Brooklyn, NY - Erroneous Delivery Of Wigs Sets Off Copyright-Infringement Suit

Brooklyn, NY - A package delivered in error of wigs made from human hair, worth $30,000, has set off a million-dollar copyright-infringement lawsuit between two rival Brooklyn wig makers.

Shevy Custom Wigs, one of the world's largest importers of human hair, has sued its smaller rival, Aggie Wigs, charging that they have been selling a low-quality line of wigs under the Shevy brand name.

The trouble began, when a Federal Express deliveryman dropped off 16 packages of wigs assembled and labeled in China to Shevy.
Fifteen of those boxes were addressed to Shevy, but the last box was intended for Aggie Wigs, which is located nearby, according to the suit. A Shevy employee opened the box, which contained wigs bearing the Shevy label even though they actually had been made for Aggie, according to court documents.

The lawyer of Aggie Wiggs has demanded the return of the errant box. He declined to address the question of how the Shevy's labels wound up on a shipment of Aggie's wigs. Instead, he has demanded their return, and has threatened to call police. "I don't understand," he said in a telephone interview. "Certainly the material doesn't belong to them, even if they are making accusations about trade secrets."

Jerusalem, Israel - Chareidim Protests For Arresting One Of Them

Jerusalem, Israel - Hundreds of Jerusalem’s Chareidi-religious community took to the streets on Friday morning in a violent protest, demanding community member Yisrael Valis to be released from jail.

Valis was placed under arrest, allegedly for beating his three-month-old son. When the infant died of his massive injuries in Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in the capital, police charged him with manslaughter.

Leading rabbis of the Eida H'chareidis Rabbinical Court are accusing authorities of using the case to target them unjustifiably, stating with absolute certainty that the young father did not cause the death of his infant son.

Protestors hurled rocks at cars and city inspectors and closed the area of Kikar H'Shabbas, which borders on the Geula and Meah Shearim neighborhoods. Leaders vow the protests will continue until such time Valis is released from custody.

Some rabbi's who visited the 19-year-old father charged with manslaughter say they are convinced he is not guilty of the murder. "It's impossible that the father would kill his son. If he indeed did it, it's a sign he's sick," Rabbi Moshe Shternbuch said after visiting Valas.
 
After the visit, Rabbi Shternbuch said: "We still cannot determine whether he confessed or not. It certainly wasn't a murder. The question is whether this was a case of carelessness or negligence. We'll figure out this matter. We reject the possibility he did it maliciously."

Meanwhile, leading Orthodox figures have been in close touch with police officials, and have demanded Valas' release to house arrest. "I spoke with the police chief in Jerusalem. I told him that for now we're against the protests. If he was a murderer, than obviously he should not be released for the safety of the public, but that's not the case," Rabbi Shternbuch said.
 
When asked about biting signs on the infant's body, the rabbi said: "The bite wasn't something that endangered the child."
 
The infant's grandmother on the mother's side, Liba Weinstock, said. "It's very difficult for the mother to handle this alone without her husband. They didn't let him out for the Seder…we're certain he's innocent."
 
On Sunday, a large, official ultra-Orthodox protest is planned to express support for the father. In the past week, leading figures in the Orthodox community have been trying to enlist the support of the entire Orthodox community, and have been meeting with influential rabbis to that end.

U/D: 04/16/06 14:39
The Eda H'Charedis has cancelled the upcoming pro-Valis protest.

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Fire in A Dwelling Also On 2nd Night Of Passover+

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Fire in A Dwelling Also On 2nd Night Of Passover+ FD called all hands to go to work for a 10-75 fire in the 2nd floor of a 2 story 25x40 multiple dwelling at 4605 18th Avenue between 46th & 47th Street's, FD quickly knocked down main body of fire and all searches were negative.

Monsey, NY - Crash Injured Motorcyclist Transported By Hatzolah

Monsey, NY - Before Yom Tov on Wednesday a Spring Valley motorcyclist was in critical condition after he collided with a car on Carlton Road, Ramapo police said.

The 32-year-old man, who was not identified pending family notification, was traveling eastbound when his yellow 2002 Kawasaki hit a 2003 Infiniti that was turning left onto Ruth Court from westbound Carlton Road.
The motorcycle and its driver struck the passenger side of the gold Infiniti in front of 68 Carlton Road. The Infiniti, driven by Eliezer Heifetz of Monsey, was dented, the windows were shattered and the air bags were deployed. Heifetz, 65, was not injured.

The motorcyclist suffered serious injuries to his head, face and neck, and was transported by Hatzoloh Ambulance Corps to Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern where he was stabilized. He was then transported to Westchester County Medical Center in Valhalla.

Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY +Fire On 2nd Night Of Passover+

Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY +Fire On 2nd Night Of Passover+ A 2 alarm fire was called on the 2nd night of the Passover Holiday in Kiryas Yoel in an occupied multiple dwellin on 3 Orshava Ct. KJFD on the scene requested full response from Monroe FD.

Albany, NY - Pataki Faults Silver On Passover

Albany, NY - Gov. George Pataki slammed Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, an Orthodox Jew, for suggesting the governor delayed announcing budget vetoes until the beginning of Passover to silence the Manhattan Democrat.
"It is wrong and it is beneath the speaker," the Republican governor told a state Capitol news conference as he announced $2.9 billion in vetoes from what he said was an $115.5 billion budget approved by lawmakers.
"He knows that I've gone out of my way to be cognizant of his (religious) observations, as I am of all the various people's observations," Pataki said.

The governor's comments came one day after Silver complained that Pataki would likely issue his major budget vetoes after sundown on Wednesday making it impossible for the Assembly leader to personally respond because he does not work or use the telephone on religious holidays.
"People of all religions should have a right to practice their religion," Silver told reporters on Tuesday.
"I think it was beneath him and I think it's unfortunate and sad," Pataki, a Roman Catholic, said Wednesday.
The deadline for a governor's action on the budget depends on when the Legislature sends up the final bills. The deadline this year was midnight Wednesday.

Callicoon, NY - Catskills Resort Cancelled 600 Passover Gusts Due To Fire

Sullivan County, Callicoon, NY - A fire at the Villa Roma Resort causing damage to the main portion of the hotel, including the lobby, offices and coffee shop, with none of the guest rooms were damaged.

Some 70 guests, who were in the hotel at the time the fire broke out, were evacuated safely and are now being housed in neighboring facilities.
Hotel spokesman Josh Sommers said that the facility is closed until the owners rebuild the damaged areas.
Plans to serve around 600 guests for Passover have been cancelled because of the fire and many of those people have also made arrangements at other hotels.

Jerusalem, Israel - Passover Goes High-Tech Web Helps Observant Jews Sell Chometz

Jerusalem, Israel - High-tech entered the realm of biblical-era Passover holiday observances in a big way this year as dozens of Internet sites offered Jews the option of symbolically selling off-limits foods over the Web.

Jews who don't eat any leavened food during the holiday scour their homes and rid their pantries of the forbidden items.
Smoke wafted through the air of Jerusalem and other towns Wednesday morning as people burned bread and other unleavened foods in communal bonfires, some reaching as high as 10 feet. Piles of charred bread were still smoldering in Jerusalem's Makor Baruch neighborhood in the early afternoon.

This year the High-tech of the Internet offered a wide variety of sites for those who put a premium on convenience when carrying out the ceremonial custom of "selling" nonperishable forbidden food to a non-Jew, for "repurchase" after the holiday. Faxing sale transaction requests through a religious intermediary was another option.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Structure Fire+

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Structure Fire+ A fire in the rear of a 4 story occupied 25x50 brownstone multiple dwelling at 279 Hewes Street FD on the scene were operating just on a brush fire when it transmitted into a 10-75.

U/D: 12:19
Fire is P/W/H

Scarsdale Synagogue's Plan Has Some Neighbors Worried

Scarsdale - A synagogue's plans to triple in size has prompted resistance from neighbors who oppose the removal of trees to make way for new parking lots and a 15,000-square-foot building.

But while those concerns have been logged - and another public hearing April 26 will continue to address them - recent changes in federal laws governing land use for religious purposes have made the village's Planning Board feel a bit limited in its power to impose too many restrictions on the congregation.

The Shuel Shaarei Tikvah seeks approval from the Planning Board to construct a one-story structure on more than 4 acres that will include a sanctuary, social hall, classrooms and offices. The congregation of about 230 families currently meets in a former Christian Science Church on Fox Meadow Road on that property.
"The size is so much larger than what they currently need. Where are they going to park?" said Tom Mann of Pattington Road, whose backyard adjoins the synagogue's property. Mann, who has lived in his home since 1995, claims the lights from the synagogue's parking lot spill through his bedroom window, and he opposes the synagogue's plans to remove old pine trees.
Others have said the potential noise created by nighttime bar mitzvah parties in the social hall would add to the existing congestion.

The village planner, said the five-member board and its lawyers are particularly cautious with religious institutions, citing a federal judge's ruling in March on a case involving the village of Mamaroneck and the Westchester Day School.

Shaarei Tikvah's Rabbi David Fine said the congregation is willing to work with the community and intends to change its original plan to address residents' concerns.

Prague - Govt Not To Remove Pig Farm From Concentration Camp Site

Prague - The present government will not liquidate the pig farm situated on the spot of the former WWII internment camp for Romanies in Lety, south Bohemia, as the negotiations with the farm owners have reached a dead end.

According to historical documents, 326 people perished in the Lety camp and more than 500 of its inmates ended up in the extermination camp in Auschwitz.

Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek admits that the problem of the foul-smelling farm will have to be solved by the next government to be formed after the elections, due in early June.
"It has turned out that the whole activity of the government might have been only a fraud to calm down the critics from abroad," Cenek Ruzicka from the committee for compensation to victims of the Romany Holocaust said.

Analysts see one main reason why the government gave up its efforts to liquidate the pig farm: the ruling Social Democrats realised that this could harm them before the elections. "It is known that a significant part of the Czech population does not have a positive attitude towards Romanies. If the CSSD pushed through their plan to earmark hundreds of millions crowns to liquidate the farm, they would definitely lose many votes," analyst Jan Bures said.

The farm's head Jan Cech said that the person who met them did not present any reasonable offer to them. The ministry did not comment on the meeting.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +E/B B.Q.E. Shut Down+

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +E/B B.Q.E. Shut Down+ A motor vehicle accident on the Eastbound of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway has PD close down all three lanes of traffic due to a large debris spill on the roadway, awaiting Sanitation for the cleanup, just the shoulder is open for traffic.

Spring Valley, NY - Village Adopts Nearly 11 Percent Tax Increase Budget

Spring Valley, NY - Despite some residents' requests to re-examine spending, the village swiftly adopted a $23.3 million budget that would raise the tax rate nearly 11 percent.

The budget, which was adopted by a 3-2 vote, with Trustees Bettie Brown and Joseph Desmaret voting no, cut about $44,000 from the preliminary budget proposed by Mayor George Darden.
Darden, who is a full-time mayor, and the four village trustees will be paid more under the new plan. Darden's salary of $95,790 will rise 2 percent to $97,706. Trustees now make $13,932 each, with $2,000 more for the deputy mayor. They will each be paid $14,625 under the proposal, an increase of about 5 percent.

Callicoon, NY - Fire Threatens Over 600 Passover Guest At Villa Roma Hotel

Sullivan County, Callicoon, NY - More than a dozen fire companies were on the scene of a working structure fire last night and early this morning at the Villa Roma hotel.

Sullivan County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Paul Pratti said the fire started in the bakery area of the resort, which was preparing to house more than 600 guests for the Passover holiday.
The flames were about 50 yards from where the hotel's rooms are located. Pratti said there were 60 to 70 guests staying at the hotel at the time.
Flames could be seen from miles away, Pratti said; and more than 90 minutes after the fire began, large flames were still shooting out of the structure.

Fire departments and numerous ambulance squads from throughout Sullivan County were at the blaze, including Liberty and Monticello.
Louis Alvarez, operations officer for the hotel, was with other hotel officials at the scene last night. They had not ruled out the possibility that they could still accommodate the Passover crowd.
Most of the guests for Passover were arriving tomorrow afternoon and Friday morning. Close to 500 people have booked reservations.
Alvarez said they will make a determination in the morning about whether it's safe for the guests to be able to eat in the dining room and what kind of damage took place in the main kitchen. Much of the decision will be based on how much smoke damage there is to the dining room. They can place guests in various conference rooms to eat, Alvarez said.

The guests who were at the hotel last night were evacuated to The Lodge on the hotel property and in time-share units, both of which are independent structures away from the main building. No injuries were reported.

Orange County, NY Gets New Fire Coordinator

Orange County, NY - Long time Orange County fire coordinator David Hoffman has retired and a new coordinator, has been
named.

County Emergency Services Commissioner Walter Koury said John Horan of Circleville was chosen for the position. “On April 1, John Horan has been appointed as the new deputy commissioner fore fire services in Orange County,” Koury said. Horan has over 30 years experience in the Orange County fire services.

The position is a full-time job. Horan will work with all of the fire departments within the county.

Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY +Fall Victim+

Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY +Fall Victim+ Hatzolah BLS on the scene requesting Medics on a rush to a person that fell from 2nd floor purch at 416 East 7th Street between Avenue "C" and Cortelyou Road.

Paris - New Suspects Arrested In Jewish Man's Murder

Patis - Two suspects in the killing of a young Jewish man have turned themselves in to the police.

The men, whose names were not released, were named by other members of a gang accused of the kidnapping, torture and killing in February of Ilan Halimi.  The two men are suspected, along with a third, of leading roles in the killing, officials said. The third man is still at large.
They were said to be close to the main suspect, Youssouf Fofana, who has also been arrested. Other gang members have told investigators that Fofana was responsible for the kidnapping and killing, the authorities said.

Daugavpils Synagogue To Undergo Renovation

The Baltic - A synagogue built in 1850 in Daugavpils, once a major center for Jews in Latvia, will undergo a major renovation. The synagogue operated for nearly a century until German troops entered the city during World War II and closed it down. It was opened for a very brief time after the war, according to the city council.

President Vaira Vike Freiberga is attending the groundbreaking ceremony for the synagogue today.

New Square, NY - Firefighters File Complaint Against Official

New Square, NY - Hillcrest firefighters have filed a criminal complaint claiming they had cornered two boys they believed were setting fires, but a village official helped them escape, saying they were involved in a religious ritual.

Fire officials also told police that New Square residents gathered and became hostile to firefighters Sunday evening as they tried to follow the two boys, according to the complaint.
The complaint, which seeks a criminal charge against the New Square official, was filed with Ramapo police.
New Square leaders said the children were not setting fires but were burning non-kosher food in a religious preparation for Passover's start tomorrow.
Deputy Mayor Israel Spitzer said the children were burning challah bread and were supervised by adults. He said firefighters had been called to another fire and noticed the fire on Bush Lane as they were leaving.
"Maybe they were frustrated for some reason," Spitzer said. "They jumped out in a rush as if there was a terrible situation. And they handled it without control. They overreacted."

The fire officials are seeking a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of governmental administration against the New Square official.

Monticello, NY +Suspicious Substance+

Monticello, NY +Suspicious Substance+ A suspicious envelope in the county court house with a white powder in it, the county court house has been evacuated after a court officer discovered the envelope, Sheriffs and Haz-Mat are on the scene.

Auschwitz Name Change Proposal Angers Jewish Community's

Poland has asked the UN culture organization UNESCO to describe the former Auschwitz camp as ‘Nazi’ and ‘German’ in the UNESCO list of heritage sites.
UESCO is to respond to the request by the end of June. In Germany the proposal has provoked mixed reactions.

At present the site of the former camp is listed as the “Auschwitz Concentration Camp. The Polish government proposes a new wording: ‘former Nazi German Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp’. and this has met with criticism from the international Jewish community's.

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +MVA+

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +MVA+ A motor vehicle accident in the Boro Park section of Brooklyn on Fort Hamilton Parkway and 43rd Street, Hatzolah on the scene.

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY - No Arrests In Aftermath Of Riots

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY - A week after rioters set more than 20 fires including one inside a patrol car and vandalized another police vehicle and grabbed a sergeant, possibly in an attempt to take his gun, police have not made any arrests beyond the three that first night.

The controversy has died down since, but several police sources said "There should have been a lot more arrests that night," said one source familiar with the police response. "But it's clear there is preferential treatment. It's been like that for a long time."

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, however, said the NYPD hopes to make more arrests, particularly for the vandalizing of police cars. And Mayor Michael Bloomberg has dismissed any notion of preferential treatment toward the Hasidic Jews.

Several sources say that someone jumped on police Sgt. Angelo Russo and possibly tried to grab his gun. But Russo has told colleagues he never felt threatened and does not believe someone tried to take his weapon. But the sources said that in most other neighborhoods anyone who put their hands on an officer would have been arrested, if not right away then certainly soon after.

Ed Mullins, head of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, said the low number of arrests is sending the wrong message. "What I find most disturbing is that the laws are not being enforced," Mullins said.

The Civilian Complaint Review Board, meanwhile, is conducting five investigations: one involving what happened to Schick, three involving separate allegations of force and abuse of authority by officers dealing with the crowd and one involving Chief of Department Joseph Esposito, who has been accused by elected officials of telling officers to "Get the -- Jews out of here." Esposito has admitted cursing but said he did not disparage Jews.

Orange County, NY - For A Year Local Officials Are Preparing For Satmar Rabbi's Death

Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY - Three levels of law enforcement are choreographing how to manage the traffic that will inundate the Monroe-Woodbury area when the Satmar grand rebbe dies and tens of thousands of mourners pour into Kiryas Joel for a funeral and burial.

Although the 91-year-old spiritual leader has made a surprising recovery since he fell unconscious at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan last week. But his grave illness forced state, county and local authorities in Orange County to renew preparations for the expected crowds.
The state police, who are coordinating the response in Orange County, won't release details of the plans. Capt. Michael Cahill of Troop F headquarters in Middletown said that law enforcement has been developing plans for nine months to a year, focusing on traffic control.

Palisades Interstate Parkway +Traffic Alert+

Rockland County, Orangeburg, NY - Palisades Interstate Parkway +Traffic Alert+ A motor vehicle accident with injuries on the southbound of the Palisades Interstate Parkway between exit 6 and 7 with Orangeburg Ambulance Corp and Rockland Paramedics requested, expect delays on the S/B Palisades.

Albany, NY - State Police To End Traffic Tickets Negotiations

Albany, NY - Starting in September, state troopers will no longer be allowed to negotiate lower traffic infractions for drivers who contest their tickets, a move prosecutors say will clog up local courts around the state.

Currently, drivers who are ticketed, their charges are reduced by the trooper - not a judge - before the first court appearance to avoid a trial. The practice allows a quick resolution to many cases and still brings in money for the state and towns where the offense occurred.   For a driver, the plea also can mean fewer "points" or infractions against his or her license that could result in higher insurance premiums and eventual loss of driving privileges.   

Now state police officials have directed troopers to stop making deals with those they ticket and leave that responsibility to local prosecutors. They say allowing troopers to carry out the duty is unethical because it forces motorists to bargain with the officer who has charged them and poses a threat to public safety by keeping officers from road patrol.   But the union representing the troopers said the move is meant only to reduce overtime costs.   

State Police Col. James Schepperly said public safety is the main reason behind the change and that money is not a factor. He said plea bargaining in recent years has undermined the public safety aspect of writing tickets _ making the roads safer.   "In the past, people didn't automatically plead not guilty on a trooper ticket because they knew there was no deal to be had," he said. "Right now, they already understand, if I'm willing to take a few hours out of my day, I can take a deal where I'm not convicted of speeding. We are going to put public safety value back in the tickets."

Ulster County District Attorney Donald Williams said the decision would add thousands of cases to the 17,000 his office handles yearly.
Troopers issue about 900,000 traffic tickets annually, including about 43 percent of all speeding tickets and 25 percent of safety restraint citations.

Jerusalem, Israel - Sharon Era Comes To End

Jerusalem, Israel - The Israeli government has declared Ariel Sharon permanently incapacitated, closing his era.

Bronx River Parkway +All Lanes Closed+

Bronx, NY - Bronx River Parkway +All Lanes Closed+ A MVA on the northbound of the Bronx River Parkway at 233rd Street with a pedestrian EDP that was struck and down in the roadway has the NYPD stop all traffic, FD and EMS are on the scene packaging and exporting, unknown extent of injuries.

New Square, NY +C.O. Incident+

Rockland County, New Square, NY +C.O. Incident+ Hatzolah on the scene requesting help for 2 children that are overcome from carbon monoxide at 149 Clinton.

Brooklyn, NY +Hatzolah Involved MVA+

Brooklyn, NY +Hatzolah Involved MVA+ A motor vehicle accident involving Hatzolah ambulance bus F-905 on New Utrecht Avenue and 54th Street, accident with minor injuries, members requesting a coordinator to respond to the scene.

Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident with a pedestrian that was struck on Ocean Parkway and 18th Avenue Hatzolah on the scene.

Staten Island, NY +2nd Retired MOS Shot Today+

Staten Island, NY +2nd Retired MOS Shot Today+ A secend retired member of service a former PAPD police officer was shot now, this time in State Island at 77 Richmond Hill Road and Forest Hill Road in the area of the 122nd Pct, aided is in likely condition, PD looking for a 2005 green Honda Civic vehicle plate # ARA-7451 (which comes back to an address on Victory Blvd), that fled Richmond Hill Road.

NYPD calling for a level one mobilization.
NYPD Highway units doing the escort, also requesting blood bank to respond.

U/D: 21:22
Retired MOS has been pronounced, and he was possibly shot during a roadrage incident.

NYPD doing a perp search at 300 Travis Avenue

U/D: 21:31
Perp is barricaded inside at 300 Travis Avenue, ESU requesting Hostage Negotiation Team.

U/D: 03:14
Perp is a retired NYPD cop and is now in custody for the homicide by the NYPD Hostage Negotiation Team who has successfully and peacefuly talked him out of the house.

Brooklyn, NY +Bias Crime+

Brooklyn, NY +Bias Crime+ A swastika was found in front of a Yeshiva school on East 9th Street and Cortelyou Road, NYPD responding to the scene.

New York, NY - TWU President Jailed For Illegal Strike

New York, NY - TWU President Roger Toussaint the head of the Transport Workers Union, was sentenced to 10 days in jail for taking his members on NYC's illegal, three day strike in December, he plead not guilty.

New Yorkers More Mentally Distressed Than Rest of America

New York, NY - The city's Department of Health and Metnal Hygiene revealed 750,000 New Yorkers had "frequent mental distress" in 2005, which is measured at 13% of NY'ers living in the city. This is higher than the NY State or national average, which is about 10%.

Brooklyn, NY - Judge Excuses Himself From Ruling In Holocaust Case

Brooklyn, NY - A federal judge overseeing the distribution of a $1.25 billion settlement for Holocaust survivors has asked another judge to decide what portion will go to a lawyer involved in the case.

Chief judge, Edward Korman, of the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn stated in an April 4 order that he decided to recuse himself from ruling on lawyer Burt Neuborne's request for a $4.1 million fee. A number of Holocaust survivors and attorneys oppose Mr. Neuborne's request for payment, claiming that Mr. Neuborne said he was working pro bono on the Swiss banks case that resulted in the settlement. Since 1999, Mr. Neuborne and Judge Korman have worked together to distribute the funds among different - even competing - groups of Holocaust survivors worldwide.
Referring to Mr. Neuborne, Judge Korman wrote: "The pendency of the present application, however, has adversely impacted my ability to work with him. Thus, I have not had any contact with Professor Neuborne for sometime." Judge Frederic Block has been assigned to rule on Mr. Neuborne's fee request.

Manhattan, NY - Broadway Closed to Vehicle Traffic

Manhattan, NY - Due to the demonstration at City Hall from thousands of immigrants and their supporters, NYPD has informed that Broadway is closed to vehicle traffic from at least Chambers Street South to Barclay Street (except for city buses).
All East/West streets in the vicinity are closed between Church and Nassau Streets.

Manhattan, NY +Henry Hudson Parkway Shut Down+

Manhattan, NY +Henry Hudson Parkway Shut Down+ A MVA with an SUV overturned on the north bound of the Henry Hudson Parkway and 130th Street has the NYPD completely shut down the highway, no one pinned.

Brooklyn, NY +Retired MOS Shot+

Brooklyn, NY +Retired MOS Shot+ NYPD calling for a level one mobilization for a retired member of service 34-years-old that was shot eight times in the 75th Pct area at 300 Van Sicklen Avenue and Linden Blvd.

Officer being transported to Brookdale Hospital in serious condition, blood bank requested, Highway units staging at 1 PP and at the blood bank.

PD looking for silver Chrystler 300 with rear window shot out, Major Case Units and Aviation above with a large perrimiter setup for a perp search.

U/D: 13:22
NYPD Detectives are at the Budget Rent A Car center at Newark Airport in NJ with 2 perps in custody in regards to this shooting.

U/D: 15:42
Investigators are questioning the retired officers wife -- an active NYPD officer -- who was stopped at Newark Airport, as a possible suspect.

Queens, NY +Gas Main Fire in Queens Sending Up Smoke

Queens, NY - FD calling for a 2nd Alarm fire for a big fuel fire in Elmhurst, Queens at 85-01 24th Avenue, at the Triboro Bus Depot, which is sending large amounts of black smoke into the air, after blast near LaGuardia Airport, from an apparent gas main explosion that started it all.

FD requesting Con-Ed fothwith to respond to 86th Street and 23rd Avenue as the fire is gas fed, fire remains D/W/H.

U/D: 12:06
Fire under control, construction is being blamed for a massive fire.

Goshen, NY - Chabad of Orange County Says They Will Not Turn Goshen Into The Next Kiryas Joel Village

Goshen, NY - For a while the village wanted to change the zoning law to allow religious groups to locate or expand in the downtown business zones, in accordance with federal law. But since Chabad of Orange County entered the zoning fray several months ago, the focus has been fixed on this group of Orthodox Jews, with most residents saying the shopping district isn't the place for a synagogue.

And this issue is expected to dominate the conversation at a public hearing tonight at the Goshen Senior Center. The turnout is expected to be too big for the Village Hall.
But few people seem to know that the change in zoning would affect four of the village's five churches, in addition to the synagogue.

Rabbi Meir Borenstein said people think Chabad will bring in outsiders and turn Goshen into the next Kiryas Joel. But he said his intentions are to preach to those already in the area who might have strayed from the faith.
"They think they'll wake up one morning and there will be people in black hats everywhere," Borenstein said. "That's not our goal."

New York, NY - Media Outlet Takes Poll If Chief of NYPD Should Be Disciplined

New York, NY - Should New York City's department's highest-ranking uniformed officer Chief of Department Joseph Esposito be disciplined for using inappropriate language, which he has acknowledged doing while trying to bring the situation in Borough Park, Brooklyn last Tuesday under control?

A New York media news outlet has launched a "Snap Poll" feature, which allowed subscribers in New York City to use their remote control to answer poll questions.

The results was
Yes 21.0%
No 76.0%
Undecided 2.0%

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY - Arthur Schick Has History Of Explosive Temper

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY - Employees who worked with kosher caterer Arthur Schick in a Manhattan Hotel, weren't surprised to hear Police Commissioner Ray Kelly claim he incited a riot in Borough Park on Tuesday night.

He's one grumpy old man, they said yesterday. "He was loud, he tried to intimidate people, he got pushy, and he would touch people," a worker at the Hilton New York said, recalling his close encounters with Schick years ago. "He would physically grab people and try and get them to clear off tables. The waiters asked the hotel security to remove him, and the hotel had to call the police. He was banned since then to cater any party."
A second hotel employee said that there was "no disguising" the 75-year-old Schick's explosive temper. When Schick was pulled over by cops in Brooklyn Tuesday for driving while talking on his cell phone - a traffic violation - he loudly complained of police mistreatment, and hundreds of Hasidic Jews went on a four-hour rampage, roughing up cops, damaging police vehicles and setting dozens of bonfires.

Schick's son, Michael, also a caterer, denied that his father has been banned by the Hilton for bad behavior. "It's not true," Michael Schick said. "The truth is it's before the holidays and I'm swamped."

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident with a pedestrian that was struck at 45th Street and 10th Avenue, has Hatzolah responding.

Moscow - Prosecutor In Synagogue Attacker Case Robbed

Moscow - Kira Gudim, the prosecutor of the Moscow Prosecutor's Office who prosecuted the Moscow synagogue attacker, has been robbed.

Gudim was robbed of 7,700 rubles, a service card, car documents, plastic cards, a mobile phone and personal items, totaling up to over 20,000 rubles in stolen property, with the thieves escaping in a car.
Police think that the robbery is not linked to Gudim's professional activities, but Gudim's apartment was burglarized a month ago, when a thief had broken into Gudim's apartment and stolen a laptop computer, a cell phone, a mink coat, two leather jackets, a golden watch, a golden chain and a camera, worth a total of 123,000 rubles.

Gudim had asked the court that Alexander Koptsev, 20, who stabbed nine worshippers in a Moscow synagogue in January 2005, be given 16 years in prison under charges of multiple attempted murders motivated by national and religious hatred.
The Moscow City Court sentenced Koptsev to 13 years in a high-security prison.

Brooklyn, NY +B.Q.E. E/B Shut Down+

Brooklyn, NY +B.Q.E. E/B Shut Down+ Heavy traffic this morning on the Eastbound of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway due to a 2 tractor trailer MVA with one of them losing his trailer part on the roadway with a large fuel spill at the Kosciuszko Bridge, NYPD of the 90th Pct and Highway units have all 3 lanes closed down, traffis is heavy all the way back to the Brooklyn Bridge.

U/D: 06:46
Just one lane opened, cleanup is ongoing, Major delays.

U/D: 08:09
NYPD opening up all lanes for traffic.

Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident on Ocean Avenue between Avenues "L" and "M" has Hatzolah on the scene requesting an ambulance and Medics on a rush.

Washington, DC - Capitol Police Pull Guns On Intruder

Washington, DC - Capitol police pull guns on screaming intruder on White House grounds

Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY +Motor Vehicle Accident+

Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY +Motor Vehicle Accident+ A MVA in Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, NY on Albany Avenue and Empire Blvd has Hatzolah responding to the scene.

U/D: !5:06
Hatzolah members on the scene slowing down all incoming units.

Kenedy, TX - For What Reason Did So Many Inmates Became Suddenly Jewish

Kenedy, TX - If jailhouse religion is true Judaism is a sticky matter for the Texas prison system. Yet this question is at the heart of a federal lawsuit against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

The suit, filed last year by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty in Washington D.C., seeks to force TDCJ to provide daily kosher meals to Jewish inmates in Houston. 861 inmates claim to be Jewish in Texas and could benefit from the suit's outcome. However, only 75 are considered bona fide Jews by the state's three Jewish chaplains. In recent weeks, negotiations have become more frequent and intense among TDCJ officials, prison chaplains and Becket Fund lawyers. All sides have said they are working for a solution that would avoid a trial.

Texas provides non-pork and non-meat meals to inmates but they don't meet the kosher test, Jewish chaplains work to ensure real kosher and ritual meals are available to Jewish inmates. But such meals would be an added expense to the state and would require new policies to deal with the unknown number of inmates who would qualify for them.
Texas prisoners can declare a new religion once a year. They are then limited to that faith's services, educational programs and holidays. In recent weeks, Jewish chaplains have met with prison officials to work out a proposed settlement. It includes setting up a kosher kitchen in designated prison units or buying pre-packaged kosher food from a kosher vendor.

But state "agency leaders are looking at all the different angles to provide a solution," said Bill Pierce, director of chaplaincy for TDCJ, declining further comment on the status of talks because the case is pending. The matter, Pierce said, is difficult because inmates have used religion for insincere reasons. In the 1990s, Texas prisons offered kosher meals and a groundswell of inmates claimed Judaism as their faith.

In addition to the benefits of diet, they were seeking time off from obligatory work at their units by qualifying for Jewish holidays, he said.

Canarsie, Brooklyn, NY +MVA+

Canarsie, Brooklyn, NY +MVA+ A motor vehicle accident in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn on Strickland Avenue and Mill Street Hatzolah on the scene.

Wal-Mart of Monticello, NY A Store Of The Community

Chains such as McDonald’s, Blockbuster and Wal-Mart were built on their cookie-cutter concepts serving the mass market. Consumers could count on pretty much the same service and the same products whether the store is.

But looking for ways to increase sales, many retailers and restaurant chains are taking a cue from locally owned shops and customizing their merchandise to better cater to particular communities.

While the chains are listening to feedback from their employees on the front line, just like the mom-and-pops, they also have the technology to track what products are selling most, and can tweak their inventory accordingly. They still serve their core customers, but they also increase sales by adding customers looking for more specific items.

Wal-Mart, for example, strives to be a “store of the community,” whether that community is heavily Jewish, African-American or otherwise.

“Customers often like to buy the brands they grew up on, so Wal-Mart offers Asian, German, Indian and Puerto Rican brands in some stores,” said a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart.

While a Wal-Mart store in Monticello, N.Y., carries some kosher items year-round for area residents, during the summer when Jewish recreational camps are full, the store brings in more than a thousand additional kosher items to fill an entire aisle.

Kaser, NY - Federal Community Grants At Work

Rockland County, Kaser, NY - More than half a million dollars is big money, enough to keep a brook from overflowing, occupy children after school while parents work and light a park at night.

Those are some of the projects funded by grants from the federal Community Development program. Grants totaling $661,000 were announced for the villages of Hillburn, Kaser and Sloatsburg, as well as the town of Ramapo.

A gathering for County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef's announcement was at Hillburn's Community Room, built with similar funding in years past. Municipal officials, speaking behind an audience of a dozen of their cohorts, lauded Community Development.

Baghdad , Iraq - Seder Kits On The Way To The Troops

Baghdad , Iraq - Howard Perl, 48, a Fort Lauderdale lawyer, never saw himself as much of a worship leader.

Then again, he never thought he would be shipped to Iraq after 30 uneventful years in the Army reserve, spend Rosh Hashana, under a rain of mortar fire, or lead Friday night Shabbos worship in Camp Taji, an Army post 12 miles north of Baghdad, when there wasn't a rabbi around to do the job.

In a year full of bizarre firsts, Perl says one stands out. ''It will be pretty cool to be able to celebrate Passover in Baghdad,'' said Perl, an Army captain who trains members of the Iraqi army. "Passover is one of the defining moments in Jewish history, when the Jewish people became a nation for the first time. I am sitting here in Baghdad celebrating Passover, and I think the parallels are remarkable.''

On Wednesday, when Jews around the world begin the eight-day holiday commemorating the Israelites' liberation from slavery in Egypt 3,300 years ago, thousands of Jewish U.S. troops will mark the occasion with modest provisions in remote and dangerous locations.

Some will crack open military-issue kosher MRE's (meals ready to eat) and mark the holiday quietly, alone. Some will pray with rabbis flown in from the United States.

Others will put together simple holiday meals with matzoh, wine, and shrink-wrapped plastic Seder plates shipped by Jewish outreach organizations.

Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY - +Motor Vehicle Accident+

Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY - +Motor Vehicle Accident+ A MVA on Bedford Avenue and Avenue "L" has Hatzolah on the scene asking for multiple ambulances to respond with a rush.

Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY - Has Number Five In The Most Powerful People Of The Hudson Valley And Catskill Regions

Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY - Number Five on the list of the most powerful people in the Hudson Valley and Catskills regions, is Gedayle Szegedin administrator for the Village of Kiryas Joel.

Last year he shared the stage with Mayor Abe Wieder. But the Cardinal Richelieu of Kiryas Joel flat-out runs every gear in the indomitable KJ machine, all the while dashing off screeds to Ed Diana, Sheila Conroy and anyone else who crosses him. He's the big-picture guy who conjures projects few other municipal leaders would contemplate, like a 13-mile pipeline to the Catskill Aqueduct. He's only 36, which means that when KJ has 50,000 people and owns Orange County, King Szegedin will rule us all, unless the opposition de-thrones him.

Test On Hatzolah Members Shirts From 9/11, Shows Toxic Deadly Results

Sky-high toxic levels of potentially deadly asbestos still cling to the fibers of this ordinary white dress shirt - worn by a 9/11 volunteer for two days at Ground Zero, a shocking analysis reveals.
Community liaison Yehuda Kaploun volunteered at Ground Zero for 48 hours immediately after the attack, wearing the shirt as he watched Fire Department chaplain Mychal Judge die in a building collapse.

The volunteer kept his contaminated shirt packed in a sealed plastic bag until last week, when the garment was send to RJ Lee Group laboratories for testing. And analyzed portions of his shirt collar reveal a chilling concentration of chrysotile asbestos - 93,000 times higher than the average typically found in the environment in U.S. cities. That appears to be even higher than what the EPA said was found in the most contaminated, blown-out building after 9/11.
Testing also revealed the shirt was contaminated with zinc, mercury, antimony, barium, chromium, cobalt, copper, lead and molybdenum. Tons of the heavy metals were pulverized and burned in the debris in fires that raged for four months.

On 9/11, Kaploun was a 35-year-old liaison between the Police and Fire departments and the Orthodox Jewish community, as well as a part-time Hatzolah Ambulance volunteer. He said he doesn't really know why he tucked the shirt away two days after the terror attacks. "But something told me that it was loaded with stuff - and it goes to show you how very wrong these people were whom we trusted," he said. "I remember coming home, and you know what, I was going to give the shirt to the cleaners, and then somehow, for some reason, I didn't.

"If my shirt and I can do something to help these people who were there for weeks and months on end - and if this is the kind of numbers needed that will help and support their cases - then that's the blessing."

Although Kaploun may have saved his shirt in honor of the heroic efforts he saw that day, he hopes it may ultimately turn out to be the very thing that will help other 9/11 volunteers get help for illnesses they develop in the future.

Kiryas Joel, And The Monroe, NY Region Lacks Adequate Emergency Plans

New York - Six months ago, a disaster in the Catskills or Hudson Valley would have been met with ineptitude, at least on paper: Three-quarters of the region's communities lacked adequate plans when dealing with crisis.

But half a year later, local preparedness is shedding its life support.

From Bloomingburg to Blooming Grove, the region's emergency planners are making extraordinary strides in preparing for the worst. Towns are hiring consultants. Villages are producing hazards databases. All are contemplating the unthinkable. "It's certainly taking root," said Art Snyder, Ulster County's head emergency planner.

Half of the communities deemed "unprepared" in a September review, have since formed disaster committees, updated their plans, or both. Of the 41 municipalities deemed lacking last year, 20 have improved their standing.

But progress in planning hasn't been universal. Of the 90 communities in the Hudson Valley and Catskills, 26 remain ill-prepared.

For example Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY the fastest-growing village in the state, is without a disaster document, and the Town of Monroe as well, one of the region's largest towns, defers to the county for planning. "The county has a wonderful handle on it," Town Supervisor said recently. "Their belief is as long as we're all making a concentrated effort, that will probably be OK."

The most profound influence on the region's about-face may be new rules linking federal funding to preparedness, emergency experts say.

Beginning Oct. 1, first responders nationwide must be compliant with the National Incident Management System, a program created by President Bush to streamline incident management among all levels of government. Communities that choose not to comply will be ineligible for most federal preparedness grants.