After a judge sentenced him to 90 years to life in prison, the man convicting of killing a former boss Co-op City leaped from his chair. Paulino Valenzuela was also screaming, "Please let me go!" but five to seven court officers jumped on top of him. more ›

On his TV show Tuesday night, national debate-poisoner Glenn Beck dumped on the largest cooperative housing development in the world, Co-op City in the Bronx. Describing the historic co-op as a symbol of socialism's drab uniformity, the beloved boob opined, "Once you say there's a place where everyone's life is interchangeable, everyone then has exactly the same stuff, which sounds like these beautiful complexes. Do you want to live there? This is Co-op City. Oh man! This is so beautiful. That's the Great Society for you, and those are the lush [buildings]." You gonna take that, the Bronx? more ›

The man suspected of mugging six women and threatening them with an ice pick in the Bronx and Manhattan was arraigned yesterday, and his cousin offered an explanation about John Martinez's alleged actions. Kenny Colon said Martinez was "stressing about how to afford everything for the holidays... He was thinking about beinggood to his family and Christmas ... not about hurting anybody." Well, in one instance, he was upset that one victim didn't give him enough money, "This is not enough. Take me to your apartment or I will stab your son." No one was hurt in any of the muggings. more ›

The man suspected of being the "Ice Pick Bandit," striking six times at Co-Op City, Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, was held for violating his probation. According to WPIX, John Martinez, 39, was caught after a "tipster said Martinez was reponsible for the muggings, and when one of the victims picked his photo." Acting on the tip, the NYPD found him near his mother's home in Cliffside Park, NJ. Martinez, who served 8 years for robbery, allegedly threatened women with an ice pick or knife and forced them to hand over money and other belongings. The NYPD is awaiting for Martinez to be extradited; his parole conditions state that he must remain in NY. more ›

It's reported that the man suspected of six muggings at Co-op City in the Bronx and at Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town in Manhattan has been arrested in NJ. The Post reports, "A hulking ex-con was picked up by cops in Bergen County, NJ, over the weekend -- and sources said he's being eyed as the ice-pick predator." In the six crimes, a man wielding an ice pick (or knife) has approached women entering their apartment buildings, threatened them, and taken their money, jewelry, and cellphones. The man in custody, who was apprehended after a tip, allegedly has previous arrests. more ›

A day after the police released images of an ice pick- and knife-wielding man who robbed four women in the Bronx and Manhattan, the suspect apparently struck two more times yesterday. Police believe that the same man is behind the muggings of two women in Stuyvesant Town. City Councilman Daniel Garodnick, who lives in the complex, told the Post, "This guy is really sick. Residents should be extremely vigilant when entering their buildings." more ›

The police are looking for a suspect they believe is behind four muggings, three in the Bronx and one in Manhattan, over the past few weeks. In each instance, the man followed a woman into her apartment building and then onto an elevator, where he threatened her with either a knife or ice pick and finally robbed her. more ›

It's the end of another long work week, and people need a way to blow off steam. And sometimes shooting pool or drinking beers just doesn't cut it. No, sometimes you need to grab your trusty pickaxe and bash some cars. more ›

On Monday, building workers at Co-op City and management company RiverBay Corp. agreed to bring in a third-party mediator to help settle their contract negotiation. Statements from both sides reveal they're still ready to get at each others throats. RiverBay's spokesman Fred Winters said, "The only substantive issue to be resolved is whether or not the union will allow Co-op City to offer the same health plan as every other building in the Bronx employing 32 BJ workers," while 32BJ claims they "proposed and Co-op City management has agreed to" the third party. Failure to agree on a new contract could result in another strike! more ›

Police are continuing to investigate the case surrounding a 4-year-old boy who fell to his death from a balcony in Co-op City on Friday night. Though a DOB spokesman said a balcony inspection showed no structural dangers, it turns out management company RiverBay Corp. was late to tell residents to stop their terrace use. A month ago they were ordered to stop balcony use by June 6th, but only told residents to clear off on June 4th. more ›

Today building workers at the Co-op City housing development and the RiverBay Corp. sat down to resume contract negotiations for the first time since the week-long worker strike ended. Unfortunately, they don't seem to be going smoothly. RiverBay Corp. spokesman Fred Winters said, "32 BJ negotiators were not prepared for substantive discussion and the session ended after about ten minutes," suggesting that it might take a while before the two see eye-to-eye. Local 32 BJ are seeing a "multi-year agreement that maintains their family health care coverage and provides cost of living wage increases," and still maintain that RiverBay Corp. locked them out when negotiations broke down the last time. more ›

Last night 4-year-old Malachi Johnson fell 23 stories to his death from the terrace of his Co-op city apartment. Witnesses saw him hit the courtyard, and attempted to help but were blocked by construction fencing. Johnson lived with his mother, who was reportedly in the shower at the time of the incident. According to the Post, the child pushed a chair up to the railing of the balcony, climbed over and fell. One witness told WABC, "She was just screaming and saying Oh God no, Oh God no, that was the mother." more ›

One week after building workers at Co-op city went on strike over alleged proposed wage freezes, the RiverBay Corp. has officially ended its lockout of the workers. Local 32BJ president Kyle Bragg said in a press release, "I am pleased to announce that RiverBay has accepted the union’s offer to return to work and resume contract negotiations. We hope that we can reach a fair agreement that is good for workers and Co-op City residents." more ›

Residents of Co-op City in the Bronx were thankful that the Department of Health ordered the Department of Sanitation to remove trash that had been piling up during the building workers strike. The sanitation department will not cross the picket lines unless ordered to by the health department, but residents were glad they did. Kevin Pierre, 32, told the Post. "I'm ecstatic. The raccoons were eating the garbage." The complex produces 40 tons of trash per day, but another resident said, "I've lived here all my life, and this is the worst I've ever seen it." more ›

Probably to the relief of Co-Op City residents, the Department of Health ordered the Department of Sanitation to remove tons of trash from the Bronx housing complex. Building workers have been on strike since Tuesday, claiming that RiverBay management wants to freeze their wages and walked away from negotiations, while RiverBay says that Local 32BJ was the one to walk away. more ›

The Co-Op City building workers strike continues, and residents are continuing to voice their concerns over the huge piles of garbage that could attract unwanted furry creatures. CBS 2 visited the scene, deeming it a "stinky mess" since the huge Bronx housing complex creates about, oh, 40 tons of garbage a day. more ›

Over 500 workers went on strike yesterday at Co-op City in the Bronx, and residents are starting to feel the pain. The workers were locked out of the complex by management once they learned of the strike, and now broken lights are going unfixed and the garbage is piling up. Tenant Leroy Dow told the Post, "The garbage is loose, which is a huge problem because there are a lot of raccoons around, especially at night. When it rains, the garbage will smell and attract rats." Could the complex be headed for a ratdemic? more ›

It's the Doorman Strike that never happened! Over 500 porters, garbage attendants and maintenance workers formed picket lines at the Co-op City housing development in the Bronx at about 8 a.m., protesting a proposed four-year wage freeze. The Local 32BJ contract—a different contract than the one which nearly caused a building worker strike in April—with the RiverBay Corp. expired this morning, and negotiations reportedly broke down last week. 32BJ Vice President Kyle Bragg said in a press release, "RiverBay's refusal to put realistic wage proposals on the table left us no other option than a strike. Wage freezes are unacceptable." more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] Councilman Larry Seabrook (D-Bronx) has reportedly been hit with a 13-count indictment on federal charges of money laundering, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail and wire fraud, extortion, and receiving an unlawful gratuity. Insiders told the Times that the Democrat—who represents Wakefield, Co-op City, Edenwald, Williamsbridge and Baychester—is suspected of helping a boiler company obtain city contracts. more ›

Co-Op City, the massive co-op housing development (reportedly the largest in the world) in the Bronx, lost power over night. Con Ed says power was out at eight building and has been restored to six of them, and the other two buildings, per WCBS 880, "are being worked on and won't be back on until Saturday morning." Initially there was a fire, but that has been put out. Con Ed would also like you to know that they didn't cause it--apparently Co-Op City maintenance workers had been working on feeders, one of which tripped and cause the outage. WNBC reports that "there may be power in public areas, but not in apartments." People had been stuck in elevators and the FDNY was able to remove them. No injuries have been reported. more ›