Monday, July 27, 2015
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Pelham Bay News: Cops Coming to Reduce Crime
Pelham Bay News: Cops Coming to Reduce Crime: City Hall Finally Listens to Wakefield Cops Coming to Reduce Crime By Robert Press BRONX, NEW ...
Cops Coming to Reduce Crime
City Hall Finally Listens to Wakefield
Cops Coming to Reduce Crime
By Robert Press
BRONX, NEW YORK,JULY 16- Elizabeth Gill, President of the 47th Precinct Council, demanded action when crime was going way up last year in the 47th Precinct, and it seems that City Hall heard her.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton came to Cardinal Spellman High School to explain the new 'Summer All Out' police department program. It is a three-month program called 'Summer All Out' in the 10 highest crime police precincts. The mayor and police commissioner praised the new program that was started last month. Crime decreased in the 47th Precinct in Wakefield with shootings down 70 percent for the past month.
In the past the Mayor said that there was a chain of command that had to be gone through to change the deployment of police officers in a precinct. Now that red tape has been cut to allow for an almost instant redeployment of officers where they may be needed when problems pop up. The 47th Precinct has been assigned 26 additional officers for three months, and several other officers commonly refereed to as 'House Mouse Officers' have also been deployed into the streets of the precinct. In all there are 330 additional officers that have been sent to the 10 precincts in the 'Summer All Out' Program which began on June 8th. Other Bronx police precincts in this three month program are the 43rd, 44th, and 46th according to Bronx Assistant Chief Commanding Officer Larry Nikunen.
Deputy Inspector Stevenson of the 47th Pct. had only praise for his police officers, and he thanked 47th Pct. Council President Elizabeth Gill for her help in getting his command the much needed manpower to reduce the high crime rate.
Commissioner Bratton spoke of how the NYPD must keep coming up with new strategies to keep ahead of the bad guys. However when asked the question - that it looks like the first thing that the new street officers are doing is looking at car registration and inspection stickers when they arrive on their beat. I then said that to me it looks like these officers might have a ticket quota to fill.
Commissioner Bratton fired back to me, 'Well that's what it looks like to you', and then stepped away from the podium without any real answer. I asked one of the new officers the same question, and was told if the situation warrants a summons it will be given. 47th Pct. Commanding Officer Stevenson said 'No Comment' when I asked him the same question.
#NYPD #MayordeBlasio #Bratton #SummerAllOut #Bronxnews
Friday, July 10, 2015
Pelham Bay News: Enough is Enough!
Pelham Bay News: Enough is Enough!: Enough is Enough! Community Demands End to Violence (Photo by David Greene) By David Greene BRONX, NEW YOR...
Enough is Enough!
Enough is Enough!
Community Demands End to Violence
Community Demands End to Violence
(Photo by David Greene)
By David Greene
BRONX, NEW YORK, JULY 10- A group of community residents and clergy members gathered in the Allerton section in response to a recent shooting of a 20-year-old male.
The group Stand Up to Violence (SUV) held a demonstration along Allerton Avenue and Wallace Avenue. The group’s planned rally had little effect on the days violence as Bronx homicide detectives were in Parkchester for most of the afternoon, after another 20 year-old was gunned down outside a playground with a toddler in his arms. The infant was unharmed.
In fact the borough recorded no less than five homicides in the past week, but police officials say help is on the way in the form of more patrol officers on the street.
#NYPD #Shootings #Toddler #GunViolence #Bronxnews
Pelham Bay News: MASH star writes up growing up in Bx.
Pelham Bay News: MASH star writes up growing up in Bx.: MASH star writes up growing up in Bx. Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. participated in a panel discussion about the new book, ...
MASH star writes up growing up in Bx.
MASH star writes up growing up in Bx.
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. participated in a panel discussion about the new book, Just Kids From The Bronx, authored by Arlene Alda, at the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Bay Plaza. Borough President Diaz, whose own childhood story is featured in the book, is pictured here with Mrs. Alda and her husband, award-winning actor Alan Alda. More information about the book can be found at justkidsfromthebronx.com/.
#AlanAlda #BronxBoroughRubenDiaz #Bronxnews
Pelham Bay News: Gardner becomes an all star
Pelham Bay News: Gardner becomes an all star: #Gardner Becomes an All Star By Howard Goldin BRONX, NEW YORK, JULY 10- At the end of the fourth inning of the game between the Y...
Gardner becomes an all star
#Gardner Becomes an All Star
By Howard Goldin
BRONX, NEW YORK, JULY 10- At the end of the fourth inning of the game between the Yankees and the Oakland Athletics, an announcement on the Public Address system of Yankee Stadium was made that Brett Gardner was selected to the American League All-Star team.
Gardner was chosen to the 34 man roster by American league manager Ned Yost to replace them injured Alex Gordon. Previous to his selection on Thursday, Gardner was one of five players on the “Final Vote’ ballot for the final spot on the roster of the 2015 A.L. team.
Gardner will join teammates Mark Teixeira and DillenBetances on the American League squad for Tuesday’s game at the great American ballpark in Cincinnati. The announcement was followed by the chanting of Gardner’s name throughout the ballpark, which the outfielder responded to with a wave of his hand. He called the reaction of the fans “awesome”.
Gardner expressed surprise by his selection, “I was surprised. It caught me off guard. I had no idea. There’s a lot of great outfielders in the American League.”
In addition to being surprised, he was very excited by what he stated could be his final opportunity to receive this honor, ‘I’m sure next week will be a lot of fun. I’m really excited about it. I’ll be 32 years old next month. I don’t know how many opportunities I’ll get. I’m very grateful.”
Asked if he’s looking forward to wearing the All-Star uniform, Gardner joked, “I never had a jersey with my name on the back. I’m not saying the Yankees should change.”
Gardner’s play in recent weeks earned him serious consideration by the fans voting and by the American League manager. During the month of June, Gardner batted a superlative .351 (39 for 111) and 18 of his hits were for extra bases. His 27 runs scored in that month led the majors.
His best performance of the six game homestand that ended on Wednesday afternoon came in the final game against Oakland. He blasted his 10th home run of the season on the first pitch of his at bat in the first inning. The homer accounted for the first run of the contest. The run was the 76th scored by the Yankees in the first inning of a game in 2015, the highest run total by any team in a single inning this season. The Yankees have compiled a mark of 25-9 when scoring in the first.
Gardner singled in the third and fourth frames, the only other innings in which they scored on Thursday; the game ended the homestand on a high note with a 6-2 win. His fine hitting has raised Gardner’s season batting average to .303.
Yankee manager Joe Girardi was very pleased by what he believes was a very well-deserved choice, “He’s [Gardner] so important to our team. I believe he deserved to go and now he’s going.”
#BrettGardner #AllStarGame #Yankees #Bronxnews
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Pelham Bay News: Authorities Snuff Out $2M bootleg Smokes Ring
Pelham Bay News: Authorities Snuff Out $2M bootleg Smokes Ring: Authorities Snuff Out $2M bootleg Smokes Ring BRONX, NEW YORK, JULY 9- District Attorney Robert Johnson announced mu...
Authorities Snuff Out $2M bootleg Smokes Ring
Authorities Snuff Out $2M bootleg Smokes Ring
BRONX, NEW YORK, JULY 9- District Attorney Robert Johnson announced multiple indictments of 20 people and six corporations containing 1,345 counts regarding a major smuggling operation that brought more than 44,000 untaxed cartons of cigarettes from Virginia to the Bronx during a single five-month period in 2014 alone. The participants are accused of evading more than $2.978 million in New York State and City taxes. The total maximum tax penalty, for New York City and State combined, is more than $35,768,000.
After a two-and-a-half-year multi-agency investigation, 19 men and one woman were charged following simultaneous arrests in New York, Virginia, Connecticut and New Jersey. The Bronx County grand jury indictments were unsealed with the Supreme Court arraignment of several of the defendants in Part 60, before Justice Steven Barrett. The following defendants are named in one or more indictment:
Cigarette smuggling is big business. It is estimated that, in New York State, 58 percent of all cigarettes sold are untaxed, and smuggled in primarily from Virginia. With per pack prices topping $11 and more, bringing in untaxed cigarettes is very profitable – New York state and city taxes add $5.85 to each pack.
It is alleged in the indictment that the boss, Mohamed Mustafa, headed the operation by acquiring cigarettes for distribution from Virginia, storing those cigarettes at 2118 Matthews Avenue in Morris Park and other locations in the Bronx, and by controlling the distribution of cigarettes to the New York City area without paying New York State or City tobacco taxes, thereby generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in illicit proceeds for himself and other members of the enterprise. His lieutenant, Hiyad Chaib, is alleged to have assisted the criminal enterprise in all aspects of the operation, and would serve as the central contact for the employees and associates when Mustafa was away.
Mustafa and Chaib determined the New York-based distributors to whom they would sell cigarettes, the prices the
Indictment papers also describe how Mustafa and Chaib originally acquired the majority of the cigarettes they distributed in the Bronx from suppliers Rabih Saba and Moeen Khan, residents of the Commonwealth of Virginia, who owned and managed a chain of mattress stores (“The Mattress Place”) and dollar stores around Richmond, Virginia. Indeed, Saba and Khan used their Virginia businesses, in part, as collection and distribution centers for cigarettes purchased in Virginia with only the low Virginia cigarette tax, and thereafter controlled the distribution of
To generate said money, Saba and Khan are accused of forming a network of cigarette buyers in Virginia who would visit Costco, Sam’s Club, Wawa, and other retail sellers of cigarettes, to purchase cartons of cigarettes in a large enough quantity to make trafficking them to New York profitable. Saba and Khan arranged with Mustafa and Chaib for near-daily deliveries to New York. Some of the proceeds were also sent to a number of the defendants’ home countries in Africa and the Middle East.
Money seized from the operation totals more than $100,000.
Operation Smoke Brake is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys W. Dyer Halpern, Jessica-Deanna Lupo, and Caitlin Carroll of the Arson/Auto/Economic Crimes Bureau, which is under the supervision of Counsel to the Investigations Division Mary Jo Blanchard, Bureau Chief William Zelenka and Executive A.D.A. Thomas Leahy.
#Cigarettes #BronxDA #Bronxnews
Pelham Bay News: Inmate charged with attacking social worker in Rik...
Pelham Bay News: Inmate charged with attacking social worker in Rik...: Inmate charged with attacking social worker in Rikers District Attorney Robert Johnson announced the indictment of 35-yea...
Inmate charged with attacking social worker in Rikers
Inmate charged with attacking social worker in Rikers
District Attorney Robert Johnson announced the indictment of 35-year-old Jonathan Hodgson in the brutal June attack on a Rikers Island medical worker.
Hodgson was arraigned in Bronx Supreme Court before Justice Joseph Dawson and pled not guilty to: assault in the first degree (Class B Felony); assault in the second degree (3 counts) (Class D Felony); assault in the third degree (Class A Misdemeanor) and resisting Arrest (Class A Misdemeanor).
Hodgson is being held at Rikers Island’s George R. Vierno Center on an underlying Manhattan indictment for attempted murder in the second degree and assault in the first degree for a January, 2015 attack. On June 18th, he stepped into the office where 69-year-old mental health clinician Ralph Atlas was working.
Hodgson is accused of, without warning or provocation, pummeling the Corizon employee in the face and head, breaking the clinician’s jaw, fracturing his eye socket and nose, as well as causing other injuries for which the victim had to be hospitalized.
Bail was set at $10,000 following the D.A.’s request for $250,000; Hodgson is to return to court on September 1, 2015, Part 77, Hall of Justice, 265 E. 161st Street, Room 680. The defendant has asked to represent himself in Court.
If convicted of the charges, Hodgson faces up to 25 years behind bars. The case against Hodgson is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Ara Ayvazian of the Bronx D.A. Intake Bureau. The charges in this indictment are merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
#RikersIsland #NYPD #BronxDA #Bronxnews
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Pelham Bay News: #Politics
Pelham Bay News: #Politics: Albany Session Recap #Politics 100 PERCENT By Robert Press BRONX, NEW YORK, JULY 2- Let’s recap this p...
#Politics
Albany Session Recap
#Politics
100 PERCENT
By Robert Press
BRONX, NEW YORK, JULY 2- Let’s recap this past session which came to an end on Friday June 26th.
There were several major items that had to be taken care of: Rent Regulations that had expires in mid June, The 421A Tax Abatement program, Mayoral Control of the NYC public school system, and some other legislation such as judicial reform, Mayor de Blasio's 3 MTA Board appointments (to be confirmed by the State Senate), and anything else that was not done due to the Dysfunction in the state legislature.
Taking rent regulations first, which was Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie's major item that he was concerned about, let's see how he did. Well rent regulations will be in effect for at least four more years, but the apartment vacancy decontrol level was raised from $2,500 to only $2,700, and not the $3,000 level that many NYC assembly members had wanted it to be increased to. New tenant protections, there were none announced other than the 2 mentioned in the previous sentence, so there must be no new tenant protection legislation that came from this past session. You can go to my blog at www.100percentbronx.blogspot.com to the June archive heading 'Statement from Senator Rivera on the end of Session. In his statement Senator Rivera states that he was deeply disappointed in the end result of this legislative session. Senator Rivera says that hardworking New Yorkers were used as political pawns, the failure to make significant changes in the rent regulation laws will result in the loss of almost 90,000 current rent regulated units, there was little effort to fix the broken 421A program, Charter and private schools have made out much better than the struggling (as Senator Rivera says, but failing as many of us still say) public schools, and that no criminal justice reform legislation was passed. If you go to the bottom of the blog posting there is a statement from Assemblyman Victor Pichardo which tell of how the rent regulations deal enhances tenant protection. So who is correct on the rent regulation issue, State Senator Gustavo Rivera or Assemblyman (and former chief of staff to Senator Rivera) Victor Pichardo.
Senator Rivera also fails to make mention of the State Senate request and approval with the State Assembly of a $1.3 Million property tax rebate for homeowners outside of New York City. So why were the homeowners of the Bronx, who need this tax rebate more than the millionaires living outside of New York City, left out? Perhaps Assembly Speaker Heastie can answer that question to the struggling homeowners in his assembly district, since I know he will not answer that question if I was to ask it of him, and to Mr. Mike Whyland Press Person to Assemblyman Heastie when will I get my interview of Assemblyman Heastie? We can do it here in this newspaper if you would like you already know some of my questions, and right now the answers are 'NO COMMENT” by Assemblyman Carl Heastie. Perhaps I should ask someone like Marcia Kramer of WCBS T.V. to take this over from me, after all she did some great reporting of former State Senator Pedro Espada Jr.
The new Marriott Hotel at the Hutch Metro Center officially opened last week, and there are photos on my blog of the event. This new Marriott hotel is owned by Simone Development, and is a franchise of Marriott International. It was
said that a short distance from the hotel (about 250 feet) that the new Metro North Morris Park station will be built in a few short years, and that travel from this new Marriott Hotel to midtown Manhattan will take less than 30 minutes. It was said that the hotel is currently operating at near capacity since its unofficial opening on Mother’s Day.
Lastly, no one with any ties to Community Board 8 had anything to do with the decision of the Kingsbridge National Ice Center at the Kingsbridge Armory located just outside of Community Board 8 in the Kingsbridge Heights section of the Bronx. It seems odd to this columnist that Councilman Fernando Cabrera has chosen as his representatives to the KNIC Community Advisory Council three people from the Riverdale area of Community Board 8, including the former Vice-Chair of CB 8 Maria Khurry who lives in Riverdale. One would have to question that since Councilman Cabrera has chosen three people from CB 8 including its former Vice-Chair, why then did Councilman Cabrera not insist that Community Board 8 be a part of the KNIC process. It kind of makes you wonder what the priorities of Councilman Cabrera are. The Kingsbridge Armory lies entirely in Community Board 7, and Community Board 7 was the only community board involved in the KNIC process. Why now are people living in Community Board 8 being brought into the process, and why not current CB 8 members?
If you have any political information that you want to share or have checked out, any comments about this column, or would like to have an event listed or covered in this column or on my blog you can e-mail us at 100percentbronxnews@gmail.com or call 718-644-4199 Mr. Robert Press.
Pelham Bay News: #CaughtonTape: Fast food fools steal ATM
Pelham Bay News: #CaughtonTape: Fast food fools steal ATM: #CaughtonTape: Fast food fools steal ATM By Dan Gesslein BRONX, NEW YORK, JULY 2- Smile geniuses. A pair of criminal ma...
#CaughtonTape: Fast food fools steal ATM
#CaughtonTape:
By Dan Gesslein
Fast food fools steal ATM
By Dan Gesslein
BRONX, NEW YORK, JULY 2- Smile geniuses. A pair of criminal masterminds were caught on tape stealing an ATM machine from a fast food restaurant.
At around 10:20 a.m. on June 30, two crooks broke into the Checkers Restaurant off the Grand Concourse. The restaurant's surveillance cameras recorded the masterminds as they rocked the ATM off its attachment to the floor. They then dragged it onto a waiting hand truck and wheeled it out the door.
The masters of disguise thought wearing a bucket cap and baseball cap would hide their identity. However, the crooks' faces can clearly be seen on the video.
Anyone with information is urged to call CRIMESTOPPERS at (800) 577-TIPS.
All calls are strictly confidential.
#CaughtonTape #NYPD #ATM #Bronxnews
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Pelham Bay News: Danced over victim as he lay dying
Pelham Bay News: Danced over victim as he lay dying: Gunman convicted in holiday killing Danced over victim as he lay dying BRONX, NEW YORK, JULY 1- District Attorney Robert Johnson ...
Danced over victim as he lay dying
Gunman convicted in holiday killing
Danced over victim as he lay dying
After a six-week-long trial and two hours of deliberation, the Bronx Supreme Court jury found Williams guilty of: manslaughter in the first degree (Class B Felony) and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree (Class C Felony).
When he is sentenced by Justice Dominic R. Massaro on July 23rd, Williams faces as many as 40 years in prison.
Kenneth Sackey of Yonkers was celebrating not only a new job, but the long, hot, holiday weekend, returning from a family barbecue the evening before Memorial Day to his brother’s apartment in the Bronx. But as they returned to 1749 Grand Concourse, Sackey was loaded for bear, with an attitude and a bat – and when he saw some of the kids with whom he had a spat the night before, he was going to show who was boss. The 42-year-old Kenneth took his bat, and with a backhanded swing, cracked it against the entryway of the building, shattering the wood and sending splinters flying out across the sidewalk.
Williams was friendly with the kids, but he had not been at the deli with them the day before. He was not bruised by the bat, but his ego took a hit. So he hit back, drawing out his .22 caliber revolver, and squeezed off three-to-four shots – two of which hit their mark. Kenneth Sackey tried to flee through the apartment house, but video showed him falling and writhing in pain during his last minutes of life. Either bullet alone would have killed Sackey, as the one in his back struck a major vein that leads back to the heart. The bullet to the victim’s face traveled
through to his spine.
Another surveillance video showed Williams moments after he walked past his dying victim, dancing a heartless jig as he took the elevator up to his then-girlfriend’s apartment.
The case against Williams gained some notoriety for the delays bringing it to trial, resulting in an unusually long Rikers Island stay for the defendant. He will be credited for the nearly seven years he spent at Rikers awaiting trial.
The primary delay involved defense requests that admissibility of the DNA found on the murder weapon be stayed until a Brooklyn judge rendered a decision regarding that type of DNA in an unrelated case. That decision finally came late last year. But the issue DNA in Williams’ case became irrelevant when the defendant testified on the stand that he, indeed, had fired the fatal shots.
The case against Williams was prosecuted by Bronx Senior Trial Assistant D.A. George Suminski and A.D.A. Amy Schneider of Trial Bureau 20/50.
#NYPD #BronxDA #CadmanWilliams #Bronxnews
Pelham Bay News: #CaughtOnTape: Halloween Hooligan Robs Gas Station...
Pelham Bay News: #CaughtOnTape: Halloween Hooligan Robs Gas Station...: #CaughtOnTape: Halloween Hooligan Robs Gas Station Outside Co-op By Dan Gesslein BRONX, NEW YORK, JULY 1- Poli...
#CaughtOnTape: Halloween Hooligan Robs Gas Station Outside Co-op
#CaughtOnTape:
Halloween Hooligan Robs Gas Station Outside Co-op
By Dan Gesslein
BRONX, NEW YORK, JULY 1- Police are trying to catch a Halloween masked hooligan who robbed a gas station outside Co-op City on Tuesday.
At around 3 a.m. on June 30, the suspect used a handgun to stick up the Sunoco gas station at 1945 Bartow Avenue just outside Co-op City. Sporting a Halloween mask and black hoodie, the suspect entered the gas station that sports giant neon signs for “Lottery,” “Beer” and “Cigars.” He waved a handgun at the clerks and demanded cash. Cops say the gunman made off with $650 in cash.
Police released surveillance video taken from inside the gas station’s convenience store. The suspect is described as 5 foot 7 and weighing 150 pounds. He was seen wearing a Halloween mask, a gray hoodie sweatshirt, grey pants and plastic gloves.
Anyone with information is urged to call CRIMESTOPPERS at (800) 577-TIPS.
The public can also submit their tips by logging onto
Crime Stoppers' website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting
their tips to CRIMES (274637), then enter TIP577.
All calls are strictly confidential.
#CaughtOnTape #NYPD #StickUp #CooCity #Bronxnews
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