New York Desk

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The New York Sun

CITYWIDE

Barron Says He Won’t Run as Independent

City Council Member Charles Barron says he won’t run for Congress on an independent party line in November, but the renegade Brooklyn lawmaker is declaring victory after losing to incumbent Rep. Edolphus Towns by eight points in last week’s Democratic primary. Mr. Towns, who has held the 10th district seat for 24 years, had 46% to Mr. Barron’s 38%. Mr. Barron is widely known for his support for slavery reparations and for hosting the Zimbabwean dictator, Robert Mugabe, at City Hall. He put a positive spin on his showing in the 10th district race, in which he was outspent by a 10-to-1 margin but lost by only about 3,000 votes. Mr. Barron yesterday launched a movement called “Operation P.O.W.E.R.” to support progressive candidates, and he said he plans to challenge Mr. Towns again in 2008.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

Pataki Announces Funding To Restore NYPL Fifth Avenue Facade

The New York Public Library will get $5 million in state money to restore its historic facade on Fifth Avenue, Governor Pataki announced yesterday. The money comes in addition to the $10 million the state already has provided for the project. “The New York Public Library is an historic landmark with significance in heritage to the United States, and both the city and the state of New York,” Mr. Pataki said in a statement. Years of weathering and acid rain have left the marble facade and roof in danger of leaks and falling pieces of stone, and in need of repair and cleaning. The work will include inspections, removal and replacement of worn mortar, restoration of ornamentation and statuary repair, resurfacing of stone and replacement of brackets.The Beaux Arts building on Fifth Avenue opened in 1911 — then the largest marble structure in the country.The facade restoration is to be completed in time for the library’s centennial celebration in 2011.

— Associated Press

STATEWIDE

Man Free After 16 Years Behind Bars

WHITE PLAINS — A man who was convicted as a teenager of raping and murdering a 15-year-old classmate despite DNA evidence in his favor was freed yesterday, after a new DNA test implicated another man and the new suspect confessed. Jeffrey Deskovic, now 33, delivered a 35-minute tirade about the failures of the justice system and the years taken from his life. “I’m not standing here in front of you because the system works,” he said. “I’m standing here despite the system.” Mr. Deskovic was serving 15 years to life for the 1989 rape and murder of Angela Correa, a fellow student at Peekskill High School. After years of failed appeals, Mr. Deskovic’s case was taken up by the New York City-based Innocence Project, which handles cases in which post-conviction DNA testing might yield proof of innocence. A comparison resulted in a match to a man already serving a life sentence for another Westchester murder, prosecutors said. As Mr. Deskovic left the courthouse to applause from Project Innocence workers, he seemed more angry about his incarceration than happy about his release. He harangued the original judge and prosecutors and referred to greedy lawyers, the appeals courts that rejected him, slanted news stories, mean prison guards, unfaithful friends, and toadying parole boards. “I was supposed to finish out my education … begin a career,” Mr. Deskovic said, choking up. “Marry, have a family, spend some time with my family … share the last years of my grandmother’s life with her.” Mr. Deskovic grew a long, curly beard in prison and said he converted to Islam, which “gave me something else to throw myself into.”

— Associated Press

POLICE BLOTTER

Woman Shot In Midtown Office

A 42-year-old woman was shot yesterday inside a Manhattan office building by individuals who may have been trying to steal her purse, police said. Police said the woman was attacked on the 12th floor of a West 34th Street building in Midtown around 3:45 p.m. She was shot once in the left arm, although the bullet passed through her arm into her torso, police said. As of last night, police said they were looking for suspects, initially reported as a group of men.The woman was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition, they said.

— Special to the Sun

Sanitation Worker Struck, Killed by Partner

A private sanitation worker was struck and killed in Brooklyn yesterday after police said his partner accidentally hit him. Police said the 44-year-old driver was backing up on Pitkin Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant around 7:15 a.m. when he struck his co-worker. The victim, a 44-year-old man, was not identified last night pending family notification. Police issued no summonses and reported no signs of criminality.

— Special to the Sun


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