New York Desk

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The New York Sun

CITYWIDE

Tax Incentives Approved For Potential Far West Side Developers

The city’s Industrial Development Agency approved tax breaks yesterday worth an estimated $650 million as an incentive to attract commercial real estate developers to Manhattan’s far West Side.The Bloomberg administration has said that Midtown is at capacity and the tax incentives are mandatory to draw office developers into the area stretching from about Eighth to Eleventh avenues and from 31st to 43rd streets. The tax breaks will be weighted with more risky projects receiving greater tax incentives. Developers in the Hudson Yards district will not pay regular property taxes or mortgage recording taxes to the city’s general fund, but will give payments in lieu of taxes to pay for the slated extension of the no. 7 subway line and other infrastructure improvements. The City Council authorized the tax breaks in October 2005.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

Barron Criticizes America’s Support Of Israel, U.S. Senate

City Council Member Charles Barron, a Democrat who represents parts of East New York, rallied support Tuesday on the steps of City Hall for his bid to unseat 12-term Rep. Ed Towns in the U.S. House of Representatives.Mr. Barron promised to challenge “white men in power … because they have too much power.” In addition to calling for the U.S. Senate to be abolished as a racist institution, Mr. Barron deemed Israel’s latest war with Hezbollah as America’s proxy fight. “I don’t care what anybody says. Israel’s wrong,” he said before leading chants of “Free Palestine” and “Free Lebanon.” Mr. Barron, who came to prominence as a Black Panther, also touted his accomplishments as a councilman, including a $34 million workforce development plan targeted at black and Latino New Yorkers, along with millions for the city university system. An endorsement list Mr. Barron’s staff distributed includes more than three-dozen names, including the former president of Manhattan, C. Virginia Fields. Messrs. Towns and Barron will face off in a September Democratic primary.

— Special to the Sun

Man Shoots Ex-Lover, Himself in Queens

A Queens man whose girlfriend dumped him shot her in the head and then killed himself inside a Queens bar yesterday, police said. Police said early yesterday morning, Louis Vallejo, 38, was arguing with ex-girlfriend Carolina Perez, 26, inside the El Paisa Café on Northern Boulevard in Jackson Heights, where she worked as a bartender. As the argument escalated, Vallejo pulled out a .25 caliber gun and allegedly shot Perez in the head in front of the bar’s other patrons. Police said he promptly turned the gun on himself. Both died at the scene, police said.

— Special to the Sun

Man Dies After Scaffolding Fall In Brooklyn

A New Jersey man died yesterday after police said he fell off scaffolding at a construction site in Brooklyn. Police said Sal Spiritoso, 62, of Perth Amboy, N.J., fell 12 feet at a construction site on Beach 44 Street in Coney Island, where he was repairing stucco on a residence yesterday afternoon. Mr. Spiroso, who worked for Garden State Brick Fence & Stucco Co., suffered head injuries and died at Coney Island Hospital, police said.

— Special to the Sun

STATEWIDE

Lohan Wants To Visit Iraq With Clinton

Apparently a bit tired of her party-girl image, Lindsay Lohan said she wants to go to Iraq with Senator Clinton and entertain American troops there. “I’ve been trying to go to Iraq with Hillary Clinton for so long. Hillary was trying to work it out, but it seemed too dangerous,” Ms. Lohan said in an interview in the September issue of Elle magazine, to be released today.The 20-year-old actress and pop singer said she hoped to emulate Marilyn Monroe, who performed shows for about 100,000 troops stationed in Korea in 1954. “It’s so amazing seeing that one woman just going somewhere, this beautiful sex kitten, who’s basically a pinup, which is what I’ve always aspired to be,” Ms. Lohan said, adding that she would prepare for her trip to Iraq by taking shooting lessons with her security guard. A spokesman for the senator offered a slightly different take on Ms. Lohan’s contact with Mrs. Clinton’s office. “It was suggested to her that if she wanted to go, she could pursue doing so through the USO,” a spokesman, Philippe Reines, said.The USO is a nonprofit organization that provides entertainment to troops stationed abroad.

— Associated Press

Six Flags Darien Lake Ending Season Early

DARIEN CENTER — The state’s largest theme park said it will end its summer season four weeks early this year as its corporate parent continues to suffer financial problems. Six Flags Darien Lake, located halfway between Rochester and Buffalo, is one of six properties being considered for sale by parent company Six Flags Inc. because of financial losses. As of July 31, the park had already reduced operating hours five out of seven days and closed two rides, including a major roller coaster.The new closing date is October 1. The amusement park is one of Genesee County’s biggest employers, with about 2,000 workers during operating season. A Six Flags spokeswoman, Wendy Goldberg, said yesterday that the decision to close early was based on weather and attendance projections. In June, the company announced plans to sell six of its 30 theme park properties, including Darien Lake.

— Associated Press

IN THE COURTS

Bronx Gang Members Indicted in Murders

A dozen members and associates of a violent street gang were accused of bringing murders, narcotics, robberies, and guns to the streets for seven years, authorities announced yesterday. An indictment in U.S. District Court in Manhattan said the people were part of a Bronx racketeering enterprise known as the Clay Avenue Bloods, a violent street and prison gang. Local police teamed with federal agents over the last year and a half to probe the gang, which was accused of carrying out its crimes from 1998 to 2005. Five of those charged are eligible to face the death penalty if convicted of crimes that include a murder and attempted murder in May 2000 and a murder in July 2000. The others could face life in prison.

— Associated Press

TRISTATE

Accident Shuts Down I-95 Northbound For Eight Hours

WEST HAVEN, Conn. — Interstate 95 was reopened about eight hours after northbound lanes were shut when a truck overturned and dumped a load of paint thinner yesterday, state police said.Earlier, traffic was “absolutely at a standstill,” a spokesman for the state police, Master Sergeant J. Paul Vance, said. Traffic was backed up for miles on the main thoroughfare through New England. Motorists were diverted through Milford, Orange, and West Haven, authorities said. The driver of the truck suffered a minor injury, Sergeant Vance said.The accident occurred between exits 43 and 44 in West Haven. Fire officials were concerned about vapors from the paint thinner, Sergeant Vance said. The state Department of Environmental Protection also was called to the scene, he said. The cause of the crash was under investigation.

— Associated Press


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