Yesterday state officials announced that they have chosen to forgo plans to repair the Tappan Zee Bridge and instead intend to build an entirely new one. The new bridge would also include new a new commuter rail line to link up with Metro North and high-speed bus lanes at a total cost of $16 billion. After a review of the proposal and a look into alternatives, the earliest the new bridge would open is......

Henry Logue made almost $100,000 in salary and overtime last year, but continued to live in a paint shed at state-run Rockland Psychiatric Center, according to the Journal News. Apparently he had been living there for three years--even registering his car there--all while his wife lived in a home 3 miles away. Though the psychiatric center had told employees they were not allowed to stay on campus past their shifts, Logue managed to make himself......

The man accused of pretending to be a Park Avenue gynecologist apparently had an accomplice. The Daily News reports that, according to sources, Monsey resident Zalman Silber "tricked one woman into undergoing a pelvic exam by saying his friend, the Rockland County police officer, was a doctor who made house calls." Sources also say the cop ended up conducting the exam in Silber's house--with Silber watching. Prosecutors have charged Silber with third-degree sexual abuse and......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: A police impersonation on Ocean Parkway and Quentin in Brooklyn, a car vs. Pathmark at 107th Avenue at 105th Street in Queens, and an evidence search at 13 East 12th Street. The new report cards for public schools may mean principals will be fired and schools closed. A stop work order didn't stop a construction crew from tearing up the building where Gertel's once stood on Hester Street. Giuliani......

We've all heard how 3,000 surveillance cameras, not to mention at least a hundred license plate readers, will be installed in downtown Manhattan, as part of the city's ring-of-steel like security initiative to prevent terrorist attacks. But the NYPD also announced that radiation detectors will be put into place as far as 50 miles from the city to help identify dirty bombs. In fact, the ring of steel seems to be getting another "ring of......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a water rescue at Liberty Island between Manhattan and NJ, a pedestrian was struck on 13th St. and 2nd Ave. in Manhattan, and there was a check cashing robbery on Francis Lewis and Jamaica Aves. in Queens. NYC Snapshot: Daily historic photos of NYC from someone who knows what we like. A drunk driver in Rockland County ran into an off-duty NYPD cop, whose injuries include bleeding in the......

A cold front is pressing down upon us from the north. The line of rain accompanying the front stretches from Albany to Scranton and should hit the city by mid-afternoon. Beware! Showers and perhaps a thunderstorm will produce locally heavy rains and gusty winds. We may even see a bit of hail. Most of the rain will be out of here by seven or eight this evening, but the chance of showers will linger until......

Yesterday was Palm Sunday, the sixth and last Sunday of Lent and the beginning of the Holy Week. It also means that churches are packed, which is probably why a brother and sister tried to rob a Brooklyn church yesterday. Juan and Carmen Sierra were arrested after ushers saw them trying to steal $1,000 from a collection plate. Monsignor Rollin Darbouze was unsurprised, telling the Daily News, "During this time of year, there are suspicious......

Yesterday, Victor Han, a 35-year-old Staten Island man, pleaded guilty to child endangerment at a Rockland County court. He also admitted that he knew his wife was thinking about suicide when he got out of the car and that she might put their children at danger. Last summer, Han, his wife, and two young children went to Bear Mountain to sight see. While parked near a 300-foot drop, Han got out of the car with......

The Staten Island husband charged with promoting his wife suicide death at Bear Mountain a few weeks ago was released from a Rockland County psychiatric hospital yesterday. Victor Han, whom authorities had described as "despondent" after his wife drove off the side of a cliff in their minivan before his eyes, was forced to go under observation after making bail. Han is charged with not only promoting his wife Hejin's suicide, but also reckless endangerment......

More and more questions are being asked about the circumstances of Staten Island resident Hejin Han's suicide plunge in a minivan at Bear Mountain. Han's husband Victor, who watched as the van fell with their two young daughters in the back, had been charged with promoting suicide, two counts of reckless endangerment and two counts of endangering a child (both daughters managed to survive, as they were wearing their seatbelts). He was granted bail by......

A jury was selected for the trial of Nicholas Minucci, who was charged with a bias attack after beating a black man in Howard Beach last June. The jury includes four whites, four blacks, three Hispanics, and one Asian, but more interesting is how the jury was selected and how the defense seems to be approaching the trial. Prosecutors charged Minucci with a hate crime because he said, "What up n-----" during his attack on......

There's an interesting Metro article about the NY Masons, who convened to see a new Grand Master elevated. Basically, the Masons want people to spruce up their image for the 21st century. “We’ve been too sheltered,” said Bidnick, a 52-year-old Brooklynite who now lives in Rockland County. “People think we’re strange with our aprons and rituals.” That’s why the organization has a public relations firm. Declining membership has also been a factor. “The secret is......

Looks like St. Brigid was just the beginning... Seems the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York really is in trouble these days. So much so that yesterday they announced the "most sweeping reorganization in its history of more than 150 years." Over the next year the archdiocese hopes to close 31 parishes and 14 schools in the New York area, remember that the Archdiocese stretches from Staten Island all the way up to the......

After nearly two inches of rain since Monday night, and four inches of snow at Gothamist's Rockland County office, our local weather has turned quiescent. This morning's sun should give way to clouds later in the day and possibly rain tonight into tomorrow. The rain shouldn't amount to much and will be out of here by tomorrow afternoon. The weather through the weekend looks unremarkable, near normal temperatures and no precipitation. It should be sunny......

Ooh, we love a revenge plot: The Observer looks at how Mayor Bloomberg's annoyance with State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver may play out during his second term. Silver infamously blocked the Mayor's quixotic (yes, now we say quixotic) plan to bring a stadium to the West Side railyards (and some might say that failed plan helped sink the city's Olympic bid) and pundits wonder if the Mayor is out for blood. Bloomberg has been talking......

The past few days, Jewish parents have been worried about reports that a rabbi may have given babies herpes during circumcisions. Three baby boys have been infected, and one died, causing the City's health department to look into the matter. Rabbi Yitzchok Fischer, a mohel based in Rockland County, uses an ultra-Orthodox practice "metzizah bi peh," which means he uses his mouth to "draw blood from the circumsion wound to remove impurities." Oy vey. The......

The National Weather Service forecast uses the word drizzle five times to describe the weather between now and Thursday. AccuWeather expects less drizzle, only using it once, but does foresee rain and rain showers. The reason for our Seattle-like weather this week? For much of the next few days the wind will be blowing in from over the ocean. From Gothamist's Rockland County office we can see that the fall foliage is reaching its peak......

Seems like a crazy fish made its way to Rockland County: Apparently, at the New Square Fish Market, a carp started to talk in Hebrew. Besides the fact that this article is an excuse for Corey Kilgannon to use Yiddish, it reveals that the Hasidic community is trying to understand what this really means. "The story goes that a 20-pound carp about to be slaughtered and made into gefilte fish for Sabbath dinner began speaking......