Monsey, NY - Rabbi Drops Tax Lawsuit

Monsey, NY - A rabbi will drop a lawsuit he brought against the town of Ramapo when it removed a religious tax exemption from a house he owned.

The lawsuit, which had resulted in a trial begun in state Supreme Court in White Plains, will be dropped by Rabbi Herman Oberlander, whom Ramapo depicted as a landlord profiting from the property. "My client made a decision," said Oberlander's lawyer, Joel Scheinert of Nanuet.
He would not say what prompted the decision to end the dispute, which began in 2004 after the Town Assessor's Office eliminated a 100 percent religious-use tax exemption that had been in effect since 1995. And Ramapo had rejected Scheinert's request to negotiate a settlement. "We were not willing to entertain settlement discussions, because we didn't feel the exemption was warranted," Town Attorney Michael Klein said. Klein said all taxes must be paid going back to 2004.

The house, at 4 Roman Blvd., is assessed at $73,800, which would entail taxes totaling about $11,000 without the exemption. Ramapo assesses at 13.6 percent of market value, making the actual worth of the house about $542,000.
A nonjury trial before state Supreme Court Justice Thomas Dickerson had its first session in March. A second session had been scheduled May 17.
That session was postponed, though, after Scheinert said Oberlander had been ill.
Ramapo had already sent documents to the court showing that Oberlander, while claiming residence at the Monsey house, was also claiming to be a resident of a Miami, Fla., condominium.
Miami-Dade County records show that Oberlander and his wife, Bella, claimed a homestead exemption worth $25,000, which reduced the taxable value of the condominium to $48,736 from $73,736.
During the one trial session in White Plains, Ramapo Deputy Town Attorney Michael Specht questioned Oberlander about the Miami residence, which Oberlander said he occupied some months of the year.
Specht also asked Oberlander about a Brooklyn apartment, which Oberlander said was an office where he had once lived.
The rabbi testified that he shared the Monsey house with two granddaughters and their husbands, whom he described as associate rabbis.
Oberlander told the court that he had about 100 grandchildren, so he couldn't recall the names of the granddaughters living in the house.

Jerusalem, Israel - Yeshiva Student Stabbed in Old City

Jerusalem, Israel - A fourteen year old male yeshiva student was stabbed and sustained light injuries near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City on Shabbos afternoon.

Paramedics treated the youth for light injuries. Police are currently searching for the stabber, who fled the scene.

Yogyakarta, Indonesia - Powerful Earthquake Rattles Central Indonesia

Yogyakarta, Indonesia - A strong earthquake rattles the Indonesian island of Java early Saturday, with at least 3,800 people that are now known to have died and injuring thousands more.

U/D: 05/28/06 14:19
Death Toll Passes 4,300.

U/D: 22:57
Government officials say death toll in Indonesian earthquake nears 5,000.

U/D: 05/29/06 08:11
The Indonesian Social Affairs Ministry says the earthquake death toll is now 5,137, revising its count upward.

Ferry Service To Lower Manhattan Coming To Rockland

Rockland County, NY - Starting in spring 2007, Rockland and Westchester commuters can leave traffic tie-ups in their wake as they speed to lower Manhattan by ferry.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey awarded a $4.2 million, two-year contract that will allow New York Water Taxi to run the subsidized ferry service. Commuters from Rockland can travel from the terminal in Haverstraw village by ferry, via a stop in Yonkers, to the financial district on Manhattan's West Side or down to Pier 11, near Wall Street.

New York, NY - NYPD To Spend $10.4M On Overtime Because Of Strike

New York, NY - The NYPD shelled out $10.4 million in overtime costs as a result of the illegal three-day strike by the city's transit workers in December.

The total was lower than the $17 million officials had estimated, because the strike occurred during the week, when more officers are on duty. The state has committed to paying the city $2.5 million to reimburse costs of the strike, but it is unclear how much will go to the Police Department. Officials have estimated the total cost of the strike to the city's economy at nearly $1 billion.

Bnei Brak, Israel - Bomb found In Abandoned Building

Bnei Brak, Israel - Police safely detonated on Friday evening an explosive device that had been discovered in the abandoned old school building of Torah Imelucha in Bnei Brak.

Police believed that the device was hidden by criminals.

Jerusalem, Israel - Ultra-Orthodox Jews Surf Forbidden Internet

Jerusalem, Israel - In the Strudel Internet café, most of his clients are ultra-Orthodox youngsters who use the Internet for e-mailing and surfing news sites, says owner Michael Krumer. They are curious and they are increasingly breaking through their tightly sealed society into the world, defying long-timed traditions considering of the outside culture and the Internet as a threat to their way of life, and they are coming to the café for surfing the forbidden Internet world.

Many also visit dozens of ultra-Orthodox chat rooms where they can exchange thoughts on issues such as the Bible and community gossip.

Many Yeshiva rabbis have repeatedly warned their followers of the "destructive influence" of the "outside culture" and especially the Internet, fearing they will corrupt the purity of their lives. "Instead of dedicating their attention to Torah studies, our children are being exposed to the Internet," said rabbi Shmuel Haim Papenheim, the editor of an ultra-Orthodox magazine.
Jewish sages have ruled that the Internet should not be let into homes unless a rabbi grants special authorization.

Papenheim said that the Internet, more than television and radio, poses a real threat to the austere and pure way of life of ultra-Orthodox children. "We must guard our children. The young generation is completely exposed and we must build walls around them because the other side is constantly trying to harm them."

Many Internet cafes have received threats to close from the so-called "modesty patrols" -- groups of ultra-Orthodox men who police their neighborhoods to guard the community against immodesty and vice.

Some cafe owners were even forced to shut down.

Two weeks ago, one cafe was gutted by what police suspect was a group of ultra-Orthodox arsonists. "The patrols said they have cameras which take pictures of anyone entering and that the pictures will be hung on street walls," said Eli, a 18-year-old Yeshiva student. "Students can be kicked out of their Yeshiva and might have problems in their matchmaking," he added.

Washington, DC +Capitol Building Sealed Off By Police+

Washington, DC +Capitol Building Sealed Off By Police+ Police have sealed off the Capitol after receiving reports of gunfire in a garage office building across the street at the Rayburn House Office Building where Congressmen have their offices. Four ambulances arrive at House office building.

U/D: 11:22
Capitol building reopened, Rayburn office still closed.

Poland Fears World Forgets Auschwitz Was Nazi Camp

Poland - Six decades after the Holocaust, Poland fears the world is forgetting Nazi Germany was responsible for the wartime concentration camps meant to wipe out European Jewry.

Warsaw takes the issue so seriously that it has started a campaign to ensure the phrase "Nazi German concentration camp" is used in reference to Auschwitz. Newspapers writing "Polish death camps" promptly get a sharp protest letter from the local Polish embassy to the editor.

Part of the reason for the use of "Polish death camps" is geographical confusion, historians say. The passage of time means fewer people know the Nazis set up their death camps in occupied areas far from Germany itself, probably to hide the horrors of the Holocaust.

Auschwitz is the largest of the camps in present-day Poland. Among the others were Belzec, Sobibor and Treblinka.

Washington, DC +New CIA Director Confirmed+

Washington, DC +New CIA Director Confirmed+ After hearing assurances he will be independent of the Pentagon, the Senate easily confirmed Gen. Michael Hayden, a career Air Force man, to head the CIA.

Hayden, a four-star general, currently is the top deputy to National Intelligence Director John Negroponte.
Hayden, 61, would be the first active-duty or retired military officer to run the spy agency in 25 years. He was approved by a vote of 78-15.

Brooklyn, NY - Williamsburg Bridge Lane Closures

Brooklyn, NY - Both lanes of the Brooklyn-bound outer roadway of the Williamsburg Bridge will be closed to traffic for a two-week period beginning Thursday, June 1, until Wednesday, June 14 for re-paving. The work will take place 24 hours per day (weather permitting). Four lanes of traffic will be maintained in the peak travel direction by reversing the north inner roadway. Trucks will be prohibited Brooklyn-bound and will be directed to use the Manhattan Bridge.

New York, NY - East 48th Street To Be Named William Goldberg Way

New York, NY - The city of New York has announced that East 48th Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues will be officially named "William Goldberg" Way, and a ceremony honoring Goldberg will take place on Father's Day, June 18, at noon.

Sen. Charles Schumer will join the Goldberg family for the dedication ceremony. The sign will sit just below the building of William Goldberg's corporate offices where Goldberg worked to build his company into one of the most prestigious diamond houses in the world and where he made such great strides for the diamond industry as a whole.

In New York City's diamond district, Goldberg was recognized as a leader in the industry. William Goldberg served as president of the Diamond Dealers Club from 1978 -1984. With a distinguished career and legacy, Goldberg made great industry wide improvements such as opening up the Club for the first time to the media, and making 47th Street a safer and cleaner place. In addition to his industry achievements, Goldberg was also known for his philanthropic efforts raising funds for Yeshiva University.

New York, NY - City Plans Hurricane Drills

New York, NY - As hurricane season approaches, city officials are updating evacuation plans and scheduling drills to test their tactics, emergency management commissioner said.

Next month, senior-level officials at the police and fire departments, transit agencies and others will stage a tabletop drill. Later in the summer, they plan a field exercise. During the field drill, officials plan to set up an evacuation center and several shelters to test how the facilities might operate when deluged with people. City employees will most likely play the roles of the hurricane victims and evacuees.

The city's highest-risk zones include lower Manhattan, Brooklyn's Coney Island, the Rockaways in Queens and the perimeter of Staten Island. Officials say 30-foot-high storm surges could drown those areas during a major storm.

Boca Raton, FL. - Man Surrenders In Vandalism Against Jewish Bookstore And Vehicle

Boca Raton, FL. - An 18-year-old wanted for vandalizing a Jewish book store in Palm Beach County as reported on VOS IZ NEIAS, turned himself in to authorities this afternoon, officials said.

Connor Thomas Ranieri allegedly wrote on the glass windows of the Yiddishkeit book store with several swastikas and the phrase ''bun the jews'' also a Chrysler van in the parking lot in Mission Bay Plaza on State Road 7 west of Boca Raton was also vandalized with several swastikas and the words ``burn the jews.''

A confidential informant told authorities a man named ''Connor'' driving a black Saab bragged that he vandalized the store.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office tracked down Connor's mother, Michelle Ranieri, who gave them the number for her son, who was staying in a hotel in Deerfield Beach. Ranieri told Sgt. Conley that ''he did write the swastikas and remarks on the storefront and van but there is no damage as it is removable.'' Charges against Ranieri include misdemeanor criminal mischief/graffiti and evidencing prejudice.

Southbound Palisades Pkwy Traffic Alert

Alpine, NY +Southbound Palisades Pkwy Traffic Alert+ A motor vehicle accident on the southbound of the Palisades Parkway near exit 2 (Rt 9W) is blocking the left lane, PD on the scene removing the vehicle, heavy delays approaching the George Washington Bridge.

New York, NY - Fleet Week Jets Rumble Over City

New York, NY - The booming sound of jet engines in the city skies startled and in some cases scared many people around town. More than 850 callers flooded the city's 311 hotline concerned about the unexpected flyovers.

The city has been telling people the flyover was part of Fleet Week, but there has been some confusion. The Navy says it was members of the Blue Angels flying over the city to advertise an air show this weekend.

Regardless, authorities say there was no cause for alarm.

Washington, DC - U.S. Senate Votes To Reopen Statue Of Liberty's Crown

Washington, DC - The Senate voted to reopen the Statue of Liberty's crown, which has been off limits to the public since Sept. 11, 2001, because of terrorism fears.

The reopening provision was tucked into a larger immigration bill whose prospects are still uncertain. Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Robert Menendez, D-N.J., added an amendment to the bill requiring the Department of the Interior, the nation's main conservation agency, to reopen the stairs leading up to the crown within 60 days of the bill's passage.

Brooklyn, NY +Trapped in Elevator+

Brooklyn, NY +Trapped in Elevator+ Fire Department on the scene at 570 Wythe Avenue Clymer Street to Division Avenue with a girl trapped in a stuck elevator, Hatzolah, Shomrim are all responding.

Israel - Scientists Find Underground Tunnels

Israel - Underground chambers and tunnels used during a Jewish revolt against the Romans nearly 2,000 years ago have been uncovered in northern Israel, archaeologists said.
The Jews laid in supplies and were preparing to hide from the Romans during their revolt in A.D. 66-70, the experts said. The pits, which are linked by short tunnels, would have served as a concealed subterranean home.

The underground chambers at the Israeli Arab village of Kfar Kana, north of Nazareth, were built from housing materials common at the time and hidden directly beneath the floors of aboveground homes - giving families direct access to the hideouts. "This construction was very well camouflaged inside one of the houses," one scientists said. "There are three pits under this house and one tunnel leading to another pit. There are 11 storage jars in that pit."

Built like igloos, the chambers are wide at the base and small at the top. The tunnels between them are short and the ceilings are too low for standing upright.

Monsey, NY +Child Struck+

Monsey, NY +Child Struck+ A motor vehicle accident were a Ford Explorer SUV struck a 12-year-old girl on Route 306 and Phillas Terrace, Hatzolah transported the aided to Nyack Hospital, child is in good condition.

Rockland County, NY +Bear Sighting+

Orange County, NY - A black bear spotted romping through Upper Nyack back yards yesterday is believed to be on the move and traveling through Sparkill and Tappan.

Residents reporting sightings described it as a large adult male bear weighing about 350 pounds, Sgt. Robert Ruggiero said. "It's not in any one place," he said, "The animal is very mobile." It was last seen at Washington and Flitt streets in Tappan, he said.

Police notify nearby families about the animal and warn them not to approach or attempt to feed it. Police also alerted the school district's in the area, asking schools to keep students indoors. The bear does not appear to be aggressive so teachers and parents should go about their normal business, but should be cautious, Ruggiero said.

NYPD Internal Affairs Chief Gets Nasty Gift

New York, NY - The NYPD's chief corruption fighter received a nasty gift that triggered a sweeping anti-terrorism and biochemical response inside his police headquarters office.
Sources say the package was brought to Internal Affairs Chief Charles Campisi on by cops from the IAB's field office on Hudson Street, where the post office had originally delivered it.

Campisi opened it - and retreated when a foul odor radiated out of it.

Officials opened it and found two foul-smelling socks that were stuffed with lumps of coal. Cops are tying to determine who sent it.

New York, NY - Mayor Announced Appointees To Community Assistance Unit

New York, NY - Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced the appointment of Patrick J. Brennan as Commissioner of the Mayor's Community Assistance Unit (CAU). The agency maintains liaison with community groups, civic and neighborhood associations, and public and private agencies in order to address and bring to the attention of the Mayor and appropriate City officials issues and problems of concern to communities.

Since January, Brennan has worked directly for the Mayor as Special Assistant to the Mayor while also serving as Chief of Staff to the Deputy Mayor for Intergovernmental Affairs. Last year, Brennan was a Senior Advisor to the Bloomberg for Mayor 2005 campaign.

The Mayor also announced the promotions of two veteran CAU aides - Christopher Coffey and Fred Kreizman - to greater responsibilities within the unit. Christopher Coffey will now serve as Deputy Commissioner for Operations, and Fred Kreizman, a frum Orthodox Jew and very well known and admired by many chasdic and orthodox jews in NYC, will serve as Assistant Commissioner of Citywide Outreach.

U/D:
Asked whether he considered Mr. Greenspun effective, Councilman Simcha Felder, a Brooklyn Democrat, replied: "The more fundamental question is whether the unit has been seen as being effective, in general. If you ask me what innovative and creative programs it has done in my district, I couldn't tell you."

He added, "I think that Patrick Brennan will breathe new life into an agency that is critical to the city."

Rabbi Michael S. Miller, chief executive of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, disagreed about Mr. Greenspun's tenure. "Jonathan performed his responsibilities with skill and concern," he said. "What is important to our community is his ability to access Mayor Bloomberg. I know from personal experience that on many occasions, he had that access and utilized it wisely."

Washington, DC - Postal Service To issue Stamp Honoring Wartime Rescuer

Washington, DC - The United States Postal Service will issue a stamp honoring an American diplomat who helped Jews escape the Holocaust.
The stamp will honor Hiram Bingham IV, who provided fake visas to journalist and scholar Varian Fry, who helped Jews pass into safety. Bingham also hid Jews in his home after he was posted in southern France in 1940.

After German and French officials complained his activities, Bingham was transferred to Argentina. In 1946, he resigned from the U.S. Foreign Service in protest over the U.S. refusal to investigate how war criminals were being given safe haven in the South American country.

Bingham is the only U.S. diplomat “that we know of who risked his career, indeed sacrificed his career, in order to save Jews from the Holocaust,” Rafael Medoff, director of the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, said.

U. K. - Blair: Jews Expulsion Was Shameful

U. K. - Tony Blair has described the expulsion of Jews from England seven centuries ago as a “shameful moment” in Britain’s history.

In a message sent to a concert to celebrate 350 years of Jewish life in Britain, the Prime Minister said the country had been poorer for their absence. He said: “But the decision to reverse that expulsion was an important precursor to Britain becoming a tolerant and multicultural society. Ever since then the Jewish community has made enormous contributions to Britain in every field… And while many Jews in Britain have had to struggle against prejudice, Britain can also be proud of its role as a refuge for Jews fleeing persecution elsewhere.”

Blair also took the opportunity to pledge to continue fighting anti-semitism “as fiercely as it fights all forms of hatred”.

Monsey, NY - Karben Still Controls His Large Campaign Account

Monsey, NY - Former Assemblyman Ryan Karben was an aggressive fundraiser. He had $534,000 in the bank as of January, despite being in just his fourth year in the Legislature.

That ranked him no. 4 among incumbents in the Assembly, where the bulk of officeholders carry less than a six-figure balance in their campaign accounts, a review of state records shows, that only Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan ($2.7 million), Dov Hikind, D-Brooklyn ($765,000) and Vito Lopez, D-Brooklyn ($542,000) had more than Karben — and they have a combined 76 years in the Assembly.

And even though Karben resigned his Assembly seat, he still controls his campaign account. And he can do almost anything with it, state officials acknowledge. But that has some watchdog groups and legislators renewing a call to tighten the rules governing how campaign contributions can be used.

Houston, TX - +Conviction in Enron Case+

Houston, TX - +Conviction in Enron Case+ Enron Corp. Chief Executive Jeffrey Skilling and Executive Kenneth Lay have been convicted of conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud.

Hamas Seeks To Attack Israeli Skyscrapers With Planes

Israel - Hamas is seeking the ability to attack, using small airplanes laden with explosives to be flown September 11-style into important targets, possibly Tel Aviv skyscrapers, a leader of Hamas's so-called military wing, Abu Abdullah said.

Mr. Abdullah is considered one of the most important operational members of Hamas's Izzedine al-Qassam Martyrs Brigades, Hamas's declared "resistance" department. He said his group would not immediately carry out airplane attacks, but that Hamas is preparing for the possibility the long-term truce it claims to abide by might end.

Roosevelt, NJ - Boro Concerned About Possible Boarding House

Roosevelt, NJ - The yeshiva students' use of a local residence has prompted questions from borough officials. Borough Council members heard from Housing Officer Edward Goetzmann, who has looked into the use by Yeshiva Me'on Hatorah students of the house at 53 N. Rochdale Ave. The yeshiva is located in the borough on Homestead Lane.

Goetzmann said he has seen yeshiva students traveling up and down Rochdale Avenue and going in and out of the house, and where 12-14 boys sleep each night. "There are more people there than there should be." "The question is, what is the building being used for?" Goetzmann asked.

Phone calls to Yeshiva Me'on Hatorah Vice President Josh Pruzansky went unanswered.
Goetzmann said that he told Rabbi Yisroel Eisenberg, of the yeshiva, that the house is zoned as a single-family occupancy dwelling. He also said the rabbi is somehow related to the tenants.

According to Goetzmann, there are no sprinklers in the house, and have had septic issues several years ago.

Manhattan, NY +Transit Power Outage+

Manhattan, NY +Transit Power Outage+ A major power outage possibly at Penn Station 31st Street and 7th Avenue with no services on Amtrak between Washington DC and NYC, NJ Transit's Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coastline are also suspended.

Thousands have been stranded on the rails, NJ Transit PD has been requested to all stations for crowd control.


U/D:
Three NJ Transit trains and one Amtrak train are stuck in the Hudson River Tunnel 800-to 900 passengers on them, and one Amtrak train is stuck in the B&P Tunnel in Baltimore, Maryland.

U/D: 11:34
Rescue Train being used in the Hudson River Tunnel to evacuate the passengers.

U/D: 13:56
FD reporting a train has arrived with passengers that have been left off, EMS treating 8 aided at this time, situation under control.

U/D: 15:17
NJ Transit said it planned to resume normal service on the Northeast Corridor
and North Jersey Coast lines after 21:00 Spokesman Dan Stessel said four
trains per hour will operate on those lines between 16:00. and 21:00.

Lakewood, NJ - NAACP Asking To Reclassify A Bias Incident As A Bias Crime

Lakewood, NJ - A black 15-year-old boy, Jamarr Dickerson took a shortcut through an alley behind some houses near Lawrence Avenue in Lakewood, NJ on his way to a friend's house when 43-year-old Elchonon Zimmerman, who lives on Lawrence Avenue, told him that he was on private property and tried to take the youth's picture with his cell phone camera.
A crowd of white men gathered around the boy and uttered a series of racial slurs, the local NAACP alleges. The men said, among other slurs, that black youth did not belong in a predominantly Jewish section of Lakewood, and a scuffle ensued and when a patrolman arrived, he found Zimmerman kneeling on the youth's back. Dickerson was treated and released from the hospital for injuries that he said included cuts on his neck and shoulder and some bruises. Dickerson said he also had a shoe print on his right arm.

Now the local NAACP branch wants the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office to take over the investigation, and they are calling the case a bias crime because the teenager is black.
But the county office declined to usurp Lakewood police, citing a standard policy of assisting police departments with bias allegations. "The local department is conducting the investigation," Assistant Prosecutor Martin Anton said. "The reports are being sent to us and we review the material as we receive it."

Warren A. Sherard, NAACP branch president, said that the case should be taken over by the prosecutor's office "or even perhaps a federal prosecutor." "The Lakewood Police Department is a very professional organization, but the circumstances surrounding this case are sensitive enough to warrant some outside help," Sherard said.

Zimmerman was charged with simple assault.
Public Safety Director Al Peters said "We did file a bias incident report," Peters said. "We did not file bias crime charges. It did not fit."
Sherard, though, questioned why only one person has been arrested in connection with the incident when Dickerson reported several men either touched him or uttered racial slurs.
"It is our position that everyone that put their hand on this child or yelled racial slurs at him while he was being assaulted . . . is part of the alleged crime," Sherard said. "We will not be satisfied with the arrest of one lone participant."
Peters countered that no one is coming forward to identify who any of those men are and since Zimmerman is not accused of issuing racial slurs, he does not meet the requirements for bias charges.

Brooklyn, NY +Child Struck+

Brooklyn, NY +Child Struck+ A motor vehicle accident on Avenue "J" and Coney Island Avenue with a child that was struck, Hatzolah responding.

Brooklyn, NY +MVA+

Brooklyn, NY +MVA+ A motor vehicle accident on Nostrand Avenue and Avenue "L", Hatzolah BLS units responding with the ambulance.

Brooklyn, NY +Child Fell From Window+

Brooklyn, NY +Child Fell From Window+ Hatzolah on the scene on 57 Taaffe Place and Little Nassau with a child that fell out from a 3rd floor window, NYPD of the 79th Pct on the scene requesting ESU.
Child is semi conscious and being transported to Bellevue Hospital over the Williamsburg Bridge with the NYPD clearing the bridge.

U/D: 18:39
East Side Hatzolah doing an escort for the ambulance

Lakewood, NJ - Investigation Continues In Abduction Assault Case

Lakewood, NJ - Authorities continue to investigate the abduction and assault of a 20-year-old township woman who was taken from a parking lot the night of May 7, held overnight, then returned eight hours later.

Public Safety Director Al Peters said "a multi agency investigation is continuing" as law enforcement pursues all available leads. The FBI and the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office are involved in the investigation.

Women are urged to be as cautious as possible and to be diligent in pursuing safe daily travel, Peters said. "We continue to ask that anyone with information about the case contact Detective Lt. Joseph Isnardi"

Freehold, NJ - Judge Eases Restrictions On Most Of Dwek's Properties

Freehold, NJ - The Superior Court judge overseeing the civil case against Solomon Dwek eased restrictions on most of his properties.

In issuing the order, Superior Court Judge Alexander D. Lehrer, here, said he wanted the management of the various rentals and commercial properties to continue as normal so that mortgages can be paid, lawns can be cut and rents collected.

On May 3, Lehrer froze all of Dwek's assets, estimated to be worth more than $300 million and covering more than 256 parcels in New Jersey and other states, after PNC Bank accused Dwek of defrauding it of $20 million.

In his ruling, Lehrer ordered that the 10 properties claimed by Dwek's uncle, Joseph Dwek, 54 of Brooklyn, should remain frozen until a later hearing. And he said, that he hopes that the entire civil case "is done by Labor Day.'' Donald Lomurro, who is overseeing the claims against Dwek, told the judge he is more optimistic. "I'm hoping for Independence Day,'' Lomurro said.

Newport, RI - Judge Throws Out Neighbor's Suit Against Touro Synagogue

Newport, RI - Touro Synagogue's long-planned construction of a new visitors center and restoration of the Barney House as an education center is expected to begin this summer, now that a Superior Court judge has ruled in favor of the synagogue in a lawsuit that has held up the project for the past year.

Judge Stephen P. Nugent has denied and dismissed the complaint of Wendy Anolik, an abutter to the Levy House owned by the Touro Synagogue Foundation, that the Newport Zoning Board of Review approved the project in violation of city ordinances and state law.
Attorney Keith Kyle, who represents Anolik, said he has asked the state Supreme Court to review the decision. Attorney Turner Scott, who represents Touro, said he would file an answer to Anolik's Supreme Court petition within the next 20 days.

Meanwhile, Michael L. Balaban, chief executive officer of the Touro Synagogue Foundation, said Touro would now move forward with the plans. "They can move forward, but at their own peril," Kyle said. "If the Supreme Court rules the zoning board had no jurisdiction, the work will be halted."

Scott doesn't believe the Supreme Court will do that.

"It's a zoning issue," he said. "There are no deep legal issues involved."

Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Alleged Ecstasy Kingpin Pleads Not Guilty

Ft. Lauderdale, FL - The man federal prosecutors claim is the world’s biggest distributors of the drug Ecstasy pleaded not guilty to federal charges that could put him in prison for up to 40 years

51-year-old Zeev Rosenstein, an Israeli citizen, entered the plea nearly three months after he was extradited from Israel to face charges that he conspired to distribute more than 1 million Ecstasy pills in the U.S. between summer 1999 and November 2001.

Rosenstein, dressed in a tan jailhouse outfit, said "not guilty, your honor" through a Hebrew translator when asked for a plea by U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Seltzer. No trial date has been set. He is being held on $10 million bond. His attorney, Howard Srebnick, said Rosenstein is currently unable to make bail despite having significant financial resources around the world.

At the hearing, Srebnick said Rosenstein is kept in solitary custody for 23 hours a day in the special housing unit, or "SHU," reserved for high-security prisoners at the Miami federal detention center.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Child Hanging From Window+

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Child Hanging From Window+ Fire Department and NYPD are on the scene requesting ESU on a rush to 59 Penn Street and Bedford Avenue for a child that's hanging head down out of a 3rd floor window stuck in the window gates. Hatzolah on the scene.

U/D: 16:33
FD cut the window bars, and took the child down with a safety basket, Hatzolah transporting the child to the hospital.

New York, NY - City Buses To Get Security Cameras

New York, NY - Hundreds of Manhattan buses will be outfitted with surveillance cameras as part of a security upgrade prompted by bomb attacks on public transit in London and Madrid. New York City Transit officials said the initiative will begin to bring New York into line with other big cities that have put cameras on buses and trains in recent years.

Brooklyn, NY +MVA+

Brooklyn, NY +MVA+ A motor vehicle accident on Nostrand Avenue between Avenues "J" and "K" with some in juried Hatzolah responding

New York, NY - Pakistani Immigrant Guilty In Subway Bomb Plot

New York, NY - A Pakistani immigrant was convicted on charges he plotted to blow up one of Manhattan's busiest subway stations in retaliation for the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.

Canada - Newspaper Apologizes For Anti-Iran Report

Ottawa, Canada - The Canadian National Post newspaper apologized for an article that said Iran planned to force Jews and other religious minorities to wear distinctive clothing to distinguish themselves from Muslims.

The National Post ran the piece on its front page Friday along with a large photo from 1944 that showed a Hungarian couple wearing the yellow stars that the Nazis forced Jews to sew to their clothing. The story, which included tough anti-Iran comments, was picked up widely by Web sites and by other media.

But the National Post, a longtime critic of Tehran, admitted it had not checked the piece thoroughly enough before running it. "It is now clear the story is not true," Douglas Kelly, the National Post's editor in chief, wrote in a long editorial on Page 2. "We apologize for the mistake and for the consternation it has caused not just National Post readers, but the broader public who read the story."

U/D: 05/25/06
Canada's ambassador to Iran was summoned to the Foreign Ministry of Iran in apparent diplomatic fallout from remarks by Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper after a the Canadian newspaper report suggested religious minorities in Iran would be forced to wear badges.

New York - Thruway To Get Announces Dynamic Message Signs

New York - In an effort to give more timely information to motorists traveling along the New York State Thruway, the Thruway Authority announced that it has invested approximately $340,000 on an additional 10 portable Dynamic Message Signs (DMS) that have been installed at strategic locations. This initiative was expedited to accommodate the heavy flow of traffic that is customary during the Memorial Day holiday weekend. These new DMS sites have the potential to impact an additional 330,000 motorists daily.
"Our customers have asked for more timely and accurate information regarding incidents that impact traffic and this plan will help to accomplish just that," said Thruway Authority Executive Director. "This initiative includes the installation of permanent DMS at these locations allowing the Authority to provide customers with traffic information at a time and location in which they can make informed travel decisions."

Upon installation of the permanent signs, the portable signs will be re-commissioned to the next sites chosen as "customer critical" decision points, allowing even more Thruway customers to make necessary travel choices with better information.

The additional signs complement the Authority's 43 permanent and 27 portable DMS that are currently available to communicate directly with travelers on the highway. Each of these locations will provide motorists on heavily traveled sections with pertinent information prior to a major interchange, so that customers can decide to either exit or remain on the system, depending on the conditions.

Dutch Student Sentenced For Snti-Jewish Video

A Dutch court sentenced a student to 40 hours community service for making an anti-Jewish video called "Housewitz," that likened the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz, Poland, to a dance party.

The 23-year-old student, is incredibly sorry about it, says his lawyer, R. Baumgardt. "He'd like to scream it from the rooftops."

News of the video's existence drew condemnations from French Jewish groups.

The three-minute video casts Nazis as DJs. It alternates black-and-white still photos of Holocaust atrocities with color images of youths at an outdoor party. And it advertises a "Free taxi ride home," showing a wheelbarrow full of corpses

FBI Probes Jewish Leaders for Lobbyist Ties

The FBI has questioned several prominent Jewish leaders about alleged efforts to offer financial aid to two former pro-Israel lobbyists charged with passing classified information to reporters and an Israeli diplomat.

Attorneys for former lobbyists Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman - who worked for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) - revealed the FBI questioning in a legal motion recently released by the federal judge overseeing the case.

In their written response to the motion, prosecutors did not reveal why FBI agents were probing the sources of funding for the pair’s defense.

According to the attorneys’ legal filing, the FBI questioned three former executive directors of AIPAC, plus Morton Klein, the national president of the Zionist Organization of America, and philanthropist Newton Becker.

The agents inquired about claims that wealthy individuals suggested to Klein that they would provide financial support if he hired Rosen, Klein said that he spurned the suggestion immediately, saying: "I’m not going to hire someone who’s about to be indicted.” they confirmed that they were grilled by FBI agents about how Rosen and Weissman were supporting themselves since they were fired by AIPAC in March 2005.

Jerusalem, Israel - Charedim Employment Grows By 40 Percent

Jerusalem, Israel - The number of ultra-Orthodox workers in industry sector rises dramatically in the last few years; most of the charedim are employed in hi-tech

The number of ultra-Orthodox employed in the industry sector in Jerusalem has grown by 40 percent in the last two years. Some 2,200 charedi men and women are currently employed in 300 factories across the capital, a figure representing a 500 percent rise over the last six years.

And an inspection conducted in Jerusalem revealed that Orthodox are mainly employed as computer programmers at hi-tech factories, and that at most plants they comprise 2-10 percent of the workforce.

At 240 of the factories, charedim make up between 10-50 percent of the workers, while 250 factories do not employ Orthodox at all.

The inspection further showed that some factories had to make special preparations prior to hiring charedi workers, with regards to the dining arrangements and allocating a place for holding prayers. Several companies in Jerusalem specialize in training charedim for work in town, especially in technological fields.

Gaza City, Gaza Strip - Explosion Kills Head Of Security

Gaza City, Gaza Strip - The head of a main Fatah-linked security force was killed in an explosion in Gaza City.

Borough Park Brooklyn, NY +Toxic Hazmat+

Borough Park Brooklyn, NY +Toxic Hazmat+ NYPD from the 66th Pct and Fire Department are on the scene of a 55 gallon toxic drum that's leaking at 1272 48th Street between 12th and 13th Avenues, NYPD ESU has been requested.

Special Envoy for Combating Anti-Semitism Assumes Post

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice administered the oath of office to the Department of State's first special envoy for monitoring and combating anti-Semitism.

Gregg Rickman, a former congressional staff member who helped investigate the United Nations Oil-for-Food Program and the retention by Swiss banks of assets belonging to Holocaust victims and their heirs, assumes this new position. His father survived the Nazi Holocaust, that murdered an estimated 6 million."If we have learned any lessons from the past, it is that anti-Semitism left unchecked results in disaster," he said.

New York - Manischewitz Buys Rokeach, Mishpacha

New York - R.A.B. Food Group, and Rokeach Food announced that R.A.B. Food Group has purchased substantially all of the assets and assumed certain specified liabilities of the privately held Rokeach. The Rokeach brands include, among others, Rokeach, Mishpacha. Rokeach is also the exclusive importer and distributor of Elite Confectionary products. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Through its R.A.B. Food Group, manufactures and markets Manischewitz, Horowitz Margareten, brand products. R.A.B. Food Group's B. Manischewitz Company is a 118 year old branded food manufacturer and is the nation's largest manufacturer of processed kosher food products including matzos, noodles, crackers, cakes, cookies, soups and processed fish products.
R.A.B. Holdings, Inc. through its Millbrook Distribution Services Inc. subsidiary is the nation's largest full service independent distributor of specialty foods, health and beauty care products and general merchandise to supermarkets and mass market retailers in 48 states. Millbrook also carries a line of its own private label brands as well as store brands and other special.

Istanbul, Turkey - +Fire In Istanbul's Airport+

Istanbul, Turkey - A huge fire engulfed the cargo section of Istanbul’s Ataturk International airport, blocking air traffic and causing hundreds of panicked people to flee.

Authorities worked to evacuate thousands of people from nearby terminals as black smoke billowed 100 feet into the air.

A firefighter atop a tall ladder poured a stream of water on the fire, and a plane flew overhead, dropping a payload onto the flames - apparently fire retardant chemicals. But the flames rose above the building.

Brooklyn, NY +MVA On Belt Pkwy+

Brooklyn, NY +MVA On Belt Pkwy+ A motor vehicle accident involving 4 vehicles on the west bound of the Belt Parkway between exits 14 and 15, Hatzolah on the scene.

Chicago, I'll - Ashkenazi Jewish Women To Get MRI For Breast Cancer

Chicago, I'll - Detecting breast cancer with sensitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging is expensive but worth it for women who carry a gene mutation that puts them at higher risk for the disease, a new study showed.
Though rare, the inherited BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutations increase a woman's lifetime risk of breast cancer by as much as 80 percent.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) costs 10 times more than mammography but is capable of detecting hard-to-find tumors, such as those under the armpits, earlier. The exam also produces more false-positive results, the study said.
Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine concluded that MRIs are cost-effective for women aged 35 to 54 who have the BRCA1 mutation. MRIs are also cost-effective for women in that age group with the BRCA2 defect for whom mammographies are not sensitive enough to detect tumors.

"Magnetic resonance imaging has a larger role in screening BRCA1 mutation carriers because they are at greater risk for developing breast cancer and their cancers are more aggressive than those that develop in BRCA2 mutation carriers," the study author wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The genetic mutations are found in roughly 2 percent of Ashkenazi Jews, five times the frequency as in the general population, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Antwerp - Jews Surrender Gem Trade to Indians

Antwerp - The Belgian city of Antwerp has the largest diamond market in the world. Orthodox Jews controlled the trade for centuries, but now globalization has seen them displaced by dealers hailing from India.

Woman Dies On Delta Airline Unoticed

Salt Lake City - A woman dies on a Delta Airlines Flight, but no one noticed until the plane landed.
Delta says the 78-year-old woman was on a flight from Fort Lauderdale to Salt Lake City, and no one around her knew she had died until it was time to deboard the plane and the woman did not move.

Delta says on late night flights flight attendants try not to bother passengers so they can sleep. That may be why the woman's death went unnoticed. The state medical examiner is conducting an autopsy to determine a cause of death.

Bethel, NY - Second Home Market Strong

Bethel, NY - The National Association of Realtors announced that vacation and investment home sales both set records in 2005, accounting for almost half of all residential sales.
According to Howard Schoor, principal of The Woodstone Group, this trend in second homes sales is still strong as evidenced by sales at The Chapin Estate, a collection of rustic, north western style estates set among 20,000 acres of untouched forest and the sparkling waters of boating reservoirs in beautiful Sullivan County, New York.

More than 120 of the "on the lake" and "at the lake" properties are sold, with more than 50 Adirondack-style estates built or underway within this naturally preserved site in the Catskill Mountain region.

Schoor states, "we see high interest by executive level baby boomers who are taking advantage of the continued low interest rates and investment potential of a second home.

Cairo, Egypt +New Audio From Osama bin Laden+

Cairo, Egypt - Osama bin Laden says in a new audio tape, that Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person convicted in the U.S. for the Sept. 11 attacks, had nothing to do with the operation of the attacks.

Monsey, NY - Karben Appears For First Time Since Resigning

Monsey, NY - Former Assemblyman Ryan Karben appeared with a smile outside his Melaney Drive house, making his first public statements since stepping down last week from his seat on the state Assembly. "I am looking forward to the opportunities that lie ahead," he said in response to several questions.

"You can tell people I'm very relaxed," he said, dressed in a blue button-down shirt and tan pants.

Karben declined to discuss any allegations or any other details concerning his resignation beyond his original statement.

A repairman for a contractor was doing work inside the home.

New York, NY - NYPD Traffic-Agent Busted For Bogus Tickets

New York, NY - A NYPD traffic-enforcement agent was busted for plastering bogus tickets on cars that had been parked legally.

Nivea Cloud, 30, resigned in the wake of an NYPD Internal Affairs investigation. Cloud, who was assigned to Manhattan for three years, allegedly placed phony tickets on cars that were parked in Long Island City, Queens, according to police sources.
She was charged with falsifying records, official misconduct, and filing false parking tickets.

All of the tickets that Cloud issued were voided after the investigation.
Officials would not give a motive, but a source said cops were looking into the possibility that she did it because it was easier than going out to look for illegally parked cars where she was assigned.

Albany, NY - Regents Call For Strict Rules On For-Profit Schools

Albany, NY - The state Board of Regents is scheduled to call today for strict rules governing the operation of for-profit colleges after accusations of cheating to get more student aid money, poor academic results, and other problems. The Regents are expected to ask the state Legislature to require greater oversight of the schools, a state Education Department spokesman, said.

Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina - Replicas Of 600-Year-Old Haggadah Being Sold

Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina - It survived the Spanish Inquisition, Nazi invaders, the Bosnian war and the ravages of time. Now, for the first time, replicas of the 600-year-old Sarajevo Haggadah are being sold to the public.
Some 613 replicas of the original, handwritten document - which is housed at Sarajevo's National Museum - have been printed and put up for sale, said Jakob Finci, the head of Bosnia's Jewish community. "We decided to print 613 replicas, as there are 613 mitzvot." Finci said after bringing the first copy to Sarajevo. The printing took about 18 months.

Written in Hebrew on bleached calfskin, the manuscript dates to the once-thriving Jewish community in Spain. The 109-page text known as the Sarajevo Haggadah was presented as a wedding gift in the 14th century to a young couple in Barcelona, Spain.
A small wine stain on one of the pages may have come from a glass raised at a Seder dinner. On another page, a small child tried out some handwriting.
The replicas took 18 months to make, and - printed on pergament, or calfskin, with leather covers - they look exactly the same as the original, Finci said.
The community already has received orders for more than 100 of the copies, at a price of $1475 each, he said.

STAT MedEvac Nears Milestone Of 100,000th Emergency Flight

Three and a-half-minutes, that's the average time for the pilot, flight nurse and flight paramedic of the STAT MedEvac team to receive a call, collect their gear and get airborne, heading to an on-scene incident, or transporting a patient from one facility to another. As the STAT MedEvac agency approaches its 100,000th recorded flight, expected later this summer.

STAT MedEvac is among the older flight EMS services in the country, the first of which emerged in the mid-1970s following the Vietnam conflict. The company now comprises 17 base sites across Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland and Ohio,

Among STAT's newest additions are night-vision goggles, which complement instruments onboard the aircraft that allow them to fly in poor weather conditions.

The averages is a couple calls each day, and this month falls in the middle of STAT's overall 17-base operation, with 40 calls answered so far.

Hezbollah Terrorist Sleeper Cell Suspected in New York City

New York - While many US government officials are deeply concerned over Iran's nuclear program, according to recent reports, investigations by Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department revealed that the Lebanon-based terrorist group Hezbollah may be plotting attacks. These attacks may be launched by their sleeper cells in New York and several other US cities.

Manhattan, NY +River Search Near Intrepid Ship+

Manhattan, NY +River Search Near Intrepid Ship+ NYPD Air-Sea Rescue and Harbor units are on the scene near the USS Intrepid Ship at West 46th Street and West Side Highway of a possible person in the water, that fell of the ship into the Hudson River.

Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY - School District Starting Construction On New Building

Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY - After 16 years as a sanctuary for those too impaired for Kiryas Joel's religious schools, the one-story building off Kahan Drive, Kiryas Joel's public school solely for disabled Hasidic children, will soon be replaced with a $13 million, 40,000-square-foot school on Bakertown Road, that will modernize the Kiryas Joel School District and accommodate the community's rapid growth.

Today, about 150 children with moderate and severe disabilities from Down syndrome to autism attend the school. Another 100 or so with minor problems are bused in for services. Most pupils are from Kiryas Joel, although some are tuition-paying students from Rockland, Sullivan and Westchester counties.

The new school will add soundproof rooms for the speech department and a therapeutic pool, among other new features. It will initially hold up to 350 students but will be able to be expanded to bring the capacity to 420, said Superintendent Steven Benardo.
The goal is to move in by the fall of 2007.

Ocean Township, NJ - Solomon Dwek Properties Worth $300 Million

Ocean Township, NJ - Real estate mogul Solomon Dwek, facing federal bank fraud charges, owns or partially owns at least 350 properties worth $300 million, his lawyer said.

Dwek also needs $23,000 a month to support himself and his family, said Robert A. Weir Jr., Dwek's Red Bank attorney. Weir has asked the judge overseeing Dwek's finances to allow the real estate investor to draw about $5,300 a week, or $276,000 a year, from his frozen assets. Dwek, currently has no income to support four children and his pregnant wife, Weir said. "We've tried to put in a reasonable request to cover expenses," Weir said.

The most recent list of properties is "more extensive than has been known," said Donald M. Lomurro, the fiscal agent. But Dwek hasn't yet finished compiling the list of properties in which he has an interest, or tallied his debts, Lomurro and Weir said. "We believe he has enough equity to pay his debts," Weir said.
Lomurro also said Monday that he is optimistic there will be enough money to pay creditors.
In addition to PNC Bank, several people claim Dwek owes them millions of dollars.
Three of Dwek's former partners and investors, including an uncle, separately accused Dwek of cheating them out of a total of $87.5 million.

Also has Dwek been vice president of the Deal Yeshiva, West Long Branch, where his father, leader of the Deal-area Syrian Jewish community, is president. In 2004, Dwek was paid $212,000 by the religious school, and his wife, Pearl, was paid $106,000 by the yeshiva as a secretary, according to federal tax records.
But Weir said that his client's status at the yeshiva is "on hold pending all of the work that needs to be completed to resolve his credit problems right now."
Weir wouldn't comment on whether Pearl Dwek was still being paid by the yeshiva.

New York, NY - Governor Pataki Unveils Statewide Thruway Toll Reduction Plan

New York, NY - Governor George Pataki unveiled legislation to establish the New York State Canal Corporation as an independent public benefit corporation with a Board of seven members, and transfer all assets and liabilities of the Canal System from the Thruway Authority to the new Canal Corporation, and to make possible a statewide reductions in Thruway commuter tolls by $110 million over the next six years.

Boca Raton, FL. - Police Might Have Suspect In Book Shop Anti-Semitic Messages

Boca Raton, FL. - Police say that they have a suspect in mind in the anti-Semitic vandalism of a Jewish book and gift shop.

Someone defaced the building and a vehicle at YiddishKeit in Boca Raton. Swastikas were painted in white all over the window and a van that was parked in the parking lot. The vandal also painted anti-Semitic messages such as "Burn the Jews" on the window.

The owner of the store said that this is not the first time his business has suffered such vandalism, but this time was much worse.

U/D: 18:39
Deputies named a suspect in the anti-Semitic vandalism, they are looking for 18-year-old Connor T. Ranieri in connection with damage done to the building and to the vehicle. Ranieri's last known address was 1200 FAU Research Blvd. in Deerfield Beach.

Rockland County, NY - One Of America's Most Wanted Might Hide Out In Monsey, NY

Monsey, NY - On the list of America's Most Wanted is, Yossi Hananiya Bensadon, authorities believe Bensadon is living in the Hasidic community in Munsey, NY. Cops say he is very religious and well-versed in Jewish practices and customs.

Cops think he might be working in roofing or construction, he has worked as a roofer in the past. He was last seen at the Win Caf Carwash in Manhattan.

Yossi Bensadon and his bodybuilding buddy, Israel Or, on Feb 21, 2003, posed as florists with a delivery of flowers, in order to weasel their way into an office in Manhattan of an Israeli-owned business, which dealt only in cash, they wrapped the bookkeeper in duct tape, then put a 9mm Glock handgun to her head and screamed to let them into the safe or they would kill her on the spot. Fearing for her life, she opened the door. After the two men barged in, they tied her up, stole all the cash from the safe and other places where they knew money was stashed, and got away with more than $150,000 in cash. In the process.
A week before the robbery, a muscular man came in and asked for a job. The man's voice and his distinctive blue eyes stuck in her memory. Officials say that man is Israel Or.

Bensadon and Or have left the New York City area and have gone their separate ways. Bensadon has been spotted in Sherman Oaks, Ca., Miami and in the Hasidic community in Munsey, NY. Authorities believe that Or has returned back to Israel.

Now cops across the country and around the world are on the look out for these two fugitives.

Orange County, NY - To Cut Gas Sales Tax

Orange County, NY - The Ways and Means Committee of the Orange County Legislature gave its approval to a plan to cap the local sales tax on gasoline when the fuel reaches $2 per gallon.

County Legislature Democratic Minority Leader Anthony Marino said county consumers will save some change with the plan. “In effect, it’s going to translate into, hopefully, maybe eight to 10 cents a gallon savings for them, in addition to whatever they are going to get from the state doing the same thing.
The Orange County cap, once approved by the full legislature, would be in effect for only five months, starting in July.

Monsey, NY - Karben Whereabouts Unknown

Monsey, NY - Five days since his sudden resignation from the state Assembly, Ryan Karben's whereabouts remained unknown.
His Monsey home appeared empty, mail piled at the front door. His district office in Pearl River was locked.

And he no longer works for the Spring Valley law firm he joined about three years ago. His name had been pried off the sign over the weekend. "He's no longer a partner," said Howard Gurock of Kurtzman Matera Gurock and Scuderi. "We handled it privately. I'm not going to say if it was his choice or our choice."

His top aide, Aaron Troodler, also resigned last week, and Karben's office in the Legislative Office Building across the street from the Capitol has been closed, said Charles Carrier, a spokesman for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan.
His district office in Pearl River will stay open for at least six weeks, Carrier said, and will be staffed by two part-time aides. "The Assembly will make sure constituents are heard and that their needs are met," Carrier said.

Assemblyman Kenneth Zebrowski, who represents Clarkstown, Haverstraw and part of Ramapo, said he had agreed to take over sponsorship of many of Karben's bills affecting areas in Rockland. "We've always tried to represent Rockland County without regard to the borders of our districts," Zebrowski said.

Thompson, NY - Bungalow Rules Under Study

Thompson, NY - The Town earlier this year imposed a moratorium on the construction of new bungalows until it had a chance to review the law that allow for their construction.

An early report on the situation has just come in, said Town Supervisor Anthony Cellini. “We got the draft of our new local law for bungalow colonies and we will be discussing it at our June 6 town board meeting,” he said.
The new law will be designed to make bungalows safer and more aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

The moratorium on new bungalow construction will remain in effect until the town adopts a new law.

Brooklyn, NY +MVA Between Fire Truck and City Bus+

Brooklyn, NY +MVA Between Fire Truck and City Bus+ NYPD of the 90th Pct on the scene of a motor vehicle accident between FDNY Engine-230 with a city bus on Penn Street and Bedford Avenue, no injuries reported, ESU Trk-8 to respond

Blooming Grove, NY - Judge Clears Way For Vote On New Village

Blooming Grove, NY - A state judge has cleared the way for residents of southern Blooming Grove to decide whether to establish the first new village in Orange County since Kiryas Joel formed in 1977.

State Supreme Court Justice Lawrence Horowitz ruled that a petition signed by nearly 1,000 residents of the proposed village was valid, despite a litany of technical objections brought by landowners hoping to derail the effort.

The ruling clears the way for Blooming Grove to schedule a referendum for residents living within the 4.8 square miles that would constitute the Village of South Blooming Grove. Almost 2,800 people live in that area.

Ziggy Brach, an influential member of that partnership, said he has no interest in an appeal, "The whole lawsuit was nonsense," he said.

South Blooming Grove was one of three village proposals that surfaced in 2004 as people in areas outside the Hasidic community of Kiryas Joel scrambled to prevent the densely populated village from expanding into their suburban neighborhoods.

Lansing, Mich. - Appeals Court Refuses Ex-Nazi Citizenship

Lansing, Mich. - An 86-year-old former Nazi guard's efforts to retain his U.S. citizenship were rebuffed by a federal appeals court. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati denied the appeal of Iwan Mandycz, a Sterling Heights, Mich., man who had contested a lower court's decision to strip his citizenship.
U.S. District Judge Paul Gadola ruled last year that Mandycz concealed his Nazi past and therefore was ineligible to immigrate to the United States in 1949. He could face deportation.

Now a three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit agreed that Mandycz was an armed guard in 1943 at the Nazi labor camp Poniatowa in Poland, where Jews were exploited as slave laborers and then murdered, the court said. And that he lied about his background in applications for displaced person status and American citizenship after World War II. Mandycz, born in what is now Ukraine, became a U.S. citizen in 1955 and has lived in the Detroit area ever since.

His lawyers argued in court filings that Mandycz suffers from dementia and hasn't been able to help with the defense. They also said there wasn't enough evidence to prove he was a Nazi guard, certain evidence shouldn't have been permitted and that the government waited too long to file suit.

Queens, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

Queens, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident on Main Street 77th Avenue with a pedestrian that was struck, Hatzolah responding with a rush.

Brooklyn, NY +Verrazano Bridge Shut Down+

Brooklyn, NY +Verrazano Bridge Shut Down+ The upper level of the Verrazano Bridge Brooklyn bound is shut down, due to an edp that is on the north expansion cable, NYPD ESU is talking to the edp, Harbor, Air-Sea Rescue all on the scene.

U/D: 15:18
ESU has edp in custody.

Iran - Did Jews Volunteer As Suicide Bombers

Iran - Thirty five Jews volunteered to carry out suicide attacks against Israel in the service of an Islamic terrorist organization, claimed the head of an Iranian terrorist organization, "The Committee for the Commemoration of the Martyrs of the Global Islamic Campaign." And they plan to send the terrorists to Israel via Britain.

The terror chief, Faruz Rajai-Far, told a Teheran conference that the organization's website registered 55,000 volunteers from all over the world to carry out suicide bombings. The volunteers, he claimed, included 35 Jews who don't live in Iran, as well as other citizens. At the same time, the organization's website has been taken down, and cannot be viewed.

Iran - Students Set Up Fund To Demolish Israel

Tehran, Iran - A group of Iranian students announced at an event attended by a high-ranking member of the elite Revolutionary Guard that they were setting up a fund to destroy Israel.

Although the initiative's name - "The Student Fund for Demolishing Israel" - brings to mind President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's call last year to destroy the Jewish state, an organizer said its goal was to support the cash-strapped Palestinian government.

Some 300 students attended the event hosted by a group calling itself the Movement of Justice-seeking Students at the University of Tehran.

Germany - Number Of Neo-Nazis Rises

Germany - the number of members of neo-Nazi groups had risen from 3,800 to 4,100 last year, while right-wing extremists identified as being willing to resort to physical violence had increased slightly from 10,000 to 10,400. However the total number of right-wing extremists had declined marginally from 40,700 to 39,000.

Social Democratic parliamentarian Sebastian Edathy, who is half Indian, has publicly said that he would not travel to certain parts of Berlin at night, further fuelling the debate that has started about labeling certain areas in eastern Germany "no-go" zones.

Stamford Hill, London - Rabbi Hurt In Race Attack

Stamford Hill, London - A religious leader has told how a racist teenage gang attacked him.

Rabbi Alan Shelton, 58, of Clapton Common, Upper Clapton, was punched to the ground and kicked by up to 15 yobs. They took off his religious headgear and threw it to the floor during the ferocious attack in Craven Park Road.

"It happened so quickly," said rabbi Shelton. "I was walking home alone when 15 youths turned the corner and crossed over the road towards me. "I did not run because nothing like this has happened to me before, but suddenly fists were flying and three or four of them pushed me over. "I was lying on the floor and they were kicking me. They were like hyenas surrounding me in the dark."

An ambulance crew took Rabbi Shelton to Homerton University Hospital, where he was treated for a broken collarbone and severe bruising.

Haringey police are investigating the incident, which took place on the borough border.

A spokesman said: "We are treating this as a racially motivated attack and we are appealing for any witnesses to come forward."

Meanwhile, Rabbi Shelton is recovering at home. "The trauma of the incident has not yet come out because I am in so much pain," he said.

West Boca, FL - Swastikas, Hate Message Painted On Jewish Shop

Boca Raton, FL - Sheriff's investigators are trying to determine who painted swastikas and a hate-filled message on the windows of a Jewish book and gift shop, Sheriff's Deputies collected DNA and fingerprints but so far have no suspects.

The graffiti was found at YiddishKeit Book Store inside the Mission Bay Plaza at U.S. 441 and Glades Road, west of Boca Raton. There were four swastikas and a message that said, "Burn the Jews" drawn in white paint or shoe polish.

Similar messages were found on a Chrysler Voyager minivan in the shopping center parking lot. The car belonged to a florist in the shopping center who is not Jewish, sheriff's spokeswoman Teri Barbera said. The florist was out of town when the incident happened, Barbera said.

Store owner Joseph Brooks said this was the second time this year he's been the target of graffiti. He said in early March, vandals painted a small swastika on his window. "I'm shocked and worried," Brooks said. "Before it was a little thing. Now it's the entire storefront. I'm very concerned about the escalation of this. I don't know if it's the same people."

New York - State Police Launch "Buckle Up New York" Blitz

New York - Troop F State Police Commander Major John Melville has announced New York's latest zero tolerance seat belt enforcement blitz, which will unify more than 500 of New York's police agencies in a single, combined effort to save lives.

Beginning this Monday, May 22, and continuing through Sunday, June 4, troopers, deputies and local police across the Hudson Valley and the state will staff safety restraint checkpoints and patrols in the effort, which is part of the ongoing Buckle Up New York campaign.

Last year during this time, six fatal crashes in New York claimed six lives. Troopers during that period issued over 5,100 safety restraint citations including 142 for child seat violations.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, highway crashes killed over 31,600 motor vehicle passengers in 2004; 55 percent of those victims were not wearing their safety restraints. Crashes also kill more children between the ages of two and 14 than any other cause.

New York - Massive Disaster Drill In The Catskills

New York - State medical response team practices in Catskills in a simulated hurricane disaster drill, team members come from across the state, including from Syracuse, Lake Placid and Long Island.

The Woodbourne Fire Department and the New York's only Level One Disaster Medical Response Team, NY-2 DMAT all were all weekend long in Sullivan County on the scene practicing the skills of its 35 members in medical response and care in times of hurricanes.

Mount Kisco, NY - Lottery Sold That Is Worth $46,708

Hudson Valley, NY - Two Take Five first-prize tickets were sold in the Mid-Hudson Valley.
The state Lottery reports that one of two first prize winning tickets for the May 17 Take Five game was sold in Port Jervis. That was worth $44,190.
One of two first prize winning tickets in the May 18 Take Five drawing was sold in Mount Kisco. That was worth $46,708.

The winning numbers in the Wednesday game were 3, 8, 12, 28, and 39.
The winning numbers in the Thursday game were 11, 21, 23, 25 and 39

Brooklyn, NY +MVA+

Brooklyn, NY +MVA+ A motor vehicle accident on Avenue "R" and East 8th Street, Hatzolah responding.

Albany, NY - Pataki Signs Bill Capping Gas Tax

Albany, NY - Consumers will save some money at the gas pump and earn tax credits for energy-efficient home heating systems under a bill signed into law by Gov. George Pataki.

The legislation, which takes effect June 1, caps the state sales tax on gasoline at 8 cents per gallon. Lawmakers estimate that it would save consumers $450 million a year. For a 20-gallon fill-up, the savings will be 80 cents if gas is $3 a gallon.

The new law also includes a personal income tax credit of up to $500 for the installation of new Energy Star-labeled energy-efficient home heating systems.

The bill gives local governments the option of capping or lowering their local sales tax on gasoline. Local governments typically charge 12 to 15 cents per gallon at current prices.

Pataki also said that he has directed the New York State Thruway to begin installing or converting fuel pumps at all travel plazas to provide drivers with the option to use ethanol, biodiesel, or compressed natural gas fuels.

Washington, DC - Event Will Honor American Who Rescued Jews From The Holocaust

Washington, DC - An American diplomat who risked his career to rescue Jews from the Holocaust will be honored at a special event on Capitol Hill, May 24.
The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies and Wally Findlay Galleries International, in cooperation with U.S. Congressman Tom Lantos, are sponsoring the event, which is titled, "Hiram Bingham IV, an American Hero of the Holocaust: A Celebration in Honor of the Hiram Bingham IV U.S. Postage Stamp."

The program will highlight the incredible and little-known story of this American diplomat, who clandestinely worked with rescue hero Varian Fry to help Jewish refugees escape the Nazis.

Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident with a pedestrian that was struck on East 7th Street and Kings Highway, Hatzolah responding.

Brooklyn, NY +B.Q.E. E/B Traffic Alert+

Brooklyn, NY +B.Q.E. E/B Traffic Alert+ A motor vehicle accident between a vehicle and a tractor trailer on the eastbound of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway at Tillery Street, left only one lane opes, with very heavy traffic delays between the Gowanus Expressway and the Brooklyn Bridge.

Monsey, NY +Large Protest+

Monsey, NY +Large Protest+ A large protest in the Village of Kesar in front of 24 Philas Terrace of about 200 people, with Ramapo Police mobilizing with a large show of force.

U/D: 23:32
Ramapo Police Department is getting the situation under control.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn +Suspicious Package+

Williamsburg, Brooklyn +Suspicious Package+ A confirmed suspicious package at 419 Wythe Avenue at Broadway and South 8th Street, NYPD on the scene, requesting ESU, Bomb Squad, EMS and FD to stage near the scene.

Brooklyn, NY +MVA+

Brooklyn, NY +MVA+ A motor vehicle accident on 9th Avenue and 44th Street involving a NYPD 66th Pct RMP, hatzolah responding.

Queens, NY - NYPD Turning Cameras On Itself

Queens, NY - The Police Department, which has been installing cameras on streets throughout the city to help nab criminals, has now turned the lens on itself, installing a camera inside the 110th Precinct in Elmhurst in the wake of the theft of three guns and about $5,000 cash.

The thefts have sparked an Internal Affairs Bureau probe because they were likely committed by cops or civilians working at the precinct.
At the same time, access to the property room, from which the items were pilfered, is being strictly monitored by precinct supervisors and a camera that has been installed in plain view, is pointing at the entrance.

Bnei Brak, Israel - Microsoft Working On Computer Program On The Torah And The Talmud

Bnei Brak, Israel - Microsoft founder Bill Gates sent representatives to Bnei Brak to learn methods of the Gemora which is studied at yeshivas, Microsoft officials visited a yeshiva in Bnei Brak following Gates's interest.

The yeshiva was offered the option of Microsoft's investing in a computer program on Torah and the Talmud.

Albany, NY- Audits Show Money Missing in Justice Courts Statewide

Albany, NY - There are pervasive operational problems and substantial money missing in justice courts around the state, the state comptroller says, and he has called upon the state Legislature to reform the local justice court system.

State Comptroller Alan Hevesi said that audits conducted of justice courts around the state identified substantial problems in operations.

In 32 audits of courts, auditors found that money ranging from $650 to 62,000, totaling more than $133,000, was missing in 11 of the 32, or in one-third of the courts audited. Auditors found that some of this money was missing because of poor bookkeeping, as well as theft.

If the same percentage and size of fraud is occurring at the 1,260 courts statewide, auditors estimate that $5.2 million may be missing at 430 courts.

Hevesi has proposed changes for reform such as consolidating smaller courts, removing cash collections from smaller courts and providing additional training staff. An audit of 12 justices in Otsego, Delaware, Broome and Sullivan counties was issued.

Montgomery, Alabama - Democrats Won't Kick Off Candidate Disputing Holocaust

Montgomery, Alabama - the Democratic Party decided it won't kick attorney general candidate Larry Darby off the primary ballot for denying the Holocaust occurred and for other positions it labeled offensive.
Darby, founder of the Atheist Law Center in Montgomery, said the party's decision was a surprise to him because "they haven't bothered to contact me."

The party began reviewing Darby's candidacy after he disputed the Holocaust and the death of millions of Jews and after he associated with groups tied to racism. He has also called for martial law and posting troops at interstate highways entering Alabama to check for illegal immigrants.

The party issued a statement saying his "bizarre and offensive positions" were not known to party officials when he qualified as a candidate and a challenge to his candidacy was not filed within the time frame allowed by the party's rules. Also, the party said its attorneys advised against taking action because voters are already casting absentee ballots that list him as the opponent of Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson Jr. in the primary June 6. "Democrats voting in the June 6 primary election should know that Mr. Darby's comments are not reflective of this party, its platforms or its principles," the party's statement said.

"That statement shows how bankrupt and morally challenged the party leadership is," Darby said.

Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine - Vandal Carving Swastika On Synagogue Spotted

Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine - An unidentified man was caught in the act of carving a swastika on the facade of a synagogue in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, a security guard at the synagogue noticed on his security camera screen a man using an axe to carve a swastika on the building's facade. The guard confronted the vandal, who pulled out a rifle and started screaming anti-Semitic slogans, all the while backing away and eventually fleeing. Police are investigating the incident.

Washington, DC - Former New Jersey Senator Robert Torricelli Under Investigation

Washington, DC - The chairman of a Senate investigative panel is looking into the actions of former New Jersey Senator Robert Torricelli, in connection with the United Nations oil-for-food program for Iraq.

Senator Norm Coleman, a Republican from Minnesota who chairs the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, says the panel has "received allegations" about Torricelli, a Democrat. But Coleman declined to say what those allegations were, saying only that they had been received from the United Nations' Independent Inquiry Committee.

Both Coleman's subcommittee and the UN committee are looking into corruption in the $64 billion oil-for-food program, which allowed Iraq to sell oil, provided that most of the money went to buy humanitarian goods.

London, England - Shake-Up Will Lead To Closure Of Jewish Care Homes

London, England - Pensioners in Golders Green and Hampstead Garden Suburb are devastated after Jewish Care announced the closure of a daycentre and three residential homes.

The charity revealed the Michael Sobell Community Centre, in Limes Avenue, Golders Green, will be closed by summer next year, along with Balint House residential home in the Suburb.

Shalom House, a mental health centre above the community centre, will be relocated to Edgware and two Suburb facilities, Leo Baeck, a residential care home, and Osmond House, which treats dementia sufferers, will close in two years.

David Lewis, chairman of the Hampstead Garden Suburb Residents Association, said: "I regret any reduction in the facilities for elderly people in the area. Many residents here are Jewish and want to be in a Jewish home close to their family.

Spring Valley, NY - Demolition Set To Begin This Summer Throughout The Village's Downtown

Spring Valley, NY - Alan Gestetner, president of Monsey-based Cole Development Corp., plans to start demolition in the summer for a three-story structure with 62 townhouses and a community center at North Main Street and Maple Avenue, and in about 1 1/2 years, to be completed.

The village board, which approved the $15 million housing development as part of its overall urban renewal effort, agreed last week to transfer a former bathhouse on Maple Avenue to Cole to be demolished, Mayor George Darden said. The board approved the measure by a 3-1 vote, with Trustee Bettie Brown voting no.

The four-bedroom townhouses are expected to cost $300,000 to $350,000 each. The proposal also includes a 7,000-square-foot commercial component and feature two horseshoe-shaped buildings facing Memorial Park. The entrance would be on Lawler Boulevard.

Kiryas Joel, NY - Water Tank Plan For Park Irks Towns

Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY - The Village's request to build two 750,000-gallon water tanks on a hill in a proposed Orange County park known as the Gonzaga property, has collided with its neighbor's efforts to preserve disappearing green space.

Putting the tanks on the former retreat, the village says, would boost water pressure for a new women's health center and other developments.

But leaders in Blooming Grove and Woodbury say the plan would undermine their years-long drive to protect the 216-acre mountaintop retreat. Supervisors from both towns criticized County Executive Ed Diana for endorsing the plan. "I don't want the whole thing to become a Kiryas Joel park," Blooming Grove Supervisor Charlie Bohan said. "They have the right to use it, like anybody else, but it should be developed to meet the needs of the towns in which it's located."

What the two sides expect from a park also differs. Blooming Grove and Woodbury want ball fields and hiking trails. Kiryas Yoel, which is within walking distance of Gonzaga, prefers playgrounds.

But Kiryas Joel Administrator said he did not understand the opposition to the water towers, which he said would also benefit future park patrons. The village has agreed to supply water for toilets and drinking fountains. "Every Blooming Grove resident, every Woodbury resident, every Monroe resident using that park are going to be drinking tasty, crystal-clear and delicious water from Kiryas Joel," he said. "For free."

Ramapo, NY - Karben's Name Removed From Law Firm's Signs

Ramapo, NY - Former Assemblyman Ryan Karben was nowhere to be found, the lobby directory of Karben's Spring Valley law firm on Perlman Drive no longer read "Kurtzman Matera Gurock Scuderi & Karben." The last name had been removed.

At his district office in Pearl River at Blue Hill Plaza Karben's name remained on the lobby directory and the door of his 11th floor office. But a call to the office no longer tells people they have reached Karben. "You have reached the district office of the 95th Assembly District. Please leave a message," the recording now states.
No one answered the door at Karben's Monsey home yesterday, and his cell phone remained off.

The Assembly removed Karben's biography and photo from its Web site.

Berdichev, Ukraine - Dozens of Gravestones Smashed in Cemetery

Berdichev, Ukraine - Dozens of gravestones were smashed in the Jewish cemetery in Berdichev, Ukraine.

Jewish community leaders reported the vandalism to local police, who allegedly responded by suggesting that they hire security guards.

New York, NY - A Top Cop Seeks Civilian Probe Of Borough Park Flap

New York, NY - In a rare move, the head of the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau has formally asked the city's Civilian Complaint Review Board to investigate the police department's top ranking uniformed officer.

NYPD Chief Charles Campisi went to the CCRB, which probes allegations of police abuse, at the request of Mayor Bloomberg. Bloomberg wanted an independent review of the police response to April's fiery clash between protesters and cops in a heavily Hasidic area of Brooklyn NY.

The CCRB got at least 14 complaints related to the mayhem, which erupted in Borough Park when mobs falsely believed cops beat 75-year-old Arthur Schick during an April 4 traffic stop.
Campisi has asked the CCRB to look into the actions of Chief of Department Joseph Esposito.
City Councilman Simcha Felder had accused Esposito of yelling to other cops during the protests: "Get the .... Jews out of here!"
Esposito has admitted using inappropriate language but has denied uttering anything anti-Semitic. Police officials have said he shouted, "Get these .... people out of here!"

"There is something backwards with the head of the department's internal affairs bureau saying to an agency they hate, 'Here, you check this out,' " a police source said.

Quebec - PQ Charges That Montreal's Jewish Community Are Getting Special Treatment On Daycare

Quebec - The Parti Québécois was accused of demonizing Montreal's Jewish community by suggesting it is getting special treatment over daycare services, sparking an uproar in the National Assembly.

The Opposition party demanded to know why the Jewish community is being allowed to oversee the co-ordination of family daycare centres in a major portion of the city as reported on VOS IZ NEIAS.
The PQ argued that everywhere else in the province, the co-ordination of family daycare centres was established according to geographical boundaries rather than ethnic or religious considerations.

This repeated questions sparked an outcry from Liberal MLAs, who suggested the Opposition was conducting an anti-Semitic campaign. Outside the assembly, angry Liberal backbenchers such as Russell Copeman accused the PQ of taking aim at the Jewish community.
But the PQ responded that the government had changed the rules regulating the administration of family daycare centres to respond to the needs of a specific group and was trying to cover up its action by accusing the Opposition of racism. The PQ said it supports Jewish daycare centres as well as an increase in the number of family daycare spaces that the Jewish community may require. But the party is opposed to special treatment for cultural or religious groups that may give them more power than others over the management of the province's publicly funded daycare system.

Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY - Children Of KJ Won't Get Their Own Playground

Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY - Looks like the children of Kiryas Joel won't get their own playground, after all.

The state promised the village $195,000 in 2001 but the project promptly vanished into a haze of official explanations. Kiryas Joel turned down the grant last year after learning the county was going to build the Gonzaga park.
The Gonzaga playground will be right outside Kiryas Joel and cost the village nothing.

Building its own park would have required a $195,000 matching share for the village.

Queens, NY +Person Assaulted+

Queens, NY +Person Assaulted+ NYPD and Sgt on the scene of an aided 15-year-old male that was found in the parking lot and has a serious assault and is unconscious at Central Avenue and Virginia Street, Hatzolah on the scene transporting aided to Jamaicia Hospital.

U/D: 00:54
Sgt requesting Night Watch and ECT to the location.