STATEN ISLAND

NEWEST FERRY NAMED ‘SPIRIT OF AMERICA’

Mayor Bloomberg and the New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner, Iris Weinshall, announced yesterday the name of the last of the three new vessels commissioned for the Staten Island Ferry service. It will be called the “Spirit of America,” the mayor said. The name was chosen after a survey of Staten Island residents by the Staten Island Advance at the request of Mayor Bloomberg. Residents submitted names to the newspaper, five names were chosen, and readers voted on those five.

“The people of Staten Island have chosen a fitting name for their new ferry,” Mayor Bloomberg said. “Our goal in naming the vessel was to recognize the sacrifice and service of the people of Staten Island on September 11th, 2001.The Spirit of America will serve as a reminder of their heroism.”

There had been some discussion of naming the boat “September 11th,”but Staten Islanders resisted. The new vessel, which cost $40 million, will launch next year. The “Spirit of America” announcement came just days after the first anniversary of last year’s deadly ferry crash at Staten Island.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

ALBANY

MAJOR CRIMES DROPPED IN NEW YORK STATE LAST YEAR

The number of major crimes in New York state dropped 3.1% in 2003, according to results from an FBI survey of police departments.

Data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting System show the number of the seven most serious crimes fell in New York for the 10th straight year, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice Services, which released the figures this morning.

The state’s drop in crime also continued to outpace the national decrease in crime. The total number of violent offenses – including murders, rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults – in the state dropped by 6.1% compared to a 3% decrease nationally.

Reported assaults fell 8.9% statewide, while rape decreased 2.9% and robbery dropped 2.4%.

Taken separately, the number of murders in the state rose 2.8%, compared with a 1.7% increase nationally.

– Associated Press

QUEENS

TWO SHOT DEAD AT JAMAICA

A boyfriend and girlfriend were shot dead at a Queens residence yesterday morning, in a possible suicide pact or murder-suicide, police said. The bodies of a 22-year-old woman and a 30-year-old man were discovered at 10 a.m. yesterday inside the man’s Jamaica residence at 110-08 204th St., police said. The woman had one gunshot wound to the left temple and the man had been shot once in the chest, police said.

A firearm was found at the scene, and there were no signs of a struggle or a break-in, police said. They do not believe that a third person was involved.

According to police, the woman had been staying with the man since Friday, and her parents had been unable to contact her by telephone. They went to the house yesterday morning and no one answered the door, so the landlord was called.

With police present, the landlord unlocked the house and then the corpses were discovered. EMS workers pronounced the victims dead at the scene. The Medical Examiner’s office was to determine causes of death, police said.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun