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UPDATE: Bronx Tornado CONFIRMED

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:32:00 +0000

[UPDATE BELOW] The storm that tore through the tri-state area yesterday afternoon hammered parts of the Bronx particularly hard, sending trees crashing into cars and houses and scattering participants in the Dominican Day parade. Tree branches smashed windows and tore down power lines, and this morning 348 Con Ed customers in the borough are without power . Although a tornado warning was issued at 3:40 p.m., John Murray of the National Weather Service says there was “no confirmed evidence” of a twister. But the locals know what they saw. Glen Shikora of Kingsbridge says he’s convinced it was a tornado, telling the Daily News , “I heard this roar and thought it was the 1 train coming.” A Riverdale resident whose car was destroyed by a fallen tree declares, “It was definitely a tornado. It came out of nowhere.” And another Kingsbridge local tells the tabloid, “I heard glass breaking and trees snapping. It was like that movie ‘Twister.’ The windows broke and the wind just knocked over everything inside. I ran into the bathroom and waited ’till it stopped. It was very scary.” Over in Brooklyn, the sudden storm interrupted the first set of the free Pool Party concert at East River State Park. As the rain and wind blasted through, an announcement was made from the stage that the event would be relocated to Brooklyn Bowl, sending a thousand wet concertgoers scrambling north on Kent Avenue like an army of malnourished rats following the piper. Winds gusted up to 60 mph in parts of NYC and Long Island, where a giant walnut tree crashed down in the Malhayno family’s backyard, where the kids had been playing moments before being summoned inside. The OEM is asking that people report down trees to 311. But once the storm blew through, the temperature plummeted from a high of 93 degrees to 71 degrees. Upper West Side resident Mike Harris spoke for all of us when he told WCBS , “I’ll take the rain any day over 100 degrees, like it was earlier.” For more on this weekend’s storms, check out these stunning photos and video . UPDATE: The locals were right! The National Weather Service has confirmed that a tornado touched down in the Riverdale Sunday. Fox 5 reports that a National Weather Service storm damage team surveyed the damage today and determined that it’s consisted with an EF1 tornado . After blasting through Riverdale with 100 mph for about 10 minutes, the tornado moved on across Long Island Sound and swept into Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

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UPDATE: Bronx Tornado CONFIRMED

Man Drowns Near Sandy Hook

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 10:55:47 +0000

Yesterday, a swimmer drowned off a beach on the bay side of Sandy Hook, NJ. According to WABC 7 , “All three people were pulled out of the water at around 4:30 p.m. and taken to Monmouth Medical Center. One of the men was pronounced dead at the hospital. The conditions of the other two were not made available.” Apparently they were swimming near Plum Island, and there were signs posted warning people that there were no lifeguards on duty. Sandy Hook is part of Gateway National Park .

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Man Drowns Near Sandy Hook

Evil Empire: Darth Vader Robber Had Yankees Backpack

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 15:10:24 +0000

The troubled elder Skywalker who robbed a Long Island bank Thursday morning really was allied with the evil empire—just not in a galaxy far, far away. The robber allegedly threw a Yankees drawstring backpack at the teller and demanded that she fill it with money. Finally, stone cold proof ! It also turns out that the bystander who allegedly tried to hug the Dark Lord was really trying to take him down. A witness told the Post that the man attempted to reason with Vader, telling him to “stop playing around.” But he apparently didn’t know the power of the dark side, as Vader pulled out a gun and said, “I will shoot you in the face! This is not a joke!” The threat didn’t come from the ominous James Earl Jones voice associated with the character, but a voice that sounded more like a “squeaky teenager.” Can you think of anyone else who would own a full Darth Vader costume? The string of quirky robberies this week has officials warning again that banks are too welcoming, with open space and comfy couches making robbers feel like there is less security. But Michael Smith, president of the New York Bankers Association, says they are making strides. He told the Daily News , “The fact that [in some banks] you cannot see the security so blatantly does not mean it’s not there. There are numerous surveillance cameras recording footage from the minute you walk into the branch.” However, cops have yet to nab Vader, who by now must be on his way to ComicCon .

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Evil Empire: Darth Vader Robber Had Yankees Backpack

Darth Vader Bank Robber Not Your Average Star Wars Nerd

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:42:17 +0000

The Long Island bank robber who disguised himself as Darth Vader wasn’t afraid to use force. Witnesses tell Newsday (paywall) that when Vader entered the Chase bank in Setauket, everyone thought it was just a gag. A muscular customer at the counter jokingly tried to put his arms around Vader, at which point the 6′2″ former Jedi threw him to the ground, pointed the gun at him and said, “I’ll shoot you in the face. This isn’t a joke .” And for the first time in history, a grown man in a Star Wars costume successfully stopped people from laughing at him . Turning back to the counter, Vader demanded cash from the teller. But as he waited for the hand-off, another woman entered the bank. Sensing a disturbance in the Force, he swung around and pointed his gun at her, declaring, “Not today, lady. Find a different bank.” Grabbing the cash, he took off running east, knocking over a bagel shop customer who was as clumsy as he was stupid. An Air Force veteran inside the bagel store who saw Vader run by tells Newsday he thinks the thief has military training, observing, “He knows what he’s doing with the gun. He wasn’t holding it like a cowboy.” Suffolk county police have made no arrests, but they have dispatched one of their best rookies to the Dagobah system to dig up leads.

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Darth Vader Bank Robber Not Your Average Star Wars Nerd

SI Fatal Fire: Possible Murder-Suicide, Teen Son Suspected

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 09:13:26 +0000

Photograph of mourners at a memorial outside Wee Care where some of the victims attended day care by Swoan Parker/AP The house fire that claimed the lives of a mother and her four children in Staten Island’s Port Richmond section yesterday morning may have been arson—and police suspect it was a murder-suicide committed by the eldest child. The Staten Island Advance reports , “Police believe 14-year-old C.J. Jones slit the throats of his sisters, 7-year-old Melonie and 10-year-old Brittney, torched his family’s apartment on the second floor of 302 Nicholas Ave., then ran a razor across his own throat.” The fire, which eventually went to three alarms, not only burned C.J. and his sisters, but also killed his 2-year-old brother Jermaine and 32-year-old mother Leisa as well (heartbreaking pictures of the children here ). It’s unclear if Jeramine’s or Leisa Jones’ throats were slashed , because they were so badly burned . According to the Advance, during the investigation yesterday, officials, who were examining whether it was arson, found “C.J. was found slumped over a bed in a back bedroom, his throat also slit, Paul Browne, the NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner of Public Information, told reporters yesterday. A straight razor was discovered underneath the boy’s body.” Two police officers who had been on patrol a few blocks away smelled the smoke and knocked on residents’ doors —many residents credit the cops for saving their lives. But the flames were too intense for the cops to reach the Jones home. The Post reports that one neighbor recalled C.J. playing with matches, while another “said CJ was a quiet boy who often was responsible for caring for his siblings by himself. He never had any friends visit his home.” But apparently he had been suspended from school recently for fighting and was kicked out of a public pool for setting a fire there. A family friend told the Daily News , “You’d think only a monster could do this, not a little boy… He was a troublemaker when he was younger but we thought he grew out of that. He was the man of the house. I don’t know why he did this, he must have been going through something no one could see.” Leisa Jones was a cosmetology student, and the admissions director at her school once noticed how C.J. wasn’t smiling, “I said, ‘Hey, why won’t you smile?’ He wouldn’t look at me. He was very quiet. So serious.” But the boy’s grandmother Marcia Anderson told the Post, ” I don’t believe it. We don’t buy that. Nothing about my grandson is a murderer .” Still, another family friend said Leisa Jones was “stressing out” because of his issues .

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SI Fatal Fire: Possible Murder-Suicide, Teen Son Suspected

Andres Levin, Producer

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 08:52:00 +0000

Andres Levin is something of a legend in the world of music production. Having produced and written for a genre-spanning array of greats—from Chaka Khan to Tina Turner, David Byrne to Natalie Merchant, and with the In The Heights cast recording thrown in for good measure—Levin has found the time to lend his golden production touch to ” Field of Dreams ,” the free DIY music and art festival coming to Prospect Park tomorrow. It’s unclear what the promise of “Do It Yourself” will entail, but we’re pretty excited regardless. The festival is put on by Levin with the Bruce High Quality Foundation , that anonymous Brooklyn art collective whose pieces are blatantly snide and brilliant backhands to the art world. The band list is just as unusually paired, with sets by R&B duo Les Nubians , Cuban fusion singer CuCu Diamantes , Levin’s own Afro-beat-meets-tropicalia band Yerba Buena , and a whole host of others. This week Levin took a moment to tell us about “Field of Dreams,” his first joint, and what it will take to get him to dish more diva stories. The list of bands for Saturday is fantastic. Did you handpick them? Is this a compilation of your favorites? Is there one in particular you are especially excited about? Yes, there are a lot of amazing things happening in the New York music scene right now. I wanted to make a musical statement that was about New York as our home and lab beyond any style or scene. Also our coming together (the Bruces and I) for this makes it exponentially more important. I’ve started a new band just for this event called Los Hankey Pankeys. We’re beta testing a new 3-D iPad app as part of the set, as well as inviting lots of good, rare artist friends on stage. Exited about that. All the bands are very different and important. I’ll be shooting a documentary that day that I hope will one day be regarded as an important day in the renaissance of New York’s music and art scene. I just attended the Latin Alternative Music Conference last week, and the work coming from Latin artists is a new breed entirely. What do you think of the direction Latin alt-electro is going in? Who do you have your eye on now whom you see making a big impact on the genre? LAMC brings great bands to NYC but to be honest, I’m thinking and motivated by all great art; whether Latin or otherwise. I don’t like categories and Latin is a category…for now. Bruce High Quality Foundation Is “Field of Dreams” your first venture into the world of festival production? Do you have more planned? Well, I actually did several multi-artist shows before in large venues. One that stood out was the tribute to Fela Kuti at BAM, the Barbican and the Hollywood Bowl. Lots of great energy comes out of these events and so yes I plan to do lots more. This is the first time for an event of this complexity and I know it will not be the last—a public park show where art, music, neighborhood, family, technology & comedy can all exist at once. What exactly does a DIY art festival entail? How will the DIY aspect figure in? DIY: do it yourself! As artists and musicians we must not wait for opportunities, we have to create them. Do you consider producing for your clients to be your profession, and leading/producing/writing for Yerba Buena more of a creative outlet? Or is there more crossover than that? I’ve decided not to have a profession any more. I get involved in projects that inspire me and help inspire others. This year I did Natalie Merchant’s poetry album, produced Field of Dreams, produced a movie as well as several ad campaigns & albums, and learned some new tunings on my guitar. Yerba Buena’s sound is very genre blending. You’ve got Afro-Cuban, you’ve got hip-hop, and there’s plenty of Boricua sound too. How does your Venezuelan background factor in, musically? Interesting, because the most inspiring thing about Venezuela was doing electronic music with my dad in the context of the Caracas Tropicalia-rock music scene. I lived 6 years in Bahia, more than 20 in New York and plan on moving around a lot. So I think Venezuela will continue to creep into my work. Especially the 5/4 merengue! Where does the name Yerba Buena mean for you? How did you all find each other? Well it means “good herb” even though I don’t smoke much anymore. I did smoke my first joint at 13 with my dad making electronic music in Caracas…so go figure. Yerba Buena was really founded by Cucu Diamantes. She was the visionary and spark that jump started the whole thing. I took this and made it into the records. More than a band, it’s a diary of our life experience and collaborations in NYC… and will be a musical someday. As all music for me now is visual. I’m always trying to find universe-bending ideas. You’ve produced and written for quite the list of very high-profile artists—Tina Turner, Chaka Khan, Gladys Night and Macy Gray to name a few—who among them did you most enjoy working with? Any production horror stories? There are many—I love producing and squeezing the best out of people. I’ve had the opportunity to work with many and will continue to. I’m not going to talk about horror stories on this one, but maybe over some tequila. You attended both Julliard and Brooklyn College. What was college life in NYC like for you? College was very intense and confusing. I loved some of my teachers, was absolutely bored by others. I think the best lessons I learned on the streets, in the studio, at the clubs and in the subways. That said, I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity. Even though I dropped out several times I got a lot from it and will continue to be studying in or out of school. Do you live in NYC now? I do most of the time. This is my main home and I enjoy every second I putz around the streets of it. Where do you hang out when you’re in the city? Where do you eat? I love Frankies, Ninth Street Espresso, The Box, the dog parks, the bridges, Loisaida, all the American and Irish bars that played the World Cup in Spanish.

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Andres Levin, Producer

Infamous EMT Will Get Full-Honor Funeral

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:27:48 +0000

The FDNY Honor Guard The fatally shot EMT who was under investigation for allegedly ignoring a dying pregnant woman because he was on break will get a funeral with full FDNY honors. Jason Green, who was gunned down early Sunday morning during a Soho street fight, will be buried next week, and an FDNY source tells the Post , “The family wanted the honor guard. They wanted the pipes and drums and the lineup of people in uniform when the casket went into the hearse.” To the end, Green denied turning his back on Eutisha Rennix as she suffered a seizure in a downtown Brooklyn Au Bon Pan, and he had not been convicted of any wrongdoing. But one irate EMT tells the tabloid, “I’m stunned he’s having an honor guard. He died in a street fight over a parking spot. You’re giving him a sendoff with honors? He watched a woman die in a coffee shop. That should not warrant the pipe and drums corps.” Green’s funeral will take place at the Quinn Funeral Home in Long Island City at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Meanwhile, police investigating his murder have released the three men they’d been questioning .

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Infamous EMT Will Get Full-Honor Funeral

Florida Woman Pays High Price For Hamptons Dating Scene

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 11:05:48 +0000

There are probably plenty of pretty young things looking for filthy rich flings each summer in a certain Long Island beach town, but 40-year-old Cheryl Mercuris is lookin’ for love in the Hamptons, and she’s already a self-made millionaire on her own. The NY Post reports that she’s spent $500,000 (or $1,488 an hour!) for a two-week summer rental in hopes of finding Mr. Right. The divorced Mercuris is from Florida, and told the paper, “The dating pool is much better here. There are so many career-oriented people here, unlike the west coast of Florida, which is very quiet and laid-back—not great for someone who is single and raising a child.” If she doesn’t find love this time around, she says she may be moving to New York permanently anyway—she owns a home in the Time Warner Center. The mansion this woman is renting is way more interesting than her two week mission, however. If you want to know what a $1,488/hour rental home in the Hamptons looks like— check out more photos here . The home is called Sandcastle, and houses 14 bedrooms, 19 bathrooms, a bowling alley, a skate ramp, a squash court, a spa, a rock climbing wall… and it could all be yours! It’s on the market for for $49.5 million. Sound pricey? Consider how many New York City apartments you could fit in the 31,000-square-foot compound.

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Florida Woman Pays High Price For Hamptons Dating Scene

Pediatrician Charged With Producing Child Pornography

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 10:20:51 +0000

Dr. Rakesh Punn A Long Island pediatrician and civil surgeon has been arrested and charged with producing after child pornography after admitting to videotaping female patients—some as young as 11. After a raid on his office, police uncovered at least five videotapes of Dr. Rakesh Punn fondling patients, some of whom were blindfolded and naked. Nassau County DA Kathleen Rice said in a statement , “He victimized these trusting, young girls in the worse way imaginable.” Investigators also believe Punn may have drugged some of his patients. As a civil surgeon, Punn is authorized to give medical exams to immigrants applying for citizenship, and prosecutors believe he preyed on their innocence. In a police confession, he allegedly admitted to fondling nine patients for his personal pleasure. According to DA Rice , Punn would get footage in one of two ways. “First, he would have them get naked, lie on the examining table, and then covering their eyes with gauze and a blindfold, he would videotape his sexual contact with them. Investigators say that Punn touched and manipulated the girl’s genitals. In other instances, he would have the girl stand in his office, while a small digital camera hidden among objects on his desk recorded video. Punn would then have the girl expose her breasts in various positions while being taped.” Punn’s attorney says that Punn did nothing wrong. He told WCBS , “Before I acknowledge that there are tapes, I want to see them and I want to understand how they were made—under what circumstances they were made, how they were secured, how they were seized.” Punn is charged with Promoting a Sexual Performance by a Child, Possession of a Sexual Performance by a Child, Possession of a Forged Instrument, and Unlawful Surveillance, and faces up to seven years in prison for each confirmed victim.

On the Block: Awesome Auction Opportunity of the Day: These Three Lighthouses!

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 09:40:00 +0000

The federal government couldn’t even give away the three historic lighthouses it wants to get rid of off Long Island and Staten Island—the state, local governments, and nonprofits all said no to offshore freebies. That means the Latimer Reef Lighthouse , Old Orchard Light Station , and West Bank Lighthouse , all still active lighthouses (so the Coast Guard needs a copy of the keys), are now on the online auction block. Only Latimer Reef Lighthouse ( above left ) has a bid so far, of $10,000. Turning any of the places into a residential property could cost another $250,000 to $1 million, a lighthouse expert tells the Wall Street Journal . Which still could make it a not-so-pricey summer home alternative to the Hamptons. · Federal Government Seeks Buyers for Lighthouses [WSJ] · U.S. General Services Administration Auctions [auctionrp.com]

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On the Block: Awesome Auction Opportunity of the Day: These Three Lighthouses!