Yonkers +Human Remains Discovered+

Yonkers +Human Remains Discovered+ Late Friday a contractor working and opening up a ceiling at 20 Orchard Street in Yonkers, N.Y. human remains start falling out from the seiling, this structure is under renovation after a previous fire.

Brooklyn +Serious MVA Pin+

Brooklyn +Serious MVA Pin+ A serious motor vehicle accident with aided pinned, on McDonald Avenue and Seeley Street, Hatzolah on the scene requesting ALS with a rush, ESU operating, FD responding.

Man Hangs Self On Tree Along Garden State Parkway

Waretown, NJ - A man 39-years-old committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree along the Garden State Parkway in Ocean County, several drivers notified authorities that someone is hanging from a tree near the parkway.

Authorities say that his truck has been found, some distance away from where his body was found.

New York - Many Ashkenazi Jews Descended From Just Four Women

New York - A genetic study indicates that some 3-and-a-half million of today's Ashkenazi Jews - about 40 percent of the total Ashkenazi population - are descended from just four women.
The women apparently lived in Europe within the last 2 to 3 thousand years, but not in the same place -- or even the same century.

Each woman left a genetic signature that shows up in their descendants today, as reported and published online by the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Together, their four signatures appear in about 40 percent of Ashkenazi Jews, while being virtually absent in non-Jews and found only rarely in Jews of non-Ashkenazi origin.
It concludes that the Ashkenazi communities of Northern and Central Europe were founded by men and their wives migrated to Europe together who came from the Middle East, perhaps as traders.
The total Ashkenazi population today is estimated at around 8 million people. The estimated world Jewish population is about 13 million.

The study involved mito-chondrial DNA, called mtDNA, which is passed only through the mother. A woman can pass her mtDNA to grandchildren only by having daughters.

DHL To Build Its Largest U.S. Service Center In New York City

New York - DHL, the world's leading global express delivery and logistics company, today announced plans to build its largest U.S. service center facility in New York City. The $181 Million investment will consolidate two existing service center locations into a new 161,125-sq.-ft. facility to serve Manhattan pickup, delivery and sorting operations.

Bomb Shields For The George Washington Bridge

George Washington Bridge - Workers are encasing the sections of the suspension bridge's cables with cylindrical shields, high above the Hudson River, from a potential terrorist blast.

The shields, which resemble columns and are painted gray to blend in with the rest of the structure, are the first such bulwarks to appear on a New York-area bridge.

More than 300,000 cars and trucks cross the George Washington Bridge every day, making the link between upper Manhattan and Fort Lee, N.J., the most heavily traveled in the world.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans to do a similar cable-protection project on the Verazzano Bridge. The city Transportation Department has retained the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to help buttress its East River spans: the Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg and Queensboro bridges. City officials have not released details.

Jackson, NJ - Police Arrests Six Youngsters Over Bias Graffiti That Was Painted On Truck

Jackson, NJ - Six juveniles - all township residents, between the ages of 12 and 14 - are faceing charges in connection with a bias crime committed two weeks ago against the son of a Holocaust survivor on his truck as reported on VOS IZ NEIAS.

Police disclosed Thursday that all six will be charged with bias intimidation and criminal mischief.

The Dec. 30 incident on Hyson Road brought intensified patrols to the neighborhood after police found the words "I hate Jew" and a swastika painted with pink spray paint on the passenger-side bumper of Benjamin Kirsch's white 1993 Ford F150 pickup.

Flatbush +Person Fell From Roof+

Flatbush +Person Fell From Roof+ Hatzolah on the scene at 1123 Avenue I and East 12th Street with an aided that fell from a roof, ALS also to respond.

Mosul, Iraq - +U.S. Helicopter Crshes+

Mosul, Iraq - +U.S. Helicopter Crshes+ A U.S. helicopter crashes north of Mosul after coming under fire from insurgents, unknown if anyone durvived.

U/D: 10:27
2 pilots were killed.

Michigan - Deportation Of Ex-Nazi Camp Guard Upheld

Michigan - The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati has upheld a decision to strip a former Nazi concentration camp guard of his U.S. citizenship, clearing the way for his deportation.
The ruling was against Johann Leprich, 80, of Macomb County's Clinton Township, north of Detroit and it means he probably will be deported, most likely to Romania.
Leprich, a retired tool and die worker, was an ethnic German born in Birk, Romania, in 1925. In 1943, he joined the Nazi military organization Waffen SS and served as an armed guard at Mauthausen concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Austria, court records say.
About 119,000 people were killed at Mauthausen.

Lakewood, NJ - Owner Arrested Following Deadly House Fire In Camden

Camden, NJ - A landlord who owns the Camden home destroyed by a deadly fire was arrested yesterday.
C. Spitz from Lakewood, NJ, had failed to make a court appearance, involving building code violations on other properties he owns.
A 19-month old boy died in that blaze, and his parents were critically hurt.

Firefighters still haven't ruled on the cause.

Williamsburg - A Judge Tells NYC Housing Agency To Rethink Removing Residents From Clemente Projects

Williamsburg - A Manhattan judge has ordered a city housing agency to reconsider evicting 31 tenants, most of them Jewish, from apartments in the Clemente Plaza a Brooklyn development, to make room for nonwhite families, primarily Hispanics.

State Supreme Court Justice Walter B. Tolub granted the request of several Jewish residents Clemente Plaza, in Brooklyn's Williamsburg section, who asked the court to reverse the city's finding that they had no right to the apartments.

The judge said, that HPD, after discovering its own errors, was now playing "catch-up ball" for legal and political reasons. "Such conduct cannot be condoned," the judge wrote in a harshly worded 13-page decision. "Violating one minority group's due process rights is not the way for a government agency to meet its commitment to another minority group."

A lawyer for HPD, said she was "disappointed" with the ruling.

Bronx +Human Head Found+

Bronx +Human Head Found+ A Human head was found on the southbound of the Major Deegan Expressway at the Mobil Gas Station, NYPD ESU requested.

U/D 01/13/06 09:53
PD on scene have now called for a level one mobilization at the scene.

Queens +Rikers Island Missing Prisoner+

Queens +Rikers Island Missing Prisoner+ At Rikers Island Prison has been placed by Corrections Dept. on Code Red on total lockdown due to a missing/escaped prisoner from a general count, NYPD Aviation, Harbor, FD and ESU are all requested to do a shoreline search.

U/D: 14:47
PD calling for a level one mobilization.

U/D: 14:59
Level one mobilization has been canceled.

U/D: 18:57
The inmate has been recoverd in the duct work system following the extensive lockdown and search for most of the afternoon.

Monroe +Route 17 Traffic Alert+

Monroe +Route 17 Traffic Alert+ Westbound Route 17 at M/M 380 at the overpass FD on the scene with a motor vehicle accident with a rollover, aided are out of the vehicle with minor injuries, expect delays.

Brooklyn - Man Sucked Into Grave

Brooklyn - A man is suing claiming he was sucked into a grave while tending the plot.

Mr. Glock 39-yeard-old of Flatbush, Brooklyn, said he was trimming weeds at a Cemetery in Farmingdale, Long Island, when the earth collapsed under his feet and he found himself waist-deep in a grave, when his wife, daughter and mother-in-law were watching in shock.

Mr Glock, who believes his feet touched the coffin, claimed he was so badly affected by the experience that he could not work for two months and lost in wages, so he is seeking an unspecified amount in damages.

Bronx +Cross Bronx Traffic Alert+

Bronx +Cross Bronx Traffic Alert+ A MVA between a truck and a car on the eastbound ramp of the Cross Bronx Expressway to the Major Deegan Expressway, Heavy delays all the way across the George Washington Bridge.

Nit Pickers in High Demand as Lice Hop Into High Gear

New York - increased reports of lice breakouts in public and private schools, nit pickers are in high demand to help head off the problem.

Some Orthodox Jewish schools have contracts to remove the tiny bloodsuckers from children's heads, by out side companies.

NYPD Leadership Gives Police Dept. Makeover For Next 4 Years

NYPD Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, a little more than a week into the Bloomberg administration's second term, announced a series of internal changes yesterday that he said would help steer the Police Department over the next four years.

Williamsburg +Jumper In The Water+

Williamsburg +Jumper In The Water+ Male jumped in to the East River at Kent Avenue and Division Avenue, holding on to a pier he is half in the water, NYPD of the 90th Pct and Hatzolah are on the scene requesting Harbor, FD and ESU on a rush.

U/D: 07:01
Harbor and ESU have removed the EDP from the water, EMS transporting him to Bellvuei Hospital.

NJ +Teterboro Airport Unusual MVA+

NJ +Teterboro Airport Unusual MVA+ A motor vehicle accident at Route 46 off Industrial Avenue in Teterboro NJ where a Jeep knocked 2 poles both are down across the roadway and then went through the Teterboro Airport fence and into a plane with some antifreeze spill from the vehicle, PAPD ESU on the scene extricating the female driver from the vehicle, minor injuries.

U/D: 04:21
All lanes are closed.

Brooklyn +B.Q.E. Traffic Alert+

Brooklyn +B.Q.E. Traffic Alert+ A MVA on the westbound of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway involving a tractor trailer with a auto, ESU and FD on the scene for the door pop of the vehicle, EMS enroute, very heavy traffic delays both directions.

Brooklyn +Belt Pkwy Traffic Advisory+

Brooklyn +Belt Pkwy Traffic Advisory+ A motor vehicle accident with a overturned box truck on the eastbound of the Belt Parkway and Rockaway Parkway is causing heavy traffic delays, FD and PD Highway Units are on the scene.

Blooming Grove - About 300 Homes To be Built On Lake Anne Club, Close To Kiryas Yoel

Blooming Grove - A group of investors has joined forces with Ziggy Brach, a member of the opposition movement in Kiryas Joel, and has struck a deal to build homes on the 862 acres that used to be Lake Anne Country Club.

The partners will share ownership of the land and split the profits from the sale of the houses they expect to build.

The group hasn't decided how many homes to propose, they estimated around 250 to 300.

Manhattan +Pedestrian Struck+

Manhattan +Pedestrian Struck+ Midtown Manhattan a MVA with a pedestrian that was struck at 5th Avenue and 45th Street, Hatzolah was requested but EMS already handling, all units to cancel.

Borough Park +School Bus Accident+

Borough Park +School Bus Accident+ A MVA involving a school bus in Borough Park at 16th Avenue and 53rd Street with 4 injuried.

MOSCOW - Skinhead Stabs 10 At Synagogue

MOSCOW - A man armed with a hunting knife stabbed and wounded several people in a Hassidc synagogue on Bolshaya Bronnaya in downtown Moscow, ten people had been hospitalized in the attack at the Polyakova Synagogue.

A secretary at the synagogue said, that the attacker wounded several of them seriously, they heard people screaming as the man stabbed them, but the man himself did not appear to say anything.

The man was wrestled to the ground by the son of a rabbi, and detained by police and being questioned.

Budget Rental Car Has Begun Offering E-ZPass

Budget rental car has begun offering E-ZPass in its vehicles for an extra 99 cents a da (plus tolls) for drivers who want to avoid the long lines at toll booths in the Northeast.

The E-ZPass tags are being installed in about 1,000 cars in Budget's Newark, N.J. fleet, and the tags are under consideration at both Hertz and Avis.

Queens +Unusual Dispute With Fire Extinguisher+

A domestic dispute outside 109-59 Inwood Street near Glassboro Avenue in front of Public School 160 has FDNY Bat. 51 using 2E's and 2T's treating 3 victims that were sprayed in the face with fire extinguishers during a dispute, EMS requested forthwith.

Albany - Pataki Signaling His Support For Tuition Tax Break

Albany - Governor Pataki is likely to include money in his executive budget for education tax credits that would go to parents of students in both public and private schools, this is widely viewed as a less controversial alternative to school vouchers.
The government spends between $10,000 and $20,000 for each public school student, while the tax credits would be capped at $1,500 a student.
The tax credits have a better chance of getting by state courts, many of which have ruled vouchers unconstitutional.
In recent months, Jewish groups, whose members could use the credits to help offset the costs of parochial school tuition, have been pressing hard for Albany to pass the measure. The group is planning a rally in front of the Capitol next month.
Opponents of the credits, such as the United Federation of Teachers, view them as vouchers in sheep's clothing.

Jewish Immigrant From Soviet Union And Ex-Cabbie Pays Record Price For NYC Townhouse

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New York - The Duke-Semans mansion, the last of the great mansions of Fifth Avenue, a Beaux Arts beauty built in 1901, is now in the hands of the Tamir Sapir family, who just purchased the place for $40 million.
A former New York cabbie. Sapir was one of the thousands of Jewish immigrants allowed to leave the Soviet Union in the early 70's. He was in his early 20's and driving a cab was about the best paying job he could find.
"I quickly realized I need to own the cab to make any money," he said. So he drove and saved and drove and saved, enough to buy a medallion. Then he borrowed money on medallion and opened a small electronics store. He traded products with buyers back in the Soviet Union, trading for oil contracts.

Staten Island +Bridge Closure+

Staten Island +Bridge Closure+ The Goethals Bridge Staten Island bound has been shut down due to a large debris spill on the span.

Verrazano Bridge +Jumper Down+

Staten Island, Verrazano Bridge +Jumper Down+ At the mid span of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge State Island bound, TBTA on the scene of a male jumper down from the bridge in the water, ESU, Aviation and Harbor are all enroute.

U/D: 23:59
Jumper was a perp who is wanted for an earlier stabbing to death his wife in the 75th Pct at Dumont and Linwood, ESU and Harbor are still searching.

Kissimmee, FL - +Bank Robbery Gone Wrong+

Kissimmee, FL - +Bank Robbery Gone Wrong+ Two armed bank robbers fled a bank with a hostage after sheriff's deputies tried to end an hours-long standoff by throwing an explosive into the building.

U/D: 20:26
Deputies now say that the have the hostage rescued, and one of the suspects dead and the other arrested.

The Knife and Scissor Grinder Truck Is Back

The old-fashioned green Chevy cutlery grinder truck, plying his bell on the streets of Williamsburg on Fridays for business, are a rare sight in the City of New York. But after five years away, can he make a comeback?

NY - Stores Can't Keep Expired Gift Card Balances

Albany, NY - Money that goes unspent on expired gift cards in New York must be turned over to the state as unclaimed property, a court has ruled.
The decision eliminates incentives for businesses to impose short expiration dates on gift cards and pocket unspent funds, state Assistant Attorney General Douglas Goglia said.

Englewood, NJ +Palisades Parkway Traffic Alert+

Englewood, NJ +Palisades Parkway Traffic Alert+ Northbound of the Palisades Interstade Parkway the ramp of exit 1 is closed and causing havey traffic back up due to a tractor trailer that wanderd onto the parkway and tried to exit the ramp and got stuck in the mud just off the exit ramp.

Hackensack, NJ +Route 80 Road Closure+

Hackensack, NJ +Route 80 Road Closure+ Westbound express lanes of Route 80 at Exit 65 Summit Avenue is closed, all lanes are shut down due to a jack-knifed tractor trailer with about 50-100 gallons of diesel spill.

Williamsburg - Highest Rate Of Heart Disease

Williamsburg - In a recently-released report, “Report on Diseases of the Heart and Stroke,” from SUNY Downstate Hospital, they concluded that Williamsburg has the highest hospitalization rate for coronary heart disease, stroke and congestive heart failure, also rating as a major problem is being overweight or obese and not exercising regularly.

Brooklyn +NYPD L.O.D.D.+

Brooklyn +NYPD L.O.D.D.+ NYPD officer Francis Hennessy of the 70th Pct in Brooklyn has just passed away after collapsing last night from an apparent heart attack while responding to an unfounded report of a man with gun.

Orthodox Jews Work Against Plan To Landmark a Bronx Community

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission is poised today to designate a privately owned community in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, Fieldston, as a historic district.
The move would make all of the houses in the development, from making exterior changes to their homes, major or minor, without approval of the Landmarks panel.
In recent weeks the issue has taken on a new dimension, as many among the area's growing Orthodox Jewish population have voiced objections to the plan, suggesting that they are the targets of an effort to slow the growth of their numbers in the community. Homes in Fieldston, many of which were built in the 1920s, typically sell for prices in excess of $1 million. But these homes often need extensive renovation, particularly for larger Orthodox families.
City Council Member Oliver Koppell said, "I believe that ultimately all of the residents will see how this proposal will benefit them and enhance the value of their properties." Mr. Koppell pledges to continue his support and shepherd the plan through the council once it has been approved by the Landmarks and City Planning commissions. "This will be approved," he vowed.

Tenafly, NJ - Offering Eruv Settlement

Tenafly, NJ - Under a proposed settlement that could end a five-year legal battle, the Bergen County borough of Tenafly has reached an agreement with a group of Orthodox Jews that would allow a symbolic religious district that currently encloses a third of the town.
A public hearing on the matter is planed for tonight at 8:15 p.m.
The proposed settlement comes five years after the borough council at the time ordered the Tenafly Eruv Association to take down the plastic strips from utility poles in the public right-of-way, sparking a legal dispute.
A federal appeals court eventually ruled against the borough and divided residents of Tenafly, a town of 14,000. The court also noted that, while a borough ordinance barred private groups from attaching things to utility poles without permission, it was not enforced regularly. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

Under the proposed settlement, the borough would pay $325,000 in attorney fees to the Tenafly Eruv Association, the borough also would not be allowed to pursue related legal action against Verizon or Cablevision, which permitted the Jewish group to use utility poles, and it gives the association the ability to expand to whatever area of the town it thinks appropriate.

Bitter opposition to the eruv still persists in the four-square mile borough, Bill Saunders, a former councilman who has lived in Tenafly for 40 years, said he is considering moving out of the borough if the eruv expands.
"We are being obliged to live within an Orthodox Jewish town."

U/D: 01/11/06
Residents packed Borough Hall last night to support and object to a symbolic boundary, or eruv, sought by the borough's Orthodox Jewish community.
Emotions poured out during the public hearing, from both sides.

The council votes on the proposal in two weeks.

Borough Park +Hazmat Situation+

Borough Park +Hazmat Situation+ Hazmat BC and Squad are operating at 18th Avenue and 51st Street on the scene of a leaking 55 gallon drum.

NJ +Lincoln Tunnel Traffic Advisory+

NJ +Lincoln Tunnel Traffic Advisory+ Inbound Lincoln Tunnel - from NJ to Manhattan - a MVA earlier in one of the south tubes is causing an hour delays into the city.

Orange County - Bid To Lead Legislature Kiboshed By Kiryas Joel Stance

Orange County - As the county lawmaker representing a district that borders Kiryas Joel, Spencer McLaughlin has long criticized the Hasidic community's rapid growth and what he felt were the undue burdens it placed on the region's resources.
His criticism made him an arch-villain to Kiryas Joel's leaders, who believe there is more to his opposition than environmental concerns and have threatened to name him in a civil-rights lawsuit.
That adversarial relationship recently came into play in McLaughlin's unsuccessful bid to become Orange County Legislature chairman, costing him crucial votes.

McLaughlin, a lawyer who has served on the Legislature for 15 years, emerged late last year as the Republicans' leading choice for chairman. But after many days of back-and-forth negotiating among the 21 lawmakers, he stepped aside and made way for Bill Lahey, a chairman all 11 Republicans could agree on.

As the leadership race was heating up, each county lawmaker received a bundle of news clips tracking McLaughlin's position on Kiryas Yoel matters over the years, along with court papers portraying his opposition as anti-Hasidic bigotry. Attached was a brief, anonymous letter opposing his promotion to chairman.
McLaughlin said yesterday that lawmakers from both parties called him after receiving the packages to express support for him.
"All that really accomplished is it made them furious," he said.
He said it hurt to be described as a bigot, especially after fighting anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination with the New York City Human Rights Commission, where he worked for 12 years.
His problem, he said, was not with the people of Kiryas Joel, but with their leaders.
"I want them to behave and act and be held to the same standard as other communities," he said.

Brooklyn +Belt Pkwy Traffic Alert+

Brooklyn +Belt Pkwy Traffic Alert+ Eastbound of the Belt Parkway and 8th Street near the Shore Parkway, Toys R' US parking lot,an unauthorized tractor trailer on the parkway struck the pedestrian overhead bridg and spilled its load and caused structural damage late last night, ESU was requested to cut off the top of the trailer, cleanup and inspection is ongoing this morning, some lanes are closed causing delays.

U/D: 09:15
Ongoing right lane closure for repairs, extensive delays in the area all the way across the Verrazano Bridge and all the way across the Staten Island Expressway.

Williamsbrg Bridge +Traffic Alert+

Williamsbrg Bridge +Traffic Alert+ A motor vehicle accident on the Williamsburg Brige ramp to the Brooklyn Queens Expressway blocks the center ans the right lanes, heavy delays across the span.

New York +Minor Earthquake+

New York was slightly shaken by a minor earthquake.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake measured a 3.7 magnitude and was felt at 10:37 a.m. in an area stretching from the border of Canada south through Chazy, Schuyler Falls, Plattsburgh, Willsboro and across Lake Champlain in Jericho, Vt., near Burlington.
Residents said the shaking lasted for some 10 to 15 seconds.

Borough Park +Motor Vehicle Accident+

Borough Park +Motor Vehicle Accident+ A MVA in Borough Park at 41st Street and 14th Avenue, has Hatzolah on the scene requesting ambulance to respond.

NY City Official Sentenced For Staten Island Ferry Crash

New York - The city's former ferry director has been sentenced to a year in prison for the 2003 Staten Island ferry crash that killed 11 people.

The pilot at the helm of the Staten Island ferry crash has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.

U.S. Supreme Court OK's Funds In School Case

Washington - The Supreme Court let stand a lower court ruling that allows use of federal funds in a program placing young teachers in religious schools.

Last year, the federal appeals court based in Washington ruled that the government was not using the grants to promote religion or as incentives for participants to teach religion.

In doing so, the appeals court reversed a trial judge's finding that the program lacked clear criteria for selecting the groups to train the teachers and had failed to monitor properly whether the organizations used government money for religion-related expenses.

Chief Justice John Roberts did not participate in the case.

The case is American Jewish Congress v. Corporation for National and Community Service, 05-282.

Manhattan +Technical Rescue+

Manhattan +Technical Rescue+ A major collapse of the 1st floor of a 6 story 25x50 building under construction at 331 East 51st Strett between 1st and 2nd Avenues a few people reported pinned, signal 10-60 transmitted.

U/D: 12:18
4 aided have been removed, crews continue to searc for more victims.

Borough Park +Person Under Train+

Borough Park +Person Under Train+ A female was struck and now under train at Fort Hamilton Parkway and New Utricht Avenue, NYPD ESU on the scene requesting to shut off power, FD enroute.

U/D: 10:04
Aided has been removed from under the train, and being tended to by EMS.

Brooklyn - Lots Of Cocoa Beans In The East River

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Brooklyn - A barge docked at the Brooklyn marine terminal near Cobble Hill at pier 7 overturned and sank, leaving five railroad cars filled with raw cocoa beans submerged in the East River. The 800,000 pounds of beans, bound for a factory in Chicago, were being stored at the Brooklyn Marine Terminal.
The U.S. Coast Guard says no one was hurt in the incident, and investigators believe the sunken barge and cargo poses no environmental threat.

U/D: 01/11/06
The cocoa barge is in the process of being raised, but that process will take several days.

Religious Owners With Businesses On The Web, Placing Limits On 24/7

Consumers have grown to expect around-the-clock pampering from Internet merchants, who have been pushed by rivals to offer customer service even on weekends.
But this trend is being bucked by many with religiously observant owners and executives who leave their sites up and running on their Shabbas, but do not complete orders, work on the site or otherwise do anything to help customers. And despite an increasingly competitive environment and ever more demanding customers, they say their businesses have not suffered.
"I actually think we've gained," said chief executive of a privately held online jeweler in Montreal. "Customers know if they need something they can wait until Sunday when we're open, and people at the company have the chance to recharge and come back stronger."

Flatbush +Pedestrian Struck+

Flatbush +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident in Flatbush with a pedestrian that was struck on East 5th Street between Avenues T and U, Hatzolah on the scene requesting Medics and a bus.

Manhattan +2nd Alarm Fire/Road Closure+

Manhattan +2nd Alarm Fire/Road Closure+ Due to FD activity for a 2nd alarm fire on the 2nd and 3rd floors of 35 West 43rd Street, PD has closed down the streets of West 43rd Street between 5th and 6th Avenues.

U/D: 08:29
EMS transporting 3 firefighters to the hospital for minor injuries.

NY Times Opinion Column On Metzitzah B'Pah

NY Daily News Opinion Column On Metzitzah B'Pah

Washington - Vice President Taken To Hospital

Washington - Vice President Dick Cheney taken to hospital suffering shortness of breath.

U/D: 08:22
The Vice President has just left the hospital, after treatment for shortness of breath.

NYC - Orthodox Jew Getting Ready To Run For State Senate

NYC - Citywide Coordinator for the Mayor's office, and Coounity Assistance Unit, Mr. Fred Kreizman, a frum Orthodox Jew and very well known and admired by many chasdic and orthodox jews in NYC., will announce in the next few days that he is running on the Republican line for State Senate in the 23rd district of the State of NY, where the position is currently held by Democratic Senator Diane J. Savino.

The 23rd Senate District, encompasses the North Shore of Staten Island and portions of Brooklyn (Bath Beach, Bensonhurst, Borough Park, Coney Island, Fort Hamilton, Gravesend, Seagate and Sunset Park).

Monroe Baffled By Crime Wave

Monroe, NY - Time and again in recent weeks, the usually tranquil Village of Monroe has been hit with some eye-opening crimes - the type you might expect in an urban area.

Reports in 2005 of felony-level crimes in the 3.5-square-mile village rose for the fifth year in a row, according to village police statistics. There were 463 felony complaints, a nearly 70 percent increase over the 274 reported in 2001. Police could not provide a breakdown of the types of felony complaints.

Police say the crime, coupled with a manpower shortage, is taking its toll. Preoccupied with more time-consuming investigations, they have less time to patrol and to prevent crime, less time for the sort of community policing they're used to.

The 18-member squad is hoping to increase its ranks. Bolstering its cause is a recent report by the state Division of Criminal Justice Services, which analyzed Monroe's calls for police service and concluded the department needs five more patrol officers.

Requests for more cops will inevitably collide with financial concerns, as village trustees plan the next budget this spring. They're scheduled to discuss the manpower report on Jan. 17.

George Washington Bridge +Traffic Alert+

George Washington Bridge +Traffi Alert+ Inbound on the lower level of the George Washington Bridge under the apartments, a motor vehicle accident is blocking some lanes causing heavy delays across the span.

NYC - NYPD Inspector Stripped Of Badge And Gun

NYC - NYPD Inspector Wheeler commander of the NYPD's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, who allegedly shot a young Washington, D.C., robber in the arm and fled has been stripped of his badge and gun, and he is being investigated over the Dec. 9 shooting of the 18-year-old that was brandishing a fake gun last month in D.C.
Wheeler was placed on modified duty Dec. 28 as part of a departmental investigation.

Manhattan +West Side HWY Closed+

Manhattan +West Side HWY Closed+ Northbound of the West Side Highway at 72nd Street is closed all lanes due to a MVA with an overturn vehicle, ESU, HWY and EMS all on the scene, no pin.

NY - Downtown Ellenville Gets Grant, Breathing New Life Into Its Village

NY - The Governor’s Office announced an assistance grant for the Village of Ellenville to support the central business district.
The plan will bring nearly $500,000 in grant and leveraged money to comprehensively target the commercial corridor and promote business upgrades and wider housing choices in down town Ellenville.
The Village Manager said the funds will enable the village to develop apartments above shops in the downtown business district.
“What it is is to turn the business district into a 24/7 community where people both live, work and shop,” he said.

Brooklyn +Child Struck+

Brooklyn +Child Struck+ A MVA with a child that was struck at East 2nd Street and Quentin Road, Hatzolah on the scene, requesting ALS and back up medics to respond with a rush.

Kiryas Yoel +MVA Overturned+

Kiryas Yoel, Monroe +MVA Overturned+ A motor vehicle accident On Forest Road cornor Franklin with one vehicle overturned down an embankment with entrapment but no major injuries. The Village of Kiryas Joel Hatzolah Ambulance Service working with Monroe ambulance on getting the aided out. PD on the scene.

U/D 11:56
Two aided out of the vehicle with minor injuries.

Brooklyn - Cops Quastion Terror Bag

Brooklyn - A suitcase full of photos found in Brooklyn of New York City landmarks and subway stations, provoked a massive mobilization of antiterror units when it was opened, police said.
"The pictures had everything, from Police Plaza to 26 Federal Plaza. It was scary," said a security guard at Linden Plaza, where the suitcase was found on a staircase in the parking garage.
"The weird thing is if a tourist took those pictures, there would be people in them. There was nobody in these."
The Joint Terrorist Task Force, the NYPD Bomb Squad and hazmat and other antiterrorism units responded to the call.
Meanwhile, a man who went to pick it up vanished when told it had been taken.

Borough Park +Fatal Tragedy+

Borough Park +Fatal Tragedy+ A 28-year-old man from Lakewood, NJ visiting Borough Park for Shabbos, collapsed and expired in front of the Renaissance Hall on Friday night, and was pronounced on the scene by Hatzolah after a hard effort to revive him.
He is leaving behind a wife and 3 young children. Volunteers are working hard on releasing him from the hospital fast and intact.

Queens +L.I.E. Shut Down+

Queens +L.I.E. Shut Down+ Serious MVA on the L.I.E. And 63rd Street, PD on scene requesting EMS with a rush for a total of 6 aided with 3-4 ambulances, large area of the L.I.E. Is completly shut down at this time.

Baghdad - U.S. Helicopter Crashes

Baghdad, Iraq - A U.S. UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter with 12 people believed aboard has crashed in northern Iraq, with no survivors.