New York Desk

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun
The New York Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

MANHATTAN


WOMAN IN PARKED CAR KILLED BY SPEEDING STOLEN VEHICLE


A woman was killed after three teenagers rear-ended the parked car she was sitting in after driving through a red light in a stolen car in Central Harlem early Saturday morning, police officials said. The woman, identified by police as Diane Newton, 41, of the Bronx, died of a head injury, police said. Three teenage boys were arrested yesterday on charges of manslaughter, unauthorized use of a vehicle, and leaving the scene of an accident, police said. The car was confirmed as stolen, but not by the three boys who were riding in it, police said. The boys were driving north on Seventh Avenue in a red Mitsubishi Montero when they struck three parked cars on the block between 125th and 126th streets, police said. They were driving so fast that the Mitsubishi turned onto its side after colliding with the cars. Newton was in the car directly in front of the car they hit, police said. A radio motor patrol officer who observed the accident said he saw the boys get out of the car and run into the St. Nicholas Houses on 127th Street. The three, identified by police as Jamal Jones, 18, John Duncan, 19, and Melvin Prince, 18, were arrested yesterday afternoon, police said. Mr. Duncan, who was driving the car, is charged with manslaughter in the second degree, criminally negligent homicide, leaving the scene of an accident, and unauthorized use of a vehicle, police said.


– Special to the Sun


THREE TEENS ASSAULT MAN ON CENTRAL PARK WEST


A man walking home from work was assaulted and robbed by a group of teenagers at the corner of West 72nd Street and Central Park West early yesterday morning, police officials said. The 59-year-old man, whom police did not identify because of his immigration status, was approached by a group of three teenagers who punched him and stole a garment bag containing his work clothes, police said. The man suffered minor bruises and refused medical attention. The suspects fled the scene, police said.


– Special to the Sun


CITYWIDE


WEINER UNVEILS ‘BILL OF RIGHTS’ FOR CITY


New York City should have control over the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, be able to marry gay couples, and have full control over ground zero development, said a Democratic mayoral candidate, Anthony Weiner, who issued what he called a “Bill of Rights” for the city on Independence Day. Rep. Weiner, whose congressional district includes parts of Brooklyn and Queens, is trailing in the polls behind mayoral candidates C. Virginia Fields and Fernando Ferrer. Mr. Weiner said yesterday many of the city’s economic and social problems would be fixed by shifting legislative and executive power away from Albany. He also proposed giving the city more authority over setting local income, sales, and business taxes, in addition to control over liquor licensing. His 10-point plan also proposed that mayoral control of the city public school system – a policy initiated by Mayor Bloomberg – should be made permanent. As it loses power, Albany should also spend more money on city residents, Mr. Weiner said. He said the state should pay for Medicaid costs that are now shared with the city.


– Staff Reporter of the Sun


ALBANY


STATE SEES FALL IN CAR-INSURANCE FRAUD CASES


The number of suspected automobile-insurance fraud cases dropped statewide last year by 17%, according to a published report yesterday. State Insurance Department officials said fraud cases, which for years have been blamed for New York’s skyrocketing car-insurance rates, totaled 14,328 in 2004, the New York Post reported. In 2003, there were 17,253 fraud cases reported by insurance companies, state officials said. Also in decline last year was the average cost of personal-injury claims in New York, according to the Post report. While the average cost nationally in 2004 was $7,060 per claim, the state’s average was $5,867, marking the first time in years that New York’s cost was lower than the national average. Insurance rates in New York are the second highest in the nation behind New Jersey. Over the last year, 19 insurance companies have dropped their rates in New York. Officials credit a crackdown on fraud that started three years ago for the drop in suspected cases. “Things are looking up, finally,” Bernard Bourdeau, president of the New York Alliance Against Insurance Fraud, said. State Insurance Department Superintendent Howard Mills said he’s not sure whether rate reductions in the state have gone far enough to push New York down the list of most-expensive states to insure a car. Consumer advocate Russell Haven of the New York Public Interest Research Group said while the state is moving in the right direction, rate reductions have not kept pace with a drop in insurance-company payouts. Mr. Mills, however, said he expects more rate reductions in the future.


– Associated Press


BROOKLYN


THE BUN KING: KOBAYASHI TAKES FIFTH STRAIGHT HOT DOG CROWN


For the fifth straight year, it was a victory Takeru Kobayashi could truly relish. Mr. Kobayashi, 27, captured the Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating championship yesterday, gobbling a nauseating 49 dogs in 12 minutes – but missing his own world record of 53 1/2, set at last year’s July Fourth competition. The win means the coveted Mustard Yellow Belt will return to Japan for the ninth year out of the past 10. New Jersey’s Stephen Keiner, who won in 1999, is the only American to capture the title in the past decade. Mr. Kobayashi, of Nagano, stands 5 feet 7 inches and weighs just 144 pounds. The runner-up was Sonya Thomas of Alexandria, Va. – known as the Black Widow on the competitive-eating circuit – who set an American record by downing 37 hot dogs in the same 12 minutes. Ms. Thomas, who manages a Burger King restaurant, separates the hot dog from the bun and eats them separately. She dips the bun in water to make it easier to swallow with less chewing. “I want to be no. 1 in the world, so I practice,” she told CNN shortly after the contest. “I’m working on more speed.” She said she was planning a light dinner – maybe a salad. “My stomach doesn’t hurt,” she said, “but my jaw is tired.” Ms. Thomas, who weighs a remarkable 105 pounds, is a rising speed-eating star. Last December in Atlantic City, N.J., she finished off 89 meatballs – about six pounds’ worth – in 12 minutes. And in August, she captured a lobster-eating contest in Maine by consuming 38 of the creatures in 12 minutes. The hot dog contest takes place outside the original Nathan’s on Surf Avenue in Coney Island. The contest was first held there in 1916.


– Associated Press

The New York Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.


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