/snow overnight.
Story of the Day:
Opponents of the city's plan to shut down John F. Kennedy High School say the Department of Education set the school up for failure. On Thursday evening (technically early Friday morning), the Panel for Education Policy voted eight to four (with one panel member absent) to phase the school out by 2014. Starting next fall, the school will eliminate a class each year.
This type of phase-out has been the fate of most large Bronx schools, as the city continues to push for smaller, themed schools and more charter schools. The teacher's union believes venerable northwest Bronx high school DeWitt Clinton could be next on the chopping block. They say the fact that Clinton's taking on more and more high needs students every year is crippling their chances for success.
Quick Hits:
Two Bronxites were killed overnight in separate fires.One occurred at 192nd Street and Valentine Avenue, the other at 15 North Street.
Cops busted 19 alleged gang members and drug dealers in Soundview last week. It was the culmination of a year-long operation that police say also netted suspects wanted in connection to a handful of murders.
A pothole epidemic compounded by this winter's historically bad weather is wreaking havoc on Bronx vehicles to the consternation of Bronx drivers.
The old PS 31 building near Hostos Community College, once dubbed the "Castle on the Concourse," remains vacant and continues to deteriorate despite past promises by the city to renovate it.
Bronx GOP Chairman Jay Savino spent $8,300 worth of campaign funds on dining, mostly outside of the borough, last year.
A West African immigrant was crushed to death in Hunts Point Saturday while trying to load a vehicle into a container truck.
A 76-year-old Bronx man is suing the NYPD after police, looking for his son, an alleged drug dealer, raided his apartment and accidentally shot him in the mid-section.
Ilia Lopez, a 58-year-old mother of three adult children who live in the Bronx, was killed in a hit-and-run incident in Harlem on Friday morning.
Rapid tax refund outfits are costing low-income taxpayers, including many in the Bronx, a significant amount in fees.
[Editor's Note:] Just a reminder to our readers that the Bronx News Network is in the middle of our annual fundraising appeal. If you value quality local journalism, please consider donating so we can continue to bring you news and features, like our daily roundup or our borough events calendar. More details on how to contribute can be found here
Friday, January 14, 2011
Bronx News Roundup, Jan. 14
The man charged with burglarizing three Bronx churches in November and December has been indicted. Nathaniel Linden is also a suspect in several other break-ins.
Riverdale-area politicians Eliot Engel and Oliver Koppell were left stunned by Sunday's massacre in Tuscon, Arizona, in which their freind, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, was critically injured.
Several Bronx pols, including Koppell and the Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., spoke at a pro-living wage event in Harlem last night. Koppell is the primary sponsor of a living-wage bill currently before the Council. Here's the latest on what may or may not happen.
The city is planning on replacing the closing John F. Kennedy High School with two charter schools, according to an internal Department of Education document obtained by The New York Times.
In an analysis piece, the Riverdale Press looks at whether the DOE "set up" JFK for failure.
St. Augustine in Morrisania is one of six Bronx Catholic scheduled to be closed at the end of the school year. Here's some reaction from students and teachers. See here for more about these closing schools.
Cops are asking for the public's help in catching those responsible for two violent robberies in the Bronx this week.
A jury has aquitted Thomas Cordero -- the so-called "nude housekeeper" -- of murdering Eastchester resident John Conley. This despite DNA evidence and a confession. Conley was stabbed to death in October 2001.
A Bronx woman has been charged with giving other women illegal breast and butt implants. Yes, you read that correctly. The Mount Eden resident allegedly imported the silicon from the Domincan Republic and charged $1,000 per op.
A Bronx boxer and former Golden Gloves champ is trying to turn his life around after a stint in jail.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Peter Rivera's Pet Non-Profit Involved in Corruption Probe
The head of a Bronx nonprofit organization that's received substantial funding from Assemblyman Peter Rivera was slapped with corruption charges today, according to a complaint from Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.
David Griffiths is being charged with "making false statements in connection with a grand jury proceeding, obstructing justice, and mail fraud in connection with an application to obtain a state grant," according to a release.
The complaint goes on to detail how Griffiths' nonprofit received almost all of its income from an unnamed "certain member of the Assembly" between 2003 and 2007.
Though the nonprofit and the Assembly member aren't explicitly named, the website for the Bronx group NETS, or Neighbohood Enhancement for Training Services, Inc., lists Griffiths as its executive director and "a part of NETS since November 2003."
The site also names Assemblyman Peter M. Rivera as the organization's sponsor since 2002 (it's on the mission page of their website, here, at the bottom. NETS' homepage also features a photo of a smiling Rivera, and then there's this picture on Flickr of the Assemblyman handing out turkeys with NETS staff in 2005)
The Daily News first broke the story of Rivera's too-close ties to NETS back in 2009. The article says Rivera gave the group up to $979,000 in funds, names Griffiths as Rivera's campaign treasurer, and says that Rivera's son was also once employed there.
Another News story said that then-Attorney General Andrew Cuomo was investigating Rivera for his connection to NETS, something we asked the Assemblyman about in November, after we heard he'd been picked to serve on Cuomo's gubernatorial transition team.
“There is nothing going on there,” a flustered Rivera told us then.
We'll keep you posted on this.
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