Jamestown City Council meeting (February 13, 2023)

The New York Conference of Mayors isn’t on board with Governor Hochul‘s housing proposal in her state budget.

Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist said while NYCOM agrees there is a huge need for new housing across the state, they’re not supportive of the Housing plan proposed, “Because part of her proposal, although we do support the new builds, her proposal requires that municipalities change their zoning laws to accommodate for new housing. It is not something that the organization, NYCOM, supports at this time. It was very clear to the Governor that yes, we support new housing and yes, we support providing funds for it, but if you’re going to make us do that you’re not going to make us change our zoning laws just because the state said so.”

Sundquist said while there are monies in the budget for upgrades to infrastructure and for changing zoning laws, NYCOM doesn’t believe it will be enough given the amount of additional housing the state is looking to build.

Hochul wants to see 800,000 new housing units built in the state over the next 10 years.

Sundquist said NYCOM also is disappointed that AIM, or Aid and Incentives to Municipalities, has not increased, “There’s obviously a lot more cost to run cities, towns, villages and the fact that that hasn’t changed in several decades has become a huge issue.”

Sundquist said he’s trying to learn more about the $5 billion in migrant aid that’s included in the state budget. He said while they haven’t seen any new influx of migrants to the city, his administration has had direct calls with the Department of Homeland Security, White House Intergovernmental office, and Social Security Administration, “So, we’re just working with them (migrants) and the organizations are working directly with them to get social security cards which would allow them to get certain benefits but also to have some type of I.D. which is required for the food bank and other things.”

Sundquist added the city is also working with the United Way of Southern Chautauqua County on migrant issues.

Governor Kathy Hochul announced the funding for local municipalities and counties to enhance their public safety preparedness and response capabilities.

The State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services manages the targeted grant programs. The programs Chautauqua County has received funding under include $170,713 from the State Homeland Security Program. This program provides funding to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from acts of terrorism and other catastrophic disasters.

The county also received $53,300 from the Operation Stonegarden Grant Program. This grant provides critical funding to enhance cooperation and coordination between federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies through the support of joint operations which are conducted along the northern border.

The county was awarded $105,550 through the Technical Rescue & Urban Search and Rescue Grant Program. This program focuses on the enhancement of Technical Rescue and USAR teams for local emergency responders who conduct search and rescue operations involving structural collapse, trench, confined space, and rope rescues.

Chautauqua County also received $85,000 to equip and train FBI-accredited bomb squads to locate and prevent potential emergencies caused by improvised explosive devices or IEDs.

The Chautauqua County HazMat Team will receive $90,700 through the Hazardous Materials Targeted Grant Program. The team can use this funding to obtain and maintain essential equipment, implement the HazMat Team Accreditation Program, conduct training and exercises, and develop and update HazMat response plans.

And $15,000 was received from the Explosive Detection Canine Team Grant Program. Funding through this program provides local law enforcement agencies with active road patrols aid to develop and enhance their explosive detection canine capabilities.

Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas stated that following guidance from public health experts, the Department of Homeland Security will allow non-essential travelers who have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and have appropriate paperwork to enter the United States via land and ferry ports of entry.

This comes nearly two months after the Canadian government opened their side of the border to vaccinated U.S. travelers. The border first closed to non-essential travel on March 20, 2020 to prevent the spread of COVID between the two countries.

Both Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand who have long advocated for the reopening of the border with Canada applauded the news. Governor Kathy Hochul also issued a statement saying, “From Western New York to the North Country, I look forward to welcoming our Canadian neighbors back to New York as we continue to rebuild and recover from this pandemic.”

Travis Sanders

BUFFALO – A former city resident and former general manager of a local junior hockey team has been arrested on child pornography charges.

The U.S. Attorney’s office in Buffalo says 32-year-old Travis Sanders was arrested in Texas following a criminal complaint that he allegedly received and distributed child pornography while living in Western New York.

The case was brought to the attention of the department of Homeland Security by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police National Child Exploitation Center.

Canadian authorities claim an individual with the username “Damion Forsberg” was using Skype and regularly shared pornography that sometimes included children. An investigation revealed the individual to allegedly be Sanders and that he was living in Jamestown when the sharing allegedly took place. Authorities seized a laptop and cellphone allegedly belonging to Sanders and say they found images and videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

According to the Post-Journal, Sanders is the former general manager and assistant coach of the Southern Tier Xpress junior hockey team in Jamestown. He left Jamestown in July to take a similar job with a team in Teaxas.

Sanders was arrested in Texas and will be extradited to Western New York at a later date to face prosecution.

The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 20 years and a $250,000 fine.

John Plumb

LAKEWOOD, NY – The Democratic candidate for New York’s 23rd Congressional District is highlighting false statements regarding the 2nd Amendment that have been made against him by Republican incumbent Tom Reed (R-Corning).

Lakewood Democrat John Plumb’s campaign sent out a media release this week, citing several regional news sources that reported accusations made by Reed about Plumb’s record on 2nd Amendment rights, with the Plumb campaign saying they are factually incorrect.

Plumb’s campaign spokesperson Sam Newton said Reed is fabricating quotes about Plumb’s stance on protecting 2nd Amendment rights – in particular siding with the president Obama on gun control. Newton said that Plumb never said that, but instead said that he would rather have congress address the issue of gun violence, rather than the president.

Newton cited several articles in the media release that show how Reed has inaccurately presented Plumb’s view on the 2nd Amendment, including an Aug. 30 article from the the Hornell Evening Tribune:

After Plumb spoke, asserting his support for the Second Amendment, Reed took to the microphone and said, ‘”I don’t know where he (Plumb) stands on any of the issues, but I know where he stands on one.” Citing a Plumb interview with The Evening Tribune, the congressman said, “You said publicly that you support President Obama’s executive action on gun control. That’s not standing for the Second Amendment.”

… In a Jan. 8 article titled “Reed, Plumb Agree to Disagree,” the challenger actually said he would prefer Congress step up and address the issue of gun violence rather than the president.”I don’t like the president’s unilateral approach because Republicans and Democrats alike should work together to find solutions to keep weapons out of the hands of criminals, terrorists and the dangerously mentally ill — which Tom Reed opposes and our current Congress steadfastly refuses to do anything about,” [Plumb] said.

Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning)

Newton said the false claims by Reed are just the latest example of him making false statements about Plumb. Earlier in the campaign Reed’s reelection campaign was accused of making a fake website and social media pages about Plumb. Newtown said Reed has also denied voting for every foreign trade deal that came before him and has claimed he didn’t vote to shut down the Department of Homeland Security – both of which are false statements.

“First, Congressman Reed made a fake website about Commander Plumb to mislead voters. He then denied voting for every foreign trade deal that came before him and has claimed he didn’t vote to shut down the Department of Homeland Security,” Newton said. “Now he is fabricating quotes about Commander Plumb’s stance on protecting our Second Amendment rights. Congressman Reed embodies the unethical behavior that we are all fed up with in Washington. Those are not the values Commander Plumb stands for and why it’s time for a new representative here in the Southern Tier, Western New York and the Finger Lakes.”   

Plumb is challenging Reed for his seat in the 2016 general election. Over the past two decades he’s served as a submarine officer in the Navy and later as an official at the Department of Defense. Most recently he’s served as director of defense policy and strategy at the National Security Council and is also a Navy Reserve Commander. He graduated from Randolph High School in 1988.

Reed is an attorney and former mayor of Corning who was elected to Congress in 2010 and has represented Chautauqua County since January 2013, when redistricting created the new boundaries for the state’s 23^rd congressional district.

This funding was allocated through the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program.

Specifically, the City of Jamestown in Chautauqua County will use these funds to test their self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) air packs and respirators to ensure firefighter safety.

Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning)

JAMESTOWN – Congressman Tom Reed’s (R-Corning, NY 23) campaign is responding to criticism from his opponent, who claimed Reed doesn’t support gun restrictions for suspected terrorists and as a result is compromising the safety of Americans.

On Wednesday candidate for Congress John Plumb (D-Lakewood) released a statement saying Reed does not support legislation that would prevent terror suspects on the federal No Fly List from purchasing a firearm. Plumb then said that Reed’s lack of support for the legislation undermines the safety of New Yorkers, adding that it continues a trend that he’s followed since being elected to congress.

On Thursday Reed’s Campaign responded to Plumb’s statements. Tom Reed for Congress spokeswoman Amy Hasenberg called Plumb’s statement outrageous and said that he is using offensive DC tactics to undermine Reed’s efforts to help protect Americans. Hasenberg also reiterated Reed’s statements from earlier in the week, saying that radical Islamic terror is the real enemy.

“Tom is at the forefront fighting for protections for the American people and he has been since he was elected into Congress,” said Hasenberg. “Any accusations that say otherwise are dishonest. Tom cares about all Americans. “Radical Islamic Terror is the real enemy here, but DC John Plumb chooses to take another play from the DC liberal insider playbook and use a national tragedy for personal political advancement.”

John Plumb

Hasenberg then accused Plumb of following the same campaign tactics used by the Democratic National Committee, which sent out a letter from minority Senate leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) addressing the Orlando mass shooting while also asking for donations.

“This goes beyond poor taste, this behavior is horrendous and disrespectful towards the people that were unfairly taken from their families,” Hasenberg stated.

Plumb is challenging Reed for New York’s 23rd Congressional District seat in this year’s General Election. Over the past two decades he’s served as a submarine officer in the Navy and later as an official at the Department of Defense. Prior to his service in the military he was raised and graduated from high school in Randolph, NY (Cattaraugus County) in 1988.

Reed is an attorney and former mayor of Corning, NY who was elected to Congress in 2010 and has represented Chautauqua County since January 2013 when redistricting created the new 23^rd congressional district – which also includes several other counties in the southern tier, stretching all the way to Tompkins County in the finger lakes region.

REED, HOUSE APPROVE BI-PARTISAN TERRORISM PREVENTION LEGISLATION

Meanwhile, Congressman Reed, along with his fellow House members, voted 402-15 on a bipartisan package of three bills Thursday known as the Countering Terrorist Radicalization Act, aimed at preventing terrorists from radicalizing Americans to attack inside the United States.

Following the vote, Reed said the legislation will help prevent foreign terrorists from using propaganda to lure Americans into committing similar attacks like the one committed in Orlando.

“We care about keeping Americans safe, and in the wake of the tragedy in Orlando, we can and must do more to counter radical Islamic terrorism,” said Reed.

“It’s only right that we work to keep Americans safe without forcing them to give up constitutional freedoms,” he added, alluding to his unwillingness to support legislation that limits Second Amendment rights.

According to Reed’s office, the proposal increases the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to counteract domestic and homegrown terrorist by expanding outreach in American communities and encouraging ordinary Americans to recognize and report suspicious activities. The bill also requires the department to reassess programs that aim to counter violent extremism in the U.S. and identify gaps in the programs and resources and report them to Congress. The third component of the legislation is to establish the Counterterrorism Advisory Board (CTAB) as the central Homeland Security counter-terrorism decision making body, allowing it to set the procedures for issuing terrorism alerts.

“Americans deserve to be safe on U.S. soil. We can’t let terror threats, either foreign or domestic, disrupt our way of life and this bill is the first step in taking proactive measures to defeat terrorism once and for all,” said Reed.

Chautauqua County’s representative in Congress, Tom Reed (R-Corning), was one of 167 GOP members of the House who voted against the spending bill, that will keep homeland security programs operating for the remainder of the fiscal year. However, the Bill still had enough support from moderate Republicans and Democrats to pass by a vote of 257 to 167. All 182 Democrats present voted for the bill, while it received only 75 Republican “yes” votes.

The bill had already cleared the Senate prior to the House vote.

Reed was just one of two members of the NY congressional delegation to vote against the measure.  Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Long Island)  was the only other member of the New York congressional delegation to vote no

On Monday, Reed had said the Senate should hold a simple majority vote on House legislation to defund President Barack Obama’s executive order protecting millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation.

“It is clear President Obama has overreached with his Executive Amnesty,” Reed stated. “In fact, 57 percent of the Senate, as demonstrated by the senators’ own votes, agree with holding the President accountable on this point.  However, it seems the Senate has chosen to ignore the will of the people and fund the very executive amnesty action the Senate itself opposes.”

The Republican-controlled Senate had removed the House’s contentious immigration language from its bill because Majority Leader Mitch McConnell could not get the 60 votes needed for its passage.

There are 54 Republican senators, six short of the number needed to overcome a filibuster.

In the end, House members felt it was more important to keep Homeland Security up and running, rather than hold it hostage in order to fight the president’s amnesty order regarding immigration. As a result, it approved a spending bill on Tuesday that didn’t include any of the immigration-related concessions they demanded for months.

“I am as outraged and frustrated as you at the lawless and unconstitutional actions of this president,” House Speaker Boehner told his GOP caucus prior to the vote, admitting they were out of options. “I believe this decision — considering where we are — is the right one for this team, and the right one for this country.”

The measure passed Tuesday funds the Homeland Security Department through the Sept. 30 end of the budget year. It pays for numerous priorities including Transportation Security agents, the Coast Guard, the Secret Service, a host of immigration-related functions and grants to local governments.

Last week, the Senate and House agreed to a one-week stopgap funding measure for the Homeland Security Department after Senate Republicans were unable to advance a House-passed bill that would have defunded Obama’s executive action on immigration.

According to The Buffalo News, the vote on Friday allowed some 1,800 government employees in Western New York to continue working this week, avoiding a furlough or work without pay.

The approval from both House and Senate came only after a day of Republican infighting on Capitol Hill, with those in the Senate unwilling to risk de-funding Homeland Security, while conservatives in the House argued for defunding the agency in order to prevent President Obama from enforcing his executive order freeing millions of undocumented aliens from the threat of deportation.

Democrats – who’ve been arguing for a long-term funding plan – made the decision Friday night to support the one-week funding measure, which then passed the House in a 357-60 vote.

Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning), who represents Chautauqua County, voted to support the extension, although he did have some choice words for those across the aisle.  “Democrats in the Senate and now the House have instead chosen to hold the American people’s safety hostage for short-term political gain,” he was quoted as saying in the Buffalo News article. “It is shameful.”

Democrats, though, saw all the shame on the Republican side of the aisle, noting that a Republican-led House and a Republican-led Senate themselves failed to agree on Homeland Security funding.

As part of a multi-agency investigation code-named Operation Horseback, state, federal and local law enforcement agents led by Attorney General Schneiderman’s Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF), New York State Police’s CNET and the Jamestown Police Department conducted a year-long investigation that included undercover operations, hundreds of hours of covert surveillance, and wiretaps. The investigation led to the seizure of more than 3,000 baggies of heroin with an estimated street value of $60,000, all for distribution in Jamestown.

According to the indictment, members of the narcotics distribution organization would transport the heroin to Jamestown from New York City in a canister located underneath a 1999 Chevy Astro Van. Wiretaps caught the defendants discussing their drug transactions in a cryptic and coded manner in the hope of avoiding detection by law enforcement. Neftali Cintron, known as “Pucho”, and his son-in-law Luis DeJesus, known as “Papito”, would allegedly travel to Philadelphia to obtain heroin, which their minions distributed for them in Jamestown. When they did not like the quality of the narcotics from that source, they would obtain drugs from other dealers in the area.

One of those distributors, Luis Lozada-Berberena, known as “Wiso”, allegedly operated his heroin business during regular business hours – sometimes telling customers he was “closed for the day” – and had a number of regular customers who would line up to meet and follow him to out-of-the-way locations to make a deal. He allegedly got his heroin from Carlos Encarnacion, who regularly drove to New York City and returned with heroin hidden in the specially outfitted Astro Van. Wiso also purchased suboxone strips from one heroin customer and sold them to another heroin customer, Leslie Rodriguez. She then allegedly smuggled them into Gowanda Correctional Facility in Erie County where her boyfriend was incarcerated there. He then allegedly sold the suboxone, making over $300 per strip.

Defendant Edwin Velasquez allegedly sold to individuals in his drug rehabilitation group. Carlos Echiaverria, known as “Boobie”, was a dealer who obtained heroin from all of the above sources, and sold cocaine and firearms during the course of this investigation as detailed in the indictment. Boobie enlisted his father-in-law to travel to Buffalo on a bus to bring heroin from New York City for sale in Jamestown.

The 159-count indictment unsealed in Chautauqua County Court today charges 47 people with crimes including Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Second Degree and Conspiracy (class A and B felonies), and various counts of Criminal Sale and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance (class B felonies).

Charged in the Chautauqua County indictment are:

• Alberto Alicea; age 54, Brooklyn, NY
• Neftali Benitez, a/k/a “Tego”; age 33, Jamestown, NY
• Bryan Bobe; age 25, Jamestown, NY
• Charles Brown, a/k/a “Choco Loco”; age 42, Falconer, NY
• Stephen Bush; age 33, Jamestown, NY
• Hector Cameron, a/k/a “Loco”; age 31, Jamestown, NY
• Javier Carasquillo, a/k/a “Oreja”; age 43, Jamestown, NY
• Neftali Cintron, a/k/a “Pucho”; age 51, Jamestown, NY
• Hector Colon Rodriguez , a/k/a “Chino”; age 40, Jamestown, NY
• Ivan DeJesus Pena; age 45, Jamestown, NY
• Luis DeJesus, a/k/a “Papito”; age 29, Jamestown, NY
• Alfredo Diaz, a/k/a “Ding Dong”; age 51, Jamestown, NY
• Samantha DiLallo; age 26, Randolph, NY
• Carlos Echiaverria, a/k/a “Boobie”; age 31, Jamestown, NY
• Carlos Encarnacion; age 59, Jamestown, NY
• Roberto Figueredo, a/k/a “Bost”; age 25
• Joseph Fontanez; age 24, Jamestown, NY
• Christopher Freeney; age 43, Jamestown, NY
• Luis Garcia, a/k/a “Wichie”; age 42, Jamestown, NY
• Rolando Garcia; age 50, Jamestown, NY
• John Grilla; age 28, Jamestown, NY
• Jose Guevara, a/k/a “Pun”; age 29, Jamestown, NY
• Angelita Guzman, a/k/a “Michelle”; age 28, Jamestown, NY
• Francisco Guzman Gonzalez; age 46, Jamestown, NY
• Michael Lisciandro, a/k/a “Dougie”; age 23, Jamestown, NY
• Moises Lopez-Encarnacion, a/k/a “Junito”; age 22, Mayville, NY
• Luis Lozada Berberena, a/k/a “Wiso”; age 40, Jamestown, NY
• Eric M. Lundsten; age 29, Ellington, NY
• Roberto Morales-Sanchez, a/k/a “Pichulin”; age 45, Jamestown, NY
• Jean Noriega, a/k/a “John”; age 43
• Frank Orazio; age 24, Cassadaga, NY
• LaShawn Paige; age 42, Binghamton, NY
• Doris Ramos; age 25, Jamestown, NY
• Ricardo Ramos; age 27, Jamestown, NY
• Jonathan Ribbing; age 27, Lakewood, NY
• Eddie Robles, a/k/a “Nelson”; age 49, Jamestown, NY
• Leslie Rodriguez; age 28, Jamestown, NY
• Randall Rolison; age 51, Jamestown, NY
• Olga Santiago; age 49, Jamestown, NY
• Jesus Javier Suarez; age 44, Jamestown, NY
• Enrique Torres-Baez, a/k/a “Quique”; age 43, Jamestown, NY
• James Torres, a/k/a “BK”; age 42, Jamestown, NY
• Damaris Urena; age 35, Jamestown, NY
• Francis Vega, a/k/a “Pollo”; age 37
• Edwin Velasquez; age 53, Falconer, NY
• Joshua Van Ord; age 20, Lakewood, NY and
• Walter Westerdahl age 33, Jamestown, NY