Monday, March 31, 2014

Midtown skyscraper must be forfeited over Iran ties


A Midtown skyscraper must be forfeited by companies that control it as a front for the terror-supporting Iranian government, a Manhattan judge ruled.


Proceeds from any potential sale of 650 Fifth Ave. could end up in the hands of terror-attack victims — including the 9/11 terror attacks — and their survivors thanks to the ruling by federal Judge Katherine Forrest.


The judge said those victims should be in line for assets seized from defendants Assa Corp., Assa Co. Ltd. and the Alavi Foundation.


They all knew their businesses had direct ties to the Iranian government — all while floating funds through Iran’s Bank of Melli, according to Forrest.


“For these reasons, forfeiture of the entire building at 650 Fifth Ave. is not grossly excessive,” Forrest wrote.


The judge acknowledged charitable work done by the Alavi Foundation, but said that wasn’t enough to outweigh the companies’ ties to Iran.


“The court is mindful that Alavi has also conducted certain charitable activities, including making grants to universities, donations to schools, and grants to art and literature programs,” Forrest wrote.


“Notwithstanding those charitable services, Alavi’s actions on behalf of Assa, Bank Melli and Iran establish its culpability.”


Survivors of terror attacks have said they believe they should get a chunk of 650 Fifth Ave.


In her opinion, issued late Friday, Forrest also ruled that six properties — in Queens, Texas, California, Virginia and Maryland — should be forfeited.


Forrest’s ruling, however, did not explicitly say how terror survivors could eventually get their hands on the Iranian-owned building.


“What’s important about this ruling is about who doesn’t have an interest in this building,” said Steve Kessler, an attorney for the family of Charles Hegna, an American killed by Hezbollah gunmen at Tehran.


“It’s an important ruling because it took Iran out of the picture.”


Kessler added: “It’s a negative ruling saying the Iranian organs must forfeit any and all their interest in this building.”


Ultimately, the US Department of Justice could take the lead in this matter, sell the building and dole out proceeds.


“That is probably the most likely scenario, that the government will oversee the sale of the property,” Kessler said.


The Hegna family want to be at the front of the line for proceeds from 650 Fifth Ave.


They have a two-decade-old judgement against Iran, good for $ 42 million in compensatory damages and $ 300 million in punitive damages, plus interest, according to the family’s lawyer.


“We’re not looking for the punitive damages,” Kessler said. “If we were to get the compensatory damages, there’d be more than enough left for all other victims.”


The building has ties to Iran that link all the way back to the Shah.


In 1973, the Central Bank of Iran loaned the ruler’s foundation $ 42 million to buy the valuable Midtown office building.


Following the Iranian Revolution, the new rulers of Iran took control of the building and created new companies to front for ownership, according to Forrest.





Yahoo Local News – New York Post




http://ift.tt/1gWwwh0

via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1

STEM is the future: Students see where their genes fit


NYC PAPERS OUT. Social media use restricted to low res file max 184 x 128 pixels and 72 dpiEnid Alvarez/New York Daily News Tiffany Leung, 24, looks at her DNA-tracking results in CCNY’s cutting-edge genomics class in the Marshak Science Building in City College of New York.

City College student Thomas Hurt pointed at a computer screen showing a breakdown of his own DNA and said, “That right here, this is me.”


Hurt, 26, and dozens of other City College undergraduate students are reconstructing their own ancient family histories as part of coursework for biology professor Michael Hickerson’s Anthropological Genomics class.


“The majority of my DNA comes from sub-Saharan Africa, but I also have 12% Mediterranean, 9% Northern European. I know my great-great-great-grandfather on my father’s side is Caucasian. This sheds more light into my lineage,” Hurt said during class last week in the college’s Marshak Science Building.


Hurt is also 3% Native American, which he attributed to family lore about his great-great-grandmother’s heritage.


“I wish we could trace what tribe,” he said.


Hickerson’s class — offered for the first time this spring — is just one component of the professor’s New York City Student Ancestry Project, which kicked off in February as his students and undergraduates at several other colleges took cheek swabs at the American Museum of Natural History.


Through Hickerson’s project, 200 college students are participating in a global research initiative run by National Geographic called the Genographic Project, which uses DNA to map human migration throughout history.


Hickerson secured a National Science Foundation grant to purchase 200 National Geographic Geno 2.0 kits — which test for nearly 150,000 DNA markers — one for each student.


Hickerson and his students will present results from the initiative — one of the most recent examples of the City University of New York’s commitment to STEM, or science, technology, engineering and math — on April 23 at a second American Museum of Natural History event.


“Everybody has an idea of where in the world their ancestors come from,” Hickerson, who looks like a rumpled hipster with a beard and horn-rimmed glasses, told students during last week’s anthropological genomics class. “For some of you, it’s going to be very complex.”


In class, they used a Web-based tool called Admixturemap to explore historical moments where different populations in their genomes came together to create shared DNA.


“The admixtures we’re going to be exploring here happened 600, 700, 1,500 years ago,” he said.


Kai Van Vlack, 24, a senior who lives in Murray Hill, said he is invested in discovering his family’s genetic anthropology.


“My father’s an orphan so we don’t really know anything about his family. My mom’s Dominican-Peruvian. Those countries both have pretty poor record keeping. This is interesting to me personally because we have no family history on one side and very little on the other,” Van Vlack said.


NYC PAPERS OUT. Social media use restricted to low res file max 184 x 128 pixels and 72 dpiEnid Alvarez/New York Daily News The results of a student’s DNA-tracking show what parts of the world his ancestors are from.

His genome testing revealed he was 31% Mediterranean, 23% Native American and 25% Northern European. He was surprised to find that he was 4% sub-Saharan African.


“That means there’s got to be a relatively recent ancestor from there,” he said.


Van Vlack is thrilled to be part of the course.


“We talk a lot about the latest technology — and this represents a piece of that,” he said of the genome tracing.


Tiffany Leung, 24, a senior who emigrated from China to Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, as a teen, learned from her genomes that 67,000 years ago, she had ancestors in east Africa.


“I’m half Filipino, half Chinese,” said Leung. “I read my results and they said I have some Vietnamese in my genetic information and also 5 to 10% from Finland . . . I always thought I don’t have a Chinese face structure.”


In several weeks students will compare Hickerson’s raw DNA data with his father’s — and try to predict who is taller without seeing the elder Hickerson.


“There are about 200 places in the human genome that can predict height,” Hickerson said.


In weeks ahead the class will also run their own analyses on the raw data from their DNA tests.


“We’re learning about the complexities underlying human history and how that can show up in our genomes personally,” Hickerson said.


“People have been surprised to have a certain level of Denisovan ancestry,” he said referring to a Paleolithic-era, sister species of Neanderthals.


“Other people are surprised to have results that don’t corroborate their family’s oral history.”


epearson@nydailynews.com





Yahoo Local News – New York Daily News




http://ift.tt/1mttvUO

via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1

Albany Lawmakers Pass Fourth Consecutive On-Time Budget


State lawmakers have passed New York’s fourth on-time budget in a row.


The state Senate passed all the budget bills just before 11 p.m. Monday, and the Assembly followed less than 30 minutes later, meeting the midnight deadline.


The $ 138 billion budget includes $ 1.5 billion dollars in property tax cuts for suburban and upstate homeowners.


Here in the city, renters will have a tax credit of their own for the first time.


“So whether you’re a Republican or Democrat, I think you’re sensitive to the fact that property taxes are choking people,” said state Senate Republican Conference Leader Dean Skelos.


“We’re doing the first-of-its-kind renter tax credit to give renter relief to so many hard hit New Yorkers,” said state Senate Independent Democratic Conference Leader Jeff Klein. “Altogether, the package is over $ 170 million over a two-year period.”


“There are a lot of good features of this budget, and this budget is all about compromise,” said Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. “There are things I’d rather not see in this budget, but on balance, I think it’s a great budget.”


As part of the budget, $ 300 million goes to funding universal pre-K, although without the tax hike Mayor Bill de Blasio wanted.


The budget also contains significant protections for charter schools.





NEWS – NY1




http://ift.tt/1hdzVCq

via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1

JFK, Newark bulking up Customs and Border Protection staff


Some relief is on the way for passengers who arrive on international flights into JFK and Newark Airport, where Customs and Immigration delays are some of the longest in the countries.


Hundreds of new Customs and Border Protection agents will be hired for the airports, with JFK getting will get 200 and another 100 going to Newark.


Hiring will start immediately, and finish within 18 months.


The money comes from a larger $ 165 million in the Department of Homeland Security budget to hire 2,000 new agents nationally.


“It is a national embarrassment — and drag on the regional economy — that Customs lines there are so infuriatingly long,” said Sen. Charles Schumer, who secured the funding.


“Fortunately, that seems poised to change. With these additional agents, the airports will finally have the resources it needs to get travelers into the country and on their way quickly and efficiently.”


JFK’s waits are particularly rough, with wait times reaching as high as three hours for arriving international passengers.


The airport hit that mark on Aug. 24 at 4 p.m., Schumer said. The wait was two hours on Aug. 3 and two hours and 20 minutes on July 1.


Airport advocacy group Global Gateway Alliance said the new agents are long overdue.


In its own analysis last summer, it found that JFK had the worst customs wait times in the country — and that Newark had long delays as well.


The Alliance called for more agents to be hired, as well as nixing resources for pre-clearance facilities in locations like Abu Dhabi, which have few travelers.


The facility costs the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol over $ 400,000 a year to run in the United Arab Emirates — even though it has fewer then 1,000 passengers a day who go to the U.S.


Five other countries — Ireland, Canada, Bermuda, Aruba, and the Bahamas — have pre-clearance facilities staffed by customs officers.


“This announcement puts into action what we’ve been calling for — increased staffing to cut hours-long Customs’ wait times that hurt our region and economy,” said Alliance Chairman Joe Sitt.


“Coupling more staffing power with new technologies are the right steps toward fixing this problem for the long term.”





Yahoo Local News – New York Post




http://ift.tt/1ok5VOU

via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1

Paid vacation could become city mandate


NEW YORK DAILY NEWS


Monday, March 31, 2014, 8:53 PM



NYC PAPERS OUT. Social media use restricted to low res file max 184 x 128 pixels and 72 dpiMark Bonifacio/New York Daily News Councilman Jumaane Williams (D-Brooklyn) introduced a bill last week that would mandate paid vacation time for city employees.

Paid sick days could be just the beginning – a city councilman is pushing a bill to force businesses to give their employees paid vacation time.


The bill introduced by Councilman Jumaane Williams (D-Brooklyn) last week would mandate a week of paid vacation after an employee has been on the job for six months. It would apply to businesses with 10 or more workers.


The requirement would gradually rise to three weeks’ vacation under the legislation, first reported by Crain’s New York.


Williams said New Yorkers – like many Americans – are vacation-starved. “The nation is behind the times,” he said. “We work basically 365 days a year. Some people never go on vacation. I think it’s a problem.”


Vacation days would have to roll over from one year to the next unless the employee gets paid for the unused days.


The bill would give employees a week of paid vacation after six months of employment, gradually accuring to three weeks.William Alatrist//NYC Council The bill would give employees a week of paid vacation after six months of employment, gradually accuring to three weeks.

In the new City Council’s first legislative act, it passed a dramatic expansion of paid sick leave which take effect Tuesday. Employers with five or more workers are now required to give five paid sick days a year.


Kathy Wylde of the pro-business Partnership for New York City said while the sick days rules could be justified as public health measures, there was no reason for the government to interfere on behalf of vacation.


“Clearly this is ratcheting up the progressive cause to a whole new level. There’s a point at which I think they will lose all credibility,” she said.






Yahoo Local News – New York Daily News




http://ift.tt/PcdKGX

via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1

Websites Have Issues on Last Day to Sign Up for Health Insurance


Getting health coverage Monday was a major headache for some, as websites for the Affordable Care Act buckled under the weight of hundreds of thousands of people registering. NY1′s Josh Robin filed the following report.


Signing up for health insurance means that Monica Barnes can finally see a doctor.


Barnes: I don’t visit because of the money.

Robin: And now?

Barnes: I’ll feel much better vising now.


However, as her health is poised to improve, the health of the website giving her coverage took a turn for the worse. New York State’s site had a case of the hiccups, and the federal exchange shut down entirely for several hours Monday. It recuperated by midday.


As long as you begin signing up Monday, you’re not penalized.


“As you can see by the lines around the country this weekend, we are seeing a surge in enrollment,” said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney. “More than 6 million people have signed up.”


That includes many in New York, in person at Bellevue Hospital and over the phone.


“We’re seeing a rush of people calling and trying to make the deadline and get health insurance,” said Shaleem Thompson of 311.


The Affordable Care Act remains a remarkably resilient political lightning rod. The president signed it into law a little bit more than four years ago. Now, opposition to it could strip Democrats of their control in the U.S. Senate.


You don’t need to convince Monica Barnes. She got a clean bill, with the process taking only about 15 minutes longer than normal.


“I’ll be able to visit every time I have a doctor’s visit,” she said. “I won’t be afraid not to come out.”


Her insurance starts May 1.





NEWS – NY1




http://ift.tt/1iTZUDi

via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1

Bode’s battle over custody of son continues


NYC PAPERS OUT. Social media use restricted to low res file max 184 x 128 pixels and 72 dpiJefferson Siegel/New York Daily News Olympic skier Bode Miller, involved in a child custody dispute with the mother of his child, Sara McKenna, arrives at Manhattan Family Court Monday.

Winter is over but things remain frosty in the child custody case involving Olympic skier Bode Miller and Columbia University student Sara McKenna.


Miller and McKenna were unable to reach a temporary settlement Monday during a conference at New York County Family Court.


Case referee Fiordaliza Rodriguez said if the two parties can’t come to terms on a shared parenting schedule by April 7 she will hold a hearing on that date where witnesses may be called to testify.


Until then their son, a 13-month old boy, will remain with his mother, who is studying political science at Columbia.


The boy’s legal name is Samuel, but Miller calls him Nathaniel. Miller, who won an Alpine skiing bronze medal at the Sochi Games in February, lives in California and is married to a woman he met after his romance with McKenna ended.


Neither parent would comment on the case at the courthouse Monday, though McKenna wrote a 1,500-word post for Cosmopolitan magazine’s website that went online minutes after the courtroom conference was adjourned.


In the post McKenna describes meeting Miller through a matchmaking service in early 2012.


McKenna leaves court Monday.Jefferson Siegel/New York Daily News McKenna leaves court Monday.

“You would have never known he was famous — he showed up in wrinkly jeans, a polo shirt and tennis shoes and lived on an old yacht in San Diego Harbor,” McKenna writes.


“We started dating, and on May 23, after he bought a new yacht, we flew to Florida to see it for a mini-vacation. I had just started taking the pill less than a month before — and soon learned it had been ineffective.”


By the time the baby was born Miller was married to professional volleyball player Morgan Beck (now Morgan Miller), who traveled with him on the international ski circuit this past winter, helping Miller with childcare while he had temporary custody of the baby in December.


Miller is also the father of a six-year-old girl who lives in California. He is 36, and recently announced his intention to continue racing for at least one more season.


“My hope is that Bode and I can work together to finally give Sam a stable life,” McKenna wrote in her online posting.


“That’s all I want for our son.”





NY Daily News- Top Stories




http://ift.tt/1gVHXFS

via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1

Defense guns to KO 12-year-old shooter’s talk with cops

NYC Crime

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS


Monday, March 31, 2014, 5:51 PM



NYC PAPERS OUT. Social media use restricted to low res file max 184 x 128 pixels and 72 dpiAlex Rud A Queens Family Court is trying the case of a troubled 12-year-old boy who shot and wounded his sister. The woman with the brighter hoodie is the youth’s mother.

Attorneys for a 12-year-old boy accused of accidentally wounding his older sister with a .22 pistol want a Queens family court judge to toss out some of the statements he made to cops in the wake of the shooting.


The boy, accompanied by his mother and a cousin, is accused of shooting his 14-year-old sister in the stomach while playing with the loaded .22 in their Jamaica home March 14.


That same gun was later linked to the March 11 killing of a man named Mohamed Hamwi, 48.


At a hearing Monday, defense attorneys tried to suppress several statements the boy made to detectives after his mother called them to their Jamaica home.


It’s believed that the comments were related to when and how the .22 came to be in the boy’s possession.


Detective Nicholas Masi was the first witness called to the stand. He detailed how he interviewed the boy and his mother.


His partner, who also interrogated the two of them, is expected take the stand Wednesday.






Yahoo Local News – New York Daily News




http://ift.tt/1fI580Y

via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1

Albany Lawmakers Poised to Adopt State Budget


Albany lawmakers are set to vote on the state budget today.


Mayor Bill de Blasio continued to praise the spending plan over the weekend.


The budget is being conferenced by members of the State Senate and Assembly.


It includes $ 340 million for universal pre-K, $ 300 million of which will be earmarked for the city.


The mayor and Governor Andrew Cuomo had been at odds over how to fund the program. De Blasio wanted permission from Albany to raise taxes on wealthy New Yorkers, but Cuomo believed it could be implemented without a tax hike.


The mayor says he’s happy with what he’s seen of the plan.


“Look, we have to look at all the details. The bottom line of this budget is that we have the resources that we need for our central focus which is to get the pre-k and after school done. We’re really pleased, this is a historic moment for the city,” De Blasio said.


One thing not in the budget is campaign finance reform, but lawmakers say they hope it can be addressed separately.





NEWS – NY1




http://ift.tt/1fgtQJ1

via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1

Spike Lee slams NYTimes critic in new anti-gentrification rant


Spike Lee blew a gasket in a vitriolic attack on a New York Times film critic who suggested that the thin-skinned filmmaker was a hypocrite for whining about gentrification in Brooklyn — from the lofty perch of his own Upper East Side digs.


“As is often the case with Mr. Lee’s public utterances, this one was a mixture of hyperbole, provocation and plain truth,” critic A.O. Scott sniffed in Sunday’s Times about an anti-gentrification rant Lee unleashed in February during an appearance at Pratt Institute. “What’s the saying about people who live in glass brownstones?”


Lee fired back in a long “open letter” to Scott on the social media site WhoSay on Monday – defending his Brooklyn cred and right to live where he wants.


“The Truth is The Truth. The Truth is The Light, and as they say in Brasil “One Finger Can’t Block The Sun.” The Truth is Gentrification is Great for the New Arrivals in Harlem, South Bronx, Bushwick, Red Hook, Bed-Stuy Do or Die and Fort Greene, and in many other cities across the U.S. But not so great for The Brown and Black Residents who have been in these Neighborhoods for decades and are being forced out, to the Suburbs, Down South or back to their Native Islands,” Lee hyperventilated.


“Your criticism of me as a hypocrite is lame, weak and not really thought out. You stated in your Article that because I live in The Upper East Side and I’m talking about Gentrification that makes me Hypocrite. The fact is where I live has nothing to do with it. Your argument is OKEY DOKE,” the pint-sized Knicks fanatic added before pointing out his Brooklyn bona fides.


Lee said he and his family moved from his native Atlanta when he was 3 and settled in Crown Heights.


“My Parents bought their first home in 1968, a Brownstone in Fort Greene, where my Father still lives,” he said, adding that his dad’s pad was vandalized after his remarks at Pratt.


“Mr. Scott, what you fail to understand is that I can live on The Moon and what I said is still TRUE. No matter where I choose to live that has nothing to do with it. I will always carry Brooklyn in my Blood, Heart and Soul. Did anyone call Jay-Z a Hypocrite when he helped with bringing The Nets from New Jersey to The Barclays Center in Brooklyn at the Corner of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenue?” Lee wrote.


“Hey Buddy, Jay-Z had been long, long gone from The Marcy Projects and Brooklyn a long, long, long time ago and more Power to my BK ALL DAY Brother. Should Jay-Z no longer mention Brooklyn in his Songs because he no longer resides there?” Lee asked.


He then asks Scott if he should not have made many of his acclaimed flicks because he didn’t live in the ’hood where they were set.


“According to your logic I should not have Written and Directed JUNGLE FEVER because I have never lived in HARLEM and BENSONHURST. I should not have Directed CLOCKERS because I have never lived in Boerum Hill and the Gowanus Projects. I should have not Written and Directed HE GOT GAME because I have never lived in CONEY ISLAND,” he fumed before ending with a long list of Brooklyn natives whose hearts remain in the County of Kings even though they’ve moved on geographically.


“It doesn’t matter where you choose to live because Brooklyn goes where you go. It still lives inside Larry King, Sandy Koufax, Big Daddy Kane, Bernard and Albert King, Barry Manilow, Stephon Marbury, Rhea Perlman, Adam Sandler, Neil Sedaka [and] Jerry Seinfeld,” he ranted, naming more than a dozen others.


“Mr. Scott, please learn “SPREADIN’ LOVE IS THE BROOKLYN WAY,” Lee concluded, signing off from “Da Republic of Brooklyn, New York.”


At Pratt, Lee moaned about gentrification and what he called the “Christopher Columbus syndrome” among white newcomers.


“You can’t just come in the neighborhood and start Bogarting and kill off the Native Americans. Or what they did in Brazil, what they did to the indigenous people,” he said.





Yahoo Local News – New York Post




http://ift.tt/1ghME6W

via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1

Active shooter reported on Stevenson University campus

Crime

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS


Published: Monday, March 31, 2014, 3:19 PM


Updated: Monday, March 31, 2014, 3:42 PM



wbaltv.com Police have swarmed the Stevenson University campus in Owings Mills, Md., after reports of an active shooter Monday afternoon.

Students at Stevenson University in suburban Baltimore were told to stay inside after the university reported an active shooter on the Owings Mills campus.


The university sent out a text alert warning students and staff of the threat around 2:30 p.m., while the Baltimore County Police responded to the campus after getting a report of two people on campus with some sort of long gun.


There have been no reports of shots fired or injuries on campus. Police said there has been no confirmation yet of the perceived threat.


Maryland's Stevenson University has an active shooter on its Owings Mills campus north of Baltimore, the school said in a statement on Monday.stevenson.edu Maryland’s Stevenson University has an active shooter on its Owings Mills campus north of Baltimore, the school said in a statement on Monday.

The private university has about 4,000 people enrolled at campuses in both Owings Mills and Stevenson, Md., just outside Baltimore.


sgoldstein@nydailynews.com






NY Daily News- Top Stories




http://ift.tt/1hVNJCx

via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1

Cuomo hailed as education hero after charter save


Gov. Cuomo’s actions to protect charter schools have made him a darling of education reformers who back student choice.


The group Education Reform Now has named the governor its honorary chairman for its annual national retreat, which will be held at the Whiteface Lodge in Lake Placid from May 4 to 6.


“Gov. Cuomo has emerged as a key national leader for education reform. The speech he gave at the charter-school rally in Albany showed that he stood on the side of innovation and quality education,” said Joe Williams, president of Education Reform Now.


The group’s board of directors is filled with hedge- fund investors who support publicly funded, privately run charter schools, which are largely exempt from union rules.


Williams said Cuomo has agreed to attend and speak at the event.


Cuomo, who is running for re-election this fall, countered Mayor de Blasio’s plans to limit charter schools. The new $ 139 billion state budget would require the city to allow charter schools to co-locate in public-school buildings.





Yahoo Local News – New York Post




http://ift.tt/1jQFZZq

via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1

Residents Evacuate Brooklyn Buildings Because of Gas Leak


Two people were sent to the hospital in Brooklyn after a carbon monoxide incident in their building.


Fire officials are not sure what caused the gas leak.


Neighbors in surrounding buildings say they were evacuated as responders arrived on the scene, but were not worried about the condition of their apartments.


“I heard a noise outside so I came out there was a whole lot of fire trucks and ambulances outside. They asked us all to leave the building so I tried opening up as much as I could for them and we just all exited the buildings,” said one resident.


“My building is safe. I don’t know about the one next door,” said a neighbor.


A baby and a 30-year-old man were taken to the hospital for treatment.


ConEd was unaware of the incident and has not responded to the scene.





NEWS – NY1




http://ift.tt/1rXJi2e

via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Metro-North delays rise amid track repairs, harsh weather


Metro-North train delays skyrocketed in early 2014 as the beleaguered railroad ramped up its track repair work after a year of deadly failures, according to new data obtained by The Post.


Maintenance work is responsible for delaying more than 4,500 trains in the first two months of the year, compared with only 456 delays the year before — or a nearly 900 percent increase, a new operating report reveals.


Track work isn’t the only reason trains are running behind schedule: The extreme winter weather was responsible for delaying 1,030 trains — a 485 percent spike over last year’s milder winter.


Metro-North began intensive repairs throughout its system after an outside group called TCI was brought in to inspect all of its tracks.


They came in after a train derailed in Connecticut last year — injuring 51 people — in an area where maintenance work had fallen behind schedule.


The much-needed repair work makes the railroad safer but also slows down trains– driving up complaints about service.


“On-time performance has taken a hit as Metro-North concentrates its resources on safety, and our customers are reacting,” said spokeswoman Marjorie Anders. “We are working to restore high-service quality, and this includes a lot of track work. But we must ensure safety first.”


Customers logged 4,375 complaints through the end of February — up from 2,800 over the same period last year.


Complaints were also on the rise every month last year, from a low of 915 in January to a high of 1,402 in December, when a Bronx train derailment killed four people and injured 70 others.


The Metro-North’s president, Howard Permut, resigned in January after the deadly derailment.


Riders advocate Jim Cameron of the Commuter Action Group created a Web site in January to make it easier for riders to send their gripes to the railroad — with a link to the official Metro-North page and tips on how to complain effectively.


“The problem is what happens after the complaints are filed,” Cameron said.”People get a nice boiler-plate e-mail response, then nothing happens.”


To get action, he urges riders to be as specific as possible about their gripes and to copy their lawmakers on the complaints.


To open up dialogue with riders, the new Metro-North president, Joseph Giulietti, is holding six informal meetings at stations to listen to customer concerns. His first meeting was Wednesday at Grand Central Terminal.


Some frustrated riders have created several angry Metro-North twitter feeds that air their gripes and provide real-time pictures from their hellish commutes.


@MetroNorthHell, @FireMetroNorth, and @SarcasticCommuters tweet rider grievances regularly.


“I started it to catalog all the gross things the riders do,” said the Westchester man who runs the @MetroNorthHell feed but declined to give his name. “It switched to bitching about the train. The crimes of the riders seemed much less interesting than the overall shortcomings of the train itself. Twitter handles have popped up because people kind of had it.”


He said he hopes the railroad goes back to its once-stellar reputation so he can return to his snarky tweets about riders who open up cans of tuna and remove bandages from their feet mid-ride.





Yahoo Local News – New York Post




http://ift.tt/1pwaKln

via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1

Schumer Rips Port Authority for Security Breaches at World Trade Center


The World Trade Center site is one of the highest profile areas in the country, but after two security breaches, Senator Charles Schumer wants the federal government to review whether enough is being done to protect the site.


Senator Schumer ripped into the Port Authority for two security lapses at a press conference on Sunday.


In separate incidents, months apart, people gained access to One World Trade Center, a site he called one of the country’s most visible terror targets.


In September, police say three people got into the building, made it up to the top, and then parachuted off it. Video of the stunt recently appeared online. Four people have been charged in connection with that incident.


Earlier this month 16-year-old Justin Casquejo was accused of sneaking his way to the top of 1 World Trade. As a result of this, David Velasquez, a top security official, is resigning. He’s with the Durst Organization which is responsible for securing the building.


The Port Authority is responsible for securing the site’s perimeter.


Schumer wants the Department of Homeland Security to do a comprehensive review of the Port Authority’s procedures during construction and after all the buildings at the site are completed.


He also wants the training of security guards reviewed. And he wants an audit of federal money spent at the site to make sure it’s being put to good use.


“Thankfully the incidents of trespassing were harmless, the consequences however could’ve been disastrous if individuals or terrorists or criminals looking to do real harm to the people of New York,” Schumer said.


Schumer stopped short of saying whether the NYPD or the federal government should take over securing the site from the Port Authority. In a statement Port Authority security chief Joseph Dunne said the PA and the Durst organization have taken significant steps to address the two most recent breaches.


He added, “The Port Authority and other stakeholders will continue to enhance our extensive efforts to ensure world-class security as we transition from a construction site to an operating facility.”


The Port Authority also says the Department of Homeland Security toured the site on December 6 and in light of the most recent breaches, they’ll be invited back for an additional tour.





NEWS – NY1




http://ift.tt/1jorSI5

via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1

NFL rookie teams up with NYPD detective to help Queens kids


A NFL player teamed up with a New York City detective to tackle a shortage of football safety gear for children in Queens and has offered to teach the youngsters crucial on-the-field skills.


Rookie player Derek “Bone-crusher” Dennis, of the Carolina Panthers, met with kids in Cambria Heights to kick off a fund-raising campaign to supply the South Side Sea Hawks with helmets, padding and other equipment to get in the game. He’s also going to teach the kids some skills during a football camp in June.


NYPD Detective Patrick Blanc started the fundraising effort through a volunteer program that he founded in 2008. Last year, Embraz Ya Kidz raised a little over $ 20,000 for the children, ages 5 through 14. This year, Blanc is hoping the star power will help score as much as $ 60,000.


Dennis grew up in Laurelton, Queens, where 15 members of his family shared one small home. The hulking 315-pound, 6-foot-3 rookie jumped at the chance to come home and reach out to kids who face the same obstacles he did.


“I grew up rough. I don’t forget where I come from,” he told the Post. “My parents worked hard and as I got older things got better for my family but at one point we were living out of a car.”


This year, he’s earning $ 450,000.


“I want to give the kids every opportunity that I had, kids who maybe didn’t have a chance, whose parents couldn’t afford it.”


Dennis’s visit home was a welcome surprise for about 275 kids who showed up to meet him at P.S. 447 in Cambria Heights on Saturday. It’s also a boost for Blanc, 45, who is assigned to the NYPD’s Central Robbery Division and has worked tirelessly to contribute to the communities he protects.


“We just wanted to let the kids meet a real NFL player because nothing like this happens happens in Queens,” Blanc said. “It’s important to me to give the kids an outlet so they can have an outlet. Growing up in a single-parent home wasn’t easy. I just want to give each kid today to have an opportunity to have a good life.”





Yahoo Local News – New York Post




http://ift.tt/1fDyzkT

via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1

Lupica: As Opening Day approaches, plenty of questions surround Mets and Yankees


NYC PAPERS OUT. Social media use restricted to low res file max 184 x 128 pixels and 72 dpiCorey Sipkin/New York Daily News Can Derek Jeter, in his final season, continue to produce at a high level surrounded by an aging, injury-prone infield?

At the end of the month when the big news was Phil Jackson returning to New York City, with what you have to say is a much better job than he had nearly 50 years ago when he first hit town, the news becomes baseball on Monday, a little after 1 o’clock in the afternoon. Baseball returns to New York on Monday, Citi Field, Mets against the Nationals.


Opening Day is always supposed to be about renewal, it’s in all the papers every year. But it is different with the Mets this time. It is about revival. They will be trying to answer a simple question for their fans, who have not seen their team make a run at the postseason in five years:


Can they be any good?


Can they build on being a .500 team over the last 100 games of last season, be in play for a wild card on Sept. 1; can they do all of that without Matt Harvey and spending more than $ 100 million less on baseball players this season than the Yankees have?


With the Yankees, who begin their season in Houston on Tuesday and don’t return to the city until next week, there is a much more interesting question, after a winter when they committed a rather epic amount of money — round it off to a half-billion, just so you don’t make yourself dizzy — on new baseball players:


Just how good are they, exactly?


We will begin to find out this week if spending that kind of money can put you back on top of the AL East, or at least back into the playoffs. Because if it doesn’t, after they’ve paid more than $ 150 million to Jacoby Ellsbury and laid out around $ 175 million to bring Masahiro Tanaka to the new Stadium, then what does that say about the Yankees’ business model?




The Mets have a farm system, do they ever. But their fans are more impatient than ever for it to pay off for them.




The last time they spent this kind of money in an offseason, after not making the playoffs in 2008, they won the World Series. They paid big for CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett and won it all. This time the names are Ellsbury, Tanaka, Beltran, McCann. They are here because to say that the Yankee farm system hasn’t been flush lately is like saying that the Knicks aren’t exactly the Marines when it comes to playing defense.


So five years later, they spend even more in this offseason than they did the last time they didn’t make the playoffs. And we will see, with Kelly Johnson at third and Brian Roberts at second and a shortstop about to turn 40 and Teixeira at 34 coming back from his own lost season because of a bum wrist, if another rather insane amount of money makes them better than the Red Sox, the Rays, the Orioles, even the Blue Jays.


You would think it could. And should. Only there is no guarantee that it actually will. At which point Hal Steinbrenner might finally want to ask himself just how much of a bang he is getting for his buck, wonder if there might be a better way to keep the money train running up to the Bronx the way the 4 train does.


The Mets have a farm system, do they ever. But their fans are more impatient than ever for it to pay off for them, to make them want to come running back to Citi Field, even without Matt Harvey on the mound. And by the way? If you think subtracting a phenom like Harvey isn’t a huge deal, subtract the Yankees’ new phenom, Tanaka, from their roster and see what you think of their prospects this season.


The Yankees are more intriguing than ever, because of the questions about the infield, about the bullpen, about the closer and, as always, about age. This is Jeter’s last season. Teixeira has to show that he isn’t breaking down on his side of the infield the way A-Rod was on his. And if you have any idea what they’re going to get out of the injury-prone Roberts and a third baseman who has played all of 16 games at third in his big league career the way Johnson has, send up a flare on Twitter.




The Yankees have improved. But when you spend like that, you better at least be buying a wild card, right?




There is absolutely no guarantee that money buys you the World Series in baseball, the Yankees have proven that over the past 14 years, during which they have outspent the world to win that one Series in ’09. But if they don’t make it to October after spending the way they did on this new batch of new guys, just where are they, as an Evil Empire and an attraction and as a television series on YES?


They sure do look a lot better this season than they did last season, when everybody started getting hurt, and people around here acted as if this that were some kind of national tragedy. Maybe that’s why when Brian Cashman talked about a “market correction” with last year’s Orioles after they’d won all those one-run games in 2012, Buck Showalter tweaked Cashman’s own team this way:


“The Yankees had some challenges with that last year, as they talk about a lot.”


You know how it goes. Everything is bigger here, even adversity. So to make sure that this season isn’t a repeat of last season, the Yankees did what they do best, especially after A-Rod’s deal came off the books. They went on a half-billion shopping spree!


They’ve improved. But when you spend like that, you better at least be buying a wild card, right? The Yankees won 85 games last season and finished in a tie for third with Buck’s Orioles. How much higher do they finish this season?


Do they even finish higher in their division than the Mets will finish in theirs?


Again, two pretty basic questions now that baseball comes back to New York: Are the Mets any good?


And how good is this year’s $ 200-million edition of the Yankees?


Johnny Football, Robbie’s plight & Christie’s parade

-Anybody who passes on Johnny Football, I’m sorry, is going to be sorry.


If you’re keeping score at home, the Angels keep 22-year-old Mike Trout on essentially the same deal that the Yankees had to give 30-year-old Jacoby Ellsbury.


Jeff Roberson/AP Can this be the year David Wright and the Mets make a run at the playoffs?

Michigan State against Virginia late Friday night and into Saturday morning at the Garden looked like a rock fight.


I’m just relieved that one of the teams managed to get a final score into the 60s, in this time when the sport too often provides offense out of the 1940s.


In baseball, when there’s a low-scoring game, it’s a pitchers’ duel.


In college hoops, it’s a coaches’ duel, another one of those games where, in the words of Jay Bilas, it looks as if the guy at the bench is coaching every single dribble.


-It sounds as if Robbie Cano is missing the big, bad city already, doesn’t it?


Hey, with the money the Mariners paid him, those 10 years in the Great Northwest will probably fly by.


Am I supposed to be more interested in where Matt Harvey does his rehab?


Louisville’s Luke Hancock twice saved his team at the Final Four last year, on the way to the Cardinals winning the national championship, and the kid nearly did it again on Friday night against Kentucky.


There is a terrific piece about David Wright, written by Rafi Kohan, in the new New York Observer.


The amazing thing about Ike Davis, who is fighting for a job and for his Mets career, is that he just turned 27 a week or so ago.


-It may turn out that Chris Christie was telling the truth all along, and had no prior knowledge of those lane closings on the George Washington Bridge last September.


But there is a ways to go before we decide that, and a couple of real investigations, one being handled from the state legislature in Jersey and one being handled by the state’s Attorney General, neither one of them resembling that pillow fight fronted by former Giuliani guy Randy Mastro that came out the other day.


Mastro’s people didn’t get to interview David Samson, who resigned from the Port Authority Friday in one of those crazy timing coincidences you get in life sometimes.


Didn’t interview Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie’s former chief of staff and the one who sent the email about how it was time for some traffic in Fort Lee.


Didn’t get answers from David Wildstein, another Christie appointee to the Port Authority.


Didn’t get answers from other former Christie sidemen like Bill Stepien and Bill Baroni.


Christie still acted as if it was the most perfect document since the Constitution and immediately did a victory lap through cable and network TV, to the point where you expected him to show up with Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith after Friday night’s doubleheader in the NCAAs.


-Good for baseball for tightening up its drug policy even more, which means 80 games for a first offense and a full season for a second and no postseason for anybody who gets clipped during the regular season.


Goran Dragic of the Suns, the greatest player in the NBA this season discussed the least, scored 32 points in 32 minutes against the Knicks Friday night, and then had this to say afterward:


“They didn’t play good defense, so tonight we could get everything that we want. We swing the ball two and three times, I’m sure we get an open guy.”


So you get the deal, right?


In the old days, the Knicks found the open man.


Now they just keep making one for the other team.


Incidentally?


After the Knicks beat the Pacers at the Garden with Phil Jackson in the stands, you got the idea from the coverage that it was Phil’s presence alone that carried the Knicks across the finish line, like he was practically coaching the team.


So what I’ve been trying to figure out this week is whose fault it was when the Knicks gave up 51 third-quarter points to the Lakers, since the big guy was in Staples Center, too.


I mean, if he gets the win against the Pacers, who’s supposed to get the loss against the Lakers — his squeeze Jeanie Buss?


***


“The Mike Lupica Show” is heard Monday through Friday at noon and Sunday at 9 a.m. on ESPN-98.7.





NY Daily News- Top Stories




http://ift.tt/1jorRnD

via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1

Sinkhole traps van in Brooklyn (VIDEO)

Brooklyn

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS


Sunday, March 30, 2014, 3:40 PM



Heavy rains overnight may have contributed to large sinkholes that appeared Sunday in the city.


Rob Rosado saw his van partially swallowed up by one of the pavement pits on New Utrecht Ave. at 39th St. in Borough Park, Brooklyn.




NYC PAPERS OUT. Social media use restricted to low res file max 184 x 128 pixels and 72 dpiDebbie Egan-Chin/New York Daily News Rob Rosado’s van got stuck in a sinkhole on New Utrecht Ave. at 39th St. in Brooklyn Sunday. NYC PAPERS OUT. Social media use restricted to low res file max 184 x 128 pixels and 72 dpiDebbie Egan-Chin/New York Daily News The sinkhole that trapped the van was blamed on overnight rain. NYC PAPERS OUT. Social media use restricted to low res file max 184 x 128 pixels and 72 dpiDebbie Egan-Chin/New York Daily News The Brooklyn sinkhole was one of many that formed overnight in the city.

Previous Next


Enlarge




ON A MOBILE DEVICE? CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO.






Yahoo Local News – New York Daily News




http://ift.tt/1fDywFR

via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1

Bondy: Gifts for the Captain who has everything


CULVER CITY, CA - JUNE 08: Jessica Alba attends Spike TV's Guys Choice 2013 at Sony Pictures Studios on June 8, 2013 in Culver City, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Spike TV)Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Spike TV Jessica Alba could pay Derek Jeter a surprise visit when the Yankees visit L.A. in May.

Not everyone is e-vited to this party, because Derek Jeter will be visiting only four National League stadiums this year.


The Arizona Diamondbacks won’t be able to give him a No. 2 jersey from the 2011 All-Star Game at Chase Field which he skipped. And the Cincinnati Reds don’t get to hand Jeter a Chad Mottola baseball card (career batting average, .200), depicting the player they chose fifth in the 1992 amateur draft, ahead of guess-who at No. 6.


But that still leaves plenty of cities and stadiums on the 2014 Jeter Farewell Tour, with much mawkish bounty to be distributed. What to give the shortstop who has everything? Here, a few ceremonial and gift suggestions, to go along with the road tour schedule:


At Houston Astros, April 1-3


First stop, a presentation by Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte of all the syringes, creams and pills Jeter could have used, but didn’t, during his 20-year career.


At L.A. Angels, May 5-7


A lineup along the third base line of all Jeter’s ex-girlfriends, led off by L.A.-born Minka Kelly and Californian Jessica Alba. Not sure if Jeter will enjoy this, but that’s his problem.


At Milwaukee Brewers, May 9-11


The original scouting report from Brewers special assistant Dick Grouch, who first signed Jeter for Yanks. At bottom, if you look closely, it says, “Let George Steinbrenner think it was his idea all along.”


At Mets, May 13-14


A bill from the Wilpons for the $ 1 billion in ticket sales that Jeter cost their franchise, upstaging the Mets over two decades and five championships. Jeter can start paying his debt with the 2000 World Series MVP trophy, for his .409 batting average, two homers and 19 total bases.


At Chicago Cubs, May 20-21


A billygoat, and a contract offer to hang around Wrigley Field once in a while after retirement, just for good luck.


At Chicago White Sox, May 23-25


A rocking chair made of white socks, because someone always gives a rocking chair. Let’s just hope it’s the only one.


At St. Louis Cardinals, May 26-28


A notarized letter from Ozzie Smith indicating that, yes, Jeter was the better all-around shortstop despite sabermetric-obsessed Cardinal fans who still ignore Smith’s .262 career batting average.


At Kansas City Royals, June 6-9


Model of a mom-and-pop grocery store next to a Walmart, to remind Jeter why some small-market franchises haven’t been able to compete with the Yankees since the mid-1990s.


At Seattle Mariners, June 10-12


A formal letter of apology, for drafting Alex Rodriguez in 1993 and nurturing his young career.


At Oakland A’ s, June 13-15


A shovel, for his famous relay in 2001 during Game 3 of the American League Championship Series. Jeremy Giambi will deliver it to him at home plate, only he’ll slide this time.


At Minnesota Twins, July 3-6


No need for a gift. Paid in advance. Just hand over the receipt for four, one-sided ALDS series.


At Cleveland Indians, July 7-10


Two free beers to drink in the clubhouse during the game, from manager Terry Francona.


At Texas Rangers, July 28-30


Several formal letters of apology, for sending A-Rod to the Yankees in 2004.


At Detroit Tigers, Aug. 26-28


A new left ankle, with free surgical services for life. It’s the least they can do, after Jeter suffered his worst career injury fielding a 12th-inning grounder by Jhonny Peralta in Game 1 of the 2012 ALCS.


At Toronto Blue Jays, Aug. 29-31


The third base bag where Ken Huckaby tagged Jeter and dislocated his left shoulder in a collision during Opening Day, 2003. Huckaby also will hand Jeter the cell phone he used to try to apologize in vain, many times. Maybe, 11 years later, Derek will more graciously forgive the poor guy.


At Baltimore Orioles, Sept. 12-14


A revised scorecard from Game 1 of the 1996 American League Championship Series that records a simple flyout by Jeter in the bottom of the eighth inning, instead of a game-tying home run. Presented to him by Tony Tarasco.


At Tampa Bay Rays, Sept. 15-17


Forget the pregame ceremony. Instead, David Price will offer up another fat pitch to Jeter in the first inning, like the one that led to that 3000th hit, a homer.


At Boston Red Sox, Sept. 26-28


One sour grape. Too late now to get all sentimental.


Daily News back page 10/14/01Daily News back page 10/14/01

Exported.; dnp; ERIC RISBERG/AP Oakland Athletics’ Jeremy Giambi, center, is tagged out at home by New York Yankees’ Jorge Posada, right, during Game 3 of the American League Division Series, in Oakland, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 13, 2001. Giambi tried to score from first on a double from Terrence Long in the seventh inning. At left is Yankees short stop Derek Jeter who assisted with a throw from between first and home. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg) Original Filename: YANKEES_ATHLETICS_OAS115.jpg

SENDER: ?Matvey, Mike? <mMatvey@nydailynews.com>SENDER: ?Matvey, Mike? <mMatvey@nydailynews.com>

Jessica Alba (from l.), Minka Kelly, some beer and a slide from Jeremy Giambi could be some parting gifts for Derek Jeter this season.Steve Granitz/WireImage Jessica Alba (from l.), Minka Kelly, some beer and a slide from Jeremy Giambi could be some parting gifts for Derek Jeter this season.

epa03713618 American actress Jessica Alba walks on the red carpet for the Social Star Awards ceremony in Singapore, 23 May 2013. The inaugural Social Star Awards, billed as the Oscars for social media, was held at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. EPA/STEPHEN MORRISONSTEPHEN MORRISON/EPA epa03713618 American actress Jessica Alba walks on the red carpet for the Social Star Awards ceremony in Singapore, 23 May 2013. The inaugural Social Star Awards, billed as the Oscars for social media, was held at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. EPA/STEPHEN MORRISON




NY Daily News- Top Stories




http://ift.tt/1mkrvOy

via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1

NYC Hot Sauce Expo Adds Spice to Weekend


It is not for the faint of heart, but some New Yorkers are testing their palates at the New York City Hot Sauce Expo. NY1′s Bree Driscoll filed the following report.


The heat is on everything, not just in sauces, but things like lollipops and brownies. There are even plenty of hot outfits at the New York City Hot Sauce Expo.


“We like flavor. We’re foodies, and we just like to burn when we are tasting that good food,” said one attendee.


It is the second year of the event at Penn Plaza Pavilion that brings together the hottest of the hot.


“We’ev got 45 of the best hot sauce companies in America,” said Jimmy Carbone, co-founder of the New York City Hot Sauce Expo.


Hundreds of brave souls came out to put their tongues to the test.


“This is incredible. The flavor’s on the edge, the cutting edge,” said one person. “I’m not a killer heat person, as you can see. I’m already perspiring from all the peppers I’ve had.”


I’m about to try the hottest all-natural sauce in the world. It is made with the reaper pepper, which Guinness World Records has named as the hottest chili on earth.


At first, it’s not that bad, but about two minutes later, the effects start kicking in. First, my eyes start watering and my heart is racing. Then, my nose starts running and my face is sweating. My mouth is on fire.


The reaper pepper is the brainchild of Ed Currie. He said that he created it to help combat heart disease and cancer that runs in his family. He eats about 15 of them a day.


“Don’t get me wrong. It’s still hot. There’s nothing you can do to stop the crying or your nose running, anything like that, but you get used to the pain,” Currie said. “It’s kind of like boxers. You’d ask someone, ‘How do you get used to get punched in the face?’ Well, you just get used to it.”


Just when you think you can’t take any more heat, you can cool things down with Spice Cream. Yep, hot sauce-infused ice cream.


“It doesn’t seem like it should go together, but it works really well,” said David Letterman, the owner of Bonfetto’s.


The expo runs through Sunday. Tickets are $ 12 at the door.





NEWS – NY1




http://ift.tt/1psGGXQ

via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Crime spike hits Howard Beach

Queens

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS


Saturday, March 29, 2014, 6:04 PM



Queens South commander Deputy Chief David Barrere (r.) and City Councilman Eric Ulrich (c.) meet with concerned Howard Beach residents to discuss a recent rash of break-ins.courtesy of City Councilman Eric Ulrich Queens South commander Deputy Chief David Barrere (r.) and City Councilman Eric Ulrich (c.) meet with concerned Howard Beach residents to discuss a recent rash of break-ins.

Terrified Howard Beach residents are hoping a beefed-up police presence will ward off burglars who have hit at least five times in the past week.


The crafty perps snatched jewelry and electronics from homes in the late morning hours without being spotted.


A seemingly unrelated home invasion earlier this month has added to the tension, residents said.


The crime wave has been a shock for residents in the normally quiet bedroom community in south Queens.


“We’re being held hostage,” said Joann Ariola, president of the Howard Beach-Lindenwood Civic Association. “This is a safe neighborhood. We don’t want to live in fear.”


The NYPD has added a mobile unit and patrols to the area.


The break-ins took place in the area of 159th and 163rd Aves. between 83rd and 96th Sts.


Ariola said the added police presence has provided some relief, but residents should still be on alert.


“One way or another they are going to get the person or persons responsible,” said City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), who has been communicating with police officials and posting updates through social media. “There seems to be a pattern here.”


No one was injured during the burglaries, according to a notice distributed by the police. The burglars generally broke in through side doors and windows, police said.


lcolangelo@nydailynews.com






Yahoo Local News – New York Daily News




http://ift.tt/1jK6y2q

via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1

De Blasio Says Pre-K Provisions in Budget Are Major Boost


The new budget deal agreed upon in Albany is already drawing applause from Mayor Bill de Blasio.


The source of funding for pre-K had been a point of contention between de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo, as the mayor was seeking permission from the state to raise taxes on wealthy city residents to pay for the plan.


Still, de Blasio said that the pre-K provisions are a major boost.


“What we’re seeing so far constitutes an extraordinary and historic step forward for the city,” he said. “It’s clearly the resources we need to create full-day pre-K for every child in the city. That’s what we set out to do. So from what we’re seeing so far, it’s an incredible beginning. It will affect every neighborhood in the city, tens of thousands of children and families, starting this September, and we’re incredibly excited about this step forward, but still, more details to come.”


The budget wasn’t all good news for the mayor, though, as it prohibits him from charging rent to charter schools using space in public school buildings.





NEWS – NY1




http://ift.tt/1prcV9X

via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1

Movie review: Captain America: The Winter Soldier


 "Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier" Captain America / Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) Ph: Zade Rosenthal � 2014 Marvel. All Rights Reserved. Zade Rosenthal Chris Evans stars as the patriotic superhero in “Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”

For a man out of time, Captain America’s finger is on the pulse.


The defrosted Marvel hero, last seen in “The Avengers,” is in the right place in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” His 2011 debut was set in World War II, while this rousing, terrific film is a product of our era, full of dangerous drones and stolen digital intel.


A great international thriller, it engages the world at large yet stays focused as a sharp cast led by Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie and Robert Redford support the star-spangled main man.


At heart, “Cap” — Capt. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) — is still the ordinary patriot he was before a 1940s experiment gave him a body to match his spirit. Frozen in a plane crash fighting a Nazi offshoot called Hydra, he strides through the 21st century jotting down the questions he encounters (like, “Star Wars”/“Trek?”).


This Greatest Generation guy, though, can’t square his new mission from S.H.I.E.L.D. boss Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Steal info the U.S. security director (Redford) needs to stop evildoers before they do evil. Truth, however, becomes collateral damage.


Zade Rosenthal/Marvel Scarlett Johansson stars as Black Widow in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”

Rogers and cohort Black Widow (Johansson) get worried just as Fury comes under attack. For help, they turn to Iraq veteran Sam Wilson (Mackie), who dons high-tech, retractable wings to become Falcon.


The shadowy bad guys have another weapon — an assassin called the Winter Soldier, who, like Rogers, is superstrong, a product of an earlier age — and closer to Captain America than anyone knows. This masked mystery with a metal arm is used by old and new villains to “maintain freedom” — yet as Cap says, it’s a version of freedom that looks a lot like fear.


Parents, take note: For all its heart, this is a tougher, more morally complex movie than its predecessors. Young kids carrying their miniversions of Cap’s famous shield may be in for a jolt.


Adult moviegoers, though, will find a smart, action-packed film with DNA that includes “Three Days of the Condor” and the Jason Bourne flicks. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo ground their very vulnerable heroes in a recognizable reality while never skimping on massive set pieces, kinetic hand-to-hand fights and a secret lab ripped from the comics pages.


That balances a final battle that feels a bit out of control, as well as a multiheaded baddie conspiracy embedded in Marvel lore.


Yet Evans is again a charismatic, gallant guide, as Johansson amps up the provocative playfulness. Redford adds a sense of cold war craftiness, especially in an homage scene to “The Manchurian Candidate.” And Mackie earns his wings as a cool addition to this world of avengers and defenders. (A salute to costume designer Judianna Makovsky for the balance between bold and believable.)


They all bring their A game, for a bracing superhero film that uses its brain as much as its brawn.


Zade Rosenthal/Marvel Enlarge Zade Rosenthal/Marvel Enlarge

Evans brings his game for a superhero film that uses its brain as much as its brawn.






NY Daily News- Top Stories




http://ift.tt/1od8CC2

via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1

De Blasio, Schumer Announce Plans to Help NYers Recovering from Sandy


Mayor Bill de Blasio and Sen. Charles Schumer announced plans Saturday to help New Yorkers still recovering from Hurricane Sandy.


De Blasio said that the city is shifting $ 100 million in Hurricane Sandy aid directly to home rebuilding projects.


The mayor also said that checks are in the mail to homeowners who’ve applied for help through the city’s previously stalled Build it Back Program.


De Blasio and Schumer said that New Yorkers who are still struggling have not been forgotten.


“We’re here today to provide the beginning of answers and solutions,” de Blasio said. “The human crisis of Sandy is deep, it is lasting, it will continue, and we will stand by the people affected until everyone is back on their feet.”


“This is really a good day,” Schumer said. “It’s a turning point for all the people, the homeowners who were wiped out in Sandy. “


The two also announced a trio of appointments to lead the city’s rebuilding efforts.





NEWS – NY1




http://ift.tt/1gOmnmB

via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1

Jets GM has yet to contact DeSean Jackson but market for WR develops


MINNEAPOLIS, MN - DECEMBER 15: DeSean Jackson #10 of the Philadelphia Eagles stands for the national anthem against the Minnesota Vikings at Mall of America Field on December 15, 2013 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings won 48-30. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Philadelphia Eagles/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** DeSean JacksonDrew Hallowell/Getty Images During last week’s NFL owners meetings in Orlando, Woody Johnson admits that the team had internal discussions about DeSean Jackson, who is now available.

The Philadelphia Eagles didn’t want DeSean Jackson, and the Jets may not want him either. But there is already a small market forming for one of football’s most devastating big-play weapons.


On Saturday, one day after the Eagles shockingly released their leading receiver, seven teams had already expressed interest in acquiring Jackson, according to ProFootballTalk.com. Jets GM John Idzik, however, had not yet reached out to Jackson’s camp as of Friday, the News has learned.


That doesn’t mean the Jets aren’t interested. The News reported on Friday that some in the organization were still interested in pursuing Jackson, and with nearly $ 30 million in cap room, the Jets have the space to add him. During last week’s NFL owners meetings in Orlando, Woody Johnson admitted that the team had had internal discussions about Jackson, who had been the subject of trade rumors even before his release.


“We’re looking at a number of players, including DeSean,” Johnson had said.


Still, a report that surfaced on NJ.com on Friday is causing many to weigh the riks of signing Jackson. That report linked Jackson to gang activity in Southern California. Philly went on to release him, after several weeks of struggling to find a trade partner for the explosive receiver.


At 27, Jackson is in the prime of his career, and he’s coming off a terrific season in which he set career highs in receiving yards (1,332) and catches (82). But a little less than a year after the murder arrest of Aaron Hernandez, many front-office people — not just Idzik — are proceeding with caution in regards to Jackson.


“Not sure,” said one league personnel man in a text message, when asked about acquiring Jackson. “Gotta read into things.”


Still, Jackson’s talent seems sure to entice someone, and while the Jets’ current GM has been wary, the team’s former GM believes Johnson could be tempted. Mike Tannenbaum was asked on SiriusXM Radio on Saturday morning whether he could see Woody Johnson signing off on Jackson, and the ex-Jets GM had a quick response.


“Yeah, absolutely,” Tannenbaum said.


The Jets might provide a stable situation, reuniting Jackson with his former Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg and ex-Eagles QB Michael Vick, a close friend who could help keep jackson in line. Jackson would also round out the Jet receiving corps nicely, serving as a deep threat complement to newly signed Eric Decker and holdover Jeremy Kerley, opening intermediate routes.


But for a team that just released problem-child Santonio Holmes, it may not be worth the risk. And while Idzik ponders, other teams are starting to explore the possibility. The Kansas City Chiefs, led by former Eagles coach Andy Reid, are among those interested, according to reports, although they might need to rework some player contracts to create cap room.


The Oakland Raiders have been studying Jackson — who played his college ball at near by Berkeley — for weeks, according to the NFL Network, and there are rumblings that the Redskins and the Jets’ AFC East rivals, the Buffalo Bills, could also have interest.





NY Daily News- Top Stories




http://ift.tt/1k8foCV

via Great Local News: New York http://ift.tt/1iZiLP1