(NEW YORK) The following can be attributed to Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman regarding Target’s decision to provide free credit monitoring services to all potential New York victims of this week’s announced data breach, at the urging of the Attorney General’s Office.

“Following the news this week of a massive breach of personal financial data belonging to millions of Target shoppers, I urged Target to offer affected New Yorkers one year of free credit monitoring to ensure they are not victims of identity theft. I’m pleased to report that, just a short time ago, Target agreed to our request.

“We urge shoppers to take advantage of this offer, and exercise additional precaution to ensure their identities and personal accounts are protected. In the coming days and weeks, I will continue to use every power at my disposal to determine the extent of this breach and help holiday shoppers protect themselves from the potential consequences of this incident and any in the future.”

(Oceanside, NY) The Joint Commission recently named South Nassau Communities Hospital a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures® for its exemplary performance in using evidence-based clinical processes that are shown to improve care for certain conditions.  The hospital was recognized for its achievement on the following measure sets: heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care.

South Nassau® Communities Hospital is one of the region’s largest hospitals, with 435 beds, more than 900 physicians and 3,000 employees. Located in Oceanside, NY, the hospital is an acute-care, not-for-profit teaching hospital that provides state-of-the-art care in cardiac, oncologic, orthopedic, bariatric, pain management, mental health and emergency services.

“In achieving this recognition, we continue to demonstrate to our patients and the communities we serve that we are unrelenting in our commitment and mission to provide high-quality, standard-setting healthcare services,” said Richard J. Murphy, president and CEO of South Nassau.

South Nassau is one of 1,099 hospitals in the U.S. to earn the distinction of Top Performer on Key Quality Measures.  The ratings are based on an aggregation of accountability measure data reported to The Joint Commission during the 2012 calendar year. The list of Top Performer organizations represents 33 percent of all Joint Commission-accredited hospitals reporting accountability measure performance data for 2012.

The Joint Commission Top Performer honor joins a multitude of honors for outstanding quality earned by South Nassau in 2013 including: American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer Outstanding Achievement Award; Joint Commission Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers; American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Get With The Guidelines® Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award; HomeCare Elite™ listing South Nassau’s Home Care as one of the top home health care providers in the United States (for the eighth consecutive year); and Becker’s Hospital Review list of “100 Best Places to Work in Healthcare” (for the third consecutive year).

To achieve Top Performer on Key Quality Measures, South Nassau:

• achieved cumulative performance of 95 percent or above across all reported accountability measures;
• achieved performance of 95 percent or above on each and every reported accountability measure where there are at least 30 denominator cases;  and
• had at least one core measure set that was a composite rate of 95 percent or above, and (within that measure set) all applicable individual accountability measures had to have a performance rate of 95 percent or above.

Each accountability measure represents an evidence-based practice – for example, giving aspirin at arrival for heart attack patients, giving antibiotics one hour before surgery, and providing a home management plan of care for children with asthma.

South Nassau® Communities Hospital is one of the region’s largest hospitals, with 435 beds, more than 900 physicians and 3,000 employees.  Located in Oceanside, NY, the hospital is an acute-care, not-for-profit teaching hospital that provides state-of-the-art care in cardiac, oncologic, orthopedic, bariatric, pain management, mental health and emergency services.  In addition to its extensive outpatient specialty centers, South Nassau provides emergency and elective angioplasty and is the only hospital on Long Island with the Novalis Tx™ and Gamma Knife® radiosurgery technologies.  South Nassau is a designated Stroke Center by the New York State Department of Health and Comprehensive Community Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons and is an accredited center of the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Association and Quality Improvement Program. 

For more information, visit www.southnassau.org.

Pollert Had Come Out of Retirement to Guide County Through Fiscal Crisis

(Hauppauge, NY) Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone today thanked Fred Pollert for his 37 years of service to Suffolk County residents; Pollert will be retiring at the end of the year. Bellone commended Pollert for returning to County service for the past two years as Deputy County Executive for Finance and Management in order to guide Suffolk County out of the worst fiscal crisis in its history.

“Suffolk County taxpayers have had no greater advocate than Fred Pollert, who has dedicated his career to making this government more efficient and saving taxpayer dollars,” Bellone said. “I am particularly grateful to Fred for coming out of retirement to help me guide Suffolk County through the worst fiscal crisis in our history. While there is still much more hard work before us, Fred Pollert has helped put us on the fiscally responsible path.”

“Fred is one of the smartest and most dedicated public servants I have ever worked with,” said Long Island Association President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Law, who worked with Pollert both in Suffolk County and the Long Island Power Authority. “His presence in Suffolk County affairs will be felt and missed for years to come ”

Pollert returned to service in 2012, inheriting an unprecedented budget which funded 464 positions for just half of 2012. Within 3 months, a non-partisan Fiscal Task Force released a report that even with laying off those positions, Suffolk County was facing a deficit of $530 million through the end of 2013.

Pollert worked with County Executive Bellone on fiscally responsible items to put Suffolk County back onto strong fiscal footing without piercing the tax cap. These budgets produced under Pollert’s auspice have assisted in making Suffolk County more efficient and have cut the size of the workforce by more than 1,000 filled positions over the past two years, which saves approximately $100 million on a recurring basis.

Pollert has also led an important initiative to save taxpayer dollars and preserve key services by moving health centers to the Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) model. One health center has already been successfully transitioned and a second is in transition. Once fully completed, this shift will save $25 million per year for Suffolk County taxpayers.

Previously, Pollert worked for 27 years for the Suffolk County Legislature’s Budget Review Office, serving as Director, six years as Deputy County Executive for Finance under County Executive Steve Levy and two years as Vice President for Administration for the Long Island Power Authority.

(Long Island, NY) Just in time for holiday shopping and traveling, a Taste NY shop opened at LaGuardia Airport last Thursday. Located next to the food court in Terminal C, the store sells a wide array of wine, spirits, cider, beer, chutney, jam, sauces, pickles and other products that have one thing in common — they were made in New York State.

Part of an initiative by Governor Andrew Cuomo to promote state food and beverages to consumers around the world, Taste NY is jointly operated by Delta, Brooklyn Oenology Winery and OTG, the airport’s concessionaire. In 2014, other Taste NY stores will open in airports, train stations and transportation hubs around the Empire State. “More than 25 million people passed through LaGuardia in 2012,” stated Lieutenant Governor Robert J. Duffy, who is seen with scissors at the Dec. 16 ribbon-cutting. “That’s a massive audience for the great products of Taste New York.”

(Long Island, NY) Peconic Landing, of Greenport and Bethpage based Eglevsky Ballet, co-sponsors of a live performance of The Nutcracker raised $6,500 for patient care at Eastern Long Island Hospital. The December event was a North Fork premier performance for the ballet company and a wonderful holiday family experience.

Photo (l-r): Robert J. Syron, President/CEO of Peconic Landing presents a check to Paul J. Connor, President/CEO Eastern Long Island Hospital, the proceeds from a benefit performance of The Nutcracker.

“The Eglevsky Ballet students put on a spectacular show,” states Paul J. Connor III, President/CEO ELIH. “We are very grateful to the performers who volunteered their time, Peconic Landing for underwriting the event, and to the staff and residents who helped make the event a success.”

The sold out performance was a welcome addition to the slate of holiday happenings on the North Fork. Over 160 tickets were sold proving once again that Peconic Landing is a highly desirable resource for community and cultural events.

“Peconic Landing captured the true meaning of the season,” adds Connor. “It’s all about neighbors caring for neighbors.”

Eastern Long Island Hospital (ELIH) is a 90-bed, acute-care Hospital with a mission to provide essential healthcare services to the residents of the North Fork and Shelter Island. Recognized for excellence again and again, ELIH is the recipient of the prestigious Outstanding Patient Experience Award by HealthGradesTM for three years consecutively.

(MELVILLE, N.Y.) TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank®, has named Gregory W. Fitzgerald as Vice President, Commercial Loan Officer in Commercial Lending. Based in Melville, N.Y., he is responsible for managing existing relationships and growing a multimillion dollar loan portfolio serving clients throughout Suffolk County in Long Island.

Gregory W. Fitzgerald, a resident of Huntington, N.Y., has 34 years of experience in banking and lending.

Fitzgerald has 34 years of experience in banking and lending. Prior to joining TD Bank, he served as a Vice President and Relationship Manager at HSBC in Melville. Fitzgerald is a member of the Long Island Forum for Technology and the School-Business Partnerships of Long Island.

A resident of Huntington, N.Y., Fitzgerald serves as President-Elect of the Huntington Rotary Club. He holds an MBA from St. John’s University and an undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland.

About TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank^®
TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank, is one of the 10 largest banks in the U.S., providing more than 8 million customers with a full range of retail, small business and commercial banking products and services at approximately 1,300 convenient locations throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Metro D.C., the Carolinas and Florida. In addition, TD Bank and its subsidiaries offer customized private banking and wealth management services through TD Wealth^®, and vehicle financing and dealer commercial services through TD Auto Finance. TD Bank is headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J. To learn more, visit www.tdbank.com. Find TD Bank on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TDBank and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TDBank_US.

TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank, is a member of TD Bank Group and a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank of Toronto, Canada, a top 10 financial services company in North America. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges under the ticker symbol “TD.” To learn more, visit www.td.com.

Receives Long and Faithful Service Award and Aid to Civil Authority Medal

(Long Island, NY) Assemblyman Chad Lupinacci (R,C,WF,I-Huntington Station) today announced that his Chief of Staff, Gregory Atherton, was recently honored for his service to the community by the New York Guard. Atherton, who holds the rank of Staff Sergeant, received the Long and Faithful Service Award for 10 years of service with the Guard, and the Aid to Civil Authority Medal for performance of State Active Duty during Superstorm Sandy.

Assemblyman Chad Lupinacci (center-left) is joined by his Chief of Staff, Gregory Atherton (far-left) after taking his oath of office in January 2013.

“Greg is an outstanding public servant who has been committed to the Huntington Community for years,” said Lupinacci. “His service in the New York Guard during Superstorm Sandy was a testament to his dedication and fortitude. I want to thank him for his service and congratulate him – he is truly deserving of both honors.”

The New York Guard was founded on August 3, 1917 to comply with the provisions of the state constitution requiring that troops be available to the governor to protect the life and property of the citizens of New York. The New York Guard is a state volunteer force that augments and supports the New York National Guard with manpower and skills. More information on the Guard can be found by visiting: http://dmna.ny.gov/nyg/.

(Brooklyn, NY) The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance today announced the arrest of a Brooklyn resident for illegally possessing and selling unstamped cigarettes.

Vladimir Mardakhayev, 57, of 540 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn, NY, was arrested and charged with one misdemeanor and three felonies for not only holding and selling the cigarettes but also for attempting to evade State and New York City cigarette taxes.

The Department seized 194 cartons of various brands of Georgia stamped, Virginia stamped and unstamped cigarettes at a building located at 201 Ditmas Ave., Brooklyn, which Mardakhayev owns.

All cigarettes sold in New York State must bare a state tax stamp.  Investigators from the Tax Department’s Criminal Investigations Division seized the cigarettes along with $1,177 in proceeds from their illicit sale.

Mardakhayev was released after his appearance at New York Police Department’s 66^th Precinct station house and was scheduled to appear in court on February 19, 2014.  The case will be prosecuted by the Office of the Kings County District Attorney.

In New York State, 96% of taxes are paid by businesses and individuals who voluntarily meet their tax responsibilities. The remaining 4% is collected through the Tax Department’s audit, collections and criminal investigations programs. Through its enforcement programs, the Department ensures fair tax administration for all New Yorkers.

A criminal complaint is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Schneiderman: Cab Drivers Deserve An Honest Day’s Pay For An Honest Day’s Work

(NEW YORK) Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) Commissioner David Yassky yesterday published an op-ed in the New York Daily News on their joint effort to protect taxicab drivers’ earnings. Under a first-of-its-kind agreement with one of New York City’s largest fleet owners, the two agencies secured nearly $750,000 in restitution for drivers who were illegally overcharged to lease their cabs and medallions. The following are excerpts from the op-ed:

ON THE DIFFICULTIES FACED BY TAXI DRIVERS IN MAKING ENDS MEET: Driving a taxi is one of the toughest jobs in New York City. Many cabbies work 12-hour shifts, seven days a week, in all kinds of weather — providing an essential service without minimum wage, overtime or the other basic labor protections that most workers enjoy.

ON THE NEED FOR OVERSIGHT OF THE TAXI INDUSTRY: When unscrupulous fleet owners cheat drivers out of their already meager earnings by charging inflated lease rates and adding on illegal extra charges and fees, vigorous enforcement is needed. That’s why, this year, the attorney general’s office and Mayor Bloomberg’s Taxi and Limousine Commission formed a partnership to investigate and bring cases against fleet owners who violate lease cap rules.

ON THE SETTLEMENT: Evgeny (Gene) Freidman, who owns nearly 900 taxi medallions, will pay nearly $750,000 in restitution to more than 1,000 drivers who were charged inflated lease rates and bogus fees, as well as $500,000 in fines. Going forward, increased oversight will ensure that his taxi companies comply with the law.

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF ENFORCING THE TLC’S LEASE CAP RULES: Lease cap rules limit the owners’ take to roughly 40% of passenger fares. Gas, insurance and other expenses eat up another 10%, leaving cabbies with only about half the money they bring in each shift (and sometimes much less, when weather or other factors keep fares inside) — often barely equaling the minimum wage. Deep-pocketed fleet owners cannot be allowed to take more than their fair share from hardworking drivers who depend on their cabs for their livelihood.

ON DEFENDING NEW YORK’S LABOR LAWS: Cab drivers deserve an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work. As a new generation of progressive labor leaders seeks new ways to protect these deserving American workers, we will continue to work creatively to enforce labor laws — and to use all the laws at our disposal — to ensure that every worker gets a fair shot and every company pays its fair share.

The full op-ed by Attorney General Schneiderman can be read here.

(Garden City Park, N.Y.) Trans Tech Bus recently named Leonard Bus Sales the recipient of its “Dealer of the Year” Award. Trans Tech, a maker of Type-A school buses, is located in Warwick, Orange County, N.Y., and is New York’s only school bus manufacturer. Leonard Bus Sales has facilities in Deposit, Saratoga Springs, Rome, Bergen and Garden City Park, N.Y.

“We are delighted with this award and proud of the partnership we’ve forged with Trans Tech Bus,” said Leonard Bus Sales President Mike Leonard. “We’ve worked hard this past year to grow our Type-A school bus business and to expand our ability to offer industry-leading service to all of our Trans Tech customer. This award shows our hard work is being recognized.”

Earlier this year, Leonard Bus Sales opened a Trans Tech-specific sales and customer support facility in Garden City Park, N.Y. The facility, which provides service and support to Trans Tech’s school and commercial bus customers in the New York City metro area, was added to Leonard Bus Sales’ network of facilities that cover the entire state.

Trans Tech Bus President John Phraner said, “Leonard Bus Sales continues to be an outstanding partner, helping us grow our sales and offering the best service and support to our customers. We could not think of a better team to work with, and we are pleased to name Leonard Bus Sales as our Dealer of the Year.”

This award shows again that, even as Trans Tech grows its dealer network across the country, Leonard Bus Sales continues to be the leader in the sale and service of Trans Tech’s Type-A school and commercial buses.

Leonard Bus Sales, Inc. is owned and operated by the Leonard family, a recognized leader in the distribution and support of quality, environmentally-friendly school and commercial buses. A third generation family-owned business, Leonard Bus Sales has nearly 50 years of experience providing cost-saving fleet management and award-winning customer support. Leonard Bus Sales distributes Type-A school and commercial buses from Trans Tech throughout New York. The company is headquartered in Deposit, NY and operates four additional full-service facilities in Saratoga Springs, Rome, Bergen, and a Trans Tech Type-A facility in Garden City Park, N.Y. – www.leonardbus.com.

Trans Tech Bus is a manufacturer of industry-leading Type-A school buses. Offering a family of single and dual wheel models, Trans Tech Bus is known for its innovative and fuel-efficient conversion designs. With a wide array of versatile floor plans the company is able to meet ever-changing customer demand. Trans Tech Bus is a division of Transportation Collaborative Incorporated located near the New York metropolitan area in Warwick, NY and New York’s only school bus manufacturer. www.transtechbus.com