White Plains CitizeNetReporter

WPCNR CORNOAVIRUS REPORT. From the Governor’s Press Office. September 28, 2020:

Governor Cuomo addressed the growing covid-19 spread in the state today:

‘Today is day 212. We did 52,000 tests yesterday; 834 positive – that’s 1.5 percent. Eleven New Yorkers passed away – they’re in our thoughts and prayers. 543 hospitalized, 135 ICU, 57 were intubated.

The numbers today are interesting. First, we’re coming into the fall and all the health experts said we have to be careful about the fall. People go indoors, colleges open, flu season, etcetera. We have spikes in other states. You have states, Wisconsin is 18 percent positive, Iowa is 15 percent, Utah 12 percent, Missouri 12 percent, Florida 10 percent, California and Illinois about 4 percent.

We have the quarantine in place and we have a global spike – France, Spain, Israel are seeing spikes and I have a measure on that that I’m going to mention in a moment – but that’s the overall environment of the fall and a nationwide spike and a global spike.

But we’re also seeing in these numbers significant action in clusters. It’s basically Brooklyn, Orange and Rockland that are increasing this number. Brooklyn is at 2.6 percent. Mid-Hudson is at 3 percent but within Mid-Hudson it’s Orange County and then it’s Rockland County. It’s Orange, Rockland and Brooklyn.

Southern Tier has a blip but that comes to three clusters also. There’s a nursing home Steuben County, there’s a church gathering in Chemung County that created issues, and a pub in Broome County. The point of the tests is just this.

It is being is to be able to pinpoint and identify the clusters to find where the cases are coming from. Brooklyn is a major contributor in the number of cases and then Orange and Rockland and we have specific zip codes in Brooklyn that we’re going to be looking at because it’s very targeted and our health officials are going to be reaching out to those Brooklyn communities, Orange, and Rockland today to do additional testing and compliance measures in those areas. But it is very targeted and very focused in those clusters.

I also want to announce today that the residential tenant eviction protection that I have done by Executive Order, I’m going to extend that Executive Order to January 1, 2021. That’s what we call the State’s Safe Harbor Act. It protects tenants from COVID-related residential evictions and foreclosures through the COVID-19 emergency. We’re going to extend that to January 1, 2021. We had extended the commercial eviction protection. I’m now extending the residential protection. I want people to have fundamental stability in their lives. Nobody is going to be evicted because of housing.

On the global increase in cases, the CDC ended enhanced screening at the airports for some international travelers, but with seeing alarming increases in countries around the world, especially France, Spain, and Israel. 

So we are going to increase our presence – and I’m signing an Executive Order requiring the Department of Health to alert all travelers that we have a quarantine, mandatory quarantine that will be for any Level 2 or Level 3 country and that is all but 31 countries on the globe right now will be subject to that quarantine.

Last point is there’s been stories on the President’s taxes. You know, what I would say is we know the President here in New York. The President is a marketing man. That’s what he does. He’s a marketer and he marketed himself as a successful business man for many years. But it was marketing, and he now markets himself as a successful president, or an effective president.

Yeah, but if you ever look at the specifics, which is what the taxes reveal in terms of the actuality of his business success, he’s a business failure when you actually look at the facts. But he has marketed himself as a successful entrepreneur, president.

You look at how he managed COVID internationally, he’s one of the worst global country leaders, national leaders on a global scale if you look at the numbers. So yeah, reality at one point catches up with perception and that’s what’s happening to the President.

On education in New York City, the principals, the union that represents the principals in the New York City schools, has taken a no-confidence vote in the New York City Board of Education. They’ve asked the state to take over control.

On the New York City school reopening, we are going to be getting daily testing numbers, so we’ll be able to tell on a day-to-day basis what is actually happening with the tests in New York City schools, both for the teachers and the pupils. We all agree that it’s about educating our students.

We want to get them back into school, but we want to do it safely and we all agree with that. I can’t believe the teachers union would want to subject teachers to a dangerous situation and I’m sure the Boards of Education on the city and the state, the last thing they want to do is expose the children to a dangerous situation.

Especially since children themselves are at risk, this is all an unknown disease still. We’re learning things about it all the time. So much of what we thought was wrong. We know that children can be infected and can be in a dangerous situation and we know that children can be carriers, right? And we’re looking at numbers in New York City that already pose challenges, and clusters, the Brooklyn number.

So, we’ll get the numbers and we’ll act prudently based on the numbers, but I get the concern of the Principals’ Union and we will be watching the numbers very closely. 

And again, I think the concern of the principals union is also going to be shared by the teachers union and it’s also going to be shared by the parents of the students in New York City schools. If there’s a problem, there’s a problem, and the numbers will show if there’s a problem and we’ll then act accordingly.

WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. NEWS AND COMMENT. By John F. Bailey. September 28, 2020:

The Westchester County Police released the following media advisory over the weekend:

“(Hawthorne, NY) – A motorcyclist was killed Friday night in a three-vehicle collision that occurred on the Hutchinson River Parkway near East Lincoln Avenue in Mount Vernon.

The collision, which occurred about 9:30 p.m. in the northbound lanes of travel, involved two automobiles and a motorcycle. The driver of the motorcycle was ejected off his vehicle, went airborne over the center divider and landed in the southbound lanes of travel. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

His identity is being withheld pending notification to his family. The full circumstances of the crash are under investigation by the Westchester County Police Accident Investigation Team.

Westchester County Police are also continuing the investigation into another deadly crash that occurred early Friday morning on the Cross County Parkway in Mount Vernon. In that incident, three persons were killed about 2:30 a.m. when the driver of a Toyota lost control of his vehicle, causing it to strike a guard rail and roll over.

The deceased in that crash are identified as: Garibaldi Reyes-Jerez, 22, of West 170^th Street, Manhattan; John Pena-Martinez, 24, of Creston Avenue, Bronx; and Maria Vasquez-Guzman, 16, of Grand Concourse, Bronx. They were passengers in a vehicle driven by Yordany Bautista-Hernandez, 21, of Tiebout Avenue, Bronx, who suffered minor injuries in the crash.

The investigation is ongoing and no charges have been filed at this time. Anyone who witnessed the crash on the Cross County Parkway is asked to contact Detective Brandon Amlung at 914-864-7728 or via email at bma1@westchestergov.com. All calls or emails are confidential.“

These two accidents are not isolated.

As a person who drives the Taconic Parkway regularly on the weekends, I am surprised there are not more of these tragedies. I have never seen the speeding, impatience, and poor judgment of impatient motorists and motorcyclists on the parkways of Westchester County than I have this year.

Motorists unhappy with vehicles ahead of them going 60 to 65 miles per hour (10 miles over the speed limit), routinely tailgate, look for an opportunity to cut into the lanes to the left or right of the slower car ahead (often cutting to the inside) and explode around the car ahead of them.

They narrowly miss cars they are cutting in front of to floor it more than the 65.

The wary driver, has to look frequently in the rearview mirror to be able to avoid or get out of the way of the Taconic cowboys heading for an early ticket to Heaven.

There is very little speed enforcement.

In the 40 miles I drive northbound and south bound, I see a lone Trooper Car, once in awhile. But obviously the trooper cannot catch too many. And getting into traffic, moving on out, to catch the cowboy, is not always safe or easy to do. They have a tough and dangerous job.

It is time the Westchester County put Overhead Speed Freeze Photo cameras on the Sprain, the Saw Mill, the Hutchinson River Parkways and the Taconic, and Route 9.

A speed camera would pay for itself even more than redlight cameras. Westchester County could wipe out its $150 Million deficit a matter of months and turn a surplus.

The fines would be increased and the violations would be amazing up.

Another behavior that skilled motocyclists seem unable to resist is flying up the highway as fast as they can possibly obtain. Hopefully not with your daughter riding behind the dashing young man. Hopefully no aging motorcycle enthusiast with a family would do that.

We have all seen the lone motorcyclist in the review mirror flying out of nowhere with the thundering whine and his cycle cutting in front of you narrowly missing the car he is cutting in front of. These are “closies” that often have a cyclists’ life saved by the prudent braking of the car the motorcyclist cuts off.

Another phenomena are the groups of weekend motorcycle friends roaring up the Taconic as a pack and they want to stay together and weave in and out of the passenger car traffic at a higher speed enjoying the freedom of the choppers. Most do this responsibly but at a higher speed. Sometimes the last cyclist in following the group, just manages not to get clipped by the car being bypassed.

I love the social distancing and comradeship the motorcycle convoys represent and the Harley mystique and the motorcycle jacket with the club names. But please be careful on the mass passes on your love of the openroad.

Motorists, you are the biggest offenders. You have to realize that if you tailgate at 80 you have no margin of error when you pass.

The happy individual motorcyclist obsessed with his or her speed and the adrenaline of flying down curvy Westchester highways and two lane roads, must realize this not a movie, you are going 90 miles an hour down a dead end street. When there’s sudden slower traffic ahead, to avoid you have no margin, and they may clip you. You are roadkill.

24 hour video tape cameras on the same overpasses can observe frequent motorist reckless behavior and have trooper technicians issue mail summonses, by the way.

I mean no disrespect to motorists in a hurry or motocyclists out for this romantic and satisfying experience.

I am not trying to take away your rights or your right to experience the edge of performance.

Just perform responsibly.

The County might consider motorcycle Saturdays on the Bronx River Parkway. Imagine thundering through Scarsdale the BRP all to yourselves.

The County though could open a supervised motorcycle park of tracks and paths strictly motorcyclists and bicyclists (on separate hours.)

Remember no one wants the next motorcycle or motorcar trip to be your last.

WPCNR WHITE PLAINS “WEEK-ENDS.” September 27, 2020:

White Plains Week Friday News Roundups of White Plains beginning this week are now on www.wpcnr.com.

White Plains Week in its 20th year of reporting of county, state, and national news is a penetrating analysis look of the important developments Mr. and Mrs. White Plains need to be aware each week and the effect on residents’ future.

Each new Friday program going forward will now be rebroadcast worldwide right here on www.wpcnr.com, after each new program produced Friday is aired on White Plains TV countywide on Verizon Fios ch 45 and in White Plains on Altice Optimum channel 76

Now that White Plains Television has opened the new White Plains Community Media studios in the White Plains Library and production is in smooth glitchless stride with no hiccups or malfunctions from the first day, WPCNR is pleased tor introduce the Friday, September 25 telecast with John Bailey and Jim Benerofe in the video below.

WPCNR FBI WIRE. From the Federal Bureau of Investigation. September 26, 2020:

Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that RUVIM KRUPKIN, a New York state-licensed doctor, pled guilty today to conspiring to illegally distribute large quantities of oxycodone from a medical office in Brooklyn, New York. 

As part of his guilty plea, KRUPKIN also agreed to forfeit $124,000 in proceeds obtained through his illicit distribution of oxycodone.  KRUPKIN pled guilty before United States District Judge Analisa Torres in Manhattan federal court.    

Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said:  “As he admitted in court today, Ruvim Krupkin, for more than a decade, wrote thousands of medically unnecessary prescriptions for oxycodone, enriching himself at the expense of others, while the country suffered from a devastating opioid epidemic.  He now awaits sentencing for his crime.”

According to the allegations contained in the Indictment and statements made during court proceedings:

KRUPKIN, a licensed internal medicine doctor with specialties in oncology and hematology, practiced at a medical office in Brooklyn.  From 2006 to July 2017, KRUPKIN prescribed over four million oxycodone pills to individuals he knew had no legitimate medical need for the pills.  KRUPKIN charged each patient $200 in cash for each visit, payable directly to him.   

As a hematologist, KRUPKIN treated patients who had, or claimed to have, sickle cell anemia – a medical condition that can cause pain for which oxycodone, in conjunction with other treatments, may be legitimately prescribed. 

However, KRUPKIN wrote thousands of prescriptions for large quantities of oxycodone to patients, knowing that they in fact had no legitimate medical need for the prescriptions.  KRUPKIN generally performed little to no physical examination on these patients; indeed, the medical notes for each patient were largely the same from one visit to the next. 

In addition, KRUPKIN typically issued patients prescriptions for a large dose of oxycodone – typically 180 80-milligram pills, until approximately 2010, when the formula for oxycodone changed, reducing the street value of the 80-milligram pills. 

At that time, KRUPKIN began prescribing 180 or 240 30-milligram pills.  KRUPKIN’s patients filled their prescriptions at pharmacies throughout New York, and in certain cases, sold the oxycodone pills they received to drug dealers, who in turn re-sold the pills at high value on the street.  KRUPKIN knew that certain of his patients were diverting the oxycodone pills he was prescribing, but he nonetheless continued writing prescriptions of oxycodone for such individuals. 

*                *                *

KRUPKIN, 69, of Summit, New Jersey, pled guilty to one count of participating in a conspiracy to distribute narcotics, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.  The maximum potential sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentence for the defendant will be determined by the judge.

KRUPKIN is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Torres on January 26, 2021, at 11:00 a.m.

Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI-NYPD Health Care Fraud Task Force.  Ms. Strauss also thanked the New York City Human Resources Administration for its work on the investigation.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit.  Assistant United States Attorneys Tara M. La Morte and Alexandra N. Rothman are in charge of the prosecution.

D

WPCNR CORONA VIRUS REPORT. From the Governor’s Press Office. September 24, 2020:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that New York State will form an independent Clinical Advisory Task Force comprised of leading scientists, doctors, and health experts who will review every COVID-19 vaccine authorized by the federal government, and will advise New York State on the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness in fighting the virus. 

In addition, the Governor established a Vaccine Distribution and Implementation Task Force that is charged with designing the best COVID-19 vaccination administration program in the nation. 

The Vaccine Distribution and Implementation Task Force is comprised of experts in public health, immunizations, government operations, data and other fields relevant to vaccine distribution and administration. 

“The federal government’s response to COVID and the White House’s dispute with the FDA raises serious questions about whether or not the vaccine has become politicized,” Governor Cuomo said. “Frankly, I’m not going to trust the federal government’s opinion and I wouldn’t recommend to New Yorkers based on the federal government’s opinion. We’re going to put together our own review committee headed by the Department of Health to review the vaccine, and I’m appointing a committee that is going to come up with a vaccine distribution and implementation plan on how we will do it. New York’s response to COVID has been a model for this country, and we should also be the model vaccination program for the country.”

The Vaccine Distribution and Implementation Task Force will develop a plan for vaccine administration that will include:

• Prioritization of vaccine recipients based solely on clinical guidance
• Distribution network capable of providing two doses of vaccine to all New Yorkers
• Qualified professionals and organizations to administer the vaccine
• Data and IT infrastructure for scheduling appointments and tracking program metrics
• Public education regarding vaccination program
• Procurement of necessary supplies and equipment