Tag: new york

95-year-old veteran kicked out of nursing home to make way for migrant housing, lawmakers say

A 95-year-old Korean War veteran said he was given less than two months’ notice to figure out where he was going to live after the nursing home he resided in was sold to become a facility for undocumented migrants.

Veteran Frank Tammaro joined Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., a vocal critic of New York City’s handling of the migrant crisis, at a press conference on Monday to discuss the reported deal.

“The thing I’m annoyed about is how they did it, it was very disgraceful what they did to the people in Island Shores,” Tammaro said, referencing the assisted living facility he was in.

He said that Island Shores “gave us time to get out,” but not enough time to protest the decision to boot residents – which Tammaro said he tried to do.

“Then one day there was a notice on the board. I think that gave us a month and a half to find out where we were going to go,” he said. “I thought my suitcases were going to be on the curb because I’m not that fast.”

“If it wasn’t for my daughter, they would’ve been on the curb. That was it. I said, ‘No, no, no, no, you’re not moving me,’ and they said, ‘Yes, yes, yes we are.’ Everything was done behind closed doors – we didn’t have a chance to actually make any attempt to stop them because there wasn’t enough time.”

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26-Year-Old Tech CEO Pava LaPere Found Dead With Blunt-Force Trauma Inside Her Apartment

Tech CEO Pava LaPere, 26, has been found dead in her apartment with “blunt force trauma.”

LaPere had been on the Forbes “30 under 30” list for her success in the tech world.

LaPere was reported missing on Monday and was found a short time later in her Mount Vernon luxury apartment.

The EcoMap tech company founder was found with “blunt force trauma,” according to local police.

Few details are available at this time. The New York Post announced her social media accounts indicated “she was single” and that it “is unknown whether LaPere had any guests over prior to her death.”

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NYPD “TRANSPARENCY” SITE LEAVES OUT MISCONDUCT LAWSUITS SETTLED FOR MILLIONS

LAST YEAR, a series of headlines in New York City buzzed with excitement about a cop with the street nickname of “Bullethead.” 

New York Police Department Sgt. David Grieco — his actual name — had reached a milestone: Police misconduct lawsuits naming him as a defendant had exceeded $1 million in settlement payouts. Since the raft of news stories, Grieco has been named in at least two additional suits, according to publicly available information as of July, and payouts in complaints naming him have now reached $1,099,825. 

In the 13 years it took for Grieco to be named in 48 suits alleging police misconduct, he’s been promoted twice. In 2016, he was elevated from officer to detective and, a year later, to sergeant. 

The New York Police Department’s officer profile database, meanwhile, lists no applicable entries for disciplinary history in Grieco’s profile. 

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Eric Adams is hiding the cost of the city’s migrant boondoggle

To learn why it’s a bad idea for Washington to issue a blank check to Mayor Eric Adams to house an unlimited number of migrants, listen to Thursday’s City Council hearing on how Adams is awarding billions of dollars in contracts for migrant services.

Councilwomen Gale Brewer (Upper West Side) and Julie Won (western Queens) grilled Adams officials for 3.5 hours on how, exactly, the city is spending taxpayer money for shelter and other services, costing $11 million each day.

As Comptroller Brad Lander, the city’s independent watchdog, told questioners, 10 city agencies have signed 194 contracts worth $5.1 billion with private providers to house, feed, clothe and offer medical care and private security to more than 100,000 newcomers, including 60,400 in city shelter.

Fifteen months ago, the city suspended its checks-and-balances processes to control waste and fraud in contracts, with Adams declaring an “emergency.”

This means the city doesn’t have to follow its procedures of competitive, sealed bids but can just pick the contractor city officials think is appropriate, with no objective criteria.

As Molly Wasow Park, Adams’ social-services commissioner, informed the council of a $240 million contract for thousands of hotel rooms across the city, “I don’t know that anybody bid exactly for the same suite of services. It is a somewhat unusual function.”

Discretion and opacity are never good when handing out billions of dollars.

But they’re particularly worrisome in this administration.

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NY Teacher Who ‘Prefers’ Underage Girls Hid Disturbing Content in Secret Application on Phone

A New York educator has been apprehended for his alleged involvement in child exploitation.

Kostas Fekkas, 34, was employed at a Manhattan charter school at the time of his arrest on September 14. His teaching career also spans several other schools in the Bronx and neighboring Westchester County.

Court documents reveal that Fekkas communicated with an undercover Homeland Security Investigations agent, who was posing as a 13-year-old girl. During this interaction, Fekkas allegedly stated his preference for underage girls and even claimed to have had sexual relations with a 10th grader.

“Cool. I usually cut off at 9th grade but you’re insanely gorgeous,” Fekkas allegedly told the undercover agent, who identified herself as an 8th grader. Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, was unequivocal in his condemnation.

“Kostas Fekkas’s alleged conduct is despicable,” Williams said. “As a teacher, Fekkas was entrusted with the care and well-being of children, who he in turn allegedly sought to victimize.”

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Outraged protesters block bus carrying migrants on Staten Island: ‘You’re not welcome!’

Outraged Staten Island residents took to the street Tuesday night to physically block the arrival of an MTA bus carrying asylum seekers to a newly converted shelter — a move that Mayor Eric Adams called “ugly,” even as over 100,000 migrants have been shipped to the Big Apple since last year.

The group of unruly protesters, captured on video wailing and banging on the sides of the bus, halted traffic just before 10 p.m. after intercepting the bus, which was headed to the former Island Shores senior assisted living facility.

Police said 10 people were taken into custody, with nine being issued summonses for disorderly conduct.

A 48-year-old man, identified as Vadim Belyakov, was charged for allegedly assaulting an officer who was trying to make an arrest.

One video taken of some of the protesters outside the facility at Father Capodanno Boulevard and Midland Avenue showed people whistling and screaming, “You’re not welcome!” and “You are illegal!”

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How Columbia University ignored women, undermined prosecutors, and allowed one of its OB/GYNs to abuse hundreds of patients

Columbia University — where Robert Hadden spent his entire medical career — has never fully accounted for its role in allowing a predator to operate unchecked for decades. To date, more than 245 patients have alleged that Hadden abused them, which by itself could make him one of the most prolific sexual assailants in New York history. But the total number of victims may be far higher. On any given day during his two decades of practice at Columbia, Hadden saw 25 to 40 patients. Tens of thousands came under his care. A baby girl he delivered grew up to be a teenager he allegedly assaulted.

Hadden, 65, was sentenced in July to 20 years in federal prison — the result of a long, arduous process that Columbia often undermined. One of the country’s most acclaimed private universities was deeply involved in containing, deflecting, and distancing itself from the scandal at every step.

In agreeing to pay $236.5 million to resolve lawsuits brought by 226 of Hadden’s victims, Columbia admitted no fault, which is in keeping with public statements over the years placing the blame for what happened solely on Hadden. But the university’s own records show that women repeatedly tried to warn doctors and staff about Hadden. At least twice, the fact that Hadden’s bosses in the OB/GYN department knew of the women’s concerns was acknowledged in writing. They allowed him to continue practicing.

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‘Hard Knocks’ finale recap: Rodgers’ UFO story and more

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the star of this summer’s series, gave viewers a UFO story. Yes, right in the middle of the usual end-of-training-camp storylines — roster cuts, welcome-to-the-team moments, fiery speeches, etc. — was his story about the time he saw “an incredibly large object” flying over New Jersey.

An old college teammate from Cal, Steve Levy, visited training camp one day, prompting Rodgers — in a sitdown interview — to talk about the time they witnessed what he believes was a UFO.

“It was definitely unidentified, it was definitely flying and it was definitely a large object,” Rodgers said.

It happened in 2005, when he was in New York for the NFL Draft. He stayed at Levy’s house in New Jersey and, in the middle of the night, he heard an alarm in the distance and walked outside with Levy and his brother to check it out.

“Up in the clouds we heard this sound and we saw this tremendously large object moving through the sky,” Rodgers said. “It was like a scene out of ‘Independence Day,’ when the ships are coming into the atmosphere, creating this kind of like explosion-type fire in the sky.”

Rodgers said they froze.

“About 30 seconds later, we heard the real recognizable sound of fighter jets going zoom, zoom, zoom. They seemed to be chasing this object. … We just stood there in disbelief for another few minutes. Nobody said a word. Then we all looked at each other like, ‘Did we just see what we thought we just saw?'”

According to Rodgers, an alarm from a nearby nuclear power plant went off that night. “And if you know anything about UFOs, there are a lot of sightings around nuclear energy, around volcanoes, around power plants,” he said, citing research he says he did.

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The End of Airbnb in New York

THOUSANDS OF AIRBNBS and short-term rentals are about to be wiped off the map in New York City.

Local Law 18, which came into force Tuesday, is so strict it doesn’t just limit how Airbnb operates in the city—it almost bans it entirely for many guests and hosts. From now on, all short-term rental hosts in New York must register with the city, and only those who live in the place they’re renting—and are present when someone is staying—can qualify. And people can only have two guests.

Gone are the days of sleek downtown apartments outfitted for bachelorette parties, cozy two- and three-bedroom apartments near museums for families, and even the option for people to rent out their apartment on weekends when they’re away. While Airbnb, Vrbo, and others can continue to operate in New York, the new rules are so tight that Airbnb sees it as a “de facto ban” on its business.

Short-term rentals can bring noise, trash, and danger, and they can price local residents out of their own neighborhoods. Some landlords in New York are prolific and have hundreds of Airbnb listings. But other New Yorkers who have listings on Airbnb are trying to make ends meet, either leasing their place while they’re out of town or renting half of a duplex to help cover their mortgage costs.

Airbnb is also popular with some of the 66 million visitors a year looking for accommodations that are cheaper and sometimes larger than hotels. In 2022 alone, short-term rental listings made $85 million in New York. The city might be a relatively small slice of Airbnb’s global market, but the new rules show how local governments can effectively stamp out short-term rentals overnight and lessen their impact on dense residential areas. And New York is just one of many cities around the world trying to calm the short-term rental gold-rush.

And everyone is taking a different approach. Dallas has limited short-term rentals to specific neighborhoods to avoid disruptive and dangerous parties. Elsewhere, the Canadian province of Quebec and Memphis, Tennessee, among others, now require licenses for short-term rentals. In San Francisco, the amount of time someone can list their entire residence for rent on Airbnb is limited to 90 days each year; Amsterdam puts that limit at 30 nights per year, Paris at 120 days. Berlin previously banned nearly all Airbnbs but walked the decision back in 2018.

Airbnb’s attempts to fight back against the new law have, to date, been unsuccessful. The company sued New York City in June, but a judge dismissed the case in August, ruling that the restrictions were “entirely rational.” Airbnb did not comment on whether it would appeal the decision. Hosts are also fighting for the right to list their apartments as short-term stays by meeting with city officials to try to change the law.

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NYC migrants living in temporary shelters don’t need vaccinations to initially enroll in public school

Migrants living in temporary shelters in New York City don’t need vaccinations to initially enroll in the city’s public school system.

Officials said during a press conference on Wednesday that migrants living in temporary shelters have a certain timeframe that the vaccinations need to be obtained by once they are in school, according to FOX 5.

NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks said that since July 2022, around 19,000 students living in temporary housing have enrolled in city schools.

Banks said that “We have room for the students,” referring to the migrant children who arrived in the city.

Typically, all students aged 2 months to 18 years old who will attend public school, child care, or private school must be vaccinated  for a list of diseases before attending, according to the New York City Department of Education. There are some situations where a child can attend school if they have received the first dose of a school-required vaccine which requires multiple doses.

According to the city’s department of education, religious exemptions for mandated vaccines are no longer allowed.

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