Tag: New York City

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NYC: “Stop and frisk” tactics ruled unconstitutional

A federal judge has found that New York City’s “stop and frisk” policy is unconstitutional.

The New York Times reports:

In a repudiation of a major element in the Bloomberg administration’s crime-fighting legacy, a federal judge has found that the stop-and-frisk tactics of the New York Police Department violated the constitutional rights of tens of thousands of New Yorkers, and called for a federal monitor to oversee broad reforms.

In a decision issued on Monday, the judge, Shira A. Scheindlin, ruled that police officers have for years been systematically stopping innocent people in the street without any objective reason to suspect them of wrongdoing. Officers often frisked these people, usually young minority men, for weapons or searched their pockets for contraband, like drugs, before letting them go, according to the 195-page decision.

[snip]

She noted that about 88 percent of the stops result in the police letting the person go without an arrest or ticket, a percentage so high, she said, that it suggests there was not a credible suspicion to suspect the person of criminality in the first place.

Read more at the New York Times.

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New York Times Op-Doc: An Attack on Equality

New York is regarded as a gay-friendly city in a state that has legalized gay marriage, but this Op-Doc video shows that it can still be dangerous for a same-sex couple to walk down the street holding hands.

On May 5, 2013, a young couple was attacked outside Madison Square Garden in broad daylight. Nick Porto and Kevin Atkins were walking hand in hand when a group of several men, clad in Knicks jerseys, called them “faggots” and pushed them to the ground, beating them to the point of a torn ligament and a broken nose. In this video, Mr. Porto and Mr. Atkins tell their story.

Read more at NYTimes.com

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NYC: Yotel

This hotel located on 42nd Street at 10th Avenue in Manhattan, has rooms designed by airline cabin architects for space saving efficiency.  The rates are below the average NYC hotel, and looks pretty cool.  I may have to check this out next time I’m in the city.

From the website:

Cabins at our Times Square hotel are perfectly formed and intuitively designed to place an array of amenities at your fingertips.

Quiet air conditioning units, convertible beds and extra storage space offer a smartly arranged escape from the bustle of the city outside.

Super-strength Wi-Fi is completely free to use, whether you are lounging on FOUR or enjoying the comfort of your private cabin. Our expansive terrace and all of our cabins showcase stunning views of the city skyline, looking uptown at the skyscrapers of Times Square or downtown toward the Hudson River and Financial District.

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When Anthony Weiner’s campaign implodes, it IMPLODES

In a rant rarely seen in a political circles, Anthony Weiner’s communications director Barbara Morgan went off the rails while talking to a reporter at Talking Points Memo.

Former intern for the Weiner campaign, Olivia Nuzzi, published a story on the blog NSFWCORP, which then landed her on the front cover of the Daily News.

On a call to TPM about an unrelated issue, Morgan apparently roared on and on about Nuzzi and her article:

“Fucking slutbag. Nice fucking glamour shot on the cover of the Daily News. Man, see if you ever get a job in this town again,” said Morgan.

According to Morgan, Nuzzi stopped interning for the campaign “like four weeks ago.” Nuzzi’s story on NSFWCORP described her as having spent “four weeks” as a Weiner intern. When asked whether the claims in Nuzzi’s stories were true, Morgan suggested many of them were “bullshit.”

“It’s all bullshit,” she said. “I mean, it’s such bullshit. She could fucking — fucking twat.”

According to Morgan, Nuzzi’s job performance left much to be desired.

“She sucked. She like wasn’t good at setting up events. She was clearly there because she wanted to be seen. Like it was, like, terrible and I had to like – she would like, she would just not show up for work,” said Morgan. “For the four weeks she worked there — she didn’t work weekends, so twenty days total. Of those twenty days, she missed probably five because she would just like not show up and not tell me she wasn’t going to be there. So, yeah, so there’s that.”

Morgan also expressed disbelief that Nuzzi criticized her credentials.

“And then like she had the fucking balls to like trash me in the paper. And be like, ‘His communications director was last the press secretary of the Department of Education in New Jersey,” Morgan said. “You know what? Fuck you, you little cunt. I’m not joking, I am going to sue her.”

Late last night, Morgan issued a statement to Business Insider about the screed:

“In a moment of frustration, I used inappropriate language in what I thought was an off the record conversation. It was wrong and I am very sorry, which is what I said tonight when I called and emailed Olivia to apologize,” said Morgan.

(via TalkingPointsMemo)

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NYC: Mayoral hopeful Anthony Weiner drops 9 points in new poll

In the New York City mayoral race, some expected shifting in standing has occurred regarding the current Democratic candidates. Christine Quinn has improved her position from 20% to 25%, and Anthony Weiner has quickly dropped 9 points.

Talking Points Memo has the ins and outs of the first poll taken since “Anthony Weiner ‘sexting’ scandal 2.0” hit the news:

Weiner’s standing in the race has clearly slipped due to the scandal, though he’s not entirely out of contention. The poll showed him in second place in the Democratic primary with 16 percent compared to 25 percent for City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and 14 percent for both Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and former Comptroller Bill Thompson. Prior to the scandal, Weiner had been leading his rivals in multiple polls. The last Marist poll, which was released June 26, had Weiner with 25 percent, Quinn with 20 percent for Quinn, and Thompson with 13 percent. Weiner has dropped nine points since then.

By city election law if no candidate gets 40% in the primary on September 10th, the top two finishers go into a runoff on September 24th.

(h/t JMG)

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NYC: Man electrocuted by urinating on subway third rail

Wow.  I’d say something like “every NY-ers nightmare” except most NY-ers doesn’t urinate on the subway tracks…

From the New York Post:

A drunken man was electrocuted and killed relieving himself on the third rail in Brooklyn this morning, sources said.

Matthew Zeno, 30, was walking with a friend along the tracks for the southbound G train around 3:10 a.m., at Union Avenue and Broadway in Williamsburg when the horrific accident occurred, cops said. His 26-year-old pal tried saving him and was also shocked, police added.

The friend was able to flag down MTA workers, who in turn called for help, sources said.

Both men were rushed to Woodhull Hospital where Zeno died and the second man was listed in stable condition.

(via JMG)

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NYC: Applause on subway when gay man stands up to subway preacher

NY-ers are used to the kooks who rant and rave on subway rides. But this one rider had had enough.

I love that the subway car erupts into applause at the 1:33 mark – “I’m a man. And I’m a good man. And I’m a gay man and Jesus loves me. Jesus loves me!”

Bravo, man, bravo!

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Former NYC Mayor Ed Koch dead at 88

From the NYT obit:

By the usual standards of measuring a former mayor’s legacy — the city he inherited, the challenges he faced, the resources available to meet those challenges and the extent to which his work endured beyond his term — historians and political experts generally give Mr. Koch mixed-to-good reviews.

Most important, he is credited with leading the city government back from near bankruptcy in the 1970s to prosperity in the 1980s. He also began one of the city’s most ambitious housing programs, which continued after he left office and eventually built or rehabilitated more than 200,000 housing units, revitalizing once-forlorn neighborhoods.

Politically, Mr. Koch’s move to the right of center was seen as a betrayal by some old liberal friends, but it gained him the middle class and three terms in City Hall. He was also the harbinger of a transformation in the way mayors are elected in New York, with candidates relying less on the old coalition of labor unions, minority leaders and Democratic clubhouses and more on heavy campaign spending and television to make direct appeals to a more independent-minded electorate.

A life long bachelor, Koch was often asked about, but refused to acknowledge, his gayness. Four years ago he spoke to the New York Times about being asked.

“I do not want to add to the acceptability of asking every candidate, ‘Are you straight or gay or lesbian?’ and make it a legitimate question, so I don’t submit to that question. I don’t care if people think I’m gay because I don’t answer it. I’m flattered that at 84 people are interested in my sex life — and, it’s quite limited.”

Here’s the official trailer to the film “Kock” – a documentary on the former mayor:

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New Yorkers make citizen’s arrest foiling iPhone thief

See, New Yorkers don’t mind stepping in when they see something wrong is happening.

Apparently this guy stole a woman’s iPhone and took off running. But he didn’t expect these two New Yorkers to jump into the chase. Not only did they catch him, but they held him for the police.

No “not my problem” attitude here.

Go New York!