Copyright 2008 The New York Sun Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:37:37 -0400 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Christopher Faherty :: Stories from The New York Sun http://www.nysun.com/authors/Christopher+Faherty istoll@nysun.com (Ira Stoll) webmaster@nysun.com en-us CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/arts/lincoln-centers-face-lift/80895/ Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST Though some events are taking place off-site, Lincoln Center Festival and its summer cohorts, Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors and Midsummer Night's Swing, still provide plenty of reasons for a trip to the Lincoln Center complex. This year, though, visitors to the plaza may walk away with a question in mind: What happened to the drink cart? As one of several construction projects under way this summer as part of Lincoln Center's $1 billion historical renovation, the Josie Robinson Plaza is... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/water-main-breaks-under-57th-street/76652/ Tue, 20 May 2008 00:00:00 EST A water main broke beneath 57th Street in Midtown yesterday, stopping traffic and leaving seven buildings without water for the rest of the day, officials said. The break of the 20-inch water main, which occurred at about 8:10 a.m., flooded the basements of several buildings on 57th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues and forced the brief evacuation of at least one building, officials said. The break also caused minor damage to the pavement along 57th Street. Traffic on the block where the... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/husband-subject-of-manhunt-after-womans-body-found/76434/ Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 EST Police are scouring the city for a suspect who is believed to have killed his estranged wife and left her body inside a parking garage in the heart of Manhattan's Lower East Side, police officials said. The body of Leonida Davila, 39, was found late Tuesday night in the passenger seat of a 2003 Ford Explorer registered to her husband after police received a 911 call reporting a suspicious vehicle inside the municipal parking garage on Essex Street, police officials said. Police responded to the... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/city-to-tell-the-real-story-of-counterfeitings/76359/ Wed, 14 May 2008 00:00:00 EST The city is poised to unveil a campaign to educate tourists and locals alike about the harsh realities of supporting the counterfeit goods industry, which officials say costs the city more than $1 billion in lost sales taxes each year. Beginning Monday, posters adorned with messages that relay the lesser-known perils of counterfeiting will be plastered on phone booth kiosks in areas of the city infamous for harboring peddlers of fake name-brand goods, such as Chinatown and Times Square... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/governor-commends-disobedience-methods/76121/ Fri, 9 May 2008 00:00:00 EST Governor Paterson yesterday praised the hundreds of protesters who were arrested on Wednesday for the manner in which they inconvenienced thousands of commuters by shutting down major city bridges and tunnels during rush hour. "I must commend the advocates, the many of them, over 200 arrested for participating in civil disobedience in a way that made their point without any excess activity," Mr. Paterson said moments after concluding a private meeting with the family of Sean Bell and the... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/enduring-tribute-expressed-for-11-fallen-police/76044/ Thu, 8 May 2008 00:00:00 EST Friends and family of 11 police officers who died either in the line of duty or from illnesses related to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, were joined by the department's top brass yesterday for a memorial service at 1 Police Plaza. The service, at which the police commissioner, Raymond Kelly, and Mayor Bloomberg spoke, culminated with the unveiling of plaques carrying the fallen officers' names. "While today's commemorations make permanent the memory of these brave men, there can... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/queens-gang-members-charged-with-kidnapping/75973/ Wed, 7 May 2008 00:00:00 EST Members of a violent gang from Queens that allegedly stole millions of dollars worth of cocaine from drug dealers are facing criminal charges in federal court that include kidnapping and torture, officials said yesterday. The suspects, who posed as police officers to carry out their crimes, allegedly netted 750 kilograms of cocaine and $4 million in drug proceeds by kidnapping, torturing, and robbing their victims, according to court records. Judge Joan Azrack arraigned the defendants yesterday... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/midtown-buildings-evacuated-after-collapse-report/75861/ Tue, 6 May 2008 00:00:00 EST Two apartment buildings in Midtown were evacuated yesterday after the fire department was called in to check on a potential building collapse, officials said. A construction project at 311 W. 39th St. apparently jeopardized the structure of the nearby buildings enough for officials from the city Department of Buildings, an agency recently roiled by the resignation of its commissioner, Patricia Lancaster, to call for the evacuations. "We have ordered safety precautions to be taken as... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/dwi-arrest-could-harm-fossella-election-chances/75700/ Fri, 2 May 2008 00:00:00 EST Rep. Vito Fossella's chances of winning re-election may be in jeopardy following his arrest in the early hours of yesterday morning on charges of driving while intoxicated in Alexandria, Va. Mr. Fossella, a Republican who represents Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn, was arrested between 12 a.m. and 2 a.m., Lieutenant Raymond Hazel of the Alexandria Police Department, said. Details regarding the arrest were not available, he said. It is his first DWI offense. The legal blood alcohol content... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/all-star-prices-rile-some-fans-of-yankees/75606/ Thu, 1 May 2008 00:00:00 EST Yankees fans are voicing outrage about the unprecedented prices for tickets to the upcoming All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium. While local fans lucky enough to be chosen in an online lottery will pay between $150 and $725 for what will be the last All-Star Game at the House That Ruth Built — the team is relocating to its new stadium next year — some season ticket holders have been told they must purchase expensive, all-inclusive packages if they want to attend the game. Among the events the... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/manager-of-midtown-eatery-is-stabbed/75612/ Thu, 1 May 2008 00:00:00 EST The manager of a popular Manhattan eatery was stabbed multiple times early yesterday morning in Midtown, police officials said. George Atterbury, the general manager of Grayz on West 54th Street, was pummeled and slashed with a box cutter by a group of three men at about 7 a.m. in front of 222 East 40th St., police said. Mr. Atterbury, who told police he had left a friend at the W Hotel prior to the incident, was rushed to Bellevue Hospital in serious condition, police said. The three suspects... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/burglary-complaints-rise-on-the-upper-east-side/75374/ Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST Burglary complaints on the Upper East Side are on the rise after years of steady decline, police statistics show. The number of burglary complaints in the 19th Precinct has spiked this year by about 25% compared to the same period last year, even as overall crime citywide continues to drop, according to the statistics. Police suspect that the sudden rise in burglaries is the doing of a career thief who before his arrest last month allegedly committed a spree of burglaries on the Upper East... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/billionaire-sues-wine-auction-house/75326/ Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST A billionaire businessman is suing a leading wine auction house, Acker Merrall & Condit, alleging that the company sold him counterfeit bottles of vintage wine. The lawsuit, filed by William Koch, an art and wine collector involved in several lawsuits against alleged purveyors of counterfeit wine, comes on the eve of an Acker auction in the West Village on Friday night that the company is describing as a "historic" offering of fine champagnes. Mr. Koch, the founder and president of an energy... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/some-police-are-shunning-dance-honoring-gotbaum/75235/ Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST Current and former members of the police department are threatening to boycott a fraternal organization's annual dinner dance in Queens because the honoree is the city's public advocate, Betsy Gotbaum. The backlash from members of the NYPD Honor Legion, a fraternal organization made up of police officers who have received medals for performing heroic deeds, comes in the wake of a lawsuit filed by Ms. Gotbaum's family against the city of Phoenix that reportedly holds police responsible for the... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/correction-officer-is-fatally-shot-in-brooklyn/75193/ Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST Several suspects faced police questioning last night in the fatal shooting of a correction officer, who was killed in what investigators believe was a botched robbery attempt, police officials said. Kenneth Duncan, a 17-year veteran of the New York City Department of Correction, was shot in the head early yesterday morning outside a garage at his home in the Remsen Village section of Brooklyn, police officials said. Duncan, 40, described by co-workers as a car and motorcycle enthusiast, was... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/police-union-to-advertise-non-city-jobs/75148/ Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST The union that represents city police officers is offering to advertise open and higher-paying positions with neighboring police departments for free to its members in an in-house magazine. "If the city of New York won't pay our members a fair and reasonable salary for the dangerous job that we do, then we will have to help our members find jobs in cities that will appreciate their work and pay them fairly," the president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, Patrick Lynch, said in a... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/america-to-pay-city-for-part-of-popes-security/75077/ Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST The federal government is expected to reimburse the city for just more than half of the costs of the enormous security initiative undertaken for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI, police officials said yesterday. The police department is in the process of tabulating exactly how much it spent on security surrounding the pope's three-day visit to the city, an initiative that outside experts said cost millions of dollars, and it plans to announce the figure in the near future, the department's head... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/police-arrest-man-for-filming-under-womens-skirts/75094/ Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST A man surreptitiously angled a video camera underneath the skirts of several women as they ascended an escalator from the subway platform at Grand Central Terminal during rush hour, police officials said. Jamarl Chambers, 21, hid the camera upright in a shopping bag on Thursday and aimed it underneath the skirts of the women, whom he had followed up an escalator from the Lexington Avenue subway station before alert transit police officers discovered him. The officers noticed Mr. Chambers ride... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/panel-decision-expected-soon-on-police-salaries/74943/ Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST A panel of three arbitrators is poised to hand down a decision on police salaries that could halt what some have described as a retention and recruiting crisis within the ranks of the police department. The decision to update the latest labor contract for police officers, a pact that Commissioner Raymond Kelly has said pays rookie officers an unlivable wage of $25,100 and is the primary reason the police department is falling far short of its recruitment goals, will likely damage an already... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/4-am-last-calls-could-be-headed-the-way-of-smoky/74836/ Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST City nightlife industry insiders fear that the days of 4 a.m. last calls are numbered. In most parts of Manhattan, bar and club owners say, it has become nearly impossible to open new nightlife establishments that are permitted to serve alcohol until 4 a.m. — the Prohibition-era curfew that is seen as a bedrock of New York City's party town identity. Community boards that now hold substantial clout with the New York State Liquor Authority are increasingly requesting that liquor licenses be tied... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/insanity-defense-is-planned-in-case/74757/ Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST The lawyer representing the man accused of killing an Upper East Side psychologist with a meat cleaver is pursuing a defense that rarely works out during trials, the insanity plea. David Tarloff's lawyer, Bryan Konoski, said at a hearing yesterday in Manhattan Criminal Court that a psychiatrist who has twice evaluated his client at the Bellevue Hospital Prison Ward recommended an insanity defense. He said Mr. Tarloff, who suffers from auditory and visual hallucinations and has a long history of... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/construction-death-has-solons-alarmed-over-safety/74692/ Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST Elected officials are scoring the city for a lack of oversight concerning safety issues at construction sites after a window installer plummeted nine floors to his death yesterday at a luxury development on the Upper East Side. Kevin Kelly, 25, of Queens was installing a window on the 23rd floor of the Laurel, a luxury condominium on First Avenue scheduled to open this fall, when he fell at about 10:30 a.m. and a safety harness he was wearing failed, officials said. "What makes this so tragic... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/gun-tracing-bill-to-be-introduced-in-albany/74626/ Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST A state lawmaker is poised to introduce a bill that would require all new pistols sold in New York to be equipped with microstamping technology, a means of tracing pistols the firearms industry opposes. The bill will likely be introduced this week by state Senator Martin Golden, who has been working closely with city officials over the past several weeks to iron out the language of the legislation, an aide to the Brooklyn Republican said. Mayor Bloomberg, a proponent of microstamping, said in... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/worries-about-bell-verdict-spur-meetings-in-queens/74548/ Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST With a verdict on the horizon in the Sean Bell trial — one that has the potential of sparking outrage throughout the city — Mayor Bloomberg yesterday met with leaders of the black community in Queens to discuss the need for leadership in the aftermath of the decision. If Judge Arthur Cooperman acquits the three officers charged in the shooting of Bell, an unarmed man who was killed in barrage of 50 bullets, civil unrest could resemble that following the 2000 acquittal of four white police... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/police-reassure-on-security-for-passover/74374/ Wed, 9 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST With Passover on the horizon, members of the Jewish community gathered yesterday at police headquarters for a security briefing. The message delivered by Commissioner Raymond Kelly to the packed auditorium of religious and community leaders was clear: While there are no specific threats facing the city right now, the police department is taking security concerns seriously. The department's head of intelligence, Deputy Commissioner David Cohen, warned of growing threats from Al Qaeda. He pointed... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/business/ex-nymex-chief-pleads-guilty-to-two-felonies/74386/ Wed, 9 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST An investigation into illegal trading on the floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange has resulted in criminal charges against seven people, including a former director of the exchange, officials announced yesterday. Steven Karvellas, who while with NYMEX for about 10 years served as a director of the exchange and a chairman of two of its regulatory committees, has pleaded guilty to two felony charges for what officials described as "front-running" natural gas trades, the Manhattan district... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/man-is-cast-into-newtown-creek-and-killed/74343/ Tue, 8 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST A man who investigators believe was driving drunk was killed after he lost control of his sports car and skidded into a polluted creek in Brooklyn. Derek Winefsky, 27, was driving westbound on Apollo Street in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn when he lost control of his two-door black Mercedes-Benz just before 3:30 p.m., police said. Winefsky, who police sources said had been drinking alcohol prior to the accident, drove through a fence at the end of Apollo Street and was cast into Newtown... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/global-warming-northeast-skies-through-a-snowy/74175/ Fri, 4 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST Amid increasing concerns about the warming of the planet, ski resorts across the Northeast are reporting some of the best snowfall levels in recorded history. Waterville Valley in New Hampshire had a top-five year in terms of snow accumulation, with 192 inches having fallen to the slopes so far, the mountain's director of marketing, Deborah Moore, said. A recent snowstorm on Mt. Mansfield, the home of Stowe Mountain Resort in Vermont, boosted the season snow total to 367 inches, making this ski... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/bike-may-be-key-to-times-square-bomb-case/74114/ Thu, 3 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST Fueling speculation that police have few leads in the investigation into the bombing of a military recruitment office in Times Square last month, investigators are looking to the public for information about a key clue: a blue bicycle. The bike, a blue Ross 10-speed that was likely ridden by the bomber, was manufactured in the 1980s and is in top condition. Investigators believe it was stored inside most of the time and may have recently changed hands, Lieutenant Dennis Briordy said yesterday... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/suspected-killer-didnt-mean-to-hurt-anyone/74001/ Wed, 2 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST Before entering into a bizarre tale of childhood molestation and family tribulations, the accused killer of an Upper East Side therapist told investigators on the day he was arrested that he "didn't mean to hurt anyone," according to court documents released yesterday. The documentation of David Tarloff's conversation with police on February 16, the day he was arrested for allegedly killing Kathryn Faughey with a meat cleaver, was made public as he was arraigned in state Supreme Court on... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/opening-day-rainout-leaves-yankees-fans-misty/73916/ Tue, 1 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST A slight mist hung in the air as Brett and Crystal Sherman, a married couple from Florida who had flown into town for Opening Day at Yankee Stadium, climbed the stairs at the no. 4 subway station at 86th Street after yesterday's game was canceled. "The Marlins play when it drizzles," Mrs. Sherman, a lifetime Yankees fan, said of her local baseball team, sounding more than a bit perturbed. "So do the Red Sox," Mr. Sherman said with a devilish smile. The Shermans had traveled from Boca Raton to... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/police-department-unions-at-odds-over-a-drug/73892/ Mon, 31 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST In the face of opposition from the city's law enforcement unions, the police department is seeking to use hair samples from officers as a means of testing for drugs, a method proved to be significantly more effective than the urine samples now in use, experts say. Proponents of hair testing say it would more effectively prevent rogue officers from clouding the results of urine samples, which can be flushed of drugs within a matter of days. Such officers could endanger public safety and... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/queens-bronx-drive-up-city-murder-rate/73797/ Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST With the year's first quarter nearly in the books, the murder rate in the city has increased by 20.7% compared with the same period last year, a spike chiefly due to an increase in killings in Southern Queens and the Bronx. The number of murders has increased to 17 from eight within Patrol Borough Queens South, a command that patrols neighborhoods such as Jamaica, Ozone Park, and Far Rockaway, a 112.5% jump compared to the same time last year, according to the most recent police statistics. In... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/assault-on-rabbi-spurs-anti-bias-rally/73843/ Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST Community leaders and elected officials from throughout Brooklyn gathered yesterday at Borough Hall to denounce hate crimes in the wake of the beating of a rabbi in Park Slope. The meeting, organized by a well-known community leader in the borough, Mohammed Razvi, brought together a multitude of leaders from all walks of life and religions to raise awareness of a recent rash of hate crimes perpetrated throughout Brooklyn, organizers said. "A bias attack against any person is a bias attack... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/accused-in-stein-killing-is-denied-bail/73695/ Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST Natavia Lowery, the chief suspect in the killing of a high-profile real estate broker, Linda Stein, was denied bail yesterday in Manhattan Criminal Court at a combative proceeding in which the prosecution sought to quash a theory that the killer was a man. Male DNA that was found mixed with Stein's blood in her bathroom sink, a piece of evidence the defense made public on Tuesday, in no way disproves that the killer was Ms. Lowery, Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi-Orbon said. "A man may... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/male-blood-is-discovered-in-slain-brokers/73665/ Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST With the disclosure yesterday of new evidence in the killing of a high-profile real estate agent, Linda Stein, lawyers defending the chief suspect said they will seek to prove that police obtained a false confession from Natavia Lowery. A medical examiner's report January 11 found that blood from an unidentified man was discovered in a bathroom sink, mixed with some of Stein's blood, Ms. Lowery's lawyer, Ronald Kuby, said. The report also showed that, while blood was splattered throughout... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/bouley-wins-go-ahead-on-liquor-license/73658/ Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST Community Board 1 has voted to recommend that a high-profile restaurateur and chef, David Bouley, be granted a liquor license for his newest restaurant despite staunch opposition from a number of its members. Yesterday's decision goes against a previous vote by the community board's TriBeCa Committee recommending that Mr. Bouley be denied a license by the New York State Liquor Authority for his planned Japanese eatery on West Broadway, Brushstrokes. More than a dozen of Mr. Bouley's supporters... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/report-male-dna-at-linda-stein-murder-scene/73609/ Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:18:59 EST Lawyers for the accused killer of a real estate agent to the stars, Linda Stein, are claiming that a report released by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shows that their client is likely innocent. In what lawyers Ronald Kuby and David Pressman are calling a stunning revelation, the report shows that blood belonging to Stein that was found in her sink was mingled with blood belonging to an unidentified male. The report also reveals that in spite of the fact blood was splattered... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/kelly-to-lobby-for-auxiliary-officers-benefits/73588/ Tue, 25 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly will provide testimony tomorrow to the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of the families of two auxiliary police officers killed in Greenwich Village who have been denied hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal benefits. The Justice Department has concluded that the families of Eugene Marshalik and Nicholas Pekearo, who were shot to death while pursuing an armed suspect along Sullivan Street in March 2007, do not qualify for $300,000 each in federal... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/governor-backs-bloombergs-congestion-pricing-plan/73448/ Fri, 21 Mar 2008 15:58:16 EST Building on early indications that Governor Paterson plans to further the legislative agenda of his predecessor and nurture a positive relationship with Mayor Bloomberg, the new governor announced today that he is supporting congestion pricing. Mr. Paterson said that he would support the traffic reduction bill that the mayor has lobbied for at Albany over the past year. "Today, Governor Paterson has demonstrated true leadership by submitting a congestion pricing bill to the Legislature that... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/fears-mount-for-popes-safety-after-threats-by-bin/73365/ Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST Osama bin Laden's first public message this year, in which he accused Pope Benedict XVI of complicity in a "new Crusade" against Islam, is raising fears here over security measures for the papal visit next month and the possibility of a terrorist attack. The accusations directed at the pope have some in the city worried about security during the pontiff's visit to America between April 15 and 20, which culminates in a Sunday, April 20, Mass at Yankee Stadium. "When I heard the thing about bin... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/police-seek-accomplices-in-attack-on-rabbi/73383/ Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST Police are searching for the accomplices of an Arab suspect who has been charged with a hate crime in connection to the assault of a Rabbi on Tuesday in Park Slope, officials said. The victim, Rabbi Uria Ohana, said the five or six accomplices escaped in a sport utility vehicle after severely beating him in the middle of the street. The incident began inside a Park Slope subway station on Tuesday at about 6:40 p.m., when the suspect, Ali Hussein, stole a brown yarmulke off of the head of Rabbi... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/council-voices-crime-fears-amid-cuts-to-police/73292/ Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST Elected officials are forecasting that decade-long reductions in the city's crime rate will come to an end if the police department follows through with a proposal to cut the size of its force. The predictions came yesterday at a budgetary hearing at City Hall, where Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly fielded questions and listened to City Council members' concerns about proposed cost-saving measures, called for by Mayor Bloomberg, that could reduce the number of officers patrolling the city's... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/man-arrested-in-village-rapes-case/73177/ Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST A suspect sought in the sexual assaults of two women in Greenwich Village earlier this month is in police custody, officials said. Anthony Rosado, 19, was arrested on Friday and arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court over the weekend on charges of assaulting the two victims within a period of about 20 minutes on March 2, officials said. The attacks took place between 2 and 2:30 a.m., as the victims were exiting taxis. Mr. Rosado, who is homeless, has been charged with attempted rape, sexual... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/mayor-rallies-behind-bill-opposed-by-gun-lobby/72986/ Fri, 14 Mar 2008 16:56:09 EST A Democratic senator from New Jersey, Robert Menendez, introduced a bill late last night that would strike the Tiahrt amendment, a piece of gun legislation staunchly opposed by Mayor Bloomberg's anti-gun coalition. The introduction of the bill, called the Firearms Information Use Act of 2008, is prompting lobbyists for the gun industry to once again fight to protect the amendment. "Of course the NRA opposes the bill. We feel like the Tiahrt amendment is there for a reason and Congress intended... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/day-care-proprietor-indicted-for-drug-stash/72981/ Fri, 14 Mar 2008 13:16:29 EST Police arrested the manager of a day care center in upper Manhattan after finding three pounds of marijuana, a digital scale, and plastic bags used for drug packaging inside a kitchen cupboard, officials announced today. The suspect who ran the licensed day care center at 2660 Eighth Avenue that apparently camouflaged a drug dealing operation, Akwasiba Radellant, and another suspect, Donald Crespo, were indicted yesterday by the New York City Special Narcotics Prosecutor on charges of... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/kristen-was-child-of-privilege-friend-says/72975/ Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST The prostitute who allegedly visited Governor Spitzer in Washington, D.C., a meeting that prompted his precipitous fall from grace, misrepresented her upbringing in comments written on MySpace.com, a longtime friend said. Ashley Alexandra Dupre, 22, better known as the prostitute identified as "Kristen" in court documents, wrote that she was abused while growing up and was homeless for a time, while in fact she was a child of privilege in Wall, N.J., a quiet town in one of the country's... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/restaurateurs-difficulties-point-to-community/72844/ Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST Renowned chef and restaurateur David Bouley's plans to open a new high-end restaurant have hit a speed bump that could add him to a growing list of entrepreneurs walking away from restaurant and bar projects in Manhattan. The committee that represents TriBeca for Community Board 1 last night voted 6–4 to oppose the New York State Liquor Authority providing Mr. Bouley with a liquor license for the Japanese eatery he wants to open at 111 West Broadway, Brushstrokes. One board member, Julie Nadel... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/publisher-pushes-police-foundation-to-new-heights/72658/ Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST A gala tonight for the New York City Police Foundation, a charity that supports crime-fighting endeavors of the city's police department, is expected to raise more than $1.5 million for the second straight year, an unprecedented figure that highlights the accomplishments of the charity's leading lady. Valerie Salembier, who is better known as the publisher of Harper's Bazaar, has spearheaded fundraising campaigns that have taken in more than $15 million and overseen major changes in the role of... CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY http://www.nysun.com/new-york/city-lawmakers-find-alarming-report-of-drugs/72602/ Mon, 10 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST Elected officials and environmental advocates are poised to ask the city tough questions in the wake of a news report asserting that New Yorkers are likely consuming trace amounts of pharmaceuticals when they drink from the local water supply. The report contends that traces of at least 15 pharmaceuticals or their byproducts — including hormones and mood stabilizers — have been discovered in the upstate watersheds that provide drinking water to the city, and that New York's drinking water has...