By JOSEPH DE LA CRUZ
The rooftops of the Queens-Bridge Houses in Long Island City got a make-over that was completed six months ahead of schedule, Shola Olatoye, the New York City Housing Authority CEO, announced on Thursday at a press conference.
“Overall this work will help improve what’s the conditions in our residents’ apartments,” Olatoye said. “And help to save the authority resources that we can invest back into our buildings.”
It cost $87 million to renovate all 26 buildings with 354,000 sq. ft. of new roofing in the housing complex- the oldest and largest public housing development in the nation.
“Thanks to Mayor de Blasio’s unprecedented investment in comprehensive roof replacement and facade repairs across NYCHA, Queensbridge residents will see a healthier, cleaner community, with fewer leaks and improved quality of life,” she added.
De Blasio’s office funded $60 million of the cost, with the remaining $27 million coming from the federal government.
Five miles of parapet walls and metal guardrails were replaced on the perimeter of each roof as well as 76,000 sq. ft. of exterior brick wall- all in an effort to end a large number of roof leaks.
“These are critical issues that our residents often have to wrestle with,” she said. “This work could not have happened without our NYCHA project manager Christian Delamonte.”
It’s been 50 years since the last time the roofs on any of the buildings were fixed, Olatoye said.
“As we work to preserve public housing for this generation and next, we’re strengthening our buildings with top-to-bottom upgrades — literally,” Olatoye said.
Olatoye took reporters on a tour to one of the renovated rooftops. The roof was covered in white cap sheets that sat on top of its concrete.
A drainage pipe sits in the middle to divert rain water off the buildings surface- a measure used to avoid leaks.
By RENEE SAFF & SOPHIE DWECK
In a rare market-manipulation bench trial that began in Manhattan Federal Court on Thursday, lawyers accused the founder of a futures trading firm of injecting electronic bids in the eleventh hour of the trading day, an allegedly illegal maneuver to drive up the price of their trades.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission contends that Donald Wilson Jr, the founder and executives of DRW Investments LLC, used artificial bidding during 15-minute settlement windows to raise the price of interest-rate swap futures, or as the CFTC likes to call it, “banging the close.” These allegations stem from an interest-rate contract in 2010 and 2011.
In the past, civil suits like this have been settled outside of court, but Wilson, known on the street as an aggressive high-tech trader, decided to fight it. . Not since 2008 has such a case gone to trial and in that case a jury verdict of manipulation was overturned on appeal.
CFTC lawyer, Daniel Ullman, said that DRW kept injecting bids into the exchange knowing there would be no buyers or market participators wanting to trade, and to raise the settlement price so they can profit from it in return.
During a cross examination of DRW employee Brian Vander Luitgaren, the prosecutor indicated that for 94 days and in 496 contracts, DRW would only inject electronic bids to influence the settlement prices.
“There were days where DRW only placed bids during the settlement periods,” he said.
Ullman brought up emails that Vander Luitgaren sent to colleagues about injecting bids. In some of the emails, he referred to potential buyers as “suckers.” On top of that, there were no trades or transactions that went through for nine-months.
The U.S. District Judge Richard J. Sullivan appeared to begin getting irritated.
“It didn’t dawn on you that maybe this was foolish because no wants to take the short on this?” he asked. “Did you ever think to yourself this might not be the best use of my time?”
According to Wilson’s lawyer, Jonathan Cogan, DRW made an “insightful observation” and “did their homework,” and noticed that their fair share price for the futures contract was higher than what it was stated to be. He added that the only reason for the increase was to attract buyers and get people to do transactions.
“Its [DRW] bids were real bids,” he said. “They’re happy to transact, they want to transact.”
“We were hoping to enter trades at profitable levels each and every day,” Vander Luitgaren told the defense attorney.
Judge Sullivan will decide the outcome of the lawsuit without a jury.
If Wilson is found guilty, he could pay more than $100 million and face a possibility of a lifetime trading ban.
By MARK SULEYMANOV
The New York City Campaign Finance Board voted on Thursday that former congressman Anthony Weiner’s campaign must pay almost $65,000 in fines for misuse of campaign funds, some of which went toward the phone service on which he was known to sext women.
During his 2013 failed run for mayor, Weiner, 52, used $2,308 off his funds for personal use; $1,539.04 towards dry cleaning and the rest to pay his mobile service
The 2013 campaign was derailed when it was revealed that Weiner – who left congress in 2011 amid his sexting revelations – continued to sext under the pseudonym Carlos Danger. He failed to secure the nomination after receiving less than five percent of the vote in the Democratic primary. Most recently, it was revealed that Weiner sexted a 15-year-old girl with his four-year-old son asleep in bed next to him.
Weiner’s estranged wife – and top Hillary Clinton aide – Huma Abedin separated from him after the most recent scandal. He returned to New York last week after spending a month at a ranch in Nashville in an attempt to wean off his life-altering habits.
Weiner received $1.6 million in taxpayer funds in 2013 and currently has $195,000 of those funds left – which he must return, the board decided.
By LINDA KRESTANOVA
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s use of historical quotes drew raised eyebrows on Thursday when, while discussing the surge of hate crimes following the presidential election, he brought up the Founders’ concerns that “scoundrels would put themselves forth for office.”
“This is all in the history books, I’m not making this up,” he said after laughter erupted throughout the room.
When a reporter questioned his choice of words, Schneiderman said he was not calling President-elect Donald Trump a scoundrel but was only talking about the two-tiered level of protection for Americans, specifically the importance of state laws when federal agencies fail.
“That was a line by, I think, Benjamin Franklin,” Schneiderman said, “and he never met Trump, as far as I’m concerned.”
Surrounded by civil rights advocates, Schneiderman’s focus was on steps his office would take to protect religious and other freedoms of New Yorkers. The first step was a bulletin which his office issued that morning to law enforcement offices statewide. The purpose was to assist in fast and accurate identification of hate crimes against immigrants, racial and religious minorities, women and the LGBTQ community, among others.
Schneiderman called on people to reacquaint themselves with state and federal laws and to contact local representatives with questions about agendas being pushed. Calling the country’s current situation a “movement,” he emphasized the importance of supporting local organizations fighting for equality.
Nonetheless, Trump was an inescapable topic. During the Q&A, Schneiderman was asked if there was a correlation between Trump’s campaign and the 31 pecent increase in bias-related crime primarily directed at Muslims and Jews in the past year, according to a recent announcement by the New York Police Department.
“The statistics are what the statistics are,” Schneiderman said. “But Make America White Again does resemble a slogan we heard a lot last year, so you can draw your own conclusions.”
The slogan, recently spray-painted, along with a swastika, on a building in Wellsville, New York, is one of many signs of newly unapologetic racism.
All civil rights leaders present expressed concern.
Angela Fernandez, Executive Director and supervising attorney of Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights, said that the organization’s offices have swamped with worried immigrants since the election. Evan Bernstein, New York Regional Director at the Anti-Defamation League, said that there has been an increase in anti-semitic and bias incidents in the last eight days unlike any in the past decades. Kirsten John Foy, President of Brooklyn Chapter of the National Action Network, asked that people “resist the normalization of hate.”
“You ran on a law and order platform, Mr. Trump,” Foy said. “Stand up for law and order not just for a vote, but for the dignity of New Yorkers and indeed all Americans.”
Regarding Trump’s future presidency, Schneiderman urged people to remember that “One thing we know about the administration is that the fact they say they’re going to do something does not necessarily mean they’re going to do something.”
Photo by Linda Krestanova
By RENEE SAFF
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced on Thursday that their lawyers and an outside counsel would conduct a review within the next 90 days of the testimony from the criminal trial of two of Gov. Chris Christie’s former allies over the George Washington Bridge lane closures.
The authority that runs the George Washington Bridge will review all of the testimony with respect to every current employee or board member about what was testified, comparing the information to the Authority’s internal bylaws and governance documents relating to ethics and determining whether further action needs to be taken against agency members, Port Authority Chairman John Degnan said.
“Bridgegate was an incredibly sad, profoundly disturbing episode for the Port Authority,” said Executive Director Pat Foye, “The Bridgegate episode, I think, has done significant and lasting damage to the brand equity and the morale here.”
Bill Baroni, a former Port Authority executive, as well as Bridget Kelly, the governor’s former deputy chief of staff, were both convicted of misusing the bridge to purposely cause traffic jams to punish Mark Sokolich, the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee who didn’t endorse Christie’s re-election bid.
During the trial, testimonies portrayed the Port Authority as a source of political favors granted to Democratic mayors whose endorsements were being sought by Christie’s administration. Other testimony indicated that Port Authority officials knew of the reason for the traffic jams ahead of time.
Following the trial, Degnan said that he would try to promote transparency within the agency by trying to abolish Rule 3, which allows employees to refuse answering self-incriminating questions from the agency’s Office of Inspector General without any disciplinary penalties.
“There’s no reason to perpetuate that rule for non-union employees,” Degnan said.
During Thursday’s board meeting, other internal tensions within the Port Authority were aired to the public when Vice Chairman Steven Cohen refused to show up “for reasons related to his frustrations with negotiations over the capital plan, including issues with respect to the Bus Terminal,” according to Foye.
The Port Authority was supposed to release its 10-year capital plan to the public sometime in December, but disagreements between New York and New Jersey officials over funding for a new Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan is delaying the process.
The replacement for the 66-year-old Port Authority Bus Terminal is estimated to cost at least $10 billion. New Jersey lawmakers pushed for the new terminal to be located in New York, but New York lawmakers have pushed back against that proposal, saying it will require eminent domain to take the property necessary to complete the project, destroying the neighborhood’s makeup.
This past week, Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York sent a letter accusing Degnan of pushing for the new bus terminal for his own personal interests, which Degnan denied during Thursday’s meeting.
“I’ve been passionate about the Bus Terminal from the day I arrived at this Authority,” Degnan said. “I thought we were making progress. I’m disappointed.”
Port Authority officials said they expect to release the new 10-year capital plan to the public sometime in early 2017.
Photo by Renee Saff
By PAUL FRANGIPANE & RICHARD ANDERSON
Brooklyn Supreme Court jurors were shown a video confession on Thursday of a New Jersey man accused of setting his girlfriend’s apartment ablaze.
Thaddeus Boone, 24, admitted to then Brooklyn ADA Terrence Fleming –Warren during interrogation that he set fire to Aquasya Meadow’s leather jacket in her fifth-floor apartment in a Wyckoff Gardens apartment building at 130 Third Ave in March 2014.
“I took the lighter and I just lit it. I just lit it and walked out” said Boone on the video.
According to court testimony, the fire left his girlfriend’s 8-year-old sister and a 5-month-old son in critical condition. Two of her siblings and her 63-year-old grandmother were left with minor injuries.
“I just apologized about this whole situation. It wasn’t my intention to hurt nobody” said Boone.
According to alleged confession, on the night of the fire Meadow’s confronted Boone near Boone’s Newark home about cheating on her. During the altercation Boone took Meadow’s apartment keys and phone. Boone then went to the Brooklyn apartment after having “two or three beers” and left after finding no one home. Boone later returned and allegedly started the fire.
“I was just mad; I was mad thinking; why can’t she just talk to me?” Boone said
Video surveillance allegedly shows Boone leaving and entering the Wyckoff Garden house twice around the time of the fire.
Boone is charged with five counts of attempted murder, four counts of endangering the welfare of a child, arson and burglary.
If convicted, he faces 25 years to life in prison.
By LISA FLAUGH
The Bronx Zoo celebrated breaking a Guinness World Record on Thursday earning the title for “Largest Display of Origami Elephants.”
The display included 78,564 folded paper elephants, a colorful and elaborate display that combined elephants folded from all 50 states and 40 countries around the world. The display was part of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s “96 Elephants” campaign to raise awareness of the 96 elephants poached every day for their ivory in Africa.
“Stop the killing, stop the trafficking, stop the demand,” said John Calvelli, Wildlife Conservation Society Executive Vice President for Public Affairs and Director of 96 Elephants Campaign. He added that the campaign was designed for “making sure that you realize every time you buy that ivory, what you’re doing is helping destabilize Africa and kill elephants. The campaign brings several organizations together with the simple message, ‘We need to work together and we need to change the way we do business.’”
In September the Manhattan DA’s office and the state Department of Environmental Conservation seized $4.5 million worth of ivory from the Metropolitan Fine Arts and Antiques Co. at 10 West 57th Street in Manhattan. “I will tell you that this isn’t a problem somewhere in Asia or somewhere in other parts of the world, it’s a problem right here in New York,” continued Calvelli. “In so many ways New York sets the stage, followed by California, and next comes Hawaii. Those three are the largest ivory markets in the United States. I was happy to participate in the largest seizure of ivory in New York History.”
The record setting display will not be open to the public due to its large size, but many of the origami elephants will be incorporated into the holiday exhibit in the Zoo Center for public viewing through the month of December. The exhibit will symbolize the global support generated by the 96 elephants campaign and will display the origami art sent in from countries like Israel, Iran, Italy, Egypt, Columbia and Kazakhstan.
“Fundamentally, these are countries that may not talk to each other very much,” said Calvelli. “But the people themselves realize that there are many things that bring us together and saving elephants and saving our natural world is one of them.”
By ROBERT TAUB & JOSEPH DE LA CRUZ
The alleged bombing suspect in the New York City/New Jersey terrorist attack that injured 30 people made his second appearance in Manhattan Federal Court Thursday where he pleaded not guilty to the crimes.
When asked by a judge if he was innocent, Rahami, dressed in a blue prison suit, replied “Yes sir”, in a low voice
Ahmad Khan Rahami was accused of detonating a pipe bomb along the Marine Corps charity race in Seaside Park, New Jersey on September 17th, and setting off two pressure cooker bombs in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, one which exploded and one that did not. He was wounded and arrested two days later after a shootout with police in Linden, New Jersey.
The 28-year old Elizabeth native has been indicted on eight federal charges that included one count of using a weapon of mass destruction, one count of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, one count of bombing in a place of public use, one count of destroying property by means of fire or explosive, one count of interstate transportation and receipt of explosives and two counts of using a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Rahami was also facing New Jersey charges for using explosives shooting at police officers.
Still suffering from the injuries from gunshot wounds after the shootout with officers, Rahami coughed numerous times as the judge spoke. He was not disoriented, but unfit to be in the court because of his ill health, according to his lawyers.
A new court date was not yet set due to his poor health.
By MARK SULEYMANOV
While politics are dividing the nation, the off-Broadway Blue Man Group (BMG) act, celebrating its 25-year anniversary, continue to provide an escape for people around the world.
“I don’t think we need any more politics right now,” Chris Wink, one of the three founders of the now world-renowned act said to the Brooklyn Service on Thursday. “People come to see Blue Man to maybe get away from that.”
Standing outside Astor Place Theater in Manhattan, where the BMG has performed over 13,000 times, Wink, joined by Phil Stanton and Matt Goldman, stood at a podium to accept a proclamation from the New York City Mayor’s Office. The proclamation from mayor Bill de Blasio thanked the group for its charitable work and near three-decades of entertainment. As part of the ceremony, Astor Place was renamed Blue Man Way for the day.
About 40 fans huddled around the box office outside the theater to join the festivities. After the formal ceremony, the BMG performers hit the street, dressed in full attire, launching piles of flowing white streamers into the sky. The steamers engulfed the audience, including a golden retriever, whose tail starting wagging more intensely as more streamers hit the sky.
Nearly three decades in, the three masterminds appreciate the uniqueness of BMG’s inclusive ideas originating in NYC.
“As a kid from Georgia, I came here not knowing what to expect,” Stanton, the lone member of the trio not born in New York, said. “I found the world, really. I found people from every part of the world around here, every culture, every religion is represented here. It’s just fitting that Blue Man would happen here [in NYC]; Blue Man who’s from nowhere but [is] from everywhere.”
The show is in a constant state of refinement as tries it to remain current with pop culture references but still be relatable. The goal, as Wick puts it, is to have a show where kids can have fun and not think of it as “their parents’ show.”
In 1991, Wick, Goldman, and Stanton collaborated on a project that began with a cult-like New York City following and formed into an international entity. The BMG theatrical production has grown so large, it’s stationed in cities like Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, and Orlando, and performed in countries like Germany and the United Kingdom.
“I feel like we’re three of the luckiest people in the world,” Goldman said. “It’s more fun now than ever.”
Wick said he enjoyed performing as Blue Man, Stanton enjoys entertaining the audience, and Goldman simply appreciates the fact that he gets to work with his best friends.
“We created the show but what’s kept it afloat over the last 25 years is the people,” Wink said.
The BMG will continue its tour of celebration by lighting up the Empire State Building in blue later tonight. Later this week, wax figures of the blue men will debut at Madame Tussauds near Times Square. It’s a testament to BMG’s persistence and longevity.
“I heard if we last another 25 years,” Wink said jokingly while pointing to the Blue Man Street sign created in their honor. “It will become permanent.”
Photo of Blue Men by Mark Suleymanov
By LINDA KRESTANOVA
When Rachel Cohen reached the Trump Tower on Thursday afternoon, sign in hand, she’d already been quietly protesting for hours throughout the city. Reactions to her “We Won’t Go Back” written message, however, were not as quiet.
“I have been actually physically assaulted by men,” said Cohen, a protester against President-elect Donald Trump. “There was a man two blocks away who tripped me, physically big man.” She added that numerous verbal attacks aimed at her included being told to “Go back home, it’s where you belong.”
The response to her sign, Cohen said, “made me lift it higher.” She said she planned to carry it around the city everywhere she goes. Her message, which included the words “#BlackLivesMatter” and “love trumps hate,” means progress on equality has made should not be reversed.
On the second afternoon after Trump won the presidential election, the gathering of pedestrians around the Tower was at times impassable. Yet only a few protesters could be seen. There were at most five signs held up at once, and chanting erupted only when the infamous Naked Cowboy arrived.
Donning Trump-themed underwear and playing his guitar, adorned with a Trump-Pence sticker, he sang a song about making America great again. Protestors drowned out his voice by loudly repeating, “We won’t go back!”
When a number of people yelled expletives at him, the cowboy smiled and said, “I annoy people for a living.”
After the previous two days’ protests, which included a solo demonstration by Lady Gaga, security around the building was strong. Although the tower remained open to the public during the day, there were seven policemen at the entrance and every visitor was required to put his or her bag through a security check. Car traffic surrounding the building, especially on Fifth Avenue, was sluggish, and pedestrian traffic on the sidewalk across from the tower was equally difficult.
“This is worse than Christmas!” one passer-by shouted as she made her way through the crowd. All around were people taking photos and selfies of the scene. Police officers steered crowds in both directions, asking them to “move it along.” Broadcast journalists, barricaded off the sidewalk, sat by their equipment awaiting action as Trump was at the White House with President Obama.
Some people were there to support the protesters and vent their own frustration.
“As long as we can get on the streets with signs and march, it means something,” said one man, who asked to be called “a concerned citizen.” He said he feared that the “maniac” Trump was going to “transform the U.S. into a fascist state.”
“This man has been bending the rules for 70 years of his life and he’s been getting away with it,” he said. “I wouldn’t support him if I was his underwear.”
Photo by Linda Krestanova
