Rose Morat, the 101-year-old victim of a vicious mugging caught on surveillance tape last year, testified at a special videotaped hearing in a Queens courtroom yesterday. Morat will turn 102 next month and Queens prosecutors thought it would be prudent to make sure her testimony was recorded, as the actual case probably won't go to trial for another year. Morat didn't seem to take the precaution personally. Upon taking the stand, Morat described the events......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: an unusual trauma at Pennsylvania and Flatlands Aves. in Brooklyn, a church robbery on West 31st St. in Manhattan, and a found DOA on Furman St. at the piers in Brooklyn. State officials are now thinking that the best way to reincarnate the glory days of the old Penn Station is not to build two office towers on top of the Farley Post Office building. They've arrested the man......

Jack Rhodes, the man suspected of robbing and beating elderly woman in Queens, was indicted yesterday on 35 charges of burglary, assault, robbery, and, yes, hate crimes. The NY State Hate Crimes Act has a provision that allows hate crime charges to be filed if the defendant has selected a victim because they are old. Queens DA Richard Brown said, “In just over nine weeks, the defendant is alleged to have beaten and robbed three......

Jack Rhodes, who was arrested last week for allegedly beating up two elderly women in March, has been transfered to Rikers Island where corrections officials are trying to keep him safe. Rhodes is left in his own cell for 23 hours, except for an hour of exercise while a guard "shadows" him. According to the Daily News, a police sources says the private cell is because many prisoners "would like to take a pop at......

The New York Post is reporting that police have arrested the man who allegedly robbed and beat two elderly women in Queens last month. 44-year-old Jack Rhodes has been identified as the push-in robber and granny beater. The nearly six-foot-tall man weighing 200 pounds mugged two women for a collective $65, beating 101-year-old Rose Morat until he broke her cheekbone. The robberies solidified public opinion against the perpetrator, with legislators proposing special penalties for crimes......

101-year-old mugging victim Rose Morat wasn't intimidated by the thug who attacked her in her building last month, so she certainly wasn't going to be intimidated by a gang of press photographers and Mayor Bloomberg. Friday afternoon, the centenarian along with 85-year-old Solange Elizee met with the mayor to discuss what was being done to combat crime against the elderly. By turns Morat was a grandmotherly confidante with the Mayor: ""What’s your next step? Whisper......

The search for the man who mugged two elderly women continues, as the police and politicians expand their efforts. The police have increased the reward for tips that lead to the mugger's capture to $12,000, City Councilman James Gennaro is offering $5,000, City Councilman Thomas White Jr. is offering $1,000, and the 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care is offering $1,000. A lot of money given that the mugger stole $65, plus two rings.......

Showing that the NYPD really hates cowards who punch out and mug elderly women with walkers, the entire police force is on alert to find the man who mugged two Queens seniors. Over 25,000 police officers have seen the video and there are "several dozen detectives assigned to the case," according to Newsday. Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne explained, "Considering the brutality of the attacks, and the fact the women appeared to be targeted because of......

News that a man had mugged 85-year-old and 101-year-old women in vicious attacks has infuriated New Yorkers all over the city. After the NYPD released surveillance footage of a man punching 101-year-old, walker-wielding Rose Morat, Police Commissioner Kelly vowed to pull out all the stops in trying to find the attacker. The attacker seemed to be targeting particularly vulnerable elderly women - both Morat (pictured) and 85-year-old Solange Elizee both use walkers. He approached them......

In an attempt to find a really twisted individual, police have released surveillance footage of a man attacking a 101-year-old woman in a building vestibule earlier this week. You can see the video here, and it's vicious. Rose Morat was returning from church around 12:30PM back to her Flushing apartment building when she saw a 30-something year-old man outside her building. From the Post:"He looked pleasant and he had a beautiful smile," she said. He......