Newark, NJ +Minor Plane Accident+

Newark, NJ +Minor Plane Accident+ Two planes one a Luftansa 747 and one a Continental 757 bumped each other at the Liberty International Airport, both planes have minor damage to their wings and the Luftansa also has engine damage but no fuel leak and no one injured, crash trucks are on the scene awaiting FAA.

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Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Dwelling Fire+

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Dwelling Fire+ Fire Department en route and Hatzolah responding with multiple unite for reports of a fire in a the kitche of 5420 15th Avenue and 55th Street Apt 3-B, also requesting medics to stand by.

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Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Williamsburg Bridge Water Search+

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Williamsburg Bridge Water Search+ NYPD of the 90th Pct, ESU, Aviation and Fire Department are all on the scene with an abandoned motorcycle with helmet on it on the Brooklyn bound of the Williamsburg Bridge.
Harbor Units searching the water for a possible jumper off the bridge.

U/D: 17:44
Aviation searched area of bridge with negative results.

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Jerusalem, Israel - Hundreds of Haredim Protesting

Jerusalem, Israel - Hundreds of Haredi demonstrators have begun protesting in a central artery in Jerusalem.

The protesters blocked the roadway and were taken away by police, but they are continuing to protest at the scene.

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Monsey, NY - Teens Arrested for Mischief and Attempt Robbery

Monsey, NY - Police arrested a 17-year-old boy with a paintball gun on an attempted robbery charge.

One Spring Valley teenager was one of four youths driving around Monsey and Chestnut Ridge firing air and paint ball guns at people, before Halloween. The other teenager branched off into a robbery on Maple Leaf Road, Detective Sgt. John Lynch said. The man robbed was unharmed. 
The teen was charged with first-degree attempted robbery, third-degree menacing and second-degree reckless endangerment, Lynch said.

Ramapo Justice Arnold Etelson sealed the youth's name during an arraignment. The youth was released after posting $10,000 bail pending a Justice Court hearing on Thursday. Police continued to investigate random paintball shootings. Anyone with information can call the Ramapo Police Department.

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Israel - New Poll Shows Israelis Hate the Charedim the Most

Israel - 37% of Israelis say that the haredim are the most hated group in Israel, according to a new study.
Some 15% said the same of new immigrants from former Soviet Union countries, while about 13% said that settlers in the West Bank and the former Gaza Strip settlements were the most hated.

According to Aharon Rose, a researcher of haredi society and thought at the Hebrew University, the figures reflect in part haredi society's perception of itself as hated, and not necessarily the level of that hatred in non-haredi circles. "Many believe that the leadership of the haredi world is happy about this," Rose said following the publication of the study. "According to this view, the perception of being hated helps them to keep their society separate from the general culture."
As proof, Rose pointed to the fact that "haredi media love to quote incessantly those few who truly hate them. It makes it easier to keep the kids inside haredi society."

For Rose, however, there is much hatred in the general society that is reflected in the study. Rose doesn't believe that self-perception of the haredim is the whole story.
"I think the haredim are hated in part because they represent to secular Israelis a Jewish past that the secular world hasn't dealt with," he said.

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Braunschweig, Germany - Volkswagen Pays Tribute to Jewish Member of Hitler Youth

Braunschweig, Germany - Volkswagen presented a commemorative tablet to Solomon Perel, 81, a Jew who survived the Holocaust by joining the Hitler Youth, they unveiled a plaque in the Volkswagen plant where he trained as a toolmaker during World War II.  

Perel's had an extraordinary escape, by adopting the name Josef Perjell and pretending to be an ethnic German from Russia.
After he was captured in 1941 by a German army unit he talked his way into a job as an interpreter.  As he was too young to conscript into the German Army, he was sent to a Hitler Youth school at Braunschweig, near his birthplace, and granted an apprenticeship at Volkswagen, which was then making military vehicles.

The plaque commemorating his ordeal was made by a club of Volkswagen trainees and retirees who research the company's history.
After the war, Solomon learned that his father had died of starvation in the Lodz ghetto, his mother was killed in a gassing truck and his sister was shot while on a death march.

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Lawrence, NY +Animal Attack+

Lawrence, NY +Animal Attack+ Hatzolah responding to 91 Merrall Drive corner of Broadway for an aided that was bitten by a dog with injuries, PD also responding.

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Newburgh, NY - Two Cops on Leave After Shooting that Killed Activist's Son

Newburgh, NY - Two City of Newburgh police officers have been placed on administrative leave after they were involved in the shooting that killed the son of an outspoken black community activist last night, inciting a volatile mob scene of anti-cop onlookers.  "They killed my son," said activist and father Omari Shakur, standing on the outskirts of the yellow police tape. 

Shakur said his youngest son, Antonio "Tony" Bryant, 23, was dead at the nearby Newburgh campus of St. Lukes Cornwall Hospital from a bullet wound to the head.

According to city police, a shootout began when Sgt. Frank Labrada tried to stop a red Jeep Cherokee in the area of City Terrace and Van Ness Street about 7 p.m. Bryant, dressed all in black with a black hood, jumped from the Jeep and fired shots at Labrada as he got out of his police car. Then Bryant ran south, toward Broadway. Another officer, William Lahar, had just finished a traffic stop on Broadway when he saw Bryant with a gun. Police said Bryant opened fire at both Labrada and Lahar. Officer Lahar shot back at Bryant, killing him.

The two police involved have been placed on administrative leave, the police department said this morning that both will be interviewed by the New York State Police Critical Review Team. 
Police Chief Eric Paolilli said that Bryant had fired first at Labrada and Lahar, and that Lahar’s shooting of him was “reasonable and justified.” In many police departments, placing officers on leave after they're involved in a shooting is standard practice.

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New York, NY - New Signs on Major Roadways

New York, NY - New York City will be installing new signs on major highways. The signs will forecast real-time information from point-to-point computed from Easy Pass technology and displayed on thoroughfare message boards.

The duration of time between various points in the city will be based on the average time it took other drivers with Easy Pass tags to make the trip.

Beginning sometime around the new year, the program will be tested on the Staten Island Expressway. Later the Belt Parkway and the FDR Drive will be added before it is made available throughout the city's five borough's in about three years.

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United Kingdom - British Scientists Grow Human Liver in Laboratory

United Kingdom - British scientists have grown the world's first artificial liver from stem cells in a breakthrough that will one day provide entire organs for transplant.

The technique that created the 'mini-liver', currently the size of a one pence piece, will be developed to create a full-size functioning liver. Grown by Newcastle University researchers, the tissue was created from blood taken from babies' umbilical cords just a few minutes after birth.
As it stands, the mini organ can be used to test new drugs and preventing disasters.
Using lab-grown liver tissue would also reduce the number of animal experiments.

Within five years, pieces of artificial tissue could be used to repair livers damaged by injury, disease, alcohol abuse and paracetamol overdose. And then, in just 15 years' time, entire liver transplants could take place using organs grown in a lab.

The development provides fresh hope for so many in dire need of a new liver each year.

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New York, NY - Council Members Suggest Jail for Building Code Violators

New York, NY - A City Council committee is considering legislation to boost fines for violators of certain sections of the building code - a push the Bloomberg administration endorsed during a hearing.

"Construction is just out of control in this city," Council Member Tony Avella of Queens said.
Several members of the Housing and Buildings Committee also urged the administration to enforce the building code with the help of police, and to seek jail time for the most flagrant violators. "Listen, I don't like to throw anybody in jail, to see anyone go to jail. But if that's what it's going to take to make these developers and contractors pay attention, to respect the community, then that's what we have to do," Council Member Domenic Recchia Jr. said.
Fining and jailing contractors who flagrantly violate the law would "give some teeth to the buildings department and some oomph to the penalties," Council Member Lewis Fidler said.

The prospect that contractors could face prison unnerved a lawyer for the New York City Demolition Contractors' Association, Irwin Echtman, who said criminal penalties could be unfair because violation notices are sometimes inadequately served. Mr. Echtman, who said members of the association handle about 80% of city demolition, urged committee members to change the way notices are served if they want to introduce criminal charges.

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Monsey, NY - School for Developmentally Disabled Faces Eviction

Monsey, NY - A preschool for nearly 160 developmentally disabled children could soon be evicted from a former synagogue on Route 306.

An acting state Supreme Court justice ruled that the owners of the Monsey Jewish Center can evict the Hebrew Academy for Special Children. Academy lawyer Mary Marzolla said she has petitioned the Appellate Division to freeze the eviction until the academy's appeal of Justice William Nelson's decision can be heard.
The Monsey Jewish Center moved to evict the academy because it intends to sell the building and needs the money to build a synagogue in Montebello, said Joel Scheinert, the lawyer for the Monsey Jewish Center.
The academy contended that the synagogue breached an agreement to provide three months' notice prior to eviction on June 30, 2006, or later, Marzolla said. The academy claims it was never told that the lease would end on Aug. 31. Nelson dismissed the academy's lawsuit, saying the synagogue acted within the lease.
Supreme Court Justice Howard Miller stayed the eviction until the Appellate Division could consider the issue.

Scheinert, the lawyer for the Monsey Jewish Center, said the academy had a one-year lease and it wasn't going to be renewed because the building was being sold.

Congregation Birchos Yosef plans to buy the property to construct housing. Monsey Jewish Center. "As part of the deal, we have to get the place empty," Scheinert said. "The lawsuit has delayed the sale. The Monsey Jewish Center needs the money for a new building."

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Perm, Russia - Partially Restored Jewish Cemetery Targeted by Vandals

Perm, Russia - Eight gravestones in the Jewish section of a cemetery in Perm, Russia were vandalized.

The Egoshikhinsky cemetery has been vandalized on several previous occasions and after years of neglect was in an appalling state.
Earlier this year, the local Jewish community organized a major effort to restore the tombstones and succeeded in restoring and repairing around 90% of the cemetery.
However, the city government has not provided any security for the cemetery to protect it from vandals, so the Jewish community will now hire guards until the local government steps forward to fill the security gap.

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Brooklyn, NY +Armed Robbery+

Brooklyn, NY +Armed Robbery+ A armed robbery at gunpoint by four black teens at Sanford Street and Park Avenue, Williamsburg Shomrim Patrol and NYPD of the 79th Pct are operating, teens diplayed a silver handgun.

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Brooklyn, NY +BQE Traffic Alert+

Brooklyn, NY +BQE Traffic Alert+ All lane lanes west bound of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway near the Flushing Avenue ramp are closed due to a motor vehicle accident involving a tractor trailer a coach bus and a yellow cab.

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Beek, Netherlands - Jewish Graves Vandalized Again

Beek, Netherlands - Jewish graves were vandalized again in the southeastern Netherlands.

Police are investigating the crime that 15 out of 20 gravestone in the Jewish cemetery in Beek were pushed over.
The graveyard, which has been in use since 1846, had just been repaired following its desecration earlier this year.

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Israel - Venezuela Refuses Visas to Israelis

Israel - Venezuela has ceased issuing tourist visas to Israelis, its embassy in Israel said, accenting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's harsh criticism of Israel.
However, a Venezuelan official claimed the halt was technical in nature.

Chavez had called Israel's Lebanon campaign "a new Holocaust" (they set the bar for new Holocausts pretty low these days, don't they? Not to mention the bar for world leaders too)

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New York, NY +Trans Fat Ban+

New York, NY - The New York City Board of Healthu voted unanimously to ban the use of trans fats in cooking in any of NYC's restaurants, those who will not obey to it will pay hafty fines.

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Riverdale, Bronx, NY +Pedestrian Fatally Struck+

Riverdale, Bronx, NY - A pedestrian was killed when she was struck by a city bus near the Henry Hudson Parkway in the Bronx.

The aided Rachel Levy, 51, from Schieffelin Avenue was hit on the parkway’s southbound service road around West 235th Street. She was declared dead at the scene.
The bus’s driver did not realize anyone had been hit and did not stop, the police said. No charges were expected, they said.

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Washington, DC - FBI Considering New Program to Reduce Gun Violence

Washington, DC - The FBI is considering funding a nationwide program to install a technology that will help reduce gun violence in every major US city.

Its called a Shotspotter - a network of noise sensors - The Shotspotter can apparently identify and pinpoint gunfire and send an alarm to the local police station. This will allow police to respond more quickly when the inevitable happens.
But it is unlikely to save the lives of any of the tens of thousands of people who die as a result of gun violence in the US every year.

Police forces in a dozen or more cities, including Chicago and Los Angeles, are installing Shotspotter sensors on some of their meaner streets.

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Brooklyn, NY +MVA+

Brooklyn, NY +MVA+ A motor vehicle accident on 11th Avenue and 56th Street, Hatzolah responding with a rush.

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Manhattan, NY +Large Protest+

Manhattan, NY +Large Protest+ A large protest in front of 27 East 39th Street, NYPD of the 17th Pct are calling for a level one mobilization and ESU responding to unruly protesters that chained them selfs to a fence and are climbing the light poles, also requesting multiple EMS units for some injured mos.

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Monsey, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

Monsey, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident with a pedestrian that was struck on Maple Terrace cornor of Maple. Hatzolah on the scene requesting Police to respond, but no one with serious injuries.

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Tel Aviv, Israel - Israeli Chain Fights to Save Image over Rotten Chickens

Tel Aviv, Israel - Tiv Taam, Israel’s only non-kosher supermarket chain is now fighting an image of selling rotten chickens to its consumers. The supermarket chain is launching a campaign to polish its tarnished image.
After being drubbed for being caught red-handed, selling chicken shwarma and
spicy nuggets that had been spiced to hide the fact that it was putrid, the chain is launching a major media campaign to control the damage.

Their butcher departments at three stores has been caught, processing old, bad chicken into spiced nuggets, and selling them.

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Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY - NYC Mayor Bloomberg Meets with Village Leaders to Get Their Support Republican Rep. Sue Kelly

Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY - NYC Mayor Bloomberg did a mighty big favor for Republican Rep. Sue Kelly, who faces a tough re-election battle, by setting aside time to meet with some of her Rockland County constituents.

"Sue Kelly made a personal request of the mayor," said one insider.
So Bloomberg agreed to chat with leaders of the Satmar Hasidic sect in Kiryas Joel who want to build a yeshiva in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn on a site zoned for industrial use.
During the sit-down, Bloomberg said "nice things about Sue Kelly," according to the insider.

The Satmars are one of the most important voting blocs in Kelly's district.

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Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY +Fatal Fall+

Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY +Fatal Fall+ Hatzolah transported to the hospital an 83-year-old woman from East 14th Street in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, NY in traumatic arrest, after she fell down a flight of stairs, she was pronounced dead in the hospital.

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Brooklyn, NY +Teens Involved in Hate Crime Arrested+

Brooklyn, NY +Teens Involved in Hate Crime Arrested+ Late last night NYPD of the 70th Pct have arrested five teenagers for punching a Pakistan youth after they got involved in a fight at the Dunkin Dounut parking lot on Avenue "M" near Ocean Avenue and East 19th Street.

The aided was transported to the hospital with a broken nose and needs to have reconstructive surgery to his face, and the five teenagers were arrested, two of them minors were released to the custody of their parents and the other three were send to Central Booking and they are still waiting to see a judge.

U/D: 17:57
Crime was upgrade as a hate crime.

U/D: 20:54
All three were just released for $5,000 bail each.


U/D: 10/31/06 15:44
Judge ordered the two other under age boys also arrested and processed, they are now being brought into the 70th Pct.

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Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY - AG Eliot Spitzer For Funding Private Schools

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY - Gubernatorial hopeful Eliot Spitzer said he favors funneling more state cash to private schools.

Spitzer, speaking to Orthodox Jews at a Boro Park, Brooklyn yeshiva, said it is unjust that private schools educate 15% of the state's students but get only 1% of the education budget. "We will work on that," promised Spitzer.
The Democratic front-runner does not support vouchers - public funds that can be used to help pay tuition at private schools, his spokeswoman Christine Anderson said. "He believes that measures such as the Child Tax Credit, which was enacted with his support last year, can provide relief for parents who choose to send their children to private school," she said.

The child tax credit gives parents up to $330 for each child between the ages of 4 and 17. The credit can be used to help offset private school tuition or paid tutoring programs.
It was Spitzer's opponent, Republican John Faso, who first sponsored the child tax credit legislation in 2001, when he was minority leader of the state Assembly. "If elected, Eliot will explore the feasibility of expanding such programs," Anderson said.
Spitzer also said his top priority is making public schools more accountable and securing more funding for them.

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Jerusalem, Israel +Child Dies in Kindergartn+

Jerusalem, Israel - An 18-month-old baby died in a kindergarten on Zichron Ya'acov Street. The kindergarten teacher called the police when she found the baby in an unconscious state.

After investigating all possible reasons for the incident, including criminal, police declared that it was a case of a cot death.

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Manhattan, NY +Fatal Train Accident+

Manhattan, NY +Fatal Train Accident+ Fire Department were on the scene and reported of an aided that jumped in front of the northbound #6 line local train at East 86th Street and Lexington Avenue, aided was struck by the train and was confirmed DOA by NYPD, ESU was responding for body extrication and removel from under the 4th car, requested power to be shut off.

Invedtigation is ongoing, delays on the tracks.

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Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Another Commercial Burglary+

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Another Commercial Burglary+ NYPD of the 90th Pct have yet another commercial burglary in this neighborhood.
They are investigating and requested ECT for a confirmed burglary in the Hardware store at 173 Lee Avenue between Penn Street and Rutledge Street.

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Scranton, PA - $500G Offer Complicates School Sale

Scranton, PA - Another prospective buyer has emerged for the closed East Scranton Intermediate School, which the Scranton School Board agreed two months ago to sell to a Jewish community from Brooklyn, N.Y.

A company led by city businessman Paul Mansour is willing to pay $500,000 for the Quincy Avenue building, $100,000 more than Nadvorna Hasidic group whose offer the board approved unanimously Aug. 28, attorney Matthew Barrett said. “We don’t perceive it as being late in the day,” Mr. Barrett said of the timing of Madison School Properties LLC’s proposal. “The opportunity is presenting itself. It’s a great building, and we think $500,000 is a great price for the school,” he said.

Whether the School Board can entertain the offer will likely fall to Lackawanna County Court.
District solicitor Harry McGrath said “My position is, we have an offer of $400,000 and acceptance by the board, so we have a contract,” Mr. McGrath said. To derail the sale, Mr. McGrath said, Madison School Properties would have to demonstrate $400,000 does not represent fair market value for the property, which the district had appraised a few years ago at $350,000 to $375,000.
Mr. Barrett said that’s precisely what his client will argue. “We don’t think that is a reasonable price,” he said of the $400,000 offer. “We would hope the court would take into account that my client is willing to pay more in determining whether that is a reasonable price.”

Mr. Mansour, owner of the Carlisle Group, a computer software developer, said he didn’t make an offer for the property earlier because he didn’t know it was for sale.

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Atlanta, GA - Former Police Officer Gets 20 Years for Arson

Atlanta, GA - A former Chatham County police officer was sentenced to 20 years in prison without parole on multiple charges of arson.

Christopher Mock, 45, of Atlanta, was found guilty by a federal jury on 14 arson counts. He also was ordered to pay $601,550 in restitution.  
According to the evidence presented during the trial, Mock - who was then a cab driver - set a series of fires, primarily in the stairwells of 2- to 3-story brick apartment buildings in metro Atlanta. Some of the fires forced residents to jump to safety.

"Mock showed a callous disregard for human life when he used gasoline to set fires in the stairwells of several occupied apartment buildings during the early morning hours, when residents were asleep," David E. Nahmias, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, said Thursday. "Mock also targeted one apartment building because of his animosity toward Jewish people. Given these aggravating circumstances, the long sentence imposed on Mock today was entirely appropriate."

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Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident with a pedestrian that was struck in front of 976 58th Street, Hatzolah responding.

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Brooklyn, NY +Jumper Up+

Brooklyn, NY +Jumper Up+ NYPD responding to a jumper up at Maimonides Hospital at 48th Street and Fort Hamilton Parkway. ESU also responding.

U/D:
This wasn't a jumper, a FDNY member called a verbal alarm for a male hanging from the building, but it was a scaffolding rescue.

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Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Commercial Fire+

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Commercial Fire+ Fire Department responding to a commercial fire in the Matzoh Bakery at 32 Lynch Street between Bedford Avenue and Lee Avenue.

U/D: 14:32
Fire under control at this time.

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Manhattan, NY +FDR Drive Traffic Alert+

Manhattan, NY +FDR Drive Traffic Alert+ The FDR Drive north bound is closed all lanes are being blocked at the FDR Drive at 42nd Street due to an over-hight tractor trailer that's being backed off the highway.

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Manhattan, NY - J.P. Morgan's Old Haunt To Become Manhattan's New Ashkenazi Synagogue

Manhattan, NY - A new Orthodox synagogue is planned for Midtown Manhattan, not far from Bloomingdales and many luxury hotels.

The ambitious project will be the first new Ashkenazi, Orthodox synagogue to be created in Manhattan for decades. While Brooklyn and Bronx both have large concentrations of Orthodox Jews, in Manhattan Orthodox rabbis have grown accustomed to dwindling numbers of worshipers.

‪The financial undertaking of such a project is also nearly astronomical in the frame of reference of the Orthodox community. The total cost of the new synagogue is estimated at about $35 million: $21 million to purchase the six-story building on East 58th St. in which the New York Synagogue has been renting space since 2003, and the remainder to pay for the renovations. "It's a famous building built by the legendary American banker J.P. Morgan, which is considered to be part of the history of Manhattan," Rabbi Marc Schneier of the New York Synagogue explained. "The plan is to preserve the original facade, which is an architectural treasure, but to gut the inside and rebuild it into a beautiful synagogue."
The proximity of the building to some of the most famous luxury hotels in Manhattan is important to Schneier. The synagogue is also intended to serve its affiliate, the members of Schneier's Hampton Synagogue, Orthodox Jews working in Midtown and tourists staying at neighborhood hotels.

But Manhattan's Orthodox community is not happy about Schneier's plans. His temporary synagogue in the building has funneled worshipers, especially young ones, away from older synagogues in the area, with its extensive schedule of worship services featuring well-known cantors.

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Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Dwelling Fire+

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Dwelling Fire+ Fire Department calling all hands for a fire in the basement of a two story 20x40 at 4915 16th Avenue and 50th Street, fire is D/W/H

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Lebanon - Report: Israel Used Uranium Bombs

Lebanon - A media report is claiming that Israel used uranium-based munitions, including uranium-tipped bunker-buster bombs, during its war against Hizbullah in Lebanon this summer. According to the report in a British newspaper, scientists found two soil samples thrown up by Israeli heavy or guided bombs that showed "elevated radiation signatures."

"Scientific evidence gathered from at least two bomb craters in Khiam and At-Tiri, the scene of fierce fighting between Hizbullah guerrillas and Israeli troops last July and August suggests that uranium-based munitions may now also be included in Israel's weapons inventory - and were used against targets in Lebanon," it said. "The weapon was [either] some novel small experimental nuclear fission device or other experimental weapon (e.g., a thermobaric weapon) based on the high temperature of a uranium oxidation flash ...[or it] was a bunker-busting conventional uranium penetrator weapon employing enriched uranium rather than depleted uranium," Dr. Chris Busby, the British Scientific Secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risk, said.
A photograph of the explosion of the first bomb shows large clouds of black smoke that might result from burning uranium.

The Israeli military denied the report by the British newspaper. "The military Spokesman's Office wants to make it clear that no munitions containing uranium were used in the war in Lebanon," an Israeli military spokesman said.

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Kansas - NYPD Officer Complains for Being Pulled Over

Kansas - NYPD officer John McNeeley's was surprise when he was pulled over in Kansas, and wrote to them a letter of complaint.

"I pulled over, gave the officer my driver's license and my NYPD identification card. I was polite and I did everything I was supposed to do," McNeeley wrote in the letter. "About five minutes later, he brought back a summons to me and thanked me for my cooperation. I was dumbfounded. I then tried to ask him why a cop would write another cop a ticket. He would not answer."
"... I just hope that one day that I get the opportunity to pull over a Kansas Highway Patrolman who is visiting our city, and let him or her know what their fellow officer did to me."

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Borough Park Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

Borough Park Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident in Boro Park section of Brooklyn with a child that was struck on 15th Avenue and 42nd Street, Hatzolah on the scene requesting ambulance to respond.

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Waterbury, CT - Building Code Conflict over Yeshiva Student Housing

Waterbury, CT - Almost a dozen homes are at the center of a building code conflict, because of a rabbinical school that has been turning single homes into dorms, and for a long time the violations have been overlooked. Now officals are upset and they say that violations of the law will not be overlooked.

This isn't just a stop for this school bus. The whole bus got off and went in one of two nondescript houses on this residential block. What's going on? "They're being used essentially as high density dorms," says Republican Alderman Dennis Odle. "This is being done in about 11 different boarding houses now."
Alderman Odle represents the area and he says the dorms are for students of a yeshiva, a rabbinical school, but they're in areas zoned residential. Running what is essentially a boarding house here is illegal.
"It's a matter of maintenance, it's a matter of traffic in the area, it's a matter of noise," Odle said.
Odle says Waterbury has welcomed the Yeshiva and the growing Orthodox Jewish community, but the law is the law. "The idea that we're not going to enforce zoning at all or not going to enforce it for some groups or another is completely out of bounds," Odle said.

Messages left at the yeshiva office were not returned, and a couple of the yeshiva students said that this is just a temporary problem and the yeshiva is going to build actual dormitories on the campus in a year or two.

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Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +More Commercial Burglaries over Shabbas+

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +More Commercial Burglaries over Shabbas+ NYPD of the 90th Pct are on the scene with multiple commercial burglaries that happened over Shabbas in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.

A Hardware store at 517-519 Flushing Avenue with 10 to 15 offices in that building were burglarized over Shabbas, when all commercial establishments in this area are closed, taken was computers and laptops.

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Brooklyn, NY - Williamsburg Among the Worst Unhealthy Neighborhoods

Brooklyn, NY - The city Health Department released a study done by a survey, on more than a dozen medical indicators in the New York City's communities. As part of the survey, residents across the city were asked to rate their health conditions and those of their neighbors.

The study, by city Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden, notes that a stunning 43 percent of residents in Williamsburg/Bushwick rated their health as fair or poor.
Nearly one-third of residents in Williamsburg/Bushwick area are obese, 56 percent don't exercise at all, one-third are without a regular doctor, and nearly 4 in 10 are uninsured/underinsured.
Such unhealthy environments are "bad for kids," said Claire Barnett, of the New York Healthy Schools Network. "If you're not healthy emerging out of childhood," she said, "it's going to be harder to become a healthy adult."

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Brooklyn, NY - City Impressed by Large Rock Found in Neighborhood

Brooklyn, NY - A Brooklyn neighborhood is welcoming a large rock.

The seven-foot high boulder appeared on a street in Fort Greene, and was pulled from the ground by a contractor digging a new sewer line.
Residents of Vanderbilt Avenue are stopping by to visit the rock, which will eventually find a new home at a Queens park. "Maybe it wouldn't be a big deal if I lived in Colorado and there were mountains," said Susan Raskin, who can see the rock from her front door. "But I live here. This is a big thing."

The jagged boulder weighs about 10 tons. City officials were so impressed by the rock that they decided to save it. The Parks Department will relocate the boulder to a new park in the Elmhurst section of Queens. "A rock of this size and scale is just perfect for what we're trying to do," said Queens park commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski. "We're very excited about this rock."

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Woodbridge, CT - Woman Accused Of Embezzlement Located by Police

Woodbridge, CT - A secretary convicted of embezzling money from a Jewish center, was arrested after police found her living under another name in the area.

Patricia Hubyk, 56, of Robert Treat Drive in Orange, was arrested on third-degree larceny charge based on a complaint filed by the Jewish Community Center on Amity Road.
Hubyk is accused of stealing $4,839 from the center while working as an accounting assistant there. Over a four-month period, Hubyk skimmed donations and membership fees that she was supposed to deposit in the bank, police said. The center filed the complaint alleging the missing funds shortly after Hubyk left the job.

After obtaining an arrest warrant for Hubyk, police had difficulty locating her. But investigators recently discovered that Hubyk was living under an assumed name in an Orange apartment. When officers arrived, Hubyk knew why they were there, police said. "She told us her real name and said she knew what it was all about," said Woodbridge police Sgt. Frank Cappiello.

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Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Commercial Burglary+

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Commercial Burglary+ NYPD of the 90th Pct on the scene requested ESU for help in a perp search of a possible burglary this morning in a commercial establishment at 111 Lee Avenue and Williamsburg Street East.

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Manhattan, NY - Suspicious Substance Found in Former President Clinton's Office

Manhattan, NY - NYPD from the 28th Pct and Secret Service agents were all on the scene late Friday for a suspicious white powdery substance found at former President Clinton's office in the Harlem section of Manhattan.

A staff member opened a package delivered to the former president's office that contained the white powdery substance and a letter, and called authorities, said Secret Service spokesman Richard Staropoli. He described the letter as a "rambling diatribe," but would not say if it contained threats. Clinton wasn't in the office at the time, but was in the city. "The situation has not affected the president or Mrs. Clinton in any way whatsoever," Staropoli said.

Police and ESU were called to the office building at 55 West 125th Streett, and said that it appeared that the powder was intentionally placed in the package, but it was not a large enough amount to cause a cloud, but they were trying to decide whether they would need to decontaminate any of the 47 people who were on the floors where the package was being held as a precaution. Officials determined through a field test that the substance was inert and not toxic.
The package was turned over to the Secret Service for investigation, but officials would not comment on the specifics of the letter, how it was addressed, who sent it, or the type of substance found in the package.

Clinton signed a 10-year lease for the 8,300 square foot penthouse floor of the 14-story building in 2001. The Secret Service takes up 300 square feet of the space.

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Queens, NY +Pipe Bomb Explosion+

Queens, NY +Pipe Bomb Explosion+ NYPD of the 102nd Pct on the scene callinig for a level one mobilization for pipe bombs that were found at 85th Road and 75th Avenue, one bomb has exploded additional bombs are on location, Bomb Squad on the scene and FD is standing by.

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Woodbury, NY +Route 17 Traffic Alert+

Woodbury, NY +Route 17 Traffic Alert+ Expect larger than normal traffic delays at the Harriman Toll Plaza due to a motor vehicle accident on Route 17, use caution.

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Lakewood, NJ +MVA Hit-N-Run+

Lakewood, NJ +MVA Hit-N-Run+ A deer was struck by a vehicle on North Lake Drive near Hope Road, but was gone when police arrived.

Nathan Zlikovitz of Lakewood called police to report the accident, which happened as he was driving on North Lake Drive, said Sgt. Robert Smith. Patrolman Robert Anderson responded to the accident and is investigating, Smith said.
The deer ran off after being struck, Smith said. Zlikovitz was able to drive his car from the scene of the accident, Smith said.

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Manhattan, NY +Suspicious Package+

Manhattan, NY +Suspicious Package+ The US Secret Service and the NYPD of the 19th Pct are on the scene at 540 Park Avenue and East 63rd Street at the Regency Hotel with two suspicious packages out side the hotel, FD Bat. 12 and NYPD ESU division are all on the scene awaiting the arrival of the Bomb Squad, EMS enroute.
Level one mobilization has been called for traffic control.

U/D: 11:19
Bomb Squad properly identified the tow packages.

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Montreal, Quebec, Canada - Committee To Look Into Chassidic Schools

Montreal, Quebec, Canada - Charley Levy, the executive director of the Association of Jewish Day Schools, has been appointed to a Quebec government committee formed to study children from minority groups within the province’s school system.

It’s expected that one of the issues the consultative body will examine is chassidic schools that are operating without a permit and whose students are not being taught the province’s mandatory curriculum.
Levy said that the education ministry has told him of three schools that are allegedly not obeying the law: the secondary schools for boys operated by the Skver and Belzer communities, and the Rabbinical College of Canada’s high school, which is under Lubavitch auspices. They have a total of about 400 students, he said.

Not only are these schools unlicensed, they are not following the Regime Pedagogique. The Education Act stipulates that all children in Quebec from six to 16 years of age must be in a legal school program and taught the mandatory curriculum. This applies equally to schools receiving government funding or not, and to children who are home-schooled.
At the three schools in question, high school-age boys concentrate on religious studies.

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New York, NY - Weekend Wind Could Turn Wicked

New York, NY - Strong winds could do mischief with power lines tomorrow night and Sunday across the New York City and Long Island areas.

Residents should pull in outside furniture and anything else that could be damaged or blown away by the wind and do damage.
The forecast calls for heavy rain and strong gusty winds overnight into Sunday that could gust up to 50-60 MPH especially over the Eastern Long Island coastline, tree and power line damage is likely. While the rain will end on Saturday the strong winds will continue into Sunday.

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London - Integration Aside When Blair Opens Jewish School

London - Prime Minister Tony Blair came to the opening of the ultra-Orthodox girls school Yesodei Hatorah, but the irony was inescapable. A week earlier, the minister of education declared that religious schools must take at least 25 percent of pupils from other faiths into their programs. Indeed, at a time when the British policy of multi-culturalism is coming under intense scrutiny, Blair was at the opening of an institution of a community that has flourished under multi-culturalism.

Addressing a crowd of community leaders, Blair said that "a faith school is about people celebrating their faith, the faith they believe in and guides their life, but doing so in a way that is entirely compatible with being full members of British society. This is the right way for this balance to be struck.

‪The Jewish community in Britain, which comprises nearly 300,000 members, experienced some anxiety last week. As part of the new education program, the Blair government announced that faith-based institutions would have to include in their student population at least 25 percent pupils of different faiths.
Even though the education minister said this would apply to new schools that receive government funding, rumors circulated that this would be broadened to apply to private schools as well. And the Jewish communities became concerned that this would endanger their schools.
In Britain, there are more than 37,000 Jewish pupils, studying in 37 religious schools and receiving generous support from the government. These schools are committed to adopting a British curriculum and are subject to oversight by the Education Ministry.
In return, the schools receive up to 90 percent funding toward the building of the school and teachers' salaries.

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Monsey, NY - Large Turnout To Oppose Proposed Wal-Mart

Monsey, NY - The proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter on Route 59 in Monsey would lead to as many as 3 million vehicles visiting it a year, a traffic engineer said at a meeting at the Spring Valley Village Hall.

Brian Ketcham said an average day would find 8,000 vehicles at the new Wal-Mart, with up to 10,500 at the store on Sundays.
There would be more traffic, more intensely felt on Route 59 as well as nearby local roads, over longer periods of time, he said. "The consequences are huge," said Ketcham, a Brooklyn traffic and environmental engineer who was hired by the Neighborhood Retail Alliance, which opposes the proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter.

The alliance, a Manhattan-based group that says it fights for the rights of small businesses, sponsored a public information forum at Spring Valley Village Hall, where people like Ketcham exclusively pointed out the negative effects the box store would have on traffic, public safety, air quality and the local economy. "We are not here to lay out the pros and cons, so much as the cons," alliance director Richard Lipsky told the 200 people who packed the auditorium.

The proposed 215,000-square-foot store would be built on the 22-acre site of the former Rockland Drive-In Theater in Monsey. It would have a full-service grocery, a 1,750-square-foot gas station, a tire-lubrication service area and 992 parking spots, and would add 500 jobs to the area and could revitalize a section of the Route 59 shopping district, the developer, National Realty & Development Corp. of Purchase, has said.
But Spring Valley Deputy Mayor Noramie Jasmin opposed it because they had local concerns. "It will kill our community," she said.

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Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY +Child Struck+

Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY +Child Struck+ A motor vehicle accident with a child that was hit by a bus in front of 1578 Union street And Troy Avenue, Hatzolah responding to the scene.

U/D: 08:49
Hatzolah cannceling additional units, city on the scene.

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Mahopac, NY +Parking Rage+

Mahopac, NY - A shopkeeper got so angry about the way a man had parked his car that he climbed into a forklift, placed the fork under the car and lifted it off the ground.

W. Safrah, 51, of Ossining, also punched out both the offending car and the man who parked it, said Lt. Brian Karst of the Carmel police. He was arrested on charges of criminal mischief and assault.

Karst said the episode was at a strip mall on Route 6 in Mahopac. Safrah felt the car, though legally parked, was blocking his access to a storage container or trash bin and got into a heated argument with the driver, who was an employee of another store and was no longer in the car.  Safrah then punched the side of the vehicle, denting it. Then he took the controls of a forklift in the parking lot, maneuvered its lifting mechanism under the car and lifted it upward. The car was not moved out of the parking spot, however.  
After lifting the car, Safrah punched the driver in the mouth. The victim was injured but not seriously, Karst said.

The car was eventually lowered from the forklift.  Safrah was released pending an appearance in Carmel Town Court, still to be scheduled.

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Lakewood, NJ - Landlords Protest $3,000 Fine at mayor's Residence

Lakewood, NJ - A crowd of about 40 Orthodox Jewish men railed against the political establishment, in the front yard of the mayor's home. "This has never happened before," said one man after another.

What sparked the protest at Mayor Meir Licht-enstein's 14th Street home was outrage about a Municipal Court decision.
"I don't know why they came to my house, why this was about me. This was a judge's decision. I think it's despicable that people come to someone's house like that, harassing my family," Lichtenstein said.

Municipal Court Judge Philip Miller found a member of the Lakewood Landlords Association guilty of failing to obtain certificates of occupancy for a rental property and overcrowding. In all, he was fined $3,000 and ordered to serve 40 days in jail. The jail sentence was stayed, giving the landlord time to appeal the verdict and obtain the necessary COs, the attorney for the group said.
"He's shocked to say the least. People with DWIs are getting off with fines," said Marcel Katz, a founding member of the landlord association, which is suing the township in Superior Court.
More than 40 landlords allege that Lakewood quality-of-life ordinances are unconstitutionally vague. The landlords say they're being held responsible for the wrongdoing of tenants, who violate leases and don't follow codes, and should be the ones who are fined.

In the meantime, the township is moving forward with the prosecution of code violation summonses, which carry fines as high as $750 each.

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Zamberk, Czech - Teen Blamed For Vandalism at Jewish Cemetery

Zamberk, Czech - A 14-year-old boy with mental illness has been blamed for vandalizing the Jewish cemetery in the north-central Czech Republic.
Due to his condition, the unidentified boy will not face prosecution for pushing over or breaking 53 gravestones during the desecration at the 18th-century cemetery in Zamberk, near the Czech-Polish border, said Usti nad Orlici police spokeswoman Eva Sichrova.

Similar desecrations at Jewish cemeteries in other parts of the country have been blamed on right-wing extremists. But in this case "it was only a 14-year-old student from a special school who suffers from mental illness," Sichrova said.

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New London, CT - Plot To Steal Nuclear Submarine Uncovered by FBI

New London, CT - The FBI uncovered a plot to steal the nuclear submarine, Trepang – one of America's newest and sail it off from its base in New London, Connecticut, in to the Atlantic and sell it, and that also allegedly involved launching a missile attack on a major East Coast city as a diversion.

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Brooklyn, NY +Officer Shot+

Brooklyn, NY +Officer Shot+ Three people including a police officer have been shot at 14 Auburn Place and North Elliot (88th Pct) EMS requested forthwith and additional units to respond for crowd control, ESU enroute.

Officer being transported by RMP escorted by Highway units over the Brooklyn Bridge to Bellvue Hospital, NYPD level one mobilization has been called, Major crime scene investigation on going, Aviation on scene for air-mail watch.

Perp possibly pulled officers weapon and shot him in the leg.

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Livingston Manor, NY +Counterfeit Money Printing Operation Ceased by FBI

Livingston Manor, NY - The FBI and the office of the sherrif mike shiff has shut down a massive operation of a couple from Monticello, NY that was printing fake but very realistic looking US dollar bills in Livingston Mannor, NY, The couple was arrested by the FBI.

Also are the New York State Police Detectives Squad investigating a few other people from the Hudson Valley Area that where involved in this operation. We urge retailers in Orange and Sullivan counties to be on the look out for fake bills which looks very real, said a spokesperson for the NY State Police.

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Palm Springs, CA - Firefighters Killed and Residents Evacuated In Fast Desert Fire

Palm Springs, CA - Three firefighters were killed and two critically injured and more than 200 residents were ordered to leave their homes as a fast-moving brush fire threatened two small communities in the desert near Palm Springs, fire officials said.

Whipped by warm gusting winds, the Esperanza fire started shortly after midnight and later had spread to 4500 acres, Riverside County Fire information officials said.

U/D: 15:57
Fire officials say that they believe the cause of the Fire is arson and the burned out fire truck where three firefighters died this morning has been declared a crime scene.
400 people are trapped at a recreational parking lot surrounded by fire, firefighters have zero control over the fire.

U/D: 17:08
Another fire Fighter has died, and a 5th is in very serious condition.

U/D: 18:06
Up to 3000 Firefighters are combating the blaze to help battled the 10,000 Acres that's on fire.
The FBI and ATF are on the scene, with many more agents enroute.
ATF said that a professional arsonist started this fire with the intention to cause massive damage. And a reward of 100K is offered for finding the person who set this.

U/D: 23:18
Fire has been 5% contained. 24,000 Acres, and 15 miles of fire are still burning.

FBI says they are reciving numors leads.

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Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident with a pedestrian that was struck on Coney Island Avenue and Avenue "P" Hatzolah responding.

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New York - DOT To Install Route 17 Barriers Ahead of Schedule

New York - The state Department of Transportation is responding to a rash of crossover head-on crashes on Route 17 with promises to install $10 million worth of barriers by the spring - two years ahead of schedule.

The DOT, under pressure from the public after six people have been killed in crossover head-on crashes in the past 15 months, said that the first stretch of Route 17 to get the barriers will be from the road's interchange with I-84 to the New York State Thruway in Harriman.
The DOT said it is also considering reducing the speed limit to 55 if engineering data supports the change. The speed limit on Route 17 was raised to 65 from 55 in May 2004, and they are also working with the state police on enhanced enforcement in the Route 17 corridor. "A critical component of our efforts must be a fundamental change in driver behavior," said DOT Regional Director Robert Dennison. "Many of these devastating accidents have occurred due to drivers traveling at high rates of speed. It is incumbent upon drivers to pay attention to posted speed limits and other safety measures."

Some 13 people have died in Orange and Sullivan counties since 1994 in crashes involving cars crossing the grassy median on Route 17 and colliding head-on into cars.

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Moscow, Russia +Cargo Ship Has Problem Docking to Space Station+

Moscow, Russia - Russia says that a faulty antenna has prevented a cargo ship from fully hooking up to the international space station.

U/D: 14:51
Cargo ship has linked securely with space station.

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Vladivostok, Russia - Vandals Profane Synagogue

Vladivostok, Russia - Unknown people have scribbled profane words and painted fascist symbols on the walls and the door of a synagogue in Vladivostok.

Vladivostok rabbi Israel Zilberstein discovered the act of vandalism this morning upon arriving at the synagogue.
The rabbi is currently preparing an appeal to law enforcement and the Vladivostok administration.

Five days ago Vladivostok witnessed a meeting of skinheads, Zilberstein said, adding that the meeting and the act of vandalism could be linked.

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New York, NY - More and More Human Bones Are Being Found at WTC

New York, NY - Human skulls, ribs, vertebra, teeth and other bones are being found in recent days at the World Trade Center terror attack site, and they have been shielded from the elements and are so well-preserved that experts predict they will yield decent DNA. 

The body parts are believed to belong to Sept. 11, 2001 trade center victims, 40 percent of whom still have not had any remains identified more than five years after the attack. That could change when scientists analyze the new bones — found after utility workers doing routine labor opened up an inactive manhole that had been paved over and forgotten.

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