Results tagged “eastharlem”

Relatives, friends, teachers, and students gathered last night to mourn the tragic death of Glen Wright, who was stabbed to death outside his grandmother's East Village building because gang members mistook him for someone else. (We noted this devastating story yesterday, and like many, we're still profoundly saddened.) Wright, who died at age 21, was taking a break from helping his grandmother wash windows at the Baruch Houses on the Lower East Side when a group of men approached him. Suspect Joel Herrera, 20, is accused of stabbing Wright repeatedly in the neck; he told detectives he confused Wright with someone who assaulted one of his friends. Cops are searching for the other assailants.

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.

The mother of the undercover police officer who was shot by a fellow officer in East Harlem in May has expressed how displeased she is with the handling of the case. Natalia Harding, mother of the late Officer Omar Edwards, has rekindled discussion over the incident in which her son, a black officer in plainclothes, was fatally shot by Officer Andrew Dunton, a white cop chasing on foot. Harding said, "If this was Omar Edwards who shot -- whatever his name is — Dunton, Omar Edwards would be sitting in jail right now waiting to be tried for murder. I would like to see him go to jail. He is going to go out and do the same thing again."

[UPDATE BELOW] Around 10:30 this morning, activists for the homeless cut through a fence and seized a vacant lot at 115th and Madison Ave in East Harlem; they say the property is owned by JPMorgan Chase, which is a "recent beneficiary of billions in taxpayer bailout money." The occupation, organized by the group Picture the Homeless, has drawn over 100 activists to the lot, and they've been busy turning it into a festive "tent village," with a casita, a stage, banners, barbeque grills, and two dozen tent structures—inspired in part by Depression-era Hoovervilles. On their blog the group says:

Continue reading "Homeless Activists Occupy Empty Lot In East Harlem"

Hoping to back up her brother's claim that he killed a motivational speaker to help him commit suicide, Kenneth Minor's sister Susan tells the Daily News, "This man, Locker, came to Harlem looking for a person to take him out. This man was asking everyone in Harlem to kill him."

Police have made the first in what they hope will be a series of arrests connected to the murder of Long Island motivational speaker Jeff Locker. 36-year-old Kenneth Minor has been charged with second-degree murder after being identified as one of two people seen on ATM surveillance video while taking out money from Locker's account. The News says Minor can be seen "checking his face for blood splatters in the ATM reflection." Minor, who has a rap sheet dating back to 1991 on drug and robbery charges, admitted to cops that he was on the scene while Locker was stabbed with a screwdriver while parked in his car in East Harlem, but claimed that he was only assisting the North Woodmere father of two in committing suicide so that Locker's family could collect insurance. Police dismiss that notion and say they are now looking for the prostitute who appears to have set up Locker's murder. The News says that Locker was involved in seeing that woman during "a series of Wednesday night trysts."

Police continue to hone in on the woman that Long Island motivational speaker Jeff Locker contacted in East Harlem and is believed to be one of the suspects in the brutal murder that took place while he was being robbed inside his car Thursday morning. The woman along with two men, all described as black and in their mid-20s, were captured on surveillance video while they withdrew from Locker's bank account $200 each at seven different neighborhood ATMs. Yesterday the Post said that police believed the woman to be Locker's girlfriend; today the Daily News is quoting police sources that say it's a prostitute Locker had called from his cell and they're looking for. The paper also gets a graphic description from a mortician who arrived at Locker's body inside his car and tells them, "I knocked on the window to see if he was asleep or doped up or whatever. I saw his mouth open...His shirt had a bunch of holes and there was blood. The blood was dried. His head was back. His hands were tied behind his back. He was pale."

A motivational speaker from Long Island was found dead in his car yesterday morning. Jeff Locker's stabbed and strangled body was discovered in his 2007 Dodge sedan, which was parked on Paladino Avenue, near 124th Street, in East Harlem. According to the Daily News, his "his hands [were] tied behind his back and a cord [was] wrapped around his neck and tied to the headrest. He had been stabbed in the chest and robbed, police sources said."

Last year Patsy's—the one in East Harlem (which some pizza enthusiasts consider to be the only "real" Patsy's)—celebrated its 75th Anniversary by rolling back their prices to 1933 levels, and the result was a total mob scene (heh). So many hungry roustabouts amassed that police were summoned to control the crowd, which turned ugly when the kitchen closed earlier than expected. Well, the restaurant's doing it again this year. An email announcing the 76th Anniversary promises "90¢ steak, 60¢ pizza pies, 1¢ sodas. The NYPD and the FDNY will have a pizza-eating challenge. 118th Street and First Avenue will officially be renamed 'Patsy's Way,' and many other surprises." The email ends with an entreaty to "CALL TODAY (Limited Seating)," leading Slice to speculate that owners are trying to avoid a repeat of last year's pandemonium. But we called the restaurant and were told that's "definitely a mistake. We're not taking reservations. It's going to be the same as last year." [With the discounts for take-out only.] Yes! Notify the riot police; the big day is August 26th, with discounts from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

At today's rally for Omar Edwards, the off-duty police officer who was killed by another cop in East Harlem, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-Harlem) was asked if he had advice to give President Obama, who is visiting NYC this evening. The Daily News reports that Rangel delivered a "snide" answer, "Make certain he doesn't run around in East Harlem unidentified." Edwards, who was black, had been chasing a man suspected of breaking into his car; he was out of uniform with his gun drawn when he was fatally shot by a white officer. Rangel, who wants a federal investigation of the shooting, also said, "If you become an officer and you have a pistol and you are of color, in or out of uniform, your chances of getting shot down by a police officer are a lot heavier than if you were not of color." Photo: jschumacher on Flickr

38-year-old Samuel Rivera was arrested yesterday for raping a woman who was working inside a laundromat Tuesday morning. A security camera caught the brutal attack of the victim struggling and screaming after she was forced into a back room of the Second Avenue laundromat. Rivera has no previous charges of sexual assault, but has a prior conviction for dealing drugs. Cops received a tip on Friday that led them to discover Rivera in the home of relatives in the Bronx. He was also charged with second degree robbery for grabbing a handful of cash from the register. East Harlem neighbors of his seemed surprised to hear the news, telling reporters, "He lives in the neighborhood and you never know" and "He seemed very nice; I don't know what happened."

The police have released video of a man who raped and robbed a woman who works at an East Harlem laundromat. The 38-year-old woman was opening the Second Avenue business around 7 a.m. on Tuesday when a man, pretending to be a customer, entered. According to the AP, the suspect "grabbed the woman and forced her into a back room," where he "forcibly raped and sodomized her," fleeing after stealing cash. The Daily News, which reports that the suspect first "stalked" her before following her to the laundromat, spoke to worried residents; one woman said, "It makes me nervous to hear something like that. I hope they catch the person ... it scares me to think they have a rapist running around over here." The police describe the suspect as a Hispanic man, in his 30s, about 6'3" and 200 pounds, and "wearing a black/blue leather jacket with white stripes running along the sides and the back of the jacket, a white hoodie, a blue shirt under the hoodie, a gray baseball cap, blue jeans and black sneakers." Call CrimeStoppers (800-577-TIPS/8477) or text TIPS to 274637(CRIMES), then enter TIP577, with information.

Yesterday the City Council gave the go-ahead for a $700 million redevelopment plan between 125th and 127th Streets and between Third and Second Avenues in East Harlem. According to the NY Times, the "1.7-million-square-foot project includes office and retail space, a small hotel, a cultural center, open space and 800 apartments, 600 of which will be set aside for families with low and moderate incomes." There are seven developers involved with the project, including General Growth Properties (operator of the South Street Seaport and also rumored to be "troubled") and local developer El Barrio's Operation Fightback. The city expects 4,000 construction jobs to be created, plus 1,500 permanent jobs, from the project.

Pizza lovers and bargain hunters created a mob scene outside Patsy's Pizza 75th Anniversary yesterday, lining up for hours to take advantage of a one-day only rollback to 1933 prices. One could theoretically get a grilled 12 oz steak served with pasta marinara or vegetables for 90 cents, assuming one had the day off work and could wait on line for the better part of the day. So many showed up that the NYPD was summoned to set up barricades and corral the hungry roustabouts.

Patsy's in town)--is 75 years young today, and to mark the auspicious occasion, prices a are rolled back to 1933. So, a grilled 12 ounce New York cut steak is 90 cents, grilled Salmon filet served with fresh lemon is 90 cents, and their original coal oven pizza pie is 60 cents. (And soda, ice tea and bottled water are 10 cents.) Patsy's is at 2287 First Avenue, New York (117 - 118 Street 1st Avenue) and prices are good until 10 p.m. tonight. For more, here's Serious Eats on Patsy's.

A grand jury declined to indict an off-duty police officer who fatally killed another driver in a road rage shooting last year.

There are some residual delays on Metro-North this morning after yesterday's East Harlem building collapse that led to the suspension of all service in and out of Grand Central. The trains' speed restrictions were lifted at 6:30 a.m. and there may be 5-10 delays.

Cops have recently arrested a suspect in the January knife-point rape of a 34-year-old woman in an East Harlem building's elevator. The alleged perpetrator is 21-year-old Kevin Rios, who police believe followed the victim from the subway to the building on 105th St. between 1st and 2nd Aves. Ironically, the woman held the elevator for Rios, who then put a knife to her throat and sexually assaulted her.

Yesterday's high of 40 and low of 28 was exactly average for Valentine's Day. Today, like all the children in Lake Wobegon, will be above average with a high temperature close to 50 degrees. The reverse will be true tomorrow. A cold front tonight will usher in a quick blast of cooler air. The high tomorrow will only be around freezing. Earlier in the week the front looked like a rainmaker, but we should only see a few clouds tonight.

Yesterday, the Post reported about a strange and disturbing road rage incident in Red Hook last week. A woman was ultimately repeatedly hit by the driver of a Land Rover.

Yesterday, strong winds and colder temperatures meant a freezing Sunday. The winds, up to 50MPH, knocked down scaffolding all over, as well as downed trees, causing power outages. In one instance, fallen scaffolding outside a new six-story building Brooklyn "crushed cars on both sides of the street." (a cop was also hit by flying corrugated metal). There was also snow, blowing sideways into the faces of people brave enough to be outside.

A 23-year-old animal groomer in Brooklyn is facing charges of animal cruelty and could spend up to a year in jail if convicted. The charges stem from an experience Igor Kisil and his Burmese cat Nusha had with groomer Bechir Bejaoui of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Kisil says that when he went to pick up his small cat, who weighs only three pounds, she was returned to him in a carrying case covered with blood. Kisil says that the cat was literally crying, with tears coming from its eyes, and her face was covered with blood. The distressed pet owner called the cops, but when they responded they said it wasn't their jurisdiction to handle such a matter.

A state judge has shot down Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to rent sports fields on Randalls Island to private schools because the administration failed to follow the legally required land-use review process when it made the deal. The plan was for private schools to pay $2.6 million a year for the next two decades in exchange for use of the renovated fields during peak hours from 3pm to 6pm. The Parks Department had agreed to contribute $65 million to refurbishing 36 sports fields and building new fields on 12.5 acres of the island.

Responding firemen managed to get the five occupants out using ladders leading to bedroom windows and by pulling others out through the smoke-filled living room.

"We could hear people yelling for help and screaming," said Lt. Gregory Prial.

Continue reading "Firefighters Rescue Five From Christmas Fire"

Yesterday, the Daily News revealed that an East Harlem high school principal told teachers to effectively pass more students. Principal Bennett Lieberman's report card stated: "If you are not passing more than 65% of your students in a class, then you are not designing your expectations to meet their abilities. You are setting your students up for failure, which in turn, limits your success as a professional...most of our students ... have difficult home lives, and struggle with life in general. They DO NOT have a similar upbringing nor a similar school experience to our experiences growing up."

The city’s food charities are dealing with dire shortages this year, exacerbated by cutbacks in federal food aid. Many places like St. Benedict the Moor Neighborhood Center in the South Bronx are almost barren; according to today’s Times, the center’s pantry used to be stacked up to the ceiling with food but now holds just “a few sacks of potatoes, some cornflakes, juice and peanut butter.” To help fill the void, City Harvest, the non-profit...

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a carjacking at Tompkins and School Rds. on Staten Island, a person was killed by a 5 train at Bowling Green station in Manhattan, and an armed robbery at 51st Ave. and Northern Blvd. in Queens. Bidding closed at $2,600 for the new owner of the Seinfeld ASSMAN license plate prop on eBay. Another Mister Softee driver was busted for selling drugs out of his ice cream truck, this...

Edward Cardinal Egan, the archbishop of the New York Archdiocese, had no patience of protesters or reporters covering the protests outside a Midtown church yesterday. Some people have been upset their local churches have been closed by the Catholic Church, most notably parishioners Our Lady Queen of Angels in East Harlem, who have been protesting the February closing every weekend since February. And yesterday, outside of St. John the Baptist on West 31st Street, Our Lady Queen of Angels parishioners-turned-protesters gathered to ask Egan, "Why have you abandoned us?"

Plans for a water park on Randall's Island are on the verge of collapse as the developer granted a state concession to build the amusement complex missed its second deadline in seven months to secure financing. According to the Daily News, many East Harlem residents and park advocates were ecstatic at the project's possible failure. Tickets for the water park would have been priced at $37 a person and would result in a de facto reduction of public park space for those unable to afford admission. The neighborhoods closest to the proposed water park are the South Bronx and East Harlem.

Yesterday, East Harlem residents protested "greedy landlords" to raise concerns about gentrification. One resident, Otoniel Santiago, told amNew York that his $1,100 rent for his family's two-bedroom has zoomed up to $3,000 because of extra charges his landlord has added, "They said I had to pay or they would take legal action. I think they want us to get tired and move out, then they will bring in people who will pay $1,700 a month."