Schumer Brings Ring of Sensors to the City get ready to feel horrified

NYC

Just call him Senator Get-'er-Done: between beseeching JetBlue to stay in NY and saving Bannerman Castle, Senator Chuck Schumer announced today that the Department of Homeland Security has approved funding for a program to protect NYC against a nuclear attack, calling the program "an indispensable tool used to protect the population, transit hubs, and commercial centers of New York City from the possibility of a devastating nuclear or dirty bomb attack." Another triumph for the Patron Saint of Pool Parties?

The Post reports that the NYPD will receive $18.5 million (out of $20 million nationally available) for the terrorism-combating program, called "Securing the Cities." NYC will be the first to install a ring of sensors along highways, toll plazas, bridges, tunnels and waterways in order to detect radioactive and nuclear material before it enters the city.

When the plan was first discussed over two years ago, it was estimated to require $75-100 million to install properly, and likewise, Sen. Schumer said additional funding would be necessary to purchase more sensors, fully link up the system and train police. Hopefully he'll figure out a way to finish the job; sometimes all it takes is grabbing a gun and killing some pheasants.

WNYC: Schumer Supports Holding Terror Trials in NYC

NYC

NEW YORK, NY January 22, 2010 —Sen. Charles Schumer has expressed support for holding the trials of terror defendants in New York. The New York Democrat says his main goal is to see alleged 9/11 planner Khalid Sheik Mohammed and others brought to justice swiftly

"The prosecutorial authorities who I have talked to in Washington and here in New York believe that the method that they chose was the quickest," Schumer says.

Schumer called the idea of holding the trials on Governor's Island intriguing, but the NYPD has since shot it down, saying there are too many risks involved in transporting prisoners to and from the island.

Members of the Community Board for Lower Manhattan, who adamantly oppose holding the trials in their neighborhood, first floated the alternative.

What things should I bring on a five day trip to New York City?

By things I mean supplies, clothes, things to do. I'm going on a band trip, so two of the days will be spent on a bus. Things on my list so far include: iPod Phone Purse/ Wallet About six outfits. I'm looking for necessities and things to do on the bus mainly.

Trial begins for NYC cops charged in sex attack I suddenly feel moody

NYC

This undated file photo provided by the Brooklyn district attorney's office shows New York City police officer Richard Kern, accused of sexually assaulting tattoo parlor employee Michael Mineo with a police baton on Oct. 15, 2008. Opening arguments began Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010, for Kern and fellow police officers Alex Cruz and Andrew Morales, who are accused of covering up the Oct. 15, 2008 attack. (AP Photo/Brooklyn District Attorney, File)

Posted in National on Thursday, January 21, 2010 4:40 pm Updated: 6:02 pm. | Tags:

Thursday's headline news Plane Diverted To Philly From NYC

NYC

MYFOXNY.COM - A plane was quarantined at Philadelphia International Airport.  The plane was headed from LaGuardia Airport in New York to Louisville on Thursday morning when there was an in-flight incident.

The plane was a USAir flight run by Chautequa Air.  The plane was described as a small commuter plane that holds 50 passengers.  It's unknown how many people were on the plane.

At least 12 police cars and fire vehicles were seen heading to the airport, according to Fox Philadelphia.

One person was taken away from the plane in custody and the rest of the passengers were released.

Sources now tell FOX 29 News that a man on a plane was using a teffilin, a leather box worn on the arm and head during certain Jewish services and he was praying on the plane.

Straps ran down from arm to his body as he was praying on the plane and a passenger became suspicious. The man was questioned by airline personnel, whio didn't get answers to satisfy them, so they diverted the plane to Philadelphia.

The US Airways flight was bound for Louisville.

The plane landed and taxied to a remote section of the airport. All passengers disembarked and are safe.

The individual who apparently caused the disturbance was in custody and is being questioned. He was said to be cooperative.

The airport is open.

All passengers have been removed safely from the plane.

 

Tips for visiting New York and attending a Yankees game?

Want to take my son to a Yankees game, but have never visited New York. Where should we stay, what transportation should we take, etc. Any tips appreciated - we're clueless! Also which seats are best - moderate budget. Thanks!

How much would a trip to New York City Cost?

I'm DFW (Dallas Fort Worth, Texas) and I want to know How much would it cost to travel to New York City and stay there in a decent hotel,travel by plane and do the things you usually do when you travel there. So how much would be the total cost of a trip?

What's the best and cheapest way to go from Niagara Falls to New York City?

Should I go back to Toronto and fly from there?

Is there a reciprocity agreement between California and New York for teaching credentials?

I'm studying to become a teacher in New York. After obtaining my teaching credentials here, will I have problems becoming a teacher in California. What must I understand while taking my coursework in New York, eventhough I want to teach in California.

NYC rescue teams save 4 in Haiti effort (You're getting tired with things like this)

NYC

The N.Y. Task Force Urban Search and Rescue team arrives in Port-au-Prince on Jan. 16.

New York police and fire department search and rescue teams yesterday saved four people who had been buried under rubble since a 7.0 magnitude earthquake shook Haiti to its core on Tuesday.

Rescuers pulled a man from a ruined four-story building on Rue Belencourt in Port-au-Prince in the afternoon, police said. Rescuers used jackhammers and cutting tools to reach the 55-year-old after finding him using a camera. Before he could be extricated, Det. Randin Miller, an NYPD paramedic, crawled into the debris to bring the dehydrated man fluids through an IV line. The man, who was on the third floor when the earthquake struck, was not seriously injured, police said.

Earlier in the day, another New York City team completed an all-night effort at a collapsed grocery store by rescuing two men and a teenage girl. The girl was treated for a leg injury at a U.N. hospital set up at the airport and the two men for unknown injuries.

The 40 NYPD and 40 FDNY members are divided into teams based at the Port-au-Prince airport and work shifts that run around the clock. They are expected to stay for at least one week.

Which of these cities is better, New York City or San Diego?

I live in San Diego, but I prefer New York City. I hate it here and I really want to visit New York someday. Which is better?

Who is the top orthopedic surgeon in New York?

I am looking for surgery options for a bone infection in my leg. I live in Connecticut and am searching my treatment options. I would like to know who is the best of the best in this field. Please let me know thank you!

What brown skirt and blouse on fashion designer new york dsi game is to be used?

Been trying for hours now. This is for the Imagine Fashion Designer New York Dsi game. It says to pick a brown blouse and skirt. I have tried every combination but nothing works. help!

Auction helps cover $8M debt of NYC landmark

NYC

The sale ended Friday and included about 20,000 items from the landmark establishment in Central Park - from crystal chandeliers to a pig-shaped weather vane and all the china and kitchen equipment.

The highest bid - $180,000 - was for a Tiffany glass ceiling used in other restaurants owned by Tavern operator Warner LeRoy, the Russian Tea Room and Maxwell's Plum.

Other top items at the Guernsey's auction were a Tiffany glass ceiling piece that went for $120,000 and a Tiffany peacock mural that sold for $75,000.

Tavern on the Green closed its doors on New Year's Eve after 75 years.

What is the most popular online classifieds website for New York?

Is it Craigslist? Or is there something better? What about Chicago?

How much emergency money should I bring to New York City?

Me and three friends are going to New York from the south. We want to know how much money we should bring, in case the car breaks down, or something absolutley terrible happens.

Sphere NYC Haitians Reel From News of Earthquake

NYC

NEW YORK (Jan. 13) – They say not knowing is the worst part. For New York City's Haitian population, many of whom still cannot get in touch with relatives in Haiti, the stress is overwhelming.

At the Bedford Haitian Community Center in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, this morning, employees were on the phone trying to get through to relatives with no success. "It is stressful," said Maidjine Bataille, a 27-year-old native of Haiti who has a great-grandmother, grandmother, half sister, cousin, uncle and aunt still living there. "It's like you don't know what's going on, who's alive, who's dead."

Throughout the city's Haitian community the message was the same. Few people had been able to contact family in Port-au-Prince, and as images of devastation poured through television screens, fear and anxiety grew.

"Everybody's worried because we don't know, deeply, we don't know what the damage is," said Joseph Dormeus, executive director of the Bedford center. "Physically we see the damage on the house, on the building, but we don't know how many people that are dead."

Dormeus said the community center was open late Tuesday night as people gathered to try to call family. This morning people came again, some in tears, trying in vain to get news of their family members. By late morning the seven people who remained, mostly employees, watched scenes of destruction on the news and on YouTube.

"We have not been able to digest what's going on because the news has been scattered," said Samuel Barthelemy, who has lived in the United States for 40 years. "I hardly got any sleep because my younger son is in Haiti and I couldn't get any news."

Barthelemy, 62, works at the Haitian Centers Council in Flatbush. He was one of the few who finally did make contact with family when he received an e-mail this morning saying his 13-year-old son was safe.

His co-worker, Dr. Marie Pierre-Louis, was another one of the rare lucky ones. She had been in Haiti for the holidays and got back to New York on Sunday. She managed to speak with her 93-year-old father, who lives alone in Port-au-Prince, and her sister right after the earthquake Tuesday evening.

The news they had could have been much worse. Her brother-in-law had hurt a few fingers and had a gash in his head. She had just enough time to tell them where she had left some gauze before they were cut off.

"I try all of them and keep trying and keep trying," Pierre-Louis said. But since last night, she has not had any news.

Her brother has fared far worse. His wife works in a government ministry in Port-au-Prince and he has not heard any news from her. Pierre-Louis said he is "going nuts."

Pierre-Louis also has a blind uncle she has no news of, and her son can't get in touch with his girlfriend.

Stories just like these are the norm today. And though many woke up and went to work this morning, disbelief and shock have consumed many of New York's Haitians, who are used to dealing with hurricanes on their island nation, but rarely earthquakes.

Haitian President René Préval told reporters today that the destruction from the 7.0-magnitude quake was "unimaginable" and that he was now homeless himself. Early unofficial estimates place the death toll in the thousands.

Dormeus of the Bedford center said he hoped the aftershocks would stop. "A continuation, the way I see it, will be the end of Port-au-Prince," he said, adding that the devastation there will damage the rest of the country, which relies heavily on the capital.

The idea that Port-au-Prince will never be the same added to the shock and disbelief in New York.

"It will never be the way it was when I grew up," Pierre-Louis said. "Port-au-Prince as we know it won't exist anymore."

What would be the fastest way to get from New Jersey to the New York Public Library in Manhattan?

Also probably the fastest that's the least expensive. I was assuming driving to Staten Island and taking the ferry and then a bus uptown would be the better of the ways. Any other suggestions?

Air America (press release) (blog) NYC Officials Shred Seized Clothes, Refuse To Donate

NYC

In the wake of last week's reports that H&M mutilated unsold clothing before discarding it, the New York Times reports that the city of New York is participating in similarly wasteful practices.

Police destroyed bootleg clothing and shoes taken from raids on counterfeit operations after they were no longer needed as evidence. The goods were new, and included winter jackets, shirts, and pants. The shredding of usable, much-needed clothing cost the city $150 per ton.

In the past, the city has donated confiscated goods to aid groups, but the chief spokesman for the Police Department, Paul J. Browne, claimed there were no requests for clothing in 2009. The operators of a clothing bank disputed this.

Historically, organizations that received the donations avoided trademark infringement by defacing the knockoff labels. But the counterfeit status of the clothing still creates obstacles to its distribution. Major fashion brands are fighting expensive battles with counterfeiters--an agenda backed by Mayor Bloomberg--and they are reluctant to let bootleg goods back into circulation, even as charitable donations.

Robert Rucker, a lawyer with Tucker and Lafiti, a firm that represents Steve Madden and Zac Posen among others, offered his particularly smarmy and corporate-minded opinion on the companies:

“These are people who spend hundreds of thousands of dollars, some of them millions, to get counterfeit goods off the street. Everyone wants to feed and clothe the homeless. But how are you going to spend all this money and then put it back on the street?”

Interestingly, the fashion and licensing industries are financial supporters of the New York City Police Foundation, and in turn the NYC Police Foundation has backed trademark infringement investigations. According to the New York City Department of Homeless Services' Daily Census, as of January 8 there are 36,997 homeless New Yorkers. Donations of counterfeit goods could certainly be put to good use, but clearly the city has other priorities.

Daily Times - Aafia Siddiqui announces boycott of NYC trial

NYC

Aafia Siddiqui announces boycott of NYC trial

NEW YORK: The trial of Aafia Siddiqui, the Pakistani neuroscientist charged with shooting at her US interrogators in Afghanistan, began on Wednesday with her announcement to potential jurors that she would boycott the case.

Im out of this, Siddiqui, 37, told about 100 potential jurors as lawyers in the case began selecting a jury at Manhattan federal court. Im boycotting the trial, just to let you know. There are too many injustices. The scene marked the latest in a series of courtroom rants by Siddiqui, who has refused to work with her lawyers and lambasted the court since her case began last summer. Her trial had been delayed so that several psychologists could examine her.

Siddiqui, a Pakistani national, is charged with grabbing a U.S. warrant officers rifle in mid-2008 while she was detained for questioning in Afghanistans Ghazni province, and for firing it at FBI agents and military personnel. She was brought to the United States weeks later to face federal charges of attempted murder and assault. According to her U.S. indictment, items found in Siddiquis handbag at the time of her arrest included notes on making explosives and chemical weapons as well as descriptions of a mass casualty attack listing various New York landmarks. If convicted, Siddiqui faces life imprisonment. agencies

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