Mystery smell settles over Manhattan

Manhattan, NY — New York officials evacuated a number of buildings and shut down some trains after a mysterious gaslike odor was reported Monday.

A New York Police Department spokesman said an air quality test determined that the air is not hazardous, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said there is no indication terrorism was involved.

Click Here to watch the mayors press confrence

Comptroller Accuses Car Insurance Industry of Price-Gouging

New York, NY — The city comptroller released a report accusing the auto insurance industry of price-gouging.

Comptroller Bill Thompson says the car insurance industry has raised premiums between 2000 and 2005 by nearly 29-percent, raking in 10 and a half billion dollars from premiums in 2005 alone. He also found companies were decreasing payouts for claims by more than 20 percent.

Thompson’s report says drivers in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens are especially hard hit. He says it’s not just a matter of customers shopping around for lower rates.

Mysterious Tickets

New York City has another mess on its hands and this time someone’s hands may be to blame. Sloppy parking ticket writers and possibly fake counterfeit license plates could be behind a mysterious parking ticket blitz. Fox 5’s John Deutzman got on the case and got some answers.

Click Here to watch the disturbing findings

Coney Island’s Astroland Sold, Will Close Next Year

Astroland Amusement Park on the Coney Island boardwalk in Brooklyn, which offered rides and thrills to generations of New Yorkers, was sold to a developer planning to turn it into a year-round resort.

The park will close after the 2007 summer season as part of an agreement Thor Equities LLC, a New York-based development firm, according to a statement released by the sellers, the Albert family. Dewey Albert, father of the current owner Jerome Albert, opened the amusement park in 1962, the statement said.

NYers Get Lost In Translation

Almost one in four New Yorkers admit they can’t speak English well, almost three times the national average, according to U.S. Census data analyzed by The Post yesterday.

About 5.7 million of the 7.3 million city residents age 5 and older claimed to know the English language “very well.”

This compares to more than 1.6 million residents who know English “less than very well,” according to the U.S. Census’ 2005 American Community Survey.

TLC Gives Taxi Fare Increase Green Light

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In a unanimous vote the Taxi and Limousine Commission approved a fare hike Wednesday that will double the rate passengers pay for sitting in traffic.

“Drivers deserve as living, but right now, it’s a terrible struggle,” said William Lindauer of the Taxi Workers Alliance.

5 Years to the 9/11 Attacks

Today, Monday September 11 2006, Chai Elul 5766 we mark five years to the day 2,973 people lost their lives in terror attacks on our country.

9/11 resource links in the Extended Article.

Roof Collapses at Historic Lower Manhattan Synagogue

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The roof of a 150-year-old synagogue in Lower Manhattan once renowned as the Cantors’ Carnegie Hall, where the choir had included Red Buttons and Eddie Cantor, collapsed yesterday, forcing evacuations from four adjacent residential buildings and throwing into doubt the future of one of New York’s historic religious structures.

The collapse at the First Roumanian-American Congregation, at 89-93 Rivington Street, began shortly before 4 p.m. in a cascade of timbers, tar paper and debris, after beams supporting the roof came loose, the authorities said late yesterday. There were no injuries. Water damage was detected on the roof several weeks earlier, and congregants were told to stay away until planned repairs were performed.

More pictures in Extended Article!