NEW JERSEY

OFFICER SHOT OUTSIDE NEWARK SCHOOL DIES

NEWARK, N.J. – One of two Newark school police officers wounded in a shooting yesterday afternoon has died.

Officer Dwayne Reeves died at 5:25 p.m., according to Rogers Ramsey, spokesman for University Hospital in Newark. The officer had been shot in the head. A second officer, Akhia Scott, 27, was treated for a gunshot wound to the hand and released, Mr. Ramsey said. A suspect was also shot and was in serious condition at the hospital, Mr. Ramsey said. His name was not released. Broadcast reports said police were looking for a second suspect, but police would not immediately confirm it. The shootings happened about 2 p.m. on the sidewalk outside Weequahic High School, according to Newark police spokesman Derek Glenn. Both officers were on duty and in uniform, he said. Investigators were interviewing the less seriously wounded officer to determine the circumstances, Mr. Glenn said.

– Associated Press

MANHATTAN

RELATED COMPANIES, VORNADO TO DEVELOP MOYNIHAN STATION

Only weeks after his plan for a West Side stadium was quashed, Mayor Bloomberg boasted of his continued commitment to developing Manhattan’s far West Side. At a press conference announcing that the Related Companies and Vornado Realty Trust have been awarded the bid to develop the 1913 James A. Farley Post Office on Eighth Avenue into Moynihan Station, Mr. Bloomberg linked the new project to a host of other Far West Side developments, including the expansion of the Jacob Javits Convention Center and the extension of the no. 7 subway line. “Moynihan Station will be an anchor and also serve as a gateway to the vibrant new neighborhoods that we are building on the far West Side,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “We want people to come to this neighborhood.”

The press conference drew Governor Pataki and the chairman of the Empire State Development Corporation, Charles Gargano; however, noticeably absent was the deputy mayor for economic development, Daniel Doctoroff, who was also the founder of NYC2012, the city’s failed bid for the 2012 Olympic Games that relied heavily on the approval of the West Side stadium.

Exterior restoration on the post office building is expected to begin this year, and the $818 million project is scheduled for completion in 2011. Moynihan Station, named after the late New York Senator Moynihan, who championed the project, will have restaurants, stores, the Long Island Rail Road and New Jersey Transit as its tenants. Amtrak has said it intends to stay in Penn Station, just across the street from the new station.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

RAPIST REWARD FUND SPONSORS SAFETY WALKABOUT

The East Side Rapist Reward Fund, an organization founded in 1996 to help police find the notorious and still at large serial East Side rapist, is planning a “safety walkabout” on the Upper East Side. The stroll will occur on the evening of the National Night Out, August 2. The group, along with police officers from the Upper East Side’s 19th Precinct, will teach people what to look out for when walking down dark, deserted side streets; how to protect themselves from suspicious characters; which ATMs are unsafe; what to do if someone assaults or mugs them; and how to avoid pickpockets.

The event is scheduled during the 22nd National Night Out, a crime and drug prevention event sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch, an organization comprised of neighborhood, crime, community, and block watch groups. The group will meet on the northwest corner of 86th Street and Lexington Avenue, in front of Duane Reade. Start time is scheduled for 6 p.m.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

ALBANY

CUOMO LEADS MONEY CHASE AMONG ATTORNEY GENERAL CANDIDATES

Andrew Cuomo, who failed in his bid for the 2002 Democratic gubernatorial nomination, is seeking to breathe life back into his political persona with an impressive demonstration of fund-raising clout in the race for state attorney general.

Records reviewed yesterday by the Associated Press show the former federal housing secretary and elder son of Mario Cuomo, the former New York governor, raised almost $2.1 million over the past six months, or almost three times the amount raised by his closest rival for the 2006 attorney general nomination.

Meanwhile, the records showed a surprisingly robust performance by a former Cuomo ally who is now a rival for the attorney general nomination, Charles King of Rockland County.

“Finishing in the top two in fund-raising shows that my campaign has incredibly strong momentum,” Mr. King said.

Including the more than $1 million the younger Mr. Cuomo had left over from his failed gubernatorial bid, the filing with the state Board of Elections showed Mr. Cuomo with $2.99 million on hand, almost twice that of his nearest rival.

– Associated Press

QUEENS

BOROUGH GETS ITS OWN VANITY LICENSE PLATE

Queens officials debut today the first license plate to promote a borough. The new plate is part of the Discover Queens advertising campaign promoted by the Queens Tourism Council and the office of the borough president, Helen Marshall, and features a colorful rendition of the Unisphere, until now the unofficial symbol of Queens.

– Special to the Sun

LONG ISLAND

COUPLE ARRESTED FOR SCHOOL ROOF SEX

PORT JEFFERSON STATION – A Long Island couple are being charged with having sex on the roof of the John F. Kennedy Middle School here – while people watched from the street. Suffolk County police say they got the call at 4:36 p.m. Sunday about two naked people on the school’s roof.

When police arrived, the couple tried to dress and flee. They were caught in the rear of the building. Police charged Rebekah Albee, 19, of Port Jefferson Station, and Anthony Oddo, 24, whom police said is homeless, with criminal trespass and public lewdness. Mr. Oddo was also charged with resisting arrest, police said.

– Associated Press

CITYWIDE

REPORT: TEEN VICTIMS OF RELATIONSHIP ABUSE NEED BETTER HELP

The Department of Education doesn’t have a uniform policy for addressing domestic violence incidents between students and doesn’t do enough to help the teen victims of relationship abuse, the New York City public advocate, Betsy Gotbaum, said yesterday.

Ms. Gotbaum released a report yesterday about teen relationships that turn violent and the Education Department’s approach to them. She found that the department doesn’t usually allow victims to transfer to another school, even if they can show police reports. She also found that the department doesn’t provide information to students who are showing symptoms of abuse, and doesn’t train teachers about how to spot problems. She called for a complete overhaul of training, transfer, and educational policies to address domestic abuse among young people.

The Education Department said the discipline code and the new health curriculum, which includes a section on relationship abuse, helps it address dating violence and abusive relationships. “There is a range of disciplinary consequences for engaging in such behavior and when the behavior is criminal, it must be reported to the police,” an e-mailed statement from the department said.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

SUSPECT SOUGHT IN RAPE ON MADISON AVENUE BRIDGE

Police last night re leased a sketch of a man being sought as a suspect in a rape last Friday on the Madison Avenue Bridge.

The man in the sketch is described as a 50-year-old Hispanic, five feet, seven inches tall, with a medium build weighing 200 pounds.

He was last seen wearing a purple shirt and gray pants. The suspect is being sought in the sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl last Friday night which took place on the bridge connecting Harlem and the Bronx, police said. The attack occurred at approximately 11:30 p.m.

Police ask for anyone who can identify this suspect in the sketch to call 1-800-577-TIPS.

– Special to the Sun