Daily Archives: January 3, 2019

Governor cancels L train shutdown for alternative plan

Governor Andrew Cuomo at the announcement on Thursday (Photo via Governor Cuomo Flickr)

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Governor Andrew Cuomo effectively canceled the 24/7 L train shutdown in favor of a plan that will supposedly fix the Canarsie tube through work on nights and weekends, the governor’s office announced in a press conference on Thursday.

The announcement came only a month after the governor conducted a last-minute inspection of the tunnel, despite the fact that the MTA and respective city agencies have been planning the shutdown for the last three years and the closure was scheduled to start in less than four months.

According to the New York Times, Cuomo is proposing to implement a plan that would use technology from Europe to fix the tunnel, which would allow the L to have full train service during the weekdays and would close one of the tubes on nights and weekends for the repairs.

The MTA’s acting chairman Fernando Ferrer, who was appointed by Cuomo, told the New York Times that the agency “welcomed” the plan and would be adopting it, with the project expected to take 15 to 20 months, compared to 15 months for the fulltime shutdown.

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Pair arrested for package thefts in Stuyvesant Town

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Police arrested two men for alleged package burglaries from a number of buildings inside Stuyvesant Town during the early morning hours of Christmas Day last week.

Police said that 19-year-old Rahul Cuya and 32-year-old Justin Irizarry broke into six different buildings between the hours of 1 and 1:45 a.m. on Tuesday, December 25 and took packages from the lobbies.

Cuya and Irizarry allegedly got inside 245 Avenue C at 1 a.m. and stole packages from inside the building. Shortly after that, the two men reportedly got into 277 Avenue C and stole packages. Police said that Cuya and Irizarry got into 651 East 14th Street around 1:15 a.m. and stole packages from that building before breaking into 271 Avenue C and allegedly stealing packages from inside that building as well. Police said that the two suspects also got inside 281 Avenue C and 645 East 14th Street around 1:40 a.m.

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Teen mugged on East 14th Street

Robbery suspects

By Sabina Mollot

Cops are on the lookout for two people who mugged a 19-year-old as he walked past the Peter Stuyvesant Post Office on December 21.

The victim was headed to get a slice of pizza at around 5:20 p.m. when the two suspects, male and female, approached him in front of 335 East 14th Street and asked him for the time.

When the victim pulled out his iPhone to check, they pointed an unknown object into his back and demanded his belongings. The victim complied, dropping his phone and bookbag, which the muggers snatched before fleeing west on East 14th Street.

The male suspect is black and was wearing a blue jacket, hoodie, blue jeans, black and white sneakers and a black skullcap. The female suspect is black and was wearing white sneakers, blue jeans, and a camouflage and black hooded jacket.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call 1-800-555-TIPS (8477). All calls will be kept confidential.

This article has been updated to include descriptions of the suspects.

Bunny spotted outside Stuyvesant Town

Jan3 Bunny by Susannah Appelbaum

This bunny is now at ABC Hospital. (Photo by Susannah Appelbaum)

By Sabina Mollot

Stuyvesant Town residents have been wondering about the origins of a bunny that appeared in the neighborhood over the holiday weekend.

On Sunday, the critter was seen outside Ess-a-Bagel on First Avenue. One resident, Lola Franco, told Town & Village the bunny seemed fine when she went to scoop it up so she left it be, later hearing that ST/PCV Public Safety officers had managed to capture it. However, she later went back for it, concerned that the creature could end up euthanized at a shelter. She brought it home and a few hours later, her daughter, who works at the nearby ABC Animal Hospital, took the bunny to work with her for a checkup.

“I’m sorry I didn’t keep it,” Franco admitted. “He was cute.”

The following day, another resident posted on the Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village Tenants Association Facebook page about a gray and white bunny sighting at 20th Street and First Avenue. Franco said this was after the other bunny had been caught she didn’t think it was the same bunny seen by different people.

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