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.

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CITWIDE

Safety Board Reports Tourist’s Death Was Not Caused by Station Gaps

The Public Transportation Safety Board released a report yesterday concluding that the death of Natalie Smead at the Woodside LIRR station last August was due to her own actions and alcohol-impaired condition and not because of the gap between the platform and the train. “The gap itself, the platform, and the way the railroad car approaches all met the state and federal guidelines,” the chairman of the Public Transportation Safety Board, Thomas Madison, said. “LIRR also acted appropriately by giving aid and comfort to Smead after she fell through the gap. She chose to move physically from where she was temporarily safe and that ultimately caused her death.” Smead, an 18-year-old tourist, was visiting from Minnesota. The associate director of the New York City Transit Riders Council, Bill Henderson, said the report doesn’t ignore the safety issue of the gaps between LIRR platforms and trains. “There are people being injured because of the gap,” Mr. Henderson said. “The issue is still out there and the findings of the board won’t make the issue go away.” The Public Transportation Safety Board will continue its broader investigation into all gaps at all stations, and expects to issue its recommendations next spring.

— Special to the Sun

Latino Industry Finds Calorie Listing Proposal Problematic

As the city contemplates revisions to its proposal to ban trans fat in restaurants, its plan to require some eateries to prominently display caloric information is drawing complaints from a Latino industry group. The president of the Latino Restaurant Association, Louis Nunez, says the city’s proposal would penalize health-conscious restaurant owners, since it would only apply to eateries with “standardized” menus that already publicize nutritional information. About 10% of the city’s 24,000 restaurants fit that description. The proposal is largely aimed at national chains, which have said their menus have too many combinations, making a list of calories for each one impractical. Mr. Nunez said the city is providing little incentive for restaurants to start listing nutritional data, and not enough education to restaurants about offering customers healthier options. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said it is reviewing all comments before the Board of Health votes on its proposals next month.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

South Bronx Makeover Moves Ahead

The city moved a step closer yesterday toward giving the South Bronx a makeover. Mayor Bloomberg announced details of the “Hunts Point Vision Plan,” which is aimed to transform the area, one of the poorest in the nation, over the next decade. The first projects on the agenda are transforming 1.5 acres into park space, improving 2.3 miles of roadway with landscaping and bike paths, redeveloping the waterfront, and creating a pedestrian bridge connecting the area to Randall’s Island. The city does not own the land where it wants to build the bridge, but is looking to acquire it. The $30 million initiative and will be funded largely through city monies. Construction is scheduled to begin by summer and to be completed by 2011.

— Staff Reporter of the Sun

POLICE BLOTTER

Man Killed in Brooklyn Drive-By Shooting

A Brooklyn man was shot and killed late Sunday night, police said yesterday. Police said the shooting took place just before 11 p.m. on Carroll Street in Flatbush. Police identified the man as Dwayne Thorpe of Cleveland Street in East New York. Police said Thorpe was inside a car on Carroll Street with several friends when another car drove by and fired into their vehicle. The friends dropped Thorpe off at Brookdale Hospital with numerous gunshot wounds, where he was pronounced dead. An investigation is ongoing.

— Special to the Sun

IN THE COURTS

Townhouse Neighbors File Lawsuit

A family driven from their devastated home when a doctor blew up his multimillion-dollar East Side townhouse and killed himself in doing so have filed a lawsuit against the physician’s estate. Michael and Ann Conry say in court papers that their three-bedroom apartment and its contents were destroyed when Dr. Nicholas Bartha’s townhouse next door was blasted into a pile of broken brick and rubble on June 10, 2006.

— Associated Press

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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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