Hatzalah Makes Big Kiddush Hashem on I-690

Joseph Levin didn’t notice the truck in front of him Thursday morning until concrete and dust from the pedestrian bridge over Interstate 690 rained down on his car.

“It was like an explosion,” said Levin, a volunteer EMT from Brooklyn.

It’s NYPD ‘Green’ for Cops

The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association and the city yesterday agreed to a new contract that will hike police salaries by 17 percent over four years – raising rookie pay from $36,000 to $42,000 a year, the mayor announced yesterday.

The pact brings a 51/2-year veteran cop’s pay up to $76,488, compared to the present $65,382.

NYPD’s Chosen Guns

ORTHODOX COP CADETS MAKE FORCE KOSHER

NEW YORK, NY — Didja hear the one about the cop who walked into a doughnut shop and asked for a bagel and a shmear?

You will soon. The NYPD is adding 10 Orthodox Jews, including one woman, to their ranks. That’s the largest Orthodox contingent ever in the department’s latest cadet class.

NYC Councilman Pushing Exclusive Parking Rights

BROOKLYN, NY [CBS] — If a Brooklyn councilman has his way, city residents who own cars could be given exclusive rights to park within their neighborhoods.

Riding NYC Buses is ‘Cool’

NEW YORK, NY [AP] — The nation’s largest mass transit system can boast a new distinction: A survey shows New York has cooler buses in summer than many U.S. cities.

NYC Transit workers recently took buses’ temperature 2,200 times, in the agency’s largest such effort to date. Less than 5 percent were considered unacceptably hot — more than 78 degrees.

Police Department Unveils Text Tip Line

NEW YORK, NY — In an effort to involve younger citizens, the New York City Police Department unveiled a way to send in tips via text message.

Texting CRIMES, or 274637, on a cell phone, will begin a text conversation with detectives who will be standing by at the police department. To begin, users must precede their message with the code, “TIP577,” which will then create an alias to ensure anonymity. In case of danger, police said, a user can conclude a message with the word “stop,” which will keep him or her from receiving any further messages from the police.

Sanitation Writes Fewer Litter Tickets; City’s Getting Cleaner

NEW YORK, NY — Fewer New Yorkers are getting slapped with $100 tickets for dirty sidewalks and gutters – yet the city’s streets keep getting cleaner.

The Sanitation Department wrote 43% fewer tickets for litter on residential sidewalks in the first six months of this year compared with the same period last year.

Racial Slur? So what! Two Police Officers say Black Chief didn’t Care

Two black cops who reported a boss for using a racial slur say they were viciously chewed out by an African-American chief in the NYPD and are now planning a lawsuit.

Assistant Chief Gerald Nelson went ballistic after Officer Shelron Smikle made a June 10 report to the Internal Affairs Bureau charging that a black sergeant at the 83rd Precinct dropped the N-bomb on him.

Two days later, Nelson, the commander of Patrol Borough Brooklyn North, ordered Smikle, 28, and his partner, Blanch O’Neal, 38, to his office, they told the Daily News in an interview.

“’We have friends in IAB, and you’re full of s—!’” Nelson screamed, according to Smikle and O’Neal. “So what, he [the sergeant] called you a n—-r? If you can’t handle it, resign!’”

Straphangers Release ‘Subway Shmutz’ Report

NEW YORK, NY [WNBC] — A subway riders advocacy group, the Straphangers Campaign, has released its annual report on the city’s 22 subway lines, saying the timeliness and quality of service on most lines has deteriorated from the previous year.

The 2007 “State of the Subways” report card analyzes service in key areas including wait time, regular arrival, a chance for a seat, clean cars, and understandable announcements.

MTA Plan to Raise Fares Angers Officials and Riders

NEW YORK, NY — A proposal by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to increase transit fares and tolls in 2009 drew sharp criticism from an array of powerful officials on Tuesday, as the mayor, City Council speaker and Assembly speaker said they would oppose it, and the governor pledged “to do everything I can to prevent it.”

City E-Gnored 54,000 Parking-Tickets Mails

NEW YORK, NY — Perplexed motorists who sent e-mail inquiries about their parking tickets to the Finance Department as far back as four years ago didn’t get any responses until last month, The Post has learned.

Responding to an inquiry from The Post – by e-mail – officials confirmed that 54,000 electronic messages went unanswered until a few weeks ago.

Power Restored To Most Brooklyn Residents

BROOKLYN, NY [NY1] — Some Brooklyn neighborhoods are finally getting some relief from the heat today, as the power returns after being knocked out from over the weekend.

Hundreds Without Power In Brooklyn, More Asked To Cut Back

BROOKLYN, NY [NY1] — As of Sunday evening, Consolidated Edison was still working to restore power to hundreds of Brooklyn residents, while thousands more were forced to sweat through another summer scorcher without any air conditioning after the utility asked them to cut back on non-essential electrical appliances.

Rikers Guard Accused in Cop-Killer’s Escape Plot

NEW YORK , NY — A jail guard is under investigation for allegedly trying to help an accused cop-killer escape from prison.

The Rikers Island officer slipped a handcuff key to Lee Woods, one of three men charged with killing Brooklyn police officer Russel Timoshenko, according to the Daily News.

Politics Failed, but Fuel Prices Cut Congestion

NEW YORK, NY — Soaring gas prices and higher tolls seem to be doing for traffic in New York what Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s ambitious congestion pricing was supposed to do: reducing the number of cars clogging the city’s streets and pushing more people to use mass transit.

In May, with gasoline at more than $4 a gallon, traffic at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s bridges and tunnels dropped 4.7 percent compared with the same month the previous year.

Circling for Parking Wastes Gas, Harms Environment

NEW YORK, NY — New York City drivers waste hundreds of thousands of miles just looking for a parking space.

That’s the finding of a new study by the group Transportation Alternatives.