By Ryan Sit & Cadita Rousseau

A Former Brooklyn jail-house chaplain and his brother pleaded guilty Tuesday in Manhattan Federal Court to defrauding the federal housing program out of $220,000 by stealing 15 years of Section Eight benefits.

“In these trying times, we cannot tolerate stealing from the public,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a court document. Bharara went on to commend the Department of Investigation for their work in exposing the fraud.

The scheme was the largest case of tenant fraud ever investigated by the Department of Investigation and prosecuted by the Manhattan US Attorney.

Pleading guilty were Menashe Glanz and his brother Lieb of Brooklyn to a fraud beginning in 1996 when the brother was awarded Section Eight housing benefits for a duplex he owned at 85 Ross Street in Williamsburg. air jordan spizike Court documents from the 2011 charges against the brothers alleged that Menashe allowed Leib to live rent-free for 15 years until September 2011.Rabbi Leib Glanz’s free ride ended when the brothers were brought up on charges by the New York City Department of Investigation.

The Glanz brothers, facing a maximum sentence of 15 years each, pleaded guilty to fraud, embezzling funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and entering false documents.

Sentencing was set for January 25.

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By Conor Febos

Mayor Bloomberg amped up his campaign against super-sized, sugary drinks Tuesday as Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and other diet groups backed his plan to limit the sizes of sugary drinks in the fight against obesity.

“The obesity issue is more urgent than ever, with 60 percent of New York City adults dealing with this major health concern,” Bloomberg said at a news conference in Flushing Meadow Park. “The time is now to reintroduce a portion-control system.”

The proposal faced a Sept. 13th vote by the New York City Board of Health, whose members, appointed by Bloomberg, were expected to pass the measure.

“There has been much discussion about obesity, but little action, which is why we at Weight Watchers support what this administration is doing to improve the health of New Yorkers,” said Weight Watchers official David Burwick . “We want to help people focus on making behavioral changes to help foster better eating habits.”

The plan, however, faced opposition from soft drink trade groups and citizens who feared the encroachment on personal liberties by the so-called “nanny state.” A New York Times poll last month showed that six out of 10 New Yorkers opposed the plan.

The proposal will be most felt in restaurants, movie theaters, sports arenas, air jordan 13 femmes food carts and delis that sell sodas and other sugary drinks in servings that exceed 16 ounces. “In a city where large sizes of high-calorie snack foods and beverages at your fingertips around the clock, it is no wonder why many New Yorkers struggle to maintain a healthy weight,” said Health Commissioner Thomas Farley. “Reducing sugary drinks is the simplest dietary change that people can make to lose weight or avoid gaining weight.”

Bloomberg stressed that his administration’s proposal will not limit number a customer can buy at food outlets, but just the sizes. “No one is prohibiting you from doing anything – you can make your own decisions,” said Bloomberg. “But we feel that by limiting how much people might consume in one purchase, we effectively lessen their calorie intake for the day.”

The rule would not have an effect on lower-calorie drinks including water or diet soda, and would not apply to beverages that are 70 percent juice or more than half milk.

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By MAX NEOPIKHANOV

A police officer was stabbed in the head in East Harlem by a man with a criminal record and a history of mental illness after responding to a 911 call, authorities said.

Officer Eder Loor, 28, is in critical condition and undergoing surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan.

The suspect, Terence Hale, 26, was arrested by police shortly after, according to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

Around 10:30 a.m., Loor and his partner Lukson Mersime responded to a 911 call at East 107th Street and Third Avenue by a woman who wanted her mentally disturbed son taken to a hospital.

Police said that upon meeting with the suspect’s mother on the street, the two officers walked into the building and were met by Hale, who had walked out of the elevator and into the lobby.

Hale walked outside with the officers and asked to walk to the hospital alone.  Kelly said that Hale then produced a knife he had hidden on his person and allegedly thrust it into Loor’s head, piercing his left temple and penetrating the brain.

Hale then fled, said Kelly, and Mersime, who had not seen the blade and thought that Loor had been punched, air jordan 12 femmes ran after and caught him two blocks away at 109th Street.  As Loor was rushed to Mount Sinai, police officers recovered the bloodied three and a half inch blade, which Kelly showed to the press at the 23rd Precinct.

Hale has a record of violent crime, including four arrests, one of which was for assault with a knife, Kelly said.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he was told by the surgeon to be “cautiously optimistic,” but added, “he’s certainly not out of the woods yet.”

Kelly said that Loor “was conscious and alert” at the scene of the crime but that no further details about his outlook will be available until he has awakened from surgery.

Coincidentally, Loor’s pregnant wife is soon due to give birth at Mount Sinai hospital, and Kelly said that she will be placed in a unit near her husband.

In addition to his service in the Police Department, Loor is a member of the Air National Guard.

Bloomberg also noted the death of firefighter Lt. Richard Nappi on Tuesday after he fought a Bushwick blaze on Monday.

“The low crime rate that we experience here in New York is not free; it comes at a price we saw today,” Bloomberg said.  “New York’s greatest and bravest risk their lives for us.”

Photo: Mayor Bloomberg discusses attack on police officer in East Harlem. Credit: Dominique Carson.

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By DARA FEINBERG and ANGELICA BERRY

The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted on Tuesday in favor of extending the Park Slope Historic District southward to encompass some 580 more buildings.

“It’s a great contribution to the city and to Brooklyn that I’ll certainly endorse with enthusiasm,” said commission chairman Robert Tierney.

The Park Slope district was created in the 1970s – this is its first expansion in 39 years. The Park Slope Civic Council has been a key force in campaigning for the expansion, prepping for it since 2007. It organized several public meetings that attracted hundreds of supportive residents.

Peter Bray of the civic council said that the two most common responses received while advocating door-to-door for the expanded landmark district were “Where do I sign and what’s taken so long?”

Park Slope is known for standout architecture in buildings constructed in Italian, Renaissance, and Colonial styles. It is “one of the top three historic neighborhoods in Brooklyn,” said the American Planning Association.

The civic council proposed the expansion after concerns that new developments in the area would overshadow the neighborhood’s unique look. “Park Slope has a nice melding of architecture and infrastructure. The people are investing and keeping it flourishing,” said City Council member Brad Lander (D-Brooklyn).

At the meeting, the civic council presented a slide-show of buildings that would be landmarked in the extension including homes at 466-480 9 St., built in 1882; Ladder Company 122, built in 1883; air jordan 11 femmes Prospect Heights Presbyterian Church; Congregation Tifereth Israel Synagogue; Sanders Theatre; Acme Hall and Ansonia Clock Factory.

The original district included most of the blocks with brownstones on Eighth Avenue and Prospect Park West and blocks in northern Park Slope. Lander said it is “one of the largest historic districts in the city.”

The expansion covers an area from Seventh Street to Fifteenth Street, between Seventh and Eighth avenues. City Council approval is still required.

“It’s a great day for Park Slope,” said David Alquist of the civic council

Residents within the historic district who own homes with historic features must obtain permits from the Landmarks Preservation Commission to alter the exterior.

There is talk of further expanding the district in the future. If these proposals are approved, almost all of Park Slope will be landmarked. Bray predicts it will take another decade to complete.

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This story was reported by Peter Abramowicz and Kerri Byam and written by Arianna Romig.

Next door to luxury clothing store Gucci and across the street from Prada, demonstrators gathered on Tuesday in front of Trump Tower to protest tax breaks for large corporations and the 1 percent.

Singing their theme song “Take Me Out of the Tax Game,” the Tax Dodgers, outfitted in baseball uniforms, hit baseballs through “loopholes” while their mascot Mitt, a large inflatable baseball mitt that is meant to represent Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, stood faithfully by.

The organizers marched to Trump Tower after meeting on the steps of the James A. air jordan 6 femmes Farley Building, the main post office building in Manhattan, where activists spoke on their opposition to corporate tax breaks and their struggles to stay afloat during the recession.

Juan Pagan, the father of a child in public high school and the former director of a children’s after-school program, criticized $300 million in cuts from city schools and said, ““They are attacking our children. In a true democracy, people thrive. All of the people thrive, not just a certain class of people.”

Another speaker, Carlos Rivera, a New York resident who is facing foreclosure, said, “We are here to demand free justice. [The banks] created this crisis and they should be held accountable.”

The demonstrations followed Monday’s arrests of numerous Occupy Wall Street protesters who had camped across the street of the New York Stock Exchange.

The tax demonstration was organized by United NY and other groups to protest loopholes that let banks and corporations pay a lower income tax rate than the average American.

Donald Trump, the real estate tycoon, was hosting Ann and Mitt Romney in Trump Tower for Ann Romney’s birthday. The Romneys, according to tax returns, paid just 13.9 percent in income taxes in 2010.

“Romney is a candidate of the 1 percent, and if elected he’ll continue to push his rich influence onto our current politics,” said Ben Masters of United NY. “He made about $50,000 every day last year and paid less taxes than a working man would.”

The Tax Dodgers’ “owner” spoke to the crowd of fans and said, “You can’t buy tax breaks like that! Of course, we can, but that’s because we don’t pay taxes. We pay lobbyists.”

He closed his speech by yelling, “We’re the Tax Dodgers. We’re Number One! And by that we mean, we’re the one percent.”

The Tax Dodgers then marched to the offices of what the team called its “sponsors,” including banks and corporations like Wells Fargo, Verizon, and Bank of America, the march ended at the headquarters of General Electric in Rockefeller Plaza.

According to Occupy Wall Street’s Twitter, the GE security and city police officers escorted the Tax Dodgers off building property as they were singing in front of the building and into a protest pen at the Internal Revenue Service building on 44th Street and 6th Avenue.

Video by Kerri Byam.

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By AYA YOSHIDA and HAIKAL FERNANDEZ

A 25-year-old construction worker was killed after being trapped inside a building that collapsed in the Gerritsen Beach section of Brooklyn on Tuesday morning, the Fire Department said.

Three other construction workers suffered minor injuries when the building, a vacant two-story house under construction on 38 Frank Court and Seba Avenue, collapsed. Fire Department officials said the upper floor fell toppled at about 11 a.m.

According to authorities, there were five workers working on the building, with three of them on the roof when the building collapsed. Officials said the deceased worker died of trauma; the names of the victims were not released.

Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri, who appeared at a news conference at the scene, said three factors contributed to the building’s collapse.

He said the existing structure of the building was compromised; the second story addition was not anchored properly; air jordan 4 femmes and there were some design flaws in the construction plan. The existing structure was an old bungalow that couldn’t sustain a second floor, he said.

A legal construction permit was signed in 2004, but ownership changed several times between then and the present. The current owner had the proper permit approved late last year, but it was pulled in March, LiMandri said.

He said an investigation was continuing for any possible permit violations.

The building is currently stabilized, officials said, but utilities have been cut and the next-door neighbors have been vacated for safety reasons.

Melissa Impellizeri, a resident of the neighborhood, said she heard what she thought were gunshots at that time. The property had been vacant for years, she said.

Gerritsen Beach, located in southern Brooklyn, is known for its small-town atmosphere and its beachfront.

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By ARIANNA ROMIG

A new outfield wall and seating area were unveiled at the Mets’ Citi Field on Tuesday, just in time for the team’s season home opener against the Atlanta Braves on Thursday.

The former outfield wall was said to be a disadvantage for the team, in part because of the height and also because of the expansive space in the right field. Of the new wall, Mets Executive Vice President Dave Howard said, “We’re making the ball park play more fair, with more of a balanced approach in terms of home runs.”

Citi Field’s left field wall was lowered from approximately 16 feet to 8 feet, in addition to the construction of the new outfield wall. The outfield wall was also painted blue, in honor of the former Mets’ home Shea Stadium and to celebrate the team’s 50th anniversary. air jordan 1 femmes Throughout the field, the fence was moved in as much as 12 feet.

“We wanted to make Citi Field fair to both pitchers and hitters,” Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson said. Alderson previously faced a similar issue at Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres, where as general manager  he lobbied to have the right center field’s dimensions adjusted.

Howard acknowledged that the changes will pose a challenge to pitchers, and said said that he had spoken to Mets’ pitcher R.A. Dickey about that. He described Dickey’s reaction as positive.

“There’s less ground to cover for the outfielders so that will help the outfielders,” Howard said. “ For the pitchers, they’ll just have to focus more and be more precise.”

The new outfield wall at Citi Field accommodates a new seating section just off left field, promoted as the Party City Deck.

The Mets’ mascot, Mr. Met, was sporting a brand new uniform for the 2012 season as he toured the new deck, and gave the expansion a thumbs up.  air jordan 3 femmes The deck seats 102 and will be available to single-tickets buyers through the first 7-game home stand, with the first two games already sold out.  After, the area will seat groups ranging from 25 to 102.

The deck was partially modeled after a similar left field deck at Boston’s Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox.  Just off left field and mere feet from the grass, the seats will have their own designated wait staff that serves food and beverages, including beer, all included in the ticket price, which ranges from $100 to $200.

The deck will be open during batting practice, and Howard advised guests to bring their gloves to what he said “will be a prime location to catch balls.”

As part of the remodeling, the Modell’s Clubhouse, an event space off the right field, also benefited from the wall renovation, with expanded seating for 45 more guests, bringing the total to approximately 135.

Though ticket sales are down from this time last year, Howard said he was optimistic about the season.

“We think the team will do well and far exceed the expectations,” he said. “The team’s coming back.  Our ace is healthy, David Wright is healthy. Our team looks like they’re ready to start to gel and play all together.”

The team will return to New York on Wednesday from spring training camp in Port St. Lucie, Florida after facing the Yankees in their final pre-season game.

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By DARA FEINBERG


A sit in was reportedly organized Tuesday at Peninsula Hospital Center in Rockaway to protest a decision to close the century-old facility.

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By KERRI BYAM and DOMINIQUE CARSON

Occupy Wall Street protesters marched outside of Police Headquarters on Tuesday demanding the resignation of Commissioner Ray Kelly.

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By KRYSTAL DANIEL and ARIANNA ROMIG

Jurors found Police Officer Michael Peña guilty Tuesday of the most serious charges he faced in the rape of a woman in Manhattan last August.

The jury convicted Peña on three counts of predatory sexual assault, two counts of a criminal sexual act in the first degree, and one count of a predatory sexual act in the first degree. The jury remained at an impasse on two charges of rape in the first degree and two counts of predatory sexual assault.

After receiving the verdict on six counts, Justice Richard Carruthers told the jurors, “You may now focus fully on the outstanding counts and look at all the evidence afresh.” They returned to deliberations at State Supreme Court in Manhattan.

Peña, 27, was accused of raping a 25-year-old Bronx woman at gunpoint in late August after a night of drinking while off-duty. Authorities said the woman, a schoolteacher, was on her way to work around 6 a.m. in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan when the assault occurred.

Peña’s lawyers told the jury that a sexual assault did occur, but that there was no evidence that penetration occurred and therefore, he should not be found guilty of predatory rape. Dr. Mark Silberstein of the New York Presbyterian/Allen Hospital examined the alleged rape victim on the morning of the assault. Last week, he testified that he found that penetration likely had occurred.

Earlier, jurors had sent a long handwritten note saying they were deadlocked on two counts air jordan 12 of predatory rape. The jury told Carruthers on Monday that it had reached decisions on three counts of criminal sexual assault in the first degree and five counts of predatory sexual assault, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, but could not decide on the two charges of rape in the first degree. Predatory sexual assault is defined as an assault with a weapon involved.

On Tuesday, deliberations were briefly interrupted when the jury told the judge that a member of the panel had admitted he was an acquaintance of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr.

Peña was suspended from the force after charges were filed. He has been in the department for three years.

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