Wesley Hills, NY - Police Release Surveillance Photos In Synagogue Vandalism

Wesley Hills, NY - Ramapo police released video surveillance photos of a man who may have been involved in vandalizing with swastikas a Wesley Hills synagogue in late January.
The photos were taken in the early morning hours of Jan. 29 at a gas station near Congregation Kehillas Bais Yehudah, which is located at 23 Lime Kiln Road.
The vandalism is believed to have occurred sometime during the night of Jan. 28, a Saturday, into the morning of Jan. 29.
The man in the photos is white with shaggy brown hair. He was wearing a white shirt, khaki pants and a dark-colored jacket.

The case is being investigated, the perpetrators could face a charge of first-degree aggravated harassment, a felony, for damaging religious property.

Queens, NY +J.F.K. Airport Suspicious Package+

Queens, NY +Suspicious Package+ Last night a suspicious package at the main postal facility, bldg 250 at J.F.K. International Airport on North Boundary Road, was a confirmed grenade that was found by the Port Authority Police Dept, NYPD ESU and Bomb Squad were on the scene to remove the device, detectives are doing a follow up investigation.

Monsey, NY - Trial Begins On Rabbi's Claim Of Tax Exemption

Monsey, NY - Testimony began at a trial in which Ramapo wants to prove that a Monsey man was more of a landlord than a rabbi.

The nonjury trial in state Supreme Court in White Plans is over the religious tax exemption claimed by Congregation Sherith Yisroel Vilednik, and subsequently denied by Ramapo, for a house purportedly occupied by Rabbi Herman Oberlander and two men he described as associate rabbis married to his granddaughters.

Ramapo charges that Oberlander collected rents at 4 Roman Blvd. and that the building was undeserving of a tax break for religious reasons.
During his testimony before a Supreme Court Justice, Oberlander said the rents maintained the building. He said he lived there, as did Rabbis Abraham Fuchs and Shai Leib Tauber, who lectured his congregation.
He said he couldn't recall the names of his granddaughters living in the house. After all, he said, he had about 100 grandchildren.

Deputy Town Attorney Michael Specht, asked Oberlander about an apartment at 168 Hooper Street, in Brooklyn, NY which Oberlander called an office where he lived years ago, also did Oberlander say that he has a condo in Miami, Flarida.
Specht quizzed Oberlander about multiple real estate corporations. "How many corporations are you affiliated with?" Specht asked. "More than you can count?". Oberlander either responded that he couldn't recall, or was not involved with them.
He said he was one of 20 partners in a 30-unit Brooklyn apartment house.
"Do you live in any of the apartments?" Specht asked.
"What do you call live?" Oberlander answered.

Slobodan Milosevic Dies in Prison Cell

Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has been found dead in his cell in The Hague, Netherlands where he was being tried on war cimes charges. His lawyer says fears he was poisoned in cell.

U/D: 03/12/06 15:34
The U.N. tribunal says a preliminary autopsy report has found that Slobodan Milosevic died of a heart attack.

Montreal, Canada - Worshippers Jump For Their Lives As Synagogue Burns

Montreal, Canada - Flames erupted last night on the first floor of a synagogue at the Centre sepharade Merkaz on Van Horne Avenue in Cote des Neiges, during Shabbas service and forced two worshippers that were trapped on the 2nd floor to jump to safety from rear of the century-old stone building.

Both people are in critical condition in a hospital, one with a head injury, the other with a fractured leg.

The 20 worshippers upstairs who were attending Shabbos service barely had time to escape.

"It was all over the first floor," said one of those attending the Shabbas service. "It happened so fast, there was no time to go down."

Arson squad investigators were on the scene last night, but preliminary indications were that the fire was of electrical origin, a police official said. But some worshippers suspect foul play, "There were no candles, no electrical heating, nothing," some of those attending said.
They said the synagogue had been vandalized three times in the last month."It was probably someone who doesn't like us."

Queens, NY - Terminal At LaGuardia Airport Evacuated

Queens, NY - Delta terminal at New York's LaGuardia Airport evacuated, after an individual walked away from a search.

New York +Mistrial In Racketeering Case Against "Junior" Gotti+

New York +Mistrial In Racketeering Case Against "Junior" Gotti+ A U.S. District Court Judge has declared a second mistrial in the case against Gambino crime family scion John "Junior" Gotti.

Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY +Hate Crime+

Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY +Hate Crime+ A swastika was painted on a very sensitive location in Crown Heights, Brooklyn NY at 1318 President Street near the late Lubavutcher Grand Rabbi's house. Crown Heights Shmira Patrol units are investigating, NYPD Hate Crime Unit was notified.

Brooklyn, NY - Assemblyman Vito Lopez Hospitalized

Brooklyn, NY - Democratic County Leader Chairman and state Assemblyman Vito Lopez today successfully underwent a planned aortic valve replacement surgery at a New York Hospital.
His family says that the Assemblyman is recovering and looks forward to continuing his work both as the State Assemblyman representing the 53rd Assembly District (Brooklyn) and as the Chair of the Kings County Democratic Organization.

Washington, DC +Interior Secretary To Resign+

Washington, DC +Interior Secretary To Resign+ Interior Secretary Gale Norton will announce her resignation Friday, after serving more
than five years in that role.

New York City, NY - Swastikas In UWS Apartment Building

New York City, NY - Police are investigating a possible bias incident, after swastikas were found inside an Upper West Side apartment building.
The incident occurred in an apartment on West 85th Street, where swastikas were etched into metal panels inside an elevator, police said.
Police said the swastikas may have been there for as long as a month.

Monsey, NY +MVA With Hatzolah Ambulance+

Monsey, NY +MVA With Hatzolah Ambulance+ A motor vehicle accident involving the Monsey Hatzolah ambulance H-3 on the way from an emergince call with some aided aboard at Airmont Road and Route 59, no one with serious injuries from the MVA.

NY, NJ - Weekend George Washington Bridge Lane Closures

NY, NJ - Saturday night (Motzah Shabbas) from 10:00 p.m. until 10:00 a.m. the following morning. only one of the George Washington Bridge's upper level lanes in each direction will be open to traffic so steel beams can be removed from around the bridge's New Jersey tower.

In addition traffic in the remaining lane in each direction will be held periodically for approximately 30 minutes at a time.

Your best bet is to use the lower levels of the bridge or use the Lincoln or Holland Tunnel.

Postville, Iowa - Inquiry Finds Lax Federal Inspections at Rubashkin's Kosher Meat Plant

Postville, Iowa - An internal report from the Agriculture Department has found that Rubashkin's Kosher Meat Plant, the country's largest producer of meat certified glatt kosher, violated animal cruelty laws and that government inspectors not only failed to stop the inhumane practices but also took improper gifts of meat from plant managers.
Also, some of the plant's 10 inspectors made faulty inspections of carcasses, failed to correct unsanitary conditions and were seen sleeping and playing computer games on the job, said the report, by the agency's inspector general.

Conditions at the plant - AgriProcessors Inc. of Postville, Iowa - created a controversy in late 2004, when PETA released a videotape taken clandestinely inside, where animals were shown staggering around the killing pen with their windpipes dangling out, slamming their heads against walls and soundlessly trying to bellow. One animal took three minutes to stop moving.
The scenes caused a furor among Jewish organizations around the world. Soon after, the plant changed its practices under pressure from the Agriculture Department, and the department told the plant that in light of those changes, "legal action will not be instituted at this time," but warned that future violations could lead to it.

After a six-month internal investigation, the Agriculture Department suspended one of its own inspectors for 14 days and gave warning letters to two others, a department spokesman said.
The inspector general's office gave its report to federal prosecutors, but "based on the information presented to us, we decided there was not a prosecutable case," said, a lawyer in the United States attorney's office for the northern district of Iowa.

Chicago, IL - Fifth Panelist Quits Over Colleague's Affiliation With Nation of Islam

Chicago, IL -A fifth Jewish member of Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich's commission on discrimination and hate crimes has resigned in protest of the continued presence on the panel of a representative from the Nation of Islam.

The resignation on Wednesday of Alan J. Spellberg, a prosecutor in the Cook County state's attorney's office, is the latest development in a snowballing controversy facing Mr. Blagojevich, a Democrat, in an election year in which he risks alienating voters no matter how he responds.

The debate ignited after Muhammad, one of the commission's 26 members and the minister of protocol for the Nation of Islam, invited commission members to a speech given by Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam.

New York - Chaplain For Prisons Has Been Placed On Sdministrative Leave, For Criticizing The Bush Administration and Jews

New York - Imam Umar Abdul-Jalil The top Islamic chaplain for the city's jails and who is overseeing 40 Department of Correction chaplains of all faiths, was temporarily booted from his job almost a year after calling the Bush administration "the greatest terrorists in the world" and criticizing Jews.

Mayor Bloomberg said Imam Umar Abdul-Jalil had been placed on paid administrative leave as city officials review his fiery comments, which included claims that Muslim inmates had been interrogated, tortured and held without being charged in the Metropolitan Correction Center and urged Muslims not to let the "Zionists of the media" determine the meaning of Islam.

He insisted he wasn't anti-Semitic, adding that his mother was Jewish, having converted to Judaism in 1959. "I'm more Jewish than most who espouse the Jewish faith," he said.

Teaneck, NJ - Mother Of Fire Victims Sees Way To Honor Them On Their Firs Yarzheit

Teaneck, NJ - Nearly a year has passed since Philyss Seidenfeld lost four of her seven children in a fire that still haunts the hearts of neighbors and grieves the souls of strangers.
In the months since the March 22 blaze, friends and strangers have joined together to share tears and ponder how to cope with the tragedy. They need only look to Seidenfeld for inspiration.
As she journeys through the darkness, never to understand the why of it all, she clings to her belief. "It was God's will," she said. "Their souls had a job to do and they were finished."
She will not allow the grief to consume her. Instead she aims to transform her sorrow into something beautiful by making her children's legacy one of joy and spiritual growth.
Saturday, on their first Yarzheit, Seidenfeld wants to mark the day with prayers, study and act of kindness at the Teaneck Yeshiva. She wishes for people to remember her children by reciting Psalms.
This week's studies at Yeshivas in New Jersey were also dedicated to their memory.

Brooklyn, NY +Motor Vehicle Accident On Gowanus+

Brooklyn, NY +Motor Vehicle AccidentOn Gowanus+ A MVA on the Gowanus Expressway heading to Williamsburg, Hatzolah EMS on the scene.

New York - Jewish Leaders Drop Opposition To Architect Of Javits Center Expansion

New York - New York political leaders gave up their opposition to using British architect Richard Rogers for the $1.7 billion expansion of the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Manhattan.
Rogers came under fire for his involvement with a recently created organization of British architects that had supported an economic boycott of Israel.

Although Rogers cut his ties to the group, state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Democratic U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner sought to have Roberts stripped of his role at the convention center, but concerns about his links with the British group were allayed after Silver, Weiner and Rogers met in the Manhattan offices of the Conference of Presidents, which represents over 50 U.S. Jewish organizations.

New York City, NY - Spike in Robberies On Upper West Side

New York City, NY - There has been a dramatic rise in robberies on the Upper West Side this year.

In the 20th Precinct, which covers 59th to 86th streets, the number of robberies has increased 85%, to 37 versus 20 for the same period two months last year, the statistics show. In the 24th Precinct, which covers 86th to 110th streets, there was a 25% spike, with 45 robberies for the first 64 days of the year versus 36 robberies last year.

Borough Park, Brooklyn +Man Assaulted+

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Man Assaulted+ A man was seriously assaulted at 11th Avenue and 50th Street, Hatzolah were on the scene transporting the aided, Boro-Park Shomrim Patrol got the perp into custody.

Architect In Brooklyn, NY Concern As 3rd Hardhat Is Killed At One Of His Sites

Brooklyn, NY - After three workers were killed in seven months at three different Brooklyn construction sites, housing advocates charged the projects' architect.

Robert Scarano was the architect on the site at 733 Ocean Parkway where a construction worker was killed this week after a garage wall next door collapsed.

The tragic streak of accidents began in August, when a worker was crushed by an 800-pound steel girder at a Greenwood Heights condo site. Then last November, Heng Zheng fell to his death from the unfinished third floor of a Williamsburg condo.

Scarano said he was "sick" over the workers' deaths. "I'm sick; it affects me mentally and physically," Scarano said. "I've worked for 35-odd years and never had anything happen where anyone was killed ... until last year when it happened twice, and this year. It is a somewhat dangerous business."

New York City, NY - Police Chief Is Charged, But Not Punished, For Conduct During G.O.P. Convention

New York City, NY - In a rare review of actions by the city's top police commanders, the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) has charged deputy chief Stephen Paragallo with abuse of authority for ordering the arrest of a 56-year-old Brooklyn woman during the 2004 Republican National Convention, because there was no probable cause to arrest her, and that the chief had acted "without due and reasonable care that his actions be proper.".

The board recommended a mild punishment, known as instruction, but Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, who has the final say, declined to administer that or any other discipline.

The civilian board, rarely examines the actions of chiefs, since patrol officers are far more likely to come into contact with members of the public. The convention, however, brought many chiefs onto the streets, they supervised hundreds of mass arrests in Lower Manhattan and at 16th Street.

Pesach Tikva, Israel - Mother, Baby Rescued From Fire

Israel - Firefighters rescued dozens of people, including a mother and her week-old baby, from a burning apartment building Thursday in the Tel Aviv suburb of Pesach Tikva.
The blaze erupted on an upper floor of the eight-story building. As flames and smoke leaped from the structure, police and firefighters used a crane to extract residents from the top floors. Hospitals treated 45 people, including four police officers, most of them smoke inhalation. Two were in serious condition.

Investigators were trying to determine the cause of the fire.

Zamosc, Poland - Sephardi Synagogue Gets Grant From The EU

Poland - The only Sephardi synagogue in Poland received a grant from the European Union.
The synagogue in Zamosc, erected in the 17th century, is being rebuilt by The Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland, and it is set to open by the end of 2007 at a cost of approximately $835,000.

New Jersey - Missing Girl Found Safe

New Jersey - A 13-year-old girl who had been sending her mother text messages since she vanished on Monday has been found safe and was being evaluated in a New York City
hospital, She was found wandering the streets of Brooklyn, NY and a good samaritan took her to a neaby hospital, authorities are questioning her credibility.

French Students 'Taken Hostage'

Le Mans, France - A former teacher has taken and holding 21 students and two staff hostage in a classroom in a Western French school.

U/D: 13:48
The ex-teacher who has surrendered to police.

New York - Speaker Silver Accusing Mayor Bloomberk Of 'Holding Children Hostage' In School Funding Feud

Albany, New York - The Democratic speaker of the Assembly, Sheldon Silver, accused Mayor Bloomberg of political cowardice, suggesting that the mayor is obeying Governor Pataki and letting the state off the hook on resolving a multibillion-dollar school financing lawsuit.
Tensions further escalated as it emerged that the Democratic-controlled Assembly is planning to omit from its budget the controversial tuition tax credit that Mr. Pataki proposed earlier in the year. The Assembly's expected removal of the tuition tax credit, which is heavily favored by school choice advocates, which would give a credit of up to $500 to low and middle-income parents of children enrolled in private and public schools.

Democratic Assemblymen pushing for the governor's tax credit proposal said they were disappointed by the Assembly's plan. "I'm all for tax relief, but I think we need to make a particular commitment to parents who invest in their kids' education," said Assemblyman Ryan Karben, who represents Rockland County, which has a large Orthodox Jewish population.

Chester, NY - Yeshiva Tries To Restart Temporary School

Chester, NY - A would-be yeshiva, Westchester-based Yeshiva Toras Chemed, is asking the town's permission to use trailers temporarily at the former The Inn at Chester - a practice currently forbidden by court-ordered injunction.
The Yeshiva, which bought the motel on Route 17M six months ago, initially promised that the eight trailers would be used as construction offices, however the use of the trailers by students, indicated that the yeshiva intended to skirt planning oversight, town officials said.
The town successfully sought an injunction against the group.
Chastened by the injunction, the yeshiva changed attorneys, removed all its students from the site and promised to come back with a more forthright proposal.
The Town Board is expected to lay out the details of the conditions for the trailers' use as part of a settlement of the injunction by next month.

San Antonio, TX - Holocaust History Project Damaged By Arson Fire

San Antonio, TX - A fire at a warehouse complex near San Antonio International Airport, did cause extensive damage to the offices of The Holocaust History Project (THHP), an organization that has been confronting Holocaust denial online, in addition to providing educational materials to students throughout the world.
Arson investigators have confirmed that the fire was intentionally set and are continuing their investigation.
It was just the latest in a series of attacks with the apparent intent to silence THHP, For the past 18 months.

Orange County, NY - Indian Point Siren Test Fails

Orange County, NY - The emergency siren system for the Indian Point nuclear power plants locked up during a test yesterday and had to be taken out of service, spaking an outcry from local officials. A total disaster, is how Westchester County Executive Andy Spano described the outage.

U/D: 17:04
NRC chief will order independent safety review of Indian Point.

Queens, NY +Throgs Neck Bridge Closure+

Queens, NY +Throgs Neck Bridge Closure+ The TBTA are closing down the Queens-bound of the Throgs Neck Bridge due to a truck that dropped a load of bricks on the span, expect delays, TBTA doing the cleanup.

Queens, NY +Motor Vehicle Accident+

Far Rockaway, Queens, NY +Motor Vehicle Accident+ A MVA in Queens at Central Avenue and Beach 9th Street, Hatzola on the scene.

U/D: 07:01
Hatzolah now canceling all units.

Washington, DC - +House Committee Blocking Dubai Co. Port Deal+

Washington, DC - +House Committee Blocking Dubai Co. Port Deal+ A House committee has voted to block a Dubai company from taking control of some U.S. port operations, defying a veto threat by President Bush.

U/D: 03/09/06 14:08
The Dubai-owned company has decided to give up its management stake in some U.S. ports.

New York - Six Flags Loss Widens

New York - Six Flags Inc. said its fourth-quarter loss widened as the theme park operator restructured operations under a new management.
The company posted a net loss applicable to common stock of $144.5 million. The company recently went through a shake-up on its board and in top management after investor Daniel Snyder won a long-running battle for the company‘s control.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn +Missing Child+

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Missing Child+ A 6-year-old Child is missing for the last few hours name of the child is Pinches Gurtner, Williamsburg Shomrim Patrol is organizing the search from Franklin between Flushing and Park Avenue.

U/D: 17:17
Good job by Williamsburg Shomrim Patrol they found the child on Franklin.

New York Area Airports To Get "Invisible Fences"

New York area airports are getting an extra layer of protection, the same technology used to protect airports in Baghdad is coming to New York. Over the next two years, the Port Authority said it
will install a comprehensive new security system at Newark, Kennedy, LaGuardia and Teterboro airports, for the price of $138 million.

The web of fiber optics, radar, infrared imaging, motion detectors and surveillance cameras is being called "invisible fencing."

NYC Goes After Smokers Who Bought Cigarettes On Internet

New York, NY - Thousands of New Yorkers who bought cigarettes on the Internet without paying sales taxes will be reordered to pay a collective $33 million that went
unpaid.
City lawyers say New York loses millions of dollars a year from unpaid taxes on Internet cigarette purchases. They have gone after the online dealers with a series of lawsuits in recent years.

Fort Lauderdale, FL - Woman Sues Walgreens Over Prescription Label

Fort Lauderdale, FL - A Palm Beach woman is suing Walgreens, saying that when she picked up a prescription she found an extra message attached in the section reserved for patient information -- ``CrAzY!!''

Mrs. Karp, said the prescription she picked up last week for the sleep aid Ambien also said, ``She's really a psycho!!! Do not say her name too loud, never mention her meds by name & try to talk to her when..."

Karp is suing the retail chain for defamation, negligent supervision and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

``I was devastated, humiliated and embarrassed,'' Karp said. ``I honestly couldn't speak. I was trembling.''

Danville, KY - Vandals Spray Paint Swastika And Racial Slurs On High School

Danville, KY - Dozens of hateful messages littered Danville High School base.
School officials worked to clean the most offensive material away, but the bitter taste of hate still lingers, say community leaders.

A Jewish professor at Centre College in Danville says the images are incredibly offensive.  School officials also said they are disturbed by the graphic nature of the material.

Manhattan, NY +Ballon Hanging From Building+

Manhattan, NY +Ballon Hanging From Building+ NYPD of the 19th Pct are invastigating and are requesting Aviation to East 75th Street and 2nd Avenue for a large 20 foot ballon that's tied and hanging from the building with some people on the roof of the location.

Chicago - Farrakhan Aide Fights Back Bias Claim By Jewish Members Of The Anti-Discrimination Panel

Chicago - A Nation of Islam official who is on the Governor's Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes, a state anti-discrimination panel. Said it is "ridiculous" to get criticize for recent remarks by nation leader Louis Farrakhan that "were perceived by some as anti-Semitic," and critics should "leave me alone."

Jewish members of the state panel quit, following a Farrakhan speech in which he said "the Hollywood Jews" are responsible for promoting "filth of Hollywood." 

"For those who try to condemn me because of the honorable Louis Farrakhan's remarks on Saviours' Day, which were perceived by some as anti-Semitic, it's ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous," Muhammad said.

U/D: 11:21
Officials of the black Muslim group Nation of Islam said that Jewish leaders who resigned rather than serve with one of their members on a state hate crimes commission should come back to the group or "shut up."

Borough Park +Pedestrian Struck+

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident in Boro Park, Brooklyn with a female pedestrian that was struck at 10th Avenue and 44th Street and is unconscious at this time, Hatzola on the scene requesting ALS to respond.

U/D: 12:13
Aided is in the E.R. in very likely condition at Luthern Hospital.
NYPD Highway-2 A.I.S. requested to location.

Monsey, NY +Fire At Monsey Park Home For Adults+

Monsey, NY +Fire At Monsey Park Home For Adults+ A fire in the bathroom of the Monsey Park Home for Adults at 15 Monsey Blvd, PD on scene requesting the fire inspector, and M/A Engine from Spring Valley to the scene, the building is being evacuated.

Baghdad, Iraq - +Dozens Kidnapped+

Baghdad, Iraq - +Dozens Kidnapped+ Gunmen in camouflage uniforms have stormed a private security company and kidnapped dozens of employees.

Tucson, AZ - Rabbi Will Lead Kosher Shopping Trip

Tucson, AZ - Jewish people in the Tucson area who have trouble figuring out how to shop kosher are invited to a free grocery shopping excursion with the rabbi.
Rabbi Eidletz, head of the national Kosher Information Bureau will lead a grocery-shopping trip on Sunday at the Safeway Shopping Center at Sunrise Drive.
Eidletz will explain kosher symbols and identify food additives and other ingredients that are not compatible with Jewish dietary laws.

The seminar will last about an hour and is free of charge, but pre-registration is recommended.

Thompson, NY - Temporarily Halt On Bungalow Construction

Thompson, NY - The Town which is home to a large number of summer bungalow colonies, has put a temporary halt on construction of new bungalows.
The town board last night imposed a six-month moratorium to give council members the opportunity to review the situation, said Town Supervisor Cellini.
"At our last planning board meeting, we had nine items on the agenda and eight of them were either for expansions of bungalow colonies or new bungalow colonies," he said.
The town may impose a new local zoning law regulating bungalows once the review has been completed.

New York - Fulani Lawsuit Against Independence Party Dismisses

New York, NY - A Supreme Court in Brooklyn, dismissed a lawsuit brought by Dr. Fulani against the Independence Party of New York seeking to overturn the Independence Party's actions in disbanding the Organizations in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.
These county organizations were disbanded due to their affiliation with Fulani who has been criticized for her anti-Semitic remarks "that Jews are the Mass murders of people of color" and "that Jews have sold their souls to acquire Israel."
Independence Party State Chairman MacKay declared, "I am gratified by the Judge's decision to dismiss this lawsuit. This further affirms our membership's contention that any county organization allied with Lenora Fulani has no place in our party and we will use all legal avenues to remove these people from the party."

Paris - Father Of Slain Jewish Man Defends Police

Paris - The father of a young Jewish man whose brutal killing captured worldwide attention, said the negotiations with his son's kidnappers revealed that anti-Semitism may have played a role in the crime.
The kidnappers "were just too happy to have a little Jew on their hands," Didier Halimi said.

Critics accused police of initially ignoring anti-Semitic motives in the crime, but Halimi said he was in almost daily contact with the kidnappers during most of the more than three weeks of his son's captivity.
When Halimi told them he could not afford the $540,000 ransom, the kidnappers told him to go "ask the Jewish community for the money," he said.
Acting on police recommendations, Halimi eventually cut off contact with the kidnappers. They had "made so many empty threats" to hurt or kill his son that Halimi was "pretty confident" of securing Ilan's release, he said.
Still, Halimi defended the police, who have come under fire from his ex-wife and two daughters, saying that "it's always easy to criticize after the fact," and that officers on the case "worked like crazy."

Ellenville, NY - Woman Suing The Nevele Resort Hotel

Ellenville, NY - A Chicago booking agent and her husband are suing the 700-room Catskills Resort Nevele Grande for $20 million, saying her body and mind were scarred after she suffered some 500 bedbug bites while staying at the hotel last summer.
Leslie Fox, 54, said she and husband Stephen Cohen noticed the lesions when she got up after their third night there.
"I was horrified to see all of those bites all over my body," Fox said. "I became very upset and alarmed. I was miserable. My skin felt as if it was on fire and I wanted to tear it off."
Joe O'Connor, a lawyer for the resort, said he and his client had not seen the lawsuit so he could not comment. But he said the hotel has ongoing treatment and inspection by pest control companies that will certify the Nevele is bug-free.
O'Connor also said he had contacted the lawyer who filed the suit and was "trying to work things out."

Fox and Cohen were treated at Ellenville Hospital, Fox's severe reaction to the bites were apparently the result of an allergy and she is still undergoing treatment, they said.

Los Angeles - Auschwitz Escapee Herskovic Dies

Los Angeles, CA - William Herskovic, who escaped from Auschwitz and helped inspire Belgium's resistance to the Nazis during World War II, has died at the age of 91, at his Encino home after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Three months after being sent from Belgium to Auschwitz, Herskovic escaped by cutting through a chain-link fence with two other prisoners using a pair of wire cutters he had hidden. It was on the first night of Hanukkah in 1942.

In his prewar home of Antwerp, Belgium, Herskovic delivered one of the earliest firsthand accounts of the atrocities of the Holocaust.
The resistance swiftly mobilized, placing bricks on railroad tracks to stop a train packed with hundreds of Jews bound for the camps. About 250 prisoners escaped.

Herskovic is survived by three daughters, two brothers, four grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.

Brooklyn, NY +L Train Derailment+

Brooklyn, NY +L Train Derailment+ At East 103rd Street and Farragut Road NYPD and FDNY are on the scene of an eight-car train that has derailed with fire under one train at a rail yard on the L line in Canarsie, Brooklyn NY, multiple units responding, no passengers and no injuries reported.

Weston, FL - Three Synagogues Targeted In Bomb Threat

Weston, Florida - Bomb threats were called in to three area synagogues yesterday, by an unidentified woman.
The caller stated there are bombs at the synagogue at 18501 Tequest Trace Park Lane, at synagogue B’Nai Aviv, 1410 Indian Trace, and at the synagogue Dor Dorim, 2360 Glades Circle.
The synagogue at 18501 Tequest Trace Park Lane did evacuated, at the request of the BSO, as a precaution. The other two synagogues did not evacuate.

After that the all clear has been given. And the BSO is investigating the threats, no arrests have been made at this time.

New York City +Airport Traffic Delays+

New York City, NY +Airport Traffic Delays+ All departures out of the New York City metro area are currently haulted, due to an air traffic control computer radar system problem, which controls all three New York metro airports, but all arrivals that are already in the air are expected to land as normally scheduled, there are delays at LaGuardia, JFK and Newark airports.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn +Pedestrian Struck+

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident in Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, NY with a pedestrian mother and child that have been struck by an auto on Lee Avenue and Middleton Street, Hatzolah on the scene.

U/D: 15:11
Hatzolah on the scene requesting additional units to respond Code-2.

Monsey, NY - Town To Adopt 'Positive' Declaration On Wal-Mart

Monsey, NY - The Town of Ramapo Planning Board is expected tonight to adopt a positive environmental declaration for the proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter in Monsey.

The declaration would mean that National Realty & Development Corp. of Purchase, which is seeking to build a single, 35-foot-high building on the 22-acre site for use as a 215,000-square-foot Wal-Mart, would have to do a complete study on the proposal and how it would affect, among other things, traffic, the environment and other businesses.

Bronx, NY - Fieldston Homeowners Pay To Thwart Landmarking Plan

Bronx, NY - As the implications of the creation of a "historic district" in the Fieldston area in Riverdale become clearer, a growing number of residents are joining a last-ditch effort to thwart the plan.
Approval by the City Council is all that stands in the way of 257 properties in the elite private community from being designated as historic landmarks. If this happens, homeowners would have to win approval from the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission to make any exterior changes to their homes, and the city could move ahead even if all of the residents opposed the plan.

In their effort to prevail with the City Council, the Fieldston Homeowners Association has hired a prominent lobbying firm, Davidoff, Malito & Hutcher, and a politically savvy public relations company, George Arzt Communications to fight for them.

Zagreb, Croatia - Jewish Community Hires New Orthodox Rabbi

Zagreb, Croatia - Rabbi Zwi Eliezer Aloni, who has been serving in the German city of Mainz, was engaged by the Zagreb community.
Aloni takes the place of Rabbi Kotel Da-Don, who was sacked last summer after seven years of service.

Orange County, NY - Siren Test Scheduled For Indian Point

Orange County, NY - Orange County will test its 16 Indian Point nuclear power plant emergency sirens Wednesday morning, between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. The three to four minute test will coincide with similar tests in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties, disaster preparedness officials said.

Together, 156 sirens form a 10-mile wide ring around the Westchester County nuclear plant. During an actual emergency, sirens would alert residents to listen to radio for further instructions.

New York, NY - Questions Rise From The Dust Of An Old Synagogue

New York, NY - The demolition of the 150-year-old First Roumanian-American synagogue on the Lower East Side is generating widespread criticism among preservationists, who say that one of the city's historic religious buildings has been lost because too little was done to save it.

By yesterday, much of the synagogue, on Rivington Street between Orchard and Ludlow Streets, had been reduced to rubble. Its arched Romanesque entry was gone, and only the rear wall, adorned with richly ornamented stained glass, provided evidence of what had been a grand sanctuary.
Preservationists have recounted a litany of miscues and failed efforts to help shore up the sagging building.
The president of the New York Landmarks Conservancy said, "People don't come out of rabbinical school with a lot of course work in building maintenance." "It is a shame there are not more sources of funding to help."

New York - At Columbia University Hate Storm Looms

New York - A professor who has drawn widespread criticism for declaring that some Jews use the memory of the Holocaust an "extortion racket" has ignited an outcry at Columbia University, where he was invited to speak by several student groups.

Norman Finkelstein was slated to speak at the university's largest lecture hall tomorrow night.
The appearance of Finkelstein, a DePaul University political-science professor, comes as Columbia is still licking its wounds over charges last year that pro-Palestinian professors had intimidated Jewish students.

A university panel cleared the professors, but the controversy ignited debates on academic freedom that still burn today.

U/D: 03/09/06 12:35
Dozens protested the speech of Norman Finkelstein.

Brooklyn, NY +Garage Collapse+

Brooklyn, NY +Garage Collapse+ Large area of concrete collapsed on to workers at a construction site of a garage at 733 Ocean Parkway between Foster Avenue and Parkville Avenue, 2 aided are pinned in a trench under a large piece of concrete at this time, FDNY on the scene, ESU and the Collapse Units are requested. Ocean Parkway closed down ATT.

U/D: 07:51
NYPD 70th Pct are calling for a level one mobilization.
EMS requesting additional BLS and ALS units to respond to the scene, also Con-Ed to respond with the vacume truck.

U/D: 08:21
Aided was extricated and EMS is advising he is DOA, also one firefighter was hit by a vehicle on the scene.

Building Dept responding.

New York, NY - Jewish Leaders Meet Javits Center Designer

New York, NY - Javits Center architect Richard Rogers met with state and Jewish leaders to try to clear the air over his reported ties to an anti-Israel group.

Rogers distanced himself from an organization he once belonged to which called for a boycott over the West Bank partition, and a top Jewish leader said Rogers clarified his position in closed door talks. "He was able to add some information about the issues that have risen, including the fact that he was hospitalized and hadn't seen some of the articles I brought to his attention," said, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

Brooklyn +Belt Pkwy MVA+

Brooklyn, NY +Belt Pkwy MVA+ A motor vehicle accident on the Westbound of the Belt Parkway near Flatbush Avenue, FDNY enroute, Hatzolah requesting additional units to respond, to assist for vehicle that rolldover back onto its wheels and went into the woods with 2 aided trapped.

U/D: 22:48
NYPD Highway Units are on the scene, the two occupants are extricated ATT.

Kiev - Yeshiva Student Fends Off Attackers With BB Gun

Kiev - A yeshiva student fended off an attack by three youths in a Kiev subway by shooting at them.
The student was beaten and thrown to the ground, where the drunken youths started kicking him, but he put a stop to the attack when he pulled out a legally licensed BB gun and shot at his attackers. It is not clear if any of the attackers were wounded, but the shots attracted the police, who arrested them. The student attends the same yeshiva as Mordechai Molozhenov, who was beaten and stabbed into a coma last August in Kiev, but has since recovered.

New York - Arab Bank Ordered To Surrender Records

New York - A federal magistrate has ordered the Jordan-based Arab Bank to surrender records alleged to show that the bank made cash payments to relatives of suicide bombers.
Several lawsuits filed in Brooklyn accuse Arab Bank of supporting terrorism by funneling payments of more than $5,000 apiece to the relatives of Hamas terrorists.
Prior to the ruling, lawyers for Arab Bank had said that foreign banking laws prevent the bank from turning over most records. The bank is expected to continue to make that argument in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn.
The recent order grants Arab Bank 21 days to identify those records that are subject to foreign bank secrecy laws.

New York - Fight Parking Tickets In Person

New York, NY - The city's Independent Budget Office found in a new study that people who contested their parking summonses through the mail were 32 percent more likely to be found guilty than those who pleaded their cases before an adjudicator.

According to the study, those who mail in their pleas beat tickets just 40.6 percent of the time, while 38.8 percent are found guilty, 17.8 percent have penalties reduced and 2.8 percent have their base fines reduced.

But those appealing in person got out of paying fines 49.4 percent of the time, while 29.4 percent were found guilty, 19.8 percent had penalties reduced and 1.4 percent had base fines reduced.

Fifty-Thousand Fire Extinguishers Recalled

More than 50-thousand fire extinguishers are being recalled, because they can fail to discharge when the trigger is pushed.
The Strike First Corp. is recalling three models. So far, the consumer product safety commission has received three complaints.

New York - Pataki To Leave Hospital

New York - Governor George Pataki to be released from a Manhattan hospital late this morning after recovering from complications resulting from the removal of his appendix.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn +Court Granted Stay On Satmar Case+

Williamsburg, Brooklyn +Court Granted Stay On Satmar Case+ A Brooklyn appellate court has granted a full stay and suspended the ruling of Acting Justice Stewart A. Rosenwasser of State Supreme Court in Orange County in the high profile Satmar case leaving the active board in place and B. Friedman and his faction from Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY out, while appeals are pending.

The Kiryas Joel faction has been fighting with a faction based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, since 1999 for the reins of the politically active Satmars, who number about 60,000 in New York State and are locked in a succession struggle. A fight in October between the groups, even led to several arrests on assault charges.

Iran - Neturei Karta Rabbis in Tehran

Tehran, Iran - In an interview aired on Iranian TV, Neturei Karta spokesman Rabbi Dovid Weiss said, "We are forbidden to have a state, and these people (Zionists) were going against God. That is why Mr. Livingstone (Mayor of London) condemned this, He was right, He is not anti-Semitic. We supported him. When Sheik Al-Qaradhawi came to England, We said to him: "You did good."

And just Israel uses the Holocaust to promote their cause, We, the Jews who were killed in the Holocaust, do not use the Holocaust as a tool for promoting our cause.

Ramallah - Hamas Parliament In Session

Ramallah, West Bank - The Hamas-controlled Palestinian parliament has voted to cancel all decisions made by the last session of the previous legislature.

Manhattan, NY +F.D.R. Drive Closed Down+

Manhattan, NY +F.D.R. Drive Closed Down+ A suspicious package at the service road to the southbound of the F.D.R. Drive at East 34th Street under the U.N. Building, ESU, Bomb Squad EMS, FDNY and NYPD of the 17th Pct, closing down the roadway in both dirictions, also requesting from the Waterway Ferry not to dock at 34th Street, level one mobilization.

U/D: 09:58
Proper ID'd by Bomb Squad.

Sullivan County Home Prices Continue To Rise

Sullivan County, NY - The number of existing single-family homes sold in Sullivan in January increased by over 106 percent from the same month of last year.
The only other county in the Hudson Valley that experienced an increase in existing home sales was Columbia County, which saw a 24 percent increase year over year.

In Ulster County home sales fell 17 percent and by over five percent in Orange County and four percent in Rockland County. They remained constant in Westchester County.

Westchester continued to have the highest median price for a single-family house at $655,000. In Rockland County, homes sold for $489,000; in Putnam County, for over $388,000; in Dutchess County, for $335,000; in Orange County, for $311,000; in Sullivan County for $175,000.

New York - New Architect For Redesigning The Javits Center, Declared His Pro-Israel Position, After Reports Of Speaker Silver Looking To Squeeze Him Out

New York - The speaker of the State Assembly Sheldon Silver is pressing the board that awarded architect Richard Rogers a $1.7 billion contract to redesign the Javits Center, to investigate his role in hosting the founding meetings of a group of architects considering a boycott of Israel.
Speaker Silver is also looking to squeeze Lord Rogers out of his role in redesigning the Silvercup Studio in Queens, a project estimated to be worth $1 billion.
Speaker Silver said that if it is confirmed that Lord Rogers hosted meetings at his firm last month for the group Architects and Planners for Justice in Palestine, then his involvement in the Javits project should be "terminated."

But yesterday architect Richard Rogers, has firmly declared his pro-Israel position.

He called on Hamas to not only renounce terrorism, but to "back it up" by recognizing Israel's right to exist.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn +B.Q.E. Traffic Alert+

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +B.Q.E. Traffic Alert+ A MVA with a tractor trailer that had its box container full of clothing collapse and fell off the trailer on to the southbound of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway and Flushing Avenue blocking two lanes in both dirictions, no pin, NYPD ESU Trk-8 and Highway units are all on the scene, NYPD 90th Pct are responding., major traffic delays through out the area.

Lakewood, NJ - State Stops Job Funds

Lakewood, NJ - The New Jersey commerce commission has frozen nearly $600,000 in
funding for Lakewood's job training and placement programs after a state audit uncovered a series of questionable practices, most notably one vendor who apparently paid himself as a consultant to his own agency.
Also some questions about a company that is a division of Agudath Israel of America, and about their relationship.

Rabbi Moshe Zev Weisberg, the president of Lakewood Community Services Corp., said in a prepared statement that he was "quite concerned." "The Job Link Program has been a model program bringing jobs to
Lakewood residents and we are all hopeful that any administrative shortcomings will be resolved quickly," Weisberg said.

France - Anti-Semitic Attacks Reported Again

Paris - In another anti-Semitic attack in France, a 28-year-old Jewish man was attacked by four youths and slightly injured in the district of Sarcelles near Paris.
The attack required the man to be hospitalized with a dislocated shoulder. The youths were said to have shouted anti-Semitic slogans during the attack.
Two similar attacks on Jewish men occurred in Sarcelles. Suspects have been arrested.
A large Jewish community lives in Sarcelles, which is near Cergy in the north-western suburbs of Paris.

Queens +B.Q.E. Overturned T/T+

Queens, NY +B.Q.E. Overturned T/T+ A accident with an overturned tractor trailer eastbound of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway and the ramp to the Long Island Expressway, PD of 108th Pct and FDNY are on the scene requesting ESU to upright, no pin and no injurie.

Resolution Calls For Israel Into NATO

A senior Republican and a senior Democrat introduced a resolution calling on NATO to begin the process of making Israel a member.
The non-binding resolution, which aims for Israel’s full inclusion in NATO, was introduced by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), chairwoman of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Middle East subcommittee, and Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.), a senior member of the House’s International Relations Committee.
Israel has not requested membership, but some supporters say its accession to NATO would signal Western support for Israel in the face of Iran’s nuclear program.

Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY +People Stuck In Elevator+

Kiryas Yoel, Monroe, NY +People Stuck In Elevator+ KJFD on the scene of the new simcha hall assisting some people who got trapped in the elevator, after some tens moments they had to cut the doors to get to the aided.

Virginia - Rabbi Amends Senate Prayer At Clerk's Request

Norfolk, Virginia - The State Senate and House of Delegates opens each day with a prayer, with religious leaders, whom legislators invite, and who are asked to limit the prayers to 30 seconds and to tailor them to an ecumenical audience that reflects a diversity of religions. They are also asked to submit copies in advance.

But at the Virginia Senate the prayer of Rabbi Panitz was shortened because of remarks deemed politically sensitive.

Rabbi Michael Panitz, of Norfolk, Virginia, dropped a paragraph that referred to the winners of the recent election in Gaza as "the party of blood-stained hands."
Rabbi Panitz said he eliminated the paragraph at the request of Senate Clerk Susan Clarke Schaar. "She said the message was strong enough without it,". Panitz said afterward, He stood by the remarks, which he said were not political. Hamas is a terrorist organization, he said.

Sen. Nick Rerras, R-Norfolk, who invited the rabbi to give the invocation, said, "There was concern the statement was too strong."

Illinois - Governor Stumped by Hate Crimes Panel

Illinois - Last week two Jewish members of the Governor's Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes resigned rather than serve alongside an aide to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, known for his disparaging remarks about Jews and whites as was reported on VOS IZ NEIAS.

The naming of a Nation of Islam official to a commission that fights discrimination has exploded into an election-year furor for Gov. Rod Blagojevich, putting him in the middle of a conflict among blacks and Jews.

Even if the Governor makes his way through the racial and religious minefield this issue presents, his claim of ignorance about the appointment could reinforce his image of a detached, uninformed governor.

"No matter what he does, he's going to tick somebody off," Rick Garcia, political director said, "It's completely a no-win situation."

Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident with a pedestrian that was struck in the Flatbush area of Brooklyn on Quentin Road and Ocean Avenue, Hatzolah on the scene.

U/D: 14:02
Hatzolah ambulance cancelled due to FDNY on the scene.

Stoughton, MA - Synagogue Vandalized

Stoughton, MA - A Jewish Community Center in Stoughton was vandalized overnight, and also some swastikas were painted on the synagogue.

Around 2 PM on Sunday, religious leaders will come together to speak on the matter and clean up the graffiti.

Anyone that could give a hand, please show up in front of the synagogue at 14:00

Brooklyn, NY - Oil Contamination Fuels Residents' Lawsuit

Brooklyn, NY - The big oil companies left most of the Brooklyn waterfront decades ago, but the industry's legacy still bubbles to the surface.
Beneath the industrial yards and townhouses of Brooklyn's Greenpoint section lies a vast underground oil slick that, at one time, covered an area as big as 41 football fields and contained more petroleum than the Exxon Valdez spilled off the Alaskan coast.

The stuff oozes into a concrete-lined canal known as the Newtown Creek, and some of it makes its way into the East River, leaving an oily sheen. Also, residents complain of an oily smell in their basements after heavy rains.

Refineries left the stuff behind during more than a century along the waterfront, and the cleanup has been painfully slow. More than half of the 17-million-gallon spill is still thought to be in the ground.

A number of Greenpoint families say their patience has run out, and more than 20 people are suing.

Monsey, NY +Working Structure Fire+

Monsey, N.Y. +Working Structure Fire+ A working structure fire in a kitche at 151 Route 306, with Monsey Fire Dept. on the scene.

New York City, NY - City Employees Accused Of Making A Fake Parking Pass

New York City, NY - Two city employees now have a reserved spot in court, after they were caught making a phony parking pass.

Richard Mathies, a computer technician at Curtis High School used his technological know-how -- and the St. George school's computers and scanning equipment -- to create a fake dashboard parking placard for his co-worker, School Safety Agent Joy Bradford.
The placard was designed to simulate an official city-issued parking permit for the New York City Department of Correction. Such permits grant Correction officers parking spaces in specially designated zones.

Police from the 120th Precinct arrested both Ms. Bradford, 31, a Brooklyn resident, and Mathies, 28, of Pleasant Plains, on charges of criminal possession of a forged instrument.

North Miami Beach, FL - Police Promise Crackdown Of Muggings In Orthodox Jewish Neighborhood

North Miami Beach, FL - Police plan an intensive crackdown on street crime in the area north of the Mall at 163rd Street after residents complained of a spike in violent muggings.
"I don't think that a woman with a purse who looks vulnerable could walk from 163rd Street to 183rd Street without getting mugged," said Alan Sakowitz, a resident in this Orthodox Jewish neighborhood, who organized a meeting, to air crime complaints.
"For the taxes we pay, we've got to insist on more police protection. It's just beyond belief," Sakowitz said.

A joint effort by the city and county, will be deployed to the neighborhood, North Miami Beach Police Chief Linda Loizzo said. Officers will scrutinize even routine crimes, taking fingerprints and looking for informants, to weed out the bad guys, Loizzo said. "We did do this in Skylake, and it did work," Loizzo said, adding that residents themselves may be stopped for traffic violations and quizzed as officers look for intruders in the neighborhood.
'If you don't live in the neighborhood, we'll address the issue, `What are you doing here? Why are you speeding?" Loizzo said.

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY - Maimonides Medical Center Lauds Bobover Rebbe's Doctor

Borough Park, Brooklyn, N. Y. - Maimonides Medical Center in Boro-Park has begun a new advertisement campaign to help bring in new business to the hospital.

As part of this campaign, one of their ads feature a list of doctors that they employ that made the list of best doctors in New York. One of the doctors on the list is 'Doctor to the Rebbes' Dr. Yitzchak Y. Kupfer, who has been the personal doctor for the Lubavitcher Rebbe and for both previous Bobover Rebbes. He is a pulmonary specialist and is the head of Maimonide's MICU.

Shanghai China - Opens Its Arms To Jews

Shanghai, China - When David Ohana, his parents and two sisters moved to Shanghai from Paris five years ago, they were among the few Jews in what had once been a thriving Jewish community. The Shabbos services, held in the hotel room of Shalom Greenberg, an Israeli-born rabbi, attracted maybe a half-dozen families.

Today, an estimated 1,000 Jews live in Shanghai, and Greenberg's congregation now occupies a three-story villa on the western edge of the city. During major holidays, the bustling Shanghai Jewish Center attracts more than 300 worshipers.
Parents send their children to its school and camp, while an average of 15 diners a day enjoy the city's only kosher restaurant.

In addition to foreign Jews who come to Shanghai to work, teach or study, an estimated 50,000 Jewish tourists arrive annually to see the European-inspired buildings and tenement homes of the old Jewish ghetto, according to the Jewish center and tour agencies.

Crown Heights - In The Shooting Of Efraim Klien HY"D, Police Have New Clues

Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY - Police have a new clue in the shooting death this week, of the 47-year-old Crown Heights Orthodox Jewish man Efraim Klien HY"D of Union Street a member of Lubavith Chabad community, and are asking the public for their help.

Efraim was hit by a bullet as he moved his van in the early morning hours Tuesday. The vehicle went out of control and slammed into several parked cars before bursting into flames.
The motive is still unclear, but some investigators believe it could've been a stray bullet or some kind of road rage scenario.
And the NYPD is circulating a photo of a white Chevy box van that was captured on a surveillance video moments after the shooting about a block away. The van was traveling southbound on Schenectady Avenue. Police consider the van driver a possible witness and are urging the public to identify him or her.

Anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-577-TIPS.

U/D: 14:21
The city offered a $12,000 reward in this homicide case.   
Anyone providing information resulting in an arrest and indictment in the case would receive $2,000 from the police department's CrimeStoppers program, ann an additional $10,000 would be given if there is a conviction.

Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY - Lubavitch'r Yid That Was Shot Wasn't Targeted

Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY - The 47-year-old Crown Heights man Efraim Klien HY"D a member of the Lubavitch Chabad community, who shot dead while looking for a parking space was not the intended target.

It appears, one police official said, that Efraim Klien HY"D "was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

What's not clear is whether he got caught up in the middle of something involving other people or if he was shot by someone playing around with their gun," the official said.

New York, NY - A Lot Of People On City's Payroll

New York City's public payroll has more people than the combined populations of Albany, Hollywood and Liechtenstein. At $29 billion, it is larger than the gross domestic product of Guatemala.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY - Expending Of The Schaeffer District Into The Old Kedem Winery Site

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY - Attorneys and architects for the Rector Hylan Corporation presented their case at Borough Hall for Borough President Marty Markowitz to recommend a massive spot upzoning for the old Kedem Winery site, currently owned by the Neiman family.
The location, on Kent Avenue near South 8th Street, is well south of the massive rezoning of the Greenpoint-Williamsburg waterfront approved by the City Council last year. Under current zoning, the site of the low-rise former winery is zoned only for manufacturing. It is just south of the Williamsburg Bridge but just north of the Schaeffer Brewery site, where the construction of two residential towers is nearly complete.

The architect, Sherida Paulsen, and the lawyer, Henry Hornstein, are referring to this new spot upzoning as "an extension of the Schaeffer district." Several interested members of the public, and especially affordable housing advocates, don't see it that way.

Hollywood, FL - Synagogue Sues City Over Closed Meeting

Hollywood, FL - city commissioners plotted a vote behind closed doors in 2004 to avoid public input and debate over the controversial issue of ousting a synagogue from a residential neighborhood, according to a lawsuit filed by the synagogue's lawyer.  
The commission then took a formal vote to sue the synagogue at the end of a city commission meeting with almost no debate and zero public input.  "The City Commission 'pre-agreed' to file suit against [the Hollywood Community Synagogue] notwithstanding the requirement that a decision of that kind must be made in public following open debate and discussion," the synagogue's lawyer, wrote in the civil suit.

Pennsylvania - Tefillin Now Permitted In Prison

The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, signed into policy, permitting Jewish inmates to have in their personal property a pair of Tefillin.
Until now Tefillin were permitted for use in the chapel only, as there was the fear of it being used for its unintended purpose.

At a meeting in September between Mr. John S. Shaffer Ph. D. Executive Deputy Secretary of the PA Department of Corrections and Rabbi Moishe Mayir Vogel, Executive Director of the Aleph Institute in Pittsburgh, the former agreed to review the state policy once again, to see what he could do to modify the policy. Mr. Shaffer really made this his mission and lobbied hard for what is right and just.
We thank The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, for taking such a leap forward and allowing the Jewish inmates to put on Tefillin daily, said Rabbi Vogel.

Inmates who wish to put on Tefillin and do not have their own pair are able to write the Aleph Institute who will provide the Tefillin to them at no cost, as long as they agree to don them daily for the rest of their lives.

Religion in prison is the singular most effective rehabilitation tool according to Federal studies; it reduces recidivism by over forty percent! With a national rate of recidivism of over seventy percent, we should be doing all we can to rehabilitate and transform these men to becoming productive members of the community said Rabbi Vogel.

Borehamwood, UK - Building Work For Jewish School Begins

Borehamwood, UK - A £20 million redevelopment project started to transform the site of the old Hillside School on Hillside Avenue in Borehamwood into a new Jewish high school, Yavneh College, which is due to take its first intake of 90 students in September.

A wall-breaking ceremony attended by the Mayor of Hertsmere, Councillor Ron Gealy, and Rabbi Alan Plancey, from Elstree and Borehamwood Synagogue.
Malcolm Gordon, chair of the school's board of governors, said "the Jewish community is a part of the town and the school will be an important addition to that. We will be part of the Hertfordshire family of schools and we look forward to a good relationship with Hertswood School, in Cowley Hill.

The school will have a synagogue on site which will be made available to the community. And eventually it is hoped the school will cater for 1,000 pupils.

Manhattan, NY - Landmark Synagogue Demolished On Lower East Side

Manhattan, N.Y. - A 150-year-old synagogue was torn down on the Lower East Side.

The First Roumanian-American Congregation had to be torn down after it was determined to be structurally unsound because of weakened trusses, making the site unsafe for the adjacent buildings and pedestrians.

The rabbi says they were able to save all of the historic Torah scrolls before the synagogue was demolished.

Brooklyn, NY +MVA Involving Hatzolah+

Brooklyn, NY +MVA Involving Hatzolah+ A motor vehicle accident involving Hatzolah EMS enroute to an emergency at 57th Street and 17th Avenue, additional units are requested.