Miscellaneous

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A bomb threat at North 4th Street & Bedford Ave in Brooklyn, a DOA floater at W 18th St & the Hudson River in Manhattan, and a shooting at Van Pelt Ave on Staten Island.
• City Comptroller Thompson campaigned yesterday, telling folks in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx, "It is time that we had a mayor in City Hall who will stand up and fight for us. Who understands it isn't about the rich, it's about everyday New Yorkers."
• The Salute to Israel Parade is taking over Fifth Avenue between 57th and 79th Street between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. today.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A jumper at W 45th & 8th Ave in Manhattan, a car vs. house at Mulner Ave & Bronxdale Ave in the Bronx and a propane incident on W 12 Rd in Queens.
• One year ago today, a crane collapsed at a construction site at First Avenue and 91st Street in Manhattan, killing two people. One of the victims' parents traveled from Kosovo to visit a makeshift shrine today.
• An NYU student filmmaker was electrocuted and another seriously injured on a movie set in Georgia. Authorities say "John Hunt Lamensdorf... who was setting up lights about 100 yards away from the truck in the rear of the house, was pronounced dead" at a hospital in Atlanta.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: An all-hands at Broome St & Elizabeth St in Manhattan, police activity at Daly Ave & E 178 St in the Bronx, and a stabbing on Suffolk St in Manhattan.
• A five-year-old girl's head was grazed by a bullet while she was walking with her grandmother in Astoria yesterday afternoon.
• The Department of Education will re-open an Upper East Side school—closed 8 years ago due to low enrollment—because of unprecedented demand from families.

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• From the Gothamist Newsmap: Unruly passengers at JFK Airport, a pedestrian struck at 38 St & 12 Av in Manhattan and a perp search on Shore Parkway in Brooklyn.
• Yesterday, the prosecution rested in the Imette St. Guillen murder case; accused killer Darryl Littlejohn's defense suggested he would not take the stand.
• NJ's Supreme Court backed the state's decision to revise its education funding formula that had previously favored poor, urban school districts. Here's a Q&A about the new plan.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a child struck on Wallabout St in Brooklyn, a stabbing at Surf Ave and 22nd Ave also in Brooklyn and a pedestrian struck at 42nd St and 5th Ave in Manhattan.
• A 74-year-old bus driver was arrested for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old female student on the bus.
• A Long Island driver tried to run from the police on foot after crashing his car, but was eventually caught. The police found that he had 43 prior license suspensions.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A school robbery on White Plains Rd in the Bronx, a construction rescue at W 54th St & 10th Ave in Manhattan and a water search at Manhattan Ave & Ash St in Brooklyn.
• Costco will accept food stamps at its stores in Astoria and Sunset Park; the company will then evaluate whether to accept them at its planned East Harlem store.
• Several people are injured in an accident on the BQE that involves a "[casino] bus, tractor-trailer and school bus."

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: An unusual rescue at 66th St in Queens, a gas main break on 11th Ave in Manhattan and a motorcycle MVA at Drumgoole Rd W & Arden Ave on Staten Island.
• Keep an eye out for "Manhattanhenge" this weekend, where the sun will set in perfect alignment with the street grid.
• Rats are freaking out West Village residents—including Gisele Bundchen. Neighbors blame a resident who hasn't replaced stolen garbage cans.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A push-in robbery at Bouck Ave in the Bronx, an attempted burglary on Delancey St in Manhattan and an unstable building at 68 Rd & 79 St in Queens.
• Mike Tyson's 4-year-old daughter died after being apparently accidentally strangled on a cable that was hanging from a home treadmill.
• Did an ACS worker neglect to check on the children she was supposed to supervise?

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian struck at W 171st St and Amsterdam Ave in Manhattan, a construction accident on Vescey St and West St also in Manhattan and a vessel in distress at the Broad Channel Bridge in Queens.
• A 19-year-old SUNY Farmingdale student died when a garbage truck backed over her on campus grounds.
• The NYPD's Chief of Transportation Michael Scagnelli is retiring; Streetsblog notes "his successor will step into the job at a time when the city is devoting more and more space to pedestrians and cyclists."

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: An aircraft incident at JFK Airport in Queens, hate crime/vandalization on Kent Ave in Brooklyn and an injured NYPD member of service at Battery Pl & West St in Manhattan.
• Governor David Paterson and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand honored service men and women at the Intrepid yesterday, while Mayor Bloomberg was at the Soldiers' and Sailors Monument at Riverside Park.
• The recession has, for now, stopped the resurgence of Staten Island's St. George section.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a DOA Floater on the Buttermilk Channel in Brooklyn, a car vs. pole on Broome St in Manhattan and a special delivery at Targee St and Clove Rd on Staten Island.
• The NYPD is selling over 28,000 pounds of empty brass shell casings from its firing ranges.
• According to a NY1 poll, the top two ways New Yorkers are saving money these days are cutting back on basic household expenses and not eating out.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a suspicious package on Arlington Ave in the Bronx, an unusual rescue on Myrtle Ave in Queens and police activity on Edgecombe Ave in Manhattan.
• A 17-year-old girl in Sheepshead Bay was shot and sustained non-life threatening injuries while she was walking into her family's apartment.
• Hundreds of drivers have been stopped on Long Island this weekend, leading to just under 30 DUI arrests thus far.

• Torontoist looked at whether it's okay for a commercial printer to invoke religion in order to refuse their services—in this case, refusing to print a graphic novel with (non-explicit) gay content.
• DCist kept track of the ongoing same-sex marriage debate in the District, including a number of heated Democratic party meetings, plus, of course, intervention by members of Congress.
• Shanghaiist saw a man in Hong Kong verbally berate and hit a toddler and his mother after the little boy coughed without covering his mouth.

• From Gothamist Newsmap: A female shot on Lacombe Ave in the Bronx, an armed robbery on Father Capodanno Blvd on Staten Island, and a barricaded person on 37 Ave at 99th St in Queens.
• Investigators are looking for the cause of a Sunnyside, Queens fire that left one apartment dweller unconscious.
• More people are looking to get their tattoos removed, fearing the ink may hinder their job prospects.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: An armed commercial robbery on 1st Ave (near 58th) in Manhattan, an armed carjacking on 169 St & 111 Ave in Queens, and a male shot at Belmont Ave in Brooklyn.
• A former firefighter is suing the city for $2.5 million because of injuries he suffered after tripping on a manhole—apparently the manhole was sunken into the road by many inches—and was forced into retirement.
• The Long Beach couple accused of violating various laws for having a nightclub in their basement claimed people weren't paying to enter—they were just there for a party AND decided to donate money to the couple's daughter's beauty pageant fund.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: all hands fire on Lexington Ave in Manhattan, a foot chase on Bay 10th St in Brooklyn and a double stabbing on Port Richmond Ave on Staten Island.
• An owner of a NJ pet control company has been charged with animal cruelty after a squirrel was trapped and basically baked to death there.
• At one Brooklyn construction site on Lawrence Street, the Daily News reports, "the Buildings Department has issued stop-work orders 12 times" and issued "38 claims for unsafe conditions, falling objects and fire hazards" since January 2008.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a person shot in a home invasion on 88th St in Queens, a bank robbery at the Queens County Savings Bank and a child struck at Empire Blvd and Albany Ave in Brooklyn.
• A group of Stuyvesant Town residents are filing a $10 million class-action suit against owners Tishman Speyer for using illegal means to boot rent-stabilized tenants with cushy deals.
• Jordan Wiener, the son of New York's first swine flu casualty, Assistant Principal Mitchell Wiener, paid tribute to his dad by going out and pitching a no-hitter in his playoff win for RFK High School.

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• From the Gothamist Newsmap: EDP on the tracks at the Greenpoint Ave station in Brooklyn, a home invasion robbery at 88th St in Queens, and police activity at St Lawrence Ave in the Bronx.
• A police lieutenant recognized a sketch of a suspected rapist as an ex-convict. The suspect, who is accused of raping a 17-year-old woman and an 18-year-old woman, was arrested.
• Michaela Palmer raised $1,000 to go towards buying sick babies development toys and asked her bat mitzvah guests to donate to New York-Presbyterian Weill Hospital's NICU.
• Manhattan DA hopeful Leslie Crocker-Snyder turned down an interview request with the Soho Journal, apparently because the Soho Journal's publisher is in legal trouble.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a DOA floater at 22nd St and Boardwalk in Queens, shots fired on Atlantic Ave in Brooklyn and a suspicious vehicle on 124th St in Manhattan.
• The principal of PS 20 in Fort Greene was arrested today for attacking the president of the school's teacher's union.
• LIRR President Helena Williams was nominated today to serve as the interim executive director and CEO of the MTA.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A fatal person under the train at E 86th St & Lexington Ave in Manhattan, a ballistics search at Clark Lane on Staten Island, and a pedestrian struck at Willoughby St & Adams St in Brooklyn.
• Rep. Jose Serrano of the Bronx may consider challenging Senator Kirsten Gillibrand next year; we're guessing he'll be hearing from President Obama.
• Police released a sketch of a man who has sexually assaulted two teenage females in the Bronx. The suspect claims he has a gun before forcing them into abandoned buildings.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a person in the water on Coffey St in Brooklyn, a pedestrian struck at Lexington Ave and 77th St in Manhattan and a missing child on 7th Ave in Brooklyn.
• The Queens woman who beat and then stuffed an ailing poodle into a suitcase, leaving it to die, was sentenced to 30 days in prison and three years probation.
• According to a forensics expert, fibers belonging to objects in Darryl Littlejohn's home were found on the tape used to bind Imette St. Guillen.
• A report found that Ireland's Roman Catholic institutions abused thousands of children—sexually, physically, and emotionally—between 1914 and 2000.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: An unusual rescue at Central Park & W 64 St in Manhattan, a sexual assault on 62 Ave in Queens and a pursuit at Castleton Ave & Clove Rd on Staten Island.
• Michael Vick was released from federal prison after serving 21 months on federal charges of bankrolling a dog fighting operation. He must spend another two months in home confinement.
• A Long Island day care center's owner and assistant director were arrested, because the facility lacked proper licensing and training. In March, a 2-year-old died after choking on a carrot there.
• A man who sells newspapers on West 56th and the West Side Highway was given $1,000 in cash from mysterious benefactors. The note said, "From Chris and George," so the newspaper seller now wears a "Thank you so much Chris and George" sign.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a jumper up at 28th St and 1st Ave, a fall victim at 77th St and 2nd Ave, both in Manhattan and hospital news at 164th St in Queens.
• Police are looking for a man who has mugged a number of young women on the Upper East Side. The Post reports the victims were knocked to the ground and robbed of their bags.
• A lawyer who represented a woman whose daughter was killed after falling into the LIRR gap in 2007 spoke to WCBS 2 about his client's suicide. He said Susan Perry, who killed herself, was upset by the NTSB report blaming her daughter, "Do I put 100 percent of the onus on the NTSB? No. But was it a strong contributing factor in Susan's decision? Yes."

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: An overturned auto on the Van Wyck at College Point Blvd in Queens, a jumper down on E 106 St in Manhattan, and a train struck at 138 St & Grand Concourse in the Bronx.
• A 13-year-old boy was killed after being struck by a car at Rogers and Cortelyou in Flatbush yesterday afternoon.
• U.S. Senate Democrats say they'll remove $80 million meant for closing down Guantanamo Bay from a spending bill; Politico calls this a setback for President Obama.
• Mayor Bloomberg created a video welcoming his 15,000th Facebook fan (of his campaign page!).
• Even Ugly Betty's sister doesn't like the Dock Street high-rise condo—actress Ana Ortiz said, "Little by little, we watch as what is wonderful and unique about the city is paved over and homogenized."

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A suspicious package at Court St & Montague St in Brooklyn, a stabbing on White Plains Rd in the Bronx, and a suspicious car fire on 150 St in Queens.
• How those ever-present Commerce Bank pens are connected to the economic crisis.
• Martin Tankleff, who spent 17 years in prison for his parents death before his conviction was overturned in 2007, graduated from Hofstra yesterday. He plans on heading to law schools next.
• Plans for a large strip club in Long Island City have been scrapped; the building's owner said, "We just recently changed our minds. Change of interest. ... We’re abandoning the idea of the night club industry.”

• Three more schools—two public, one Catholic; all in Queens— are closing due to swine flu concerns.
• 1-800-Mattress founder Napoleon Barnagan said of his son, who killed his mother (and Barnagan's estranged wife), "The defense [is] his mental condition that he has been through for the last 19 years. He is a good human being."
• A toddler in the Bronx fell thirty-feet out an apartment window onto concrete and yet somehow escaped with only cuts and bruises. The apartment did not have the required bars on its windows.
• President Obama spoke at Notre Dame's commencement and commented on the heated abortion debate, "I do not suggest that the debate surrounding abortion can or should go away...Each side will continue to make its case to the public with passion and conviction. But surely we can do so without reducing those with differing views to caricature."
• Boomer was just being Boomer again. David Wells suggested today that players who have been caught using steroids get a lifetime ban, that A-Rod and The Rocket have no place in the Hall of Fame and even wondered if some steroid-driven homers hit off him should be taken off his record.

• Seattlest crunched the numbers to see if it was really true that it's cheaper to fly from NYC to Seattle to see the Yankees play than pony up for first class at the New Yankee Stadium.
• Houstonist was stunned when Roger Clemens emailed them, saying "I welcome the chance to answer the questions of your readers."
• LAist wondered if its city had the best burritos.
• SFist also wondered if its city had the best burritos.

• A 79-year-old driver lost control of his car and smashed through the window of a cosmetics store on the Upper East Side yesterday. Witnesses said it appeared the car was going 80 mph.
• An off-duty cop in Baldwin had his neck broken when he showed up at a party to intervene in a gang beatdown of his brother at a house party, who had already had a bottle broken over his head.
• Seven people were injured at a Hillsdale, NJ college graduation party when a deck collapsed. None of the injuries were considered life-threatening.
• Members of the synagogue dubbed the "Temple of Doom" are outraged at the temple board's apparent promotion of embattled financier J. Ezra Merkin. The synagogue gained its nickname because of all the money worshippers lost in the Madoff scheme.

• Rachel Alexandra became the first filly to win the Preakness Stakes in 85 years, as Calvin Borel became to the first jockey to win the first two legs of the Triple Crown on different horses.
• Two planes about 4 miles from Newark Airport reported they were tracked by green lasers last night.
• A Queens woman had to get off a 4 train unexpectedly at Union Square when she began going into labor. With her four-year-old daughter alongside her, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl just after an ambulance arrived.
• The NY Post's DC Bureau Chief doesn't think President Obama will nominate Bronx native Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, even though she looks great on paper.
• A Gallup Poll found a majority of Americans saying they were pro-life for the first time since Gallup began asking the question in 1995.

• Two men in Flatbush were arrested yesterday after police searched their truck and found 58,000 packs of Marlboros they were hoping to bootleg.
• A four-alarm fire in Long Beach overnight took four hours to put out and destroyed nine stores.
• A Harlem school is being renamed after a former education advocate and a regional director for the Obama campaign who died two days before last year's election at 44.
• Students at St. Francis Prep are taking their SATs today after the test had been postponed two weeks ago because of the swine flu outbreak.

• Rep. Steve Israel has decided not to run against Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in the Democratic primary next year; PolitickerNY suggests that Chuck Schumer's warnings have paid off.
• The Montauk Monster sequel might be a raccoon. Or not.
• The NYPD has found more of that bizarre Nazi runic graffiti in Brooklyn.
• The NY Building Congress says that the recession has cost the construction industry almost 20,000 jobs.

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• From the Gothamist Newsmap: An escalator incident at East 47 Street & Madison Ave in Manhattan, a person struck by a train for Fulton St & Nostrand Ave in Brooklyn, and a water main break at 69th Ave & Burns St in Queens.
• General Motors plans to get rid of almost 2,400 dealerships by the end of 2010.
• Disgraced former police commissioner Bernard Kerik will be tried in Washington D.C. on charges that he lied to the White House when he was being vetting for the Homeland Security Secretary position.
• The P&G Bar is back, though now at West 78th and Columbus, for at least 20 years (the lease is for 20 years at $20,000/month).

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a confined space rescue on New St in Manhattan, a wall collapse on Tiebout Ave in The Bronx and a special delivery on W 14th St and Broadway in Manhattan.
• Former Yankee hero Jim Leyritz was hospitalized after a suicide threat last night that came after he was unable to start his car for failing a Breathalyzer device installed by authorities. Leyritz is awaiting trial for a manslaughter charges following a 2007 DUI.
• A woman who was stabbed to death at a Bronx park whispered to paramedics before dying, "Mike did it," leading police to an ex-con she chatted with on the Internet.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: An apparatus MVA at Wythe Ave & Clymer Ave in Brooklyn, a police car MVA at W 21st St & 8th Ave in Manhattan and a hazmat at the entrance to the Queens Boro Bridge.
• Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi says Bush administration officials lied to her about interrogation tactics.
• A livery cab driver was shot and killed after parking his car in Sheepshead Bay.
• About 100 people had to be treated for heat-related exhaustion at Arizona State University, where President Obama gave a commencement address and joked about not getting an honorary degree.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a jumper down at Madison Ave and E 43rd St in Manhattan, a stabbing on the Cross Bronx Expwy and a foot chase on Northern Blvd in Queens.
• A car lost control and struck an 8-year-old boy in Prospect Park South. He is being treated at Kings County Hospital for non-life threatening injuries.
• A NJ soldier was one of the five killed by a fellow soldier. The family of Sgt. Christian E. Bueno-Galdos is mourning in their Paterson home; his mother sobbed, "He always told me he was going to be safe."
• An actor who played a steroids dealer in The Wrestler was indicted for...dealing steroids.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: An unusual ESU request (involving a beehive!) at E 209th St & Hull Ave in the Bronx, a hazmat on the George Washington Bridge, and a perp search at Strauss St & Blake Ave in Brooklyn.
• A motorist was killed when driving southbound on the northbound lane of the FDR Drive around 23rd Street this morning.
• Harlem residents wonder why their corner bodega accepts food stamps but Costco won't.
• An iron worker fell to his death while working on a NJ Transit bridge in Jersey City.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a missing child at 230th St in Queens, an officer struck at 6th Ave and Bleecker St in Manhattan and an electric shock at 6th Ave and 38th St, also in Manhattan.
• A former police officer was shot and critically injured during a carjacking in Springfield Gardens, Queens.
• The woman abandoned in the operating room by surgeons spoke to the Daily News, "I felt like I had been run over by a truck. I just felt completely devastated." She adds the doctors haven't even apologized.
• Enter the Rumspringa defense? An Amish teen was ticketed for having a beer in his horse-drawn buggy on a New York state road.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A large crowd at Gates & Marcy Aves. in Brooklyn, a jumper down at W 53st & 8th Ave in Manhattan and an MVA at Broad St & Tompins Ave on Staten Island.
• Donald Trumps says Miss California Carrie "Opposite Sex" Prejean can keep her crown and that her semi-nude pictures are "fine."
• The archbishop who preceded Archbishop Timothy Dolan in Milwaukee says in his memoir that he's gay: Archbishop Rembert "Weakland denied assaulting anyone" but also "admitted in court papers that he had returned a priest guilty of sex assaults to active ministry without notifying parishioners."
• Schools Chancellor Joel Klein says he'll fight to keep mayoral control of the school system but may be open to more input from parents and the community.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a missing child on Bedford Ave in Brooklyn, a crime scene at W 56th St and 7th Ave in Manhattan and a school bus incident at 80th St and Park Ln in Queens.
• Five US soldiers were shot dead by a fellow American soldier on a base in Baghdad. The shooter is now in custody, but his motivation unknown.
• Javon Jackson, a 23-year-old from The Bronx, was mysteriously gunned down a day after graduating from the University at Buffalo.
• Yikes—Curbed has photos of a West Village building's torn-off facade with its residents' belongings exposed.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A suspicious package on Grove St in Manhattan, a found DOA at Arthur Kill Rd & Giffords Ln on Staten Island and an unusual incident on the LIE at the Douglaston Parkway in Queens.
• Wall Street loses some steam after last week's rally; the Dow has fallen 121 points this morning.
• The firefighter who jumped into the Gowanus Canal to save a drunk driver who drove in the murky water needed a hepatitis shot.
• Extreme intoxication has landed three Connecticut teens into the hospital. They were at an after-prom party.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A "Mother's Day Family Shooting" at Olinville Ave & Britton St in the Bronx, a pedestrian struck at Broadway & 48 St in Manhattan and child endangerment at E 14th St in Brooklyn.
• A passenger fatally shot a livery cab driver in the Bronx. The dying driver crashed the car, injuring the shooter, who was taken into police custody.
• Newsday looks at the winners and losers in the MTA bailout—among the winners are motorists and the State Senate is a loser.
• The mother of Manhattan "manny" accused of molesting young boys says, "He's never, never been in trouble with kids before. He's a good son!"
• This year will be the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock festival and maybe its original organizers will agree on putting on a tribute—or maybe not.
• The SUV driver who ran over a 14-year-old, who had been knocked off his bike by another SUV in Harlem, turned herself in.
• She may have called it nerdprom, but Ana Marie Cox did manage to pose for pictures with Gossip Girl's Chace Crawford and Ed Westwick and Mad Men's Jon Hamm during White House Correspondents Dinner festivities.
• In Saudi Arabia, a judge spoke at a domestic violence seminar and said that it's okay for husbands to slap their wives if the wives spend too much money.
• The new movies!

• Londonist toured Churchill's little-known emergency war bunker, largely untouched since the Second World War.
• SFist looked at a controversial suggestion that participants in Critical Mass be charged for the monthly events.
• DCist was shocked when a local newscaster threatened a gay blogger on live TV while they were discussing Kirby Dick's new film, Outrage, a documentary about outing closeted politicians who fight against marriage equality legislation.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A pedestrian struck at 23rd & Avenue C in Manhattan, a boat in distress near the Marine Parkway Bridge in Jamaica Bay Queens, and a child struck and trapped under a car at 59 St & Ave L in Brooklyn.
• Hey, even Senator Schumer gets those annoying car warranty telemarketers calls on his cell phone! Unlike the rest of us, he gets to ask the FTC for an investigation,
• Donald Trump will decide whether opposite-sex proponent Carrie Prejean gets to keep her Miss California crown, in light of "semi-nude" photos.
• Yahoo may build a $100 million data center near Buffalo; it wouldn't create many jobs but could be a symbolic boost to the state.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a suspicious package at Lexington Ave and E 48th St, a person on a ledge on 26th Ave in Queens a jumper up at Bay Club Dr, also in Queens.
• An off-duty cop getting his car fixed at a Flatbush auto repair shop broke up an armed robbery, fatally shooting one of two thieves and was almost shot himself by a second off-duty officer who tried to intervene.
• Three 21-year-old Hofstra students were charged with serving alcohol to minors when cops broke up a party that included many underage underclassmen, including one 18-year-old woman found semi-conscious who had to be brought to a local hospital.

• The rabbi who ruthlessly cross-examined the daughter he was eventually convicted of molesting was sentenced to thirty years in a federal prison.
• Hartford police found six pounds of cocaine in a 24-year-old woman's apartment. Street value of the coke is estimated to be $200,000.
• The OR surgeon who left a patient on the operating table while they awaited brain surgery is retiring after serving his two-week suspension.
• The Bloomberg administration charges the working homeless for living in shelters; critics think it's punitive.

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• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A bomb threat at Olmsted Ave in the Bronx, a pedestrian struck at Montgomery St & Kingston Ave in Brooklyn, and a CO incident at Baruch Dr near Delancey in Manhattan.
• While the pace of layoffs is slowing, the unemployment rate is now 8.9%, the highest since late 1983.
• The ARChive of Contemporary Music may have the "largest collection of popular music from around the world and recorded since 1950, with more than two million sound recordings on tape, compact disc and vinyl." The archive entered into an partnership agreement with Columbia University for the material to be used for research.
• Norman Hsu, a big fundraiser for Hillary Clinton, pleaded guilty to a $20 million Ponzi scheme. He still goes to trial on Monday for "violating campaign finance laws by making contributions in other people's names."

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a power outage on Baisley Blvd in Queens, a jewelry store robbery on 57th St in Manhattan and a shooting at Herkimer St and Schenectady Ave in Brooklyn.
• A Port Authority cop's car was being stolen from his Queens home, so he jumped into the moving car and fired at the thief.
• Aw: A Harlem mother gave birth to a baby girl in her Halem apartment with the help of a firefighter and EMT. New mom Fanny Powell tells 1010 WINS, "She came out; she couldn't wait for" Mother's Day.
• Reading scores of third grade public school students jumped 11% this year.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a suspicious package on the lower level of the Manhattan Bridge, a shooting at Union St & Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, and a bank robbery at Gunhill Rd & Kingland Ave in the Bronx.
• A little follow-up to the shooting at Houston and Clinton yesterday—the police tell us a 27-year-old Hispanic male was shooting outside on the street. No one was hit and he was arrested (charges are pending).
• British writer and really terrible Top Chef judge Toby Young was hit by a car while riding his bike in London. He posted a photo of his bloody head.
• A Long Island man being arraigned for a motor vehicle violation pulled out a bag of weed when taking his summons from his pocket.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: armed robbery on Bedford Ave and N 11th St in Brooklyn, a male shot at 138th St and Willis Ave in The Bronx and a home invasion at W 214th St in Manhattan.
• Park Slope building owners have been fighting with developers of a new building over "sinkholes, cracks and structural problems" the new construction has allegedly created. The developer's lawyer said the construction was "black-tie tuxedo," and dismissed the complaints as being "about 'give us some more money.'"
• A female student at Wesleyan was shot near the Middletown, Connecticut campus earlier this afternoon. Apparently a gunman went into a popular cafe, located inside a bookstore, and fired multiple times.
• A crash in Long Island's Huntington Station involved two drunk drivers—one of them an unlicensed minor. Both drivers, plus the unlicensed minor driver's passenger (a juvenile), were injured.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: An armed EDP at Bond St & Broadway in Manhattan, a pattern robbery at Pond Pl & 198 St in the Bronx, and a DOA on the rocks off 69 St in Brooklyn.
• The Coast Guard released underwater video of a scallop boat that sunk off the coast of NJ. Six of the seven crew members died; it appears the boat's gear got tangled up and dragged the boat underwater.
• Two Korean-Americans say they will run for City Council member John Liu's seat; Liu is running for City Comptroller.
• A stockbroker pleaded guilty to sharing insider stock tips with his ex-girlfriend, a Playboy Playmate.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a missing child on Eastern Pkwy in Brooklyn, serious trauma on Jay Ave in Queens and and falling debris at Leyden Ave and Union Ave in Staten Island.
• The Post reports the Taxi and Limousine Commission is planning classes for new and veteran cabbie drivers to "increase taxi-driver training in English, geography, driving skills, customer courtesy and all that new cab technology."
• Two NJ prisoners who escaped from their cells Shawshank Redemption-style were sentenced to five years.
• Bar Toto might not think that there's no place like home when your new desired location is Park Slope, where some mommies don't take kindly to public ale houses near their public schools.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: An attempted robbery at Jamaica Ave & 190th in Queens, a missing person at Prospect Pk West in Brooklyn and a fire at Riverside Dr & W 152 St in Manhattan.
• Suffolk County is donating old bulletproof vests to the Army, which will use them to "line floors, doors and windows of military vehicles [in Afghanistan] as an added layer of protection."
• The NYC Department of Education says 19% more kids have been taking the gifted & talented programs test, resulting in 45% more kids being admitted into the programs this year.
• Enjoy some Cinco de Mayo time lapse (okay, it's in Portland, but it's a nice pick-me-up on this dreary day).

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a stabbing on Bedford Ave in Brooklyn, a pedestrian struck at 6th Ave and 47th St also in Brooklyn and a barricaded EDP at W 168th St in Manhattan.
• Police officers in Central Park will be cracking down on illegal bike rentals and pedicabs.
• A Newark apartment building fire was caused by a woman who was apparently angry about her boyfriend's grocery shopping abilities.
• A Queens congressman is trying to shut down the building of a trash-transfer station near La Guardia Airport for fear that it would attract dangerous geese.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A stabbing at Academy & Vermlyia in Manhattan, a fuel spill at Park Ave & Throop Ave in Brooklyn and an out-of-control EDP on 12 St in Queens.
• The NY Times traces the sad life in limbo that a mentally ill illegal immigrant—who fled China after being forcibly sterilized—faces in Florida.
• A City Councilman was unhappy when the DEP commissioner couldn't explain what the DEP's holding codes stood for and what the millions being held was being used for.
• The Brooklyn co-housing project, whose space in Fort Greene fell through, will now be heading to Greenwood Heights.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a homicide at Morris Ave and 141st St in The Bronx, an overturned auto on the Cross Island Express in Queens and an EMS MVA on Grand Concourse and 165th St in The Bronx.
• The New York Times has given the Boston Globe two more days to cut its budget by $20 million as it attempts to make the New England newspaper inviting to any potential buyers.
• McCarren Park was abuzz today with a flea market and the first weekend of kickball.
• Two upstate New York campers broke into a dairy farmer's barn, stole his calf, shot it with arrows and then slit its throat before slicing off a couple steaks.

• LAist spoke with the now-sober Rodney King on the 17th anniversary of the 1992 Los Angeles Riots and gained insight about his difficult journey to forgiveness and hope.
• SFist came across this angry tenant's window.
• Seattlest celebrated Seattle becoming the cruise ship industry's new Cozumel of the North, thanks to that bug going around.
• Londonist was disappointed to see some Londoners swearing and spitting at those who dare to slow down.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a fatal shooting at 141st St and Lenox Ave in Manhattan, a double shooting on Fulton St and Throop Ave in Brooklyn and an overturned auto at the entrance to the Verrazano Bridge on the Belt Pkwy.
• Police are searching for a man who stabbed his two-year-old son in the head with a butter knife last night in Bed-Stuy.
• A Staten Island man was fatally shot, possibly for having too many gold teeth. A nurse's aide said, "He wore a lot of plaque. Too much gold for West Brighton."
• An elderly woman is in critical condition after driving into a moving LIRR train near Ronkonkoma.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a male shot on Myrtle Ave in Brooklyn, a perp search towards the GW Bridge in Manhattan and a strong armed robbery on Irving Decator in Queens.
• A faulty safety device on the elevator door appears to have been the cause of the death of a blind man who fell in an elevator shaft and died in a Riverdale apartment building yesterday.
• Warren Buffett said he hasn't seen "signs of any real bounce at all in anything to do with housing, retailing, all that sort of thing."
• It turns out that the report of a beached whale in Bayside, Queens was actually a porpoise.
• Can Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village really attract fresh-out-of-college grads?
• Perhaps inspired by Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker, the frequently infertile pandas at the National Zoo appear to have conceived via artificial insemination. Mei Xiang, the giant female panda, has been seen cradling pears.
• After stepping into hot water for his comments regarding not using public transportation amidst the swine flu scare, Amtrak Joe stuck with his usual routine of taking the train home Friday night
• 50-1 shot Mine That Bird won the Kentucky Derby.
• And a Times reporter, doctor and mother is driven nuts seeing pictures of people wearing masks to protect themselves from swine flu.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a male shot on Bedford Ave in Brooklyn, another person shot at 205th St and 9th Ave in Manhattan and a pink job on Rockaway Blvd in Queens.
• As seen above, No Doubt "reunited" for the first time in five years yesterday morning on Today. To show how relevant they still are, they kicked their set off with some ska.
• A 91-year-old woman died in a house fire in Canarsie.
• A Pace student claims that she was raped inside the club Love on MacDougal Street in the West Village Thursday night.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: possible falling debris at E 66th St in Manhattan, a violent EDP at Madison Ave and E 56th St in Manhattan and a school safety MVA at Conway St and Bushwick Ave in Brooklyn.
• Where will Serena van der Woodsen shop now?! High-end retailer Henri Bendel will stop selling clothes and will focus on make-up and accessories.
• Uh-oh: LexisNexis is warning 32,000 people that their personal information may have been viewed in a credit card fraud.
• Mayor Bloomberg did not retain his spot on Time’s list of 100 Most Influential People with the magazine saying “his term-limits movement struck many as a blatant power-grab.” But he got to write an essay about the ladies of The View, who did make it onto the list!
• One of Bernard Madoff's sons got into a "bitch fight" on an Upper East Side street.
• Gamblers are betting less during the recession... or they are just saving up for the Kentucky Derby.
• Al Sharpton is now suggesting that Andrew Cuomo's office may be leaking information that smears on Governor Paterson.
• Jets Coach Rex Ryan is playing coy on the possibility of the team giving Plaxico Burress a shot with them.
• The Javits Center expansion plan will have a little expansion and mostly refurbishing (the convention space is leaky!).
• And does your Facebook profile pic have a custom-made swine flu mask Photoshopped on it yet?

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