Results tagged “newark”

A Brooklyn actor is suing Spike TV for labeling him as a drug dealer — not an actor playing one on TV — in its reality show "DEA." Iban Hernandez, 32, says he had to move his family to a safe place after receiving threats from Newark gang members who saw an episode of the drug enforcement-themed program in which he is depicted as a real-life gang informant, not a thespian playing a role in a reenactment.

Newark is in the middle of a four-day "Safe Surrender" program, which allows fugitives with open warrants for non-violent crimes "favorable consideration" for turning themselves in. One such fugitive was a 36-year-old man whose many traffic tickets and failure to pay them prevented him from getting a job or driver's license; after a judge dismissed some charges and consolidated his fines, he said, "I was a little leery about it at first. But the program is excellent. It is what they say." Nearly one thousand have turned themselves in.

Two preseason games at the Prudential Center in Newark have been so highly attended that the Nets are considering moving there from the Meadowlands while they wait for a new home in Brooklyn. An October 13th preseason game against the Celtics drew 12,790 fans to the Prudential Center, three times the the size of a typical preseason crowd at the Meadowlands' Izod Center. Then, a game against the Knicks drew 15,721. Those are nice numbers, but getting out of their lease could cost Nets owner and Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner millions.

The ongoing feud between Conan O'Brien and Newark Mayor Cory Booker ended last night with Booker appearing on the show and Conan donating $100K to Booker's charity (video 1, 2). Conan also set up a "Newark Joke Jar" and promised to add $500 any time he made a joke at the city's expense, the Star-Ledger liveblogged (really). The feud began when Conan made a joke about health-care in Newark—"The health-care program would consist of a bus ticket out of Newark"—and resulted in his being banned from Newark Airport. And thus ends the scandal that never really was because Letterman had to go and ruin everything.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is being remembered for her diplomatic skills by brokering peace between Conan O'Brien and Newark mayor Cory Booker, who have had some sort of feud about Newark—O'Brien had joked, "The Mayor of Newark, New Jersey wants to set up a citywide program to improve residents' health. The health-care program would consist of a bus ticket out of Newark" and then it started a volley of threats (Booker put O'Brien on Newark Airport's no-fly list) and more jokes.

He also lost 50 pounds this year and twitters constantly.

Yesterday, a 32-year-old man was shot while chasing two people he caught in the middle of a burglary in his Newark apartment. Karl Randolph had heard noises in the kitchen and thought it was one of his kids; the Star-Ledger reports, "He found the two men instead. One of them was holding a bag filled with cereal, Oreo cookies and juice." Randolph ran after the men, managing to catch up and walk one of them back towards the apartment complex, but then the suspect fired a gun. Now Randolph is at University Hospital (pictured), with a bullet still inside him, punctured lung and broken rib. Randolph's wife Nicole told the Star-Ledger they moved to Newark from Utica, NY, because the economic situation upstate was so terrible; Randolph found work as a cable TV technician and she enrolled in a nursing program. Now Nicole Randolph says moving to Newark "the worst mistake I have ever made. This is not the place to be when you have children. Just because you live in a place that's low-income, that doesn't mean you have to endure certain things."

Yesterday's afternoon thunderstorms claimed the life of a NJ man in Newark while a cricket player in Brooklyn was seriously injured. In Marine Park, Brooklyn, Patrick Gibson had been playing cricket when the storm broke out: The Daily News reports that he may have lagged to collect equipment. A witness said, "His pants were burned. His tongue was out of his mouth and his eyes were rolled back in his head." Gibson had a heart attack and is currently in critical condition at Beth-Israel Medical Center. And in Newark, according to the Star-Ledger, four men were seeking refuge from the rain in a wooded area behind an apartment complex. All were struck by lightning: One died, while another remains in critical condition; the other two men suffered burns but are stable.

Around 1:30 a.m. this morning, a Marriott hotel shuttle bus and a FedEx truck collided on the South Service Road outside Newark Liberty International Airport. The shuttle bus driver is dead and the truck driver and a shuttle passenger are injured. According to WABC 7, "The passengers on the airport shuttle, three flight crew members, told police the Fed Ex truck was in the wrong lane when it collided head-on with their jitney. They said the shuttle driver attempted to avoid the crash, but could not swerve in time." And WCBS 2 says, "The courtesy bus seemed to have absorbed the brunt of the impact. The FedEx truck was seen parked sideways in the high grass." The Port Authority Police are investigating.

Yesterday, the pilot of a Continental Airlines flight from Brussels to Newark died mid-flight, and a cardiologist who tried to revive Captain Craig Lennell believes he died from a heart attack. (An autopsy will determine cause of death.) Dr. Julien Struyven, who was a passenger on the flight, said, "It's a wonderful death. You die on duty. You don't feel anything." Two co-pilots took over the flight and safely landed the plane, which carried 247 passengers.

According to WCBS 2, "A Continental Airlines flight from Brussels will be making an emergency landing at Newark Liberty International Airport after the plane's captain died mid-flight Thursday morning." The plane, a Boeing 777, will land around noon. CityRoom reports, "Two first officers were operating the plane, 'which they are perfectly qualified to do,' said Arlene Salac, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration at John F. Kennedy International Airport." The plane was scheduled to land at Newark, but now will receive "priority" landing. Update: The plane landed safely and passengers said they were not told. One, whose husband called her when the plane landed and informed her, said the crew "did an incredible job"—even handing out snacks—"I would have done the exact same thing." However, another passenger told CityRoom the staff was "very irritated and unpleasant," though now the passenger understands why. It's believed the 60-year-old pilot had a heart attack; a cardiologist onboard had tried to revive him with a defibrillator.

Continental Airlines apologized after admitting that "miscommunication among staff members resulted in the child being boarded on the wrong aircraft." Jonathan Kamens had taken daughter Miriam, 10, to Boston's Logan Airport and explicitly spoke to Continental agents about Miriam's solo trip to Cleveland to visit her grandparents, "They seemed like they knew what they were doing. The paperwork" had her flight number, destination, and phone numbers for himself and his in-laws. But Miriam ended up at Newark International Airport, not Cleveland, because the gate was being used by two different flights and the girl was put on the wrong flight. Kamens said he only found out that Miriam never made it to Cleveland as scheduled when his father-in-law called—and Continental couldn't tell him where his daughter was for 45 minutes. While Continental rebooked Miriam on another flight and she made it there a few hours later, her dad questions the airline's procedures, "I'm sure there are rules that the flight crew is supposed to verify the number of people on the plane matches the number of people on the manifest."

Legendary New York Knick—and former U.S. Senator from NJ—Bill Bradley has weighed in about the Nets' impending move to Brooklyn. And, according to CityRoom, he thinks it sucks! Noting how the Atlantic Yards project has been beset by years delays, Bradley said, "Maybe it takes something like that to bring people to their senses. They don’t belong in Brooklyn. They belong in New Jersey. They belong here." Atlantic Yards developer and Nets principal owner Bruce Ratner says that ground will be broken—in Brooklyn—this year but Newark Mayor Cory Booker thinks the Nets may never play there. Last week, Booker told a radio show caller, "I'm going to go way out on a limb here and let you know maybe more than I should. I am confident, now more than ever, that the deal with Brooklyn is just not going anywhere. The team is going to go up for sale. That's my prediction." Booker is more worried that the Nets will head to Kansas City or Seattle.

Mayor Bloomberg picked up a big endorsement from across the aisle yesterday from Democratic rising star, Newark Mayor Cory Booker. Booker said, "Mayor Bloomberg is simply the model in America...A lot of us younger, next-generation, thirty-something forty-something mayors have been relying on him for a long time as giving us examples and instruction in how to dramatic change in our cities.” Booker became more visible throughout the 2008 presidential campaign as a fervent supporter of President Obama. Bloomberg rival Bill Thompson tried to take the sting out of an endorsement from such a prominent black politician saying, "I respect Mayor Booker, but hard-working people who actually live in New York know that we need change." State Senator Bill Perkins went further, calling it, "Just racial...that (Bloomberg) would go outside of the city to get some support." Neither Bloomberg nor Mayor Booker mentioned any potential rift between the two due to the Garden State's role in the Maple Syrup Phenomenon.

A gay couple tells PIX News they were victims of a hate crime this past Saturday in Newark, NJ. After the Brtiney Spears concert at the venue, Josh Kehoe and Bobby Daniel Caldwell walked a couple blocks to their car when 15-20 teens confronted them, called them "faggots," beat them, took Kehoe's cellphone and left Caldwell with his jaw broken. However, police don't think it was a bias crime since the victims said the teens allegedly robbed a group of women a few minutes earlier. Kehoe also said that there was no police presence outside the arena— where the NJ Devils play (and the Nets are playing some pre-season games)—and it took police 45 minutes to respond. NJ.com commenters are debating safety around "the Rock"—"Hundreds of thousands of fans have come to The Rock and have had great times without any crime whatsoever," while others" and "If you lived here you would know.. this is just the type of sh*t you deal with being gay in the area." Flashback to 2007, when city officials bristled over characterizations about violence in Newark?

According to Buffalo news stations, Continental Airlines Flight 3407 crashed in the town of Clarence, NY, which is about 20 miles east of Buffalo. The plane, which the FAA said had 49 passengers and crew (updated; there were actually 5 crew members) on it, crashed into an occupied home around 10:20 p.m. The Buffalo News says that 49 people—the plane's occupants plus a person on the ground—were killed. The flight had originated at Newark Airport and the Continental website said the flight was "operated by Colgan Air dba Continental Connection." Also according to the flight info, the flight was scheduled to land in Buffalo at 8:48 p.m. but was delayed with an expected landing time of 10:45 p.m. The plane is described as a Bombardier Q400.

Newark airport had the worst on-time arrival rate in all the land in 2008, according to the federal DOT, which just released its year-end report [PDF] on flight delays. Go EWR! This is the the fourth time in the past six years Newark won the top prize for tardiness, coming in second place in 2007 and 2004. Last year flights to Newark arrived within 15 minutes of their scheduled time only 62.32% of the time; by comparison, the airline industry's overall on-time rate is 76%. (A 2.6% improvement over '07!) For the record, La Guardia was second-worst and JFK ranked fourth. Airlines blame the delays on congested air traffic in the New York region, which is only exacerbated by inclement winter weather and high winds. The study also found that one of the worst flights you could possibly take in '08 was the consistently delayed ExpressJet Airlines Flight 2019 from Hartford to Newark, which was late 93.3% of the time. Of course, when Newark's the destination, why rush? [Via Star-Ledger.]

Hey, New York Magazine's words "If you like Downtown Brooklyn you'll love Newark" are true when it comes to the NJ Nets. The team, which was supposed to move to Brooklyn for the 2009-2010 way back when, has been negotiating with the NJ Devils to play three pre-season games, according to the Star-Ledger. Nets CEO Brett Yormark only said, "We're exploring many different options, continue to regionalize the franchise. Preseason games afford us the opportunity to do this." An anonymous Nets official adds, "With Brooklyn still up in the air, the question is whether they're warming to the idea of moving to Newark, even though it's clear that getting to Brooklyn is best for the long-term health of the franchise." Over the weekend, City Councilwoman Letitia James told the Daily News the Atlantic Yards project was on its "last legs, and the wicked witch is almost dead" (she opposes the plan), but we bet Bruce Ratner loves zombies.

The U.S. Department of Transportation limiting flights at LaGuardia Airport to 71 per hour, down from 75 per hour, would help ease plane delays. (FYI, the Wall Street Journal notes, "The number of hourly flights at the New York area's Kennedy and Newark airports is also capped, but at higher levels.") DOT Secretary Mary Peters said LGA is the "worst of the worst" airports since it's dead-last in rankings of large U.S. airports' on-time arrivals, with only 61% of flights arriving on-time. Recently, the U.S. DOT's effort to auction flight slots at LGA, Kennedy and Newark was blocked by federal court; DOT counsel D.J. Gribbin, who noted one carrier at LGA was interested in limiting flights (the airport's four carriers must all agree), said, "Gridlock in D.C. should not result in gridlock over the skies of New York. We can still take the first step toward restoring reliable air service to LaGuardia."

A 22-year-old Newark man was arrested yesterday for beating and sexually assaulting a 9-month-old infant who died Friday after going into cardiac arrest in what has been ruled a homicide. After an autopsy is released as soon as today, police say charges may be upgraded against Everett Sheppard, the boyfriend of the late infant Victoria Madsen's mother. No charges have been made against the mother, 19-year-old Sheila Troutman, but her other son, a 2-year-old, has been taken into custody by the Division of Youth.

Here, pour yourself a morning cup o' contempt, courtesy Frank Bruni's review of Delicatessen (pictured), the overpriced, overcrowded Soho comfort food lounge where tools and over-privileged scenesters flock to judge each other. (You know, the place that's driving neighbors to urinate on it.) After conceding that "this seriously mediocre but ingeniously conceived restaurant" isn't catering to epicures, but rather "night crawlers looking for foodstuffs that double as alcohol sponges," Bruni decides that "many of these dishes are clever, but their execution is usually matter of fact and sometimes quite sloppy...How to pass the time? During dinner I enjoyed watching the Delicatessen pirouette, a 360-degree spin some patrons perform on the way to their seats, allowing them to appraise the room fully and be fully appraised by it."

On Thursday morning, 15-year-old Bukhari Washington was killed in his bedroom when a bullet from a semiautomatic rifle entered through the floor of his bedroom in Newark, NJ. He had been sleeping, and it turned out his downstairs neighbor, 19-year-old Terrance Perry, accidentally fired the rifle when "fiddling" around with it.

Sharpe James, the former five-time mayor of Newark, NJ who was convicted of corruption in April, was sentenced to 27 months in prison for "failing to disclose his romantic relationship with a woman whom he helped to get a lucrative deal on some city-owned land." U.S. District Judge William Martini said, "This is a sad day. A sad day for the citizens of Newark who are disappointed in the conduct of the mayor." Martini also criticized the prosecutors, who had been hoping for a 20-year sentence. James's former mistress Tamika Riley was sentenced to 15 months in prison.

The tabloids have caught wind of a bird smuggling operation uncovered by customs officials at JFK airport: For years now people have been sneaking Guyanese finches called Towa Towas into New York. The birds are used by Brooklyn’s Guyanese community for singing competitions; people place bets on two birds, and a judge decides which one has the lovlier song. (Here’s YouTube video of a Towa Towa singing.)

On Friday, three paramedics were fired from Newark's University Hospital for making student interns wear KKK-like robes. Apparently paramedics had seen a racist parody video and then decided to re-enact it. The president of University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ, which operates the hospital, William F. Owen said, "You can't make this stuff up. It's like being in Tennessee in the 1950s." The Star-Ledger reported emergency service supervisors rode with ambulance crews yesterday "in response to growing community anger" (Newarks contracts emergency services from the hospital). EMS director Nancy Hamstra said, "We have an important job and people rely on us. Two hundred and fifty times a day, people call us, and each is an opportunity for us to prove our professionalism."

The almost-new Prudential Center in downtown Newark was shut down yesterday. Officials say there were issues "related to its smoke evacuation system," according to the Star-Ledger, which also notes the arena has had to pay for city firefighters to stand in stairwells during events because of these issues. New Jersey Devils owner Jeff Vanderbeek and Mayor Corey Booker were spotted heading into the center this morning, to find out what was going on.

Early this morning, a crash occurred near Newark on Route 21, killing three people. The Star-Ledger reports the accident was "on the northbound overpass linking McCarter Highway to Routes 1&9 and Route 78," which is a very busy artery leading to other highways and Newark, and shut down traffic for hours (the roads are now reopened). The investigation is continuing; WABC 7 says "One of the cars may have been heading in the wrong direction at the time of the crash."

Stewart International Airport in Orange County, NY is losing one of its two major carriers--AirTran. The airline cited rising fuel costs, which are affecting all carriers negatively, as the reason for its ending of routes from Stewart. AirTran carried 315,000 passengers over the last year to Florida destinations and its Atlanta hub. In combination with Jet Blue, AirTran has been critical to the near-tripling of passengers at the airport in 2007.

We heard there was a huge fight in Newark, with hundreds of teens involved and then a stolen police car that hit two people in the crowd. It now turns out that the situation was less crowded but still with a stolen police car.

The revelation that Bruce Ratner, would-be Atlantic Yards developer and Nets owner, has been secretly discussing selling the team to the owners of the New Jersey Devils, has put Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz’s athletic reputation on the line. Newark mayor Cory Booker, who would love the team to come to the Prudential Center in his town, has offered to settle the fight for the Nets with a simple, winner-takes-all game of hoops: Cory vs. Marty, one-on-one.