Woman arrested for stealing Stuy Town resident’s phone

By Maria Rocha-Buschel 

Police arrested 33-year-old Anne Delacruz for allegedly stealing a man’s phone in Stuyvesant Town at the end of September. 

Police said that Delacruz was involved in a fight in front of 605 East 14th Street on September 22 at 11:32 p.m. when a Stuyvesant Town resident in his 30s attempted to break up the fight and separate Delacruz and the person that she was fighting with. The victim said that in the process of trying to break the fight up, he was assaulted and Delacruz allegedly stole his cell phone. 

The victim told police that Delacruz punched him in the face, neck and back, causing bruising, redness, scratches and substantial pain, then she allegedly grabbed his phone from his hand. 

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Letters to the editor, Oct. 17

Cartoon by Jim Meadows

Racist implications in playground protest

To the Editor:

Stuart Levinson’s letter (Oct. 10) is troubling on so many levels.

Mr. Levinson writes that “dangerous unsavory predators” are loitering around the basketball courts. I am in the vicinity at least twice per day and what I see are young people playing basketball.

Some of them are people of color. Mr. Levinson sees them as dangerous and unsavory. Some of the young people are waiting to get into basketball games. Mr. Levinson sees people loitering.

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Police Watch: Man arrested for Stuy Town burglary, Man arrested for bodega robbery

MAN BUSTED FOR STUY TOWN BURGLARY
Police arrested 22-year-old Joel Torrens for an alleged burglary that occurred inside 315 Avenue C on Sunday, October 6 around noon. Police said that one of the roommates left the apartment and shortly after, another roommate who was still inside heard noises in the apartment hallway. When she went to check what it was, she saw Torrens allegedly standing in the hallway, and he reportedly took credit cards and jewelry from the apartment before fleeing. Police said that Torrens does not live in the building but no further information was available about how he got inside the building or the apartment itself. Torrens was charged inside the 13th precinct on Monday, October 7 at 12:15 p.m.

MAN BUSTED FOR BODEGA ROBBERY
Police arrested 50-year-old Edward Abel for an alleged robbery from a bodega at 315 First Avenue on April 23 at 10:50 p.m. A worker at the bodega said that Abel was throwing things inside the store, striking the victim on the arm, and he allegedly left the bodega with beer that he hadn’t paid for. Abel was ultimately arrested for the robbery on Thursday, October 10 at 8 a.m. inside the 13th precinct.

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Opinion: Science-based policy gets a booster shot

By State Senator Brad Hoylman

With the new school year, there’s a new law going into effect, too. This year, faced with a statewide measles outbreak of historic proportions, I sponsored legislation that ends all non-medical exemptions to New York’s vaccination requirements for school attendance.

For some people who’ve been misled by the so-called anti-vaxx movement, vaccines are part of a widespread conspiracy between government and drug companies to harm our children.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

As your State Senator, it’s my job to base public policy on evidence to make our constituents’ lives better. Strong vaccine laws do just that. When California passed a law similar to ours four years ago, their immunization rates for kindergartners rose nearly five percentage points.

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Fall game for Peter Stuyvesant Little League Challenger Division

Stuy Town resident Allegra Abrams takes her at bat with Challenger Coach (and resident) Katie Tamola. (Photos by Benjy Kile)

On October 5, Peter Stuyvesant Little League held a fall baseball game for its Challenger Division. Eighteen athletes with mental and physical disabilities were matched up with buddies from other PSLL divisions to assist them at bat and in the field. The Challenger Division will hold its next season starting in April. Anyone interested in having their child play can reach out to rick.hayduk@stuytown.com.

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Floating billboards officially banned in New York

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Floating billboards are officially banned in New York waterways, thanks to a court order by Judge Louis L. Stanton on Tuesday, reinforcing a new state law originally introduced by State Senator Brad Hoylman and signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo at the end of August.

The New York Law Department announced the settlement of a lawsuit against Ballyhoo Media, which has repeatedly displayed large floating LED billboards on a barge that traveled daily along the Manhattan and Brooklyn waterfronts, despite the law that prohibits them.

Under the law, which was originally introduced in the Senate by Hoylman and in the Assembly by Assemblymember Richard Gottfried, boats are not allowed to operate digital billboards or other billboards that use flashing or moving lights. The bill also empowers local governments to restrict or ban the use of outdoor advertising signage on vessels within 1,500 feet from shore.

Violations of the law are subject to a $1,000 civil penalty for the first violation and $5,000 for subsequent violations.

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Man arrested for stealing more than $11k during bank robberies

Bank robbery suspect

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Police have arrested 48-year-old Joseph Rivera last Thursday for bank robberies in Gramercy and throughout Manhattan, allegedly taking a total of approximately $11,000 in 12 different bank robberies.

In each incident, Rivera reportedly entered a bank and passed a demand note while demanding cash from the teller.

One of the robberies that took place in Flatiron occurred on Tuesday, September 10 around noon when police said that Rivera entered the Chase Bank at 71 West 23rd Street and allegedly passed a demand note while making a demand for cash. The teller reportedly complied, and Rivera allegedly for away with $3,700.

Police said that Rivera passed a note to a teller inside the Amalgamated Bank at 301 Third Avenue near East 23rd Street on Thursday, September 19 at 1 p.m. and got away with $89. He also allegedly robbed the HSBC Bank at 800 Sixth Avenue and West 28th Street, passing a note to a teller to demand cash, but police said that he fled before the teller complied.

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Controversy over anti-Mormon rhetoric nixes street co-naming

The phrases “The W.M. Evarts” and “The U.S. Senate” are engraved above the doorways of these Second Avenue apartment buildings. A resolution to co-name the street corner was rescinded after the 19th century legislator’s history of anti-Mormon rhetoric was uncovered upon further vetting. (Photo by Ryan Songalia)

By Ryan Songalia

Community Board 6 has reversed its decision to approve a street co-naming in honor of a former New York U.S. Senator and U.S. Attorney General after City Council uncovered anti-Mormon rhetoric in his writings.

After initially approving a co-naming for William Evarts on Second Avenue between East 14th and 15th Streets at a full board meeting last April, the board rescinded the resolution on September 11 when the full board reconvened after the summer recess after the general counsel for City Council had uncovered the parts of Evarts’ history that had not aged well.

The proposal was first brought forward last November by Upper East Side resident Bob Pigott, who used to walk past the apartment buildings located at 231 and 235 Second Avenue on his way to Stuyvesant High School in the mid-1970s.

Above the doorways reads “The W.M. Evarts” and “The U.S. Senate,” and it wasn’t until decades later when Pigott began researching his 2014 book, “New York’s Legal Landmarks: A Guide to Legal Edifices, Institutions, Lore, History, and Curiosities on the City’s Streets,” that he realized who “W.M. Evarts” was.

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AR Workshop offers crafty options for Gramercy

AR Workshop owner Jill Zadie opened up in Gramercy on Third Avenue in March. (Photos by Maria Rocha-Buschel)

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Heads up, crafters: there’s a new workshop space in town. A new location for national company AR Workshop has opened on Third Avenue and is offering DIY classes for projects in the retail space formerly occupied by clothing shop, Second Time Around.

The new spot in Gramercy that opened this past March is run by Murray Hill resident Jill Zadie, who has been living in the neighborhood for the last eight years and is originally from New Jersey. Her store on Third Avenue is the first location in Manhattan for AR Workshop and it was actually when she was visiting friends back in New Jersey that she first attended a class in one of the locations there.

“I just fell in love with it, and I said I wish they had this in Manhattan,” she said. “Then the owner of that workshop told me they’re a brand new company that is not in Manhattan yet and you should look into it. So I looked into it.”

Zadie, who is a corporate attorney by trade, said that she was drawn to the company because of their commitment to empowering women, giving back to the community and having a space for families to spend time together.

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Man arrested for robbery at Asser Levy Park

A second suspect, seen here in a nearby 7-Eleven following the robbery, has not yet been arrested.

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Police have arrested a homeless man for a robbery that took place inside Asser Levy Park during the pre-dawn hours of Monday morning.

The 47-year-old victim told police that he was walking near the park on East 23rd Street and Avenue C around 4:15 a.m. on September 30 when 24-year-old Rahkeem Williams allegedly grabbed him and pulled him behind the park.

The victim said that Williams was working with another person, who has not been arrested yet, and Williams allegedly menaced the victim with a knife before taking his wallet and his phone.

Police said that Williams and the other suspect also searched the victim further and kept him at the location against his will, then both fled the scene in an unknown direction. The victim suffered injuries to his face after Williams allegedly punched, kicked and pushed him.

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Maloney recovering after brief hospitalization

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, pictured here at a press conference this summer, nearly fainted during a vigil on Monday for the four homeless men who were killed in Chinatown over the weekend. (Photo by Maria Rocha-Buschel)

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney is recovering after a brief hospitalization on Monday following an incident during a vigil on Monday, later clarifying that she has been recovering from bronchitis.

The New York Post reported that Maloney nearly fainted while attending the vigil, which was held for the four homeless men who were killed in Chinatown over the weekend.

Maloney, 73, was escorted to a nearby bench, where a staffer pressed a bottle of Coke to the back of her neck. The Daily News reported that the Congresswoman was on the verge of blacking out and told a staffer that she felt pain and couldn’t see. A staffer from City Comptroller Scott Stringer’s office called 911 and Maloney was transported to New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

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Letters to the editor, Oct. 10

Cartoon by Jim Meadows

Remembering Bernie’s son

To the editor:

I am delighted to know that Playground 3 is to be renamed for Bernie Rothenberg. As a resident of Stuyvesant Town, I have had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Rothenberg a few times. However, it is his son, Dr. Richard Rothenberg, whom I knew much better.  This gives me an opportunity to describe my memory of Bernie’s son, Richard.

I taught music at Stuyvesant High School for 8 years (1983-1991) while Dr. Rothenberg was the Math Chairman (Assistant Principal for Math). When Richie heard that I had just moved to Stuyvesant Town in November 1986 with my wife Lisa (who was pregnant with our first son, Benjamin), he asked me what my new address was. “That’s right near my dad. I visit him for lunch every week. I’ll probably run into you a lot.”

Richie was an enormous influence on my growth as a teacher and supervisor. He knew that I had aspirations of becoming a chairman. When he noticed or heard from someone else something that I said or did that was not exemplary for an administrative leader, he would gently steer me in the right direction. When I was preparing for the NYC Board of Examiners Examination for Assistant Principal for Music, Dr. Rothenberg invited me to sit with him doing lesson observations of math teachers and then have discussions with me afterward as we analyzed the teacher’s performance.

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Police Watch: Pair arrested for trespassing in Stuy Town, Teen arrested for 14th St. robbery

PAIR ARRESTED FOR TRESPASSING IN STUY TOWN
Police arrested 19-year-old Jose Lopez for alleged criminal trespass inside 453 East 14th Street on Monday, September 30 at 10:43 a.m. The victim told police that Lopez and a teenage girl entered the building by following a resident who opened the door at the location. A tenant called public safety about people in the stairwell and a public safety officer reportedly approached Lopez and the girl on the 12th floor around 9 a.m. that morning.

Police said that the pair then fled down the stairs to the 9th floor, where the officer was able to stop them. The girl allegedly said that she was at the building visiting a friend, but did not have the last name of the friend and did not know the address of the building she was in or the apartment number of the alleged friend. Signs posted along the walls of the location before entering states no trespassing.

TEEN BUSTED FOR EAST 14TH ST. ROBBERY
Police arrested a teenager inside the 13th precinct on Friday, September 27 at 12:15 p.m. for a previous robbery.

Police said that the incident occurred in front of 349 East 14th Street on July 14 at 8:40 p.m. The teen reportedly reached into the victim’s pocket from behind and the victim then struggled with the teen when he realized that his wallet had been stolen. Police said the victim was in his 60s.

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Opinion: Who’s a socialist? Part II

By former Assemblymember Steven Sanders 

Last week, I wrote about how political candidates are being tagged with that seemingly evil “socialist” label for advocating that more government resources be redirected to health, education and other social needs.

But it is also true that Democratic candidates for president are falling over themselves to make one promise after the other, many of which Congress will never approve and all of which would be a major cost to the treasury. However, that is still a far cry from being a socialist. Sadly, some in the political world care very little about the honesty of such a charge, but rather hope that the label of socialist will stick. That is the state of our politics by vilification today.

But the issue of health care for all Americans will dominate the national debate over the next year. Was it accurate to call Medicare or Medicaid socialism when enacted over 50 years ago? Is it socialism to go the next step and provide health care coverage for all Americans regardless of their ability to pay? That is the big question. And how would such a system be paid for?

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Harvest in the Square raises $371K

Gupshup mixologist Michael Belasco, head chef Gurpreet Singh and sous chef Ramesh Bishe enjoyed their first Harvest in the Square, held under a tent on the northern end of Union Square Park on Thursday, September 19. (Photos by Maria Rocha-Buschel)

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

The Union Square Partnership raised more than $371,000 at the 24th annual Harvest in the Square on Thursday, September 19. The yearly tasting event, held under a tent at the northern end of Union Square Park, raises money to support the Partnership’s work in the neighborhood to beautify the park and offer programming. The event has raised more than $7 million over the last two decades.

“Year after year, Harvest in the Square brings the community together under one tent for an unforgettable evening filled with vibrant food and excitement,” said Jennifer Falk, Executive Director of the Union Square Partnership. “We’ve already begun to prepare for our 25th Annual Harvest in the Square next year and look forward to another successful night.”

A number of chefs that participated featured tastes of dishes popular at their restaurant or that highlighted fall produce from the Union Square greenmarket.

The lineup for the event this year featured 61 restaurants, cocktail bars, wineries, breweries and distilleries, including returning favorite Union Square Cafe, whose owner, Danny Meyer, is a founding member of the event. Bocce USQ, a restaurant chair for the event, also returned, carrying a seasonal pizza with roasted brussels sprouts, caramelized onions and fresh mozzarella over from their adjacent location in the Pavilion.

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