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.

BROOKLYN
TWO MAY SUE OVER ALLEGED POLICE ACTIONS
Two Brooklyn men plan to sue the city and the Police Department for $10 million, alleging police struck them without provocation early Monday morning after authorities broke up a rowdy festival before the West Indian American Day Carnival. The two men, O’Neil Bonner, 30, and Andre Essor, 29, suffered broken bones when they were hit with police batons around 5:30 a.m., their attorney, Sanford Rubenstein, said. Mr. Rubenstein filed a notice with the city comptroller yesterday stating his clients’ intention to sue. The incidents occurred when police in riot gear responded to reports of gunfire in the area around East 52nd Street and Church Avenue, which was packed with revelers celebrating the J’Ouvert Festival that precedes the annual parade. The department’s Internal Affairs Bureau has interviewed the men and is conducting an investigation, police said.
– Special to the Sun
TRIAL OPENS FOR BROOKLYN ASSEMBLYMAN
After the final two jurors were selected this morning, the trial of Brooklyn Assemblyman Clarence Norman Jr., who was indicted on charges of offering a false instrument for filing, falsifying business records, and violating election law, began with opening arguments from the prosecution and defense.The prosecuting lawyer, the assistant district attorney of the Brooklyn Rackets Bureau, Kevin Richardson, explained to the jurors that Mr. Norman, in his 2000 and 2002 re-election campaigns for the Brooklyn Assembly seat he has held since 1982, solicited contributions from a lobbyist group in excess of the $3,100 limit set by the Board of Elections. Because most of the campaign materials were for the joint campaign of three politicians – Mr. Norman and two other politicians running for seats in the state committee – the contribution limit for campaign materials had to be multiplied by three, Mr. Norman’s lawyer, Edward Rappaport, argued.
– Special to the Sun
TWO KILLED IN ALLEGED DRUNK DRIVING ACCIDENT
The driver of a black Nissan Altima headed east on the Belt Parkway lost control and crossed into the parkway’s westbound lane after being cut off by a black Ford Mustang at 5 a.m. yesterday in the Flatlands section of Brooklyn, police said. The front passenger, 20-year-old Svettlana Kaushanskaya, was pronounced dead on arrival at Kings County Hospital along with one of the backseat passengers, a male in his 20s who had not been identified as of yesterday afternoon. The other backseat passenger, a female in her 20s, was in critical condition yesterday. Police charged the injured driver, 25-year-old Aleksander Yudovin, with manslaughter, reckless endangerment, and driving while intoxicated.
– Special to the Sun
MANHATTAN
PAINTINGS BY CHILDREN WHO LOST LOVED ONES ON 9/11 ON DISPLAY
A collection of paintings by nearly 200 children who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001, is on display at the temporary World Trade Center PATH station as part of an art therapy project conceived by the stepdaughter of the Port Authority’s former executive director, Neil Levin, who died during the attacks. The exhibit also includes pictures by children of victims of the first World Trade Center bombing February 26, 1993.
– Special to the Sun
CITYWIDE
CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS ASK MTA TO INCREASE BUS SERVICE
Members of the City Council, led by the transportation committee chairman, John Liu, are asking the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to increase bus service to reduce car usage in the city, as gas prices at one Exxon station in Jamaica, Queens, surged past the $4 mark in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. A council member, Larry Seabrook, who represents Co-op City in the Bronx, said increasing express bus service would help people from the outer boroughs who have fewer public transportation options and rely heavily on their cars. New York City Transit tailors service to meet demand, but has not increased its service in recent weeks despite the spike in gas prices, a spokesman, Charles Seaton, said.
– Special to the Sun
CITYWIDE
CRITICISM OF MILLER ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT INVESTIGATION
A lawyer representing John Martin, the former chief of staff to Council Member Vincent Gentile, a Brooklyn Democrat, plans to hold a news conference today denouncing the speaker of the City Council, Gifford Miller, for “botching” an investigation into sexual harassment allegations his client made against the council member. The City Council issued a statement in August saying its Standards and Ethics Committee found that the allegations against Mr. Gentile were “not substantiated.”
– Staff Reporter of the Sun
POLICE BLOTTER
MAN WHO ALLEGEDLY SHOT NURSE CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER
The man who allegedly shot a nurse inside an Astoria dialysis center where he had once been a patient was charged yesterday with attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment, and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon. Wilford Alston, 64, who lives in Long Island City, walked into the Western Queens Dialysis Center on 35th Avenue carrying a revolver and a knife, the office of the Queens district attorney, Richard Brown, said. He allegedly shot dialysis technician Eva Rashid, 41, one time in the abdomen, causing serious injury, pointed the gun at other people inside the center, fired several rounds, and then fled.
– Staff Reporter of the Sun
MAN STABS BABY IN STROLLER
A 10-month-old girl in a stroller was stabbed by a man in what appeared to be a random act of violence, police said.Yesterday at about 5 p.m., a nanny, 20, and her charge were on the southwest corner of 171st Street and Fort Washington Avenue when the 48-year-old suspect, whose name was not released, allegedly walked up and stuck a knife into the child’s torso. He ran into a nearby building, where police arrested him.The infant was taken to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in critical condition. Police officials said the suspect – who might have a history of mental illness – resides in a group home nearby.
– Staff Reporter of the Sun