Mount Sinai Hospital Welcomes ‘Baby New Year’

Just 13 seconds after the ball dropped, baby “new year” came bouncing into the world.

“We’re proud, very happy, very excited,” said proud mom Brucha Strulevich, who hasn’t even picked out a name for the third addition to her family of all boys.

How to Find the Bridge? First, Pay Your Respects

The metal signs are impossible to miss. They are oversize, in a bold blue usually found on signs directing drivers to the nearest hospital. And there are lots of them — 13 in all, according to the city’s count — along a quarter-mile stretch of roadway and its approaches.

City ‘Looted’ for $563M

Settlements shot up to a near-record this year.

The city shelled out a near-record $563 million in 2009 to settle thousands of lawsuits ranging from car crashes to employee discrimination — and even made a six-figure payout to a criminal who sued the cops.

Alleged Queens drug dealer Roger Bissoon pocketed $150,000, the result of a nine-year-old police-brutality case in which he claimed cops broke his jaw while he was handcuffed.

Half of Brooklyn Receiving Food-stamps

Fort Greene resident and clothing designer Kathlene Williams never believed that one day she would have to apply for food stamps.

But two weeks ago, Williams lost her job designing clothes – and the single mother of two found herself in the same boat as 167,503 other Brooklynites who have been approved for the federal subsidy since January 2008.

Study: New York is the Saddest State in the Nation

WASHINGTON — People in sunny, outdoorsy states — Louisiana, Hawaii, Florida — say they’re the happiest Americans, and researchers think they know why.

A new study comparing self-described pleasant feelings with objective measures of good living found these folks generally have reason to feel fine.

First Snow falls in Brooklyn as Blizzard Bears Down on City

The first few flakes of an expected 10-inch snowstorm started falling Saturday afternoon as New Yorkers prepared for a two-day whiteout.

Snow began coming down in the outer boroughs as the storm moved into the metropolitan area from the south.

New Buses Bring Silence to the Streets

Any New Yorker who has ridden a city bus might be forgiven for believing a banshee is buried under the floorboards. Engines idle at an alarmingly high volume, and acceleration is often accompanied by a symphony of cracks and snaps, the squeals of aging machinery with little eagerness to perform its assigned task.

Video – 9/11 Terror Suspects To Plead Not Guilty

NEW YORK [NY1] — An attorney for one of the September 11th terror suspects says the men plan on pleading not guilty when their high profile trial begins in Lower Manhattan.

Attorney Scott Fenstermaker says his client, Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, and the others will not deny their role in the attacks, but rather explain why they plotted and pulled off the attacks.

Crown Heights Dad, Two Toddlers Die In Tragic Fire

CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn — There appears to be two major mistakes that could have made the difference between life and death in a Crown Heights fire that took three lives.

First, fire officials say there were no smoke detectors in the apartment and secondly, it seems it took way too long to respond.

Video – Women File Discrimination Suit Against B&H

NEW YORK (WABC) — A sex discrimination lawsuit has been filed against one of the best-known electronics stores in New York.

Four women accuse B&H Electronics of workplace promotions that were discriminatory.

9/11 Mastermind Kalid Shaikh Mohammed to be Tried on NY Soil

Gov. Paterson on Monday joined the chorus of critics questioning the government’s plan to try Kalid Shaikh Mohammed and four other accused 9/11 terrorists in New York.

“This is not a decision that I would have made,” the governor said when asked about the upcoming federal trial of KSM and his four underlings.

Bloomberg Narrowly Wins Third Term as NYC Mayor

NEW YORK, NY [AP] — Billionaire Michael Bloomberg won a third term as New York mayor Tuesday in a closer-than-expected race against a Democratic challenger who stoked voter resentment over the way Bloomberg changed term-limits law so he could stay in office.

With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Bloomberg, the richest man in New York and founder of the financial information company Bloomberg LP, defeated William Thompson Jr. 51 percent to 46 percent.

NYPD Super-Sirens get Ready to Rumble

NEW YORK — If you feel the earth move under your feet, it just might be the cops.

The NYPD is equipping its police cars with a new high-tech siren that you will not only hear but also feel.

It’s called the Rumbler, and its aim is to grab the attention of even the most distracted cellphone-yakking, text-messaging or headphone-addled pedestrian or motorist.

Mayor Bloomberg Breaks Campaign Spending Record

NEW YORK [CBS] — New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has broken his own spending record from four years ago, dropping $85.2 million so far on his campaign for a third term.

The billionaire spent $85 million on his re-election in 2005, and $74 million on his first bid for office in 2001.

Crime Down Around City, but Spiking in Crown Heights

BROOKLYN — Crime is down so far this year across the city, but some Brooklyn neighborhoods have seen a surge of shootings, NYPD statistics show.

There were 240 gunshot victims in South Brooklyn through early October, up from 179 during the same period in 2008 because of a spike in violence in Crown Heights, East Flatbush and Coney Island.