News

As if the Mets needed anymore battering—now the team has to say that owner Fred Wilpon's huge losses from investing with Bernard Madoff aren't affecting the team! Investigative journalist Erin Arvedlund, who wrote a book about Madoff, claimed that Wilpon lost $700 million with the Ponzi schemer—and suggest that he'll have to sell the team next year. The Mets responded, "The author of the book has no knowledge or facts related to the Mets business operations or finances. Her speculation that the Mets - or any part of the team - is for sale is completely false and is irresponsible." But now Newsday points out one possible sign of belt-tightening, "The Mets have canceled their Instructional League, held annually in Port St. Lucie, and instead will have a "modified" program at their baseball academy in the Dominican Republic"—which will save about $250,000 and which former GM Jim Duquette thinks is a bad move, "[The IL] gives you a chance to extend the development of your young players, of your prospects. and they're not gonna have it. ...If you're development-oriented, it's not a good decision, in my opinion." more ›

Just in case Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi didn't get the message that New Jersey doesn't want him visiting their state or the town of Englewood, where his country owns a 25-rooom mansion, there was a rally in Englewood to repeat the refrain, "Not In My Backyard!" The Star-Ledger reports that relatives of victims from the Lockerbie plane bombing spoke: Laurie Ciulla, whose father was killed, said that her family has been upset by the possibility of Gadhafi spending part of next month in the NJ suburb, "As a nation, we just simply cannot host Colonel Gadhafi. He is not welcome here any more than any other terrorist would be," while Jack Flynn, who son died, said it was "scary -- almost creepy" near the Libyan property (the protest was held on the neighboring property owned by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach) and that Gadhafi "was the man who ordered the bombing of Pan Am 103. There's no doubt about it." more ›

This morning, a man bicycling on the George Washington Bridge took photographs of a guard sleeping in the west guard booth on the NJ side. According to Cliffview Pilot, taking the photographs was easy for Joey Lepore, who said, "I didn't even zoom it. I walked right up to the window... I saw him nodded out on my way over to the city and then again on my way back. Enough is enough!" And apparently this isn't the first time Lepore, who owns and operates Bicycle Tour New York, has seen a guard sleeping—he once said to one, "Please just stay awake. I'm not asking too much," and has photographs of a sleeping guard (possibly the same one as today) from August 5. MyFoxNY points out, "Officials have said that bridges and tunnels remain a prime target for terrorists. In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, the Port Authority restricted photography on and on the bridge for security reasons (the rules have since been relaxed). In 2005 and 2006, the agency installed cylindrical bomb shields the section of the bridge's suspension cables closest to the deck." The Port Authority told Cliffview Pilot it was looking into the matter. more ›

Earlier this year the Harlem home once owned by the late James Bailey (of Barnum & Bailey fame) dropped in price from $10M to $6.5M (soon after it was brought down to $3.5M). Now Curbed reports that the limestone castle on St. Nicholas Place and 150th Street has just sold for a $1.4M! Surely the gigantic price drop had more to do with economic climate than all the bad press for the circus he helped found. Regardless, the site points out that this could be the real estate steal of the year, going for around $170 per square foot; a "cold calculation [that] doesn't even include the Belcher mosaic glass, 12' high mercury mirror, French polished oak floors and all the other dramatic original details in need of a thorough dusting." Surely this selling price has Bailey rolling over in his grave like a well-tamed circus lion. Wonder how much he paid to have the home built back in 1888... more ›

How much federal stimulus money does it take to change a lightbulb? Brooklyn Heights Association President Judy Stanton brokered a $650,000 deal in order to replace the already functioning streetlamps in Brooklyn Heights with more old timey looking ones. How quaint! more ›

After talking to the victim of the "skank blogger" last week, the Post's Andrea Peyser features a different kind of New York woman in her column today: The second ex-wife of City Comptroller—and mayoral candidate—Bill Thompson. Sylvia Kinard-Thompson, who married Thompson in 1999, says their relationship started to go south in 2002, when he was elected Comptroller, "I wasn't sure if he was going through a midlife crisis, stress of a new job. I was willing to work on it. You hit a bump in the road, you don't just bail out... [But by 2004,] he was starting to stay out. He was on trips longer than he should have... I asked him if he was having an affair. He never acknowledged that he was; he never acknowledged that he wasn't." more ›

Senator Chuck Schumer held one of his famous Sunday press conferences yesterday, presumably before spending the rest of the day chilling with Jay-Z and Beyonce at the summer's last Pool Party. The presser was held three days after the National Transportation Safety Board recommended major changes to air traffic over the Hudson River—changes which Schumer says fall short. The senator told reporters that the current regulations are "a mess. There are countless handoffs, gaps and holes in the regulatory authority, and that only leads to trouble." Trouble like the fatal mid-air collision between a single-engine plane and a tour helicopter earlier this month. Schumer is demanding (once again) that the FAA monitor all flights below 1,000 feet (pilots currently use a "see and avoid" strategy), the creation of a pilot training program for commercial sightseeing operations, and fully staffed control towers at Teterboro Airport and at other area airports. Radical, right? The TSB report admitted that the absence of a supervisor from the Teterboro tower at the time of the crash enabled a controller to make a "nonbusiness" cell phone call, which infamously involved joking about barbecuing a dead cat—actually making the genre of dead pet jokes even more inappropriate than ever. more ›

If you were anywhere near the Village this weekend, you probably noticed a sea of doe-eyed teenagers and their parents arriving at NYU and trying to get a quick verdict on if this whole "going to college in New York thing" is all it's cracked to be. Well the New York Post has taken a quick scan of the new course catalog and is quick to give them a heads up—it's bogus! The tabloid finds classes that require students to play Guitar Hero (for "psychological" purposes) and another on exercise and brain chemistry where students take an aerobics class for an hour before sitting down for a lecture. Neuroscience professor Wendy Suzuki explains, "I got the idea at Equinox Gym. I took this kickboxing and dance class that made me feel great. I thought if I could make my students feel like that after my class, I'd be the best teacher in the world!" If that's not enough, the paper digs deeper and finds ?!?!?! (NYU has one of the top-ranked TV and Film studies programs in the nation.) The Post claims that parents were "livid," like one dad who saw the Guitar Hero class, "I just wrote a big check here. I'm not paying for him to study video games. It seems a bit watered down." more ›

Almost two weeks after the story was broken by Miss Heather, the NY Post says they have learned that there's a scam artist running an illegal gym in Williamsburg. They spoke with the muscleman proprietor, John Suarez, who told them, "I can't own another gym, but I've got to make a living. I had a mistake six years ago. I'm trying to start a new life. It's not like I was scamming anybody." The problem is that he did scam 1,000 people out of membership fees for a gym that never opened in 2004, and then made a deal with state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo that he'd never operate a health club in the state again! To make matters worse for himself, when a Post photographer snooped around his new gym on South 3rd Street in Williamsburg, Suarez tackled him and damaged his camera—which of course brought on charges of assault, menacing and harassment. Following the incident he told the paper, "Things happen. I did what I had to do. And he did what he had to do." more ›

Yesterday morning, the two toll booths on the NJ Turnpike were robbed, prompting NJ Turnpike Authority spokesman Joe Orlando to call them "the stupidest criminals in history." Why? Because the booths at Exits 15X and 16E are little used and don't have that much cash anyway. In fact, a toll collector's 8-hour shift at 15X usually only nets $200-$300. Spokesman Joe Orlando said, "This definitely wasn't a plot for 'Ocean's 11.'" The Star-Ledger reports that the robbers, in three different vehicles, "disguised their faces with bandannas and dark sunglasses and flashed guns at toll takers." The robbers used a white Nissan and dark Jeep to rob Exit 16E and the Jeep and a Mercedes—which had been carjacked an hour earlier—to hit 15X. The Turnpike Authority expects to find the criminals, as the 10 individuals who previously robbed the NJTA have all been captured. more ›

The husband of a woman who was killed when an out-of-control van struck a parked car which then hit her told the Daily News, "This is horrible... She was a great mom. I have to raise my kids by myself. I have no choice. She did everything for us." Paula Jimenez, a Virginia resident and mother of two, was at a high school reunion picnic at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park; she was walking near some parked cars when the van "came barreling down an exit ramp off the Van Wyck Expressway... [The van] plowed into a parked car, which then smashed into the helpless Jimenez," severing her spinal cord and "severely injur[ing] her head and kidneys." The van's driver Jian Seng He was charged with second-degree homicide and held on $150,000 bail; his lawyer said his brakes malfunctioned while prosecutors say he was trying to chase another car on the Van Wyck. Grieving Andrew Jimenenz told the News that doctors called him to say his wife was brain-dead, "They were trying to keep her alive for organ donation. She always wanted to give up her organs. ... She always gave up herself." more ›

Some 150 National Guardsmen have been pulled from details patrolling the city's transportation hubs, as part of a restructuring that officials claim will actually make the soldiers more responsive to threats. Guard spokesman Richard Goldberg tells the Post, "We are at more locations now because we're not tied to specific facilities. You'll still see us at Penn Station and the airports, but you'll also see them at critical transport sites, like bus terminals." Last year the National Guard had 430 soldiers based in the city; now there are 280. Another spokesman asserts that because the troops are now stationed out of Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn instead of airports and train stations, they're better equipped to "selectively respond" to emergencies or as cops need reinforcements. Another bonus is that the drawdown will probably save the state over ten million dollars. But their absence has left some commuters, like administrative assistant Donna El-Maadawy, feeling very unguarded; she tells the Post, "I rarely see them anymore. Not having them present will makes me feel uneasy. You just never know when we may need them." more ›

Those space-age automated public toilets—or A.P.T.s, as they're known in the business—are all the rage in the two locations where they've been installed. Cemusa, the Spanish company that won a contract in 2005 to install 20 of them citywide, says that the self-cleaning A.T.P. in Madison Square Park was used 2,736 times in a recent 30-day period, while the one in Corona was used 1,920 times. So why have only two been installed since the prototype was unveiled back in 2006? A spokesman for the DOT tells the Times, "Some communities don’t want A.P.T.’s." You'll recall that some Park Slope residents had objected to a proposed toilet at Grand Army Plaza, and a Councilwoman representing the Upper East Side also declined. more ›

Some good news about the billion dollar bailouts the federal government made last year. The NY Times reports, "The profits, collected from eight of the biggest banks that have fully repaid their obligations to the government, come to about $4 billion, or the equivalent of about 15 percent annually, according to calculations compiled for The New York Times." Still, the Times adds, "These early returns are by no means a full accounting of the huge financial rescue undertaken by the federal government last year to stabilize teetering banks and other companies. The government still faces potentially huge long-term losses from its bailouts of the insurance giant American International Group, the mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the automakers General Motors and Chrysler. The Treasury Department could also take a hit from its guarantees on billions of dollars of toxic mortgages." more ›

Police descended on Walworth Street (between Flushing and Park) in Brooklyn, after two suitcases full of body parts was discovered on the sidewalk. According to the Daily News, a homeless man found the suitcases in plastic bags but then screamed, "Call the cops! There's a chopped-up person in the bags!" more ›

It might not flow off the tongue as smoothly as some of their rhymes, but Run-DMC JMJ Way is finally here. The sign is at the intersection of 205th Street and Hollis Avenue in Queens, and you can see some video of the unveiling, which took place yesterday, here. The Daily News reports back from the ceremony, where DJ Run told the gathered crowd, "I lived right down that block," and DMC thanked the neighborhood locals on hand, who he says made them who they were. The late Jam Master Jay's mother was in attendance as well, wearing a shirt with her son's picture on it; she told the crowd, "This is a proud day for my whole family." Reportedly the documentary titled Two Turntables And A Microphone, which "will dissect Jay's death and celebrate his life," will be released later this year (see a preview after the jump). more ›

It's August in a city election year, which means many registered Democrats (and Republicans, but mostly Democrats) are receiving campaign mailings from a candidate basically every day. And this weekend, Manhattan DA candidate Richard Aborn sent out one featuring former Vice President Dick Cheney! Featuring Cheney examining a rifle, the flyer says, "One candidate for district attorney has spent 30 years taking guns out of the hands of criminals"—ha! more ›

The Rev. Al Sharpton will hold a vigil tonight outside police headquarters to support the families of men killed by police, including recent victims Omar Edwards and Shem Walker, as well as Sean Bell, who was killed outside his bachelor party at a Queens strip club in 2006. Sharpton's National Action Network is organizing the vigil. Walker, the most recent victim, was an army veteran who was killed by an undercover cop during a drug sting in Clinton Hill; NYPD sources say the cop had earphones in to keep in touch with his team and didn't hear Walker's demand that he get off his stoop. Cops say Walker kicked the officer in the head and grabbed for his gun in the ensuing scuffle; witnesses insist the cop never identified himself. And in May, Edwards, an officer himself, was killed while chasing a man who had broken into his car. Earlier this month a grand jury declined to indict the officer who fatally shot him. more ›

A Bronx father of three was struck by a car last night in Hunts Point around 11:15 p.m. and is now in critical condition. According to 1010WINS, "Octavio Reyes, 58...was hit after he parked his car and then attempted to cross Bruckner Blvd. on his way home... The vehicle -- described as a black Lincoln Town Car -- was traveling southbound on Bruckner Blvd. when the crash occurred." The car apparently has heavy windshield damage. Police are investigating the hit-and-run and urge anyone with information to contact them. more ›

After part of its ceiling collapsed over two weeks ago, resulting in its closure for the past two weeks, NYC Transit has announced that the West 181st Street station is open at 5 a.m. today for morning rush hour service: "Work over the past weekend was performed by an outside contractor and MTA New York City Transit maintenance personnel to stabilize some additional areas of loose brick and reposition scaffolding to maximize space along the platforms at both 168th Street and 181st Street stations." more ›

• Yankees 8, White Sox 3: Being up six games in the standings has its advantages. They include pitching a starter for only three innings. The Yankees did that with Joba Chamberlain, then got three innings out of Alfredo Aceves en route to a three-game sweep of the White Sox. Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira each went deep. This was a 3-2 game when Phil Hughes got the last out of the seventh, but the Yankees blew it open later. Up next is a road trip to Baltimore and Toronto.

The city added another 1,000 traffic enforcement officers last year, a workforce that has grown over 40% in the last five years, where ticket agents are reportedly racing to dish out tickets in an attempt to earn big bonuses in commission. Yet somehow they still ended up bringing in less revenue in the fiscal year that just ended than in the previous one. The Post reports that revenue from parking tickets dropped almost $30 million this past year (to a measly $595M). A spokesman for the mayor believes it's because more people are beating tickets online. But driver advocates such as Glenn Bolofsky, founder of ticket-beating site parkingticket.com, told the Post, "They just don't have the money. If revenue is down, it's only because individuals and businesses can't afford to pay." Maybe the city could bring in some more dough if they actually took a stand against the rampant traffic violations going on unchecked at major intersections. And no matter how many tickets agents write, we're pretty sure that they're not getting any money from this guy. more ›

Last Friday, author and journalist Lynn Harris published a "Complaint Box" post on CityRoom about how hard it is for pregnant women to find seats on the subway, based on her experience during her two pregnancies and her friends' experiences. She writes that while people are very nice to offer her seats when she's taking the subway with her now-born children, she wonders, "Where were you people when I was pregnant? Oh, right. You were sitting comfortably in your seats. While I stood. In August."

If anyone did give up a seat — which, O.K., did happen, on days when there was a partial eclipse, a unicorn sighting and alternate-side parking suspended, or when I finally started asking for one — the donors appeared in this order of likelihood: (1) older woman, (2) younger woman, (3) minority man. more ›

If not for a five-set loss in the Australian Open final, Roger Federer would be rolling into Flushing Meadows with a chance for a true Grand Slam. But that loss to Rafael Nadal means Federer, who won the French Open and Wimbledon, will be looking for "only" his third major championship of the year and his sixth straight title in Queens. Not bad for a player written off during the American hardcourt season in March. Nadal lost in Paris as the four-time defending champion in the fourth round and didn't even play Wimbledon because of patellar tendinitis in both knees. Since returning earlier this month, he hasn't looked sharp in two hardcourt events in Montreal and Cincinnati. more ›

Queens magician Richie Magic decided to skip past the vaguely creepy vibe that many in his profession put out and go all the way to full-on terrifying for a "trick" he pulled at his Elmhurst shop yesterday. Magic, who changed his name to pursue his dream after working as a corrections officer for 26 years, yesterday celebrated smoking his final cigarette by eating an entire carton in 6 minutes, 3.7 seconds, breaking a previous record. Magic, whose website claims his shows range from "mild to wild" said that his habit had nagged at him since "a lot of kids ask me to mentor them" and the News says he did not want to be "a hypocrite to aspiring magicians and street performers." Richie's wife Barbara (yes, also Magic) also butted out her final smoke yesterday, although she said she couldn't watch her husband's stunt. A 9-year-old girl who recently saw Richie Magic set the record for stuffing 20 lit cigarettes in his mouth in 29 seconds said, "It was cool. But disgusting." more ›

Friends and fans continue to mourn the death of Adam Goldstein, aka DJ AM, who was found dead in his SoHo apartment Friday afternoon. The Daily News and Post are both reporting that police found a half-empty bag of crack underneath his chest. Initial reports mentioned a crack pipe and prescription drugs at the scene—among them the Post now says were bottles of Xanax, painkillers Vicodin and oxycodone and antacid Prilosec. more ›

Another day, another story about Senate Majority Pedro Espada's questionable dealings! Today, the Post reports that Espada has "turned his Bronx nonprofit health center into his own 'cash for clunkers' program when it bought an old, gas-guzzling junker from his eldest son." The charity that runs the Soundview Health Clinics "picked up a 2001 Ford Expedition" with over 175K miles on it from Pedro G. Espada last year (you may remember Pedro G. Espada from this). While spokesman Alexander Fear said it was a good deal, it's unclear why the car was needed—apparently the group "has bought a series of upscale gas-guzzlers, including a Cadillac Deville, a GMC Envoy SUV and luxury Chrysler 300C -- periodically replacing them with newer vehicles." Espada, his son, his daughter-in-law and an employee "convicted of committing fraud for one of his campaigns" all have use of the CCDC's cars. The Post also has an editorial titled "BOSS PEDRO"—"Watch out, Boss Tweed -- here comes Pedro Espada. And from the looks of it, the Bronx up-and-comer just can't wait to claim title to the top spot as New York's most corrupt politician ever." more ›

A Kew Gardens man tried to get a bouncer arrested for roughing him up, but cops ended up booking the accuser when they discovered he was caught on camera inflicting the damage onto himself. The Post reports 34-year-old Khuram Murtaza had been thrown out of Rouge Gentlemen's Club in Maspeth around 1 a.m. Tuesday and called the cops to report he had been beaten up, showing them that his face was bloodied and bruised when they arrived. But bouncers simply showed police surveillance video that revealed Murtaza smashing his own face against a car, cutting his nose. Murtaza was charged with falsely reporting an incident; he had been arrested in Forest Park earlier in the summer for criminal mischief. Reviewers of the club had nothing but good thimgs to say about bouncers, that they remember your name and even look out for you when use the ATM. Regulars also note that Rouge is the spot to go to for "young Russian girls," though some have immigrated so recently that they're "not much in the way of witty conversation." more ›

Unlike most preseason football games, last night’s 27-25 win by the Jets over the Giants was worth the price of admission. The game was close throughout and the Giants came close to tying things up at the end. More importantly, both teams emerged from the game without suffering any significant injuries and that is the problem with the preseason. more ›

While there's still no word on just who was lucky enough to pick up the winning ticket to Friday night's $333 million Mega Millions jackpot in the Bronx (one of two winning tickets), lottery officials did reveal just where it was printed. Fordham Grocery and Convenience Store on Fordham Road will receive a $10,000 prize for selling to the winner, but the only detail they know is that it was a Quick Pick ticket. Store owner Michael Patel said that he sold over 2,000 tickets in the days leading up to the drawing and had his suspicions that the lucky winner may have been a man who bought 200 tickets Friday night. Maybe he's laying low just as MTA worker Aubrey Bryce did for three weeks when he won Mega Millions last month. Patel and his son Bhavesh posed posed for the News with a handwritten sign reading "Winner!! Mega Million Jackpot $166 million here!!" (Take some pride, fellas—round UP.) One local who shops at the store told NY1, "I'm really, really happy. It happened right here at my spot on my block where I play all the time. It could have been me, so God bless them. I won $10, so I'm grateful." more ›

Last night, a woman was injured when an out-of-control van came "skidding" off the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park exit in Queens. According to the Daily News, "the woman, who had come from Virginia to attend a high school reunion, was talking on a cell phone when the van smashed into the parked Toyota she was standing next to, police sources said." A witness told WABC 7, "The white van was on the expressway changing lane to lane and going very fast. For some reason it then turned towards the park, came on the grass, crashed into a blue car then hit one of the girls. She went flying up into the air and then the van just kept going and spinning around, eventually around the tree." The victim, Paula Jimenez, is reportedly in critical condition. The Post reports the driver, Jian Seng He, 49, was "charged with assault, reckless endangerment and leaving the scene of an accident"—he also may have been fleeing from another accident at the time. more ›

Yesterday afternoon, hundreds of people—the AP estimates 1,000—gathered in Times Square to rally for health care reform. And many of those there invoked the memory of late Senator Edward Kennedy in appealing for a single payer system—signs mentioned Kennedy, such as "TeddyCare For All." more ›

For the second weekend in a row, Parks officials did end up going ahead and closing down city beaches along the coasts of Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island due to the residual effects of what was Tropical Storm Danny (yes, they are closed to swimming today, though sunbathing and some surfing is okay). Long Island beachgoers didn't have much better luck with Nassau County shutting down 20 of its beaches and Suffolk following suit with a couple more. Well there's always Orchard! WCBS 2 also says that Suffolk officials discouraged swimming at 64 other spots along the Sound due to "sewage discharges and elevated bacteria levels" that occur sue to storm runoff water. While the storm itself did not create much of a stir, it managed to rough the tides up once again, just a week after Hurricane Bill drew out hordes of surfers looking to catch 10-foot waves. One Mastic Beach resident said, "You feel like you're gonna break your neck or something. The waves are strong, you can feel the current tearing at your feet." more ›

Before Ted Kennedy made his way down to Washington and onto his burial at Arlington National Ceremony, he was bid adieu Friday night by New York's most famous living Kennedy, his niece Caroline. After she and her cousin Robert greeted some of the thousands of visitors at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library, Caroline spoke before the crowd in a tribute to her Uncle Teddy. She described her moment of reflection the night he died saying, "I looked up and there was this one star hanging low in the sky that was just bigger than all the rest and brighter than all the rest. I know it was Jupiter but it was acting a lot like Teddy." Still unable to shake her botched attempt to fill the Senate seat of Hillary Clinton at the beginning of this year, the News introduced her speech by immediately mentioning that her last time in front of the cameras as "a tentative, tongue-tied U.S. Senate hopeful." Yesterday Caroline played a less vocal but still visible trole during the funeral, serving as one of her uncle's pallbearers at his funeral. more ›

• Yankees 10, White Sox 0: Sergio Mitre easily had the best game of his season yesterday, if not his career. Mitre managed to one-hit the White Sox over 6 1/3 innings of work as the Yankees offense pounded Jose Contreras for eight runs. Mitre's fantastic start was cut short after taking a come-backer from A.J. Pierzynski in the right forearm. X-rays on the arm were negative. Chad Gaudin came into the game in relief and didn't allow Chicago to get another hit. Two-run doubles by Jerry Hairston and Johnny Damon in the 2nd inning started the scoring for the Yankees, who added four more runs in the 4th inning when the Sox had two errors. The Yankees go for the series sweep today.
• Cubs 11, Mets 4: Hey, look! The Mets managed to explode for four runs. Too bad the Cubs nearly tripled the Mets output. While the Mets managed to lead the game at two points, the Cubs put themselves ahead for good in the 5th inning when Jake Fox hit a grand slam, chasing starter Bobby Parnell from the game. The Cubs go for the series sweep today.

The 4 train conductor and train operator who were caught allowing a 9-year-old boy into the train's operating car were apparently done in by the same culprit that many New Yorkers have fallen to—a little mishap involving some broken glasses. After initial suspensions, the MTA completed their investigation into the incident last month where a passenger heard the 4 train's announcements sounding a little squeakier than usual, only to be flabbergasted by the sight of the youngster emerging from the operating car. And while the MTA's look into the incident did discover that the boy was in fact in the area that is most definitely off-limits, neither of the two employees who allowed it were fired when it was confirmed that he did not actually operate the train. more ›

The NYC Parks Department selected a new operator for that touristy chestnut, Tavern on Green. By picking Dean Poll, who already runs the Central Park Boathouse, the Parks Department is kicking out the restaurant's current operator Jennifer LeRoy. The Post says Poll's bid (apparently offering to spend $25 million to restore the space) was better than LeRoy's and adds, "Although it had revenues of $36 million in 2008, Tavern paid just 3.5 percent of that amount in rent to the city following a generous contract originally signed by LeRoy's well-known dad, Warner, during the depths of a fiscal crisis in 1973." (Poll pays 16.5% to the Parks Dept. at the Boathouse.) Poll's lease is for 20 years and the NY Times reports that besides updating the plumbing and kitchen facilities, his "proposal calls for an outdoor cafe and bike racks. The Crystal Room, often used for weddings, will be reconceived as a conservatory-style dining space." Plus, there will be two entrances—one for banquet dining and the other for the restaurant and a new bar—in an effort to make it more welcoming to casual dining. Poll also said he wants to keep the union employees. more ›

News about Rep. Charles Rangel's assets—and his problems disclosing them—continues to trickle in. After adding $500,000 in previously undisclosed assets to his 2007 finance report, the Post revealed that he also forgot to disclose the sale of a Harlem townhouse—worth as much as $1.3 million—and also that he "failed to reveal a staggering $3 million in various business transactions over the same period." This, from the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee! more ›

NJ lawmakers are probably happy now: Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi will not be staying at the Libyan government-owned mansion in Englewood, NJ when he comes to the U.S. next month to address the United Nations. Rep. Steve Rothman announced yesterday, "I am very pleased that Moammar Khadafy will apparently not be coming to Englewood," apparently because Gadhafi's visit—which would include a large Bedouin tent—"would have presented unnecessary safety and security issues for the residents of Englewood and the Libyan diplomats." And the public uproar probably helped pressure the Libyan government, too. Instead, the Daily News reports, "Khadafy is expected to seek rooms for himself and his large entourage at one of New York's luxury hotels." Hmm—will he seek a hotel with rooftop space for him to set up the tent? more ›

The NYC Medical Examiner's Office has completed an autopsy of celebrity DJ Adam Goldstein, known as DJ AM, whose body was found in his Soho apartment yesterday afternoon. According to TMZ, "There has been no determination as to the cause of death -- more tests are needed, including toxicology. That could take several weeks to complete." It's suspected that he may have died of a drug overdose, as a crack pipe and numerous prescription drugs were reportedly found near his body. Friends had become concerned when he didn't go to Las Vegas for a gig and called the authorities to Goldstein's $2 million apartment at 210 Lafayette Street (One Kenmare Square). more ›

Police are looking for a man that they believe has committed three sexual assaults this month in Upper Manhattan. NY1 has newly released surveillance video of the man described as in his 30s, 5-feet-9-inches to 6-feet tall with a medium build. His latest attack came last week when he followed a 69-year-old woman into the elevator of her building at 158th Street and Riverside Drive and raped her—robbing her as well. The other two assaults took place in Hamilton Heights over the past few weeks, one also in an elevator at West 144th Street and Convent Avenue and the other in an alleyway at West 148th Street and Broadway. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said, "I would urge women to be particularly aware and alert when they frequent 24-hour shopping locations. We've seen this in the past, where people are lurking outside and following the women from the locations." One woman told NY1, "I have pepper spray on my keychain. I think my dog will let me know before I'm aware that [an attacker's] behind me. And I have something else that I'm not supposed to carry, but I carry it. That's basically it." more ›

George Steinbrenner is being sued by a cable executive claiming that The Boss stole his idea for the YES Network. Bob Gutkowski is suing Steinbrenner for $43 million, claiming that he pitched the idea that the Yankees start their own network back in 1996, six years before YES hit the airwaves. Gutkowski had worked with Steinbrenner while he was president of MSG network, negotiating the historic 12-year, $493.5 million deal to bring the Bombers to cable in 1988. The suit says that The Boss wanted to use the threat of starting a network to get $1 billion for a 10-year extension from MSG, who had been taken over by Cablevision (which had ousted Gutkowski from his former role). Gutkowski claims that Steibrenner said to him and his partners, "You are my guys. If it goes forward, I will do it with you." But Steinbrenner did not "do it" with Gutkowski, instead stalling him and stringing him along, according to the executive. The Yankees have called the suit "false and frivolous" and denied Gutkowski had any role in developing the YES network. more ›

Since Mayor Bloomberg was robbed of his chance to engage in Weiner Wars this election year, he's settling for the next best thing—the Wars! Yesterday on his weekly radio show, Bloomberg was asked about the recent crackdown of illegal vendors outside the Met. Since it was reported that veteran Dan Rossi was taking advantage of a 19th Century law that allowed vets to vend without paying, more veteran have been making their way to Fifth Ave, many employed by vendors who use them to beat the law and allow them to sit idly nearby. The mayor said, "They hire a vet to stand there and [he] has nothing to do with [it]. That's as much fraud [as] minority and women-owned businesses where you just hire somebody that's a minority or woman and say, 'Oh, you're the name person.'" As for Pasang Sherpa, after being evicted from his $600K lease to vend at the Met, Rossi hired him to man his stand after seeing Sherpa crying on the Met stairs. Now Sherpa simply joined in on the "rent-a-vet" system, paying disabled Leo Morris Jr. $100 a day to nap in his car near Sherpa's new cart. more ›

Last night, the Democratic candidates for NYC Public Advocates squared off for a WABC 7-televised debate, and it got good fast: Within 10 minutes, City Councilman Bill de Blasio attacked frontrunner and former Public Advocate Mark Green, "I have to say, with all due respect to Mark Green, he has a little amnesia. He did not stand up to Rudy Giuliani when it mattered most, when Rudy Giuliani wanted to stay on for 90 days at the end of 2001. Mark caved in to him for political reasons.” Green retorted, "There was not any public official in the eight years of Rudy Giuliani who stood up to him more often and more successfully." Green also told moderator Diane Williams, "Diane, let Bill attack me one more time because he needs it emotionally." more ›

The multi-state lottery drawing, Mega Millions, was up to $333 million when last night's drawing occurred—and one of the two winning tickets was sold in the Bronx! The winning numbers: 1-17-31-37-54, and the Mega Ball number was 31. The Daily News reports, "After taxes, the cash payout is estimated at $210.4 million. If no winners emerge, the jackpot will go up to $430 million - the largest lottery payout ever." Lottery ticket sellers wouldn't mind, as bigger jackpots mean more sales; a Lower East Side bodega owner said, "Some people buy $20 and $50 worth of tickets. One guy bought $100 worth today." And Newsday reveals, "Three New Yorkers, including one in Queens and one in the Bronx, hit for the second prize, worth $250,000. They had all five numbers correct, but failed to hit the Mega ball." Late last month, MTA worker Aubrey Boyce revealed he won the July 7 Mega Millions jackpot (he took a $55 million cash lump sum from the $133 million total) three weeks after the drawing. more ›

A Staten Island man may have prevented the rape of a local 15-year-old girl when he heard her screams from inside the woods near his home and immediately raced out wielding a baseball bat. The girl was walking to a friend's house on Cleveland Avenue in Great Kills Thursday night around 9:30 p.m. when she was dragged into the woods by her neck by a man described as a heavyset Hispanic male, about 5-foot-5 and about 200 pounds. The girl said to her attacker, "Please don't rape me," and he responded, "No, don't scream." more ›

Danny has been downgraded from "Tropical Storm" to "Tropical Depression," but it'll still cause dangerous surf this weekend. 1010 WINS reports that "Danny had been mostly absorbed by a low pressure system associated with a cold front over North Carolina," with hurricane specialist Lixion Avila explaining, "We were expecting that that was going to happen sooner or later. It happened a little bit sooner. Basically Danny has been swallowed by the big low." The NYC Parks Department hasn't closed beaches, but warned that "beachgoers [should] exercise caution at all city beaches due to Tropical Storm Danny. Large swells are expected to produce dangerous surf conditions and life-threatening rip currents during the next day or two. The coastal impact may result in temporary restrictions, including requirements that swimmers remain in shallow waters and closures at city beaches during this weekend." (More details here.) And beach-side businesses will be taking another hit this weekend—the manager of the Jones Beach food court said, "It's been exactly like this. It's been like a ghost town." more ›

• Yankees 5 Chicago 2 (10 Innings) The Yankees blew a 2-0 lead, but recovered thanks to a homer from Robinson Cano. Derek Jeter homered to lead off the game and Johnny Damon hit a solo shot in the third to put the Yankees up 2-0. But, C.C. Sabathia tired in the seventh and the White Sox would have taken the lead, if Nick Swisher hadn’t thrown out a runner at home. The game kept going tied at 2 and neither team scored until Cano blasted his three-run homer in the tenth.
• Cubs 5 Mets 2: The Mets’ bullpen blew a very effective start from Patrick Misch. Misch pitched seven strong innings, allowing only one run and five hits. And, thanks to a Fernando Tatis double, he would have earned a win. But, Brian Stokes gave up four runs in the bottom of the seventh and the Mets couldn’t make up the difference. Off the field, the Mets are thinking about letting Jose Reyes have surgery instead of attempting to comeback this season. more ›

Celebrity DJ Adam Goldstein, known as DJ AM, was found dead in his Lafayette Street apartment this afternoon. He was 36. According to TMZ, "Sources tell us he was found in his apartment at around 5:20 PM. We're told drug paraphernalia was found at the scene. Our sources say DJ AM had not been seen or heard from for a few days -- one of his friends went to check on him, but got no response after knocking on his apartment door." more ›

Tomorrow afternoon (at 2 p.m.) Times Square will serve as the stage for a Health Care rally, the NY Times reports. Over 75 "Democratic and health-related groups that support President Obama’s goals for overhauling the health care system" will converge on the Crossroads of the World to get their voices heard. The paper points out that amongst those groups will be the Upper West Side Baby Boomers and "Raising Women’s Voices, a group that mobilizes women as advocates for better health care. They and others want to ensure that any final legislation guarantees that pregnant women will have health insurance." Currently 13% of pregnant women are uninsured, with some insurers classifying pregnancy as a pre-existing condition and declining coverage. CityRoom reports that "midmorning, groups of demonstrators will congregate at sites across the city, including Mary Immaculate Hospital in Queens, which has closed. They will then walk to West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue, where the demonstration will begin." President Obama's website notes that the rally is in tribute of the late Ted Kennedy. more ›

Yesterday we mentioned that there was a car crash—which included an overturned taxi car—at 24th Street and 7th Avenue. Streetsblog has two photographs of the scene and it looks like the crash involved two cabs. Three people were injured, one of them critically, in the 1:45 p.m. incident, but there are no other details about what happened. Well, we can imagine. more ›

Today, a funeral was held for Eric Pagan, the 42-year-old bouncer who was killed while trying to intervene in a dispute outside East Village bar Forbidden City over the weekend. A bartender in the neighborhood told NY1, "Taz was always the protector. I used to work at the bar next door to where he used to work and he was always there if we needed him... Anytime anybody ever needed him, Taz was there. He's such a wonderful guy and he's so missed. Avenue A will never be the same. You walk down the block and expect to see him." We're told that East Village bars Drop Off Service, Planet Rose, Forbidden City, Common Ground, Habibi Lounge, and Superdive will donate 50% of their register on Monday, Aug. 31 (all day and night) to set up a college fund for Pagan's children, a 14-year-old daughter and a 17-year-old son whom he adopted when the boy's mother died. more ›

The Staten Island Advance reports, "A chilling murder-suicide yesterday, capped with a bomb scare, ended a deadly 24 hours on Staten Island that included two more public suicides, each in a borough park, and a fatal motorcycle crash." In the case of the murder suicide, a man called 911 saying, "I shot my wife. Yeah, it was an accident, and I shot the cats too." John Pizon said he would leave his door open for EMT, but when cops arrived to the home in Bulls Head, they found Pizon dead from a gunshot wound to the head; police also found grenade and other firearms in the home (Pizon apparently collected Civil War firearms). On Tuesday night, a retired police officer was found dead, apparently of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, in Great Kills Park and yesterday morning, a 22-year-old man's body was found hanging from a tree in Willowbrook Park. The man who discovered the body in Willowbrook Park was walking his dog, "I saw the waste basket turned up and him, hanging there... I felt sad and scared." more ›

The name Hell's Kitchen, unlike those of Dumbo and SoHo, was not a creation of the real estate world. CityRoom revisits how the push to change the menacing moniker occurred nearly 50 years ago, when three teenagers were stabbed and two were beaten on West 46th Street between 9th and 10th Avenue. Business owners became upset with the press using "Hell's Kitchen" in coverage of the crime and offered the more neutral "Clinton" after the DeWitt Clinton Park. For real estate purposes, Clinton has become more accepted, but does anyone really use it? A 56-year-old told CityRoom, "Anything was better than Hell's Kitchen... But 20 years ago you wouldn’t be asking me this question. Then the streets were filled with hookers and junkies. And I remember. I’m old so I use old name. A new name doesn’t change the place." And a 26-year-old said, "Clinton is a stupid example of gentrification. I’ll never call it that. It’s a name like Hell’s Kitchen that make New York neighborhoods quirky." Google Maps shows Clinton above 42nd Street and Hell's Kitchen below, while Wikipedia sticks with Hell's Kitchen. And the city can't make up its mind: The DOT calls it "Clinton/Hell's Kitchen" while the City Planning office goes with "Clinton." more ›

The Dyckman Farmhouse Museum has been burgled! The NY Post reports that 43 artifacts were stolen when the Parks Department was renovating it, which was reported back in 2007. "City records obtained yesterday reveal an alarming list of period pieces, lavish décor and jewelry stolen when the Parks Department and the nonprofit Historic House Trust hauled belongings out of the Inwood museum for an interior renovation." Some items date back to 1800, some made gold, some adorned with diamonds... and even a family cradle was swiped! The case has now been closed, and the "inconclusive investigation revealed several questionable decisions by the Parks Department, such as giving keys to Dyckman to 'a lot of Parks staffers and personnel over the years' and failing to always lock up." The original home was destroyed during the Revolutionary War, so, we suppose, this too shall pass. more ›

Englewood, NJ Mayor Michael Wildes is stepping up the fight to keep Libyan leader Moammer Gadhafi—and his air-conditioned Bedouin tent—from the estate the Libyan mission to the U.N. owns. Wildes is going to court to file an injunction on the renovation work being done at the estate, "If the U.S. State Department won't shut this down, we will. New Jersey's governor, its two U.S. senators and its U.S. congressmen are all on board on this." more ›

Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada's non-profit (but profitable enough for him to have been paid $460,000 in 2007) Soundview Health Network remains a source of questions from state officials. Earlier this summer, the NY State Comptroller's office yanked a $3 million state grant to the clinic because Espada, on the application form, claimed there were no outstanding tax liens, claims or judgments over $15,000... only there were (the Post says it owes about $1 million in taxes now) and now Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office is investigating whether Espada gave false statements about his business's health. The Times Union also mentions the new investigation "is separate from ongoing probes involving Espada's campaign and the Soundview organization... Cuomo's office is looking into whether Espada improperly benefitted in his successful primary election last year by allegedly using Soundview employees and resources for political activities. Questions about Espada's residency and his failure to file complete campaign disclosures are also under investigation." more ›

Wednesday night a few Russian women were ticketed $250 a piece for swimming past 6 p.m. at Brighton Beach. The Parks security allegedly threatened to jail them and check up on their immigration statuses. While the Parks Dept. told us that "New York State law does not allow you to swim at your own risk," the swimmers (and eyewitnesses) say that the lifeguards never alerted them that the beach was closing, and simply clocked out without getting anyone out of the water. more ›

Just because a bank makes a mistake doesn't mean you get to benefit: A Long Island man was arrested for refusing to give up the $11,270 accidentally deposited into his Capital One account. Newsday reports that Carlos Morales' account was "mistakenly credited"—which really means "A bank teller had erroneously deposited these funds." Morales withdrew the money over a five-month period and Nassau County's Crimes Against Property Squad said even though Capitol One "contacted the defendant on numerous occasions asking the defendant to return the funds," Morales didn't respond. He is now charged with grand larceny. Also, if the ATM "accidentally" gives you more money than it should, report it and return it or you could faces charges. more ›

Ack! There's way too much going on in the weather department. For brevity's sake the activity can be boiled down to one word: rain. Looking at the satellite image above you can see three rainmakers: Tropical Storm Danny off the coast, a bunch of tropical moisture along the East Coast, and a bunch of clouds associated with a cold front that stretches from Michigan down to Texas. more ›

Somehow a simple "dog bites dog" headline has garnered nearly a week of news coverage. Actor Gerard Butler (or his "people" as it were) is refusing to give up any vet records (including a bill) or photos showing his pug Lolita was bit by a Queens couple's greyhound, called Mayfly. The couple says Butler threw their dog against a fence during the incident, and told them it should be "put down." WABC talked to Fred Varecka (Mayfly's owner), and he told them, "[Butler]'s in damage control mode right now to try and protect his image." A few more new details: there were two greyhounds, and Varecka says one of them, "lunged at the pug and barked but my wife had good control of the dogs." When they asked him to leash his pug, Butler walked away and they followed him, and that's when Butler hulked out; "In a matter of seconds he slapped the dogs face, dog went flying up against the fence." more ›

Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries says that there are 65 condominium developments in Brooklyn which are "either financially troubled or on the verge of distress". He said, "There was an irrational exuberance of construction in the area these past few years," and Crain's reports that he's "in the early stages of approaching developers and banks behind some of these properties with a proposal to convert the unsold units into affordable housing." (Apparently it's unrelated to the city's own from-foreclosed- to-affordable-housing push.) The Local has a list of the developments; Curbed notices, "There's some shockers on there, including the blockbuster One Hanson Place conversion." Possibly related: Prices were cut on the remaining units at One Hanson Place ("One of the biggest was a 23 percent price reduction on a 1,500-sf, 2-bed, which went from $1,222,431 to $945,000"). more ›

The National Transportation Safety Board says that the air traffic controller on duty at Teterboro Airport during the crash between a small plane and sightseeing helicopter had a "light" workload and "nothing should have prevented him" from alerting the small plane's pilot about aircraft in his route. The crash, which killed nine people, occurred as the controller were on the telephone, joking about a dead cat. Additionally, the NTSB has made suggestions for air safety over the Hudson River, "including having helicopters and planes fly at separate altitudes" and that "pilots who are to fly in the Hudson River air corridor and around the Statue of Liberty complete a special training course." more ›

At an event where Mayor Michael Bloomberg, alongside the city's Veteran’s Affairs employees and NYC Service participants, helped put together care packages for overseas troops, the mayor was asked about the Wednesday night debate between Democratic mayoral hopefuls City Comptroller Bill Thompson and City Councilman Tony Avella (the two Democrats spent much of the debate attacking the mayor). Bloomberg said he didn't watch the debate but apparently heard about it, suggesting the candidates "wasted an opportunity" in attacking him instead of giving reasons why they would be good for the city, "I'm not going to 'face' either of them... I'm running on a record, and I'm trying to lay out the things that I would do if given another opportunity." more ›

Zach Hyman's latest nude subject is stealing the headlines from him. Today the NY Post talks to the 26-year-old Kathleen Neill, who was charged with public lewdness when she stripped down in the Metropolitan Museum's Hall of Arms and Armor. She wants the prudes in this town to lighten up, and told the paper, "I want people to have the freedom to express themselves. I want the city to drop the charges. I would love to be able to go to museums and see stuff like this happen on any scale." Since it's already legal for women to walk around topless in New York, maybe next year's topless march should focus on the full monty. more ›

Last night, a man crossing Queens Boulevard at 44th Street was hit by an unmarked police car. The Daily News reports witnesses say the pedestrian Evelio Villa, 47, and his girlfriend had the right of way and the car went through a red light—"This guy was flying. He went like a bat out of hell. There was no screeching brakes, no tire marks, nothing." However, a police union source tells the paper that the car from the 109th Precinct had the green light and that Villa was intoxicated (another police source says the car turned on its sirens when it saw Villa). Villa's girlfriend says the car was going slow but actually accelerated as it approached, "I tried to grab him, but by that time he was in the air." Villa is in stable condition at Elmhurst Hospital with a fractured shoulder and the police officer driving the car has not been charged. more ›

The Kennedy family estimates (via Twitter) that 25,000 people paid their respects to Senator Edward Kennedy at the J.F.K. Presidential Library in Boston yesterday. The library was scheduled to close at 11 p.m., but stayed open until 2 a.m. due to the long lines. The family said, "We could not be more grateful for the amazing support. Thank you." more ›

Irving Picard, the trustee in charge of liquidating Ponzi king Bernard Madoff's assets, has asked a judge to define what constitutes investors' losses. Naturally, some investors believe they are owed the inflated (hello, 46%, 950% returns), very fake and non-existent amounts that Madoff listed on their last balances—while Picard thinks they are owed simply what they invested minus withdrawals. The Post reports, "A decision could prove crucial in how Madoff's assets are divided among his victims, because some investors -- whom Picard calls 'net winners' -- might be denied a share if their withdrawals exceeded their investments." The Manhattan Bankruptcy Court will have a hearing about the matter in...February. And we must bring up this December 2008 quote from one burned (Berned) investor: "The point with [Madoff] was that I always got every document. If you get all the documents, you are not suspicious." more ›

Yesterday, Governor Paterson signed a bill that bans texting while driving. Now driver will be prohibited from texting or using electronic devices like iPods and laptops—or else they'll be fined $150; the ban also extends to reading the devices and sending images while the vehicle is moving. Governor Paterson said, "The risks associated with texting while driving are well documented. As we learn more and more about just how dangerous this practice can be, I urge all New Yorkers to drive with caution and get in the habit of putting their cell phones away while driving to protect their own lives and the lives of others." The Elmira-Star Gazette adds, "The new law also includes measures aimed at making teens safer drivers. It requires 30 additional supervised driving hours before new drivers can take a road test and reduces from two to one the number of passengers under 21 allowed in a vehicle with a new driver when a supervising adult is not present." The dangers of texting while driving are the centerpiece of that distressing video from Wales, showing young women in a terrible crash (video after the jump). more ›

• Mets 10 Florida 3: In a season with way too many lows and way too few highs, Thursday’s game was a pleasant diversion. The Mets fell behind 1-0, but took things into control from there, scoring the next eight runs, as they blew out the Marlins and snapped their five-game losing streak. Pagan and Tatis went deep and Redding got the win.
• Texas 7 Yankees 2: A.J. Burnett was perfect early and flawed late as the Yankees lost a series at home for the first time in over two months. Texas jumped on Phil Coke in the seventh to break the game open and New York couldn’t take advantage of the eight walks they drew. Despite the loss, the Yankees remain six-games in front in the AL East.

Who doesn't love a good heroic dog story? Word is that a concerned canine named Max saved an 89-year-old woman in Little Neck last Friday. The pup, who is a neighbor's dog, made a ruckus after finding Tina DiLuca face-first in her garden on a 90-degree-day. His barking caused Maria DiLuca, her daughter, to rush outside. She said, “We live next door to Max and we’re used to hearing him bark. But he didn’t sound right. I looked out the window and I saw my mother laying there. She’s lucky she fell in the dirt and not the concrete.” Currently the 89-year-old woman is recovering from four fractured ribs and a few abrasions in the hospital, and is expected to stay there for a few weeks. Hopefully Max is getting some extra treats and belly scratches at home. more ›

If you thought you were getting your untaxed cigarettes from the Poospatuck tribal reservation this weekend, think again! A federal judge stopped the tribe's sale of untaxed cigarettes to those outside the tribe because NYC complained that people would of course buy untaxed cigarettes instead of taxed ones in the city and that the untaxed cigarette trade leads to bootlegging. The tribe has 30 days to appeal, and they vow to fight it. However, Mayor Bloomberg said, "The city will go after every dollar that is owed to city taxpayers." According to the NY Times, "City officials estimated that the sales deprived the city of $420 million from 2004 to 2008." more ›

Last night the Yankees kept their winning ways going up in The Bronx behind a couple of Bombers who are practically old timers at this point—Andy Pettite and Jorge Posada. The 37-year-old pitcher climbed to third on the team's all-time wins list with 189 (tied with Lefty Gomez) and his 38-year-old battery mate blasted a three-run homer in the first to provide Pettite with all the help he'd need to get the victory. more ›

On August 14, a cab driver struck and killed 8-year-old Axel Pablo who was crossing 112th Street near Lexington Avenue. While some witnesses said the driver was speeding and talking on his cellphone, police investigators reportedly found no evidence of Shaiful Alam being on his phone and did not charge him. Now it turns out that Alam has "an astounding 11 points on his license from July 2007 to July 2008," according to the Post, which adds, "Under state law, a driver with 11 points or more in an 18-month period gets an automatic license suspension. State officials could not immediately determine why that did not happen to Alam." more ›

Author and journalist Dominick Dunne, who died yesterday at age 83, wrote about high-profile crime for Vanity Fair. His interest in the topic—and sympathy for victims—stemmed from his 22-year-old daughter's murder in Los Angeles; her killer, her boyfriend, served less than 3 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter. The NY Times explains that Dunne often said, "I’m sick of being asked to weep for killers. We’ve lost our sense of outrage," and current VF editor Graydon Carter said, "He never pretended to be objective in covering trials. He was always writing from the point of view of the victim because of what happened to his daughter, and he had a riveting way of knowing, almost like Balzac, what to tell the reader when." Carter also described Dunne as "equal parts Walter Winchell, Louella Parsons and Yosemite Sam. He had equal standings in the worlds of society, crime, and journalism, and he fit in well in all three" to the Post. Here's Dunne's VF article, "Justice," covering his daughter's killer's trial. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg was back in court for the third time in three months, giving a three-hour deposition in the second discrimination case he's had to deal with lately—this one brought by the Justice Department after complaints of unfair hiring practices from the Vulcan Society of black firefighters. The Times reports Bloomberg testified that he "did not recall receiving a report more than six years ago warning him about sharp differences in the passing rates between white and minority candidates for firefighter jobs." The mayor was not expected to testify until he went off about the case, unprompted, during his Congressional testimony in support of Sonia Sotomayor. The case may now head to trial this fall to determine if there was intent in the city's alleged negligence. A lawyer for the Vulcans said, “We’ve presented documents to him showing that the proportion of blacks in the Fire Department...is lower than the proportion that was in the Fire Department in the 1990s. (Bloomberg) dismissed that as minor differences — unimportant — at the same time that he said that he and the city have a great interest in expanding diversity." more ›

It's hard to win when you are accused by a 60-something-year-old couple of abusing their dog. But alas, that is the situation actor Gerard Butler is currently in. Yesterday news came out that a greyhound belonging to the couple encountered Butler and his pug on the street. The pug was unleashed, and the greyhound was leashed. more ›

A building in the East 30s—252 East 32nd Street—is being evacuated, apparently due to a parapet wall collapse. The current Department of Buildings complaint notes, "FDNY REQUESTED A STRUCTURAL STABILITY CHECK DUE TO CRACKS IN THE PARAPET" and a category code of "30 BUILDING SHAKING/VIBRATING/STRUCT STABILITY AFFECTED." Update: There's apparently no imminent collapse suspected, but East 32nd Street is still closed. more ›

City Councilwoman Letitia James won't stop til she gets enough ... rejection from the MTA? She's still lobbying for the Hoyt-Schermerhorn subway station to be named after the late King of Pop, or for a plaque to go up recognizing he filmed his video for "Bad" there. She told the Daily News, "The Transit Authority has already said, 'Beat it,' literally" since MTA guidelines prohibit plaques and memorials in subway stations for some reason. As for renaming the station, the organization is still developing the guidelines for station naming rights. Earlier this year, however, the MTA agreed to sell naming rights at Atlantic Avenue-Pacific Street to Bruce Ratner for $4 million (over 20 years). So James wonders, "if the Michael Jackson foundation offered them $10 million for naming rights they'd consider listening." Not that the foundation has offered that, but if they were the MTA should definitely consider it. In the meantime, James is starting a petition drive at the singer's 51st birthday celebration. If you've never seen the full 16-minute version of the Martin Scorsese-directed video, you can watch it here (part 1) and here (part 2). more ›

It couldn't have been scripted better: A cute receptionist helps catch a career criminal—thanks to her deep love for Law & Order: SVU—and then appears on the Today Show and gets props from Detective Olivia Benson herself! more ›

The story of the stand-up comedian being sued for defamation by her Jewish mother-in-law continues to be gobbled up by media outlets across the nation. Both comic Sunda Croonquist and her lawyer husband Mark Zafrin say they were blindsided by Rose Zafrin's suit. The husband whose firm will represent Croonquist told the Post his reaction to the suit was, "What — are you trying to us? My wife's from Paterson!" The black comedienne, whose observational jokes about differences in ethnic customs suddenly became too much for her mother-in-law, says she keeps a kosher house and converted to Judaism (for her marriage, not her career). When asked about the lawsuit by Entertainment Tonight, she said, "I felt sick to my stomach I was sickened. ... I thought maybe a phone call would suffice." She also mentioned to the TV show that she had shows here at Stand-Up NY and Comix this weekend. If this ends up in Judge Judy or Cristina's Court, we think we know who the special guest star will be to mend the parted sea between the two. Croonquist recently revealed that she was inspired her to grab a mic for the first time after being encouraged at a party...by none other than Jackie Mason. more ›

New York investor Hassan Nemazee, whose prolific political fundraising for Democrats like Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Charles Schumer, was released on $25 million bond yesterday. Nemazee is " accused of lying about his assets to obtain a $74 million loan from Citibank." The NY Times further explains, he "orchestrated the fraud by using forged documents showing that he held accounts with collateral worth hundreds of millions of dollars," but the accounts never existed or were closed. Nemazee did end up paying the money back to Citibank on Monday, but was arrested on Tuesday. He is under house arrest—monitoring device plus no computer or Internet access—at his Upper East Side duplex, which the Daily News says is worth $20 million (that plus his $8 million Katonah estate are what's securing his bond). Vice President Joe Biden, Rep. Carolyn Maloney and Sens. Barbara Boxer, Chris Dodd and Schumer told Politico they plan to return his donations. Time has a 2-minute look at Nemazee. more ›

Move over, Clementine Lee, the Parks Department has a new Public Enemy #1: The older Russian women enjoying a swim at Brighton Beach—and yesterday a few of them were handed $250 tickets for cooling off in the water. A tipster writes in: "I guess there's a sign somewhere on the boardwalk that says swimming is not allowed 6 p.m. to 10 a.m., but I never noticed it. It's hot, it's August, and some people have to work during official swim hours." more ›

The South Shore National squad of Staten Island went down to Williamsport and certainly put up a fight in the World Series tournament, but in the end couldn't get the job done against San Antonio in a 4-1 defeat in last night's nationally televised game. Most little league double plays are prompted by careless baserunning by a kid who doesn't know how many outs there are, but San Antonio pulled off three DPs last night simply with their sharp fundamentals. The Texas tweens, who probably get to play all-year round without any real winter to deal with, were able to get themselves out of three separate innings in which South Shore National had loaded up the bases, twice with nobody out. Star lefty pitcher Angelo Navetta (pictured) got banged up and taken out early, not making it out of the 2nd inning. Manager Mike Zaccariello said after, "He just wasn't Angelo." Mayor Bloomberg saluted the Staten Island youngsters, saying he was "impressed by the spirit of the players and the devotion of the parents in the stands." After the defeat, the mayor said, "On behalf of the entire city, I congratulate them on a great season that is the stuff of dreams." more ›

Yesterday, the "Preview Site" for the National September 11 Memorial and Museum opened to the public. The actual memorial won't be ready until the 10th anniversary next year and the museum won't open until 2012, so the Preview Site has photographs, mementos (like an 8-foot Statue of Liberty covered in condolence cards and tributes), videos, models, and more from the day. Monica Iken, whose husband died during the 9/11 attacks, told the Daily News, "This is going to allow people to see what this memorial and museum will look like in the future. It's been difficult, but this is a wonderful day and it makes you realize it's going to happen - we are going to have this wonderful memorial." more ›

If bedbugs in the office are the next city scare, sign us up for bubble living. NY1 got an anonymous tip that "workers on eight floors of the Department of Homeless Services building on Beaver Street have been getting bitten by insects since Monday." But the DHS said, "We immediately began taking corrective action, and are extending it to all premises occupied by DHS. We are aggressively addressing the situation with an expert contractor and building management. No DHS employee has reported bites received from our building." Related: David Letterman doesn't understand what why Mary Louise Parker is so freaked out about bedbugs. more ›

Last night, Democratic mayoral hopefuls City Comptroller Bill Thompson and City Councilman Tony Avella went head to head during a debate that aired on NY1. Only their main target was Mayor Bloomberg, the now-Independent (who is also on the Republican ticket); Thompson railed, "For the last eight years we have had a Republican mayor, Mike Bloomberg, who has focused on Wall Street, big developers and the wealthy. From jobs to housing to education, we need to go down a different path in this city," while Avella said, "The people of this city twice voted for term limits. The message could not have been clearer. And the arrogance, I'm sorry the arrogance of Billionaire Mike Bloomberg to think he's so important that he could overturn the term limits law, I think is disgraceful. I think he should be turned out for that reason alone." more ›

A few more details about yesterday's fatal car crash on the Brooklyn Bridge, which closed inbound lanes for hours. The Daily News has a photograph of the crumpled car and reports, "Investigators believe Andre Donald was traveling from his home in East New York, Brooklyn, just after 4 a.m. when he lost control of his 2008 gray Honda Accord and crashed. The [stationary, yellow] DOT truck, which was unoccupied, sported a flashing electronic arrow meant to alert motorists to its presence... Investigators are not certain what caused Donald to hit the well-marked yellow truck but were checking if he had been drinking in the hours before the accident, police sources said." And WPIX's Linda Church was at the bridge during the accident and said, "This car was literally trashed, the whole first half of it. It was a horrible accident... He somehow hit the back of this big bridge truck with all the yellow arrows. Hard to say how he missed it but clearly he missed it and clearly he was going very fast." more ›

Police have arrested four men in connection with Monday night's shooting of a man found at LaGuardia Airport. The victim, who is in stable condition, was discovered in the taxi holding area between Terminals C and D. According to NY1, "The suspects picked up Cedric Click, 26, of Las Vegas Monday night at the LaGuardia Marriott in Rodriguez's 2008 silver Pathfinder. Once Click entered the car, the suspects allegedly stole $700 in cash, jewelry and other personal items from him. Click was then shot once in the chest when he tried to escape, according to officials." And the whole incident may stem from...drugs. The suspects—three Brooklyn residents and one from Queens— were charged with "second degree attempted murder, first degree assault, criminal possession of a weapon, first degree robbery and criminal use of a firearm." more ›

Plans for Senator Edward Kennedy's funeral services have been made: The Boston Globe reports, "The path of remembrance for Senator Edward M. Kennedy will follow the trail of his celebrated life - from his beloved Hyannis Port to his fallen brother’s presidential library in Dorchester, from the Mission Hill church where Kennedy prayed for his daughter to survive her bout with cancer to Arlington National Cemetery, where he will be buried beside his brothers after losing his own yearlong battle." more ›

While it's a beautiful, almost crisp morning, it seems to confirm what we suspected—it's summer's last hurrah because Tropical Storm Danny—or at least its effects— is headed our way. The American Red Cross has already issued a hurricane alert to Long Island—apparently Danny could become a Category 1 hurricane. Of course, Newsday notes, "Forecasters warn storm-tracking paths are unpredictable. The storm is expected to arrive about 100 miles east of Montauk Point by Saturday night, but the margin of error is 150 miles east or west of that, said meteorologist David Wally at the National Weather Service in Upton." Today's high is expected to be 78 degrees. more ›

• Yankees 9, Rangers 2: Could Red Sox fans actually be cheering for the Yankees? With the Yankees win and Boston's win, the Sox now lead the Rangers in the AL Wild Card by 2.5 games. The Yankees offense started to get going in the 2nd inning against Rangers starter Derek Holland, with Jorge Posada's three-run homer, his 17th of the season. Andy Pettitte, who hasn't lost since July 25th (he has 3 wins in the six-game stretch), pitched seven strong innings allowing only 2 runs. The Yankees added 5 more runs in the 7th inning to put the game well out of reach. With the win, they maintain their 6 game lead over the Red Sox in the AL East.

From NotifyNYC: "Construction crews will conduct an evacuation drill tomorrow August 27, 2009 at the WTC site in Manhattan. The drill will begin at 11:30 AM. Traffic, subways, and PATH will not be disrupted. You may hear a siren during the drill." more ›

A 21-year-old Brooklyn man convicted of kidnapping a young girl was sentenced today to 10 years in prison despite his pleas for "mercy and leniency." Bernard Mutterperl wept before a judge, pleading that he needed help "outside of jail" as punishment for the Mother's Day 2007 incident in Midwood where he followed Xochil Garcia home and grabbed the girl, who was then 11. But the judge fell on the more stringent side of sentencing that could have fallen anywhere from 3 1/2 to 15 years. Garcia, now 13, testified at the trial this spring and spoke again in court today, recounting how she has suffered panic attacks and feared going out alone. She looked at Mutterperl and said, "You messed up my life. Some people want to fight me for no reason. Some people want to be my friend so they can be on TV ... I do not have any real friends now because of this." more ›

As Lincoln Center approaches the final stages of it's revamp, the NY Times gets real with some fountain talk. They report that there will be a new one with choreographed water effects put in place by the firm responsible the Bellagio Hotel outdoor aquatic explosion. Because nothing says Lincoln Center like Las Vegas. One designer at the firm told the paper, "New York is probably extremely nervous about the fountain. They may be expecting something gimmicky." The final "look" will be unveiled on September 30th, and at least one critic has already spoken out, Andrew S. Dolkart, the director of Columbia University' historic preservation program, "said he did not understand why Lincoln Center decided to replace the fountain, designed by Philip Johnson and completed in 1964. 'It' the thing that upsets me most of all about what's happened at Lincoln Center.'" Indeed, replacing an iconic fountain that's been the backdrop in many a film, not to mention weddings and other events that have shaped people's memories, is a little bit mind-boggling. Dolkart adds: "You wouldn't want to tear down Grand Central Terminal because Frank Gehry is going to design a masterpiece in its place." Oh wouldn't we? more ›

Author and journalist Dominick Dunne, who wrote covered high society crime trials and wrote novels about high society crime, died at age 83 in Manhattan. His son Griffin Dunne said the cause was bladder cancer. Dunne was a special correspondent for Vanity Fair, which notes he "famously covered the trials of O. J. Simpson, the Menendez brothers, Michael Skakel, William Kennedy Smith, and Phil Spector, as well as the impeachment of President Bill Clinton... His first article for the magazine appeared in March 1984—an account of the trial of the man who murdered his daughter Dominique. Throughout his life, Dunne was a vocal advocate for victims’ rights." Vanity Fair has an archive of Dunne's articles and profiles; for instance, writing about meeting Claus von Bulow, Dunne observes, "On that May Sunday of the seventh week of his second trial, the Danish society figure was dressed in tight blue jeans and a black leather jacket." more ›

Last night, actress Mary Louise Parker was on Late Show with David Letterman, revealing that she's been worrying about that feared scourge, bedbugs. But Letterman didn't seem very convinced they were a real threat, asking, "Is it that treacherous? Is it that dire?... What's the worst that can happen if you have bedbugs?" Oh, Dave, if you only knew! more ›

Mayor Bloomberg's expansive and record-spending campaign for a third term must be doing its job effectively with the latest poll showing his lead expanding—but damn it if it isn't driving New Yorkers c-razy! The latest Quinnipiac poll shows that 78 percent of New Yorkers have seen the mayor's ads (20% more than last month!), but almost half find them to be "annoying," more than those who see them as "informative." Today's Times has a front page article about Bloomberg's reelection bid being "most meticulous campaign in New York City’s history." The paper goes inside headquarters to find workers "condensing and cataloging (voters) into tiny data points" with workers on hand who speak Farsi and Tagalog among the many languages they cover. Also: "His field team is so persistent that, when volunteers call to solicit voters’ support, some report that they have already been called by the campaign — three times." Despite a Quinnipiac pollster saying "Mayor Mike might be wasting his money on that zillion-dollar TV buy," Bloomberg stretched his lead over Bill Thompson to 50-35%, a five point gain from last month. Maybe people secretly love picturing a Mr. Feeny-like Bloomberg as he's depicted in the spot after the jump. more ›

Fire up the grill, America, it's still summer out there. That pastime is a bit of a tricky one here in New York, however, as Central Park doesn't allow grilling at all, and Prospect Park allows it in only nine designated locations. (For a list of all the designated locations, just in time for the last two weekends of summer, go here.) Now, the Daily News reports that citizens are chafing under the limitations and grilling wherever the hell they want to, and "Illegal grills are firing up all over Prospect Park." more ›

A lawyer for the man arrested for the murder of an East Village bouncer claims that his client Louis Rodriguez is innocent. Rodriguez is accused of shooting Pagan in the face outside the bar Forbidden City after allegedly hitting someone standing on the sidewalk with a van. The Daily News spoke to lawyer Paul Brenner, who said, "An off-duty cop was present. He said Mr. Rodriguez was definitely not involved...My client wasn't there" While Brenner doesn't know the cop's name, he asked the Manhattan's DA office about him. A rep from the DA's office told the News, "We will, of course, investigate all information that comes to our attention, but for now, the charges speak for themselves." A memorial for Pagan has been growing outside Forbidden City and his mother told WCBS 2 that when she found out he was killed, "From there, my heart, my heart, I don't know what happened. From there, I got a pain here, and I - am beat." more ›

Governor Paterson was back at the scene of the crime today, attempting to wipe the slate clean and put the lid on what has been a disastrous campaign on his part of critiquing the "orchestrated" treatment of him from the media and how it illustrates that we are not in a postracial society. Paterson returned to the Errol Louis's radio show where he first made the remarks last week. Today he said, "I was wrong to get into an assessment of how the media views me. I do not think that race has anything to do with my poll numbers anything to do with my political issues in this day, and shouldn’t have said it. Straight out." more ›

Despite their uber cheap ticket prices, Chinatown bus companies are often shredded by complaints from riders for their recklessness and neighborhood residents for their blatant clogging of the area's already congested streets. According to amNewYork, the NYPD has finally stepped in: towing 11 buses and handing out 63 summonses on August 14, 20 and 21. This comes after it was revealed that most bus companies owe an average of $5,600 in fines. One company in particular, New Century Travel, takes the cake owing a whopping $136,387.35. Most of their tickets even date back to July 2007! "It's way overdue...This cannot be a one-time thing," Susan Stetzer, district manager for Manhattan's Community Board 3, said of the towing effort. "They're using public streets as their locations to make money as a private business and on top of it, they're not even paying fines. It's a loss of revenue for the city." The buses have been called "purgatory on wheels," and solutions for their vehicular messes have been thrown around for years now— one of which was creating a terminal to house them— but to no avail. more ›

The Daily News says that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has essentially been turned into a "hotel booking agent" because the State Department is trying to find a suitable place for Libyan leader Moammer Gadhafi to stay—with his air-conditioned Bedouin tent—during his United Nations visit next month. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said, "We are involved in discussions... We, of course, are sensitive to the concerns [of Gadhafi's potential neighbors]. No decision has been made ... regarding where he will stay." more ›

One man took to NY1 after being duped by AEG Live when he bought tickets to one of Paul McCartney's Citi Field concerts this summer. They report that Roger Scholl bought two tickets (at $190 a pop) in the field's B6 section, but that section was moved to a less desirable area after the transaction went through. Scholl explains, "What they did was they took where B6 was supposed to be, where the seats were that we had bought, and on the new seating chart there was a section called B5-1 that had physically taken the location where B6 had originally been." After complaints to both the Mets and AEG, he still ended up in the new B6 area when the show started. The Mets have now told NY1: "The seating plans for the Paul McCartney shows underwent some late adjustments due to changes in the staging and production that affected a small number of seats. The Mets worked diligently with concert promoters and Paul McCartney's management to relocate customers whose views in their estimation were compromised." Though they say the sightlines remained consistent with the price, AEG has given disgruntled customer a refund. more ›

Clearly sick of wasting press conference time disguising the inevitable, Jets' Head Coach Rex Ryan has reportedly given the starting quarterback job to rookie Mark Sanchez. FoxSports broke the news that Ryan told Sanchez and Kellen Clemens this morning before making the decision official at his next press conference this afternoon. Ryan had said early on in camp that he was hoping to avoid any dragged-out controversy by naming his starter for September 13th's season opener before the third preseason game and apparently stuck with that, despite Sanchez looking like a deer in headlights when he stepped onto the field against the tough Ravens' defense Monday night. The Jets' new coach said he would not hesitate in going into the season with a rookie running the huddle after seeing the success Joe Flacco had last year while Ryan was coaching in Baltimore. Other than Sanchez's flashy first pass, neither he nor Clemens have made a clear case for the job in the two exhibitions. But if there's been any general consensus from local media on the SoCal youngster, it's that it must be difficult to say no to this Sex in Spikes. more ›

Today may be the last hot day of a summer with few hot days. A westerly breeze will push the afternoon high into the upper 80s. Tonight, a cold front will move south from Canada, bringing with it a slight chance of a shower or thunderstorm. More importantly, it appears that the front's passage will kill any chance of hot weather for the next couple of weeks. more ›

Jennifer Aniston's co-star (and maybe-beau), Gerard Butler, is back in the news. Last we heard Butler's bodyguard attacked a photographer's car, and now the NY Post reports that the actor allegedly hit a couple's dog late Monday afternoon in LIC. While walking his own pug, Lolita (unleashed!), Butler encountered Fred and Maria Varecka and their greyhound, Mayfly (leashed). When Mayfly went for Lolita (Butler claims taking two bites at her neck), the couple says the actor "slammed Mayfly's head against a fence, screaming, 'That dog should be put down!'" The couple, in their 60s, said the encounter left them shaking, and when they told him he should put a leash on his dog, "he kept on going and going, ranting and raving... He was being verbally abusive." A police report was filed, but no citations have been handed out. Butler's PR spinderella says that he spent the evening at the vet's office, and even shelled out $3,000 for the visit of another family's pet he met there. Meanwhile, Fred Varecka tells the paper, "I thought a lot of him as an actor. And he might still be a good actor. But I don't respect him as a person." No word on whether there will be a ceremonial trashing of their Butler DVDS (Phantom of the Opera and 300). more ›

Peter Cammarano, who resigned as mayor of Hoboken due to accusations that he took $25,000 in bribes during his 21-and-a-half days in office, got a nifty payout from the city: According to the Jersey Journal, "Cammarano received $12,904.04 for his one month as Hoboken mayor, according to city payroll records. Of that $12,904, $4,254.46 of it was paid to Cammarano for his unused vacation days... He was inaugurated on July 1, 2009 and his resignation was effective at noon on Friday, July 31. On his last day in office, Cammarano was paid for half a day. Acting Mayor Dawn Zimmer was sworn in later that day." You know how many unused vacation days? Twelve—he got all of them, they weren't pro-rated or anything! That's super generous of Hoboken. more ›

If a story involves the words "skank" and "ho," an anonymous blogger, a besmirched model, and lawsuits, hell, it can be a Maureen Dowd op-ed column. The imbroglio between model Liksula Cohen and "Skanks in NYC" blogger Rosemary Port—Port wrote that Cohen was a "psychotic, lying, whoring...skank," Cohen successfully sued to have Google give up Port's e-mail address—gives Dowd an opportunity to opine about anonymity on the Internet, "If I read all the vile stuff about me on the Internet, I’d never come to work. I’d scamper off and live my dream of being a cocktail waitress in a militia bar in Wyoming," and dubs the Cohen-Port affair "the Case of the Blond Model and the Malicious Blogger." more ›

In a case that seems suspiciously like a win-win for everybody involved, a Midwood grandmother is suing her stand-up comedian daughter-in-law for "defaming her with racist lies" in her comedy routines. Sunda Croonquist of Paterson does pretty standard comedy club material about her husband Mark Zafrin's family, sharing her experiences as a black woman marrying into a Jewish family, joking that "Jews don't know how to whisper" and having "two kids in two years makes her suicidal, having two kids in one year would make her Orthodox." After years of allegedly enjoying the material, now Ruth Zafrin has apparently taken offense to the barbs she finds "malicious" and "based on hatred towards her." Two other in-laws have signed on as co-plaintiffs and to give the whole affair the ultimate whiff of a hack sitcom pilot, the comedian Croonquist is being represented by her lawyer husband, taking on his mother. Croonquist claims that her in-law and family jokes are not mean-spirited (she also "converted to Judaism" and "keeps a kosher house"), but rather, "natural laugh-getters." In case this all isn't enough free publicity for everyone involved, watch Croonquist's act and decide for yourself after the jump. more ›

The naked truth about the Standard Hotel originally broke on Curbed in early July, and now it's made it all the way to the desk of Brian Williams after getting daily coverage in the New York papers this week. more ›

On Sunday night, a livery cab driver was killed in the Bronx. It turned out that Jose Peña-Segura's suspected killer was a man on parole for attempted murder: Benny Delgado, 31, who was caught while fleeing the scene, "has more than 20 arrests on his rap sheet" and was "released from prison in 2007 after serving 12 years on an attempted murder conviction," according to the Daily News. Now Delgado has allegedly confessed to the murder, saying that he and a friend named Jason called Peña-Segura to exact revenge—a Bronx prosecutor read Delgado's statement, "Jason was upset because Jose's associate took some pills from him but didn't pay. We weren't able to find Jose's associate, so I went after the next person. I told Jose to go to an address that I knew was fake. When we arrived, I shot him in the back of the head." And in the process of questioning, Delgado also admitted to shooting another man (a heroin dealer) in the Bronx, "[John Latigua] said he didn't give a f--- about us dope fiends. I then took out my gun and shot him in the chest." more ›

Oh, Charlie! Rep. Charles Rangel, the powerful Democrat from Harlem who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, has now added "more than $500,000 in previously unreported assets" in an amended 2007 financial report. According to CQ Politics, among the additions are "an account at the Congressional Federal Credit Union worth at least $250,000, an investment account with at least $250,000, land in southern New Jersey and stock in PepsiCo and fast food conglomerate Yum! Brands. None of those investments appeared on the original report, which was filled out by hand and filed in May 2008." more ›

The Real Estate Group of New York released its August data on the Manhattan rental market yesterday, "Renters have been able to take advantage of relatively bargain prices, which continue to significantly lag in year-over-year trends, while this flurry of activity has led to decreasing inventories around Manhattan good news for landlords and property managers." Notably, in non-doorman buildings, rents for studios dropped 8.03% vs. August 2008, while one-bedrooms were down 5.92% and two-bedroms fell 8.24%; in doorman buildings, studios were -7.09% (vs. August 2008), one-bedrooms -10.02% and two-bedroms -6.87%. TREGNY says "we’ve seen some landlords begin to test the market again this month with price increases," but "it seems to us that this is still a gamble unless one truly feels their current inventories can withstand the market’s current volatility." TREGNY's CEO Dan Baum added that landlords want their tenants, "The concessions out there right now are pretty aggressive." more ›

A driver was killed in an accident on the Brooklyn Bridge earlier this morning. According to WCBS 2, "New York City police say the man was driving toward Manhattan when his car collided with a city Department of Transportation dump truck... Police say the truck was equipped with an arrow on top of its cab alerting drivers to work crews on the bridge. It wasn't immediately clear whether the truck was moving or parked during the crash." The driver was pronounced dead at the hospital. Currently, the inbound lanes and the ramp from the eastbound Brooklyn Queens Expressway to the bridge are closed. more ›

Senator Edward Kennedy, scion of the one of America's most famous political families, passed away at home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts late last night. He was 77. His family said, "We’ve lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever... He loved this country and devoted his life to serving it. He always believed that our best days were still ahead, but it’s hard to imagine any of them without him." (Full statement from the family after the jump.) more ›

• Marlins 2, Mets 1: Remember when the Marlins helped spoil the Mets' seasons in 2007 and 2008? Now the Mets can do the same to their National League East rival, but not if they hit as they did Tuesday. They got seven hits -- six singles -- against Sean West and the Marlins bullpen. Nelson Figueroa did well in filling in for Johan Santana -- out for the year with bone chips in his elbow -- but it wasn't enough. Gary Sheffield also left this game with lower back cramps. Oh, and J.J. Putz is done for the year also. What else can go wrong?
• Rangers 10, Yankees 9: With the Yankees cruising atop the American League East, the team can worry about how many days Joba Chamberlain gets between starts. Well, maybe they should consider fewer. Working on 10 days' rest, Chamberlain allowed seven runs on nine hits and took the loss. He also blew a 4-0 first-inning lead. The Yankees did almost come back from a 10-5 deficit in the ninth, but it was not to be. He'll start on normal rest against Chicago on Sunday.
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With the Justice Department's release of a report on the CIA's abuses in overseas prisons and Attorney General Eric Holder's appointment of a special prosecutor to decide whether a full criminal investigation is needed, former Vice President Dick Cheney released a statement. Cheney says having a special prosecutor look into the matter "doubts about this administration’s ability to be responsible for our nation’s security...The people involved deserve our gratitude. They do not deserve to be the targets of political investigations or prosecutions." The AP's assessment of the released documents: "Interrogators took the simulated drowning technique of waterboarding beyond what was authorized. Mock executions were held." Specifically, "In one instance, suspect Abd al-Nashiri, the alleged mastermind of the 2000 USS Cole ship bombing, was hooded and handcuffed and threatened with an unloaded gun and a power drill. The unidentified interrogator also threatened Nashiri's mother and family, implying that they would be sexually abused in front of him, according to the report." Cheney also said, "This intelligence saved lives and prevented terrorist attacks. These detainees also, according to the documents, played a role in nearly every capture of Al Qaeda members and associates since 2002," but Newsweek wonders if the information gained was useful. more ›

Earlier today, a small plane—carrying a flight instructor and a student pilot—crashed at the Rockaway Townsquare Mall parking lot in NJ. The Record reports that plane "[crushed] its nose gear... bringing it within 100 yards of JC Penney. The plane departed from Essex County airport and shortly after takeoff the pilot reported a rough running engine. He then tried to put the plane down in the mall parking lot, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters said." more ›

The very same hotel management that has encouraged guests to let it all hang out in the past, is now changing their tune. Yesterday there was a lot of chatter about the unofficial peep show that High Line visitors have been getting from the Standard's guests. The hotel took down all of their online cheerleading that encouraged such behavior, and today they told the Daily News, "The hotel will make a concerted effort to remind guests of the transparency of the guest room windows," and noting "the hotel has always been sensitive to the concerns of its friends and neighbors." The NY Post talked to some visitors of the park yesterday, who want the show to go on! One man told them, "We saw two feet pressed against the glass in an apparent attempt to get better leverage. Our curiosity is piqued—but it hasn't yet been satisfied. We'll come back." more ›

As if Mets fans needed more bad news: Ace pitcher Johan Santana will needs "minor arthroscopic surgery to clean up bone chips in his left elbow and will miss the remainder of the season," according to MLB.com. Apparently Santana has had some discomfort since spring training—"Though the Mets at one point scheduled an MRI on the elbow, they never proceeded with that test." The Mets expect him to be back in spring training next year; GM Omar Minaya said, "We would all love to see Johan Santana here in September. But I think it's a decision that's a wise decision. We want to see Johan Santana here for the long haul." In a blog post earlier today, before the Mets announced Santana was sitting out for the rest of the season, the Post's Joel Sherman questioned, "The Mets can't play dumb here. Jerry Manuel said that he knew Santana had not been throwing bullpen sessions between starts since sometime before the All-Star break... So, again, how do the Mets let Santana keep pitching in these meaningless games? Where is the logic? Where are the adults?" more ›

After studying four intersections for 38 hours, Transportation Alternatives, the bicycling, walking and public transit advocacy group, has released a report with suggestions for the NYPD on reducing "the most dangerous driving behaviors." Some of the findings: "Traffic law violations occur three times every minute (157 times an hour) per intersection" and "On average, each intersection had 24 Failure to Yield violations per hour. Failure to Yield is the second most frequent human factor in causing motor vehicle crashes." more ›

It's a story that Dick Wolf would approve of: A receptionist helped the cops catch a career criminal by setting aside a paper cup he used—all thanks to the armchair detective knowledge she acquired from watching crime dramas like Law & Order: SVU! Of course, the cops initially declined to take evidence—Detective Eliot Stabler would totally rage out about that. more ›

Dispersing two winning lotto tickets in eight weeks is pretty good PR for your store. The NY Times reports that is exactly what has happened at Shiv Convenience Store in Jamaica, Queens. You may recall that one local won the $133 million jackpot there in July, and this past Sunday another man took home $66,053; both times the machine chose the numbers. Lottery HQ in Schenectady told the paper, "We have 16,000 retailers. When I saw the Shiv Convenience Store, I was like, ‘get out of here.’” In 2007 a similar streak happened at a store in Astoria (but three times in a row). Owner of Shiv, Bharat Patel, says he doesn't buy tickets at his own store because he doesn't want customers to think it's rigged, but he is very enthusiastic when a customer wins. When he discovered this week's winner, he lifted the man (a Popeye's employee who played frequently) off the floor, and screamed, "You won! You won!” Meanwhile, the Lotto is getting a makeover. more ›

To pump her book's release today (!), Sheryl Weinstein dished about her alleged relationship with Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff on Good Morning, America. Weinstein, who claims she met Madoff while she was the CFO of the Hadassah organization, has packaged her "21-year" affair and related loss of savings (she invested all her family's money with him) into the tome Madoff's Other Secret. She told GMA's Chris Cuomo, "He really got into it more emotionally than he expected to. I think he loved me and was very afraid of that type of connection," adding, "I knew instantly that he was attracted to me." more ›

Brand new Jet Mark Sanchez, on the #5 draft pick this year, started his first NFL game last night—a preseason game against the Ravens— and the first moments were ugly. As the NY Times put it, "Early on, Sanchez played at a panic-inducing level. His first pass, short and wobbly after linebacker Ray Lewis knocked him backward, landed in the hands of defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, who rumbled 25 yards into the end zone for a 7-0 lead." (Of course, that was the very defense that Jets coach Rex Ryan helped create as the Raven's former defensive coordinator.) Golden Boy Sanchez did improve as the night went on, but the Jets' other quarterback, Kellen Clemens, did well enough in the 24-23 loss for Ryan to say there was still no decision on who the starting QB would be—the Daily News's QB-meter appears to give a teeny advantage to Sanchez. Sanchez summed up the night, "A great experience. Not the best start on Monday night, but I learned quite a bit." more ›

After Governor Paterson has accused the media of racism as it details his political problems, more and more people are telling Paterson to stop. First it was President Obama—of course Paterson didn't pay any heed to that, later saying, "Part of what I feel is that one very successful minority is permissible, but when you see too many success stories, then some people get nervous,"—and other politicians and commentators. Now it's former NYC mayor David Dinkins, who says, "Definitely he should get off the racist thing. Right or wrong, it’s a fight you sure can’t win." more ›

Mayor Bloomberg, you really won some votes talking about bringing back the Brooklyn trolleys, but you'd really win over the city if you allowed public drinking in parks. The NY Post reports that he recently addressed the no-drinking policy, saying, "I never understood why we don't let you drink in the park." However, he didn't show any signs that he'd be changing the policy, only saying, "We don't let you drink in the park. I mean, you go to watch the Philharmonic, you can't have a bottle of wine." In the past he has suggested that a bottle of wine while watching something akin to the Philharmonic is okay—something that was called out for being a classist sentiment. Recently Marty Markowitz was also supporting a form of drinking in public, after he was spotted with a glass of white on a stoop in Brooklyn (but he wasn't fined, like the Brooklynite drinking a beer was). more ›

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A robbery in transit at 85th St & Jamiaca Ave in Queens, a fatal construction accident on the northbound Throgs Neck Bridge, and a manhole explosion on 133rd St in Manhattan.
• A man was killed in a mid-day shooting at a Chinese restaurant in Queens yesterday. A witness said eight to nine shots were fired.
• A Verizon employee says its field office in Hempstead, Long Island is horrible—there was allegedly a "a 4-foot-high, female, bikini-clad blow-up doll"—and she's suing for sexual and racial discrimination. Verizon denies the charges.

Chrissie Brodigan, the subway rider whose confrontation with a police officer over her sick pug escalated into her arrest and various accusations (hers, witnesses), let us know that her case will be heard in criminal court next month. While two citations issued to her were ruled "invalid" a few weeks ago, there was were still some charges left. Brodigan tells us, "Today, the judge offered me an ACD, Adjourned in Contemplation. Basically, it's an offer that in 6 months the charges, which read 'loud and boisterous,' would be dismissed in 6 months if I would admit guilt." She declined to take the ACD, because then she "would not be allowed to sue the city for the wrongful arrest." The NYPD's Civilian Complaint Review Board is also investigating the matter. more ›

Tonight, on ESPN's 7 p.m. E60 program, former Giants star Plaxico Burress talks publicly about his decision to take a plea deal after accidentally shooting himself in the leg with an unregistered gun at a Manhattan nightclub last November. The deal will send him to prison for two years. Burress says that the security at Midtown's Latin Quarter nightclub knew he was carrying a gun but waved in him in anyway, "It wasn't like I was trying to hide it." He also says, "Like I said, I got myself into a situation and, you know, I gotta deal with the consequences for it." more ›

Yesterday around 4 p.m. word came in on the newswire that there was a "motorcycle down" on, or just before, the Williamsburg Bridge—towards the Manhattan side. Shortly after an update came in saying the accident was fatal. There aren't many details beyond those available yet, but eyewitnesses say the motorcycle was actually a Vespa, and it was hit (and totaled) by a black car. The Vespa driver is the one who died, and URB Magazine reports it was deejay Josh Link (friends are confirming on Twitter). Many witnessed the scene, which has been described as bloody, and one even posted their thoughts on Craigslist, noting that late last night there were burning candles where the crash happened. UPDATE: It has been confirmed that Josh Link was the victim in this sad accident, and services will be held on Long Island tomorrow. more ›

The police arrested a 29-year-old man for the fatal Sunday shooting of Eric Pagan, a bouncer at East Village bar Forbidden City. Louis Rodriguez was arrested yesterday in Gramercy; According to the Daily News, "Police said the quarrel started when Rodriguez rolled up on the club in a white van and accidentally struck bar patron Salvador Moran, 31, as he stood outside with Pagan and Robert Calbo, 30. Moran and Rodriguez started arguing until Rodriguez ended the back-and-forth with gunfire, hitting Moran in the neck." Pagan, who wasn't on duty but would check into the bar even off-duty, was also shot, in the face; Moran and Calbo were injured. Witnesses and surveillance video led cops to Rodriguez, who has previously been in prison for assault. On Sunday night, East Village residents paid their respects to Pagan; EV Grieve has more. more ›

Finally! After nearly a year and a half of speculation, former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani is considering to run for Governor of New York. Now that the top ranks of the NY State Republican party are shuffling, the NY Times reports, "Mr. Giuliani has told associates that he will decide on a candidacy within 30 to 60 days, as he weighs whether he can be elected statewide and what impact another campaign would have on his business interests." Rudy's had talks with various Republicans in state, Democrat- turned-Republican- turned-independent Mayor Bloomberg and Rep. Peter King (R-Long Island)—King told the Times, "Several times, he said to me that he sees state government similar to where New York City was in 1993: out of control. So many people are saying the state can’t be governed, which is what everyone was saying about the city then. In Rudy’s mind, this is a challenge." more ›

On Sunday, an Upper East Side father and daughter were swept up by a huge (some say 20-foot) wave along with other visitors to Acadia National Park in Maine. Clio Dahyun Axilrod, 7, drowned in the water and her body was found a few hours later by the U.S. Coast Guard. Her father Peter Axilrod and a girl from Maine were rescued while four others were able to swim back. Axilrod is in critical condition while his wife has a broken leg after being slammed to the ground by the wave. more ›

After Abdel Baset al Megrahi, convicted for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, was released on "compassionate grounds" and received a "hero's welcome" in his native Libya, the Scottish government has been trying to defend itself from criticism, much of it American (most of the victims were from the U.S.). Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill now says they asked Libya to promise not to throw a big party for al Megrahi, "Assurances had been given by the Libyan government that any return would be dealt with in a low-key and sensitive fashion. It is a matter of great regret that Mr. al-Megrahi was received in such an inappropriate manner." British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is expected to make remarks about the release; he had discussed it with Moammer Gadhafi weeks ago. There's also been suggestion that Britain lobbied for al Megrahi's release in order to gain lucrative oil contracts with Libya—Senator Chuck Schumer said on Meet the Press, "Was there a quid pro quo here? I don't know if that's the truth, but if it is: shame, shame, shame on the British government." more ›

President Obama will re-appoint Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, the Wall Street Journal reports, "opting for continuity in U.S. economic policy despite criticism in Congress of the low-key central banker's frantic efforts to rescue the financial system." White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said, "The president thinks that Ben’s done a great job as Fed chairman, that he has helped the economy through one of the worst experiences since the Great Depression and that he has essentially been pulling the economy back from the brink of what would have been the second Great Depression." more ›

The last column removed from the original World Trade Center building after the September 11, 2001 attacks returned to Ground Zero yesterday. The beam, and its graffiti messages and mementos, was raised up and put in place—it will be part of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. An ironworker told the Daily News, "For this to go up evokes emotion. It shows the rest of the world that even if you knock us down we'll get right back up." more ›

Late last night, a man was shot outside the Delta-United terminal. WABC 7 reports that his body was "discovered" around 11:30 p.m. "near the central taxi hold area for yellow cabs, where several taxi drivers rushed to the man's aid. One called 911, while the shooting victim asked for a driver's cell phone." He was taken to Elmhurst Hospital for surgery and is expected to survive. MyFoxNY says that cops suspect "the victim may have been shot inside a vehicle or off airport property, and then dumped in front of the terminal"—a silver Pathfinder with three armed men reportedly fled the scene. And according to the Daily News, it was a "drug deal gone bad." more ›

Good news for 1 line commuters: The MTA has restored service to Upper Manhattan stations except West 181st Street, where the station is still undergoing repairs after a ceiling collapse. The MTA had suspended service north of West 168th Street and inspected the West 168th Street station yesterday. And it's a good thing the West 168th Street station's ceiling was looked over: CityRoom reports, "The restoration of (nearly) full service comes after a frenzied repair period that revealed additional flaws in a nearby station at 168th Street. Bricks in the vaulted ceiling, which is architecturally similar to the one that collapsed, were labeled as 'areas of concern' by officials, who will close the station again next weekend to fix loose plaster, concrete and brick." Here's shuttle bus and other subway info for commuters who usually use the West 181st Street station. more ›

Phillies 6, Mets 2: Well, at least watching the Mets lose to Philadelphia during the final six weeks of the season is a less painful this year with the team barely having any healthy legs to stand up on, let alone collapse onto. Ryan Howard smacked a three-run home run to left in the top of the first off of Bobby Parnell and the Phillies would never look back in this afternoon's finale of the four-game series at Citi Field. Today's loss puts the Mets 16 1/2 games behind the World Series champs and somehow the news just keeps getting worse. Johan Santana has been scratched from tomorrow's start in Florida with a sore elbow and might be shut down for the season. Billy Wagner made his second appearance today since returning from Tommy John surgery, pitching a scoreless 8th for the Mets. Word is that complications have arisen with the Red Sox' attempt to bring him to Boston off waivers—Wagner wants the Red Sox to agree that they will not pick up his option for next year nor offer him arbitration, leaving him the possibility to sign somewhere where he could end his career as a closer. more ›

Today, the NY Post reported that Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff was "dying of cancer"—according to its sources. And now the federal Bureau of Prisons says the Post's sources are wrong, with a spokeswoman saying, "While the NY Post story is full of inaccuracies, and we can’t specifically address all of them, we can tell you that Bernie Madoff is not terminally ill, and has not been diagnosed with cancer.." However, the Wall Street Journal's Law Blog spoke with a source "familiar with the situation...who reiterated that Madoff does, in fact, have a 'serious' form of cancer, though the source could not confirm that it was life threatening." Of course, the WSJ and Post are both owned by News Corp., so who knows? And now we are left to wonder if the BOP's statement is also referring to Madoff befriending the Native American inmates and visiting the sweat lodge shirtless and hanging out with the "homosexual posse." more ›

Governor Paterson does not appear to be backing down from his comments about racial bias that have brought quite a bit of fire his way since making them Friday. Paterson told the blog The Borrero Report, “I have been quiet for seventeen months on this issue. I played by the rules...Part of what I feel is that one very successful minority is permissible, but when you see too many success stories, then some people get nervous." Paterson once again brought up how much he hates being called "the accidental governor," did not back down on calling out NY1's Dominic Carter for his coverage of the governor's late night out at a Manhattan night club recently and also said that "it seems that I have to work twice as hard as others." And while it was reported over the weekend that an Obama official placed a call to the governor's office asking not to be dragged into Paterson's problems, a spokesman for the president made that explicit today. Obama's spokesman said, "Whether or not race plays into (media coverage of the president), I don't think it is the case. The President doesn't think it is the case." more ›

So about that locked vault that holds controversial books at the Brooklyn Library... the Daily News published a piece by the New York Civil Rights Coalition's executive director, Michael Meyers, chastising the practice of locking up our nation's history—no matter how ugly it can be. The book at the centerpiece is Tintin au Congo, and Meyers says, "we don't need librarians protecting us or our children's wonderment and discovery from 'bad' images and messages in books. Where would such paternalism in the forms of censorship and banishment begin and end? We shouldn't try to hide unpleasant truths from our children. It is historical fact that white racialists colonized Africa, and that explorers and even missionaries thought of black Africans as primitive savages in need of civilizing." Indeed, this history happened and it's not an "Out, out damned spot" sort of scenario where a lock and key will make it disappear. more ›

Last Tuesday, a sudden storm which downed hundreds of trees in city parks, creating what the Parks Department called the worst damage in 30 years. Our own Joe Schumacher visited Central Park and said the devastation was "heartbreaking" and took note of a raccoon who was confused: "The raccoon was disoriented. It went up and down the tree, looking around. It seemed like it didn't know what to do." more ›

The head of the NY State GOP, Joseph Mondello, is stepping down, raising questions about Rudy Giuliani and a possible Rudy run for governor. The pair had a meeting last week and there has been a recent "Draft Rudy" movement. CityRoom reports, "Mr. Mondello’s decision, and Mr. Giuliani’s involvement in it, comes as the latest evidence that the former mayor is seriously considering a run for governor in 2010. Many party officials believe there is little rationale for Mr. Giuliani to get in the weeds of the state party’s political apparatus unless he is serious about running." Ed Cox, son-in-law of Richard Nixon and friend of John McCain, and Niagara County chair Henry Wojtaszek are vying to be the new state GOP head. more ›

The Post says that "two distressed luxury condo buildings -- one in Harlem and another in Downtown Brooklyn -- are in talks with the city to unload their unsold units at fire-sale prices as affordable housing." Hey, if luxury condos can become homeless shelters, why not? While it's unclear which condos are being eyed, apparently the city is negotiating with the banks that foreclosed on the properties. And the city's housing commissioner Rafael Cesetro said the condo developers/banks "would have to take significant losses"—a $500,000 condo could be purchased by the city for $300,000 (plus the developer/bank would get a $50,000 subsidy). Cesetro added that developers were only thinking about the bubble, "Some of the sales assumptions seemed like a stretch in any kind of market. In Downtown Brooklyn, and not on the water, they had buildings underwritten to sell for $800 to $900 a square foot." Will more luxury condos be turned over to the city? more ›

Brooklyn Heights construction worker Robert Keller appeared to be as dead when an out-of-control, drugged-up driver came heading straight for him at 60 mph while at his Far Rockaway work site last Friday. But his life was saved by Ossining's Michael Hudson, the flagman on his crew, who shoved Keller, took the blow of the speeding vehicle along with him and ended up losing a leg in the process. Hudson still has internal bleeding and has just been released from intensive care. Keller tells the Daily News his co-worker was his "guardian angel." Hudson's girlfriend said, "He looked awful, and I didn't know if he was going to make it. I didn't know if he would live to hear me say 'I love you' one last time." As for the woman who admitted to cops that she had smoked crack and was arguing with her passenger before plowing into the construction site near JFK, she is in jail with bail set at $250,000. Yolanda Silvera of Long Island has been charged with second-degree assault, second-degree vehicular assault, second degree reckless endangerment, DWI and other violations. more ›

The Standard is casting more than just a shadow over the High Line, its guests are giving park-goers a full-on peep show. The NY Post reports that many go beyond showing off their naughty bits to passerby—they also have sex, masturbate and even film professional pornos. Heavens to Murgatroyd! Who will save the children? Not hotel management. more ›

In its fall preview, New York magazine has assembled five different people—professors, economists, etc.—to give their thoughts on the future of NYC's economy—and it's helpfully arranged like a weather forecast, from "Those Clouds Still Look Ominous" to "Do I See Some Sun?" Here's a little from "The Storm’s Not Over Yet" prognosis (aka, glass is more half empty) from Independent Budget Office director Ronnie Lowenstein, "We’re expecting the city to lose a total of 250,000 jobs, and we’ve lost about half of that at this point. We are anticipating that we will continue to shed jobs through the second quarter of 2010... The financial sector is continuing to lose jobs, and because that remains the main driver for the local economy, that means nearly all of the other sectors of the local economy are shedding jobs as well. Credit remains very tight, and there’s a huge glut of unsold apartments, and that’s causing construction employment to plummet." Okay, let's just think about how the weather is nicer. more ›

If Governor Paterson wasn't happy with the media's depiction of his job performance before a radio interview Friday connecting it to an "orchestrated" attack from the press related to race, he certainly can't be thrilled that he ended up inviting a whole new round of onslaught from voices throughout the state questioning his competence. more ›

A cold front passed through the region last night and slowly tagging along behind it is some drier air. The dew point temperature has dropped by ten degrees, making venturing outside a whole lot more bearable. The dry air means sun mixed with clouds and a slight chance of late-afternoon showers as the sunlight heats things up to the mid 80s. more ›

City Councilman John Liu is running for Comptroller and, in a TV ad, he says he's worked in a sweat shop with his parents. However, a Daily News reporter wrote yesterday that he never did, based on what Liu's mother told her: Jamy Liu says she never worked in factory, though she did bring home fabric; her sons helped her with and were "paid 25 cents for every ball he spun on a yarn-spinning tool," money that Liu's father Joseph said was "allowance." Liu fired back, with a statement on his website, calling the News piece "gotcha" journalism, "My mom was very reluctant and embarrassed to talk about her experience working in the garment industry," and noted that many sweatshops "including the one my mother worked in - combined factory hours with home-based piece work to maximize the exploitation and squeeze the most out of workers: even after leaving the factory, the work never ends." Today, the News stands firm and wonders why Liu "initially said his mother worked in a sweatshop while her children were 'latchkey' kids. Now he claims she worked at home during the school year, but brought her boys to the factory during the summer." Related: Liu fires shots at Councilman David Yassky when asked by the News to discuss his rivals for the position. more ›

Yesterday, the shooting outside East Village bar Forbidden City, on Avenue A near 13th Street, that left its bouncer dead and two other men injured was apparently spurred from a fight, which bouncer Eric Pagan, 42, had been trying to break up. Pagan actually had the night off but Forbidden City's manager Ron Ancheta said he usually checked in. Ancheta told the Times that when he heard the gunfire around 4:25 a.m., he rushed out, "[Pagan] was laying right in the middle of the street, face up. There were so many witnesses, probably around 10 to 15 people surrounding his body." more ›

Last week, 8-year-old Destiny Antonio survived a seven-story fall from her family's Bronx apartment window at the Castle Hill Houses. Though her window had a guard, her mother Robin Antonio believed the top part of the window might have been faulty, an issue she allegedly complained about to the NYC Housing Authority on a previous occasion. Now the Post reports that the Administration for Children's Service "served Antonio with a court order to produce for interviews the four other children and two grandchildren who live with her. An ACS spokesman said the move is routine procedure whenever there's been a serious accident involving a child." However, Antonio says, "They should be looking at the Housing Authority and their negligence." And little Destiny is still in the hospital in serious condition—she has a broken pelvis, hip and leg. more ›

Hurricane Bill washed out one of the last weekends of the summer for most beachgoers after state parks officials closed down most beaches due to the dangerous conditions brought on by effects of the storm. But when surfers got wind of the fact that sea was foaming like a bottle of beer, they simply told the State Parks Department, "The waves are comin', but we ain't got no fear." Officials said that 2,000 surfers, some from as far as California, showed up at Montauk—the most ever counted out there. And one Long Beach manager told Newsday, "You're supposed to have a pass. The surfers refuse to come out of the water when they're waved in to check their beach passes." more ›

Yesterday morning, a fire broke out in an apartment building in the Fordham section of the Bronx, and when the firefighters responded, there was a car—with an "official NYPD placard issued to cops"— blocking the hydrant. The Post reports "frustrated firefighters had to rely on handheld fire extinguishers to put out the kitchen blaze." Four young children were treated for smoke inhalation at a local hospital—and a cat was given oxygen on the scene! While the FDNY said it wasn't clear whether the hydrant-blocking car was a cop's car, "another fire official at the scene told The Post it was an unmarked police vehicle." Still, a Post photographer who tried to snap a picture of the placard itself "was forced to move away by cops." The car was towed and moved to the 52nd Precinct, probably to keep from the angry neighbors egging it—they told the Post, "Why would you leave your car where people need to get water in case of an emergency?" and "If it was an off-duty cop, he should have known better." more ›

It's been a week and a half since the NY Times published a bitchy review of Manhattan's first J.C. Penney, penned by columnist Cintra Wilson (pictured). She received plenty of unkind words in return for her barrage of insults about the average American woman and her size 12 style. Last week, she declared on her blog that the issue has been "flame-broiled to death" (a nod to the fast food nation she targeted?), but yesterday the Gray Lady gave her a lexical slap on the wrist. more ›

One New York City parrot had an exciting weekend, and the NY Times recounts the tale of the red-tailed macaw. Seems it escaped from an office in Hell's Kitchen while its owner was vacationing, which left an employee's boyfriend, Frank Guido, on a wild bird chase for 26 hours. The paper reports back saying he pounced "from rooftop to windowsill to billboard, in sun and rain," trying to capture it. Finally, yesterday afternoon he trapped it on some scaffolding. The 55-year-old was left to capture the bird on his own because after calling the NYPD, FDNY and Animal Control... no one came to help. He told the Times, “They don’t help. Nobody cares.” The NYCACC suggests that if you lose your pet, you contact the closest shelter—but has no advice listed on their site for an escaped bird that you can't get your hands on. Maybe just take PETA's advice and don't get your hands dirty in the world of exotic animal trade. more ›

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is heading to New York City next month, as he's scheduled to speak at the United Nations on September 23. And he'll also be spending some time in NJ: Because the Libyan Mission to the U.N. owns property in Englewood, NJ, that's where Gadhafi will be setting up his "large air-conditioned tent." more ›

There may be a recession, but Apple products might be nearly recession-proof. According to Bloomberg News, the company's Fifth Avenue store at 59th Street is the highest grossing store along that ritzy part of the street, which includes Tiffany & Co., Harry Winston, and Abercrombie & Fitch. While Apple doesn't disclose store specific data, given that Apple's overall store revenue has increased by 2.5% and other neighboring stores' company revenue has declined 22-30%, the guess is that the Fifth Avenue Apple store has $350 million in annual sales or $35,000 of sales per square foot (per square foot, Tiffany does less than half). Native New Yorkers and tourists alike flock there, and one analyst explained, "Even if [people] are not spending money elsewhere, people are still spending money on technology gadgets. It’s both a need and a want. It fulfills that retail-therapy component." Apple's retail chief Ron Johnson pointed out that the location is open 24/7: "The middle of the night is a really interesting time. It’s the waiters in the restaurants, it’s the actors on the stage. When they’re off work, they may not want to go off to a club or want to go home." He also confirmed that the Upper West Side location will open later this year. more ›

The NY Post reports that Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff is "dying of cancer"—at least according to its sources—and that's why he took the blame for the $65 billion fraud that landed him a 150 year prison sentence. One inmate claims, "He's been taking about 20 pills a day for his cancer. He talks about it all the time. He's not doing very well," but Madoff's lawyer or his wife's lawyer haven't commented. Additionally, prison sources say that he's "participating in Native American religious purification ceremonies held at an on-grounds 'sweat lodge'" (while shirtless!), "making new friends at the prison complex through another unlikely clique -- the homosexual posse, although the relationships are purely platonic," and being recruited to various gangs at Butner Correctional Complex. Still, one inmate questioned some of Madoff's thinking, "In prison, you stick to your own kind, but he's doing the exact opposite by hanging with the Indians and [homosexuals] -- so who is going to have his back?" more ›

• Yankees 8, Red Sox 4: Five home runs off Josh Beckett powered the Yankees to a win in this rubber game. They reclaimed a 7 1/2-game lead in the American League East. CC Sabathia pitched 6 2/3 innings, striking out eight and walking none. If not for some shaky defense, his four-run (three earned) line would have looked a lot better. For the second time in three nights, Hideki Matsui went deep twice. Apparently he likes the long ball more than countryman Ichiro Suzuki.

• Phillies 9, Mets 7: Another Mets loss, another crazy way for it to happen. After pulling to within two and getting the potential winning run to the plate, the Mets sent the runners and saw Jeff Francoeur hit into an unassisted triple play. That's the second time in Major League history such a sequence ended a game, and the first since 1927. The late-game action almost overshadowed Pedro Martinez's return -- the righty got cheered -- or Oliver Perez's latest debacle -- the lefty got pulled midcount after giving up six runs and getting just two outs in the first inning. The teams finish a four-game series Monday in a matinee. The Mets are now 10 games under .500.
• Red Bulls 3, FC Dallas 2: Red Bulls win! Red Bulls win! Juan Pablo Angel scored twice, including with two minutes remaining. Richie Williams, the interim head coach, got a win in his debut. Maybe the coach was the whole problem.

No one likes bedbugs—except maybe bedbug exterminators who make bank for (hopefully) getting rid of the bedbugs—and it turns out, shocker of all shockers, that potential buyers don't like them either! The NY Times' real estate section has a big article on the effects of bedbugs on deals and opens with an example of an "elegant two-bedroom co-op in an Upper East Side prewar building had drifted on the market for nine months by the time the first-time buyers laid eyes on it this spring." The buyers loved it, especially when they could get it for $50,000 less at $625,000. But then, in their "due diligence" phase, their lawyer said, "The [co-op board] minutes referenced multiple attempts to exterminate bedbugs in the building." Oh, crap. more ›

While Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan is still trying to figure out who will run the huddle come the season opener, Sunday Styles checks in with the real quarterback controversy in town—could Mark Sanchez become the sex symbol that Joe Namath once was in the sixties? The Times says that the Jet rookie is "arguably even better looking" than Broadway Joe. Madison Avenue appears eager to dig its claws into the 22-year-old—how long will it be before he becomes a friend of the mocha frap the way Joe once had an old pal in Ovaltine? But advertisers aren't the only ones who wanna get their paws on the gunslinger who's already done a topless GQ spread and is known to friends as "Dirty Sanchez." The Post says, “Walking sex has a new name. The succulent Sanchez is bona fide cougar bait.” The Times thinks that Sanchez could be in Tom Brady Territory in terms of how his appeal sizes up with the current crop of quarterbacks, adding, "Michael Vick could have had it, but glamour cannot abide dogfighting." more ›

One day, you're anonymously trashing a woman who badmouthed you to your boyfriend. Months later, because the woman is upset about being called a "psychotic, lying, whoring..skank," your identity has given up by Google! Unmasked Skanks in NYC blogger Rosemary Port tells the Daily News about her planned $15 million suit against Google (her website was on Google-owned Blogger), "When I was being defended by attorneys for Google, I thought my right to privacy was being protected. But that right fell through the cracks. Without any warning, I was put on a silver platter for the press to attack me. I would think that a multi-billion dollar conglomerate would protect the rights of all its users." more ›

On Friday, a Sun County flight to Minnesota from JFK Airport—usually a 2 1/2 hour journey—was stuck on the tarmac for six hours before take off—and now Senator Chuck Schumer and NY State Assemblyman Michael Gianaris want the U.S. government to pass the passenger bill of rights. Reports say that the flight was supposed to take off at 11 a.m., but boarding only started at noon and it didn't take off until 6 p.m.: "Sun County chief executive Stan Gadek said in a statement the airline regretted the delay and would issue refunds. Adding to the frustration, passengers said the flight crew brought out the food cart after three hours, but passengers had to pay for the items." One passenger said, "I was sitting in the 17th row, and all the food was gone." Earlier this month, a Continental Express flight sat on a Rochester, Minnesota tarmac for almost six hours—and overnight (it "smelled like diapers. It had no food and a full toilet")—prompting a Department of Transportation investigation. more ›

An off-duty firefighter got called into action Friday night when he ended up pulling a Wes Autrey and jumping down on the tracks to rescue a man who had fainted and was laying unconscious on the tracks just as an uptown Q train began pulling into the Union Square station. 30-year-old Adam Rivera, originally of Bay Ridge, had been out in the East Village getting Indian food with his girlfriend to celebrate their seventh anniversary. The couple was heading home to the Upper West Side when Rivera spotted 45-year-old Marco Delamo on the tracks. The firefighter out of Engine 10 in lower Manhattan told reporters, "People were panicking, but nobody was doing anything...I thought to myself, 'This is my job — I'm a New York City firefighter, and I have to do something...There was no time to be afraid. You can't waste time hesitating. You just move, and the thinking stops...Being right there in a position to help — that's why I joined the department." Rivera and two other men lifted Delamo to the platform before he was taken to St. Vincent's intensive care with head injuries. more ›

If Governor Paterson expected to look up after his comments Friday that we are not living in a "postracial period" and found a reaction of one person daring to applaud his nobility, building slowly toward a standing ovation, then he was sadly disappointed with the reality of the actual response. After the governor went on the radio and claimed that the media was orchestrating his perceived failure and that President Obama would be the next target, everyone seemed to respond with a "not quite, Dave," including reps for the president himself. more ›

Newsday reports that Nassau District Judge Rhonda Fischer reiterated that "she will permit a defense expert witness, a psychiatrist, to testify at trial that a withdrawal from Zoloft, a widely prescribed antidepressant, could cause a person to become hostile and aggressive." On trial is Brandon Hampson, whose defense attorney says his client's Zoloft withdrawal was a "contributing factor—if not directly responsible" for his actions. Hampson allegedly tackled and then kicked his then-girlfriend in the head, face and back two years ago; defense attorney Eric Bernstein said, "This is not a joke or gimmick-type defense. This is very serious, very legitimate and is going to get a lot of traction. You're going to be seeing more of this, because it's real." (Hampson was convicted of assaulting another former girlfriend in 1995 and prosecutors say there's no evidence of him taking Zoloft back then.) The prosecution, which objected to allowing the Zoloft defense and the defense witness supporting it, has a Massachusetts psychiatrist ready to testify that the drug doesn't cause violence—and Zoloft maker Pfizer is paying the doctor $7,500 a day to testify. more ›

Around 4:30 a.m. today, a shooting broke out on Avenue A and East 13th Street—a total of three men were shot, and one was killed. According to 1010 WINS, "All three of the unidentified men were rushed to Bellevue Hospital where one of them was pronounced dead. The other two were listed in stable condition." It's unclear what caused the shooting, which occurred just south of Stuyvesant Town, and the investigation is ongoing. 1010WINS adds that East Village residents told "reporter Glenn Schuck, that they are upset the bars and clubs in the area stay open so late." Update: The Daily News reports that the shooting occurred outside the bar Forbidden City and that the bouncer was killed after throwing two men out: "The men, who continued to fight with another group as they exited the night spot, hopped into a waiting white van and one of them reemerged a moment later brandishing a handgun, horrified witnesses said." One witness elaborated that a man got out of the vehicle and "popped one guy. He then walked around another car, went straight up to [the bouncer] and capped him point blank in the forehead." more ›

Citi Field has paid tribute to the legacy of Ebbets Field and to the Beatles' invasion of Shea Stadium. Yesterday they got around to remembering one of the greatest squads put together by the actual team that calls the stadium home, honoring the 1969 Miracle Mets. The franchise's first World Series champions were honored in a ceremony before yesterday's game against the Phillies. It was the first time that Nolan Ryan joined in any '69 festivities, as the News notes wearing his Mets No. 30 jersey for the first time in 38 years. more ›

A Bronx dad had to literally stomp a Husky off his toddler son as the boy was being brutally attacked by the dog more than twice his size while the pooch's owner idly watched nearby. 32-year-old Jeremiah Kendall tells the Daily News how he briefly took his eyes off of his 3-year-old son Kamrin Thursday night around 9 while in front of their Hunts Point home, only to turn around and see the 120-pound unleashed white Husky on him. He says, "My son's face was full of blood. I saw cuts on his eyes, face and nose." The older Kendall had to jump in, kicking the dog and even punching it in the face to get it off of his son. Animal control ended up putting the dog down, while its owner, 23-year-old Louis Delez, is facing charges for reckless endangerment. The News has a heartbreaking photo of young Kamrin as he recovers at Lincoln Hospital. Mr. Kendall did not sound too thrilled with Delez, telling the paper, "He was closer to the dog than me. I'm upset he didn't do anything." more ›

Early yesterday morning, a fight broke out on a party yacht at the South Street Seaport and spilled onto land, leading to a man being killed in a parking lot. Now more details have emerged: The ship's co-owner told the Daily News, "I've heard 20 different versions for how this started, and they all start the same, that it was over a woman." more ›

Though Hurricane Bill is weakening and spinning away from New England's coastline, nearby beaches were still closed, due to rip current threats and flooding. While NYC preemptively closed most city beaches on Friday, Long Island and NJ beaches weren't closed until yesterday. NYC beachgoers were threatened with tickets if they tried to approach the water while Long Island's Robert Moses Beach had to be closed—a state parks spokesman told Newsday, "The entire sand part of the park is under water" (the beach did reopen later for sunbathing). In NJ's Ocean Grove, lifeguards told the Star-Ledger, "We're only allowing surfers that seem competent. We've had pretty bad rip currents," but one in Ocean City told WCBS 2, "People are walking and it's ankle deep and get swept out because ankle deep goes to knee deep goes to chest deep." more ›

Round Two of the NYPD's smackdown on drivers using cell phones for phone calls, texting and emails fell short of the over 9,000 tickets that went out during March's one-day sting. But the city almost certainly cracked the seven-figure mark once again during Thursday's 24-hour ticket blitz, issuing 7,432 tickets at $130 a piece ($200 for cab drivers). Could a 15% drop mean that New Yorker drivers have begun to curb their cellphone usage? Or are they just paying closer attention when the NYPD publicly alerts them to the fact that thirteen times as many tickets will be given out that day? A Daily News writer gives a account of getting nailed for using her Blackberry while driving by Ground Zero on Thursday, taking us through the play-by-play of what getting a ticket is like: "I handed over my license and registration, sat patiently for a few minutes, then took my lumps without saying a word." more ›

• Red Sox 14, Yankees 1: A.J. Burnett didn't have it. If that wasn't clear after the Red Sox scored three runs in the first, it became clear when Alex Gonzalez poked one out over the Green Monster in the second. Kevin Youkilis also went deep -- twice -- as Boston snapped a five-game losing streak against New York, which still leads the American League East by 6 1/2 games. When all was said and done, Burnett allowed nine runs in five innings, striking out six and walking two. Nick Swisher's homer accounted for the lone Yankees run. CC Sabathia and Josh Beckett square off Sunday night in the rubber game.
• Phillies 4, Mets 1: One night after getting to Cole Hamels, the Mets were shut down by J.A. Happ after celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1969 championship team. Alas, no miracle appears in store for these Mets, who wasted five scoreless innings from Tim Redding and blew a 1-0 lead. Six relievers combined to give up four runs. Pedro Martinez returns to Queens to start Sunday afternoon's game.
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Police have identified a subway mugger who has pulled off a total of 13 robberies, including ones in each of the four boroughs the trains run in. Police are hunting for Rasheen Wallace (pictured), a career criminal who has 18 prior arrests for petit larceny, trespass, possession of marijuana and served 8 years for robbery. Police describe him as "a smooth operator" who isolates his victims, sometimes targeting them in the last car and near the end of the line. Ten of the thirteen robberies in the spree that began early this year have targeted women, including one in Inwood where Wallace punched a woman the face when she refused to give up her purse. Another 27-year-old woman robbed in Washington Heights tells the News, "It was just me and another guy in the car. The next thing I know, there was a knife in my stomach...I don't feel safe. I'm thinking of taking a karate class." The Post has a map of the robbery locations and describes Wallace as wearing a Boston Red Sox cap. more ›

Plaxico Burress is getting ready to for his two-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to gun charges by hiring a consultant to help him maximize his time while under medium-security supervision. His lawyer Benjamin Brafman yesterday told the Post, "We are consulting with an expert in the field who will address and advise us, Mr. Burress and his family, on what to expect while incarcerated, and how to use his period of confinement as productively as possible." Michael Vick recently said he was in "the best shape of my life" after being released from two years behind bars and signing with the Eagles. A Corrections spokeswoman said, "Due to his notoriety, there is a potential that he would be placed in protective custody. And those guys are held in single cells, with the exception of a shower, a visit, a medical visit. You're only out of your cell for eight hours a day." Corrections officials will likely be reminding their guards (and chaplains) to avoid any "Foxy Brown-style" celebrity treatment for Plax. Yesterday on his radio show, Mayor Bloomberg said he was satisfied to hear that the football star will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. more ›

With the Scottish government's release of convicted Lockerbie bomber Aldel Baset al Megrahi on compassionate grounds (al Megrahi has terminal prostate cancer), anger over his freedom and the his "hero's welcome" in Libya simmered in the U.S., the home of many of the bombing's victims. Victims' families are planning a September 23 protest, which is when Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is to give a speech at the United Nations. The Daily News said that after al Megrahi's return, "The Libyans dialed back on the displays of adoration Friday after the world reacted with disgust to the hero's welcome," but still, Senator Charles Schumer wants the U.N. to condemn the celebration. In the meantime, questions about the British government's interest in al Megrahi's release continued; the NY Times reports, "Lord Trefgarne, chairman of the Libyan British Business Council, said Mr. Megrahi’s release had opened the way for Britain’s leading oil companies to pursue multibillion-dollar oil contracts with Libya, which had demanded Mr. Megrahi’s return in talks with British officials and business executives." more ›

A teenager in Brooklyn was gunned down while walking home from a party just after midnight last night. 15-year-old Craig Shelton was preparing to be a sophomore at Metropolitan High School and recently learned he was expecting his first child with 17-year-old girlfriend Tania Moore. Friends say Shelton was not feeling well when he left the East New York party around midnight and was shot multiple times across the street on Euclid Avenue. Shelton was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting; police did not offer any motive or say that they had any suspects. His grandmother said, "He was a good boy. He never got into any trouble." And the four-months pregnant Moore told the News, "I don't know what I'll ever say when the time comes, when our baby asks where their daddy is." more ›

Sean Lynde pleaded not guilty to charges that he killed and/or tortured his ex-girlfriend's six cats over a four month period last year. Lynde, who is out on $5,000 bail, told the Post, "There are two sides to every story. Right now, we are hearing just one incredibly distorted one." more ›

Since 2008, the Library of Congress has been putting photos from its collections onto flickr to share them with a broader audience. The catalog covers a wide range of topics, but we decided to look through their New York baseball related photos. Photos include the New York Giants, Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Highlanders/Yankees. Here are a few of our favorites from the online collection. more ›

An NYPD officer has been suspended without pay after being charged with roughing up his girlfriend earlier this week. 24-year-old Roberto Pagan was arraigned yesterday after the altercation took place Wednesday night at Hylan Boulevard and Tysens Lane in the New Dorp section of Staten Island. A source tells the SI Advance that at around 8:30, Pagan and his girlfriend "exchanged heated words over what he was texting" before he then allegedly began choking her and punched her in the eye. Pagan is relatively new to the force, having been on for around 18 months. At his arraignment for misdemeanor charges of assault and attempted assault, a judge ordered that the Graniteville native turn over all firearms—including his his police weapon. His girlfriend was treated for bruises at Staten Island Hospital before being released more ›

If Thor Equities was hoping to win over public opinion, we're not sure this is the way to go: The developer which owns the land where Dreamland Amusement Park sits (the former Astroland site) has shut down the amusement, claiming non-payment of rent. Thor spokesman Stefan Friedman tells the Post that Dreamland has only paid $30,000—and owes $600,000, "We are hopeful that Dreamland will soon pay its rent, so it can quickly reopen the rides." But Dreamland president Anthony Raffaele told NY1 he has been paying rent, "First of all they came down here, they quadrupled everybody's rent in Coney Island. Nobody in Coney Island can pay their rent now. And now they come down here and cut all the locks. Why'd they wait till now, if I haven't been paying the rent, it's two weeks away from the end of the season." City Councilman Domenic Recchia criticized Thor owner Joseph Sitt as "a heartless person who only cares about money." more ›

With sources saying that Governor Paterson is having his first real doubts about whether he will actually go through with an election campaign next year despite such abysmal poll numbers, the governor lashed out at how he's been lambasted in the press, claiming that the movement to push him out has been "orchestrated" and is racially motivated. more ›

A Harlem flower shop known for catering to the romantic bliss of its high-profile clientele was the scene of a stabbing yesterday when a man became enraged at facing a former love that had shriveled up. 33-year-old Jimmy Martinez spotted his former lover and her new flame outside Pollen Nation on East 125th Street. Martinez came at the pair wielding scissors and, according to the News, dragged his ex inside, locking the door of the store that provided arrangements for Jay-Z and Beyonce's wedding. Inside the shop, Martinez began beating the woman and said to the florist working, "You're gonna have to die — because you're gonna watch me kill her." Witnesses then saw Martinez bust out of Pollen Nation's back door chasing after the new stamen in her life, where the pair of men hopped over a barbed-wire fence and ran through the back door of a nearby apartment. Police eventually caught up with Martinez and arrested him on assault charges, telling the News, "We just followed the trail of blood." more ›

Besides, the fun of being spooked by dark, looming clouds overhead—and taking photographs of said apocalyptic clouds—another advantage to storms is that they often bring lovely sunsets afterwards. Here are some photographs of last night's sun sayonaras. more ›

Early this morning, a fight turned deadly and one man was fatally shot at the South Street Seaport in lower Manhattan. The incident occurred around 4:30 a.m.—the AP reports, "Police say an argument escalated into bottle-throwing and gunshots... A 31-year-old man was shot in the head and died at the scene... Police couldn't immediately say how many people were involved or what they were doing at the complex. Much of it closes at 9 p.m. on Fridays, though eateries and bars are open later." No arrests have been made and the police investigation is ongoing. Update: According to the Daily News, the "fight erupted as dozens of people left a party boat called the Atlantica Yacht"—it started on the boat and continued into a parking lot. more ›

More 1 train riders will have to deal with the fun of shuttle buses, because the MTA is closing the West 168th, 157th, and 145th Street stations from midnight on Sunday till 5 a.m. Monday—and the Post said the closing could last "possibly longer." Why? Because the MTA wants to inspect the ceiling at 168th Street which is very similar to West 181st, where a chunk of the ceiling collapsed earlier this week, sending subway riders north of West 168th into shuttle bus hell. So, if the inspection is at 168th Street, why are 157th and 145th stations closing? The MTA explains, "Trains can reverse direction only at locations where there are track switches, this inspection will necessitate the lengthening of the bus shuttle south to 137th Street," where free shuttle bus service is available to Dyckman Street—more details here. more ›

• Yankees 20, Red Sox 11: Entering Fenway Park with a 6 1/2-game lead, the Yankees' main goal should have been to avoid a sweep. They did just that by pouring it on against Brad Penny and a host of Red Sox pitchers. Every spot in the order had a hit, an RBI and a run scored, though Johnny Damon left the game after fouling a ball off his knee and striking out. The Yankees will have A.J. Burnett and CC Sabathia the next two days as they try to put even more space between them and their rivals. Believe it or not, this was the Yankees' first win at Fenway this season.

Hey everyone, we forgot that the Apocalypse was scheduled for today. Strollers are being frantically pushed to safety in Park Slope, the sky appears divided from the UWS, and things aren't looking so good for the commute home. Sadly, the clouds popping up are more threatening than the gorgeous mammatus clouds we saw earlier this summer. Send us your photos before it all goes down! more ›

Don't want to risk sleeping in JFK to wait for your flight? Screw the man, pilot your own damn flight. Last Sunday evening a "wingnut pilot" flew into JFK airport, where he briefly landed in the cargo area of a Brazilian airline and took off again before he could be arrested. One pilot waiting to get off the ground reported to a controller "Looks like some guy on a parachute -- pretty stupid." Steve Abraham of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association agreed, saying "If you're a paraglider or using a home-built airplane, you're pretty stupid flying near there." Gizmodo even got some audio of the pilot (sounding uncomfortably nonchalant) who first spotted him. NYPD helicopters were dispatched but could not find the contraption's pilot, but warned pilots to be on the look out for a "kite." Motorized paragliding (or "paramotoring") is a form of paragliding where the pilot wears a motor on his or her back, and requires no license or specific training. Maybe he was just trying to chase away the Jackrabbits. more ›

The Natural Resources Defense Council's New York Urban Program Director Eric Goldstein (that's a mouthful) has gone undercover to see what Manhattan retail stores are blasting their air conditioning with open doors to lure the customer inside. This is illegal, of course, and as Goldstein points out, while "the issue isn't tops on the national environmental agenda... it does serve as something of a symbol of shameless wasting of fossil fuels by some of our fellow citizens." more ›

The toll for trees lost in Tuesday's sudden thunderstorm now stands at 500, at least. The NY Times watched the Parks Department's "arboreal trauma team [fan] out through the hardest-hit sections of Central Park and Riverside Park, mapping the devastation for hard decisions ahead"—as in, whether trees will have to be taken down. Several hundred trees were downed in Central Park; "Riverside Park lost 65, Randalls Island lost 35, Thomas Jefferson Park in East Harlem, 3." Trees planted decades ago—Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said two buckeyes, damaged from the store, were probably from the 1920s or 1930s, "but we won’t know until the ring count"—are lost and are being mulched. The Parks Department replace them soon and Benepe said, "Our grandchildren will get to see them." more ›

Mayor Bloomberg was on John Gambling's radio show this morning for their weekly chat, and the discussion turned to health care. Bloomberg said, "You know, last time I checked, pharmaceutical companies don't make a lot of money, their executives don't make a lot of money -- not that they couldn't be better." What you talking about, Willis? We suppose they don't make much next to Bloomberg, the richest man in NYC, but still. Which gave City Comptroller Thompson's campaign the opportunity to send a press release listing the salaries of the top-earning executives (#1 made $33 million, #17 made over $3 million) and to say, "Once again Mike proves that he just doesn’t get it." But then during a commercial break, Bloomberg revised his remarks, “I looked up the top pay of some of these executives in big pharma; some of them are making a lot of money... some of them are making a decent amount of—more than a decent amount of money.” more ›

A 36-year-old graphic designer turned himself into the ASPCA today, after being accused being a serial killer of his girlfriend's cats. The Post reports that Sean Lynde "faces felony animal cruelty charges and a slew of misdemeanors" over the six deaths and the Daily News has details about the alleged killings and the cover-up: more ›

The parents of a 10-year-old Bronx boy who was killed by an allegedly speeding van while riding his bike are suing the city for $10 million for failing to install a speed bump. 10-year-old Michael Needham was riding his bike with friends outside the Allerton Library after school on June 5th, 2008 when the van struck him; he died after 19 days in a coma. The suit, filed Tuesday in Bronx Supreme Court, argues that the city should have known that drivers near the Allerton Library "regularly exceeded the speed limit, failed to obey stop signs, raced to make traffic lights and otherwise operated their vehicles in dangerous and unlawful manners." more ›

While the rest of us were watching Lindsay Lohan give the new Project Runway contestants the up-down, she was right here in NYC losing her mind at Mott Corner Deli. TMZ reports that the actress/singer/part-time lesbian "went ballistic last night after she 'lost' her precious cell phone in a NY deli—a situation so dire, she dragged the NYPD to the scene." Here's the timeline: After making her purchase around 7:30 p.m. at the Mott Corner Deli, she left and soon realized her phone was no longer with her; "But when Linz went back, the deli worker insisted on checking the security tape to make sure it was hers before handing it back—this sent LiLo into a rage. Linz was so angry the deli man wouldn't just hand over the phone, that she got someone to call the NYPD for backup"—but by the time they got there, the situation was "diffused." The deli employee maintains that he had no idea who she was. more ›

After Harlem store owner Charles "Gus" Augusto shot at armed robbers who were pistol-whipping his employee, killing two of the suspects, the 72-year-old (pictured) lamented, saying, "I would have been happy if they'd all run out the door. I'm sick to my stomach over it," and "This is terrible. This is really awful." The NY Times revisited some store owners who have similar feelings: "A few owners said the shootings in their pasts, even those from decades ago, were still too painful to talk about. One, who would speak only anonymously, said, 'I’ve been trying to forget about this since it happened.'" But one, Youssouf Drame, was open about not regretting his decision. Last fall, Drame managed to wrest away a gun from robbers at his electronics store in Brooklyn (the robbers pistol-whipped one of Drame's employees) and killed two of the four robbers. He was shot seven times and showed the Times his scars, saying if he was confronted again, "I’d do worse...I worked so hard, and they wanted to take what is mine." And of the Harlem shooting at Augusto's store, Drame said, "How are you going to rob an old man like that?" more ›

The Unisphere, the once shining centerpiece of the World's Fair, has been so neglected that it's begun to sprout grass through its cracks. The Daily News pointed it out to the Parks Department, who "suspect that bird droppings and leaves collected in the base of the 12-story landmark, providing the perfect conditions for germination when seeds blew in and feasted on rain water." more ›

You might want to trade in that half-caf soy blended latte for a regular cup of coffee. For the first time in the coffee giant's history, Starbucks will be slashing prices. A "tall" coffee will cost $1.50, down from $1.75, and most cappuccino and latte concoctions will get a 10 to 15 cent discount. However, not all Starbucks addicts are celebrating. The more complex drinks, like the addicting Frappuccino, will be up to 25 cents more expensive. Maybe that's what's going to pay for all their new locations in NYC. One anonymous commenter pointed out on Starbucks Gossip that these price drops still leave the drinks more expensive than they were just four months ago, predicting "Customers are going to like the decrease I guess (although not back to original prices on some beverages) but they are going to be left extremely confused and upset that for 4 months they had to pay all that extra." Whatever, everyone knows America runs on Dunkin Tim Horton's. more ›

As Hurricane Bill heads north and not too close to our shores, there are still concerns about rip currents from the storm. The Parks Department said that it is "closing Rockaway Beach, Coney Island Beach, Manhattan Beach, South Beach, Midland Beach and Wolfe’s Pond Beach to swimming due to the approaching hurricane. Orchard Beach in the Bronx remains open assuming conditions do not deteriorate and the city’s 63 pools and 650 spray showers offer opportunities to cool off." more ›

The 14-year-old daughter of City Councilman Bill de Blasio is featured in a nice family photo on the website for de Blasio's public advocate campaign. But don't let her innocent smile fool you—teenage Chiara loves guns, and de Blasio doesn't want voters to know about it. It's been revealed that in the original photo, Chiara was wearing a gun-shaped pendant, which was subsequently airbrushed away when the photo was pimped out for campaign literature. When confronted about the cover-up by the Daily News, de Blasio explained, "Our daughter made a mistake in putting on a necklace that was inappropriate. I made a decision to take it out of any literature and she will not be wearing it in the future." But Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics is troubled, because who knows what else de Blasio is hiding? Are those even his children? Still, Sabat gives Chiara a pass on her gun fetish, because "you never blame a 14-year-old—they all do silly, rebellious things, and I guess that's what it was. She's 14. Who cares?" Well, easy for him to say; he doesn't have to generate news content in August. more ›

There is a cold front ready to rescue us from this week's heat and humidity melodrama. Unfortunately the front will have to wait in the wings as diva Hurricane Bill lights up the stage. Bill isn't going to make landfall in the US but it will cause dangerous rip currents this weekend. Be careful! more ›

Here's today's swine flu news: The World Health Organization expects an "explosion" of swine flu cases this fall. According to the WHO's Western Pacific director, Shin Young-soo, many countries will see the number of cases double every few days for several months—"It is certain there will be more cases and more deaths"—but the countries at greatest risk are the developing nations which are under-equipped to respond. Also, the Chilean health ministry says that swine flu was found in turkeys: "Authorities ordered a complete quarantine Friday and alerted the World Health Organization. Some illness was suspected at the farms owned by the Sopraval company after egg production dropped this month." (However, Chile's deputy health minister says turkeys are still safe to eat.) And in America, the CDC is recommending that businesses and employers develop plans on how to deal with swine flu, including suggestions like keep sick employees home and don't require doctor's notes. more ›

Having gotten his drink on while waiting for his Jet Blue flight to Mardi Gras in New Orleans in February, Paul Henry Boritzer was in a totally festive mood when he finally boarded the plane. But then the flight attendants had to go and harsh his vibe because he was strolling about the cabin "in a loud and disruptive behavior" ten minutes before take-off. When a flight attendant asked that he return to his seat, he told her he didn't have to follow her rules, because he was a federal air marshal and a U.S. Airway pilot. Lying about that stuff is a no-no, and after the attendant insisted he sit down, Boritzer called her a bitch and asked, "Who do you think you are?" Boritzer remained disruptive throughout the flight, and, according to the Justice Department, threatened a flight attendant who denied him more booze. Needless to say, he didn't make it to Mardi Gras; he was arrested upon arrival and a jury yesterday found him guilty of interfering with a flight crew and impersonating a Federal air marshal. Boritzer will be sentenced in December, and could face a 29 year prison term, a $1 million fine, and the indignity of Will Ferrell portraying him in a movie adaptation. more ›

Just when it looked like The Man was standing up for photographer's rights, or at least understanding the law, things have gone sour again. Carlos Miller reports that 43-year-old professional photographer Randall Thomas "was jailed for six hours—and had his camera and memory card confiscated by a judge—after filming an FBI building from across the street in New York City Monday." more ›

The State Department of Labor released July unemployment numbers yesterday and it was slightly better news for the state, not very good news for the city: "New York State's unemployment rate, after seasonal adjustment, decreased from 8.7 percent in June to 8.6 percent in July 2009," but "New York City's rate increased from 9.4 percent in June 2009 to 9.6 percent in July 2009." And NY State-not- including- NYC unemployment decreased from 8.2% in June to 7.9% last month. National unemployment fell from 9.5% in June to 9.4% in July. A state Labor Department economist said, "Although the national economy is showing signs of bottoming out, the outlook for the city’s economy remains weak into 2010.” more ›

Earlier this week, a judge ordered Google to reveal the e-mail and IP address of the person behind the Skanks in NYC blog, which was dedicated to trashing former model Liskula Cohen. Cohen appeared on TV Wednesday, explaining that she knew the blogger socially while declining to reveal her name. But yesterday, after Cohen filed a $3 million defamation lawsuit against her nemesis, court papers at last revealed the blogger's identity: one Rosemary Port, an unemployed nightclub hostess, "promoter," and telemarketer. more ›

Yesterday morning, an 8-year-old fell out of a 7th floor apartment window at the Castle Hill Houses in the Bronx—and survived. The Daily News reports that Destiny Antonio "somehow tumbled out the window in the bedroom she shares with some of her 11 siblings," landing on a hill. "The little girl underwent hours of surgery Thursday at Jacobi Medical Center," after suffering "a broken hip, shattered pelvis, broken leg and trauma to her intestines and liver." She is in critical condition. The window did have a guard, but apparently the upper portion of the window—above the guard—"opened more than the maximum allowed 4½ inches," according to family friend Paul Miller who spoke to the Post. Miller said that Destiny's mother told him, "I can't believe this, that it was the same f---ing window that I told them to fix." The NYC Housing Authority did not comment, and the NYPD is investigating the incident. more ›

After the Scottish government released him on "compassionate" grounds, Abdel Baset al-Megrahi was greeted like a hero in Tripoli, Libya, much to the dismay of U.S. and British governments. al-Megrahi was convicted of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland; 270 were killed, 189 of them Americans. President Obama had said yesterday that al-Megrahi's release was a "mistake" and added, "We are now in contact with the Libyan government, and want to make sure that if in fact this transfer has taken place, he is not welcomed back in some way but instead should be under house arrest." However, as CNN described, "al Megrahi walked off a plane in his native country to a cheering crowd that waved flags and honked horns." more ›

A federal judge in Brooklyn excoriated a high profile defense lawyer in court yesterday after the jury handed down guilty verdicts on 12 counts of conspiring to threaten and bribe witnesses and possessing illegal wiretapping equipment. Robert Simels, 62, was defending a powerful Guyanese drug lord when he got caught on tape telling a former gang member that certain witnesses should "just fall off the face of the Earth... I'm gonna leave it to you to figure out what's going to be best to get to him." Yesterday Judge John Gleeson said that Simels crossed "a very bright line... into what is flat-out forbidden." Simels had unsuccessfully argued that when he talked about ways to "neutralize the witness" he was just talking "street" to the gang member because "Guyana is a Third World country. They sometimes speak in a very unappealing fashion, so I spoke down in a manner he would appreciate." Simels, who once represented the Jets' Mark Gastineau, faces disbarment and between 12 and 15½ years in jail. He's been put on house arrest and has to wear an electronic ankle bracelet until his sentencing in November. more ›

It's less than a month till the primary election, but frontrunner Democratic mayoral candidate City Comptroller Bill Thompson is gearing up his attack on Mayor Bloomberg. Thompson's campaign complained to the city’s Campaign Finance Board that Bloomberg didn't disclose $3.3 million in contributions. PolitickerNY explains, "The contributions at issue here are mainly to local Republican organizations and the Independence Party, both of which later endorsed Bloomberg"—however—"The contributions were not unreported: the campaign reported them to the state board of elections, not the city board." more ›

A small plane, approaching Teterboro Airport, crashed right by NJ's Route 46 around 3 a.m. this morning. MyFoxNY reports, "Port Authority officials say the pilot and co-pilot walked away from the scene. No one else was aboard the plane. One man was airlifted to St. Barnabas Medical Center with serious burns and the other was taken by ground to Hackensack Medical Center." According to witnesses, the plane, which had been carrying medical supplies, apparently overshot the airport and landed in a field by Route 46. The Star-Ledger says witnesses saw a fireball. The men were able to crawl out of the plane and walk over to a bus stop, where they sat on a curb. One responding officer said, "The one who had more burns sat there and was in a daze. I saw the wreckage, they both said 'We were in the plane.' I was a little taken back, you know." more ›

Livan Hernandez, who stopped masquerading as a Major League pitcher about seven weeks ago lost his roster spot to Billy Wagner. Then the Mets went out and lost, 3-2, to the Braves. Remember when Mets fans hung effigies of Chipper Jones from the stands at Shea Stadium, and everyone hated the rivals from Atlanta? Not so much anymore. Johan Santana struck out only two in seven innings, allowed nine hits and three runs and took the loss. Wagner got in the game and pitched a scoreless inning with two strikeouts. If he clears waivers, the Mets will likely trade him. Even if he doesn't, the Mets may be able to work something out. more ›

Well you had a good run, Richard Ravitch. After conflicting decisions from the courts in the days immediately following him signing his name as lieutenant governor in Peter Luger's blood, a state appeals panel in Brooklyn has once again struck down Governor Paterson's appointment of Ravitch as unconstitutional. In the panel's unanimous decision today, they said, "We have no quarrel with those who say that having a man of Mr. Ravitch’s stature, knowledge, and experience in the office of lieutenant governor would promote the public interest by providing help and counsel to the governor in difficult times and by bringing much-needed stability to the government of this State...(but) the governor’s purported appointment of Mr. Ravitch was unlawful because no provision of the Constitution or of any statute provides for the filling of the vacancy in the office of lieutenant governor other than by election." While the panel encouraged that Paterson take the fight all the way to the Court of Appeals, the Daily News says that is not likely since that court consists mostly of Pataki appointees. more ›

Guess the dealers who are opting out of the "cash for clunkers" program aren't missing that much: U.S. DOT Secretary Roy LaHood announced the program will end on Monday at 8 p.m. LaHood said, "This program has been a lifeline to the automobile industry, jump starting a major sector of the economy and putting people back to work. At the same time, we’ve been able to take old, polluting cars off the road and help consumers purchase fuel efficient vehicles," and added, "We don't want to run out of money. And I want to be able to substantiate what I'm saying here. If you do a deal with us, you submit the paperwork, you will be paid." The program was originally budgeted with $1 billion of government money, but was so successful that the government put another $2 billion into the program. more ›

According to the Daily News, Habitat for Humanity volunteers are putting the finishing touches on their Atlantic Avenue Condominiums today (in this heat!); the 41-unit apartment complex in Brownsville will give those in a need a chance to own their own home. Over 10,000 people came together to pitch in, and the Habitat NYC director says, "It's been fueled by Brooklyn pride," and that most moving in are "renters in Brooklyn who are taking a big step into home ownership." Over 8,000 applied to own a unit (there are 1, 2 and 3 bedrooms which range from $100-200K). And as for the finer details, "the front doors to each apartment at the complex are made from lumber milled from last year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree" (which always goes to good use). One woman moving in with her two children told the paper, "My kids keep saying that every day will be like Christmas." more ›

The Department of Education has suspended a 57-year-old social studies teacher who has a long history of making students uncomfortable with his over-friendliness. Jonathan Polayes of Hostos-Lincoln Academy of Science in the Bronx has taught in city schools since 1989; accusations around his inappropriate touching began in 1994. In 2001, Polayes was found guilty of touching a student and suspended without pay for a semester. The latest investigation leading to the suspension began in January with a 15-year-old claiming he touched her on the thigh and now up to ten other girls issuing complaints. Polayes made the girls uncomfortable hugging them, patting their bottoms, tickling them and "carrying one 11-year-old girl, cradling her like she was a baby." The DOE released a statement saying, "He has ignored previous warnings and disciplinary action, and it is unfortunate that it is so difficult to fire someone who obviously does not belong in the classroom." The investigation has been forwarded to Bronx DA for potential charges against Polayes. more ›

With the ceiling collapse at the West 181st Street subway station causing diversions and delays on the 1 line north of 168th Street at least through the weekend, concerns and complaints about the MTA's slowness to fix anything have increased. Mayor Bloomberg said, "It just goes to show the MTA has for decades underfunded what they needed to do to not just expand, but to maintain our stations," while a student said, "[The MTA] needs to improve. I don't want to waste the money getting up to school, especially considering the danger." more ›

A Long Island guy is in major trouble after a perfectly innocent evening spent hanging with his 5-year-old son in a parking lot went terribly wrong, all thanks to some nosy cops. Christopher Grossman, 37, was spotted Tuesday night just chilling with the little man around 11:30 in a parking lot in Seaford, standing next to a car with the music "blasting." A Nassau County police officer decided to see what was up, and noticed that the car's interior was a disgusting mess, overflowing with trash, clothing, golf clubs, and bottles of anti-freeze and laundry detergent surrounding the child's car seat. more ›

Last November, Daryush Omar was arrested after crashing his SUV into a livery cab, killing driver Bessy Velasquez and passenger Panayiota Demetriou. He had run a red light at 31st Avenue in Astoria and t-boned the cab; police found his blood alcohol was 0.176, twice the legal limit. Yesterday, Omar, who has been held without bail, pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter, and will face sentencing of 3 1/2 to 10 years next month. Omar, a Long Island resident, was also found to be living in the country illegally and will be deported to Afghanistan after he serves his term. The Post reports that another murder case against Omar—in 2006, he allegedly told friends to beat up a man who simply asked for directions (the man died after being beat with a steel pipe)— was dropped because "two key witnesses vanished." more ›

A day after the Knicks' pugsy point guard Nate Robinson was bashed for his flip tweets while being pulled over and arrested in The Bronx, sources tell the Post that his attitude wasn't limited to his 24,000+ followers. The paper says that when Robinson got pulled over, he "cranked up a rap song when the cop walked off to check his license, and then sang along when the officer returned." Maybe Nate was singing along that he wished he had a girl who looked good so he could call her. When the cop came back, the flashy dunker then apparently mouthed off at the officer, "Well, I'm Nate Robinson from the Knicks," to which the cop replied, "OK, Nate Robinson from the Knicks, you're under arrest." While there's been much speculation that the incident won't help Robinson gain any leverage in contract negotiations with the Knicks, his agent said, "Whether he remains a Knick will not be effected by a traffic incident...He didn't murder anyone, didn't rape anyone.'' Nate's tweeting life is back to normal after the hub-bub, updating recently, "Just seen a girl run n wit an ipod and she fell on her face lol am I wrong for laugh n at her? Smh." more ›

Good grief, people suck: A Staten Island man named Frank Coppola was arrested yesterday on charges he beat his girlfriend's chihuahua to death. A necropsy performed on the three-year-old dog, named Bella, showed severe trauma to its chest, internal bleeding, several broken ribs, a ruptured jugular vein and bruised lungs. Coppola, 28, is accused of killing Bella in the apartment he shared with his girlfriend, Melissa DePietro, after the dog bit him. more ›

The Scottish government released Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, the man convicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, back to his home in Libya. Two hundred forty-three people aboard the plane—189 of them Americans, many from NY and NJ—were killed while 11 people on the ground died when the NY-bound jet exploded on December 21, 1988. al-Megrahi, sentenced to life amid his claims of innocence, is suffering from terminal prostate cancer. Scottish Justice Kenny MacAskill Secretary said, "Mr al-Megrahi did not show his victims any comfort or compassion... But that alone is not a reason for us to deny compassion to him and his family in his final days...Our justice system demands that judgement be imposed, but compassion be available." The U.S. condemned the decision; Senator John Kerrey said, "The news today from Glasgow turned the word ’compassion’ on its head." Perinton, NY resident Paul Halsch, whose 31-year-old wife was killed, let the Daily News know how he feels, "This might sound crude or blunt, but I want him returned from Scotland the same way my wife Lorraine was ... and that would be in a box." more ›

A teenager in The Bronx yesterday was arrested after stabbing his three younger siblings because he was "seeing demons" and was "zombielike." 17-year-old Nelson Santos was at home in his family's Claremont apartment when he picked up a butcher knife and attacked his two brothers Miguel and James, ages 13 and 6, and his 9-year-old sister Ashley. Santos's mother and a neighbor fetched by one of the brothers eventually wrestled the teenager down and took the knife from him before cops arrested him and took him into psychiatric care. Neighbors told the Daily News that Santos practiced black magic and John Flores, the 19-year-old man who intervened, told reporters, "He said the world was going to end so he had to kill his brothers and sister." Ashley Santos only suffered superficial wounds and 13-year-old Miguel is in stable condition after being stabbed in the chest five times. The youngest brother, James, is in critical condition at Columbia-Pres after being stabbed in the back. more ›

With most of Williamsburg's condos in purgatory at the moment, some are taking advantage of the empty spaces (particularly those gutter punks). Miss Heather informs us of a new gym that's opened up in the ground floor of the vacant 117 South 3rd Street condo, and the membership is only 29 bucks a month. Everyone wins! But wait, a tattle-tale tipster goes and ruins the deal, saying that while the building's retail space is rented to John Suarez, who is running a gym out of it called Cutting Edge, "there are many problems here." more ›

Car dealers in NY and around the country are frustrated with the federal government's "cash for clunkers" program and are opting out—because they haven't received reimbursements yet! According to the Post, "about half" of the Greater New York Automobile Association's 425 members "say they've dropped out because they've gotten only 2 percent of the millions of dollars owed them by Washington," leading the association's president Mark Schienberg to complain, "It's an administrative nightmare...Cash flow is extremely important," and point out that when dealers try to fill out the 13-pages of paperwork, "Their [computer system] crashes all the time and you can't talk to anyone. It's extremely frustrating." The feds say they have processed 37% of applications, but Bloomberg News reports the Department of Transportation "didn’t say how many of the processed transactions have been paid out and how many were rejected or sent back to dealers for further information." more ›

Tuesday's night sudden storm damaged numerous trees, from the Upper West Side to Central Park and into Harlem and the Bronx. The devastation was especially stark in Central Park, where Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe lamented to the NY Times, "It created more damage than I’ve seen in 30 years of working in the parks." more ›

"It's like being raped," 50-year-old Kevin Uhrin tells the Daily News, describing how he felt seeing a piece of paper on his apartment door with the word "fags" written on it. Uhrin says the paper, which was taped up to announce some impending repair work and insult him, was part of an ongoing anti-gay campaign by board members at his Kew Gardens Co-Op. He also heard his floor referred to as the "AIDS floor," because three units on the floor were each owned by a gay couple. So Uhrin and another tenant, Estelle Torino, filed a discrimination lawsuit; Uhrin settled out of court for an undisclosed sum, but Torino's case will go to court next month. She says the trouble started when a busted pipe caused a leak in her apartment, and management refused to repair the damage. Tensions escalated, and in the years since, the board has allegedly turned other hetero tenants against their homosexual neighbors. Now Torino is scared to go downstairs to do her laundry alone, but shouldn't she be more worried about finding an offensive note on her door? more ›

Former Giants star Plaxico Burress has pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon in 2nd degree and will server 2 years in prison, in what WCBS 2 says is a deal with the Manhattan DA's office. It sounds like a deal, since he was facing 3 1/2 to 15 years on the three charges he was indicted on—"two counts of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of reckless endangerment." more ›

Having blown one of the most coveted jobs in journalism through sheer mendacity, laziness, and drug abuse, former New York Times reporter Jayson Blair has found work coaching others on how to live their lives. It was over six years ago that Blair caused a huge scandal at the Times, after it was discovered that he'd fabricated a number of articles, deeply embarrassing the paper of record and bringing down executive editor Howell Raines and managing editor Gerald M. Boyd with him. But now Blair's turned the beat around and is certified to coach lives, at a mental health practice in northern Virginia—here's his website. Blair tells the AP, "People say, 'Wait a minute. You're a life coach?' That makes no sense. Then they think about my life experiences and what I've been through and they say 'Wait a minute. It does make sense.'" And Blair's boss, psychologist Michael Oberschneider, coos, "Very few people can go through what he did and come back. He really is a success story." Unfortunately, that's exactly what Raines thought before Blair went and burned his house down. more ›

The Port Authority says it will turn over the World Trade Center site to developer Larry Silverstein in the next few days. Which means that the Port Authority, which owns the site, is within its target handover period the agency mentioned last month—yet it's still over a year past the various deadlines set to turn the land over. These delays have resulted in tens of millions in penalties (they rack up at $300,000/day) the Port Authority must pay to Silverstein. more ›

The AP got hold of transcripts of Teterboro Airport's air traffic controller conversations on August 8—the day a small plane and sightseeing helicopter collided over the Hudson River—and found the controller in charge of guiding the small plane was joking was about barbecuing a cat. Before the small plane had taken off, the controller had called a woman in the airport's operations center about a dead cat that needed to be removed from the runway. The Daily News reports, "Two minutes after the [small plane], the controller called the woman back," saying, "We got plenty of gas in the grill? Fire up the cat." The woman replied, "Ooh, disgusting ... that thing was disgusting." The pair bantered about the cat some more "while the controller directed traffic. Seconds before the accident, the controller said, 'Damn' - and ended the call." The National Transportation Safety Board has said radar data showed many aircraft in the small plane's path, but the controller never alerted the plane's pilot, a claim the National Air Traffic Controllers Association disputes. The FAA, which suspended the controller and his supervisor, has said the conversation was inappropriate but probably did not cause the crash that left nine dead. more ›

Spurred by the raucous town hall debates about health care, the Daily Show went to the archives to look at the time-honored tradition protesting the president...and wonders about Fox News' sudden transformation in the liberal media! But can it be? Hmm—one of the early examples is Bill O'Reilly saying on August 10 that when Fox News covers the town hall meetings, "We don't describe the protesters as loons"— then there's a September 1, 2004 (in the middle of the Republican National Convention here in NYC) clip of O'Reilly saying, "Surveys show many protesters are simply loons." more ›

A little girl is in serious but stable condition after falling out a seventh floor window in the Bronx. WABC 7 reports the eight-year-old "plunged from the window at the Castle Hill Houses on Seward Avenue just before 1:30 a.m... The girl survived the fall, and detectives believe she is not likely to die." She is being treated by Jacobi Medical Center for her injuries. The window at her apartment building also has window guards, so it's unclear how she fell out. Last week, two children fell to their deaths from windows. The city requires apartment buildings to have window guards in homes with children under 11 years old, but there are no such requirements for houses. more ›

• Yankees 3 Oakland 2: Mark Teixeira hit a two-run homer to break the tie and drove in the other Yankees’ run. Chad Gaudin pitched four-plus innings while dancing around a lot of walks. The Yankees’ bullpen did a great job thanks to two huge double plays and the team will now head to Boston, still seven games in front.
• Atlanta 15 Mets 2: Bobby Parnell is learning how to be a starter and “learning” is the key word. Parnell was shelled on Wednesday, giving up nine hits and nine runs in three innings. The New York offense actually pounded out ten hits, but the deficit was simply too big to overcome.
• Connecticut 74 Liberty 69: New York blew a 12-point halftime lead which ended their chance at a winning streak.

With the latest poll showing Governor Paterson now trailing Andrew Cuomo by a margin of over 4:1, state Democrats are continuing to quietly take one more step away from the governor and his election hopes while his attention is elsewhere. When asked if polls were giving him pause, Paterson said, “No, but where there is no pause is [in] the seemingly excessive printing of political polls. If there were one or two, I might have actually thought about it, but because there are 50, I’m finding it curiously odd." A new piece on the state of the campaign in the Observer quotes Democratic leaders saying that Paterson's time limit might be the end of the year before officials begin forcing him aside, possibly even sooner before labor leaders call for him not to run. The Paterson campaign seems to be counting on his continued hard-line stance against an unpopular legislature to give him a boost, but few seem to be giving Paterson good odds at gaining much traction against a headstrong state senate. One Democratic chair upstate says, “I’m going to see what Paterson decides. Things could happen. Maybe Obama will appoint him ambassador or something and he won’t run.” more ›

Last night's storm tore through the Upper West Side and Central Park, tearing trees out of the ground and throwing them across streets and onto cars. Our weather guru Joe Schumacher said, "Within the larger area of rain there was a smaller, intense area that crossed the Hudson and Upper West Side and then went up through Central Park and Harlem before heading into the Bronx." more ›

The pigeon gangs of Greenpoint are still at it! After one baby falcon was rescued from a bird-on-bird attack, our photographer Katie Sokoler informs us the violence is still going on. She tells us, "I came out of my apartment this morning and saw a baby falcon sitting on the railing of my stoop. It was so adorable but then suddenly a group of pigeons came down and started attacking it! I spent the whole morning kicking pigeon ass and finally captured the hurt falcon. But as I was walking back to my apartment, a woman ran up to me and told me that she saw a grown falcon down the street at McGorlick Park and it must be one of her babies. The falcon got frightened and jumped out of my hands and hid in some bushes by a church and now I can find the hurt lil' guy." Greenpoint, it's time to start a pigeon task force. more ›

A Staten Island driver is due in court at the end of the month to face assault charges after a road rage incident with a cyclist. Unlike Fox News staffer Don Broderick, whom the Manhattan DA let off the hook despite allegations that he drove with a cyclist clinging to his hood, 27-year-old Michael Graziuso was taken away in handcuffs after this altercation, which took place at a busy Staten Island intersection on the morning of July 8th. The confrontation was sparked after cyclist Gregory DeRespino, 48, stopped in the bike lane at a red light at Capodanno Boulevard and Seaview Avenue, making it difficult for several cars lined up behind him to make a right turn. more ›

Despite increasing warnings from Parks officials and a drowning death toll that continues to rise, swimmers are still finding their way into the Rockaways after lifeguards are off-duty, often into the night. The Times goes out to the Queens beaches to discover that "police officers patrol the area until 9 p.m. or so...but daring swimmers know to wait until the police leave to dive in, stepping past signs in English and Spanish warning against nighttime swimming." And one local resident tells the News, "Kids think it's just a big bathtub." City Councilman James Sanders held a community "brainstorming" session this week to discuss how to put an end to a deadly summer that has already claimed six victims, three times as many as all of last year. A Parks deputy described just how dangerous the waters can be by saying, "In certain weather conditions, particularly with a lot of south wind, the waves can create an opening in the bar. When that happens, it's like turning over a 5-gallon water cooler bottle and ripping the lid open - all the water comes rushing out." Here's a tutorial on what to do if you're caught in a rip current. more ›

Three people were injured when a cab driver somehow drove his SUV into one of the West 72nd Street subway entrances—after jumping the curb and driving through the wrought iron gates— yesterday afternoon. The injured included the driver, his passenger and a pedestrian. The police say no charges are going to be filed in the incident, but one witness told NY1, "The driver was sitting on the floor and he was asked if his breaks failed. And he said yes. But there was no way his [brakes] failed." more ›

Warning: This is extremely TMI, so those with delicate constitutions may prefer not to continue reading. Bloomberg News has an excerpt of Sheryl Weinstein's book—Madoff's Other Secret— about her alleged affair with Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff. Weinstein writes, "Bernie had a very small penis. Not only was it on the short side, it was small in circumference. That he was now pointing it out to me was telling. It clearly caused him great angst. I wanted to be careful how I responded. Men and their penises have a strange and unique relationship...[However] I liked this man and didn’t want to emasculate him. His tiny penis hadn’t prevented me from climaxing...On the bright side, oral sex would be a breeze." Way to look on the bright side! Weinstein met Madoff while handling finances for the Hadassah organization (she invested millions of the group's money with Madoff). Madoff's lawyer said Weinstein's claims were just "allegations she has made. I certainly hope she was more discreet about her obligations to Hadassah than she was about her sex life [which is] far less interesting." Zing! [Via Daily Intel] more ›

The Center for an Urban Future has followed up last year's hit "Attack of the Chains" study with a terrifying new sequel: "Return of the Chains." [pdf] They're back, their power is growing, and not even the recession can stop them from ultimately setting up shop inside your skull. Since last year's report about national retailers' footprints across our increasingly homogeneous city, over 30 percent of the chain retailers have expanded their presence. Dunkin' Donuts tops the list for the second straight year, with 429 locations city-wide, despite losing 12 of its stores to the Tim Horton’s invasion and facing blatant NYPD pilfering. According to the report, Dunkin' added 88 new stores in the five boroughs since July 2008. more ›

A school bus ride for the nine young summer campers at the Magic Carpet Day Camp turned tragic when their driver dropped dead of a heart attack and collapsed out of the bus while driving yesterday in Queens. Ramon Fernandez, 47, died after losing consciousness while stopped at a red light behind the wheel of a camp school bus in Elmhurst. Fernandez then collapsed out of the door he was keeping open while stopped in order to get additional ventilation into the un-air conditioned bus. When Fernandez fell out, 16-year-old camp counselor Rachel Guzy leaped forward and reached for the emergency brake as the bus slowly rolled into another vehicle in the intersection. The bus matron had minor injuries, but all of the Bayside campers were unharmed. An 11-year-old on board told the Post, "He was driving with the door open because it was really hot, and he felt really hot. It's not normal...Me and my friend, we were in the front near the counselor. She was crying, very nervous after it happened....[Rachel] saved our lives because she pulled the brake." more ›

According to a poster on the Brooklynian message board, around 7 a.m. today, "during the off leash dog hours, a music group was doing a photo shoot in the Long Meadow of Prospect Park. A golden retriever puppy, being naturally curious, wandered over and interrupted their photo shoot. One of the band members grabbed the puppy by its collar and kicked it." While there's no photographic evidence of the vague incident on the board, if this is true, it is our duty to find out who this band, and photographer, are. Anyone know anyone who wears vests and goes four buttons deep unbuttoning their shirt? more ›

Mark St. Pierre, the driver who injured 13 people and fatally ran over a father walking with his son in the Bronx last month, has been formally indicted on a charge of second-degree murder, and faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted. He appeared in court yesterday to plead not guilty to 50 counts related to the appalling road rage rampage, which resulted in 6-year-old Sebastian Colon seeing his father Miguel die before his eyes. The two had been crossing East Gun Hill Road in Baychester when St. Pierre sped toward them, leaving Colon just enough time to shove his son out of the way. A witness tells the Post that St. Pierre, who had just had a fight with his ex-girlfriend at Chuck E. Cheese, was doing "at least" 85 mph when he slammed into Colon. After the argument, he sped off in his 2008 Infiniti, crashed into two parked cars before killing Colon, and then proceeded to hit several more cars until his vehicle was too wrecked to continue. At the arraignment yesterday, Colon's widow told the Daily News, "My heart dropped when I saw him. To me, I am staring at an animal." more ›

That was one hellacious storm that blasted through the city last night. The worst hit areas were the Upper West Side and Central Park. The rain gauge at Belvedere Castle was on the edge of the storm and recorded .64 inches of rain in just a few minutes. To our semi-trained eye it looked like at least double that amount fell on 116th Street in Harlem. more ›

Nate Robinson hasn't been able to get signed in New York since becoming a free agent this off-season, but Tuesday he was able to get booked up in The Bronx, charged with driving with a suspended license. Cops say they pulled Robinson over for not having his seat belt on while driving down the Grand Concourse in Bedford Park, but the Knicks' two-time dunk contest champion tweeted, "Cops pulled me over cuz my windows were 2 dark (but my windows were down) lol how funny is that." Doesn't an NBA star get tinted windows specifically 95 degree days driving down the Grand Concourse? In any case, cops discovered that Robinson's license had been suspended in June for the fifth time after a series of infractions around the area including traffic violations, speeding, driving without his seat belt on and for driving while talking on a cell phone. more ›

Don Hewitt, the CBS news producer who created 60 Minutes and worked with Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite, passed away at age 86, due to pancreatic cancer. CBS News calls him the "father of modern television news" and points out he "played an integral role in all of CBS News' coverage of major news events from the late 1940s through the 1960s, putting him in the middle of some of history's biggest events, including one of politics’ seminal moments: the first televised presidential debate in 1960" between Nixon and Kennedy. In its obituary, the NY Times writes, "Hewitt also claimed credit for creating, at least in part, such innovations as putting headsets on newsmakers at events like political conventions so they might be interviewed by remote; displaying type, such as a subject’s name, on screen...and even the word 'anchorman,' which referred, he said, not to the anchor of a ship but the final runner on a four-person relay team — the person who, in effect, would carry the news home, and receive the most attention in the process." more ›

In March the NYPD conducted a 24-hour sting targeting drivers behind the wheel with their cell phones, issuing 9,016 tickets during the crackdown. By the end, New York motorists got the message and never used their cellphones while driving again. Kidding—of course it didn't make a damn bit of difference, though it did make some serious loot for the city government. So now it's back to the well, starting at midnight tonight, when cops will start slapping motormouth motorists with $130 fines—$10 more than last time! After 24 hours the crackdown will conclude, and everyone can go back to distractedly steering big hunks of metal through the street with one hand. more ›

The NY Times questions City Comptroller William Thompson's management of the NYC pension fund, reporting, "A review of how the $80 billion system has performed since he took office shows it has consistently lagged behind many of its public pension peers even as the city tripled the number of money managers it uses and the fees that it pays those firms." What's more, Thompson, who is running for mayor, has "[collected] more than $500,000 in campaign contributions from its growing roster of money managers since he first entered the 2001 race for comptroller. In some cases, the executives gave to Mr. Thompson just months before the pension funds hired them to manage tens of millions of dollars, according to interviews and public records." Thompson says that there have been tough years and that the NYC pension fund does match the Russell 3000 ("a broad stock market index")—the Times used "a widely used financial yardstick compiled by Wilshire Associates, an investment advisory firm" to measure the city's fund performance. Update: In March, the Post ran a story about Thompson's donations from investment firms that manage pension funds; the Citizens Union's Dick Dadey said, "I question why these donors feel a need to contribute. They are out-of-state donors. It certainly isn't out of civic interest because they don't vote here." more ›

Google has complied with a court order to identify, to the best of the company's ability, a blogger who created a website Skanks in NYC devoted to insulting a former cover girl. The model, Liskula Cohen, obtained the IP address and the email address of her accuser yesterday and was able to deduce her enemy's identity. Appearing on Good Morning America today, Cohen said the blogger is a vague acquaintance: "Thank God it was her… she's an irrelevant person in my life. She's just somebody that, whenever I would go out to a restaurant, to a party in New York City… She was just that girl that was always there." Perhaps the pot has been calling the kettle skank all along? more ›

Yesterday afternoon, a construction worker working outside a building on 12th Street in Park Slope, Brooklyn fell four stories to his death. Henryk Siebor, 42, was supervising other workers and had been called over to inspect some scaffolding; the NY Times reports, "As Mr. Siebor stepped onto the scaffold, one of the lines holding it to the building gave way, sending the scaffold swinging against the building as he plunged to his death, landing on a first-floor terrace below." more ›

The raccoon now known as Houdini—after escaping the cage his captors put him in yesterday—may have ended up being caught again, but the good news is he's still alive. The NY Post reports that the animal, who infiltrated City Hall, shows no signs of disease and "is scheduled to be released in a wooded area somewhere in the five boroughs." Phew! Mike Pastore of Animal Care & Control told NY1, "We get an animal like this, we're concerned for the public health aspect of it. We don't want somebody to encounter a raccoon coming across, so I'm glad that we were able to get him out the area." And just look how cute this 25-lb guy is! Guess all raccoons aren't foaming at the mouth. more ›

Police believe that a 69-year-old woman raped in her apartment building at 155th Street and Riverside Drive was attacked by the same man who raped two other women in Hamilton Heights earlier this month. The latest victim was returning home from work at 4 a.m. to 765 Riverside Drive; WCBS 2 reports, "The victim passed mailboxes on her way in through the east entrance of the building. Then [she] proceeded down the stairs to the wood-paneled foyer where her attacker was apparently waiting. The manned elevator is unmanned after 2 a.m., so she had to use the automatic elevator nearby. She opened the door and her attacker apparently crossed the room and followed her" into the elevator, where she was attacked. There's surveillance video of the suspect and the building's shocked residents are asking for additional security and lighting. In the past incidents, the suspect raped a woman in an alleyway near West 148th Street and Broadway and inside another's building near West 144 Street and Convent Avenue. more ›

Aw: Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe made good on his promise to buy some lemonade from the 10-year-old girl who was ticketed for operating a 50-cent/per cup lemonade stand in Riverside Park without a permit. Clementine Lee had thought that selling lemonade (and cookies) would be a nice thing to do, "It was such a hot day I figured people would want a cold drink," but the overzealous parks officer thought differently, giving her a $50 ticket. In the end—and when the Post let him know about it—Benepe quashed the ticket and visited the 10-year-old at her stand, buying three cups. The Post reports that Lee found him "nice" and notes she "sold 80 cups, raising $40 for the World Wildlife Federation." As for the parks officer, he/she "has been temporarily removed from enforcement and is being retrained in park rules and regulations." Maybe we need a Colbert Report Nailed 'Em segment on Clementine—remember 6-year-old "graffiti punk" Natalie Shea? more ›

The summer storm that rolled into town a couple hours ago was brief but powerful: There are a number of incidents about downed trees all over Manhattan (see the Gothamist Newsmap), such as "Trees down at West Side Hwy & 70th St," a "downed tree on a taxi" on E 86th St, and "Tree down on a car" at Riverside Dr & 101st St (a tipster writes, "Man was stuck under car for 20 minutes after an entire tree fell on him while he was driving in Riverside Park on 101 st)—some even have requests for "additional chain saws"—we hope no one was hurt. more ›

• Yankees 7 Oakland 2: Kurt Suzuki shook off a pitch behind him from C.C. Sabathia by homering on the next pitch to give Oakland an early lead that didn’t stand up. Sabathia was retaliating for the A’s hitting A-Rod in the top of the first. Both teams were warned and they settled down from there. Sabathia got into a groove and pitched eight innings while allowing only two runs. The Yankees busted things open in the sixth with five runs and remain seven games in front of Boston. more ›

Just after 5:30 p.m., some scaffolding outside a building at 7th Avenue and 12th Street In Park Slope collapsed. According to City Room, "A worker was killed, and two others were lightly injured, in an accident at an apartment building in Park Slope, Brooklyn, that is undergoing renovation work, the authorities said... The accident occurred at the Ansonia, a former clock factory that has been converted by various developers into residential apartments. The accident occurred at one of the buildings, at 438 12th Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues." more ›

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum isn't on track to open until 2011 (the memorial plaza, that is, if all goes well with construction; the museum won't open until a year later), but it's trying to make its presence know at Ground Zero with the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site. According to the AP, it's located in "an old camera shop northeast of the World Trade Center site," where "visitors will be able to watch live video of the construction, record their 9/11 memories and even leave with a souvenir." more ›

Since he told jurors—way back in late March— that the trial over Brooke Astor's will would take 8-10 weeks, Justice Kirke Bartley Jr. had to apologize to jurors last month for the trial's slow pace: So far, the case has gone on for 17 weeks—and the prosecution is only wrapping up today! Bartley even had to cancel his own vacation, according to the NY Times. Prosecutors contend Astor's son and a lawyer plotted to take more of her estate while she was ailing and NYU law professor Stephen Gillers explains, "This is not a smoking-gun case, this is not an eyewitness case. This is a circumstantial case. The challenge is enormous to show a woman’s state of mind five and a half years ago when she’s no longer here." But defense lawyer Benjamin Brafman points out, "It would appear to me that the case is being overtried by the district attorney’s office. The question of competence does not necessarily, in my view, require the testimony of every human being who came into contact with Brooke Astor in the latter years of her life." You know, if the trial wrapped up faster, maybe the jury forewoman wouldn't have been attacked on the subway! more ›

There are reports coming in that a car crashed into one of the subway "headhouses" (the buildings that house the subway entrances) at West 72nd Street and Broadway. We're not sure if it's the new northern building or the older one on the south, but apparently three people were injured. According to initial reports, there are "two red tags" and "one yellow tag"—according to triage terminology, red tag is "immediate care / life-threatening" and yellow tag is "urgent care / can delay up to one hour." And the car may have been a taxi. We'll keep updating with what we learn—unclear whether this will affect the commute. more ›

The Westchester District Attorney's office announced that no charges will be filed against the husband of the woman who, while apparently drunk and high, crashed her minivan while driving the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway, killing eight people. Westchester DA Janet Fiore said, "Diane Schuler died... and the charges died with her." more ›

It might be time to worry about a raccoon takeover of the city. Earlier today one of them outsmarted the humans, escaping their clutches after being caught on the roof of City Hall. 1010Wins reports back that "he quickly figured out his getaway—reaching up and bending back the top of the cage. He then got to the ground by climbing down some construction scaffolding on the back side of City Hall. He eluded animal control for more than half an hour as he crept along the bottom of the wall." more ›

Scott McGann, the 32-year-old who caused a lot of chaos at Laguardia Airport a few weeks ago, was found mentally unfit to be arraigned and was instead "remanded into the custody of the New York State of Mental Health's office, where he will be held for a period of one year or until he regains competency," according to Newsday. On August 1, a United ticket agent alert Port Authority officers to McGann, who seemed out of it and inebriated; the officers were suspicious of the wires coming from his bag and detonator-like device, so they tackled him and the airport's terminal was shut down. It was later revealed his bag had papers that suggested McGann was building a time machine (there were "drawings of a bald man's head, with the words 'Age at 17' above him and the phrases 'John Doe' and 'Lifespan 35 years' below him," as well as "a downward arrow pointing at the word 'Time,' several other arrows pointing at the words 'Dimension 1,' 'Dimension 2,' and 'Dimension 3'"). McGann allegedly suffers from catatonic schizophrenia; Queens DA Richard Brown said, "The defendant is clearly a very troubled young man. Under the circumstances, the court's decision is the right one for all concerned." more ›

Today's not so shocking poll numbers: Quinnipiac says that 77% of NY State voters say that the NY State government is "dysfunctional" while 58% say it's "the worst" or "among the worst" in the nation. Oddly enough, 2% of respondents say that it's the "best" in the country, while 28% think it's "among the best"—maybe those people are from Illinois or California. Some more stats: "Voters disapprove 72 - 18 percent of the way the State Legislature is handling its job, the legislature's lowest overall score ever. Forty-nine percent of New York State voters say that almost everyone in the State Senate - including their own." Quinnipiac's Maurice Carroll said, "Dysfunctional is practically a synonym for the New York State Legislature and voters want a change. While voters tend to like their own legislators, almost half of New Yorkers are ready to throw out their own state senator in a general house-cleaning." Take heart, challengers. more ›

Even though consumer banks seem to be opening on every block these days, a new study from the Pew Charitable Trust shows that a staggering 12% of New York households still don't have bank accounts, preferring to cash their checks and hide their savings in their houses. Many of those are low-income earners and the NY Times cites LES bodega owner, Jose Alberto Abreau, as an example: "When he makes 'good money,' he said, he asks friends to take it to his family in the Dominican Republic." Additionally, he has repeatedly refused offers from credit union workers trying to convince him to build a credit history. Not surprisingly, the volatile economy hasn't helped banks earn anyone's trust. Peter Mosbacher of Amalgamated Bank admitted that they "are having that challenge to get people to understand that the American banking system is stable." Maybe the skeptics are on to something, though, because how is anyone supposed to trust banks when they take years to catch NYU scammers? more ›

It's the battle of the books about Bernard Madoff! Sure, there are a lot of them—last week, the NY Times' Michiko Kakutani reviewed two of 'em, one by an investigative reporter and the other by a journalist—but neither probably delve into details about the Ponzi schemer's, uh, equipment. The Daily News has excerpts of Sheryl Weinstein's Madoff tell-all—Weinstein says she had an affair with him—including "When we made love, I was on fire" and "This man was not well-endowed." more ›

Don Broderick, a one-time New York Post reporter and current Fox News staffer, won't face charges related to his June 1st altercation with Central Park cyclist Brian Dooda. Dooda's accusations are pretty sensational; he says that after he pulled in front of Broderick at a red light to admonish him for cutting him off, Broderick gunned his SUV into him, knocking him down. Then, when Dooda tried to block the SUV so Broderick couldn't leave the scene, he allegedly rammed Dooda onto the hood and drove some 200 feet with Dooda clinging to the vehicle, pleading for him to stop. Now the Manhattan DA tells Gawker they've dropped the case because they could not prove Dooda suffered any injuries in the incident. (Dooda insists he did sustain minor injuries from the death ride, including a scrape on his elbow.) Broderick, who was once forced to take anger management classes after he threatened to tear a subordinate's head off, says, "The DA's action speaks for itself. There's nothing further to say." Dooda couldn't be reached for comment, and the DA's spokesperson declined to comment on why they didn't file lesser charges against Broderick based on damage to Dooda's bike. more ›

Things not to leave behind in a taxi: $500,000, 184-year-old violins on loan. The NY Post reports on one musical prodigy, Hahn-Bin, who did just that yesterday after a trip from Lincoln Center to Chinatown. He called 311, who "put him in touch with NYPD Detective Ming Lee and Taxi and Limousine Commission officials Azam Kifaieh and Sam Shady. Hahn-Bin then waited—for 15 tense hours—as the NYPD and TLC scoured GPS records to figure out which cab driver dropped him off" (though CityRoom reports it only took one hour to actually track down the instrument). The driver was contacted while off-duty at his home in New Jersey, and told them he had indeed found the instrument, which Hahn-Bin has since been reunited with. TLC Commissioner Matthew Daus declared musicians to be the most forgetful fares, saying, "There are enough instruments left in taxis to start a small orchestra." Official protocol for cabbies who find an item in their cab is to take it to the nearest police precinct "without delay." more ›

Conservative columnist and former TV pundit Robert Novak died early this morning in his Washington home after a battle with brain cancer. The Joilet, Illinois native became a major journalistic player with the syndicated "Inside Report" column, which he started in 1963 with the late Rowland Evans Jr. He subsequently became a familiar television personality, appearing often on CNN. A registered Democrat despite his conservative views, Novak was heavily criticized by some Republicans for opposing America's 2003 invasion of Iraq. Neoconservative writer David Frum labeled him an "Unpatriotic Conservative," along with Pat Buchanan. Novak was also at the center of the great CIA leak scandal that dragged on for years after he identified Valerie Plame as a CIA "operative" in his column in 2003. Some referred to Novak as a "journalistic Prince of Darkness," but to his wife Geraldine he "was someone who loved being a journalist, loved journalism and loved his country and loved his family." Timothy Carney at Human Events has filed a remembrance of his collaboration with Novak. more ›

At least four Albany legislators are collecting sweet pensions on top of their annual salaries, including one Assemblyman who sponsored legislation last year to crack down on state workers for the same practice, known as "double dipping." Seventy-five-year-old Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg (D-Long Island) technically "retired" last year but continues to "work" at the state capital, where you're paying him $101,500 in salary plus a pension of about $72,000. Forget it Jake, it's Albany, where it's perfectly legal for veteran lawmakers to "retire" at 65 and start collecting pensions, but without actually leaving their jobs, giving up their salaries or even telling their constituents. more ›

A former Australian Vogue cover model, whose modeling career ended last year after a doorman disfigured her face with a broken bottle, has obtained a court order to learn the identity of an anonymous blogger who created a site called "Skanks in NYC" to insult her. The site, which was hosted by Google subsidiary Blogger.com, featured photos of Liskula Cohen with captions using the words "skank," "ho" and "whoring." (It's no longer active, but Blogger says "the name skanksnyc is available to register!") A Manhattan judge ruled yesterday that Cohen is entitled to file a defamation lawsuit, and Google must reveal the blogger's identity in order for her to do so. Speaking to the Post, Cohen's lawyer said something that might give some website commenter trolls pause: "The rules for defamation on the Web—for actual reality as well as virtual reality—are the same. The Internet is not a free-for-all." But a lawyer for the Skanks in NYC blogger insists, "You can be really, really mean to people—you just can't lie about a set of facts that are provable as lies." As for Cohen, she tells the Post, "I really hope it's not somebody I know." more ›

Last night, Staten Island Little League team the South Shore National defeated a team from Somerset Hills, NJ, 4-0, to become the Mid-Atlantic Regional champions. Now the team is headed to Williamsport, Pennsylvania for the Little League World Series. Proud uncle Anthony Morisano, whose nephew James is on the team, told the Daily News, "This is a big deal for us. The whole team is good. All the kids seem to be stepping up." What's more, they're stepping up during a nationally broadcast (on ESPN2) game! more ›

Deputy Mayor Kevin Sheekey (who also spent last year working on Bloomberg's possible presidential run) isn't that happy with The New Yorker's revelation that young mayors like Newark's Cory Booker and DC's Adrian Fenty apparently call Mayor Bloomberg "Papa Smurf." He Tweeted, "Mayors, can we go w/ @mikebloomberg as Obi Wan?" (and linked to a Washington City Paper post about what Smurf persona fit Fenty best). Clearly Star Wars is big in the Bloomberg administration—Deputy Mayor Ed Sklyer is a huge fan, too! However, @mikebloomberg himself has not commented on the Papa Smurf nickname. [Via PolitickerNY] more ›

No, it's not deja vu—it is another grainy photograph of a man suspected of pleasuring himself on the subway! According to the police, "On July 30, a man, believed to be in his late teens to early 20s, began masturbating on a southbound D train at the 36th Street subway station around 6 a.m. before fleeing at the 9th Avenue station"—he apparently sat next to the woman who later took his photo—"Around 12:40, the same man stole a cell phone from a commuter on a northbound F train and fled at the 18th Avenue subway station." The police urge people with information to call Crime Stoppers (800-577-TIPS), go to the Crime Stoppers website or text 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. Last week's accused subway perv admitted his business was in the open, but "explained", "My private parts fell out. I looked down and it was out, it just popped out. I was trying to put it back." more ›

Yesterday was so hot and sticky the National Weather Service issued a heat advisory, which it does whenever the heat and humidity combine to make the temperature feel like 95 degrees or more. The high temperature was 92, and today's expected to get even grosser, with a high of 93 expected. Some combination of heat and mental illness may have driven 27-year-old Joshua Knee to dive into the East River at 72nd Street yesterday; Firefighter Justin McNally, who helped fish Knee out of the swift-moving soup, tells the Daily News, "I think he was just going for a swim." Knee was wearing swim trunks, and is now being held in the psychiatric ward at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell. more ›

Investigators from the FBI and NYPD have descended onto a house in Brooklyn's Sea Gate section, in hopes of finding clues around the disappearance of Irina Malezhik (pictured). A tipster called the authorities, saying that she could be buried in the basement of Dmitriy and Julia Yakovlev's home. Malezhik, a 47-year-old Russian translator who worked on federal cases including those involving the Russian mob, was last seen on October 15, 2007; the Daily News reports, on that very day, "checks bearing her forged signature were deposited in the Yakovlevs' joint bank account. The next day the couple allegedly obtained a credit card in Malezhik's name and a woman matching Julia's description made purchases of wrist watches from a Brooklyn jeweler and other items at a Century 21 department store in Westbury, L.I." Dmitriy Yakovlev is still in jail after being arrested last month (his wife is out on $500,000 bail) and his lawyer maintained the couple's innocence. An acquaintance of Malezhik told WCBS 2, "If she was involved with the Russians they'll never find her." more ›

Commuting woes continue for 1 train riders north of 168th Street, as the MTA has continued to suspend service—details here—as it works clear up debris from a ceiling collapse at the West 181st Street station. (And if yesterday's commute was any indication, 2 and 3 line riders are also being squeezed.) The MTA explained that around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday, "A section of the brick architectural façade fell 35 feet to the track bed below. A downtown 1 train was in the station, but did not sustain any major damage." And luckily no one was injured. more ›

Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Paterson and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that $60 million in federal stimulus funding will help complete four affordable housing developments (3 in Harlem, 1 in East New York). These are the first federal stimulus funds (from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s Tax Credit Assistance Program) to be used for affordable housing; Mayor Bloomberg said, "Thanks to New York City’s congressional delegation, the City received tens of millions of dollars to revive stalled affordable housing projects, and we’re putting it to use to provide affordable housing for more than 700 families and create more than 2,800 jobs." More details about the developments, which are on East 100th, East 102nd and West 127th Streets in Harlem and on Alabama Avenue in East New Yorker, here. more ›

No matter that the Taconic State Parkway wrong-way crash claimed 8 lives when a minivan driver, apparently drunk and high, slammed into another SUV—driving the wrong way while possibly drunk is still happening. According to the Asbury Park Press, a driver was arrested—authorities believe he was intoxicated—after causing two wrong-way accidents on the Garden State Parkway at 5:20 p.m. yesterday. The driver "was going northbound in the southbound lanes" near Hazlet, NJ. "After striking one car, the wrong-way driver hit a second vehicle in the southbound express lanes before going through the guardrail and down into a ravine. The driver of the second car is pregnant and was being treated for a minor injury." more ›

• Oakland 3 New York 0: Brett Tomko, a Yankee for a couple of months this season, pitched five scoreless innings against his former team and the A’s bullpen finished the job. A.J. Burnett went the distance in the loss. The Red Sox were off, so the lead is down to seven games.
• San Francisco 10 Mets 1: Livan Hernandez didn’t have it and things got out of hand in the sixth inning as the Giants scored three times to make it a 6-1 game. They added three more in the eighth and the depleted Mets’ offense couldn’t get back into the game.

Police are investigating whether a robbery in the town of Patchogue over the weekend was another instance of a hate crime in the town where an Ecuadorian immigrant was allegedly murdered by a group of teenagers last November. The Hispanic man was walking on a street in the Long Island town just before midnight on Friday night when he was approached by three young white men. As they knocked him to the ground while stealing cash and other items, police say that "disparaging remarks were made about the victim's ancestry." Patchogue Mayor Paul Pontieri told reporters, "It's distressing that it happened at all. Who knows why and who knows the circumstances? I don't know yet." After a group of teens were charged in the beating death of Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero (pictured), the Justice Department launched an investigation into accusations that Hispanic immigrants were being terrorized in the town for months. Some said that the victims' pleas had originally fallen on deaf ears with Suffolk County police. more ›

The Bloomberg administration is catching some flak for tipping their hand and revealing big raises coming to teachers, both for putting for such a generous offer as payback politics and letting the teachers' union know what was coming their way before negotiations even began. The Post revealed that Labor Commissioner James Hanley admitted that 8 percent pay raises for teachers have already been set aside for the next two years in recent testimony before an arbitration panel. A former Koch official said that letting the cat out of the bag was a no-no, telling the paper, "Every labor leader knows that the money is hidden somewhere in the budget and they don't know how much money. Generally, only the most trusted people in the budget know where the money is squirreled away." Others criticized how high the raises are despite the city's fiscal crisis and low inflation—starting salaries now heading up to just under $50K and veteran teachers able to make up to $108K. Many believe the high offer coming to the United Federation Teachers might be payback for changing positions and supporting mayoral control of schools and city pension reforms. more ›

One of the armed four men who tried to rob a Harlem store, only for the 72-year-old shop owner to fire at them, killing two and wounding the others, was released on $60,000 bond. Shamel McCloud headed from the hospital to court on Saturday and was charged with first- and second-degree robbery; his relatives in Pennsylvania put up their home for the bail. According to the NY Times, "The criminal complaint said one of the men who was fatally shot had hit a store employee with a 9-millimeter pistol. McCloud and the two others struck the employee with their fists and tried to restrain him with duct tape, according to the complaint." McCloud's lawyer said his client did not have a record, saying he was "good family kid." The Post went to McCloud's home to get a comment: "Outside McCloud's East Elmhurst house, one relative said, 'He's coming along, he's alive,' before a second relative threatened to toss a pit bull at reporters." more ›

Anyone who's followed along with the city's various cycling issues won't find much new in the Daily News's "Special Investigation" today, about how "pedestrians and cars clash over biking boom." There's the requisite quote from a biker-phobic pedestrian, 62-year-old Marjorie Levine: "When I, as a retired woman, walk these streets, I have fear of my safety that I will be hit by these riders and get knocked down." There's the requisite counterpoint from Transportation Alternatives spokesman Wiley Norvell: "We still have a really 'me first' culture on the street, whether you are a pedestrian, a driver or a big rig. The problem is that some of those 'me's' weigh tons and others weigh 110 pounds." more ›

That's right, bird on bird violence is happening in our own backyard: Brooklyn. WCBS reports that a man recently rescued a falcon from a troupe of pigeon bullies! While an adult peregrine falcon could have taken them all out, this one was just a baby, being chased and pecked at by the larger birds. "Morgan Pitts says the falcon was either abandoned by its mother or fell from its nest in his Greenpoint. The frightened chick is now in the care of veterinarians at The Animal Medical Center in Manhattan." One day he'll encounter those pigeons again and the tables will be turned. Until that showdown, however, check out the baby falcons that were born at three different city bridges earlier this year. more ›

Is it too early to start a "Bring Starbury Back to New York" campaign? Say what you will about how he basically spent his tenure with the Knicks acting as a cancer to the team; the man knows how to make a quality YouTube clip. From our previous experience with putting a camera in front of Stephon Marbury, we knew that there had to be a few gems coming out of the former All-Star's 24-hour stint doing a video podcast a couple weeks back. It may have taken a little tinkering, but sure enough a little dance interlude taken by Steph led to this: more ›

The prolonged questioning of Bollywood star Shah Rukh (or Shahrukh) Khan at Newark Airport on Friday has ignited a debate over whether authorities overreacted. Even an Indian cabinet minister questioned the long time the Muslim star was held—P Chidambaram said the U.S. had "overdone it," pointing out, Had it been for ten minutes or even twenty minutes (of detention for questioning), one can understand it. But one fails to understand how could they hold him for two long hours?... It takes maximum of ten minutes, say twenty minutes, even if you have to frisk a person after stripping him." more ›

Hey, you've lost your life savings of $120,000 to $150,000 with an investor who was apparently running a $40 million scam out of a Bay Ridge storefront—what do you tell the Daily News? If you're Barbara Grebin, you say, "I don't hate him; I wouldn't want to waste my time hating anybody," but you make sure to add, "But I would like to throw him down the sewer." Philip Barry is accused of running a Ponzi scheme with dozens of victims—even NY State Conservative Party boss Michael Long lost $15,000, yet Long said, "I don't think he's a crook. I think he really felt that he was investing wisely and making money for people." Hence Barry's comment to the Daily News, "It's all in real estate. I'm going to keep on working to make sure everyone gets the profit they are entitled to." (Maybe his modest behavior had people hooked, too: "Investors said he was even too cheap to buy a sandwich for lunch... he brought in packets of cheese and bread to make his own.") While the authorities haven't charged him with a crime—though documents show he was promising clients returns of 12-36%—a judge ordered that he pay "hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages" to clients. more ›

Though the Department of Health and Human Services is warning that swine flu vaccines may not take full effect until Thanksgiving, city officials say they don't think the flu will shutter schools. more ›

Seems as though our dolphin visitors are still circling around the boroughs. Earlier today we received an alert about a "distressed dolphin on S.I. side of bay." Luckily, some animal-loving folks were around to help out, and shortly after we got another alert updating the situation. This one said, "Civilians got the dolphin off the sand bar and the dolphin is headed toward the channel." Aw, way to go civilians! The Coast Guard and Mammal Rescue are staying on alert to make sure the dolphin gets to where s/he needs to go. more ›

A livery cab driver died after being shot in the chest by a passenger in the Baychester section of the Bronx. NY1 reports that police suspect that Amadou Ndiaye, 46, may have been shot during an attempted robbery—he was shot while driving, then hit a parked car and later another car waiting for the light at the intersection of Wilson Avenue and Boston Road. While Ndiaye's family says he worked for Top Limo—he company denied that—and "prior to that, he worked at Harlem Car Service." There were apparently no car decals indicating what car service employed him, which NY State Federation of Taxi Drivers president Fernando Mateo said would help the investigation. Mateo also said, "We don't know if the perp ripped out the camera, but we do know there was no partition in the vehicle and that's a problem." Ndiaye's relative said, You don't want to be bum. You don't want to eat in the garbage can. You don't want to sleep outside. You have to wear clothes. So what can you do? That's the only things you can do. You try to be good guy, but bad guy kill you for nothing, no reason." more ›

A is for Ana, heading for the DR. B is for Bill, staying out to sea. C is for Claudette, making the south wet. After a slow start the Atlantic hurricane season hopped to life over the weekend with three named storms. The strongest, Hurricane Bill, looks like it will stay out to sea. The lady storms would have the potential to drop some rain our way were it not for the appearance of another stranger this summer. more ›

A deadly wave of drownings in the Rockaways has prompted the Parks Department to encourage heightened caution while swimming in what have been strong rip tides throughout the Queens shoreline this summer. Jose-Luis Olivares became the sixth swimmer to drown this summer while rescuing his wife and daughter; only two people died from drowning out there all of last year. Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe points out that all six swimmers died at an unguarded beach or when there were no lifeguards on duty. With the first real heat wave of summer arriving this week, Parks officials called on swimmers to only go in while lifeguards are around. Benepe told the Post, "We have over 300 lifeguards and supervisors in the Rockaways. We also have 50 security personnel who patrol the beaches both before and after hours to prevent people from going into the water. There aren't many other municipalities that do that. We've sometimes been called beach Nazis." more ›

Here's your hotly-anticipated first look at the new permanent tables and chairs in the probably-permanent Broadway pedestrian plazas. Yesterday we showed you the funny installation art created out of the controversial old chairs, which were turned into a mountain of colorful plastic by sculptor Jason Peters. The 400 brand-new metal seats were unfolded this morning by the Times Square Alliance, and surely all will agree that they're a welcome addition to this urban oasis. Still, he world awaits the final verdict from NY Post columnist Andrea Peyser, who hated the plastic chairs with a town hall passion. more ›

There's been excitement about the "waterfall shower" atop the roof of downtown luxury rental building, 200 Water Street—last month, Curbed quoted the press materials for the building that used to simply house NYU under- and post-grad students, "On the 33rd floor rooftop terrace - which is longer than a city block - tenants will enjoy chaises, card tables, cabanas with sunshades, a BBQ grill, WiFi access, vending machines and semi-private spaces. To cool off, residents can pull a chain off the roof's water tower to turn on a waterfall shower." more ›

A Queens man is suing Verizon for employing a repairman who assaulted him in December 2008 at his Sunnyside apartment. Aubrey Isakson says he became suspicious when the worker, Robert Benjamin, wanted to access his apartment, because Verizon had told him that wouldn't be necessary. When Isakson asked to see some identification, Benjamin went berserk, slapping his ID card in his face, saying, "You want to know my name? Here's my name." According to Isakson, Benjamin then punched him repeatedly, breaking his glasses, and squeezed him around the neck, pressing him up against the wall: "He's prepared to kill me. That's all I could think of." Isakson broke free and scrambled downstairs, fracturing his ankle along the way. Benjamin, who had been chasing Isakson, was subdued by a neighbor and arrested, but the Queens DA agreed to dismiss the case if Benjamin stayed out of trouble for six months. A spokesperson for Verizon tells the Post, "In the months since this incident, his conduct has been blameless. As a result, we will not take further action." The kicker? Two days after the fight, Verizon's technical service department called Isakson to say they fixed the problem and didn't actually need to send their skull-cracking repairman in the first place! more ›

In this week's issue of the New Yorker, reporter Ben McGrath looks at Mayor Bloomberg—headline, "THE UNTOUCHABLE," subhead, "Can a good mayor amass too much power?" While the article offers an image of Bloomberg with a crown hovering over his head, the caption says this, "Ambitious younger mayors around the country call him Papa Smurf." Indeed, further into the piece, McGrath writes, "[Newark mayor Cory] Booker and other ambitious younger mayors around the country, like Adrian Fenty, in Washington, D.C., call him Papa Smurf." more ›

A Brooklyn man can't sleep at night knowing that the bizarre inter-gadget relationship between his Sony Erickson PDA and his Maytag Magic Chef stove might leave him burned. Last Monday Andrei Melnikov discovered that his cellphone was turning on his stove when he got a call in the kitchen. The phone had been on the kitchen counter when it rang, and as he answered it and walked away, he recalls hearing a faint beep. Minutes later, he smelled smoke, and discovered that some plastic cookware left in the oven was on fire. The incoming call had somehow turned the broiler on high, a phenomenon which Melnikov demonstrated for his landlord and 1010WINS. They believe this is the first time this has happened in the three years since Melnikov has owned the stove and the phone, but since neither device is talking, nobody really knows how long this hot affair's been going on. Melnikov and his girlfriend have put a stop to it by unplugging the oven, and they're afraid to plug it back in because of their pet chinchillas. Maytag is sending someone to "fix" the problem, but will the lonely old Maytag man really have the heart to stand in the way of such fiery passion? more ›

A Tribeca resident should thank Lady Luck for suffering only minor injuries after falling 30 feet through a sidewalk grating on Murray Street on Saturday. According to a Chinese food deliveryman who witnessed the incident, Vincent Riggio, 59, exited the OTB parlor near Murray Street, "He had a cigar, he stepped on the platform and he fell. I looked down the hole. He was down there, squatting down. There was a lot of dust." more ›

Besides offering affordable health care for constituents in the Bronx, the non-profit community health care center run by State Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr. also provides lots of jobs for the community... of people related to Espada. The Post's Isabel Vincent has donned her Hazmat suit to take a closer look at Espada's Soundview HealthCare Network, which stays afloat thanks to millions of taxpayer dollars. What she found may not surprise you. (It even comes with a handy graphic charting the family money tree.) For instance, two employees previously convicted of fraud for using Soundview money to promote Espada's political campaign are back on staff, and the charity still owes some $347,000 in income tax withheld from employees. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has been investigating the shady shenanigans, but the Post has already found plenty of questionable conduct, such as Espada paying himself over than $450,000 a year, some $80,000 more than the standard for a charity its size. Then there's Soundview's not-illegal-but-still-sleazy employment of all Espada's sons with near six-figure jobs. Oh, and the charity's board is packed with Espada's friends and relatives, including his grandfather Victor, who's over 90 years old, lives in Puerto Rico, and "votes" via conference call! more ›

Yesterday morning, Briton Paula Radcliffe won the women's NYC Half Marathon, with a time of 1:09:45—her first race since winning last year's NYC Marathon. Tadese Tola of Ethiopia won the men's race, finishing at 1:01:06. Radcliffe, who had bunion surgery in March and is considering running a marathon in Berlin this weekend, decided to run in the race at the last minute. She told the New York Road Runners, "I needed to blow out some racing cobwebs. I’m the first to admit that this is an unorthodox way to test myself for a marathon—running a half-marathon a week out." more ›

Perhaps you took the 1 train last night and got the rude awakening that 1 service was suspended due to a ceiling collapse onto the tracks at the West 181st Street station. Or maybe you got the NotifyNYC alert this morning, "Until further notice, the number 1 train will not be passing through the 181st street station. For the morning rush hour, all passengers are being shuttled 2 blocks east to the A line. The south bound 1 line's last stop will be the 215th street station. Northbound, the last stop will be the 168th street station." (More details on the transit alert here.) Either way, 1 train riders on the nine stops north of 168th Street are screwed for the time being. In terms of the collapse, luckily no one was hurt, according to the Daily News, which says "a 20- to 30-foot section of the ceiling, including an old stone arch, caved in about 11 p.m. Bricks covered both uptown and downtown tracks and platforms." Workers have been trying to clear the tracks since the collapse; you can see more pre-collapse photographs of the station at NYC Subway. more ›

Early yesterday evening, a man was shot on West 17th Street, near 9th Avenue, in Chelsea. The Daily News reports that the shooting occurred "shortly after the unidentified victim parked his car in front of the Fulton Houses around 6 p.m.," when the man "got into an argument on the street with two guys... The argument escalated, someone started shooting, hitting the victim twice in the torso and once in the leg." A crew member getting the street ready for the Monday filming of a film starring Queen Latifah and Common was at 17th St. & 10th Ave.—he told the News that by the time he go to the victim, "He yelled, 'Help! Help!' The neighbors kept saying, 'Get up!' Then the ambulance came." The victim is in stable condition at St. Vincent's Hospital. The News notes that the car the victim had just parked is registered to East Harlem resident Prince Harris, but "it was unclear if Harris was the victim." more ›

• Mets 3 Giants 2: It’s hard to see the Mets playing any role other than spoiler in the pennant race, but they played that role well this weekend. New York took the series thanks to a Daniel Murphy single in the ninth. Murphy lined 2-2 pitch into right field and Jeff Francoeur just beat the throw home to give the Mets their first walkoff win since May 29th. K-Rod picked up the win in relief and Luis Castillo added his first home run of the season.

In what might inspire the first Arnold Diaz meta-segment, a consumer watchdog columnist was fired from a Hartford newspaper he had worked at for forty years after writing a piece that exposed allegations against retail giant Sleepy's for selling second-hand mattresses as new—including one with bedbugs. Despite the case being currently under investigation by the Connecticut attorney general, the Hartford Courant refused to publish George Gombossy's exposé on one of their largest advertisers. Gombossy quotes a report from a NJ environmental group that was brought in to exterminate bedbugs out of a box spring he had recently purchased at Sleepy's and appeared to have been previously used. The report found that the “box spring … was the culprit. There were bedbugs inside and the box spring did not look like it was new.” Gombossy has published the column on a new watchdog blog he started, where he prefaces it by saying, "This was the first time in my 40 years at The Courant that an investigation by the attorney general was withheld from the public." His site invites advertisers with the caveat "you will be treated the same as non-advertisers." more ›

Can we get Mayor Bloomberg to say that he will not run for a fourth term in writing? A couple of weeks after the mayor left the door open about the possibility of extending term limits a second time and attempting to stay in office for a total of sixteen years, he once again alluded to the notion of four more (more) years. This time the slip came during his weekly radio broadcast while the mayor was discussing a campaign initiative which would have 120,000 New Yorkers graduating community colleges by 2020. He said, "Community colleges are really a step for a lot of people. We did it as part of something where I was trying to lay out in the campaign [what] you would do in a fourth term, which I think you have a responsibility to do." Just as with the last instance of the mayor expanding his horizons, a spokesman was quick to insist afterward that Bloomberg intended to say his third term. The city college graduation plan would actually come at the end of a fifth Bloomberg term, which the mayor has not yet commented on. more ›

The eerily loud thud that rang throughout Citi Field when David Wright was hit in the helmet by a fastball yesterday afternoon must have sounded like the nail being hammered into the coffin of what has been a season of misfortunes for the Mets. Wright was able to walk off the field on his own accord, but this morning was suffering from post-concussion symptoms despite being released from the hospital this afternoon. more ›

As if Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe hasn't been given enough agita by the New York Post this summer as they breathe down his neck over delinquent lifeguards, now he has to answer why his officers are giving out $200 tickets to a 10-year-old girl selling lemonade at Riverside Park. 10-year-old Clementine Lee and her dad Richard set up a stand selling lemonade for fifty cents a cup yesterday afternoon when they had their run in with Parks officials. Richard Lee describes, "They approached us nonchalantly but then surrounded us. They were very hostile as soon as they approached, saying 'Where's your permit? Where's your permit?' " The Parks party poopers issued a summons that carries a fine of up to $200. Benepe waved off the ticket, saying the officers used poor judgments and would be retrained. He tried to save face by telling the paper, "We're going to make lemonade out of lemons...I look forward to buying lemonade from her if I pass by." But if you think the commish can out-adorable young Clementine, guess again. The "soccer enthusiast" says she was "really nervous" when she and her dad were cornered and added, "It was such a hot day I figured people would want a cold drink." more ›

Governor Paterson's prospects at getting elected next year continue to dwindle as the latest poll shows Andrew Cuomo running away with a head-to-head match-up in a landslide. The newest Quinnipiac poll shows Cuomo trouncing the governor by a margin of 61-15% among registered Democrats. Paterson may have hoped to see some gains after a month which he took a hard-line stance against the chaos in the state senate and appointed Richard Ravitch as lieutenant governor despite objections to the move's legality. But his poll numbers continue to move the same direction they have throughout all of '09, with only 26% of New Yorkers saying they have a favorable view of the governor. As for Cuomo, he extended his lead in a hypothetical race against Rudy Giuliani to 48-39%—Giuliani has already began showing signs of shying away from a run, something that seems even less likely if Paterson is pushed aside. The governor continues to watch even the black vote slip away from him—with Cuomo now showing a 20 point lead among African-Americans. One prominent Democrat told the News, "I don't know how (Paterson) can run." more ›

Eli Manning is now the highest-paid player in the NFL. Earlier this week, Manning signed a deal that will pay him $97.5 million over six years, ensuring that he will remain a Giant though 2015, while making more per season than more accomplished quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. more ›

One of the biggest Bollywood stars—aka the "Tom Cruise of India"—was detained and questioned at Newark Airport while on his way to Chicago for an Indian festival. Shah Rukh Khan, 43, texted reporters in India, "I was really hassled -- perhaps because of my name being Khan. These guys just wouldn't let me through," adding, he "felt angry and humiliated." And as it happens, in his new film, My Name is Khan, he "plays a Muslim mistaken for a terrorist"! However, the Port Authority says that Khan wasn't detained—just questioned—and customs officials say Khan's 66 minute questioning was routine—little did they know it would inspire Wrath of Khan puns! Shah later told reporters in Chicago, "I think it's a procedure that needs to be followed, but an unfortunate procedure." The U.S. Ambassador to India Timothy J. Roemer said the government was "trying to ascertain the facts of the case -- to understand what took place," noting, "Shah Rukh Khan, the actor and global icon, is a very welcome guest in the United States. Many Americans love his films." Still, the Washington Post reports, "India's information and broadcasting minister, Ambika Soni, suggested that Americans should be treated the way Khan was when they arrive in India," while an Indian-born economist and member of Britain's House of Lords suggested it was a publicity stunt for the movie. more ›

One man was killed and several injured in two separate shootings that occurred on the same block in East New York yesterday. 21-year-old Donovan Glen died after being shot in the head when some unwanted guests crashed a Friday night party on Atkins Avenue. Glen had an 18-month old daughter and was described by friends as someone who spent most of his time "at home, not on the street." 21-year-old Kendall Jones was also injured in the shooting at 2 a.m. Saturday. Ray Kelly told reporters, "It was a birthday party and going back to college party, and people tried to crash the party and that's where the trouble started." Then yesterday afternoon just down the block on Atkins, three more men were shot. All were injured with non-life threatening injuries and treated at Brookdale Hospital. A neighbor told the Daily News, "I think it was retaliation, but I don't know. It's like gunshot avenue over here." more ›

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly spoke about the Harlem shop owner who fired at four armed men trying to rob him and beating one of his employees, killing two of the suspects and injuring the other two. Kelly said of 72-year-old Charles "Gus" Augusto, "He certainly had a right under the law to defend himself, defend his co-workers. It looks like his co-worker could have been seriously injured or perhaps killed." more ›

In a report about last weekend's tragic collision between a small plane and sightseeing helicopter over the Hudson River, the National Transportation Safety Board says radar data shows other aircraft, including the chopper, in the plane's path before the crash—but the Teterboro Airport controller failed to alert the plane's pilot about them. The NTSB's report says the controller made a phone call (apparently about a dead cat on a runway) after clearing the small plane for takeoff and remained on the phone while still instructing the plane. And it was a controller at Newark Airport that alerted a possible collision: The Post explains that Newark's controller "called Teterboro to ask that [small plane pilot] Altman adjust his course, the NTSB said. At that moment -- as the Teterboro controller juggled the personal call and the Newark controller -- Altman radioed in to say he was switching frequencies to Newark as ordered. The Teterboro controller then tried twice, unsuccessfully, to reach Altman and alert him to the impending disaster." However, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association says, "[The controller] was out of communication with the guy by the time the helicopter ever popped up on anybody's radar scope." The Teterboro controller and his supervisor have been suspended. more ›

The woman who is accusing two NYPD officers of raping her inside her apartment while she was intoxicated has filed a claim against the city and the two cops for $5 million. The woman, who remains anonymous, is seeking $3 million for personal injuries and $2 million in punitive damages. Officers Kenneth Moreno and Franklin Mata are currently awaiting trial for the sexual assault charges after being indicted by a grand jury in April. The Post has gotten a hold of "newly disclosed legal papers" from the suit whic bring to light new details which had not previously been made public: more ›

Just after midnight yesterday, a 10-year-old boy was caught in a drive-by shooting in the Bronx. The boy suffered a bullet wound in the foot; according to NY1, "Police say the boy's father had sent him and a friend to pick up food at a Chinese restaurant on Monroe Avenue in Mount Hope... The boys were in front of the restaurant when a car pulled up and someone started shooting at a group of people standing outside the restaurant." A neighbor who heard the gunfire told the Daily News, "My son would have to be in the house before the sun goes down." The boy is in stable condition; police are asking that anyone with information contact Crime Stoppers by either calling 800-577-TIPS, texting CRIMES (then enter TIP577), or going to the Crime Stoppers website. more ›

• Giants 5 Mets 4 (10 Innings): The loss hurts, but the more important question is how is David Wright? Wright was hit in the head by a pitch from Matt Cain in the third inning and had to leave the game. He walked on his own power into an ambulance for further testing. That incident overshadowed the rest of the game. Johan Santana tried for revenge, throwing behind Pablo Sandoval in the seventh before yielding a home run. He then drilled Bengie Molina before Jerry Manuel took him out of the game. The Mets scored three in the eighth to tie the game, but Molina got his revenge in the 10th with a solo shot to provide the winning run.

Michael Vick might get thrown into the lion's den for his return to NFL action—speculation is that his first snaps back might come at Giants Stadium when the Eagles take on the Jets in the final preseason game of the season. Last night WCBS 2 asked Jet fans there to see Mark Sanchez's debut last night what their thoughts were on Vick's landing in Philly. Reaction was mixed with one fan saying, "I think what he did is completely heinous, but you can't crucify someone forever," while most took the predictable route of "Glad he's with the Eagles. I hate the Eagles!" As for Vick's new division rivals, the Giant defenders seemed to welcome the added competition of facing the speedy QB. Justin Tuck said "hats off to (the Eagles)" and Osi Umenyiora even said he was "proud of that franchise" for having the "cojones" to sign the tarnished superstar. Vick was on the field for the first time today practicing with the Eagles, who may utilize him in the "Wildcat" formation. Coincidentally Big Blue spent yesterday practicing their defense against the Wildcat. more ›

The "Wiener Wars" taking place outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art may have sparked a debate over just how much money food cart vendors rake in, but one thing seemed agreed upon—Met vendor Dan Rossi was raking in the dough. Well not any more, the city says. A loophole for veterans allowed Rossi to park his cart in the high profile spot without having to (frank) foot the bill of $600k in rent paid to the city by Pasang Sherpa. But now the Vietnam Vet tells the Post that the city has declared the strip along Fifth Avenue "a street," meaning that his special privileges no longer fly there. Nonetheless Rossi tells the paper that he "would be back [today], even if it means getting arrested." He also tells them that he is the only veteran who owns his cart, but that other carts utilized the exception by hiring vets to man their stands. More concerning to us: if Rossi gets tossed, where will the recently evicted, overbidding Sherpa turn now?? more ›

Daniel Schuler spoke to state police yesterday for the first time since toxicology reports revealed that his wife Diane was drunk and high when she drove the wrong way in the Taconic crash that killed eight. Mr. Schuler, lawyer Dominic Barbara and a private investigator met with authorities in Westchester County still trying to nail down a timeline of Mrs. Schuler's drive. Police showed them a video of Mrs. Schuler at a Sunoco station, appearing coherent and looking for painkillers a little over an hour before she would call her brother, Warren Hance, sounding disoriented. A friend of Hance's told the Times, “His first impression was..it might be some diabetic condition...or she was having a stroke. There was no ‘Oh my God, could she be drunk?’ ” An official at the meeting with Mr. Schuler said, "No new areas were covered." The family's PI said, “The Diane that they know does not drink and would never smoke marijuana in a car with kids.” In a recent interview, Daniel Schuler's brother said that the family was aware that Mrs. Schuler used marijuana to sometimes help her sleep. more ›

Now that Pedro G. Espada has resigned from his $120,000/year specially-created job (don't worry—he won't be paid for his few days of "work"), the spotlight has turned on some other expensive hires. The Post goes critical, reporting that "Amid the most severe fiscal crisis in recent memory and a state hiring freeze...Scratch-master Christopher Sealey was given a $120,000 salary by Senate President Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) in February to head up a five-member team dedicated to 'rebranding' the newly Democratic-controlled Senate." (The Daily News puts Sealey's salary at $100,760/year.) more ›

A Queens man trying to rescue his wife and daughter became the latest victim to drown in the Rockaways this summer. 36-year-old father of two Jose-Luis Olivares of Ozone Park became the sixth person to fall prey to the rough tides along the Queens beaches, the second to die at Jacob Riis Park. Olivares went into the water after his wife and ten-year-old daughter around 7 p.m.—an hour after life guards go off-duty. An off-duty park ranger pulled Olivares out and he was airlifted to Peninsula Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Both his wife and daughter survived; it was unclear how they managed to get out of the water. The victim's brother told the Post, "We're all feeling very bad right now because he was a hero today. He saved his daughter and his wife. He is a very good father — he loves his daughter. She is devastated." Parks officials continue to search for the body of Heyward "Winky" Patterson, who was pulled in while swimming late at night on a nearby beach earlier in the week. more ›

Despite the team's 23-20 loss to the Rams last night, Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez stepped onto the field for his first taste of NFL action and showed off an arm that was as red hot as the abs he put on display in GQ a few months ago. In Sanchez's first play from the Jets' 7-yard-line, he coolly tossed a 48-yard completion down the field to David Clowney. Sanchez went 3-for-4 on his only drive, passing for 88 yards and capping it off with a 2-yard touchdown pass. New Head Coach Rex Ryan told reporters after the game that he doesn't think "we're there yet" as far as deciding who will start at QB come opening day. But fans at Giants Stadium sounded like their mind was made up when a sea of newly bought Sanchez jerseys roared for the rookie out of USC when he replaced Kellen Clemens at the end of the first quarter. Clemens didn't help himself out in winning over the Gang Green faithful after a fumble on his third play of the game. Most of the coverage seemed to agree that Sanchez may have assured himself the job with the performance, even if the Daily News worries that the Jets had "a very vanilla game plan" with their rookie due to his unfamiliarity with the offense. more ›

As he sues the city to get his livery cab license back, Angel Bautista tells the Daily News that allegations he was masturbating during a 2008 cab ride are untrue. The News runs down the details: Apparently, a female fare—picked up in Brooklyn but ended up sitting in the front seat because Bautista picked up two other passengers from Queens—was suspicious enough to confront him, "You're not doing what I think you're doing," causing Bautista to reply, "Oh come on, I wouldn't do that. I can't be doing that. How can I do that and I'm driving a car?" He also explained his coat was in his lap "because it's winter time" and that he had tissues close by due to seasonal allergies. But by the time the female fare was taken to her Manhattan destination, she contacted the TLC and accused him of bad driving—"jerking" and "drifting off to the other side." Bautista suggested to the News that this was the result of absent-mindedness after a bathroom break, "I was in a big rush and I didn't realize my zipper was down," adding, "I want my license back." Still, according to the administrate law judge who revoked Bautista's license, four other drivers have been fired over similar behavior. Ugh. more ›

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: An all hands fire on Richmond Terrace on Staten Island, a jumper up at Sanford Ave & College Point Blvd in Queens, and a car vs. building on Central Park West in Manhattan.
• A 10-year-old boy was injured when a stray bullet hit him in the Bronx. The police say he was standing in front of a Chinese restaurant on Monroe Avenue around 1 a.m.
• City Comptroller William Thompson's fundraising for his mayoral campaign dropped in the latest period; his campaign tells the NY Times they are focusing on he general election, not he primary, while Bloomberg's campaign points out candidates for other offices raised more.

African-American groups continue to turn up the heat on officials to dig further into the friendly-fire shooting of NYPD Officer Omar Edwards in the wake of a grand jury's decision not to indict Officer Andrew Dunton. Now the group 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care is taking their plea for justice to Governor Paterson, issuing the governor an ultimatum that he appoint a special investigator into the Edwards case or else lose their support in next year's election. A spokesman for the group said, "We're suspicious of the incestuous relationship of the DA's office and the NYPD when it comes to conducting fair and impartial investigations in cases like these...If he will not support us on this, then we will not support him." Paterson had assembled a panel to investigate the shooting soon after it took place in May. A spokesman said the governor is awaiting its findings before taking any further action. Paterson cannot afford to lose any support from important voting blocks going into his bid to stay in office; polls have already shown that he has lost major support from black voters who are becoming more likely to support Andrew Cuomo should he run. more ›

The man who once penned the song "Hurricane," now might inspire someone to write their own tune about his unjust imprisonment after a run-in with Jersey law enforcement. Folk/rock legend Bob Dylan was taken in by a NJ patrolwoman in Long Branch a few weeks ago when locals became suspicious when they spotted the 68-year-old wandering around in their neighborhood. more ›

City lifeguards have been getting nothing but bad press these days, but yesterday afternoon at a pool in Queens they came to the rescue of a young girl who was being sexually assaulted. Lifeguards at Fisher Pool in East Elmhurst were quick to respond when 20-year-old Julio Ajpacaja jumped in what locals call "a kids pool" around 4:30 and began groping a 13-year-old girl, asking her if she "wanted to play." Ajpacaja was pulled out and the cops were called in, eventually charging him with forcible touching and endangering the welfare of a child. Paramedics examined the girl at the scene and witnesses say she was visibly shaken, but not seriously injured. One witness told WCBS 2, "That's sick, that's nasty, a grown man … what are you doing messing around with little kids?" more ›

Yesterday morning, hours after he stared down four armed robbers, begged them to leave, and then fired at them when they started pistolwhipping one of his employees—ultimately killing two of the suspects and injuring the other two—Charles "Gus" Augusto was back at his West 125th restaurant supply store and repeatedly stated he was unhappy that he had to resort to violence. The Daily News got the first interview, and the other papers and news stations followed—the 72-year-old told NY1, "I did the only thing I could do at that time. Tried as long as I could not to, tried to get out of it; they wouldn't let me get out of it," while saying to the Post, "I did what I had to do. It wasn't my choice; it was their choice." more ›

According to Newsday, "a robbery of cash and marijuana in Oceanside Friday developed into a melee involving four, police said, when the initial victim apparently tried to strike back by stealing an iPod." Seriously! Here's how it unraveled: Christopher Cagno, 20, allegedly demanded $160 cash and pot from Dylan Peitz, 18, on a street. Cagno managed to take the items and was fleeing in friend Christopher Haig's car—but the car was moving so slowly that "Peitz jumped partially through a window, grabbed Haig's iPod and tried to run." Naturally, Cagno and Haig chased Peitz and a fight broke out. Enter Peitz's girlfriend, Alyssa Reilly, 19, who introduced a knife and slashed at Cagno and Haig. All were arrested and charged with assault—Reilly faces additional charges of possession of a deadly weapon (the knife), Cagno has additional charges of robbery (the cash and pot) and drug possession (the pot) and Peitz has additional charges of petty larceny (the iPod theft) and possession of a deadly weapon (maybe the knife?). The four will be arraigned today in Hempstead. more ›

• Mets 3 Giants 0: Bobby Parnell has quickly grown into a starting pitcher. In his second start, Parnell pitched six innings and struck out seven while allowing only three hits. Angel Pagan hit a home run in the first to get the Mets on the board and they led from there. Three Mets’ pitchers combined to finish the shutout; Francisco Rodriguez (pictured) got the save.
• Yankees 4 Seattle 2: Mark Teixeira came through with some late game punch once again, sending a ninth inning fastball over the right field fence for his 30th homer of the season to break a 2-2 tie. Andy Pettite struck out a season-high 10 in the no decision. Phil Hughes got the win after pitching out of a jam in the 8th and Mariano Rivera closed the door for his 34th save.

Six years ago today, parts of the Northeast, Midwest and Canada suddenly suffered a blackout. In New York City, the blackout occurred in the afternoon and after initial worries that it was terrorist-related, people just concentrated on figuring out how to get home—and how to survive without cell service, because most of the circuits were jammed up! And the city came together, with people helping direct traffic, throwing impromptu parties (thanks to restaurants who gave out food since it'd have to be thrown away anyway), being buddies during walks home and offering to let friends and co-workers crash at their place. more ›

Regarding a lawsuit filed (PDF) by Anna Nicole Smith's former lover and lawyer Howard K. Stern, the New York Law Journal reports federal judge Denny Chin has ruled that "calling someone a homosexual would not be considered defamation per se." Stern sued TV journalist Rita Cosby, whose book, Blond Ambition: The Untold Story Behind Anna Nicole Smith's Death, claims that he and Larry Birkhead (the father of Smith's daughter) had engaged in sexual relations. Chin, who recently put Madoff behind bars) said, "Gay conduct is no longer a crime, and that gays and lesbians are no longer viewed as shameful or odious." This shift in thought, he commented, was because "of a veritable sea change in attitudes about homosexuality." However, Chin did allow 11 of the 19 alleged defamatory statements to go to trial, such as Cosby's claim that Smith had frequently watched sex tapes featuring Birkhead and Stern and that Stern pimped Smith out. [via Joe. My. God] more ›

Now that Ringling Bros. have been caught in the act beating their animals, the Coney Island sideshows are on the PETA agenda. The NY Post reports that the organization is concerned about a capybara, the world's largest rodent, being "victim of a daily assault of noise, cramped conditions and inhumane treatment." more ›

Reacting to the FAA's revelation that an air traffic controller at Teterboro Airport was on a personal call while also handling the flight route of the small plane that crash into a helicopter last weekend, the National Air Traffic Controllers Union's Barrett Burns said, "For the FAA to sit there and allude or make accusations that the controller had anything to do with this accident is absolutely absurd and very insulting." The FAA suspended the controller, as well as his supervisor who left the room, though the agency also said, "We have no reason to believe at this time that these actions contributed to the accident." And now the National Transportation Safety Board says that the controller didn't warn the plane about another small aircraft before the crash: WCBS 2 reports, "The board said radar data show that there were several blips in the plane's path, including the helicopter. The board said it wasn't until controllers at nearby Newark airport alerted the Teterboro controller to the potential collision that he tried unsuccessfully to contact the pilot." The crash killed nine people, six in the helicopter and three on the plane. more ›

On the evening of August 5th, Long Island resident Lara Tepper was riding the train from Hicksville to Manhattan to meet friends for dinner. But her plans were seriously derailed after an LIRR conductor accused her of using a counterfeit ticket. Tepper says she purchased the 10-trip ticket for $66 in July, and had already used it four times, but when the conductor came to punch her ticket, "She looked at it, felt it for a couple of minutes, and said it's fake." That's because the ticket was missing the MTA logo hologram "Watch the gap" warning. more ›

Rep. Michael McMahon and Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano asking that cars be allowed back onto the Staten Island Ferry. Car service was suspended at 9/11, but now, McMahon writes, "The residents of Staten Island endure one of the most arduous and costly commutes in the country; all options which could ease that burden without compromising our safety should be made available... Opening the ferry to car transportation would give Staten Island commuters more choices, ultimately save many commuters time, and would cut down on all the unnecessary vehicle emissions resulting from the need to drive through Brooklyn to get to Manhattan." One ferry rider concurred and told NY1, "I think I would feel safe, and I think as a Staten Islander, we don't have much access, or anything, you have to take bridges and pay huge tolls." However, there are some detractors: Transportation Alternatives' Wiley Norvell said to the Post, "The logistical and expense burdens of moving cars on the Staten Island Ferry is totally out of proportion to the benefits of using the ferry for cars." more ›

After the son of Bronxchester scofflaw Senator Pedro Espada Jr. resigned from his specially-created $120,000 senate job yesterday, a source close to Attorney General Andrew Cuomo tells the Post the AG is satisfied with the resignation and will not pursue a probe into alleged violations of the state's nepotism laws. Funny how the son of three-term governor Mario Cuomo is reluctant to accuse anyone of nepotism. Meanwhile, Espada "amigo" Ruben Diaz Sr. called on Cuomo to investigate the entire Senate for nepotism and not single out poor misunderstood Espada. more ›

Now that Sheryl Weinstein, former CFO of Jewish organization Hadassah, has gone and written a book about her supposed affair with Ponzi schemer/current jailbird Bernard Madoff, the NY Times asked Ruth Madoff's lawyer for comment. Peter Chavkin obliged and said his client, who has been married to Madoff for decades, knew nothing of the "alleged affair," and noted "[the allegation] stands as a powerful reminder, to those who say Ruth must have known of her husband’s criminal scheme, that there are some things that some spouses — however close they are — do not share with each other." The Times also wonders about the ethics issues, given Weinstein's role as CFO for Hadassah—investing its money with Madoff—her supposed relationship with him and her decision to invest all her family's money with Madoff. Weinstein said at a court hearing earlier this year, "Four years ago we refinanced our mortgage and gave the excess cash to Bernie Madoff"—so they are now homeless—and emphasized she was testifying because she "felt it was important for somebody who was personally acquainted with Madoff to speak. My family and I are not anonymous people to him. He knows my husband’s name is Rob and my son’s name is Eric." more ›

A 15-year-old died from massive head injuries sustained when he was struck by an allegedly intoxicated woman in Hampton Bays on Wednesday night. According to Newsday, Joseph Marino (pictured) "was standing with his bicycle at Ponquogue Avenue and Argonne Road East at about 8:40 p.m..., talking to two friends, when Caroline Goss, 34, drove her 2001 Jeep Cherokee into him." Marino had been in a coma, Suffolk County police say that Goss, who had a previous DWI in 2003, was intoxicated and had a 6-year-old son in the car—she was charged with DWI, endangering the welfare of a child and "having an open container of alcohol in the car." A friend said that Goss is a single mom of two who works the midnight shift at a Port Jefferson Hospital and as a waitress on the weekends. Just yesterday, Governor Paterson suggested tougher penalties for drivers who drive drunk with kids in the car and for drunk drivers who kill children under 17. more ›

Black leaders expressed frustration yesterday after a grand jury voted not to indict Officer Andrew Dunton in the fatal "friendly fire" shooting of fellow Officer Omar Edwards one rainy night in Harlem at the end of May. The Black Law Enforcement Alliance called the decision "disturbingly predictable," and demanded that investigations of police shootings be independent of the Police Department and the district attorney’s office: "The relationship between the police and the local prosecutors is incestuous and threatens public confidence in the integrity of the process." more ›

In a complete turnaround from yesterday's cloudy dreariness, there should be plenty of sun today, tomorrow, and into next week. The slow-moving cold front that provided the city with 38 straight hours of overcast conditions has been replaced by a high pressure system. Highs today should be in the mostly sunny mid 80s in town and the lower 80s near the shore. more ›

After his picture was released by the police on Wednesday, the 3 train's suspected subway masturbator was arrested yesterday—by two cops who recognized him from the wanted posters. And guess how Kevin Bishop, 34, who has 64 prior arrests explained his actions? According to the court documents, he admitted to the police, "That's me in the pictures, my private parts fell out. I looked down and it was out, it just popped out. I was trying to put it back... I deeply apologize for what happened. I do admit the whole truth." He is being held on $1,500 bail. Administrative assistant Celeana White had taken a cellphone photograph, which detectives say is one of the best ever (quality-wise, we guess) cellphone pictures given to them. As for White's claim that a cop told her a subway flashing wasn't a police matter and suggested she call 311 instead, the Post reports the cop "admitted she told the woman to call 311, but insists she really meant to say 911" (according to Post sources). more ›

This morning, not even a day after shooting four would-be robbers—killing two of them— who stormed into his West 125th Street restaurant supply store, Charles (Gus) Augusto was back at work. The Daily News saw the 72-year-old open Blue Flame's doors at 7:45 a.m.; Augusto told the News, "I haven't done anything wrong. I'm sitting here minding my own business and they come in with guns...I don't feel like a hero. I would have felt like a hero if I could have talked that kid into going home." more ›

At a health care reform town hall in Fresh Meadows Wednesday, one angry attendee warned Anthony Weiner, "Last time I looked this is still America—not China, not Russia, not Cuba," and last night in Midwood the congressman got more of the same. During a noontime meeting at the Council Center for Senior Citizens, one elderly constituent opined, "It's a Socialist country!" The crowd cheered, for surely all in attendance proudly refuse such "Socialist" handouts as Social Security and Medicare. But the bigger issue yesterday was that the meeting delayed the center's lunch service. Hungry retired postal worker David Figman told the Daily News, "I came to eat and I came to eat on time. They are having chicken marsala today and the food is good." More seniors grew impatient as the meeting dragged on past 12:15, and 61-year-old Linda Lefton fumed, "Usually our lunch starts at noon. I think he is going to cause us to delay our lunch. That's no good." 76-year-old Albert Fink moaned, "I'm just hungry." Finally, administrators interceded to end the forum at 12:22 p.m., but it makes ya' wonder: Why is Obama trying to euthanize seniors with forced starvation? more ›

The latest feel-good lotto story comes from the Midwood section of Brooklyn, where 19-year-old Waqas Mazhar picked up a $5 scratch-off ticket that made him a millionaire! While on his way to a cricket game with friends in May, he purchased the winning ticket in Garden City, Long Island, but didn't bother cashing it in until he was in the area again... in July! more ›

Yesterday, the Philadelphia Eagles signed controversial quarterback Michael Vick to a one-year deal. Vick was suspended from the NFL after being convicted on federal dogfighting charges in 2007; he served 18 months and was conditionally reinstated to the NFL this summer (NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will decide whether to reinstate him as early as week 1 or as late as week 6). The Eagles will introduce Vick at a 10:30 a.m. press conference; his "surprise" deal is worth $1.6 million in 2009, with an option for $5.2 million. Recently, Vick was spotted in Chicago, working with the Humane Society to advocate against dog fighting. Vick's interview with 60 Minutes will air this Sunday—he told NFL Today's James Brown that dogfighting is "wrong …I feel, you know, some tremendous hurt behind what happened. And, you know, I should of took the initiative to stop it all…I didn't - I didn't step up. I wasn't a leader." The Giants are scheduled to play the Eagles on Nov.1 in Philly and on Dec. 13 at the Meadowlands. Update, 11:02 a.m.: The press conference just started and is streaming live at the Eagles website. more ›

Governor Paterson introduced new legislation yesterday that would stiffen penalties for drunk drivers who get behind the wheel with children in the car. First-time offenders would be required to install devices to prevent their cars from starting and any drunk drivers who kill a child under 17 would face up to 25 years in prison. The bill proposes creating a new drunken driving charge, aggravated vehicular homicide, increasing the penalties for drivers who kill someone while drunk or on drugs. more ›

Five years ago yesterday, NJ Governor James McGreevey resigned, saying he was "a gay American" and admitting an affair with male aide (though many believe he stepped down due to a corruption scandal that ensnared his top contributors). Yesterday, the Star-Ledger published an interview with McGreevey—he said, "I'm grateful for my brokenness. I'm grateful for my humility." He is now a student at the General Theological Seminary, on track to get his Masters of Divinity next year (though he's not sure if he'll become a priest) and also volunteers at a Harlem storefront, helping with a prisoner re-entry program. McGreevey lives in NJ with his partner Mark O'Donnell and said they hadn't entered a civil union, "Civil union is less than marriage. Marriage is a sacred and valued institution and ought to be afforded equal protection. We've committed to each other and I believe our relationship is blessed and for now that works." And when asked what the opening line of his obituary should be, he said, "'Jim McGreevey, a joyful flawed Christian, died yesterday.' That would be the most accurate. And maybe the most meaningful." more ›

There are conflicting reports about the cause of a taxi-on-pedestrian accident at 112th Street and Lexington Avenue in East Harlem yesterday afternoon, but this much is certain: 8-year-old Axel Pablo is dead, and the driver of the cab, Akim Saiful Alam, was released without charges. Witnesses and police tell the Daily News that Alam, turning left from Lex onto 112th, slammed into Pablo as he stopped to pick up his mother's cell phone while crossing the street. The impact knocked Pablo out of his shoes. more ›

District Council 37—the city's largest union which represents municipal workers—threw its support behind City Comptroller William Thompon's mayoral bid yesterday. On why Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who won the endorsement in 2005, lost out, DC 37 executive director Lillian Roberts noted, "He's changed! He's changed!"—the union was also unhappy the mayor directed $9 billion of city work to outside contractors (which the mayor said saved money). And Local 2627 president Robert Ajaye said of Bloomberg, "He's arrogant, too arrogant." Bloomberg's reaction was, "I will not make irresponsible promises to win an endorsement," (he did promise 4% raises in 2005, but times were so different then!). The NY Times, which says it's an "unexpected boost" to Thompson, has analysis: Regarding the DC37 and Working Families Party endorsements of Thompson, "the groups indicated that they had soured on the mayor because of what they felt were an imperfect feel for the city’s working class and his imperious move to rip up the city’s term-limits laws in order to run for another term." more ›

New footage from a tourist on a Circle Line cruise showing last Saturday's collision between a small plane and a sightseeing helicopter was released tonight, just as the FAA announced that the air traffic controller and his supervisor at Teterboro Airport in NJ were suspended. Apparently the air traffic controller was on the phone with his girlfriend while handling the small plane's flight and his supervisor had left the room. The FAA said, in a statement, "We learned that the controller handling the Piper flight was involved in apparently inappropriate conversations on the telephone at the time of the accident... We also learned that the supervisor was not present in the building as required." more ›

Yankees 11 Seattle 1: C.C. Sabathia is dealing and the Yankees’ offense is clicking: Hideki Matsui was 4 for 5, with two home runs, while Derek Jeter also homered. Jerry Hairston Jr., subbing for A-Rod (out after being hit in the elbow by the Blue Jays' Shawn Camp) at third, was 2 for 5, with two RBIs. This win is at the start of a long road trip, so one game down, nine to go. more ›

Sure, Pedro G. Espada, son of Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr., may have just quit his job as the deputy director of intergovernmental relations for the State Senate, but after four-five days on the job, isn't that enough time for a computer log-in? The Post's "Nada Espada" story today suggests Pedro G. never actually worked at Senate offices in Manhattan—though he was on state payroll since last Thursday—and notices he actually went to his old job at the Soundview Health Clinic (started by his dad) yesterday. Pops Espada said, "His official date of resignation is when... I really don't know. He's cleaning out his personal stuff." Later, the Senate Democrats allowed to Post to visit their office: "[Pedro G.] Espada -- who arrived at the building only after being told that The Post was on the scene -- seemed unfamiliar with the layout of the office suite. At one point, he appeared to take direction to his office from a Senate spokesman... The room was dark when Espada arrived, with nothing on the desk appeared nervous and fiddled with his BlackBerry when asked to recount activities of the day. He was unable to log on to the computer or point to a single item in the room that could confirm the office had belonged to him." Classic photo here. more ›

Coach Rick Pitino took a page out Rudy Giuliani's playbook while addressing revelations that he had an affair and paid for the abortion of a woman who then tried to extort him for millions. After apologizing to family, friends, fans and colleagues in his statement, Pitino then took a sharp turn while thanking the Lousiville community which he arrived into after being hired in 2001. He said, "When 9/11 hit, you needed a community to get you over it. In New York City, it was easy because everybody knew the devastation of that and they got each other over it. In Louisville, the impact wasn't felt like New York City, but I needed this community to help me get over it." You can't fault the logic of using 9/11 if you wanna knock abortion out of the headlines—especially when new quotes from Karen Cunagin Sypher, the woman who accuses the coach of rape, now include this one: "He made me murder my child. It should sicken the public and it devastated my children...I wanted to have the baby but Rick said if I did, my children would all be in concrete." Sypher has released a phone message Pitino left her, but in it he only encourages Sypher to make her own decision about the pregnancy. more ›

Two men are dead after a Harlem business owner fired at four people trying to rob his store. City Room reports that the owner used a shotgun when the four "tried to rob his restaurant-supply business... The business, the Kaplan Brothers Blue Flame Corporation, at 523 West 125th Street, near Amsterdam Avenue, provides parts and repairs for commercial gas and electric ranges. It was not immediately known whether the robbers were armed, or whether the business owner had a license for the shotgun." The owner is reportedly Charles Augusto Jr., who is 72. more ›

Anyone who strolls along Greenpoint's desolate West Street—just one tantalizing block from the East River—is familiar with the frustration of finding many streets leading to the water gated off. It's not as if there's some waterside idyll waiting on the other end of the block, but there's still something refreshing about being able to stand by the river and watch the sunset or fish (shudder). more ›

Now that Bernard Madoff's purported CFO Frank DiPascali has pleaded guilty to charges related to the $65 billion Ponzi scheme, speculation has begun about what he might be able to tell the feds. DiPascali's lawyer Marc Mukasey said in court that his client could be a cooperator "of a historic nature, somebody who can pull the curtain back on a fraud and answer a lot of questions"—the ones that "the whole world wants to be answered." The NY Times said that the feds have been look at some Madoff investors who are suspected of knowing they were participating in a Ponzi scheme. In other Madoff news, there's a tell-all book coming from a Madoff victim—and former extramarital fling! Bloomberg News reports that Sheryl Weinstein, an accountant whose family lost their savings, says she met Madoff 21 years ago when she was CFO at the Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America Inc, "I now view that day as perhaps the unluckiest day of my life because of the many events set into motion that would eventually have the most profound and devastating effect on me, my husband, my child, my parents, my in-laws and all of those who depended on us." more ›

None of the reports about director John Hughes's death specified exactly where in Manhattan he collapsed from a heart attack, and you can see conspiracy theories already sprouting on the internets, with one Hollywood Elsewhere commenter wondering, "I have been trying to discover WHERE in Manhattan he dropped dead since the day he died... Is he, in fact, not even dead yet? I'm not entirely joking." Well, Movie Line has just pinpointed where he passed away on the morning of August 6th: 60 West 55th Street, outside Alain Ducasse’s brasserie Benoit; there is now a small shrine with a photograph of Hughes and sixteen candles on the sidewalk. But that's probably not going to satisfy Michael Wolff, who's written a provocative essay titled "Who Killed John Hughes," which posits: "Certain deaths do something weird to the media mind and temperament. John Hughes, a maker of what are essentially genre slapstick films, has, by his early death the other day, become a great auteur and, as well, a saint, without anyone seeming to be remotely nosy about the strange circumstances of his life and untimely end... So, come on, what happened to the guy?" Let us know who you think killed Hughes, preferably IN ALL CAPS. more ›

A New Jersey woman has admitted she fabricated an allegation of rape against a man who's now serving a 20-year-sentence for the alleged assault. William McCaffrey, 31, was sentenced in 2006 after Biurny Peguero Gonzalez testified that he and two other men raped her at knife point in a van parked in Upper Manhattan in September 2005. But she now says she made the whole thing up, to cover for a fight with some of her women friends. Last year, new scientific developments enabled investigators to retest the DNA from bites on Gonzalez's arm; no "Y" chromosome was found, meaning the bites could not have come from a man. more ›

Hey, if the State Inspector General said that you're "ill-suited," "immature," and "irresponsible" while working for the governor, you'd think your chances for another state job are screwed. Lucky for Khari Edwards—who was fired and blasted for his improper conduct with the State Liquor Authority in this mess—Albany is like bizarro world! The State Senate Democrats have hired him to a $75,204/year job as special assistant to Democratic conference leader John Sampson, in spite of the Inspector General's assessment from the SLA probe, "The Inspector General finds that Edwards is ill-suited to serve as a representative of the Governor's office, and recommends that his employment be terminated," pointing out that he lied under oath and "devoid of any appreciation of the seriousness of the Inspector General's proceedings." This new $75K gig also pays $5,000 more than his old one in the governor's office—it's so win-win! Sampson's spokeswoman told the Times Union, "Khari Edwards was hired on the merits. He has learned from experience, and will make the most of the opportunity to again serve the people of New York." more ›

A grand jury has voted not to indict an NYPD officer who fatally shot another officer chasing a thief through Harlem one rainy night at the end of May. Omar Edwards had just finished his shift and was not in uniform when he found a man breaking into his car. After a scuffle, he gave chase with his gun drawn, but was intercepted by plainclothes officer Andrew Dunton, who ordered him to drop his weapon. Edwards was fatally shot as he turned to face Dunton, and there are conflicting witness accounts as to whether Edwards identified himself as NYPD. more ›

Despite the ongoing attack on lifeguards, the parks commissioner is standing by his boys in red. After a city pool's lifeguard was arrested for dunking a teenager who accused the lifeguard of trying to drown him, Commissioner Adrian Benepe is saying that he does not think there is any systematic problem with his lifeguards, telling the Post, "Any time you have a large group of workers, you are going to have some problems." Benepe stressed that there's two sides to the dunking story and said, "If someone is resisting, it may appear something that it's not." The teenagers at Highbridge Pool in Washington Heights though must smell blood in the water because they're coming to the Post and claiming that the dunking was not an isolated incident. One 15-year-old told the paper of a similar altercation that occurred in the 10 Feet section of the water two weeks ago, saying, "It was three lifeguards. They took turns dunking the kid without letting him come up for air." more ›

In what is considered an unusual move in cases involving a shooting by the police, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly invited the family of Shem Walker down to his offices at police headquarters. Walker was the man fatally shot by an undercover cop last month after an altercation where Walker tried to chase the plainclothes officer away from his mother's stoop in Clinton Hill. Despite Kelly's attempt to reach out, Walker's family was not pleased with the results. A spokesman said, "This family has walked into this meeting with high hopes of getting some answers and walked out of this meeting highly disappointed...The story the commissioner was presented with has as many holes as Swiss cheese. It has not answered the fundamental question about why the police when asked to leave private property did not do so." The Brooklyn DA's office continues to investigate the shooting, but there has been no indication whether it will be submitted to a grand jury. Councilwoman Letitia James said, "We're dissatisfied with version of the facts as reported by Commissioner Kelly. They belie the truth as we know it. They belie common sense. And they belie the community." more ›

The latest victim of the deadly '09 is guitar legend Les Paul. He was 94 and at a White Plains hospital where he succumbed to complications from pneumonia today. Even into his old age, and with arthritis, he was performing at the Iridium Jazz Club on Broadway. His biography is stacked with genius, but he's probably best known for pioneering the development of the solid-body electric guitar, which is, you know, the backbone of the rock and roll sound. CNN lists off his many accomplishments both behind the guitar and in the studio, and talks to Gibson's CEO Henry Juszkiewicz, who told them more about the man behind it all; "The world has lost a truly innovative and exceptional human being today. I cannot imagine life without Les Paul. He would walk into a room and put a smile on anyone's face. His musical charm was extraordinary and his techniques unmatched anywhere in the world." After the jump catch him playing the Iridium just two years ago (and here's a video from his younger years). more ›

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: Falling bricks at W 15th St & 6th Ave in Manhattan, a foot chase at 108 Ave & 157 St in Queens, and an armed robbery at 86st & W 7th St in Brooklyn.
• After being indicted for racketeering, three leaders of United Brotherhood of Carpenters the were ousted from their union positions. The NY chapter was also put under "emergency trusteeship."
• A man went missing while swimming in the Rockaways at 3 a.m. yesterday; the Post says he was drunk.

On Monday, an arbitrator ruled transit workers could receive "four percent raises in each of the first two years of their contract; three percent in the third year -- far more than the MTA had budgeted for," according to NY1. Additionally, the MTA lost its bid to reduce the number of train operators aboard subway to just one (from two)—the Post says the Transit Workers Union "demanded a slew of outrageous perks to strong-arm the MTA into killing a plan that would have saved the cash-strapped agency $12 million," asking that if there was just a single operator, then the "lone operators get $2-an-hour pay hikes and that the conductors whose positions were eliminated simply get shifted to other lines," so the MTA decided not to pursue the single operator negotiation. TWU president Roger Toussaint denied that he made demands, instead saying, "This is plainly not true, and they know it. This was an exercise of incompetence at the highest level by [MTA director of labor relations] Ben Fernandez and [interim MTA CEO] Helena Williams, which they are now trying to cover up." And the Post's editorial board seems to agree, wondering if the MTA had planned this all along. more ›

Following a heroin delivery via electric toothbrush on Monday, Cameron Douglas has been taken out of his UES house arrest digs, and moved over to the Metropolitan Correctional Center. This is also where his girlfriend Kelly Sott is still being held, after making the delivery. more ›

Awww—the FDNY made 5-year-old Tahlique Garay a "junior paramedic" for his informative—and life-saving—call to 911 when his pregnant mother passed out in their Queens home. You can listen to the 911 call here: Tahlique says, "My mommy, um, passed out a little bit," and was able to give his address, explain that she gets seizures, and unlock his door for medics. His mother, Jennifer Garay, has suffered from seizures before and explained that she prepped him just in case, "I didn't want to scare him but I had to tell him what to do if I got sick." By the time EMTs arrived, little Tahlique showed them where his mom was and explained her medical history; Jennifer Garay, who was taken to the hospital for severe dehydration, said, "He not only saved me, he saved his sister as well." And Tahlique said he'd teach his new sister and friends about 911, "Make sure to call 9-1-1 if you have an emergency or you are hurt." more ›

These health care town hall forums make for great television, what with all the red faced patriots eager to water the tree of liberty and save America's seniors from Obamacare death panels. So why would Anthony Weiner try to stop TV news crews from documenting last night's raucous health care meeting at the IBEW hall in Fresh Meadows? CBS 2 says Weiner's aides told them they couldn't come in, and when the congressman arrived, he got "snippy" with the camera crew, telling them, "This isn't for Channel 2. This is for my constituents." more ›

Yesterday, a memorial was held for five of the victims killed in Saturday's collision between a small plane and sightseeing helicopter. The service, at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral home on the Upper East Side, was brief and the hearses for the five Italian tourists—Michele Norelli, 51 and his son Filippo Norelli, 16, and their friends Fabio Gallazzi, 49, and Tiziana Pedrone, 44, and their son, Giacomo Gallazzi, 15—filled the street. An Italian tourist told the Post, "There are no words to describe what this family is going through. They went for a holiday and came home in a coffin." more ›

Police believe drag racing caused a spectacular crash on Francis Lewis Boulevard that left two teens and 11-year-old boy hospitalized. Two cars, a BMW and a Lexus, were seen speeding around 11 p.m. last night when they knocked into each other, sending the BMW spinning into a parked van. Witness Peter Boudouvas tells CBS 2, "I saw one car bump the car on the left, took 2 or 3 spins, van moved 30 feet up. I jumped out, called 911 and asked nobody to move." According to ABC 7, police had to cut down a tree to get through to the wreckage. Another witness says the BMW was "doing 60 to 70 mph...Things like this happen all the time." The 18-year-old driver of the BMW and two male passengers, ages 18 and 11, were rushed to Booth Memorial Hospital in Queens. The 11-year-old is in critical condition, and the 16-year-old driver of the Lexus walked away with minor injuries. He was given a breathalyzer test (it came back negative) and is being questioned by police, but he's already in violation of the law for driving without a licensed adult in the car. more ›

The Daily News and NY Times are reporting that District 37, the city's largest union, will endorse City Comptroller William Thompson for mayor. The News writes that this is a "turnaround from four years ago that gives fresh momentum to Thompson's campaign." more ›

Yesterday, a 32-year-old man was shot while chasing two people he caught in the middle of a burglary in his Newark apartment. Karl Randolph had heard noises in the kitchen and thought it was one of his kids; the Star-Ledger reports, "He found the two men instead. One of them was holding a bag filled with cereal, Oreo cookies and juice." Randolph ran after the men, managing to catch up and walk one of them back towards the apartment complex, but then the suspect fired a gun. Now Randolph is at University Hospital (pictured), with a bullet still inside him, punctured lung and broken rib. Randolph's wife Nicole told the Star-Ledger they moved to Newark from Utica, NY, because the economic situation upstate was so terrible; Randolph found work as a cable TV technician and she enrolled in a nursing program. Now Nicole Randolph says moving to Newark "the worst mistake I have ever made. This is not the place to be when you have children. Just because you live in a place that's low-income, that doesn't mean you have to endure certain things." more ›

Pedro G. Espada's short reign as the new "deputy director of intergovernmental affairs" came to an end yesterday, when his dad, Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr. said his son would resign the $120,000 position. The senior Espada told the Daily News, "We don't want to get off to this kind of start and certainly my son does not want it for himself... To remove any suggestion that this was a result of my influence, rather than him earning his way on to the position, he will withdraw. It's a new day in the Senate, new leadership, reforms are in place. My son never sought this. He had a better paying job, but he wanted to come back into public service." more ›

• Mets 6 Arizona 4: It wasn’t a pretty road trip, but the Mets escaped with a win. Luis Castillo provided the game-winning single in the eight with two outs and the Mets added another run in the frame and another in the ninth. That helped them survive a shaky start from Oliver Perez and a shaky close from K-Rod. No matter, the trip is over and they will return home to face the Giants on Friday.

Throughout the aftermath of the Taconic crash that killed eight, one major party has remained silent—Warren and Jackie Hance, parents of the three girls who died inside the car driven by their aunt, Diane Schuler. And while the couple remains mum to the media, their actions are beginning to do the talking for them, with word that they have reached out to the Bastardi family to meet and exchange condolences. A lawyer for the Hances has also revealed that the couple plan to give any money from a memorial fund for their daughters over to the Bastardis. The Post is even going so far as publishing speculation from the Bastardis' lawyer that "[the Hance family lawyer] told me they would prefer not to be in touch with or connected to the Schuler family" and were particularly upset with bloviating, publicity-hungry lawyer Dominic Barbara, who was hired by Daniel Schuler and quickly launched a public defense following Diane Schuler's toxicology results. Meanwhile police continue to nail down a timeline of the fateful drive, now revealing that video of Diane Schuler at a McDonald's at 10:30 a.m. showed her "acting normally" two hours before her disoriented call to her brother. more ›

The police have released a photograph of a man who was allegedly masturbating on an uptown 3 train last week. A 41-year-old woman took a cellphone picture of the man she claims was pleasuring himself in front of her. The man got on the train at 42nd Street/Times Square at 3:45 p.m. and then got out at the 96th Street stop. And 1010WINS adds, "The woman says she tried to lodge a complaint at the 32nd Precinct and provide police there with the suspect's photograph but was apparently rebuffed by an officer who, according to the complainant, told her it was not a police matter and to report it through 311." The police urge people with information to call Crime Stoppers (800-577-TIPS), go to the Crime Stoppers website or text 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. And Internal Affairs is looking into the "not a police matter" part. more ›

Midtown bus riders will now get to enjoy the luxury granted only to L train commuters up until now—knowing exactly how long they'll have to wait at their stop with convenient nearby countdown clocks. Eight LED screens have been installed across 34th street, giving riders arrival times for the M34 and M16 buses. The project costs the city nothing since a technology company donated the screens and buses are already equipped with GPS. Mayor Bloomberg pointed out that the technology is "similar to that used to track military vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan.” more ›

A belated followup: The 14-year-old girl who was sentenced to 18 months in juvenile jail on animal cruelty and burglary charges for killing a kitten by baking it in a 500-degree oven. While 17-year-old Cheyenne Cherry's name has been attached to the crime, apparently it was the 14-year-old who put kitten Tiger Lily in the oven and turned on the gas, according to the Daily News. For her part, Cherry pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated animal cruelty and criminal trespass (the pair were ransacking a former friend's Bronx apartment); according to a tipster, her July 31 sentencing was adjourned because the judge wanted to read her probation record—she's been arrested previously for holding up someone with a BB gun to steal someone dog and robbing someone's iPod at gunpoint. Cherry's next court date is September 2. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW]: Pedro Espada Jr., the coup-causing State Senator from Bronxchester, has fired back at critics who insinuate that his son, Pedro G. Espada, got hired by the Senate (during a state hiring freeze) because of nepotism. It recently came to light that Pedro G., a former city councilman and state assemblyman, was appointed to the $120,000-a-year position of "deputy director of intergovernmental relations" soon after his father returned to the Democratic fold, thus ending a month-long Senate stalemate. But seriously folks, "this is not the result of a quid pro quo or a contingency to my ending the Senate stalemate," as Espada declared in a statement: more ›

Today, President Obama held a White House reception to celebrate new Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. However, Obama pointed out, "We're here not just to celebrate our extraordinary new Supreme Court justice and all those who've been a part of her journey to this day. We're here as well to celebrate an extraordinary moment for our nation." He noted, "While this is Justice Sotomayor's achievement, the result of her ability and determination, this moment is not just about her. It's about every child who will grow up thinking to him or herself, 'If Sonia Sotomayor can make it, then maybe I can, too.' This is a great day for America." more ›

The family of the Queens high school administrator who was the city's first swine flu-related fatality has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city. The Daily News reports the suit alleges the city failed to provide "accurate information about the flu" to I.S. 238 Assistant Principal Mitchell Wiener in a timely way, even as people in the school system were testing positive for the H1N1 virus back in May. more ›

Former Knicks coach and current head coach of Big East powerhouse Louisville Rick Pitino is mired in an extortion scandal where it has come out that he had an affair inside a Kentucky restaurant and then paid for the woman to have an abortion. Karen Cunagin Sypher was indicted back in April of attempting to extort Pitino for $10 million. She had since responded to the charges with her own claims that the coach had raped her inside a restaurant and at a second location in 2003. Now the Louisville Courier-Journal obtained police interviews where Pitino admits to having sex with her at the restaurant after its employees had left; an assistant coach on-hand also told police that he heard "only the sounds of two people that seemed to be enjoying themselves during a sexual encounter." The Long Island native Pitino, a married father of five and Catholic who has a priest travel around with his team, then admitted to paying $3,000 for Sypher to have an abortion because she did not have health insurance, an anecdote unlikely to be brought up by the president in his current town hall meetings. Sypher pleaded not guilty to the extortion charges and prepares to go for trial. Sources say Pitino has no plans to take a leave of absence from Louisville. more ›

Detectives from the 88th Precinct have arrested a 16-year-old boy in connection with last week’s assault on Eddy Sanchez, a 22-year-old Pratt architecture student who is still in critical condition in a medically induced coma at Kings County Hospital Center. The suspect, Eugene Adams, is charged with assault, robbery and criminal possession of stolen property. A police source tells The Local Adams resides at 1100 Bedford Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant, three long blocks east from the site of the August 4th attack at Grand and Lexington Avenues in Clinton Hill. After releasing surveillance footage of teens attempting to use Sanchez's ATM card at a bodega, police tracked down Adams through a tip called in to the Crime-Stoppers hot line, (800) 577-TIPS. According to ABC News, as many as four other teens may have been involved in the attack, but no other arrests were immediately made. It's being reported that the suspects beat Sanchez after he refused to give them money, and one of the assailants used a crowbar. more ›

Following on the heels of Monday's first appearance of 90 degrees this summer, yesterday's high and low temperatures were both above normal. That's only the second time that both the max and min have been above normal on the same day since early June. How's that for obscure weather trivia! more ›

With beach lifeguards doing their part over the past couple weeks to demonstrate just how terrified we should feel swimming beneath their easily-distracted watch, now lifeguards at city pools are making sure we know that they can be negligent too. Yesterday, Luis Peralta, 25, a lifeguard at the Highbridge Pool in Washington Heights, was arrested for dunking a teenager after he joking he would drown anyone who had jumped in while the pool was being cleaned. A fellow teenager told the News, "The lifeguard came in and started drowning the kid. He was basically on top of his head, pushing down with his hands — and he was counting [out loud] up to 5 or 6." Peralta was charged with a misdemeanor for reckless endangerment. The mother of the boy dunked told the Post, "What [the lifeguard] did was very dangerous...I gave him permission to go because I felt safe with him going there, but now I don't feel safe." Just last week, two teens were arrested at the same pool for scuffling with cops when they refused to leave the pool in a similar situation. more ›

• From the Gothamist Newsmap: A power outage at Remington St in Queens, a jumper at W71 St near the West Side Highway in Manhattan and an all-hands fire at 7th Street at Prospect Park West in Brooklyn.
• A prayer service was held this morning for the Italian tourist victims of Saturday's collision between a small plane and helicopter.
• Brain fart, probably: Senator Kirsten Gillibrand forgot where Senator Carl Levin is from (Michigan, duh) and her query to her aide "Where's Carl from?" was taped.

The mystery of how Cameron Douglas's girlfriend actually thought it was a good idea to bring heroin to his meeting with The Man becomes a little bit less mysterious now. The Daily News reports that Douglas was under house arrest in his mom's $9.25M Upper East Side townhouse when girlfriend Kelly Sott (pictured) delivered a toothbrush filled with 19 bags of heroin. A private security guard was suspicious when he heard Douglas on the phone talking about the toothbrush, as he had just gotten one—so when Sott showed up he confiscated it and found the drugs. (Wonder what was in that first toothbrush!) The DEA later arrested Sott at the Hotel Gansevoort where she was staying; "they found heroin, crystal meth and marijuana in her room. She was held without bail after her arrest, and a federal magistrate ordered immediate treatment for heroin addiction and hypertension." Both Sott and Douglas were reportedly strung out when this occurred. more ›

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's marathon tour of Africa was supposed to spotlight pressing issues like AIDS, rape, and other atrocities, but those boring old talking points have been eclipsed by her furious response to a Congolese student's maladroit question about what "Mr. Clinton thinks through the mouth of Mrs. Clinton." Yesterday, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley futilely tried to shift the media's lowbrow focus, explaining that Clinton perceived the question as sexist because it asked for "the views of two men, but not [hers]." But when pressed further Crowley sighed, "I wasn't there, okay? She reacted to what she heard." A source tells the Daily News, "She's tired. She's in the rape capital of the world. It's a long trip." Okay, but neither Clinton nor the student has commented on the contretemps yet, so this can probably get us through a couple more news cycles! In the meantime, there are other important issues to discuss—like why isn't Madam Secretary dressing to impress on her Africa tour?! As Newsday wonders, "Can some great stylist step in and help?" And the Daily Show dubbed the incident "Crankypants Suit"; watch the funny segment below: more ›

As expected, Frank DiPascali, who acted as the chief financial officer for Madoff Investment Securities, pleaded guilty to helping Bernard Madoff (pictured) pull off a $65 billion Ponzi scheme. DiPascali, a self-described "kid from Queens" who landed a job with Madoff, said, "No purchases or sales of securities were actually taking place in their accounts. It was all fake. It was all fictitious. It was wrong, and I knew it was wrong at the time... I don't know how I went from being an 18-year-old kid who just happened to have a job to standing here in court. I regret everything I did. I hope my actions going forward with the government will make a difference." more ›

Authorities investigating a fire in Central Islip yesterday discovered that the three bodies of adults were actually shot to death. Suffolk Count police also said that the fire was arson and a witness described, "The house was engulfed Every window, every doorway, flames were shooting out. There was no way you could have even attempted to get in there." Two children managed to survive the fire; Newsday reports, "Two children - a 6-year-old boy and a 2-year-old girl - were standing outside the burning home when firefighters arrived. They had been asleep in a built-in garage converted into a bedroom and were able to get out a side exit." Two of the victims were identified as Katrice Daniels, 31, and Luis Calixto, 19; the third victim was a female in her 20s (Calixto's mother suggested it could be her son's girlfriend). Brooklyn resident Kim Graves had been renting out the home, though she did not disclose who the renters were. more ›

We knew that being on a jury for the Astor trial was hard work, considering that it's been going on for months (jury selection was back in March-April!!), there have been tons of witnesses (apparently 14,000 transcription pages worth) and Astor's son and co-defendant, Anthony Marshall, has had many health issues. But now we find out it can even be dangerous work: The jury's forewoman was headed home from court when she was attacked by a knife-wielding stranger on an uptown 4 train! more ›

A group of hedge funds are suing Milton "Todd" Ault, the Californian C.E.O. of investment firm Zealous Inc., for allegedly blowing their $4.2 million investment on porn productions and a swingers ranch. Who is Todd Ault? Among other things, he works in adult "publishing," and his company co-produced a porn film based on Sarah Palin. (Could it be Who's Nailin' Paylin?) Lawyers for the hedge funds say their millions were supposed to be steered to an "integrated global community of trading partners." In other words, a swingers ranch! Ault vehemently denies the allegations, and insists "there was never going to be a swingers club" upstate in New Lebanon, which court papers erroneously identify as the Catskills. (It's in Columbia County, and home of the bitchin' Lebanon Valley Speedway, which ZZ Top has been known to RAWK.) Ault tells the Daily News, "These hedge funds didn't do their homework when they made their investment," and says the plaintiffs' money was lost in the stock-market collapse. more ›

Yesterday, Governor Paterson told reporters, "I haven't announced the person that I think should be mayor," raising some eyebrows. Last month, he told the Daily News editorial board that regarding "Thompson-Bloomberg, I'll probably make some kind of announcement later on. I won't, you know, say anything about that now" (though in March he said, "I am the leader of the Democratic Party in New York State. I would expect that I'll support the winner of [the] Democratic primary"). But at Rep. Charles Rangel's birthday party last night, City Hall News reports that Paterson introduced Thompson, "It says on my program that the first person that we want to introduce is the mayor. Apparently, a psychic must have written tonight’s program, because the first person I’m going to introduce is currently the comptroller of the City of New York, Bill Thompson!... Please greet the mayor, Bill Thompson." Thompson said, "I guess we’re taking that as an endorsement guys." Then again, yesterday, the NY Times had maybe the 10,000th article on how Paterson might be a liability. more ›

Yesterday, a toddler fell from a second-floor window in a Brooklyn home; he later died from his injuries. According to the Daily News, 3-year-old "Devin Joseph Jr. landed in a cement alleyway after plunging out the window of a three-story home on Westminster Rd. where his parents are temporarily living." The family was living with friends because their home went into foreclosure. A witness said a crowd gathered by the alleyway, "Everybody was just in hysteria. It was really sad," and the News reports, "A safety guard could be seen in the window." And on Monday, a 1-year-old fell to his death from a second-story Flatbush home's window; WABC 7 says, "According to investigators, Marcus Olivier's mother had just given him a bath and went to get some clothes. He apparently broke through the blinds and fell out the window, hitting the concrete driveway." Mayor Bloomberg said, "The law requires guards if you have children and it also requires the managers to ask every year whether or not you need them. If you have a kid, please don't take any risks, we don't need tragedies like this." But the law only requires apartment buildings to have them—not private homes. more ›

• Yankees 7 Toronto 5: The Yankees won another game with some late-inning heroics. Trailing 4-3 heading into the eighth, Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada launched back-to-back homers to put New York on top 5-4. The Yankees added two more runs on singles from Melky Cabrera and Johnny Damon, which allowed them to turn a three-run lead over to Mariano Rivera in the ninth. Rivera pitched around a home run and a single before nailing down his 33rd save.

NYPD divers and the Army Corps of Engineers managed to raise some of the wreckage of the small plane that crashed into a helicopter this past Saturday. Two more bodies were recovered, meaning that all nine victims' bodies have been found; three were on the plane while six were on the sightseeing helicopter. The Hudson River's murky conditions have been an obstacle to divers during the recovery effort; they explained to the Times they have been doing much of the search by touch. more ›

Two years after Leona Helmsley's death, a battle continues over her multi-billion dollar trust. Her will stated that the entire trust—over $5 billion— be used toward the care and welfare of dogs, but earlier this year, a judge allowed trustees distribute the money amongst a number of charities. Now, the ASPCA, Maddie's Fund and the Humane Society have filed a suit to make trustees follow Helmsley's wishes to help dogs. more ›

Employees at a laundromat in Morningside Heights found a four-feet-long, nine-pound boa constrictor curled up between bags of clothes this morning. Animal Care and Control officials say the snake was safely removed by police and taken to its offices in East Harlem for a checkup. Jose Ortiz of Animal Care and Control tells NY1, "It's a very timid snake, not an aggressive snake at all." Yeah, that's probably because it was napping while digesting Snuggle. Animal Care and Control says the boa will be sent to a reptile sanctuary upstate and will eventually be released back into the wild. The incident is only the latest in a long line of surprise snake discoveries in the city; in June a Bronx woman discovered a five-foot long, tan-colored snake under her dining room table; in February two boys found a boa between the couch cushions in their Bensonhurst apartment, and who could forget the python in the toilet? Not us; that's why we're sleeping on our office desks in diapers and hand-washing our clothes! more ›