New York City Braces for Heat Wave

NEW YORK, NY — If you haven’t installed your air conditioner yet, Friday might be the day to do it.

That’s because New York this weekend will be sweltering through a brutal heat wave, the first of 2008.

Daytime highs will soar above 90 degrees from Saturday to Monday, according to Accuweather.com. And the high humidity will make those afternoons feel as though it’s hotter than 100.

NYPD Officers to get Bigger Paychecks

NEW YORK, NY — Under a new contract, members of the NYPD will soon be getting a raise.

Officers in top positions can expect a raise from $59,588 to $65,382. New officers will now start at $35,000, a jump from $25,000.

Protesters Arrested at Bell Verdict Rallies

NEW YORK, NY — The Rev. Al Sharpton and nearly 200 demonstrators were arrested Wednesday as they blocked traffic at the height of the evening rush hour to protest the acquittals of three detectives in the 50-bullet shooting of an unarmed black man.

Police estimated that about 190 people were arrested, including Sharpton, two survivors of the shooting and the slain man’s fiancee. They lined up and peacefully put their hands behind their backs as police arrested them on disorderly conduct charges.

Patrols Pulled off Brooklyn Streets After Threat to Shoot Cops Exposed

BROOKLYN, NY — Dozens of cops were pulled off the streets in Brooklyn Saturday night after NYPD officials were tipped off to a plot to shoot patrolmen, police sources said.

Officers were taken off their foot patrols in East New York, and cop cars were positioned to block a route to the 75th Precinct stationhouse on Sutter Ave. for fear of a drive-by shooting.

The extraordinary measures were taken after a confidential informant – who works with the Brooklyn narcotics squad – told police around 6 p.m. there was a plan to shoot up the Brooklyn stationhouse, sources said.

Retail Gas Hits Record $3.50 A Gallon

NEW YORK (AP) — Rising gasoline prices tightened the squeeze on drivers Monday, jumping for the first time to an average $3.50 a gallon at filling stations across the country with no sign of relief.

Crude oil set a record for the sixth day in a row — this time closing above $117 a barrel — after an attack on a Japanese oil tanker in the Middle East rattled investors.

Assault On Rabbi Spurs Anti-Bias Rally

BROOKLYN, NY — Community leaders and elected officials from throughout Brooklyn gathered Thursday, March 27th at Borough Hall to denounce hate crimes in the wake of the beating of a rabbi in Park Slope.

Web Site Draws Cops’ Wrath

A new Web site is prompting outrage among many police officers.

RateMyCop.com lists cops’ names — some 140,000 and counting — as well as the badge numbers of many of them, and enables people to rate them.

That, say many law enforcement officers, violates their rights, in part because there’s little or no — policing — by the site of the information posted on it.

Paterson Sworn in as State’s First Black Gov.

ALBANY, NY — David A. Paterson, minutes after being sworn in as New York’s 55th governor, sought yesterday to woo lawmakers with humor, inspiring words about public service and a call for compromise in the face of a potential economic meltdown.

More pictures and videos of the speeches in the Extended Article!

Crane Collapse Barely Misses Manhattan Chabad House

NEW YORK, NY — The collapse of a construction crane that toppled a New York City townhouse and killed at least four people just barely missed the headquarters of Chabad-Lubavitch of Beekman-Sutton, home to Rabbi Shmuel and Raizel Metzger, and their two children.

Bloomberg Seeks New Outlet After Radio Show Shake-Up

There was the joke about shooting the police commissioner.

There was the defense of illegal immigrants, because who else “takes care of the greens and the fairways in your golf course?”

There was the concern that pushing them out of the country would make the United States a “piranha,” not a pariah, in the eyes of the world. And there was the description of a tree the Parks Department was cloning as being the one that “George Washington supposedly slept under and had an apple fall on his head, or maybe it was Newton, or one of those guys.”

‘Nazi’ Thug $niched for NYPD

BROOKLYN, NY — The crazed hatemonger arrested for stashing pipe bombs in his Brooklyn Heights apartment and scrawling swastikas on local synagogues has worked as a paid confidential informant for the NYPD.

The startling disclosure that the shadowy Ivaylo Ivanov, 37, was employed as a witness for hire emerged in a public hearing in Brooklyn Criminal Court last Tuesday, where red-faced prosecutors were forced to drop charges against a businessman for alleged possession of stolen property after Ivanov’s involvement in the case surfaced.

In that case, Officer Eddie Lau, of Park Slope’s 78th Precinct, last July used Ivanov to launch a criminal case against Abdul Rehium, an Egyptian national who owns Computer Wiz, a Flatbush Avenue store that buys and sells new and used electronic gear, court records reveal.

Boro Pres Merkowitz Throws Support Behind Legislation Protecting Homeowners

BROOKLYN, NY — On March 7, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz joined Assemblymember Jim Brennan (D-Bklyn), Senator Frank Padavan (R-Queens), Queens Borough President Helen Marshall and Bertha Lewis, Executive Director of ACORN, at a Brooklyn Borough Hall press conference announcing foreclosure moratorium legislation. The bill would place a one-year moratorium on foreclosure and give at-risk homeowners a chance to work with lenders to find fair and equitable ways to restructure their loans and protect their homes.

Ex-Cop Agrees to Change Name of NYPD Rant Web Site for Pension

The founder of NYPD Rant – an Internet forum for disgruntled cops – has agreed to change the name of his controversial Web site in exchange for his police pension, the Daily News has learned.

Ex-cop Edward Polstein has surrendered to the city’s demand that he drop “NYPD” from the title, but he’s already planning a new site where disgruntled cops – hiding in anonymity – can spew racist rants and hate-filled attacks on the public, their superiors and other targets.

The settlement would mark the end of Polstein’s bitter federal lawsuit charging that he was fired in retaliation for criticizing Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly on the Web site.

Gov Spitzer Announces Additional Heating Assistance To Combat Rising Energy Prices

Second Grant Available to Those in Crisis

Governor Eliot Spitzer today announced that additional emergency home heating assistance is being made available to New York’s most vulnerable residents, in response to rising energy costs. The state has approved offering a second emergency benefit to qualified applicants through the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP). HEAP, a federally-funded program administered by the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), assists eligible households in meeting their home energy needs. So far this winter heating season, HEAP has issued benefits to more than 719,000 families, totaling more than $178 million.

OTDA Commissioner David A. Hansell appeared today at Senior Services of Albany on Delaware Avenue to help publicize the additional benefits.

Trees, Scaffoldings and Building Walls Damaged in Severe Winds

BROOKLYN, NY [CHI] — The national weather service issues a severe weather alert today covering most of New York City, warning residents of winds gusting up to 60mph, this advisory is in affect till 6:00am Monday.

More pictures in the Extended Article.