Miscellaneous: August 2009 Archives

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A large crowd at Stone Ave & Belmont St in Brooklyn, a hazmat/burn victim at Yetman Ave & Billop Ave on Staten Island, and a construction accident at 10th Ave & W 31st St in Manhattan.
• Perhaps a result of our instant gratification culture: Three minute sessions with therapists in "speed-shrinking."
• A Brooklyn doctor accused of abusing patients while they were under anesthesia can only be released with either $11 million cash bail or $33 million bond—possibly the highest bail ever. One expert said, "You know what they're basically telling him? Screw you. You're not getting out."

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A jumper up at Van Wyck Expressway at Rockaway Blvd in Queens, a suspicious package at Lenox Av & E86 St in Manhattan, and a water rescue at Brighton 6th Street & the Boardwalk in Brooklyn.
• Take my mother—and my father-please: A Connecticut man put an ad on Craigslist to sell his parents.
• About 20,000 people have signed up for the MTA's Easy Pay Xpress, which will automatically debit their accounts when their Metrocards run out.

• Bostonist mourned the passing of our senior U.S. Senator with a slideshow of the memorial at the JFK Library, a look at the Boston history of the Kennedys, and a report from the memorial services.
• SFist came across a local business that wildly overacted to a mediocre Yelp review.
• Chicagoist saw an argument break out over the aesthetics of a new City-commissioned tile mural that went up on the city's North Side.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: Multiple people stabbed at Morris Ave & 182 St in the Bronx, a serious assault at 30th Street & 48 Ave in Queens and a male shot at Ave A & East 11 St in Manhattan.
• Yesterday, a Queens family said good-bye to a marine killed in Afghanistan. Lance Cpl. Leopold Damas's brother said, "Although it hurts, he was doing something he loved. He was exactly where he wanted to be. He had no fear."
• A cabbie in Yonkers was fatally shot early this morning.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: an aircraft emergency at JFK Airport, a barricaded perp on White Plains Rd in The Bronx and an elevator rescue on Suydam St in Brooklyn.
• A painting of the image of Christ, possibly worth up to $1,000, was stolen off the wall of Our Lady of Angels Church in Kingsbridge Heights in The Bronx.
• The family of Diane Schuler are using the newly-released autopsy results to further defend their claim that she was not an alcoholic. The autopsy also did not reveal any of the "ailments" claimed by her husband Daniel which he believes led to the deadly Taconic crash she caused.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: An armed robbery at 15th Street and Prospect Park West in Brooklyn, a serious assault on Central Park West (between 65th & 66th), and numerous MVAs on the BQE from the Brooklyn Bridge o approximately Metropolitan Ave in Queens.
• 30,000 people are expected at Spike Lee's Michael Jackson celebration in Prospect Park today.
• The Department of Buildings plans to use GPS to track building inspectors; a union head said, "Just like the Justice Department monitors parolees and those under house arrest, they’ll have a tracking device."

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: an unstable building on Rockaway Blvd, a truck vs pole on 101st St, both in Queens, and a machine on top of man on E 106th St in Manhattan.
• A technician in the city medical examiner's office is in trouble for taking the "morgue mobile" to a wake while he was supposed to be working.
• An attorney with a penchant for lawsuits settled his defamation lawsuit with Opie & Anthony host Jim Norton. Norton joked that the "crossed the road because it thought that" lawyer Roy Den Hollander "would try to f--- it."

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A foot pursuit at W 77th St & Central Park West in Manhattan, a commercial armed robbery at 5th Ave & 13th in Brooklyn and an overturned truck on Cedarcliff Rd on Staten Island.
• Volunteer groups are encouraging people to make September 11 a day of service; retired firefighter Jim Riches, whose firefighter son died in the North Tower during the attacks, said, "I think it's very fitting. Jimmy was there that day helping others."
• Two Connecticut men, ages 29 and 31, were charged with assault after they were fighting each other with a belt buckle and a spatula.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a person on the tracks at Broadway and 34th St in Manhattan, a bank robbery on Atlantic Ave in Brooklyn and a found grenade on Croft and Goller Pls on Staten Island.
• A crash with an overturned taxi at 24th Street and 7th Avenue has left three people injured, one critically.
• Two crows in the Huntington area of Long Island tested positive for the West Nile virus.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A motorcyclist struck at Broome St & Broadway in Manhattan, an EDP at Roosevelt Av & 76 Street in Queens and a found DOA at Victory Blvd & Richmond Ave in the park by the lake on Staten Island.
• An 83-year-old Scarsdale man drove 15 miles into Connecticut to follow the allegedly drunk driver who rear-ended his car.
• New Yorker Matti Mattson was awarded citizenship by Spain yesterday—the 92-year-old was a freedom fighter (and ambulance driver) against Franco.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a sexual assault on Henry St, a barricaded perp on Ocean Ave and a shooting on Ave X, all in Brooklyn.
• More cries for banning tour helicopters over the city; the head of the Helicopter Noise Coalition said, "These flights are utterly unnecessary. They are dangerous, and they are noisy."
• Four area men were arrested for shooting a man outside LGA Monday night. The victim was shot after the group picked him up at the airport, robbed him and shot him when he tried to get away from the drug-related incident.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A serious assault on W 117st & Manhattan Ave in Manhattan, a boat in distress between the Battery & Staten Island, and a car vs. building on White Plains Rd & E224 St in the Bronx.
• No winners were drawn, so now the Mega Millions Jackpot is $325 million!!!
• Mayor Bloomberg is introducing 59 initiatives for senior citizens, like free taxi rides. Sure, some initiatives need funding and seniors are reliable on voting day—but maybe he's just bringing these up 'cause he's 67 years old!

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a missing child at 25th St and 9th Ave in Manhattan, a fuel spill at Hook Creek Blvd and N Conduit Ave in Queens and a correction at Hunts Point in The Bronx.
• NY Times Ethicist Randy Cohen writes about anonymous blogging, "To promote the social good of lively conversation and the exchange of ideas, transparency should be the default mode. And that goes both for lofty political discourse and casual comments on Amazon."
• A Bronx store clerk managed to grab a gun from a robber (another worker had tackled him) and shoot him twice in the leg.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A motorcycle MVA right before the Williamsburg Bridge in Manhattan, a car vs. building at New Utrecht Ave & 50th St in Brooklyn, and an unusual crime at Rockaway Beach Blvd & Beach 97th St in Queens.
• Stanley Kaplan, who founded the test preparation centers, died at age 90 today. He founded the company from his parents' home in Brooklyn.
• Over a 1,000 people camped out in Long Island City in hopes of landing a coveted plumbers' union apprenticeship—jobs can pay up to $50/hour plus benefits!

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: An overturned auto at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, a water rescue at Richmond Plaza in the Bronx and an EDP in the ramp at Northern Blvd & The Clearview Expressway in Queens.
• A man was arrested for fatally shooting a livery cab driver in the Bronx last night. Benny Delgado was apprehended while trying to flee the scene; he is currently on parole for murder.
• Yesterday, family members had a vigil remembering the 1989 death of Yusuf Hawkins, who was killed by a mob of white men in Bensonhurst.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A commercial robbery at E52 St & 2 Ave in Manhattan, a water rescue at Coney Island Ave at Stillwell Ave in Brooklyn and a barricaded perp on Herschell St in the Bronx.
• An 18-year-old driver fatally struck a pedestrian in Queens—and what's more, the teen driver was allegedly drunk.
• One Tree Hill actress Sophia Bush hates cyclists! Or just accidentally knocked one over.

• SFist was sent back to the halcyon days of childhood after Lombard Street was transformed into a Candy Land game board.
• LAist found out that not everyone in LA digs the food truck craze, when some restaurants banded together to get the cops to tow the trucks off their block.
• Shanghaiist found a pretty disturbing ad from Sichuan -- apparently you can get half off the cost of an abortion if you bring your student ID.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A person struck by a train at 4 Ave & 59 St in Brooklyn, a serious trauma at Catherine Court and Simonson Pl on Staten Island and a mobilization at West 129 Street and St Nicholas Ave in Manhattan.
• The Bronx girl who survived a 7-story fall from a window is recovering—and even caught a photo of herself on TV.
• Rep. Michael McMahon (D-Staten Island) tells the Staten Island Advance that the health care bill should be streamlined, "It should be taken down and it should be a more direct and focused attempt to initiate change in the health-care system, not dramatically change it overnight."

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a barricaded EDP on Covert St in Brooklyn, a bank robbery at Broadway and 8th St in Manhattan and a fuel spill on Tillary St in Brooklyn.
• Hurry outside! There's one more hour of Summer Streets left.
• 20-year-old Ramon Rodriguez was arrested and charged with a hate crime assault of an Ecuadorean immigrant in the latest bias attack in Patchogue.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A person under the train at East 110 Street @ Lexington Ave in Manhattan, a working fire at Halsey Street in Brooklyn and an armed robbery at Midland Avenue on Staten Island.
• A 1-year-old child died after falling out a Brooklyn window yesterday afternoon. The window did not have guards.
• Five Sanitation Department bosses were reprimanded for taking a really long lunch at the Queens home of a former colleague.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a stabbing on Fulton St in Brooklyn, an overturned auto on Bruckner Blvd in The Bronx and an evidence search on Throop Ave in Brooklyn.
• The Flushing Willets Point Corona Local Development Corporation says it "lobbied the city for the city," but local development corporations aren't supposed to lobby.
• AIG has compensated some victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme, because their policies had a "fraud, embezzlement or forgery" clause.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A traffic agent struck at 90 Ave & Sutphin Blvd in Queens, a violent EDP on Amsterdam Ave in Manhattan and a shooting at St. Johns Pl & Albany Ave in Brooklyn.
• Pay it forward: Jauntsetter is having a blood drive at McCarren Park today—there is still spots open between 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
• Must be a Kenyan or madrassa thing: No one understood what "wee-wee-ed up" meant when President Obama said, "There's something about August going into September where everybody in Washington gets all wee-weed up. I don't know what it is. But that's what happens."

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a person stabbed at Marcy Ave and S 5th St in Brooklyn, a shooting on 122nd St and 2nd Ave in Manhattan and an escaped prisoner at Area ESU and K9 Entr in The Bronx.
• Five volunteers spent yesterday morning drinking and later spent the afternoon "taking sobriety tests and driving a controlled road course" for a Nassau County program to show the dangers of drunk driving.
• Two brothers in Queens were arrested with pockets full of quarters when it was discovered that they were using metal keys to steal thousands of dollars out of parking meters.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A large crowd at Troy Av & Fulton St in Brooklyn, an all-hands fire at Armstrong Ave & Lamoka Ave on Staten Island, and a bank robbery at 107th & Broadway in Manhattan.
• The long-running Astor trial has gone into watermark territory—as in, whether watermarks prove that late philanthropist's signature on watermarked paper was authentic. Jurors, you've really earned your vacation next week.
• Former governor Mario Cuomo said about his son potentially running for governor, "If he runs for governor, I want to see him."

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: an amputation on E 23rd St in Manhattan, a triple stabbing at 170th and Clay Sts in The Bronx and a suspicious letter on Merrick Blvd in Queens.
• The AP reports that "crews removing PCB-contaminated sediment from the Hudson River" 40 miles north of Albany "were operating within the agency's approved dredging plan when they mistakenly ripped out beams from a colonial-era fort." The dredging part of GE's $750 million effort to remove PCBs it dumped into the river.
• Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum says the city and state should provide aid to Second Avenue businesses whose finances have been damaged by the ongoing 2nd Avenue Subway construction.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A fatal shooting on Brighton Beach Ave in Brooklyn, an aircraft incident at JFK Airport's Terminal 5 in Queens (we hear that some JetBlue passengers were fighting!), and a shooting at E 117th St & 2nd Ave in Manhattan.
• Repairs to the FDR Drive today basically mean one thing: Drivers shouldn't bother attempting to drive on it, because "The northbound lanes of the FDR Drive from Houston to 23rd Sts. will be closed for repairs" till 9 p.m.
• Staten Islanders were so excited about the South Shore Little League's team Monday night game that customers at the New Dorp Applebee's actually switched from the Giants pre-season game to watch the kids win on ESPN2.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting at 155th St and 109th Ave in Queens, a robbery on East Drive in Manhattan and a slashing at Mermaid and Stillwell Aves in Queens.
• A 69-year-old woman was raped as she returned to her apartment building on Riverside Drive and 155th Street at about 4 a.m., the latest in a series of attacks by the same suspect in Hamilton Heights.
• The city's investigation into fraudulent concrete testing has expanded; the NY Times reports the "Department of Transportation banned the company, the Casa Redimix Concrete Corporation, from serving as a supplier on a major venture, the $612 million replacement of the Willis Avenue Bridge, which spans the Harlem River."

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A train job at 63rd St & West End Ave, a daylight search on Linden Pl in Queens and a slashing at Stillwell Ave & Mermaid Ave in Brooklyn.
• Still thinking he's not too old to be a quarterback: Brett Favre is reportedly going to sign with the Minnesota Vikings today.
• The teens accused of drag racing in Bayside, Queens last week have been charged with manslaughter—a 12-year-old passenger has died from his injuries.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a child out a window on 25th St in Brooklyn, a suspicious package at 8th St and Greene Ave in Manhattan and a missing person at Story Ave in The Bronx.
• World stock markets fell today, on fears about the economic recovery. In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2% (186 points) to 9,135 while the S&P lost 2.43% and the Nasdaq dropped 2.75%.
• The only survivor in the Taconic crash, five-year-old Bryan Schuler, was informed of the fates of his sister, cousins and mother Diane while recovering in a Queens hospital.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A missing person at Casals Place in the Bronx, crowd control at Parkhill Ave & Sobel Ct on Staten Island, and a pedestrian struck at 9th Ave & W 52 St in Manhattan.
• A Morris County community is reeling after a woman strangled her 4-year-old daughter to death and tried to smother her 6-year-old daughter. A neighbor who saw the younger daughter on the lawn said, "At first I thought the little girl was sick, but then I realized it was much, much worse. It was horrifying. She looked blue."
• Rep. Jerry Nadler is holding a telephone town hall to discuss health care reform.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a jumper/DOA floater at the George Washington Bridge, a serious MVA on the Bruckner Expwy exit ramp in The Bronx and a dangerous condition on Decatur St in Brooklyn.
• Great: Rikers Island guards let out an inmate unintentionally—they thought Anthony Pratts was actually his older brother, who had also been serving time there. The Post reports that Pratts, recaptured a day later, "was serving a 10-day sentence for jumping a subway turnstile and was also being held on $2,500 bail on a DWI rap."
• New York Waterway has added this past January's U.S. Airways splash-landing to its tour of landmarks—after seeing the Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building, ferry passengers can learn about Captain Sullenberger's heroics. Of course, NY Waterway mentions its role rescuing the flight's passengers, too.

• Chicagoist had a surreal Lollapalooza experience, starting with a soaked first day that included a man dying during one of the first sets, followed by hot and steamy days two and three, lots of amazing pictures, people in Buckingham Fountain, and ending with a man punching a horse.
• LAist proposed that the Dodgers stop playing Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" (aka one of those "songs that has drunk people singing at the top of their lungs") as the team's "battle cry" during their home games.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A large crowd at 144 St & Broadway in Manhattan, three pedestrians struck at Freeman Street at the Sheridan Expressway in the Bronx, and a police car MVA/hit-and-run at 18th Ave & 62nd St in Brooklyn.
• A four-alarm fire at a Queens laundromat was put out after many hours; 11 firefighters suffered minor injuries while four civilians were treated for smoke inhalation. The cause of the Corona blaze is being investigated, but apparently a "large amount of clothes in the laundromat may have fueled the flames."
• A man was shot at Avenue C & 12th Street this morning—he had just bought a sandwich around 5 a.m. and was hit outside the deli. He's in serious and stable condition.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a confined space rescue at Murray and Church Sts in Manhattan, a pedestrian struck at Atlantic Ave and Rockaway Blvd in Brooklyn and an unconscious in a park at 197th St and Union Tnpk in Queens.
• A 21-year-old Brooklyn man was fatally shot and another man wounded when a fight broke out after a birthday party in East New York was crashed by unwanted guests.
• Former City Councilman Allan Jennings says Queens council candidate candidate Ruben Wills took a swing at him while the two were arguing over election rules at the board's office. Police were called, but no one was arrested.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a suspicious vehicle on the Verrazano Bridge in Staten Island, an injured mos off Exit 3 of the FDR Dr in Manhattan and a water condition on Somers St in Brooklyn.
• Horrible: A Freeport man—who works as a porter in a nursing home—apparently ignored his ill mother, who had fallen in the kitchen and was covered in her own urine and feces, for two days. His mother is now on life support and he is charged with reckless endangerment.
• New York City’s birth certificate arrived Friday from Amsterdam, only the third time it has left the Netherlands in nearly four centuries.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A police car MVA at 167 St & 3 Ave in the Bronx, a stabbing at Broadway & 33rd St in Queens, and a misplaced tractor trailer at E 16th St & Ave P in Brooklyn.
• Investigators are looking into the sudden explosion of a home in Bay Shore, Long Island.
• Taxi passengers will be able to complain about the 50-cent taxi surcharge (part of the MTA bailout plan) at a September 17 public meeting, but nothing will change.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a stolen parks vehicle in Prospect Park, a missing child in Prospect Park and a child struck at Lexington Ave and 112th St in Manhattan.
• It turns out the New York woman who donated $150,000 to Hebrew University was just eccentric, not homeless. Ida Fischer, who fled the Gestapo and settled in NYC, had made dolls and hats in Chinatown and later lived in Turtle Bay.
• Here's video of District 37—the city's biggest union—explaining why it endorsed City Comptroller Thompson for mayor. Notes from Mayor Bloomberg's meeting with union reveal he refused to promise that jobs wouldn't be cut and that pensions would remain the same.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a foot pursuit at 8th Ave and 24th St in Manhattan, a stabbing at Bushwick and Flushing Aves in Brooklyn and a robbery in transit at 72nd St in Manhattan.
• A freelance journalist took a job as a lifeguard at a Brooklyn public pool. He writes in the Daily News that his tasks included scooping a piece of poop out but not "fetching the headless cat in the water."
• A man was shot in the chest after he discovered burglars stealing food in his Newark home. He is in critical condition.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a missing EDP on 5th Ave, a slashing on 6th St and unstable bricks at Bedford Ave, all in Brooklyn.
• Three people were fatally shot inside a Central Islip house this morning before it was set on fire.
• Five-year-old Bryan Schuler, the son of Taconic Crash driver Diane and the only surviving member of the accident, left the hospital today and returned home to his father in West Babylon.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A sexual assault on Aldrich St in the Bronx, a found snake on Cathedral Parkway in Manhattan, and a child struck at Keap St & Lee Ave in Brooklyn.
• Machete-wielding man shows up at a Brooklyn church service shouting "I got something to say!"
• The feds busted a sex slave ring on Long Island—three people allegedly lured young women (mostly from Central America) to work in their bars and "perform sex acts on customers."

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: An MVA with a PIN at Delancey and Clinton Sts in Manhattan, a hazmat on Bushwick Ave in Brooklyn and a water search at the George Washington Bridge in Manhattan.
• The city is stopping social promotion for fourth and sixth graders; previously even failing students would be promoted to higher grades.
• Does the NYPD get such a high number of low-level drug busts simply by tricking people during random stops to cough up their pot?

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A hazmat on Berrian Blvd in Queens, a jumper on Exchange Place, and a triple shooting at Franklin Av & Bergen St in Brooklyn.
• Keepin' it classy (not) in Buffalo: Chicago Blackhawks player Patrick Kane and his cousin were arrested in his hometown of Buffalo for attacking and robbing a cabbies who didn't have 20 cents change. The fare was allegedly $13.80 and Kane and his cousin had given the driver $15.
• The women's suits used in now-cancelled soap opera Guiding Light will be donated to a charity which provides needy women with suits for interviews.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting at Gates and Marcy Aves in Brooklyn, a fatal pedestrian struck at W 6th St and Ave O, also in Brooklyn, and an unusual rescue on Broadway in Manhattan.
• Nearly 2,000 people from around the world gathered in Flushing Meadows Park Sunday for the 19th Annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival.
• A cab driver being choked by a passenger early this morning crashed his car into a Mount Vernon church, where police discovered five people, including a child, locked in the building.

DCist revisited the saga of Molly, the stolen and ultimately returned local dog, when aggressive animal rights group PETA decided to speak up on the issue of leaving your pets tied up alone on the sidewalk.

Continue reading "Elsewhere in the ist-a-verse"

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A fatal jumper down at the westbound Grand Central Parkway (94 Street Exit) in Queens, a suspicious death on West 93rd St in Manhattan and an evidence search on East 184 St at Webster Ave in the Bronx.
• Today is the 27th Annual Dominican Day Parade.
• A former assistant to Tavern on the Green owner Jennifer LeRoy claims she was fired days after telling LeRoy that she was pregnant. Yes, there is a lawsuit.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a hostage situation on 46th Ave in Queens, two males shot on Venice Marina Harkness Ave in Brooklyn and a sex crime on 116th St in Queens.
• Despite the start of the school year only being a few weeks away, many parents are unaware the city's public schools will resume a day later than usual, on Wednesday, September 9th.
• Popular Jersey Shore town Seaside Heights is requiring that smoking on the beach take place within twenty feet of the boardwalk, thus amazingly finding a way to make their boardwalk an even less pleasant and trashier-feeling experience.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A male shot on Fordham Road in the Bronx, a fatal MVA on Nevins at Schermerhorn in Brooklyn and a bicycle struck at 6 Av & 17 St in Manhattan.
• A hiker who fell 60 feet off a cliff in Connecticut was identified as 19-year-old Brooklyn resident Jared Drabiszczak. He is in critical condition.
• Now that mayoral control has passed, it's time for the Board of Education to die again.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: an electrocution at Westend Ave on Staten Island, a serious MVA at Main and 139th Sts in Queens and a Car vs. Building at Lafayette and Commonwealth Aves in The Bronx.
• Four people were shot, three of them fatally, inside a home in Roslyn Heights on Long Island today.
• A Jersey City pimp known as "Prince" was arrested today for a sex-trafficking ring where he allegedly "enslaved vulnerable young women in a living hell" of prostitution and often induced them into using heroin and cocaine in order to control them.

The following post is from our advertiser, Samuel Goldwyn Films.

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• From the Gothamist Newsmap: An unusual rescue at Buhre Ave & Westchester Ave in the Bronx, a jumper down at W 76th St & Amsterdam Ave in Manhattan and a stabbing at E18 St in Brooklyn.
• With President Obama's signing of an additional $2 billion for cash for clunkers, Senator Chuck Schumer is warning New Yorkers about cash for clunkers scams—apparently websites are claiming people should register for the program.
• Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes is recovering after "surprise" heart surgery. Apparently, during a routine angiogram, his doctors at Weill Cornell thought they should take care of some things.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: an assaulted EMT on Madison Ave and 97th St, a shooting on 2nd Ave and 100th St and a bus into a scaffold at 181st St and Cabrini Blvd, all in Manhattan.
• A man holding a replica of an Uzi submachine gun was fatally shot by police officers in Suffolk County. The cops had responded to a call about shots at the house, and the man had allegedly yelled at them, "You're going to have to take me."
• The body of the swimmer who disappeared while swimming of the Rockaways Monday was discovered near Jacob Riis Park.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A man pushed onto the tracks at the Van Wyck Station "E line" in Queens, a hazmat at Home St & E 169th St in the Bronx, and shots fired at E 3st & Ave B in Manhattan.
• A Brooklyn teen was critically wounded when he was shot by a pellet gun. Witnesses say the 18-year-old was just "walking across a basketball court in Bayview Park outside PS 272 in Canarsie just before 2 p.m."
• A handwriting expert says that the Brooke Astor's signature on a document was forged. Prosecutors say that the late philanthropist's son and a lawyer were trying to benefit from her ailing mental state by seizing more control of her finances.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: an unstable building at Bowery and Hester Sts in Manhattan, a carjacking at 147th Ave in Queens and a floater on the Hudson River at 158th St in Manhattan.
• A malnourished alligator (or caiman) and turtle were taken from a West Babylon home. The owner faces charges for animal cruelty plus illegally harboring the alligator.
• A roofer was electrocuted today after an aluminum ladder leaning against a home in College Point came in contact with a wire.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A car vs. fence at 6th Ave & 14 St in Brooklyn, a person overboard at Hudson River & Pier 61 in Manhattan, and a homicide at Hughes Ave & Crescent Ave in the Bronx.
• The family of a young man presumed drowned after disappearing in the Rockaways off Jacob Riis Park visited the beach. Anthony Bolden went into the waters because a friend was struggling (the friend made it out, Bolden didn't); Bolden's mother said, "He saw his friend in trouble and he went to go save him."
• About 300 wedding guests had to be evacuated from a synagogue on the Jersey Shore that received a bomb threat last night. Other threats were made to two synagogues.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a suspicious package at Church Ave and Cortlandt St in Manhattan, a burn victim at Madison Ave and 111th St also in Manhattan and falling debris on Gold St in Brooklyn.
• Several children from a NJ summer camp suffered minor injuries when their school bus crashed into a synagogue while en route to a bowling alley.
• A Twittering doorman suddenly stopped his updates, which included "A resident just buzzed me to check if the intercom was working, he must be bored."

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A car into building at Rogers Ave & Church Ave in Brooklyn, an overturned auto on the FDR near E 23rd St in Manhattan, and a person under the train at Aqueduct North Conduit Ave Station in Queens.
• A New York Waterway ferry, which helped save passengers and crew from Flight 1549 in January, rescued a man from the Hudson yesterday. A ferry crew member said, "He wasn't moving. He was just kinda stuck in the one spot. We were concerned."
• Architect Charles Gwathmey, whose designs include, Midtown's International Center of Photography in Midtown Manhattan, Queens' American Museum of the Moving Image, and "Sculpture for Living" at Astor Place, died at 71 from esophageal cancer.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: an industrial accident at 3rd Ave and 28th St in Manhattan, a water rescue on Rockaway Point Blvd in Queens and a large crowd at 86th Ave and 117th St, also in Queens.
• There will be additional marine vessel activity south of the Verrazano Bridge throughout the day tomorrow due to law enforcement training.
• A NJ man fed up with kids playing "ding and ditch" was arrested for roughing up a 14-year-old who was trying to escape after ringing the 37-year-old man's door.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A perp search on West 35th in Brooklyn, a disabled train at Penn Station in Manhattan, and an armed robbery at a 7-Eleven on Metropolitan Ave in Queens.
• New York Magazine looks at President Obama's "media ubiquity" and brings up this Bill Maher joke, "You don’t have to be on television every minute of every day. You’re the president, not a rerun of Law & Order."
• Getting ready for this weekend: Dragon Boat Festival has contender trials.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a stabbing at 3rd Ave and 123rd St, a shooting at Lexington Ave and 117th St and a pedestrian struck on the Grand Central Pkwy in Queens.
• Police have arrested a 41-year-old East Islip man for beating his neighbor's cat with a rake and shooting it with a BB gun.
• The Nigerian mom whose baby—and thirty dollars change—took off with an unknowing cab driver said that she has no hard feelings toward the cabbie.

• Chicagoist saw controversy erupt when a youth-painted pro-immigration mural was defaced with racist graffiti.
• Bostonist marveled over an X-Men Mural in Allston.
• LAist assembled a map of all the Downtown LA locations that starred in the season's sleeper hit film 500 Days of Summer.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A water rescue in the Hudson River by West 125 St in Manhattan, a missing child on DeKalb Ave in Brooklyn and shots fired at 194 Street & 111 Ave in Queens.
• The remains of a U.S. Navy pilot shot down on the first night of the Persian Gulf War in 1991 were finally found in Iraq.
• Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra Jr., who helped nab the 44 in the massive NJ corruption-money laundering probe, thought one website's assessment "Everyone in NJ was arrested" was hilarious.

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: a perp search at 144th St and 88th Ave in Queens, a water search on the beach at 113th St, also in Queens, and an evidence search at Automn and Stanley Aves in Brooklyn.
• A judge found that a Brooklyn man who has spent 12 years in prison was wrongfully convicted: "It would be abhorrent to my sense of justice and fair play to do other than to vacate the defendant's convictions. He is innocent of this horrible murder."
• A Port Authority cop working undercover at Newark Airpot was hit by a livery cab. The cop's assignment? Posing as a tourist to find taxi hustlers.