Results tagged “statenisland”

Raj Kottamasu, coordinator of the Freshkills Park Project, is driving towards reconditioning the 2,200-acre Fresh Kills Landfill into a fruitful and attractive city destination three times the size of Central Park. Kottamasu and his team strive to "get people into thinking about this site as a park" and less like a "symbol of environmental neglect and wastefulness." With construction already begun, Kottamasu hopes to open 70 of the 2,200 acres within the next two to three years. He adds, "There are a lot of landfills that have been converted into parks, historically and contemporarily. Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens was the Corona ash dumps, which were referenced in 'The Great Gatsby.'"

Terrifying! There are reportedly tiny, pink, hairless rodents falling out of their nests and, lucky for them, into the hands of rescuers. The Daily News reports that the number of baby squirrels in town has grown, and Sean Casey at Animal Rescue in Windsor Terrace says it's because "The warmer climate is allowing squirrels to breed later into the season, and so they have more babies. That's probably what's been causing the influx."

The Daily News follows up on the Muslim woman who slashed her husband's throat, apparently over his lack of devotion to Islam and his forcing her to eat pork, wear short skirts, and drink. Rabia Sarwar's handwritten confession stated, "I did not sleep. I started thinking to kill him," and then she went to the kitchen to get a knife.

It's not the Ninja burglar—it's the "Pattern 16" burglar! Police are tracking down a 27-year-old, male burglar responsible for hitting 16 homes across Staten Island in September, after recently nabbing his female partner in crime.

A Staten Island woman was charged with attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a deadly weapon after slashing her husband's throat with a knife. The police say the devout Muslim woman was upset her husband did not follow Islam strictly, allegedly making her drink alcohol, dress in short skirts, and eat pork.

A meat wrapper at a Western Beef supermarket in Staten Island is suing the company for shrugging off complaints about her manager's sexual harassment. Jessica McCarthy, 23, says she endured constant sexual advances and innuendo from boss Jose Delgado. According to the lawsuit, Delgado is so fond of ribald double entendres that he even had a sign reading "Bone me, I'm the meat manager" laminated and displayed in his department. Oh Staten Island, you give so much and ask so little in return.

A 17-year-old Staten Island resident is being held on $250,000 after allegedly stabbing her 14-year-old brother. The Advance describes, "According to a law enforcement source, the two fought nearly every day, and Sunday morning was no different -- Rodney had overslept, and Miss Tyler went to wake him up. That sparked an argument, the source said, which escalated into violence. Miss Tyler grabbed a butcher knife and a steak knife." Although their mother tried to intervene and Tyler dropped the butcher knife, she "held onto the steak knife, raised it over her head, and reached over her mother's shoulder," allegedly plunging it her brother's chest and then pulling it out.

A Staten Island man died early Sunday morning while trying to back his SUV out of a tight parking space in a pub parking lot. Oleg Kantarovich had gone outside to pull the car around for his wife, who was celebrating her 30th birthday, so that she wouldn't get caught in the rain. Police say he was leaning out of the front door of his 2007 Audi SUV as he backed up because it may have been difficult to see through the tinted side window.

Will the oversharing ever stop? A Staten Island Criminal Court judge is being transferred from his Stapleton courthouse to Manhattan as punishment for broadcasting "specific details about his personal life" on Facebook — at times while sitting on the bench.

Parents on Locust Avenue in Staten Island say they've begged and pleaded with the DOT to install a speed bump on their street for a year, but have gotten nowhere. Apparently, it's the Indianapolis Speedway over there, and one local says he puts out his own neon plastic "turtle" safety signs in the street after school, in a futile attempt to get drivers to slow down—but one of the signs was already broken after a motorist ran it over! So residents tried to kick it up a notch.

From the Staten Island Advance: "A Graniteville family and their friend from Brooklyn set upon two men walking across their property with fists and a metal curtain rod late last night, police allege." The incident occurred on Sunday night; apparently one of the homeowners said, "You shouldn’t be walking here... This is my property... I’m tired of this." The charges against the four suspects include multiple counts of assaults and criminal possession of a weapon.

Method Man, a member of Staten Island's hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, was arrested yesterday for tax evasion. He turned himself to the 120th Precinct and when he was taken to his arraignment, he used a copy of "Ultimate X-Men" to cover his face. Really—video below.

President Obama's been in office just eight months, and already the government is moving in to disarm the citizenry. Why, just the other day they raided Anthony Cortese's house over in Midland Beach, Staten Island, confiscating his weapons and dragging him off in handcuffs, all because he hadn't registered some of his firearms with Obama's thought police! Cortese says he's a big game hunter (he owns property up in the Catskills) and tells the Staten Island Advance, "I think it's absolutely horrible that in America, they would take away a man's hunting rifles. I have to fight to get them back."

A grand jury has decided not to move forward with assault charges against a man arrested in connection with a September 7th fight at the Staten Island ferry terminal in Manhattan that left firefighter Matthew Dugan, 34, in critical condition. Doctors had to put Dugan, who is still hospitalized but in stable condition, into a medically induced coma after two operations to reduce the pressure on his brain. Police say the fight started after Dugan entered the terminal with his girlfriend, Sandy Wong, around 1:30 a.m. after a night of drinking. When Wong slipped on some stairs, Rasheeim Turner and two pals started laughing; Dugan told them to shut up, and was attacked.

Revolting: Police say a Staten Island man traveled to Pennsylvania for what he believed would be a sexual rendezvous with a woman and her 14-month-old daughter. Instead, Anthony Taylor, 48, was arrested yesterday in a pedophilia sting operation because the "mother" he'd been chatting with was actually an undercover detective working with federal, state and local law enforcement. The officer encountered Taylor, who allegedly used the handle "Tony The Staten Island Man," three months ago in a chat room called, ugh, "Start Them Early."

Just when we thought we'd have to go all the way to New Haven for the best slice of pizza pie, the 5 Borough Pizza Tour declares the best slice can be found right over in Staten Island. Salvatore of Soho (of Staten Island) came out on top; however, our resident pizza and Staten Island expert, John Kuhner, tells us "My favorite is Nunzio's, but the most famous is probably Denino's." Either way, it sounds like a good amount of our city's top slices are over there, so let's steal their recipes before selling the borough off to New Jersey.

Benito Barrios walked into a local precinct house in Staten Island Thursday night claiming that he "discovered" a 25-pound bag of pot in a delivery made to his furniture store. Cops then "discovered" 50 more pounds, hidden in his garden and arrested Barrios and his wife. There was no word on if Barrios was discovered to be totally blazed when he showed up at the station.

The Department of Transportation has agreed to relegate space on the middle deck of the Staten Island Ferry to become a designated "Quiet Zone." The SI Advance says that the area will be a place where passengers can seek solace to "avoid loud cell phone conversations, general chatter and ferryboat preachers who seek a captive audience." For now the Quiet Zones will be voluntary and self-policed, but City Councilman Ken Mitchell is drafting legislation for the DOT and NYPD to be able to enforce the new rules as well. Mitchell and State Senator Diane Savino pushed for the areas, similar to ones employed on Amtrak trains, because Staten Islanders face the longest average commute in the nation. After a survey went out to Ferry riders asking about their commutes, Savino says, "Everyone of them said that they wanted some place to go on the boat where they could go and just contemplate their life." The signs will be posted on the Bridge Deck of the three newest Molinari-class ferryboats; Savoy says she is brainstorming how to make the plan work for older ferry models as well.

Yesterday afternoon, a school bus carrying 26 children and a SUV collided into each other—and then into a home's front fence—on Kingdom Avenue at Billou Street in Staten Island's Huguenot section. The Staten Island Advance reports that the Our Lady Star of the Sea School bus had been traveling on Kingdom, while witnesses say the SUV "rolled through a stop sign on Billiou Street, into the path" of the bus. "The front of the bus on the driver's side smashed into the Cadillac's passenger side. The driver's side of the SUV was wedged against a tree toppled in the crash." An 11-year-old student and the SUV's two passengers were treated for minor injuries. The homeowner who found the two vehicles in her front yard told the Post the surrounding streets are a mess, "Everybody is in such a hurry, people run through these [stop] signs all the time. Somebody’s going to get killed," while another neighbor opined, "No one can see the stop signs — or they don’t care. The Escalade blew the stop sign but I’m sure the bus was supposed to be on his block either."

The gang of young men who were so incensed by last year's victory for President Obama that they "decided to go after black people" were sentenced today for their two separate Election Night attacks. The four Staten Islanders, known as the Rosebank Krew will now spend the four years of Obama's term behind bars. Three of them received sentences hovering around five years and one got a stiffer nine years for beating up a 17-year-old Liberian immigrant and putting a white man they believed to be black in a coma for weeks after running over him with a car. 19-year-old Ralph Nicoletti (pictured) received the 9-year sentence; he has had a rap sheet since he was 14 and at one point point attacked Michael Contreras because he thought Contreras was the snitch. (Nicoletti said he had become "upset" because Contreras repeatedly tried to sell him drugs.) Nicoletti believed he deserved a lighter sentence for cooperating, but a judge disagreed, saying his crimes were "perpetrated by pure hate that was born out of ignorance."

Nancy Reagan was right about pot making you dumb or whatever; three geniuses on Staten Island were busted Sunday afternoon when police discovered a large marijuana plant on their table in the living room and 15 more on a rear deck. How were police alerted to the stash? One of the roommates, 53-year-old Scott Ortega, summoned them there! Apparently the three were involved with some sort of landlord-tenant dispute, and Ortega called 911 to report a possible burglary. According to court papers obtained by the Staten Island Advance, police confiscated the plants and returned Monday with a warrant, finding three Xanax pills on a bedroom dresser, 11 joints a drawer, 15 partially-smoked joints on a TV stand, and several smaller bags of reefer. According to the Post, Ortega allegedly told cops the marijuana was just for his personal use, so it's all good, right? All three men face charges of criminal possession of marijuana, criminal possession of a controlled substance and "criminally using drug paraphernalia." Previously on stupid stoner tricks: Personally escorting cops to your pot house, and smoking herb while speeding in a car full of "bales" of marijuana.

Some details about the truck that somehow crashed into a booth at the Verrazano Narrows Bridge toll plaza yesterday. A source told the Staten Island Advance the "driver apparently lost his brakes, then jumped the curb at the plaza, near lane 17, and struck the toll booth... The accident caused traffic tie-ups heading into Staten Island." The driver was not pinned, though his door was "pressed against the toll booth"—it turns out that emergency responders "were hesitant to remove him through the passenger-side door" due to the driver's shoulder injuries.

A reader just sent us this picture—showing a truck apparently stuck at an angle— at the Verrazano Narrows Bridge toll plaza with the prediction, "The Verrazano is gonna be backed up."

The Staten Island Advance reports, "A chilling murder-suicide yesterday, capped with a bomb scare, ended a deadly 24 hours on Staten Island that included two more public suicides, each in a borough park, and a fatal motorcycle crash." In the case of the murder suicide, a man called 911 saying, "I shot my wife. Yeah, it was an accident, and I shot the cats too." John Pizon said he would leave his door open for EMT, but when cops arrived to the home in Bulls Head, they found Pizon dead from a gunshot wound to the head; police also found grenade and other firearms in the home (Pizon apparently collected Civil War firearms). On Tuesday night, a retired police officer was found dead, apparently of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, in Great Kills Park and yesterday morning, a 22-year-old man's body was found hanging from a tree in Willowbrook Park. The man who discovered the body in Willowbrook Park was walking his dog, "I saw the waste basket turned up and him, hanging there... I felt sad and scared."

The South Shore National squad of Staten Island went down to Williamsport and certainly put up a fight in the World Series tournament, but in the end couldn't get the job done against San Antonio in a 4-1 defeat in last night's nationally televised game. Most little league double plays are prompted by careless baserunning by a kid who doesn't know how many outs there are, but San Antonio pulled off three DPs last night simply with their sharp fundamentals. The Texas tweens, who probably get to play all-year round without any real winter to deal with, were able to get themselves out of three separate innings in which South Shore National had loaded up the bases, twice with nobody out. Star lefty pitcher Angelo Navetta (pictured) got banged up and taken out early, not making it out of the 2nd inning. Manager Mike Zaccariello said after, "He just wasn't Angelo." Mayor Bloomberg saluted the Staten Island youngsters, saying he was "impressed by the spirit of the players and the devotion of the parents in the stands." After the defeat, the mayor said, "On behalf of the entire city, I congratulate them on a great season that is the stuff of dreams."

An NYPD officer has been suspended without pay after being charged with roughing up his girlfriend earlier this week. 24-year-old Roberto Pagan was arraigned yesterday after the altercation took place Wednesday night at Hylan Boulevard and Tysens Lane in the New Dorp section of Staten Island. A source tells the SI Advance that at around 8:30, Pagan and his girlfriend "exchanged heated words over what he was texting" before he then allegedly began choking her and punched her in the eye. Pagan is relatively new to the force, having been on for around 18 months. At his arraignment for misdemeanor charges of assault and attempted assault, a judge ordered that the Graniteville native turn over all firearms—including his his police weapon. His girlfriend was treated for bruises at Staten Island Hospital before being released

Good grief, people suck: A Staten Island man named Frank Coppola was arrested yesterday on charges he beat his girlfriend's chihuahua to death. A necropsy performed on the three-year-old dog, named Bella, showed severe trauma to its chest, internal bleeding, several broken ribs, a ruptured jugular vein and bruised lungs. Coppola, 28, is accused of killing Bella in the apartment he shared with his girlfriend, Melissa DePietro, after the dog bit him.

A Staten Island driver is due in court at the end of the month to face assault charges after a road rage incident with a cyclist. Unlike Fox News staffer Don Broderick, whom the Manhattan DA let off the hook despite allegations that he drove with a cyclist clinging to his hood, 27-year-old Michael Graziuso was taken away in handcuffs after this altercation, which took place at a busy Staten Island intersection on the morning of July 8th. The confrontation was sparked after cyclist Gregory DeRespino, 48, stopped in the bike lane at a red light at Capodanno Boulevard and Seaview Avenue, making it difficult for several cars lined up behind him to make a right turn.

      

Last night, Staten Island Little League team the South Shore National defeated a team from Somerset Hills, NJ, 4-0, to become the Mid-Atlantic Regional champions. Now the team is headed to Williamsport, Pennsylvania for the Little League World Series. Proud uncle Anthony Morisano, whose nephew James is on the team, told the Daily News, "This is a big deal for us. The whole team is good. All the kids seem to be stepping up." What's more, they're stepping up during a nationally broadcast (on ESPN2) game!

Seems as though our dolphin visitors are still circling around the boroughs. Earlier today we received an alert about a "distressed dolphin on S.I. side of bay." Luckily, some animal-loving folks were around to help out, and shortly after we got another alert updating the situation. This one said, "Civilians got the dolphin off the sand bar and the dolphin is headed toward the channel." Aw, way to go civilians! The Coast Guard and Mammal Rescue are staying on alert to make sure the dolphin gets to where s/he needs to go.