The Queens man whom police say has "implicated himself" in a series of Molotov cocktail attacks at various locations wanted to take out “as many Muslims and Arabs as possible” at the Al-Khoei Foundation, an Islamic cultural center in Jamaica, Queens. Why did he choose the center as his target, out of all the other Islamic meeting places in town? He says because they refused to let him use the bathroom. The flaming Starbucks Frappuccino bottle which Ray Lengend allegedly threw at the center did minimal damage, but it could have been worse—sources tell the Daily News that Lengend's original plan was to toss all five of his firebombs from the balcony of the center onto the crowd below. more ›

A Queens man has been arrested in connection to a string of arson attacks in Jamaica, Queens and on Long Island Sunday night. Police say Ray Lazier Lengend, 40, has "made incriminating statements" about throwing Molotov cocktails fashioned out of Starbucks Frappuccino bottles at private residences, a deli, and an Islamic center. "The individual is implicating himself in each of the five firebombing cases, citing personal grievances with each location," police spokesman Paul Browne told reporters last night. See, it's never too late to get swept up in the Festivus spirit! more ›

Investigators are searching for a man seen in this surveillance video hurling a Molotov cocktail at a private home in Jamaica, Queens that doubles as a Hindu place of worship. The suspect, described as black, 5-feet-8, 200 pounds, and 25 to 30 years old, was caught on camera throwing a Starbucks Frappuccino bottle filled with flammable liquid at the residence, one of four places in Queens that were firebombed late Sunday night. A fifth home on Long Island was also hit Sunday night, and Nassau County police tell the Times that incident has "some characteristics" similar to the Queens attacks. more ›

Police are investigating a series of firebombings in Queens late last night as possible bias crimes. Between 8 p.m. and 10:15, four locations within two miles of each other in Jamaica, Queens were hit by Molotov cocktails. One of the locations was a private residence on 107th Avenue that caught fire after the burning bottles struck it, and it took more than 60 firefighters to bring it under control, the Times reports. Another target was an Islamic center on the Van Wyck Expressway. more ›

The Brooklyn man who allegedly confessed to cops that he killed a 73-year-old neighbor by setting her on fire in a Prospect Heights elevator appeared in court yesterday. Jerome Isaac, 47, was seen with burns on the left side of his face more ›

Hey, remember how police arrested Nkrumah Tinsley, an Occupy Wall Street protester, because he was spotted on a video saying, "On [November] 17th, we going to burn New York City to the f-cking ground... In a few days they’re going to see what a Molotov cocktail can do to Macy’s... They got guns, we got bottles!"? Well, now Tinsley is out... and he's back at Zuccotti Park! more ›

The Brooklyn DA's office announced the 18 indictments of members of the Latin Kings, who were trying to kill a former member by way of throwing Molotov cocktails at buildings where they thought he was residing. He wasn't there—but guess who was? An elderly woman and children; luckily, no one was injured. However, the former member Juan Kuang was also charged with attempted murder because he sort of started the whole thing by stabbing the brother of the gang's leader, "First Crown" Roger Vado. (Vado and the gang's "Borough Park Homicide Squad" were charged with arson.) DA Charles Hynes said, “These so-called ‘Latin Kings’ do not rule the streets of Brooklyn, but they may each find themselves reigning over a small prison cell for the rest of their lives.” more ›

A building can be the target of a hate crime, not just a person, or so ruled an appelate court in the case of man who threw Molotov Cocktails at a Bronx synagogue on the eve of Yom Kippur. Thirty-year-old Palestinian-American Mazin Assi is currently serving 5 to 15 for the crime he committed in 2000, with three other men. His lawyer said he should have been convicted only of attempted arson, but a judge decided the stricter charges apply. "It is self-evident that, although the target of the defendant's criminal conduct was a building, the true victims were the individuals of Jewish faith who were members of the synagogue,'' Judge Victoria Graffeo wrote in a ruling that "broadens the hate crimes act," according to the New York Law Journal. more ›

The man who was taken into custody Tuesday after attacking a man with a machete and then throwing Molotov cocktails at the authorities from a Queens rooftop told police he was "having a bad day." Detective Robert Zajac explained that in trying to coax Felipe Velasquez down, "We were trying to tell him today is a different day, and we'll work it out with you.'' more ›