By JERMECIA EDWARDS

Children dressed in matching burgundy colored shirts blazed across the gym like meteors during an exhilarating day of games and laughter at the Police Athletic League’s annual Tournament of Champions in South Jamaica, Queens.

“We are just trying to give children exposure to things that they aren’t receiving in public schools,” said field director Theodore Phillips, 32. “Things like recreation, fitness, healthy choice making and leadership.”

The competition, involving children ages five to 13, and featuring sports and intellectual activities, occurs twice a year: during Presidents Week and spring break.

“It’s all about skill-building, which we need in order to be successful in today’s society,” said  site director Joshlyn Perry. “Anything that challenges the mind  are the type of activities we do with the children at the Edward Byrne PAL.”

Activities include power-fitness challenges, basketball tournaments, Ping-Pong competitions, tower building contests, UNO and checkers tournaments and a spelling bee.

“’Checkers are the most fun because it’s a trivia game that’s active with your head and increases your stamina with thinking,” said Brian,  7, of Far Rockaway, who took part in the checkers competition. “I’m very excited about these competitions because we get to meet new people, enjoy ourselves, have fun and I can practice my sportsmanship.” He leaned back in the chair and grinned.

Recently the PAL program created a new game called the Boat Expo, in which children build a shape and fill it with as many marbles as possible before it sinks. But nothing beats the good old fashioned spelling bee.

“I like the program because they give us food, we get to play and do our homework here so when we get home we can play with our games and watch television,” said Paige Smith-Griffin,  8, who came in second place in the spelling bee.

“They help us learn new things, if we need help with something they are there for us and when we try hard they give us a privilege,” said Yuneydy P., 11, who won first place in the spelling bee.

They were the only kids that could spell the words “wrestle” and “bright” and took home two gold medals.

“If the kids win, we give out medals. But this is not really about awarding the winners, it’s about sportsmanship and getting to see kids from all across the city,” said Phillip

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By JAMILLE SUTTON

Seeking to avoid the hazards and construction site deaths New Orleans suffered after Hurricane Katrina, Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn proposed  legislation Wednesday aimed at protecting  homeowners who wish to elevate their homes in the aftermath of Sandy.

“It’s our job in government to protect homeowners seeking to better protect their homes in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy,” Quinn said, according  to a news release.

Quinn, who is running for mayor,  said that the City Council wants to take  precautions in advance so that home elevations undertaken as part of the recovery can proceed safely.

Quinn said  several council members took a trip to New Orleans in January, where they spoke to individuals who helped rebuild after Katrina. There, they were told repeatedly that safeguards needed to be put into place before elevating homes. In Louisiana, home elevation projects have  led to shoddy work and fatal accidents.

Council spokesman Justin Goodman said that home elevations have never been done on such a large scale. The council wants to make sure homes are elevated safely and professionally.

“It’s all a pre-emptive attempt to increase safety for everyone, and get the job done correctly,”  Goodman said. “We must make sure it’s all done in the right way.”

Eden Goykadosh, 21, of Great Neck, which was hit hard by Sandy, said she admires the fact that the city is seeking  to ensure that homes are properly elevated.

“Most homeowners are relatively uninformed regarding safety procedures of elevating homes, as demonstrated by the fact that when they have tried elevating the homes in the past, destruction resulted,” Goykadosh said.

Goykadosh said she believes this issue is a matter of  public safety.

Officials said  there are four components to the proposed  legislation. It requires that construction plans clarify if elevation will be part of a specific project, and that an approved special inspector oversees work. Contractors also must give 48 hours notice prior to elevating, so the Buildings Department can supervise their work.

In addition, the legislation calls for the city Department of Consumer Affairs to offer instruction to the public concerning the kinds of work home improvement contractors can do, and the licenses contractors need to complete each type of work.

“This new legislation will result in both safer homes and construction sites for New Yorkers,” said Quinn.

Photo: Council member James Oddo shows photo of building elevated in New Orleans. NYC Council.

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By RACHEL SILBERSTEIN

The alleged drunk driver accused of killing a Brooklyn Yeshiva teacher in 2010 had been guzzling Four Loko alcoholic energy drinks before the crash, as portrayed by a Brooklyn prosecutor in her summation on Tuesday.

Assistant DA Gayle Dampf displayed to the jury two empty cans of the controversial beverage, which contains the alcohol level of four beers. according to the FTC, and has been blamed for many teen deaths.

Defendant Anel Kolenovic, 23, looked drawn and puffy-eyed as the prosecution and defense bickered over how the jury should interpret the toxicology report, which placed Kolenovic’s blood alcohol level just over the legal limit of .08 percent at the time of the crash.

“It’s just not valid science, and the way it was presented in this case was in error,” said defense attorney Todd Greenberg of the report in his summation to the jury.

Kolenovic’s blood, free run 3.0 v4 femmes drawn an hour after he plowed into the victim Moshe Berkowitz’s vehicle at the intersection of Ocean Avenue and Avenue N, at 70 miles per hour, on Nov. 29, 2010, showed a BAC level of .069 percent. According to forensics, between .015 or .02 percent was to be added for each hour that passed, bringing Kolenovic’s alcohol level to either .084 or .089 at the time of the crash.

Greenberg criticized the “reverse extrapolation” method, accusing the lab of rounding up to the nearest hundredth and implying that forensic expert Dr. William J. Closson lied under oath.

Greenberg also suggested the deceased drove through a red light in order to catch up to his friends, disputing testimony that Kolenovic had run through the light.

Dampf scoffed at Goldman’s attempt to discredit the toxicology report, using powerpoint slides to add up the numbers.

Dampf also reviewed the testimony of Kolenovic’s passengers, Chaya Sarah Gulman and Vicky Shmailow, who said that he ignored their screams to slow down. The passengers, who both sustained injuries, testified that Kolenovic was drunk and belligerent before leaving his apartment  and had been drag-racing against his cousin Alan with the windows down at the time of the crash.

“He’s arrogant, he’s reckless,” said Dampf. “These girls are screaming for him to slow down and what does he say? ‘shut up, I got this.’”

She cited police reports of Kolenovic’s slurred speech, free run 3.0 v5 femmes droopy eyes and erratic behavior at the scene of the crime as further evidence of his intoxication

“This was Russian roulette,” Dampf fumed. “Unfortunately it wasn’t his life that paid, this time it was Moshe Berkowitz’s.”

Kolenovic watched stone-faced as the prosecution rolled photos and video footage of the wreckage on a projector screen for the jury, which show him disposing of a black bag from the trunk of his car as the ambulances arrived. Dampf said that Kolenovic was trying to dump the remaining alcohol and flee the scene.

The courtroom was filled with friends and relatives of the victim, who was described in testimony as a devout Yeshiva teacher who spent his days studying and teaching  the Torah. He had taken a break from studying to go bowling with friends that night and on the way home, he was crushed by the impact of Kolenovic’s car.

“No prayer could have saved him that night,” said Kampf. “At that speed, Moshe didn’t stand a chance.”

Kolenovic is charged with aggravated vehicular assault, aggravated vehicular homicide, criminally negligent homicide, assault in the second and third degrees, reckless endangerment in the second degree, vehicular manslaughter in the second degree, vehicular assault in the second degree, manslaughter in the second degree and driving while intoxicated. He faces up to 25 years in prison.

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By JANURIE ULETT

Nassau County officials announced on Tuesday  that they collected 330 illegal guns at the Grace Cathedral in Uniondale during a Gun Buy Back event held on Saturday.

The anonymous participants in the program were paid $100 for rifles, $200 for handguns and $400 for assault rifles. Among the weapons obtained were 195 handguns, 80 rifles, 33 shot guns, air jordan 6 femmes 15 assault rifles, and seven sawed-off shot guns.
, officials said.

“This was by far our most successful effort with more than 300 weapons collected in just three hours,” said District Attorney Kathleen Rice. ” These are weapons that will no longer be stolen, found by a child, or used in a crime.”

The event comes amid  a natioanl debate over how to curb gunviolence in the wake of the slaughter of children in Newtown, Conn.

Rice encouraged all owners of illegal firearms to take advantage of future buy back programs. “Without any questions asked, just bring in the guns to us, get the money, and walk out the door,” said Rice.

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By LORETTA CHIN AND SEAN QUIGLEY

Governor Andrew Cuomo outlined a progressive agenda in his State of the State Address at SUNY College on Thursday with a focus on New York’s economy, education, and gender equality for women.

The theme of his speech was “New York Rising” focusing on ways to boost New York’s economy and putting limited resources where they will be most effective.

“My philosophy has been to not only treat taxpayer dollars as if they were my own money, but to treat them like my last dollar,” he said.

The auditorium held hundreds of students who seemed pleased that Cuomo had chosen their college in Old Westbury for the speech.

“I don’t work for the politicians in Albany.  I don’t work for legislators.  I work for you,” said Cuomo as he explained why he came to there. 

Cuomo called New York the progressive capital of the nation and he also called it the equality capital of the nation before tackling women’s rights and urging passage of the Women’s Equality Act by the Legislature.

The act would protect abortion rights, achieve pay equity, fight sexual harassment in workplaces, recover attorney’s fees in employment and credit cases, strengthen human trafficking laws, and other measures aimed at curbing gender discrimination.

On the budget and economy, he boasted that the $1.3 billion deficit had been reduced from $3 billion last year and $10 billion from when he came into office in January 2011, all without raising taxes.  He said that without his reforms, New York would have had a $17 billion deficit today.  He argued that the reductions were due to cutting bloat and entailed no cuts to non-profits or education.

The governor proposed creating “innovation hotspots”,  partnerships between business  and education to bring jobs back to New York. He told the audience that when people shifted jobs overseas, they learned that “when you pay for cheap labor, you get cheap labor,” emphasizing the need to train local workers.

On education Cuomo proposed increasing classroom hours in the 700 school districts.

Taking a cue from President Obama’s recent proposal to increase the minimum wage to $9 per hour, Cuomo urged raising the state minimum wage by $1 to $8.75 per hour, receiving thunderous applause from the audience.

On gun violence he applauded the Legislature for the bi-partisan decision to pass stronger gun control laws.

“We are Democrats and we are Republicans, but we are New Yorkers first,” he said.

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By AMANDA ANDRIES

A dazed-looking former fugitive accused in a cold case of fatally running over a 15-year-old special education student in 2005, appeared with his attorney on Tuesday in Queens Criminal Court to request that a statement by a key witness be thrown out.

Bartolo Paula, 56, fled to the Dominican Republic and then to Spain, after allegedly running over Jeffrey Javier outside John Adams High School on Rockaway Blvd.

Paula, charged with first-degree manslaughter, appeared before judge Hon. Kenneth K. Holder, with his attorney Michael D. Siff, in a preliminary hearing, during which Siff requested that the statement of witness, Detective Ivan Borbon, be suppressed on constitutional grounds, saying the defendant wasn’t read his rights.

Holder delayed making a decision on the admissibility of the statement until after another hearing on March 19.

After the hearing, prosecutor Maryam Lipkansky spoke to Javier’s family- about eight members- who had gathered outside of the courtroom, about the defense’s request that the statement be tossed.

“I don’t see a reason that it should be thrown out,” she said.

Det. Borbon formerly of the 106th Precinct in Ozone Park retired in 2006 and will be flown in for the hearing, said attorneys Siff and Lipkansky.

The prosecution has seven other witnesses whom they are hoping to call when the case goes to trial.

“We are reliving the situation all over again, our hearts were pounding when we saw him today,” said Julissa Javier, 39, aunt of the dead boy.

Javier’s mother, Liduvina Vargas, 45, of the Bronx, was also present in the courtroom.

In his second court appearance after he was captured in Spain and extradited back to the US in December, 2012, Paula, a Spanish speaker who required an interpreter, looked backwards several times in a disoriented manner, prompting the judge to ask him if he was paying attention

“My client maintains his innocence and looks forward to his day in court,” Siff said.

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By Janet Digeronimo & Sean Quigley

Mayor Bloomberg on Tuesday launched a major push to expand local tech businesses with a new Web site to connect job seekers with over 3,000 positions in 900 local tech companies.

At a press conference hosted at BuzzFeed headquarters the mayor promoted the “We Are Made in New York” campaign, which over the past decade has focused on film and television, was adding other platforms that Commissioner Katherine Oliver described as “a creative robust sector.”

WeAreMadeInNy.com, which can be accessed through NYC.gov, features services such as job maps, grant applications, office space locations and free computer classes, to name a few.

“We are on the right path growing dramatically,” said Bloomberg on New York’s place in the tech world, “but Silicon Valley is still ahead of New York.”

Successful entrepreneurs such as Elias Roman, CEO and co-founder of Songza, a free music streaming service, joined the campaign. “We are often asked why we based Songza in Long Island City as opposed to Silicon Valley, or even Manhattan,” Roman said, “now thanks to the support of the Bloomberg administration, New York City, and specifically Queens, has become a leading place to be for tech companies.”

In the launch, young industrialists were encouraged to take advantage of the resources at hand.  At the dawn of his administration, Bloomberg hopes that “the next Mayor will do more than we’ve ever done,” to improve the city

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By KATELYN HRUBY & SALVATORE ROMANO

The arraignment of the last of three defendants accused in the savage Greenwich Village beating leaving a tourist near death occurred Tuesday in Manhattan Criminal Court.

Hatem Farsakh, charged with attempted murder and assault pleaded not guilty in the brawl that incapacitated, 24-year-old Andover, Massachusetts native, Kevin McCarron early on January 13^th.

Police said that Farsakh, part of a gang of eight including co-defendants Sherif Rizk and Mahmoud Habib, pummeled McCarron with a baseball bat, a tire iron, and blackjacks, fracturing the young tourist’s skull.  McCarron and his group of six friends walked out of Artichoke’s Pizza around 5 a.m. on MacDougal St. to find a man sitting on his car, apparently sparking the confrontation.

McCarron was left in critical condition, and according to police and his family, may endure permanent damage to his motor skills. Officials are waiting for updates on McCarron’s condition to ascertain if he will be fit to testify in the case.

Defense lawyers argue that the defendant was eating a falafel at a nearby restaurant when he glimpsed the brawl breaking out outside and then rushed to intervene.

James Kirshner, Farsakh’s attorney, said that new evidence presented at the arraignment would verify Farsakh’s alibi.  Assistant DA Emily Auletta unveiled four surveillance DVDs from businesses on MacDougal St., in addition to one witness’s cell phone video that’s already gone viral. According to Kirshner, the DVDs will solve the “question of what level of involvement he had.”

The case was adjourned until April 16^th. Farsakh could face up to 25 years if convicted.

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By JERMECIA EDWARDS

It was a school day, but students from Fredrick Douglass Academy and P.S 119 were jam- packed Thursday in the polished African Burial Ground National Monument Building at 290 Broadway, as a free public Black History Month event kicked off honoring abolitionist Frederick Douglass on his 195^th birthday.

“Ago, Amay,” which means “attention” in the Twi language often spoken by the Akan people, was one of the many phrases the students repeated after African percussionist Nana Kimati Dinizulu, creator of his ensemble, “ Kimati Dinizulu and his Grits and Cornbread.”  This group’s vivacious performance displayed high-spirited music from an array of techniques and traditional instruments, used to create a beautiful sound to influence spiritual and cultural roots throughout the room.

“My group is a new formation geared towards assimilating information about black and African people,” said Dinizulu, 56.  “I haven’t been to the African Burial Ground National Monument visitor’s center in about 20 years.  Now, to come back here for a second time and see that our ancestors are finally being respected, it’s a great feeling and I’m honored to be a part of it.”

This is one of the many programs this museum offers to celebrate Black History Month. Organizers aim  to continue the legacy of providing special student programs for the general public in addition to the normal tours: documentary screenings, musical performance and readings to entertain and educate visitors of all ages about their ancestors, honoring both slaves and leaders such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman and Malcolm X.

“Once you know your history, it’s very hard for people to shut you down,” said Dinizulu.

“In order to learn more about the African Burial ground, you must have some understanding and appreciation of the African presence in early New York,” said Ranger Douglas Massenburg, the first park ranger assigned to the place when it became a National Park Service site and monument on February 27, 2006 by President George W. Bush.

Historical documents show that the burial ground was founded in the 1690’s when a man named John Sharp witnessed Africans burying their own people. At the time the city center was farther downtown and blacks were not allowed burial in white cemeteries. In 1794, as the city moved northward, hills were graded, urbanization advanced and the burial ground was – well, buried.. The construction of the subway in 1904 further covered and destroyed human remains and the cemetery was lost to memory.

In 1991 federal government began excavations for a $300 million federal office building when workers discovered  human remains, which scientists and historians indentified as remnants of the African Burial Ground.  After community protests and congressional action, contruction was suspended to allow preservation of the site.

In 2010, the memorial and indoor visitor center was completed to pay tribute to the memory of the forgotten New Yorkers.

“It’s our job at the National Park Service, to maintain, oversee and ensure that it’s properly kept and to tell and teach the history of the accomplishments of enslaved Africans in colonial early New York” said Massenburg. “People need to be aware of this site that teaches this same African history in New York City.”

The center  won a National Award for its design and accessibility. And the school kids indeed paid attention.

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BY DINA EXIL

Hundreds of women broke out in a synchronized, “flash-mob” – style dance Thursday afternoon in Washington Square Park, to raise awareness about violence against women.

In a global movement by “One Billion Rising,” a campaign calling for women and men to rise and dance and take a stand against violence, women danced to Deborah Allen’s “Breaking the Chain.”

The “One Billion” represents the statistic that roughly one in three women will be raped or beaten within her lifetime, organizers said.

The flash mob included high school senior, Mia Wong, 17, who joined many of her classmates. She said many of her schoolmates are ignorant about violence against women and  make rape jokes  that make her uncomfortable.

”That’s part of their culture and it makes me so sad that even jokes about it are still accepted,” said Wong. “That means people won’t take it as seriously and that means people will think that it is okay to rape or be raped because people joke about it.”

While holding a sign that said “I Rise to Teach Men Not to Rape Instead of Teaching Women Not to be Raped,” Wong said she wanted to help end “the rape culture.”

“We have to be empowered and we have to start not blaming it on the victims,”she concluded.

A large number of organizations were represented at the event, such as “There is no Limit Foundation” co-founded by Aissata M.B. Camara.

“I think that it’s just the experience of today,” said Camara. “Something about it. We’re learning to speak out and teaching that just knowing information you can do something about it.”

Camara suggested that people can do the simplest things can make a difference, such as bake sales and sharing information.

The event was scheduled for Valentine’s Day to celebrate the 15^th anniversary of V-Day, an advocacy group founded on Valentine‘s Day 1998 by outspoken feminist Eve Ensler.

“A lot of the time it’s a lot abuse and judgment on ourselves because of the way we were raised and the name society has given us and over the time, it has caused us to dim our lights,” said participant Jaime Summers “We are not as strong and powerful as we could be as women because of all the crap that we have taken on and now we’re hurting ourselves and abusing ourselves.”

March 8^t marksInternational Women’s Day.

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