Results tagged “washingtonheights”

The owner of the Washington Heights restaurant where a bouncer was killed early yesterday told the media, "There was an argument between customers and the security guy who worked for us at the time tried to break up the argument and took the guys outside. When he took the guys outside, one of them probably had a knife and tried to stab the other guy, I don't know. But unfortunately the security guy got hurt," adding, "This never happens here. We feel sorry for the family of the worker." No arrests have been made.

1010 WINS reports, "An employee of a Manhattan restaurant was stabbed to death early Tuesday morning after ejecting three men from the 24 hour eatery, police said. The three men were taken into police custody and were being questioned." The 40-something victim worked at Casa Del Mofongo, which is open 24 hours and located on St Nicholas Ave between 182nd St & 183rd St.

Travel up to the northernmost neighborhoods of Manhattan these days and you might catch a whiff of more than just gentrification in the air—now skunks have invaded Inwood and Washington Heights as well! The area where the only skunk smell formerly found was from the weed sold along Dyckman Street is now crawling with the unwanted pests. The Parks Department's chief naturalist says, “It really seems like the population has gone from zero to many. I’m not sure why."

A St. John's student was arrested after threatening to "do some Virginia Tech shit" as his Facebook status. Radames Santiago, an 18-year-old from Washington Heights, posted the vague threat on Monday and then followed up the next day with a status that he “knows he will do it. You know I will, and to make sure that people watch CNN or something every day after” he kills everyone. Instead of tuning in, "friends" of Santiago dialed up St. John's officials, who informed police. Santiago justified "what he was doing" by giving the same reasons that many people leave a Facebook status that causes their friends to banish them to their hidden lists—he told cops that he was drunk and depressed "about everything" when he left them. Now that's a status that may have gotten some Likes. Instead Santiago could now face up to 7 years in prison. Queens DA Richard Brown said, “If a defendant posts a threat on a social networking site it will be treated seriously and investigated thoroughly." Two years ago, the campus was locked down when a student brought a rifle to campus; he was apparently schizophrenic.

Police have identified a subway mugger who has pulled off a total of 13 robberies, including ones in each of the four boroughs the trains run in. Police are hunting for Rasheen Wallace (pictured), a career criminal who has 18 prior arrests for petit larceny, trespass, possession of marijuana and served 8 years for robbery. Police describe him as "a smooth operator" who isolates his victims, sometimes targeting them in the last car and near the end of the line. Ten of the thirteen robberies in the spree that began early this year have targeted women, including one in Inwood where Wallace punched a woman the face when she refused to give up her purse. Another 27-year-old woman robbed in Washington Heights tells the News, "It was just me and another guy in the car. The next thing I know, there was a knife in my stomach...I don't feel safe. I'm thinking of taking a karate class." The Post has a map of the robbery locations and describes Wallace as wearing a Boston Red Sox cap.

Despite the ongoing attack on lifeguards, the parks commissioner is standing by his boys in red. After a city pool's lifeguard was arrested for dunking a teenager who accused the lifeguard of trying to drown him, Commissioner Adrian Benepe is saying that he does not think there is any systematic problem with his lifeguards, telling the Post, "Any time you have a large group of workers, you are going to have some problems." Benepe stressed that there's two sides to the dunking story and said, "If someone is resisting, it may appear something that it's not." The teenagers at Highbridge Pool in Washington Heights though must smell blood in the water because they're coming to the Post and claiming that the dunking was not an isolated incident. One 15-year-old told the paper of a similar altercation that occurred in the 10 Feet section of the water two weeks ago, saying, "It was three lifeguards. They took turns dunking the kid without letting him come up for air."

With beach lifeguards doing their part over the past couple weeks to demonstrate just how terrified we should feel swimming beneath their easily-distracted watch, now lifeguards at city pools are making sure we know that they can be negligent too. Yesterday, Luis Peralta, 25, a lifeguard at the Highbridge Pool in Washington Heights, was arrested for dunking a teenager after he joking he would drown anyone who had jumped in while the pool was being cleaned. A fellow teenager told the News, "The lifeguard came in and started drowning the kid. He was basically on top of his head, pushing down with his hands — and he was counting [out loud] up to 5 or 6." Peralta was charged with a misdemeanor for reckless endangerment. The mother of the boy dunked told the Post, "What [the lifeguard] did was very dangerous...I gave him permission to go because I felt safe with him going there, but now I don't feel safe." Just last week, two teens were arrested at the same pool for scuffling with cops when they refused to leave the pool in a similar situation.

The Rev. Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II, a materialistic multimillionaire evangelist better known as Ike, died Tuesday in Los Angeles at the age of 74. He had been residing there since 2007 following a stroke, but he spent most of his life in New York City, where, in 1969, he paid $600,000 for the massive old Loew’s 175th Street theater and made it his headquarters, calling it the Palace Cathedral. For the past several years, the ornate Washington Heights theater has also been used for rock concerts, featuring such acts as Arcade Fire and Sonic Youth. But the Christ Community United Church continues to worship at the theater, albeit without Reverend's Ike's famous "Blessing of the Cadillacs," nor his exhortations to his flock to "close your eyes and see green. Money up to your armpits, a roomful of money and there you are, just tossing around in it like a swimming pool." We expect to see plenty of swim trunks and inflatable armbands stuffed with dollar bills at the next United Palace concert.

The FBI is investigating a number of hateful letters sent to the Hispanic owners of business in Washington Heights and Inwood. NY1 reports that the "barrage of hate mail" contains "threats such as 'Stop wrecking my USA,' 'Speak english' and 'We don't want you in our community.'" Jesus Hernandez, who owns Mama Sushi, told WCBS 2, "I don't have just Latin people coming here. I have black, I have white I have all kinds of people as customers so I can't point out anybody who would do such a thing." Hispanics Across America's Fernando Mateo is worried the letter writer may act out, which is why he has given the letters to the FBI, "That somebody may come with a machine gun and shoot-up the area, shoot-up the patrons, you know? We don't want to wait until it escalates into gunfire."

As many of our astute commenters suspected, it was a drug deal gone bad that sparked Wednesday night's wild car chase and fatal shooting in Washington Heights. It was originally reported that a man had flagged down a patrol car screaming that he was robbed and pointing to a silver Cadillac a few car lengths ahead, near West 170th street. And while police say it's true that the man and his buddy were robbed—of somewhere between $500 and $1,200 cash—it's now confirmed that the robbery was a pot deal gone bad.

Last night, police shot and killed a robbery suspect who they had been following on a wild chase that also left bystanders and police officers injured. A pedestrian told police that people in a car had just robbed him—of $1,200 cash—at West 177th near the West Side Highway. Police then chased the silver Cadillac throughout Washington Heights. According to WCBS 2, "The Cadillac struck a motorcycle rider, and the motorcycle got stuck under the car and was dragged. The Cadillac reversed, trying to dislodge the motorcycle, and hit a pedestrian." The cops came on the scene, identified themselves and then fired (one of the suspects may have had a gun). One of the suspects was shot dead while the three others were taken into custody. The Daily News reports, "Investigators said no weapon was found on the dead man, but noted that the weapon might have been tossed during the chase or hidden somewhere in the car. They were awaiting a search warrant Thursday morning."

Sigh. Yesterday afternoon, the Daily News reports, "A livery cab crammed with passengers crashed into a Washington Heights flower shop [at Broadway and West 157th]... when a van filled with seniors hit it." A delivery man for the florist said, "It was chaos out here, total chaos. A white van was coming toward the store to make a left or a U-turn. The van didn't wait for the light and the Town Car came down and hit the van, pushing him up the street, and the Town Car went straight into the store." The van ended up crashed into the center median. Seven people were injured, though not seriously. One lucky person was a female pedestrian, who wasn't hit but her shopping cart was "crushed".

The first City Council member to resign as a result of a slush fund scandal wasted no time settling matters with the US Attorney's office. Today former Councilman Miguel Martinez pleaded guilty to money laundering and mail fraud, stealing in total over $100,000 intended for non-profit groups. In court today, Martinez said, "I received the money as a direct result of the conspiracy. I engaged in this scheme as a New York City Council member. I was able to engage in these schemes because I was a New York City councilman." Martinez copped a plea deal with prosecutors who recommended he be sentenced to around 4 to 6 years for charges that usually warrant up to 20, but the federal judge today noted that the court did not have to comply with that advice. The Times says Martinez had a "once-promising political career" while representing Washington Heights and Inwood, a seat that NY1 says will not have a special election because it would fall too close to September primaries.

Drug Enforcement Agency agents arrested two bounty hunters in Washington Heights last night, charging them with possession of over 6 pounds of cocaine (street value: $300,000). NY1 reports that the two suspects, Chris Morel and Rensy Adrover, were arrested after being spotted as they put on "ballistics vests and police tactical gear. Investigators say they also had a stun gun, a dagger, bullet proof vests and handcuffs." DEA Officer Wilbert Plummer surmised, "I think they were using it as a cover. This way it would be a little more safe for them to travel through the city with drugs in the car. They didn't have it in a trap or compartment. They had it out actually inside a bag in plain view. [If stopped by cops] They could be en route to somewhere and law enforcement would just believe they were other law enforcement agents driving off somewhere." Morel and Adrover work for a bail enforcement firm in the Bronx; they will be arraigned on drug possession charges, which could bring up to 24 years in prison.

An opening-this-fall charter school in Washington Heights has been getting a lot of attention, thanks to its $125,000 salaries for teachers. The Equity Project Charter Schools hopes to show high quality teachers will bring results. The NY Times looks at some of the hires and finds "an accomplished violist...a self-described 'explorer' from Arizona who spent three decades honing her craft at public, private, urban and rural schools...two with Ivy League degrees. And Joe Carbone, a phys ed teacher, who has the most unusual résumé of the bunch, having worked as Kobe Bryant’s personal trainer." And the teachers "will work longer hours and more days, and have 30 pupils, about 6 more than the typical New York City fifth-grade class," plus they won't "have the same retirement benefits as members of the city’s teachers’ union" and can be fired at will. But the teachers will also be eligible for $25,000 bonuses.

Advocates have been pushing for years to make swimming in the Hudson River a reality for New Yorkers, but one career thief has been doing his part to get the NYPD to explore the possibilities of entering into other local waters that would normally be avoided. Yesterday a police diver went into the 50-degree water of Meadow Lake in Fresh Meadows Park for four hours to fish out four ATMs that were allegedly dumped there by Valentin Garcia, who had been arrested for grand larceny after getting caught lifting the ATMs right into a van, seen in the clip below.

[Updated 5:45 p.m.]Manny Ramirez is going to be suspended for fifty games by Major League Baseball after getting caught using a banned substance. The LA Times broke the story, saying that the suspension will begin immediately, keeping Ramirez out until July 3 and costing him $7.7 million, roughly 31% of his $25-million salary.

After yesterday's pre-dawn raids in Washington Heights and the Bronx to arrest 34 Trinitarios gang members (seven are still at large), the federal and local authorities discussed the operation. One fed told CityRoom the gang originated in prison "to protect them from the Latin Kings and the Bloods." NYPD captain Gerry Farrell of the Bronx gang squad said, "What started out as slashings and stabbings with knives and machetes has escalated to shootings and homicides." Acting U.S. Attorney Lev Dassin said, "Thanks to the work of dedicated federal agents and police officers, the residents of Washington Heights have safer places to live today, and those who would endanger their community with drugs and violence are now called to face justice." But one Washington Heights resident was unconvinced and told the Daily News, "It doesn't make me feel safer at all. There's always going to be some left on the outside. They can't arrest everybody."

This morning, federal agents and members of the NYPD busted dozens of members of the Trinitarios gang in Washington Heights and the Bronx early this morning. MyFoxNY reports, "The Trinitarios are accused of being a Dominican gang that operated and controlled drug trafficking on at least four city blocks in the area of West 171st Street through West 174th Streets in the Washington Heights neighborhood." Also: 200 law enforcement officers were involved with the raid. The Trinitarios are believed to be the city's fastest growing gang—and they are not afraid to use violence (their weapon of choice is the machete).

Yesterday Washington Heights fans of Brangelina and their brood got all worked up about the possibility of the family moving to their neighborhood. Today the rumors are dispelled, however. The Daily News reports that Angelina Jolie was spotted at luxury co-op building The Riviera (157th and Riverside Drive) to scout locations for her latest movie, Edwin A. Salt. A resident confirmed that the actress will be shooting there for a few days in March, but other locals wanted to believe the famous family would be moving in, noting the area is great for families and "there needs to be attention brought to this neighborhood. They could bring nice restaurants here and more things to do." Currently the family is renting a $60 million mansion on Long Island.

Remember the last week's story about a man who kidnapped a 14-year-old girl from Washington Heights and took her to a Bronx motel, where she was luckily able to escape? Now a suspect has been arrested. WABC 7 says that the police found 28-year-old Johan Garcia by using a surveillance photo (he was filmed by the motel's camera). The girl had told WABC 7 the kidnapper approached her when she was walking home from school to her home, "He turns around unexpecting and then he moves me to the wall of the hallway and he just tells me, 'if you want to live, just answer my question and that's it don't scream, don't do anything." Garcia faces charges of kidnapping and "acting in a manner injurious to a child."

The police released a video of a man who kidnapped a girl from her Washington Heights apartment building and took her to a motel in the Bronx. The Daily News reports that, fortunately, the "quick-thinking 14-year-old girl escaped the clutches of a pervert after he left her alone in the parking lot of a Bronx motel while he went inside to book a room." Cops say she was dragged from the lobby of her apartment (the girls adds that she tried to "catch people's eyes, but every person I walked by was listening to music") into a livery cab and taken to the River Road Motor Inn in Woodlawn. When in the parking lot, the girl had called to the cab driver for help (he did call 911) and ran into a room being cleaned by maids, who then "closed the door and called 911." More details about the suspect here.

A pediatrician was arraigned Friday after being charged with sexually abusing a 13-year-old male patient of his. Dr. Jamie Luis Cortes has been accused of kissing and touching the genitals of the child, a patient at a Washington Heights clinic whom he is suspected of having sexual contact with since the boy was ten. The DA's office says that Cortes has given the boy money and a cellphone and sent him inappropriate text messages and explicit photographs. An employee of Cortes's alerted police that she witnessed abuse after the child's mother spoke with the employee about her concern over the amount of time the doctor and her son were spending together. Cortes had previously been acquitted after being accused of molesting two boys in 1994. He would face up to 7 years in prison if convicted on the new charges.

Meet 87-year-old Anna Reyneso, a Washington Heights resident who, when she needs to use the bathroom at night, must awaken her 50-year-old daughter to guide her by flashlight to a vacant apartment down the hall. That’s because her landlord, Dorothea Levine, sent contractors in January to rip out Reyneso’s bathroom toilet, tub, floors and walls--a harassment tactic the Daily News says is part of an ongoing battle over the 54-unit, rent-stabilized building's future. Three other tenants had their bathrooms removed, and the building has so many violations the city has taken the rare step of suing Levine to take over the building. Of course, two can play at that game: landlords are suing the city right back in order to stop the recently-passed Tenant Protection Act.

A gang of five trailed a pair of off-duty cops in Washington Heights around midnight last night and jumped them in an attempted robbery that did not go well. Things went sideways for the assailants almost immediately when one of them initiated the attack by picking up a wooden folding chair from the trash and hitting one of the officers on the back of the head with it.

Residents of Washington Heights and the Lower East Side may be noticing some production crews in their 'nabe this week, as filming begins for the redux of PBS's The Electric Company, which ended its series in 1977.

After showing surveillance images of a man who allegedly sexually attacked a woman for hours before robbing her, police have made an arrest. Emerson Deno, 32, was charged with rape, criminal sex act, burglary, robbery and unlawful imprisonment.

      

Word is that many a ship are getting wrecked on the Hudson by the George Washington Bridge. Could Manhattan be drawing ships to shore with its sirens? Is this a marketing ploy for Lost? The Gay Recluse reports:

"Those arriving in Washington Heights for the first time are often surprised to hear splintering, cracking sounds in the distance. The shoreline is rocky and treacherous for those unfamiliar with its jagged contours, and what you hear is the slow wreckage of some poor soul who has strayed too close."

    

Thick black smoke hovering above Washington Heights is apparently a common occurrence, but it is legal? The Gay Recluse has some photos of the area and says it's the result of "improperly maintained or outdated boiler systems," with one building in particular being a main culprit (671 West 162nd Street). Has anyone seen something similar, or worse? This certainly can't be helping with the rising asthma problem.

When cops raided a suspected drug operation in Washington Heights last week, they found that the alleged dealers had a little business going on the side: a day care service. Police arrested Donald Crespo and Akwasiba Radellant not just for drug possession, but child endangerment because the fire alarms in the apartment were deactivated and pacifiers were dirty.