Results tagged “siadvance”

A group of Staten Island teens who survived a near brush with death after their car flipped over last week appear to have learned a valuable lesson...that faces full of scars make for great MySpace photos. After one of the six teenage boys in the car last Friday spilled the beans to the SI Advance about what was just regular old 100 mph ride in 17-year-old Justin Sacchi's Nissan before the airborne turn that would flip them over five times, the group then refused any further comments. Except for Sacchi's mother, that is--she denied any speeding and blamed a "dangerous bump" on the exit ramp that the DOT should have fixed years ago. But kudos to the Advance for checking the teens' MySpace pages where they publicly bragged about hitting 103 mph and the 10 feet of air they caught, one changed his user name to "We CheAteD DeAtH iTseLf" and another listed his mood as "high on morphine." The profiles still appear to be unlocked.

The Staten Island Advance has been following the turmoil brewing between a Wiccan family and their neighbors.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: smoke inhalation victims at Centre and White Sts. in Manhattan, a shooting on Neptune Ave. in Brooklyn, and a truck vs. overpass at 155th St. and South Rd. in Queens.
• Design firm EDAW was chosen to plan the Steeplechase Plaza for a now-vacant lot near the Coney Island boardwalk. The development beneath the Parachute Jump may include a water park and a platform for viewing Cyclones minor league baseball games.
• A large brokerage firm in Williamsburg, Brooklyn is saying the Corcoran Group's report claiming an 8% increase in average condo prices in the neighborhood during 2007 is incorrect. Aptsandlofts.com says that it's seen a 10-12% retreat in condo prices since the market's peak in early 2006.

On Sunday, the worldwide running community lost an institution: Vic Navarra, a FDNY lieutenant who organized the NYC Marathon's start for 26 years, died at his home in Staten Island. He was 55 and had been battling sinus cancer.

There are a couple construction-related accidents today. WNBC reports that a construction worker fell off the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge around 1:38PM: "A retaining wall on the edge of a bridge roadway under construction had collapsed, but it was unclear if the worker had fallen from that area." The SI Advance reports that the worker is "believed to have fallen on the Brooklyn-side, landing on the ground near the entrance to Fort Hamilton Army Base." We're hearing that the BQE and Belt Parkways have heavy delays, and local streets in Bay Ridge are also getting congested. Update: A firefighter tells the AP the worker was on a wooden catwalk, off the lower span, when the "[concrete] Jersey barrier somehow fell over onto the catwalk, causing the worker to fall.''

A 17-year-old girl was killed after a drag racing incident on Staten Island last night. According to the Advance, a 2003 Honda Accord and 1994 Ford Mustang crashed into each other on Veterans Road West near a Charleston shopping mall. Six other teens were injured.

Last night, a Staten Island resident was critically injured when a 19-year-old driver hit him on Mosel Avenue (it's the Staten Island incident on the newsmap). The SI Advance says that the driver, Leon Wilson, had been fleeing undercover police when he crushed 47-year-old Juan-Han Guan with the car. A source says that Wilson was driving around 100mph at one point. Guan's bike was described as being "embedded in the hood of Wilson's car, the frame contorted and the front tire and handlebars broken off."

The city's Water Board approved to raise the water and sewer rates starting in July. The rate hike, which AMNY calls the biggest increase in 15 years, means that an average household's water bill will go from $623 to $700 annually. The water board says that the new $700 average water rate is still below the national average (apparently Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Atlanta have average rates of over $1000 a year) and that the money is needed for mandated improvements to the water system.

A Queens pastor spoke to the NY Times about what he feels are misunderstanding from the police about the suicide of Staten Island resident Hejin Han and the subsequent charge that her husband, Victor, helped promote her suicide. A week ago, the Han family, including their 3 and 5 year old daughters, went to Bear Mountain, where Hejin Han drove their minivan off a cliff with the girls in the back. The girls were safe, but police have charged Victor Han with "promoting" his wife's death, after he told them his wife had mentioned suicide and that he stepped out of the car before the plunge. It's unclear whether or not those charges will stick, but Han's family - including his in-laws - have been vocal in telling reporters that the State Parks Police have it all wrong.