Has one of the Staten Island Ferry pastors been silenced from preaching to his (involuntary) commuting congregation? SILive reports that Michael Ihedioha (also known as Michael Nwadiuko) has been sentenced to three years probation and is likely to keep mum after cutting a plea deal yesterday to a misdemeanor obstruction charge. more ›

Last September, friends of a 23-year-old woman became worried when she had been missing for several days. However, Hannah Upp, a teacher at the Thurgood Marshall Academy and Pace graduate student, was spotted at the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue—she spoke to a fellow Pace student—raising questions about whether she wanted to be found. She was ultimately spotted in the water—and alive— off Staten Island two and a half weeks after she was last seen. Upp has said little since re-emerging—except to explain she suffered from "dissociative fugue" and thank her rescuers who rescued her... until now. more ›

Staten Island's World Trade Center Memorial, Postcards, was defaced yesterday. The memorial has plaques of Staten Island's 1993 and 2001 attacks victims' names; the plaques also has victims' profiles water-jet-cut on them. The plaques of Cantor Fitzgerald employee Jason DeFazio and firefighter Jeremy Olsen were destroyed. Olsen's family had been planning on visiting the memorial today, because it would have been Jeremy's 37th birthday. more ›

-- Remembering New York bookstores lost. more ›

Is someone blaming a first year associate somewhere? The lawyers for Paul Esposito, a 26 year old man whose legs were amputated after being mangled in the 2003 Staten Island crash, accidentally sent out a news release saying that the city had settled with Esposito for over $25 million. The NY Times says the release showed up on the AP wires, only for the city's Law Department to say there was no settlement (and that the "settlement amount set forth in the plaintiff's press release bears no relationship whatsoever to the number that had been discussed") and for the law firm, the Cochran (yes, that Cochran) Firm, to say the earlier press release was "premature." D'oh! Esposito's mother is angry at the firm, blaming their incompetence on the loss of Johnnie ("My son has no money and I can't help him. He has no money for rent and no money to live on but $800 a month. He's struggling, but he always has a smile."). Gothamist wonders if this snafu can limit the Cochran Firm's take on the settlement, as we're sure the city is freaking out to make sure they don't pay anywhere near the $25 million. more ›

Remember back in May when with some fanfare the city started using the first new large SI Ferry in decades? Or at least you remember when it was christened two years ago out in Wisconsin (above). Yeah, well, that brand spanking new ferry broke yesterday. more ›

A picture of what happened during the terrible tragedy of the Staten Island Ferry ship, the Anthony J. Barberi, crashing into piling near the SI Ferry's piers is starting to emerge. The ship was approaching and missed the piers at a high speed. When the second captain was unable to gain total control of the ship, the ship slammed into a maintenance pier, and then that concrete pier sheared the side of the ship. People fell into the water, girders were torn out, boards were splintered. It's unclear how many were on the boat at the time; officials believe the 3:30 ferry was at full capacity, 1500 passenger. Mayor Bloomberg reported 10 died with many injured. While he did not give any thoughts about what might have caused the crash, he did suggest that the 45 MPH winds may have been a factor. more ›