A gang of drug dealing thugs known as "Murder Set" or "Money Comes First" used MySpace to brag about their exploits—and help police round them up in a bust announced yesterday. NYPD and District Attorney detectives seized 190 grams of crack, 60 grams of cocaine and 51 glassines of heroin, with a street value of about $20,000, a source tells the Daily News. The gang allegedly terrorized the Grant Houses and schools near the Grant Houses in Morningside Heights. The investigation, dubbed "Grant Denied," began ten months ago, and resulted in 11 arrests and some heavy felony indictments. more ›

A 17-year-old boy was reportedly shot in the back by NYPD officers patrolling the Gouverneur Morris Houses in the Bronx last night around 9:30. Police say they spotted Peter Colon carrying a .22-caliber gun in a stairwell of the housing project, and when a female officer reached for the gun, Colon fought back. The Daily News, which reports Colon's age as 19, says the teen hit the female cop in the face and pointed the gun at her. At that point, her partner then shot at Colon twice, hitting him once in the back. more ›

The NYC Housing Authority has prohibited pit bulls from all the housing projects it administers, and placed a new weight restriction on all pets, requiring them to weigh no more than 25 pounds. (Previously, and according to the NYCHA website, the limit was 40 pounds. Here's a pdf outlining the new rules.) 24 other breeds, including Rottweilers and Doberman pinschers are also banned, but residents who already own any of the proscribed pets can keep them as long as they register the animal before Friday. Queens Councilman Peter Vallone praised the ban, telling the Daily News, "Finally someone is realizing that these potentially dangerous animals have no place in a confined urban space." Of course not everyone is pleased; Anthony Nieves, who was walking his 1-year-old pit bull, Storm, near his home at the Wald Houses, says, "It all depends on how you teach a dog. My dog is like a puppy." And the ASPCA's advocacy rep explains that the group opposes both the breed-specific ban and the weight restriction because "so many breeds are over 25 pounds. You can get an overweight beagle that weighs more than 25 pounds." more ›

Governor David Paterson was in Washington D.C. yesterday, along with other governors meeting with President Obama to discuss what the states will get from the federal stimulus package. NY State got $24.6 billion of the $787 billion package, and Paterson announced the first projects that will benefit—eleven upstate roads projects, like "Replacement of the I-86 Bridge over Rte. 415 in the Town of Erwin, Steuben County" and "Culvert repairs in Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties," which are "shovel-ready." more ›