Five High School students on Long Island have been suspended for watching a schoolyard fight between two boys and not doing anything to stop it. The vicious brawl at the Half Hollow Hills High School East in Dix Hills ended up on YouTube (it's since been removed), and the teens who taped it and cheered the fighters on each received suspensions lasting... one day (today). So they essentially got a long weekend out of it. And yet one student at the school thinks even that slap on the wrist is unfair. Free the Half Hollow Five! more ›

A little heads up would have been nice. Newsday reports that back in 2002 Dr. Azad Anand and his two friends, Dr. Anoop Kapoor and Balram Verma were playing 9 holes at the Dix Hills Golf Course, when Kapoor "shanked a shot" and hit Anand square in the left eye. He lost vision in that eye, and filed suit, claiming Kapoor neglected to yell "'Fore!" prior to taking the shot. However, it's not always required by law to do so, a state appeals court has now ruled. The court ruled 3-1 in favor of Kapoor, saying Ananad is not entitled to damages and that being hit by an errant ball is an "inherent risk of the game of golf." So if you have any pals with bad aim (or trying out the Happy Gilmore tee shot), maybe invest in some golf goggles (which probably don't exist). more ›

If you ever see this woman on the train, offer her your seat. In their ongoing Extreme Commuter series, amNewYork follows Tameeka Henry's 2 to 5 day/week travels from Brooklyn to Dix Hills, Long Island. The 21-year-old student attends Five Towns College there, and while it's only about 30-something miles from her Brooklyn home, it takes about four hours each way. Four hours. Maybe that 3.9 GPA can be partially attributed to all of that forced study time. She "takes a dollar van, a city bus, the subway, two Long Island Rail Road trains and a Suffolk County bus to get to and from school. Sometimes she catches a ride to classes, but either way, she still has to leave her house at 6:45 a.m. to get to school on time." What's all that cost? $26. Luckily, she graduates in May. [via NYMag] more ›

met with investigators. This follows an ABC News report on the saga, which began with the fire on May 30th. FIre officials say it's standard to meet with the owner of the home, but for whatever reason hadn't been able to speak with 50 until now, even after numerous attempts. Meanwhile, the rapper is still "fighting a temporary motion that bars him from collecting insurance proceeds from the home or selling the real estate." As for who started the fire, a Long Island fire chief told ABC, "I think they're on to something, but they can't make an arrest without something tangible." more ›

After the roof over her head burned to the ground, Shaniqua Tompkins found herself in court where a Manhattan judge ruled that she owes Fifty Cent $4,500 for May rent that she never paid (previously a judge ruled she owed double that for past due rents). The NY Post reports that she has until Friday to come up with the cash.

"She better pay it by the end of the week. Do you understand?" Edmead told Tompkins' lawyer, Paul Catsandonis, at a hearing yesterday. more ›

Earlier this year it was reported that 50 Cent wanted his ex-girlfriend, Shaniqua Tompkins, and their son out of his Dix Hills, Long Island home (a wish he had enforced by a judge). While 50 didn't live there, the deed is in his name, and he pays Tompkins $6,700 a month, including cash for her to find a new home for their son and her boyfriend (who has been living under the rapper's roof). more ›

When David Clarke of Queens received information from a bank about a $180,000 second mortgage on his Rosedale house - a mortgage he never applied for - he decided to contact the police. And Queens authorities found a Brooklyn couple who had been using Clarke's identity to buy a home in Long Island. Yesterday, the Queens D.A.'s office charged Emerick and Donna Martin with identity theft, second-degree grand larceny, first-degree scheme to defraud and much more for scams that totaled $1 million. Here are the crazy details from the Queens D.A.'s press release:

District Attorney Brown said that, according to the charges, the defendants took out two mortgages, totaling $1,123,000, on a residence located at 266 Pine Acres Boulevard in Dix Hills, Long Island, using the name and social security number of the victim, David Clarke. Thereafter, on December 19, 2006, it is charged, the defendants, posing as David Clarke and Donna Clarke, and a third unapprehended individual, went to a Westbury, Long Island, mortgage broker and requested a second mortgage of $180,000 on the real Mr. Clarke’s Rosedale property. At the mortgage closing on January 11, 2007, the defendants allegedly presented a forged driver’s license in the name of David Clarke and completed the paperwork by supplying the actual loan number, job information, telephone number and addresses of the real Mr. Clarke.

Francesco Marciuliano, Writer and Artist more ›