Mount Vernon, NY +Bias Incident+

Mount Vernon, NY +Bias Incident+ Police on the scene requesting the detectives to respond for a bias incident where swastikas were found. At 25 Vernon Parkway in the Fleetwood section of Westchester, NY.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn - Dueling Sons Of Late Satmar Rebbe Hold Peaceful Services

Brooklyn, NY - The dueling sons of the late Satmar Hasidic leader managed to keep their battle at bay for this Shabbas, due to a heavy police presence to try to keep the peace. They were holding separate services in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, NY.

Younger brother Zalman Teitelbaum held his service at the main Satmar synagogue on Rodney Street in Williamsburg. And his older brother, Aaron, lead services in a tent at the playing field of P.S. 16 just blocks away. Thousands of followers attended both services.

Both sides say their leader is the true heir, though a rabbinical court named Zalman the successor to his father. "Rabbi Aaron is not accepting it,” said Zalman Teitelbaum’s spokesperson Martin Kaham. “By coming down, busing people from Upstate, you don't become a grand rabbi. You can call yourself a grand rabbi, we wish you very well with whatever you do, but this doesn't make you, and it doesn't do anything," "If he's sitting in a tent and acting as grand rebbe, that doesn't make him grand rebbe."
"It's like someone claiming he's President, putting up a tent and claiming it's the White House," Joel Braver, 26, said.

"It's just short-term. Everybody knows our rabbi, you'll see, he's actually going to be here a lot and he's going to lead the congregation here," said a support of Aaron Teitelbaum. "Since the Hasidic movement was founded, it was always the oldest son who took over without any questions,” said Abe Rubin, an Aron supporter.

Senator Hillary Clinton paid a Shiva call to the homes of both brothers Friday, visiting with Satmar followers and remembering Moses Teitelbaum.

West Palm Beach, Fla. +Rush Limbaugh Arrested+

West Palm Beach, Fla. +Rush Limbaugh Arrested+ Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office says radio host Rush Limbaugh has been arrested on prescription fraud charges.

Manhattan, NY +Pedestrian Struck By Horse+

Manhattan, NY +Pedestrian Struck By Horse+ EMS on the scene for an accident with a pedestrian that was struck by a horse and buggy on Center Drive and Transverse 1 Road at Central Park, aided is being removed by EMS FDNY to New York Hospital with serious injuries.

New York, NY - More Than 1,600 Murders In NYC Over Last 3 Years

New York, NY - More than 1,600 murders were committed in New York City from 2003 to 2005, with men and boys responsible for carrying out the most in cases that were solved.

Brooklyn led other boroughs in the number of homicides that occurred; more murders happened on Saturday; and approximately one-third of cases are unsolved. Of the remainder, men and boys were responsible for 93 percent of the murders, And in more than half the cases, the killer and the victim knew each other.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn - NYPD Gearing Up For Rebbe's Sons Dueling Services

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY - NYPD Cops are boosting manpower in Brooklyn as they brace for a Shabbas showdown at sundown today between followers of the late Grand Rebbe Moses Teitelbaum's feuding sons.

The two sons of the late grand rebbe, who died Monday, are both claiming to be their father's successor as religious leader of the 120,000-member Satmar sect.
Zalmen Teitelbaum, leader of a sect in Williamsburg, and Aron Teitelbaum, leader of a sect in Orange County, are planning to hold dueling Shabbas services at sundown in Williamsburg.

Aron Teitelbaum's followers have erected a tent in a playground at Lee Ave. and Taylor St., just 2-1/2 blocks from his brother's synagogue. "We're expecting a huge crowd, coming to wish Grand Rebbe Aron the best," said Rabbi Moshe Indig, a Satmar community leader and follower of Aron Teitelbaum, 57.
Zalmen Teitelbaum, 53, also will be holding Shabbas services for the first time since a rabbinical court deemed him grand rebbe, in accordance with his father's will.

Satmar member Abraham Berkaur of Williamsburg was praying for a peaceful Sabbath - even though both factions have brawled before, most recently at the grand rebbe's funeral early Tuesday.
"Usually Jews are together. It's against our tradition and Jewish law to fight," said Berkaur, a follower of Zalmen Teitelbaum. "The whole situation is bad."
Berkaur said some children are afraid to come out of their houses.
"It's very frightening," Berkaur said. "He [Aron Teitelbaum] is coming here with force and that's not the way to do it."

New York, NY - City Can Sue Foreign Countries Over Unpaid Taxes

New York, NY - A federal appeals court has ruled that the City of New York can sue foreign countries in American courts for refusing to pay property taxes on diplomatic buildings. Several countries with a major presence around the United Nations complex in Manhattan have been battling the city for years over taxes assessed on the skyscrapers that house their consulates and diplomatic missions.

Albany, NY - State Senator Rejects Plea Deal

Albany, NY - A state senator, Ada Smith, who is accused of throwing hot coffee in the face of a former staffer, has rejected a plea deal that included anger management treatment.

Queens, NY +Jumper Down G.C.P.+

Queens, NY +Jumper Down Onto G.C.P.+ NYPD of the 115th Pct and EMS are on the scene with a jumper that jumped onto the Grand Central Parkway and Northern Blvd, aided has serious injuries in traumatic arrest and is likely, expect delays.

Trenton, NJ - May Drop Ban on Self-Service Gas Stations

Trenton, NJ - If Gov. Jon S. Corzine has his way, drivers may soon be in for a cultural about-face. Mr. Corzine proposed that the state lift its self-serve ban as part of a package of transportation proposals on carpooling, mass transit and enforcement, intended to cushion residents from rising gasoline prices. And while he cautioned that his proposal was just a pilot program that would be limited to perhaps three months, he said that self-serve gasoline could save drivers about 5 or 6 cents a gallon, if properly handled.

"We think it's a responsible thing to do," he said. "If we can enforce the pass-through and we can mainstream that over a period of time, then it would be permanent and broadly applied throughout the state."

The proposal would first be tested on the New Jersey Turnpike, where 8 of the 12 rest areas will be equipped with credit-card readers at the pumps by Memorial Day, said Kris Kolluri, the state's transportation commissioner. And since many drivers are from out of state, they would be familiar with the procedure.

New York, NY - Roosevelt Island Tramway Stalls Again During Tests

New York, NY - The Roosevelt Island Tramway has stalled twice more in the last week during test runs to find out the cause of an April 18 breakdown that left dozens of people suspended in midair for as long as 11 hours.

Officials said during a City Council hearing that they were focusing on the tramway's internal operating system, but had not determined the exact problem that caused the breakdown. The officials said they did not know when the investigation would be completed, or when the cars would reopen for passengers.

U/D:
Residents of Roosevelt Island urged officials to move quickly to restore service to the island's 30-year-old tram. While there is subway access to Roosevelt Island, the residents said it was insufficient given the high percentage of elderly and disabled people among the island's population of 9,000.

Washington, DC - Top White House Position Headed By Jews

Washington, DC - After appointing Joshua Bolten to be the White House chief of staff, US President George W. Bush nominated another Jewish staffer, Joel Kaplan, to serve as Bolten's deputy, putting him in charge of the daily policy planning.

"He is simply appointing the best people for the job," said Nathan Diament, who heads the Washington office of the Orthodox Union. Another Jewish activist added that he "wouldn't read too much into it."

New York - Study Of Jews Finds Signs Of Growing Orthodox Clout

New York - The latest on young American Jews suggests that Orthodoxy will become a larger and more influential force in coming decades.
The study, which looked at the 1.5 million U.S. Jews between the ages of 18-39, found that Orthodox Jews comprise some 11 percent of all U.S. Jews, and 16 percent of 18-29 year-olds. Among even younger Jews, the percentage of Orthodox is even higher, those behind the report say.

Further, the survey found, Orthodox Jews marry at a younger age, have more children and are more Jewishly engaged than their non-Orthodox counterparts.

Queens, NY - Bayswaterm Downzone Passed By City Council

Queens, NY - The City Council threw out 40 year-old zoning regulations when it passed a proposal to downzone Bayswater and parts of Far Rockaway by a unanimous vote.

New York, NY - Study Finds Cabbies Are Safe Drivers

New York, NY - A new study says, that NYC taxi driver's are the most likely to get you to your location safe and sound.
"You're less likely to be injured in the backseat of a cab, then if you are driving your own car or are an occupant in someone else's vehicle," said Bruce Schaller of Schaller Consulting.

Schaller says his PR firm decided to conduct a study of taxi and livery cab drivers on its own and was not commissioned by the TLC. He says accident reports from 2004 indicate that for every million miles traveled, 6.7 everyday drivers got into accidents. For taxi drivers, there were 4.6 accidents and livery cabs faired even better with only 3.7 drivers crashing their cars.

The TLC's commissioner says the results of this study don’t surprise him. “The TLC has consistently raised the bar in terms of its standards, what we require of them, and consistently they’ve met that bar and exceeded those standards,” said Matthew Daus of the TLC.

Cab drivers say if they weren't safe drivers it would only hurt them. Accidents mean higher insurance rates, time off the job and of course nasty reputations. "This is the job,” said cab driver Zulfy Mann. “Other drivers come to the city and look around, you know, look at this building; cab drivers don't look around. They are serious with the cab." "We are almost driving about 12, 14 hours a day, seven by 24,” said cab driver Luis Dacosta. “We very careful, so we professional, we know the streets, we know where we are going – right side, left side. We keep the speed under the limit under the limit, like 30 miles an hour."

While the study was pretty positive when it came to cab drivers, it wasn't all good news. The data showed that when taxi drivers do have accidents the passengers can be hurt worse than in their own cars.
The injuries are more serious because most passengers don't buckle up in cabs and because of that partition in the middle of the car.

Monticello, NY - Vandals Educated About Hate Crime, Teens Plead Guilty To Burglary

Monticello, NY - An education program for teenagers who vandalized an Orthodox Jewish bungalow colony has paid off.
In September, Dominick DePrizio, Anthony Wingert and Raymond Surerus broke into the synagogue at White Rock, an Orthodox Jewish bungalow colony on Southwoods Drive. They spray-painted swastikas and Hitler's name on furnishings. They blotted out the faces of rabbis on old photos.
Over the summer, their friend, Daniel Price, sprayed fire extinguishers around the grounds.
All four teenagers were charged initially with hate crimes, which meant they faced mandatory prison sentences of at least 3½ years.
District Attorney Steve Lungen hit upon the idea of sending the kids through a religious education program. White Rock's owners and the defense lawyers agreed, and Judge Frank LaBuda approved the program. "I told them, if you want to get them out of (the hate crime), this is what they have to do," Lungen said. "You've sometimes got to try something a little different, a little novel."

Three of the Monticello teenagers - Wingert and Surerus, both 18, and Price, 17 - took a week-long seminar with lectures and readings, led by a Sullivan County Community College professor. They met with a rabbi. They learned why swastikas are so repugnant to the Jewish people. They learned about persecution, and Hitler, and about how the Holocaust came to pass.
Mark Sherman, Wingert's lawyer, said his client appreciates what the course offered him. "He understands the significance not only of what he did, but also of this opportunity," Sherman said.
The four will face incarceration. Price will get six months in jail and five years of probation. Wingert and Surerus will get one to three years in prison. DePrizio will get two to six years in prison. Wingert, Price and Surerus will be treated as youthful offenders; their convictions will be sealed after they're sentenced on June 8.
Wingert, Surerus and Price are free pending sentencing. DePrizio, who tested positive for marijuana use, is in jail.

Flatbush, Brooklyn +Pedestrian Struck+

Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident in Flatbush with a pedestrian that was struck at East 17th Street and Avenue "N", Hatzolah on the scene.

New York, NY +Empire State Bldg, EDP Hanging+

New York, NY +Empire State Bldg, Jumper Up+ A jumper is up and hanging from the Empire State Building 86th floor observation deck in an attempt to parachute from the building down to the streets of Manhattan, NYPD on the scene and ESU responding with the airbag and clearing the street at 350 5th Avenue and 34th Street.

U/D: 17:13
ESU has EDP in custody.

Springfield, IL - Jewish Leaders Still Upset, But Governor Defends Actions On Commission

Springfield, IL - Early last month five Jewish members resigned from the Governor's Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes, rather than serve alongside an aide to Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam leader known for his attacks on Jews.
They said Sister Claudette Muhammad, the Nation of Islam's chief of protocol, should be removed from the commission. But Gov. Rod Blagojevich, said that he didn't realize he had appointed her to the panel until afterward, and said Muhammad is not responsible for Farrakhan's remarks.

As Jewish leaders expressed lingering concerns Wednesday, Gov. Rod Blagojevich played down the controversy over the state commission on discrimination and said he is making progress in secret meetings meant to ease racial tensions. "I think it's working well," Blagojevich said. "It's been sort of below the radar screen, and I think, frankly, that's probably the right way to do it as some of the wounds from what happened before heal."

The Democratic governor wouldn't say who he has met with, what they talked about or how the talks are supposed to bridge divisions that he says were exposed during the furor over the commission.

Several Jewish leaders say they have not been contacted to take part in the talks, and they feel Blagojevich has not addressed the issues raised by the hate crimes controversy. "There is a great disappointment and hurt in the Jewish community in Illinois with regard to this matter," said one of the Jewish community leaders.

Orenburg, Russia - Police Investigating Synagogue Attack

Orenburg, Russia - Police are investigating an attack on a synagogue. "The synagogue was attacked but we have made this incident public only now because the culprits are evading punishment," a source said.

A group of young men threw stones at the synagogue. They kicked the synagogue doors, shouted anti-Semitic slogans and hit the widows with a metal bar. Eyewitnesses said that the young men called themselves skinheads. "Luckily, no one was hurt. Only a caretaker and several workers were inside the synagogue when the attack took place," the source said.

A police patrol detained a 15-year-old drunk boy near the synagogue, and others escaped, a source at the Orenburg Leninsky district, the police department said. "Criminal proceedings were opened on charges of hooliganism and no charges of extremism were brought. The boy is a minor, so he will not face criminal punishment," the police source said.

New York - Hitler's Relatives Live Quietly On Long Island

New York - Willy Hitler was born in 1911 in Liverpool, England, and in his early years sought to take advantage of his last name, in his home country, in Germany and then in America, where he moved in 1939. After World War II, though, he decided to change the name and moved from New York City out to Patchogue on Long Island. He raised four sons — Alexander, Louis, Howard and Brian — before he died in 1987 at age 76.

Howard died in a car accident in 1989. The other brothers continued low-profile jobs: Alexander as a social worker, Louis and Brian with their own landscaping business. They are regular Long Island guys, middle-aged and middle-class, two of them living together. They are also the last members of Adolf Hitler's paternal bloodline, their father, who was born William Patrick Hitler, son of Alois Hitler Jr., who was Adolf Hitler's half-brother (they shared the same father). Alois called his son Willy. The Fuehrer called Willy "my loathsome nephew."

They have moved away from the house where they grew up in Patchogue, N.Y., where their father ran a diagnostic blood lab. To their former neighbors, much about them and their upbringing seemed all-American, but some of those neighbors remember a family just a little bit apart from everyone else, speaking German at home.

Teresa Ryther, 43, who grew up on the block, said her father noticed a resemblance. "My father used to say to my mother, 'Doesn't Patty look a lot like Adolf Hitler?' " she recalled. "Once, my father told my mom, 'I just saw Patty mowing the lawn, and he turned around real quick and, my God, he looked exactly like Hitler.' "

London - Defiant Rabbi Slams Racist Street Yobs

London - A rabbi has slammed yobs who taunted residents heading to a synagogue, saying that the Jewish community will overcome the tormentors. Aryeh Sufrin spoke out after an Orthodox jew was subjected to racial abuse from a group of youngsters as he walked to the Synaguge, Gants Hill.

Police will patrol the area on the Eastern Avenue at key times, but Rabbi Sufrin said while the incidents are serious, the Jewish community are rising above them. "All incidents like this are a cause for concern, but we don't want to be scaremongers, he said

"If we continue to pursue the good relations that we have with the council, race relations board and police, then we can beat these people. "We're fortunate to have peace and harmony here, but it may take some more work in schools for example, to make sure children have a better understanding of different faiths."

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY - Battle For The Soul And Bank Balance Of New York's Most Powerful Hasidic Sect

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY - An extraordinary succession battle is under way in the cloistered world of ultra-orthodox Judaism after the death of the rabbi who headed the world's largest and powerful Hasidic sect.
Grand Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum, 91, died on Monday and his funeral in the Williamsburg neighbourhood of New York that is home to the Satmar sect of ultra-Orthodox Jews drew 20,000 followers.

But barely two days after Rabbi Teitelbaum was laid to rest, his two sons fired the first salvos in what is expected to be a bitter and protracted battle to wear his mantle as the rabbi-king of the Satmar, and gain control of property believed to be worth $1bn.

The younger son's side fired his first shot, releasing a will written by his father that declared him the heir. "He shall occupy my position and succeed me without any shortfall, for effective immediately I have granted him the position," the late rabbi was reported to have decreed.

The seeds for fraternal discord were sown in 1999 when the rabbi began making plans for his demise. He appointed Aaron as the sect's grand rabbi in Kiryat Joel, an entirely Hasidic enclave north of New York City. He kept Zalmen by his side in the Satmar base in Williamsburg.
Some observers see the shrewdness of the late rabbi's ways. The Satmar empire in the US was more than big enough for his sons to share. But the sons did not see it that way. As their father succumbed to cancer, the two sides descended into an increasingly bitter feud, obtaining writs from New York state and secular courts to try to enforce what each saw as their birthright.

Jonathan Mark, who has reported on the Satmar for 25 years, believes such succession battles are a feature of Orthodox life. No longer can a rabbi expect to command a following by fiat. He has got to work at the personal relationship between rabbi and flock that is the distinguishing feature of Hasidic sects. "In the last 15 years almost no major Hasidic group has had a clean succession," he said.

The Satmar are the largest and most dynamic of the Orthodox Jewish sects. Taking their name from Satu Mare, a town in in present-day Romania, they claim 65,000 adherents in Williamsburg and Kiryat Joel and several thousand others in Jerusalem, London, Antwerp and Montreal.
Samuel Heilman, professor of Jewish studies at the City University of New York, has a solution. The sect could agree on an amiable split. "The group is much bigger now. It can sustain two rebbes located in different locations. If this was in Europe, one would be called the Kiryat Joel rebbe and one called the Williamsburg rebbe, and there wouldn't be any problem."

Tel Aviv, Israel - U.S. Teen Injured In Bombing Awakes From Coma

Tel Aviv, Israel - Daniel Wultz, the U.S. teen injured in the Tel Aviv bombing last week, awoke from a nine-day coma, much to the delight of thousands of friends, family and well-wishers who had been praying for him.

The teen from Weston, Fla., was sedated and in critical condition but likely will recover, officials at the Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv said.

Toronto, Canada - Controversy Over Signs In Jewish Community

Toronto, Canada - Driving along Bathurst, between Finch and Drewry, motorists can't help but notice the billboard featuring the face of a battered woman whose blackened eyes are closed with shame. The woman is Jewish and the billboard is meant to send a clear message that no community or culture is exempt from the horrors of domestic abuse. "There is a Jewish woman you know being abused," it says across the poster.

Battery against women is always a touchy subject but campaign organizers said they knew the Jewish community would be particularly sensitive about it.

There has been a backlash from some members of the Jewish community.
Krowitz, the executive director of the non-profit group, has received emails from people putting down the campaign over concern it could spark anti-Semitic responses from other communities.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY - Satmar Rabbi's Son On New Move

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY - One of the Hasidic heirs in the holy war for leadership of the Satmar sect is moving to Brooklyn to stake his claim.

Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum is leaving the Hasidic enclave of Kiryas Joel in Orange County after 23 years for Williamsburg, where his younger brother, Rabbi Zalman Teitelbaum, has been recognized as leader of that congregation.
Aaron was expected to arrive last night at his Williamsburg residence and begin sitting shiva, and he will remain in Williamsburg at least until Monday and later establish his primary residence in the area, supporters said.
Asked to explain the move, one prominent supporter said, "It's the Satmar headquarters."

Zalman's supporters said Aaron was welcome in their father's home, at Bedford Avenue and Ross Street - but a larger group would cause a disruption. "He can come here and sit. But if he wants to come with a big group, we'll block the door. We are in charge," said Joel Braver.

With both brothers claiming to be the top rabbi, tension could reach a boiling point tomorrow at sundown when followers of both brothers plan to flock to Brooklyn to celebrate the Shabbas in the streets of Williamsburg.

Rockland County, NY - Residents Oppose Higher O&R Charge

Rockland County, NY - Ten people tell the state to deny Orange and Rockland Utilitie's request to increase its natural gas delivery service charge by about 5 percent over three years.

New York - Satmar Feud Spills Into Court

New York - Two days after the death of the late Grand Rabbi Moses Teitelbaum, the 91-year-old leader of as many as 120,000 Satmar Hasidim worldwide, 11 lawyers lined up in an Orange County courtroom to debate who should have access to Satmar sites during the Shiva, and which court should decide that issue.

The upshot was that acting state Supreme Court Justice Stewart Rosenwasser won't be the one to decide. He told the attorneys that the Appellate Division - which is hearing appeals of two Satmar cases - has instructed him to direct the latest volley of arguments to its courtrooms.

On Monday night, an hour and a half after Teitelbaum died in a Manhattan hospital, Rosenwasser had signed orders in a Montgomery diner that dealt with those suddenly pressing access issues. But the following afternoon, an Appellate Division judge struck down much of what he had ordered.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY - The Saga Continues

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY - There is still no compromise or resolution in sight in the bitter battle of succession between the two sons of the Grand Rebbe Moshe Teitelbaum, who died Monday night and left a vacuum in the leadership of the Satmar community.

On the contrary, the two factions keep campaigning and claiming victory.
According to a source, this weekend Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum is coming to the city, where a tent will be set up at pier 16 in Williamsburg for Rabbi Aron's followers to rally and show their support.
Some of those same supporters just issued a statement announcing a ceremony to take place in "the coming weeks in Williamsburg" to appoint the older son as Grand Rebbe. That statement, which claims the support from Satmar congregations "around the world," seems a bit premature, at best.

Scott E. Mollen, a lawyer who represents Zalmen Teitelbaum, said "It's inexplicable how they can claim victory since it is now evident that the Grand Rebbe left a written will that expressed his desire that Rabbi Zalmen succeed the grand rabbi."
He noted that the appellate courts has just yesterday reversed an earlier decision and put the main synagogue and Grand Rebbe's home under the control of Rabbi Zalmen.

Moshe Indig, a supporter of Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum, countered that "This is not a court issue, the court has nothing to do with succession."
"This is a corporate issue," Mr. Indig said. "We are talking about a half billion dollars in assets. The board members from Satmar community around the world want him (Rabbi Aaron) to be the successor. "There is going to be a big crowning ceremony."

Flatbush, NY +Tragic Incident To Child+

Flatbush, Brookly, NY +Tragic Incident To Child+ A large TV fell off its furniture on to the head of a 4-year-old female at Avenue "M" and East 7th Street, causing the child a severe head trauma. NYPD officers were called to the home in this section of Brooklyn, and found the girl unconscious, Hatzolah Medics removed the child to Lutherian Hospital where the child expired.

New York - Governor Makes Shiva Call To Family Of Late Grand Rebbe Of Satmar

New York - Governor George Pataki paid his respects this afternoon to the family of the late Grand Rebbe Moses Teitelbaum, who died on Monday evening at age 91.

As is customary in the Jewish faith, mourning members of the deceased’s immediate family, sit Shiva in their home, pray and accept condolences from the community.
Governor Pataki went to Kiryas Joel, Monroe and to Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Ever the politician, he made sure to meet both with Aron and his followers in Kiryas Joel and then with Zalmen and his supporters in Brooklyn.

Grand Rebbe dead at 91 -Scenes from NYC

Hagerstown, MD - Plane Due At Gaithersburg Airport Never Arrived

Hagerstown, MD - Search crews are searching north-central Maryland and south-central Pennsylvania for a small Cessna 172 plane, piloted by David Weiss, 72, that's been missing.
Weiss was a member of the Civil Air Patrol, but he was not flying one of their planes or participating in a Civil Air Patrol activity, the organization said in a release. He was last seen at the airport conducting a routine preflight inspection, leading authorities to believe he was flying alone.

The blue and white Cessna Weiss was flying was operated by the Congressional Flying Club, authorities said.

Pembroke Pines, FL - Anti-Semitic Message On Storefront

Pembroke Pines, FL - A store owner and his wife say vandals rearranged the lettering on their storefront to spell out an anti-Semitic message.

Victor and Florence Goldman discovered the message on the front of their store, The Clothing Closet in Pembroke Pines.

The store's front window used to have lettering that said, "Handbags, Watches and Jewelry," but police said that vandals rearranged the letters.

Victor Goldman said the vandals rearranged the letters in "Jewelry" to say "Jews."

Victor Goldman said that he is now facing bold anti-Semitism for the first time in his 79 years of life.

Kosher Space Station

NASA is about to begin a series of consultations with rabbis as part of preparations for the stay of Jewish astronauts in its international space station.

The agency is seeking to consult rabbis regarding the necessary arrangements and ways to uphold the Torah in space. Among other things, there is a need to determine at every stage in the space flight the position of Jerusalem in relation to the space station, so that astronauts know which was to turn when praying.

And other issues include the keeping of kosher food and the keeping of Shabbas in space. The international space station is supposed to receive in the coming years guest experts from other countries, and an effort has been made to send Israeli scientists to the station.

Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY - Sons Fight Who Should Succeed Father

Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY - The expected angling for ultimate leadership of as many as 120,000 Satmar Hasidic Jews in Kiryas Joel and around the world has begun in earnest with the death of Satmar Grand Rebbe Moses Teitelbaum.

Two rival Teitelbaum sons whose supporters have been waging a bitter power struggle in court for five years each met with their partisans before the first funeral for the late rebbe Monday night in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY and each was announced as the rightful successor, community members said yesterday.
Followers of Zalmen Teitelbaum, the brother who leads the main Satmar congregation in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, boast that a will signed by the grand rebbe on March 4, 2002 - and read aloud before a rabbinical court that night - vindicates their rabbi by naming him the successor.

But supporters of Zalmen's older brother, Aron, chief rabbi of the Satmar congregation in Kiryas Joel, question both the validity of the will and its ability to transfer power in the Satmar dynasty. "There is no tradition to having the successor to the grand rebbe picked through the deceased grand rebbe's will," said a spokesman for Aron's side.
He added that "any will that he wrote would be suspect in any case," since the grand rebbe has had Alzheimer's disease "since at least 1998."
"The will of the grand rebbe is under a serious question mark," he said.

Samuel Heilman, a Queens College professor and authority on ultra-Orthodox Judaism, believes the Satmar movement could wind up with two rebbes if the two factions cannot resolve their dispute. "It's not necessarily the case that you have to have only one rebbe," Heilman said. "In the old days in Europe, you would have one rebbe for one city and a different rebbe for another city, and it would be no big deal."

But in this case, the two rival rebbes might occupy not only the same city but the same section of Brooklyn. Sources say that Aron Teitelbaum plans to move to Williamsburg - where his brother now presides - to assume the leadership of the whole Satmar sect, leaving his son, Mendel, to fill his place in Kiryas Joel.

The legal issues are now before the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court.
The outcome could prove vital to the succession question. A spokesman for Aron's side, said that it was the corporate board that chose the late rebbe to succeed his uncle and predecessor, Joel Teitelbaum, after the uncle's death in 1979.

Both sides were back in court yesterday, with the Zalmen's side protesting to the Appellate Division about orders issued a day earlier by acting Supreme Court Justice Stewart Rosenwasser. Those orders had been requested by Aron's side to ensure that Zalmen's side granted them equal access to all funeral and memorial events.
Another issue being debated yesterday was whether Aron would be allowed to sit shiva at the house in Williamsburg where the rebbe had lived.
Zalmen supporters were arguing that Aron had violated an unsigned agreement between the two sides by asking his son, Mendel, who was not on the list of speakers, to deliver a eulogy at the end of the second funeral for Grand Rebbi Moses Teitelbaum in Kiryas Joel yesterday morning. They claim no grandchildren of the grand rebbe was supposed to speak at the two funerals.

That dispute triggered a brief confrontation in the Kiryas Joel synagogue about 4:50 a.m., as Aron shouted and partisans packed tightly in the front of the synagogue threw punches.
Shortly afterward, Zalmen supporters whisked the casket through the crowd and out the front door, with no speech from Mendel Teitelbaum.
"Aron is not agreeing to anything," Joel Braver, 26, a supporter of Zalmen. "If he cannot have everything, he will destroy everything."

New York - Satmar Grand Rebbi's Will Names Son Zalmen as Successor

New York - Satmar Grand Rabbi who died this week arranged for an organized succession by naming one of his sons as the next grand rabbi of the Satmar Hasidim, religious authorities announced.

In his will, - that was read in the grand rabbi's house on Bedford Avenue - Grand Rabbi Moses Teitelbaum, who died Monday at the age of 91, recognized Rabbi Zalmen Teitelbaum, the third of his four sons, as the next rebbe, or grand rabbi.
"He shall occupy my position and succeed me without any shortfall, for effective immediately I have granted him the position," the grand rabbi wrote in his will.

With tears soaking his long beard, Rabbi Zalmen Teitelbaum accepted the reins of power, and he said he would lead the Satmar Hasidim as his father and uncle, former Grand Rabbe Joel Teitelbaum, had done. "Who am I to take over this holy seat?" He said.

But the decision, announced by the Satmar's Rabbinical Court their, is unlikely to settle the divisive issue of succession that has pitted Zalmen Teitelbaum, 54, against the eldest brother, Rabbi Aron Teitelbaum of Kiryas Joel in upstate New York.
That is because Aron Teitelbaum has thousands of his own followers who believe he is the rightful successor.

In his will, Moses Teitelbaum also directed that "not one of my descendants or among the persons within the community shall challenge or commit any act to diminish the powers of the above-mentioned appointment."

Leaders of the Satmar community expressed the fervent hope that with the naming of Rabbi Zalmen Teitelbaum as Grand Rabbi, divisions which have afflicted this community in recent years will now heal,'' according to a Satmar statement released Tuesday.

Jerusalem, Israel - Grand Rabbi Passed Away

Jerusalem, Israel - Rabbi Moshe Halbershtam a major spiritual leader of the Edah H'charedis community has passed away in Jerusalem of a heart attack at the age of 74, funeral to be in Kekar H'Shabos 15:30.

Rabbi Halbershtam's death comes just one day after the passing of Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum, the Satmar Rebbe, also a major spiritual leader of the Edah H'Charedis.

Both men were distant relatives of the Sanz Rebbe Chaim Halbershtam, known as the Divrei Chaim, who lived in the 18th century. Moshe Halbershtam also prayed regularly in Satmar's Ohel Rachel Synagogue in Mea She'arim.

Halbershtam's death was a surprise, although he had complained of back pains and had been hospitalized in recent weeks.
He is survived by seven children and close to 100 grandchildren.


U/D:
Tens of thousands took part in the funeral procession from Edah H'Charedis headquarters on Rechov Strauss in downtown Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives.

Washington, DC - New Press Secretary

Washington, DC - White House, President Bush to introduced Fox News commentator Tony Snow, as new White House Press Secretary, replacing Scott McClellan.

U/D: 04/26/06 09:24
President Bush on Wednesday named conservative commentator Tony Snow as White House press secretary, putting a new face on a troubled administration.

Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY +MVA+

Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY +MVA+ A motor vehicle accident on Aveneu "P" and Bedford Avenue, Hatzolah responding.

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 13th Avenue Hatzolah responding.

Brooklyn, NY - Dispute Over Satmar Rabbi's Successor Heats Up

Brooklyn, NY - The dispute over which of Grand Rabbi Moses Teitelbaum's sons will succeed him as the grand rabbi of the Satmar sect of Hasidic Jews raged in and out of court for the last six years of his life.

Rabbi Teitelbaum's death last night appears unlikely to bring the controversy to a close.

Less than two hours after the rabbi died, as tens of thousands of grieving Satmars thronged the streets of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and Kiryas Joel, N.Y., a judge in Orange County issued several orders. The orders were issued at the request of Aaron Teitelbaum's supporters. They included measures to maintain order and decorum during the funeral and the mourning period to follow, and to make sure that neither Aaron's nor Zalmen's supporters were shut out.

But Zalmen Teitelbaum's supporters say the orders also contain language intended to solidify the claim to power of Aaron's supporters. Zalmen's supporters plan to file an appeal this afternoon to get the orders thrown out.

At court today, Zalmen's supporters also plan to present a document they say establishes Zalmen as the proper successor: Moses Teitelbaum's will, which, they say, bestows upon Zalmen "all of my powers" and stipulates that "he shall occupy my position and succeed me without any shortfall."

Zalmen's supporters also said that the Satmars' religious court will issue a proclamation by day's end declaring Zalmen the new grand rabbi.

But people who have been observing the battle for years are not expecting a quick capitulation by the other side.

Zalmen's supporters, most of whom live in Brooklyn, said the Williamsburg appointment made him the logical successor to the grand rabbi. Supporters of Aaron, most of whom live in Kiryas Joel, said the appointment of the younger son was fraudulent and filed the first of several suits.

The dispute has occasionally erupted into violence. More than two dozen people were arrested in a fight in the Williamsburg synagogue last year after the judge in Orange County, Stewart A. Rosenwasser, issued another ruling that supported Aaron's position.

Despite the gathering and dispersing of huge crowds last night and today, there has been little unrest and no arrests. But the jockeying goes on as ever.

One of Judge Rosenwasser's orders, signed last night at 8:24 p.m., is an "order to show cause" addressed to Zalmen Teitelbaum's faction. It gives them until Wednesday morning to counter a holding that the head of the pro-Aaron faction, Berl Friedman, as the rightful president of the board of the Williamsburg congregation, is authorized to take action to ensure that the funeral proceeds peacefully.

The order also instructs the police in New York City and in Kiryas Joel to answer to Mr. Friedman.

The lawyer for Zalmen's supporters, Scott E. Mollen, called Judge Rosenwasser's new order "an obvious effort to do an end run around the Appellate Division's order of March 2006." He said he would ask the Appellate Division to throw the new order out.

The spokesman for the pro-Aaron faction of the board did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

But Isac Weinberger, a leader in the pro-Aaron community in Williamsburg, confidently predicted victory for his side.

"It's going to eventually settle as it has the last thousands of years — the oldest son took over," Mr. Weinberger said. "There's going to be some skirmishes, but 70 to 80 percent of the Hasidim will be with the eldest son."

Bebra, Germany - Jewish Cemetery Defaced With Swastikas

Bebra, Germany - A Jewish cemetery in this central German town has been defaced with swastikas and other Nazi symbols, appealing to the public for clues to the attack.

Investigators said the vandals had used black spray paint to daub 28 gravestones, the entrance gate and a sign with the symbols, use of which is prohibited under German law.

Manhattan, NY +Transit Evacuation+

Manhattan, NY +Transit Evacuation+ About 200 passengers were being evacuated from a Manhattan-bound PATH train that got stuck inside a tunnel with overheated motor, outside the World Trade Center Path Station at Church Street and Vesey Street, FD working the scene with no special units requested, NYPD also on the scene.

U/D: 13;21
Situation has been placed under control.

New York - Satmar Rebbe Dies; His Son, Rabbi Zalman, Chosen to Succeed Him

New York - Many thousands of people attended the funeral of Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum, which closed down streets in Manhattan and Brooklyn. He was buried in the Satmar community in Kiryas Yoel, in Orange County, New York.

The deceased rabbi did not publicly choose a successor in his lifetime, leading to stiff competition between two of his sons, Rabbis Aaron and Zalman Teitelbaum, and their respective followers. His will, designated Rabbi Zalman as his successor. Rabbi Zalman's son, Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Teitelbaum, heads the Jerusalem branch of Satmar.

Colombo, Sri Lanka - Suicide Bomber Attacks The Country's Army Commander.

Colombo, Sri Lanka - A woman blows herself up inside Sri Lanka's army headquarters, wounding the country's top general, and killing eight people in the suicide attack on the country's army commander.

World Renowned Figure Rabbi Moses Teitelbaum Passed Away At 91

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY - World renowned figure, author of Berach Moshe and leader of Satmar Hasidim one of the world's largest and fastest-growing sects of Orthodox Jews, has passed away now in Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan, NY. and left us for a better place. He was 91 and lived in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Rabbe Moshe Teitelbaum the youngest son of Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Teitelbaum, of Sighet - (The Atzei Chaim) - son of the Kedushath Yom Tov, became leader of the Satmars in 1980, succeeding his uncle Joel Teitelbaum also a son of the Kedushath Yom Tov.

Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum had transplanted the tattered remnants of Satmar from post-Holocaust Europe to Williamsburg, giving the sect new life. Under Moses Teitelbaum, Satmar more than doubled its ranks, to an estimated 100,000 worldwide, building schools and expanding real estate holdings that are now worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
A Satmar historian, said that Rabbi Teitelbaum, known to his followers by his Hebrew name, Moshe, had likened himself to the biblical Jacob, who considered himself custodian of the great works begun by Isaac and Abraham before him.

"Jacob said, 'I'm not digging any new wells; I'm just watching the wells that the father and the grandfather dug, that they should continue to produce clean water,' " he said. "Rabbi Moshe said the same thing: 'Rabbi Joel dug the wells. I'm just tending them."

Rabbi Teitelbaum is survived by his wife, Pessel Leah; four sons, Aaron, Lipa, Zalmen and Shulem Elazer, all rabbis; and two daughters, Bracha Meisels and Hendy Halberstam; and at least 86 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Rabbi Moses Teitelbaum, named for the 18th-century founder of the Satmar dynasty, Moshe Teitelbaum, was born into rabbinic royalty in Ujfeherto, in what is now eastern Hungary, on Nov. 17, 1914. When the region fell to the Nazis, Rabbi Teitelbaum, then teaching at a yeshiva, was sent to Auschwitz with his wife and three children. Only the rabbi survived. After the war, he remarried and moved to the United States, where Joel Teitelbaum had re-established the sect. Moses founded a congregation in Borough Park, Brooklyn.

After Joel Teitelbaum died childless in 1979, the Satmars named Moses the rebbe, and he moved into the sect's seat in Williamsburg.

Moses Teitelbaum "took a moderately successful Hasidic group and really nourished its growth," said David M. Pollock, associate executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council. "It's now the largest Hasidic group in the United States."

If the Satmar schools in New York were a public school system, it would be the fourth-largest system in the state, after those of New York City, Buffalo and Rochester.

Rabbi Teitelbaum's leadership was such that even as the sect has threatened to split over the succession battle, it has continued to grow, said Samuel C. Heilman, a distinguished professor of sociology at Queens College.

"One of the signs of the Satmars' strength," Professor Heilman said, "is that in spite of this internal conflict, they're not on the verge of falling apart."

Spring Valley, NY - Amber Alert Issued For Kidnapped Black Girl, 13

Spring Valley, NY - New York State Police have issued an Amber Alert after a 13-year-old girl was seen being forced into the trunk of a stolen vehicle by two black men wearing masks, when she got off her school bus in the village of Spring Valley.
Fleeing auto is a silver Camry reported stolen on April 5th, 2006 with the tag CPF-8770 and occupied by two black males.

U/D: 18:22
Ramapo Police have located the vehicle with the child in the trunk of the car, they are requesting EMS on a rush to Lake Street and Ewing Avenue, Chopper requested to assist, area being shut down.

U/D: 04/25/06 07:34
two males and one female have been arrested in because of the abduction in the town of Ramapo.

U. K. - Jewish Businessmen Prominent In British 'Rich List'

U. K. - Chelsea football club's Russian owner Roman Abramovich is named second richest person in the UK and Ireland in the supplement released by the British national newspaper each April.

Retail billionaire Philip Green and his wife Tina have stayed close to the top in fifth place, while property moguls, brothers Simon and David Reuben, were named eighth richest by the newspaper.

The Rich List details the 1,000 wealthiest Brits and the accompanying magazine explains the background to how many of them made their money.

President Bush Declares Jewish Heritage Month

President Bush proclaimed May as Jewish heritage month.
“As a nation of immigrants, the United States is better and stronger because Jewish people from all over the world have chosen to become American citizens,” President Bush said in his proclamation.

“Since arriving in 1654, Jewish Americans have achieved great success, strengthened our country and helped shape our way of life. Through their deep commitment to faith, family and community, Jewish Americans remind us of a basic belief that guided the founding of this nation: That there is an Almighty who watches over the affairs of men and values every life.”

Albany, NY - NY Post Gets Subpoenas Over Pataki Tapes

Albany, NY - The New York Post is complying with federal subpoenas issued in connection with newspaper reports about recorded telephone conversations involving Gov. George Pataki, his wife, top aides and others.

One subpoena asked the Post for the audio tape containing the conversations and the envelope it came to the Post in. A second subpoena seeks grand jury testimony from the Post's state editor, Fredric U. Dicker, who wrote about the conversations in August after receiving the tape anonymously.
"They have already turned the tapes over to the FBI. They have met with the FBI and they are fully cooperating," Post spokesman Howard Rubenstein said.

Tel Aviv, Israel - U.S. Teen Critical After Last Weeks Tel Aviv Blast

Tel Aviv, Israel - A 16-year-old American tourist is fighting for his life a week after a Tel Aviv suicide bombing, and thousands are praying for him.

Daniel Wultz came to Israel with his parents, Tuly and Sheryl, to visit relatives on Passover. They live in Weston, Fla., north of Miami.
On April 17, father and son were eating lunch in Tel Aviv when a Palestinian suicide bomber ignited 10 pounds of explosives at the entrance to the restaurant. The bomb killed six Israelis, two Romanians, a French tourist and the bomber. Dozens of people were wounded.
Critically wounded, Daniel was taken to Ichilov Hospital. Doctors removed his spleen and a kidney and treated a serious leg wound. His condition remains critical.
His father suffered less severe injuries but remains hospitalized.

The Wultzes, asked their friends and congregation to pray for their son. On Monday, the David Posnack Hebrew Day School in Plantation, Fla., where Daniel has been a student since elementary school, held a prayer service for him.

Dahab, Egypt - Three Explosions Rock Egypt

Dahab, Egypt - Three explosions rocked the Egyptian resort city of Dahab, and there were at least 30 dead and 160 wounded, according to the doctor who runs Egypt's Sinai Peninsula rescue squad.

Dr. Said Essa said he was headed to the scene of the blasts, one of which hit the el-Mashrabiyah Hotel. Police officials said more than 20 ambulances and police cars were rushing to the el-Masbat section of the city.

Dahab is located on the Gulf of Aqaba on the eastern side of the Sinai Peninsula.

New York City, NY - Housing Authority Reportedly Considering GPS On Their Employees

New York City, NY - The Housing Authority is reportedly considering satellite technology in an effort to keep track of its employees out in the field.

The agency is looking into a global-positioning-system system that would be linked to an employee's cell phone or walkie talkie. The GPS would be connected to a central computer which would show real time maps of employees in the system.

A spokesperson said that while no decision has been made, there several options being considered.

Shaddchunim Shaddchunim Shaddchunim

With our ongoing shidduch crises we are going to try something new here! and we hope that this will Im Yertza Hashem have a lot of good Neias though this.

As many of you know, there is a great shidduch crisis in the Jewish community. Among the Chassidish crowd the problem is that there are many older boys (Above age 22) that are having a hard time, and among the Litvish crowd it is the girls that are having a hard time. Hopefully the people here will take it seriously enough to help.

For all the details go "here" to this post, or you could write to me Shlomashamos@aol.com or to shaddchen@gmail.com, thanks and we are looking forward to be a help.

http://shaddchen.blogspot.com/2006/04/we-are-going-to-try-something-new-here.html

Cell Phones New Silent Alert System By Shocking Owner

Motorola has recently received a patent for a completely silent way of alerting users to incoming calls and messages, the patent involves alerting the owner using mild electric shock.

The system, uses a small pad containing electrodes that are wirelessly linked to a handset, when an event occurs on the handset, an electric potential is placed across the electrodes, stimulating the skin and underling muscles, thus alerting the wearer.

Motorola claim that the device is designed to address the problem that a vibrating alert is not truly silent - especially if the handset is placed on or next to a hard surface, such as a table or keys in a pocket. The new system solves this by having no moving parts, thus creating no noise.

Power levels and frequencies can be adjusted, allowing the owner to give a sort of 'personal ring' to an individual caller. The system is not expected to be included with handset for some time.

Brooklyn, NY +Heavy Traffic on S/B B.Q.E.+

Brooklyn, NY +S/B B.Q.E. Heavy Traffic+ Due to a motor vehicle accident on the southbound of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway before Hamilton Avenue traffic is very heavy on the expressway all the way to the Brooklyn Bridge.

New York, NY - Toussaint Plans To March Across Brooklyn Bridge On Way To Jail

New York, NY - The head of the Transport Workers Union Local 100, Roger Toussaint, is planning to march across the Brooklyn Bridge and into a Lower Manhattan jail cell today, four months after he led his union's 34,000 members on an illegal strike.

The move has some observers saying that Mr. Toussaint is seeking to cast himself as a martyr, while supporters lauded him as a genuine hero to the labor movement.

New York, NY - Call For Military To Aid In Search For WTC Remains

New York, NY - Some 9/11 families and Sen. Charles Schumer are calling on Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to send an elite military unit to search for human remains at ground zero following revelations that nearly 600 new bone fragments have been found at the former Deutsche Bank building in recent months.

In a letter sent to Rumsfeld, the Democrat backed recent calls by Sept. 11 family groups for the U.S. military to deploy members of its JPAC, or Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command unit, to augment the work of local agencies at ground zero.

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Dryer Fire+

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Dryer Fire+ FD on the scene at 5002 12th Avenue with a dryer fire in a 4 story 50x100 dwelling, fire has been knocked down and is under control.

Rockland County, NY - Assemblyman Urges Rocklanders To Oppose O&R Rate Hike Request

Rockland County, NY - Assemblyman Karben of Monsey, a member of the Assembly’s Energy Committee, has urged Rocklanders to attend a public hearing next week in Clarkstown and speak out against Orange and Rockland Utilities’ $20.6 million rate hike request.
The hearing, which will be held by the state Public Service Commission, will take place on Tuesday, April 25, from 5-7 p.m. Clarkstown Town Hall. Karben said the hearing is an opportunity to make public comments concerning the proposed rate increase.

New York - Judge Rules City Workers Can Surf the Web

New York - Saying surfing the web is equivalent to reading a newspaper or talking on the phone, an administrative law judge has suggested that only a reprimand is appropriate as punishment for a city worker accused of failing to heed warnings to stay off the Internet.

Administrative Law Judge John Spooner reached his decision in the case of Toquir Choudhri, a 14-year veteran of the Department of Education who had been accused of ignoring supervisors who told him to stop browsing the Internet at work.

The ruling came after Mayor Bloomberg fired a worker in the city's legislative office in Albany earlier this year after he saw the man playing a game of solitaire on his computer.

In his decision, Spooner wrote: "It should be observed that the Internet has become the modern equivalent of a telephone or a daily newspaper, providing a combination of communication and information that most employees use as frequently in their personal lives as for their work." He added: "For this reason, city agencies permit workers to use a telephone for personal calls, so long as this does not interfere with their overall work performance. Many agencies apply the same standard to the use of the Internet for personal purposes."

Odessa, Ukraine - Holocaust Memorial Vandalized

Odessa, Ukraine - A Holocaust monument has been defaced by swastikas and other graffiti.

The “Road of Death” monument marks the spot from which 120,000 of Odessa's Jews were marched to their deaths. Police are investigating the incident.

Manhattan, NY - Deadly Mold Found Inside Children's Hospital, Influences Lawsuit

Manhattan, NY - State health officials have found a potentially deadly mold inside the New York Presbyterian-Columbia's Children's Hospital in Manhattan.

Officials say they found low levels of the aspergillus mold in nearly 20 rooms at the Hospital.
A state report says the mold - which is commonly found in construction dust, was found in the rooms from 2001 to 2004 - but at low levels which post no threat to patient health.

Still, the hospital is facing a lawsuit from the family of 5-year-old who died of a lung infection in 2002. Her family claims exposure to the mold in the room caused the infection.
Three other families of children who died at the hospital are also reportedly preparing to sue.

Queens, NY +Triborugh Bridge MVA+

Queens, NY +Triborugh Bridge MVA+ A motor vehicle accident in Queens at Grand Central Parkway going to the Triborough Bridge with a child that was injured in one vehicle, Hatzolah responding.

Dover Township, NJ - Surviving Sefer Torah From Nazi Germany To Be Rededicated

Dover Township, NJ - A Sefer Torah saved from destruction during World War II will be rededicated during next Shabbas services at Congregation B'nai Israel, Old Freehold Road, in the Toms River section of Dover Township.
The Sefer Torah, was brought to New Jersey in 1939 by Theodore Pfaelzer, who sneaked it out of a synagogue in Hemsbach, Germany, following Kristallnacht," in 1938 when hundreds of synagogues, Jewish cemeteries and Jewish-owned shops were destroyed in Germany and Austria.

The torah is being rededicated by Pfaelzer's daughter, Margot Mayer of Lakehurst. "The synagogue building in Hemsbach, Germany is still standing and was restored to its original condition by the German authorities in 1987, including the Mikva, the religious bath, which had not been used in more than a hundred years," Mayer said in the release.

Mayer donated silver ornaments to enhance the scrolls as well as a custom-made cover representing the Tree of Life.

Brooklyn, NY - New Sweet Home For Disabled Holocaust Survivor

Brooklyn, NY - There's a happy ending in sight for a disabled Holocaust survivor who has been living as a virtual prisoner in his Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY home.

After two years of legal wrangling, Chaim Indig, 83, a survivor of Auschwitz, who uses a wheelchair, and his wife, Sara, is set to move into a handicapped-accessible co-op in Premier House - a luxury building whose board initially had turned him away.
"He indicated he's excited about the move," said his daughter, Shevie Sinensky, who must speak for Indig because Parkinson's disease has robbed him of the ability to talk.
The Borough Park house he's vacating has 10 steps outside the front door, so he can't get out without a stretcher and two men to carry it. Now "Mr. Indig gets to live the rest of his life in freedom and peace, without the bars of his Holocaust prison or the steps of his house," said Adam Bailey, who had been the Indigs' lawyer.

Son-in-law Gary Sinensky bought the $412,500 co-op on Ocean Avenue for Indig after a legal settlement with the Housing board. The seller was board member Solomon Rokowsky, who purchased the flat after Indig was turned down in his bid to buy it.

The Indigs and Gary Sinensky had sued Rokowsky and other board members, alleging discrimination against Indig because of his disability.
Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice David Schmidt dismissed the discrimination charge. But an appeals court reversed that decision, and Schmidt pressed everyone to make peace. "The judge used his good offices to bridge the gap between the two parties," said Israel Goldberg, a lawyer for the board. "There's no animus."

Brooklyn, NY - Townhouse-Style Condominiums On Market In Williamsburg

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY - Backed by a familiar architect/design team, a new condominium with a “townhouse style” has begun sales in Williamsburg. Known as Roebling Square at North 8th Street, it is the latest addition to a plethora of Williamsburg condominium projects designed by Karl Fischer Architects of Manhattan with interiors by internationally-known designer Andres Escobar of Montreal.

This particular development’s lot spans 70-80 Roebling Street. Its townhouse style refers to the duplex units on the first and top floors.
Fischer’s brick façade building has five separate entrances and 36 one- and two-bedroom homes. The top floors have double height ceilings and mezzanines; the ground floor’s duplexes flow into a lower level. All layouts include over nine-foot ceilings, Brazilian oak floors, and oversized windows and most have outdoor space - either a garden, balcony or terrace.

Other Karl Fischer-designed developments in the neighborhood are Schaefer Landing at 440 Kent Ave. with 350 units; the Gretsch Building at 60 Broadway with 120 units; and 185-191 South 4th Street with 44 units.

Prices at Roebling Square are currently listed in the mid $500,000s and occupancy is expected in mid-summer.

Gothenburg, Sweden - Mystery at Sea: Man Found Drifting on Raft Castaway Told Police He Wants to Go to New York

Gothenburg, Sweden - Police are attempting to question a man rescued from a raft 30 miles out to sea between Norway and Denmark, hoping to uncover his real identity.

Taken into custody by Swedish police in the town of Gothenburg, the man, who claims that his name is George Williams, told police that he was on his way to New York.
The man said he had applied for U.S. citizenship at the American embassy in London.

During a police interrogation, he said that he was born in 1959 to Russian Jewish parents.
Fluent in English, he claimed to have lived in Israel and America before being discovered floating on the raft made of four small oil drums and a wood pallet tied together.

But he would not disclose any details of how he came to be in the freezing waters, saying only that he was cast overboard from a British ship. Before being picked up by the crew of a Norwegian gas tanker, the Berge Odin, he told police that he had spent almost five days and four nights at sea, but Swedish police disputed his claims, saying that "according to experts we have consulted, it would have been impossible for him to have survived more than 12-14 hours in those conditions."
But an official from Bergesen, the shipping company, said "his condition is worse than first assumed. He is suffering from hypothermia, is dehydrated and exhausted."
The official said that he was fortunate to be found at all, given the conditions at sea. "Temperatures were at freezing point, and the raft would stand only minor waves," the official said.

In fact, the man was almost not picked up by the crew, who initially mistook him for a floating piece of debris before realizing that he was a human being.
Jan Haakon Pettersen, the deputy chief executive of Bergesen, said that the castaway, "did not want to say any more before meeting a lawyer."
Next week, the Swedish police plan to check the man's claims with the American embassy, among others.

Omsk, Russia - Swastikas Scrawled On Jewish Graves

Omsk, Russia - Vandals have scrawled swastikas on 10 graves in a Jewish cemetery in Russia in the latest of a wave of racist attacks across the country.

"It is very sad that the Siberian town of Omsk has found a place in the list of cities where a demonstration of anti-Semitism has occurred. What has been done in the Jewish cemetery is not just scrawls in black pen, it is not just hooliganism," a Jewish group said.

Cairo, Egypt - New Bin Laden Tape Aired

Cairo, Egypt - A tape recording alleged to be of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden accuses that the West's decision to cut aid to the Palestinians proves it is at war against Islam.

New Square, NY +Serious MVA+

New Square, NY +Very Serious MVA+ A head on motor vehicle accident between a SUV and a small vehicle with very serious injuries and possible fatal and some trapped on Route 45 and Washington Avenue, COMMAND requesting ALS BLS and FD on a rush.

U/D: 02:24
One female aided being extricated in traumatic arrest.

U/D: 02:46
The female has expired at Good Samaritan Hospital.