Results tagged “petervallone”

More than 85% of people stopped and frisked by the NYPD are released without an arrest or summons. But just because the police let you go, doesn't mean they forget all about you! The NYPD maintains a database of more than 500,000 people stopped, questioned, frisked, and released each year. And Councilman Peter Vallone wants the department to hit delete.

The unstoppable Peter Vallone, Jr. is at it again, fighting for a squeaky clean city that's free from both stuntmen and spray paint! With Jeb Corliss safely tucked away in California, his latest target is "unsightly metal shudders," according to NY1. Sure those security gates may protect stores from vandals and thieves, but Vallone contends they also encourage graffiti (which is on the rise in the city). As a solution "he wants to require all new gates sold and installed in the city to be at least 70 percent see through," something he believes would bring graffiti down 80 percent, even though glass is easily marked (though in all likelihood the graffiti writers will just spread the love elsewhere).

Stephen Colbert continued his new feature on The Colbert Report program called "Nailed 'Em," in which the television host hopes to overcome the niceties of the legal system with skillful editing and generous amounts of innuendo. This week's subject was Brooklyn's own graffiti "punk," 6-year-old Natalie Shea.

Would-be Empire State Building jumper, Jeb Corliss (pictured), isn't in the clear yet. Last year's decision from Supreme Court Justice Michael Ambrecht to dismiss the charges against him was overturned yesterday when The Supreme Court Appellate Division decided to bring the case back to life.

Yesterday we noted Council Member Peter Vallone Jr.'s latest mission: putting an end to stunts. Of course, one of the best examples of this daredevil activity is brought to us by Jeb Corliss; after attempting to jump off the Empire State Building in 2006 Bloomberg wasn't too happy with this thrill-seeker. Or the judge that dropped the charges against him. But now the city is revisiting the case and trying to appeal the decision.

Queens Council Member Peter Vallone Jr. has introduced a bill that would have Evel Knievel rolling in his grave. If it becomes law, stunt men are going to have a tough time working on their craft in New York, as it would outlaw climbing and jumping off any structure taller than 25 feet; daredevils could get fined and spend up to a year in jail. Alain Robert is not going to be happy about this (video).

Remember AriZona Iced Tea? Well, its made a cross-country image trip and landed in the heart of NYC with its new energy drink called All City NRG (you know, like the subway lines). As you can see, the cans are all tagged up, and their promo van is similarly decorated -- though it's sort of camouflaged when parked in the streets of Bushwick, no?

With Mayor Bloomberg up in Albany deriding Gov. Spitzer for bilking the city out of $500 million in promised funding, it's no wonder that the perennial call for secession has arisen.

Oh no! An 8-month-old baby bitten by a family dog was pronounced dead at Kings County Hospital.

On Wednesday the City Council passed a law that we're calling "The Dan Hoyt Law". It will "target individuals who commit lewd acts in public more than once in a three year period," which will allow judges to give flashers a harsher sentence, up to a year in jail and three years of probation, on top of a $1,000 fine.

"We are moving to punish a pattern of behavior that is not only disgusting but dangerous. Those who repeatedly expose themselves to others for their own amusement could one day take their perversion even further," the bill's sponsor, City Council member Peter Vallone, said yesterday. "If they want to expose themselves we'll expose them to the full extent of the law."

So if you remember correctly, Grand Theft Auto IV, the New York City crime simulator, was supposed to be in stores by now. But between production delays and the million other great games this season to compete with, they decided to just push it back till next Spring and get it right. But just in case you've you've still got an itch for some Eastern European organized crime this holiday season, here's a brand...

Homework can be added to the grand list of things that City Council member Peter Vallone is not so fond of. (That list includes graffitti, peeping toms, Con Ed, and pit bulls so far.) The other day, he said he wanted to introduce a cap on elementary school homework - 2 1/2 hours each day, plus one homework-free night a week. Pshaw, a homework-free night? That's called Friday! Vallone explained, "There is no study that...

After reading this, you may think twice about having a seat in Union Square. The website peeped some peeping toms in the area, visually depicted above (they added a "red carpet" to illustrate the "peeper zone"). They also tell us that a "peeper live zone" can contain up to two dozen pervs at one time and can extend up to 30 feet. We wonder what they do when summer skirt season comes to an end...migrate to the West Coast?

Gotham Gazette has a fantastic analysis of what happens to the hundreds of City Council bills that have been introducedsince Christine Quinn become the City Council Speaker. The article points out many interesting things. For instance, out of the 622 bills introduced, 68% of them are never heard of again. About 15% do get hearings, but are never voted on, and only 17% actually pass to become bills.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a water rescue at Chambers and Water Sts. off Manhattan, an armed robbery on Rockaway Blvd. and 75th St. in Queens, and a shooting on Grafton St. in Brooklyn.
• LibrerDia Lectorum, one of the city's oldest Spanish language bookstores will be closing September 30th. The Manhattan store on 14th St. opened in 1960 and became a mainstay of Spanish literature in the city.
• A fire broke out yesterday afternoon in a building undergoing demolition at 80 Washington St., just a few blocks from the Deutsche Bank building. The fire ocurred in an elevator shaft filled with debris.
• President Bush reversed course and decided that Brooklyn residents should be eligible for disaster relief after all. The Brooklyn Paper reports that Bay Ridge residents affected by the August 8th tornado can call (800) 621–FEMA or visit www.fema.gov to apply for assistance.
• The Times reports that New York City's school bus union is all mobbed up, and that the supposed housecleaning following the federal indictment of its leaders was nothing of the sort.
• Park Rangers and the NYPD's Emergency Services Unit were called to Central Park to rescue a six-foot-long boa constrictor that appeared to be stuck in a rock's fissure. ESU members eventually had to drill the rock to successfully remove the snake, who will likely wind up at a reptile refuge.
• Queens Crap wonders why Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. is holding his German Octoberfest fundraiser (with honorary co-host AG Andrew Cuomo!) at the Czechoslovakian Bohemian Beer Hall and Garden.
• Dirty Laundry: where writers read and musicians perform over the hum a laundromat's machines in the East Village.

aboutmattlaw took this great photograph at the Ditmars Boulevard subway station stairs. It's a nod to Queens City Councilman Peter Vallone's proposed legislation to ban "non-sensual" peeping, with punishments like 90 days in jail and a $500 fine for first offense. Vallone said that his bill was prompted by some women's complaints that a "rather large pervert" was lurking under the Ditmars station's subway steps. Per the Queens Gazette, Vallone emphasizes, "These perverts use their eyes to invade the privacy of people's bodies, leaving many feeling violated. Yet, up until now, there has been a peephole loophole that gives anyone a license to gawk, leer and spy anywhere they please."

L.B. Jeffries would be screwed! City Council member Peter Vallone Jr. is proposing legislation to ban "non-consensual peeping with cameras to peeping with the naked eye" according to the NY Sun. The crime would be a misdemeanor, with a $500 fine and up to 90 days in jail. CityRoom has some of the legislation:

b. Voyeurism in a private place. It shall be unlawful to deliberately view another person, without that person’s knowledge and consent, at a place and time when a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, while such person is (1) in a state of undress or partial dress, (2) engaged in sexual intercourse or sexual contact, or (3) urinating or defecating.

Continue reading "Vallone Wants to Stop Peeping Toms (and Tonyas)"

On Tuesday, a Con Ed executive faced a number of irritated City Council members seeking answers about the July 18 steam pipe explosion in Midtown. Senior vice president William Longhi said that the investigation could take another two or three months, but City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said, "You may not have all the answers and all the Ts crossed and all the Is dotted. I can accept that. But I cannot accept that you have absolutely nothing to tell us about why this may have happened.

You'd imagine that Kevin Burke, the chairman, president, and CEO of Con Ed, would want to attend at City Council meeting about the steam pipe explosion on July 18. But, no, Burke isn't showing up, which annoys many Council members. The Sun has a good look at the head of the city's essential and currently reviled utility.

Lawmakers are looking to toughen laws around tinted windows on automobiles. Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum pointed out that police officer Russel Timoshenko was fatally shot when he approached a stolen SUV with tinted windows. And current State Senator Eric Adams (a retired police captain and a founder of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care) summed it up, "The criminal element does not use tinted windows to protect themselves from dangerous UV rays. They use them to protect their illegal activity."

The City Council voted, 46-2, to allow NYC public school students to bring cell phones to and from school - though not to use them during the day. The bill was meant to address concerns of parents and students who believe cell phones are critical to students' safety (see these tales of cell phone-less horror). City Councilman Lew Fidler who sponsored the bill said his 17-year-old son walks eight blocks for a bus and "We wouldn't dream of sending him to school without a cellphone. If he's going to be late, we want to know why."

After months of silence, it looks like Shepard Fairey's recent work on the streets of New York has brought the Splasher out of retirement. Not clear yet if this is related to last week's stinkbomb arrest. Matt Barber writes:

Was down on Wooster today at the candy factory building and snapped this photo, the wheatpaste and paint look pretty fresh to me, Shep just put the same poster up near my house last week so thought it may be new, hit me back if you know if it is new or not.

After two days on life support, the 56-year-old bodega owner, who was shot in the face during a robbery attempt, died yesterday morning and police continued their search for the group suspected of robbing a number of bodegas over the past four months. Police Commissioner Kelly said the robbers are "certainly" considered "dangerous," but Cruz's family wonders why the police didn't tell the community about the robberies.

While 11-year-old Xochil Garcia is still being praised for her quick thinking and bravery after escaping and helping nab a man who tried to abduct her, some adults are upset at the law. Her parents, as well as City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., are angry that the suspected kidnapper, Bernard Mutterperl, was set free on $25,000 bail.

As part of Adidas's new spring line of End to End sneakers for Foot Locker, the German shoe manufacturer has created an EndtoEnd Project exhibit in an empty lot on Lafayette and Houston. Adidas had different graffiti artists create designs for shoes in an East London warehouse, so in bringing the finished shoes to the states, Adidas has the artists tagging a replica of a NYC subway car!

With the Grand Theft Auto IV trailer circulating a good six months before the game's release, NYC officials are giving the thumbs down. The Daily News has comments:

"It's despicable to glamorize violence in games like these, regardless of how far-fetched the setting may be," said Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.

Continue reading "NYC Pols Freaking Out About Grand Theft Auto IV"

The city's murder rate so far has dropped dramatically. There have been 84 murders through Sunday, and the Post reports that's an "average of roughly one per day - an astonishing figure compared to the early 1990s when six New Yorkers were killed during a typical 24-hour period." For reference, last year, there were 117 murders during the same period.

As the City Council continues to look at police-supplied data showing blacks are stopped 55% of the time during stop-and-frisk searches, the community has startled to rumble. The Reverend Al Sharpton said that he would start collecting names to file a class action lawsuit against the city. He asid, "It's an outrage. It's enough. No matter how productive you are, to be cast as a suspect rather than a citizen is intolerable in this country... One will have to explain how 55% of the people stopped are black when we're not nearly 50% of the population."