Max Rose bows out of City Hall race
Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Max Rose (Bay Ridge-Staten Island) has announced he will not run for mayor after raising speculation he might enter the race. Rose filed paperwork with the campaign finance board in December to begin raising money for a possible run, joining a crowded field of candidates. However, on Sunday, Rose announced via Twitter that he will not be a candidate looking to succeed current NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio. “I urge every candidate to recognize that across the five boroughs no one believes that City Hall is on the side of the working class. People are scared and unsure if the New York they love will still exist in the years to come,” ABC News quoted Rose as saying.
Underground New Year’s parties busted
The New York City Sheriff’s Office busted three underground New Year’s Eve parties in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan. The Brooklyn party took place at Stars Hall in Sunset Park. There, deputies found 80 people hanging out, dancing and smoking from hookahs, according to Gothamist. Sheriffs were tipped off after receiving 311 complaints alleging no social distancing and loud noise associated with the party. Deputies charged proprietor Al Zabidi for violating city and state executive order barring parties. In Queens, more than 300 revelers were found attending an illicit party at the Maspeth Bar Lounge Friday morning, according to the Sheriff’s Office. An in Manhattan, deputy sheriffs broke up a party in SoHo where they found 145 people “dancing, drinking alcohol, and smoking cigarettes” on the sixth floor of a penthouse apartment at 177 Prince St., Gothamist said.
Child struck by car is recovering
A 4-year-old child who was hit by a car on Saturday is recovering in stable condition at Bellevue Hospital. The toddler was struck near Parkside and Ocean avenues in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens around 11 p.m. He was at first taken to Kings County Hospital, then moved to Bellevue. The driver remained at the scene and does not appear to be facing charges, according to NBC News.
BP Eric Adams seeks to expedite distribution of COVID vaccines
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams has called on the New York State Department of Health to adopt a plan for expediting the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in the city and authorizing the expansion of those eligible for vaccination. In the first 17 days of the vaccination rollout, about 340,000 vaccine doses were delivered to New York City, but only about 88,000 New Yorkers had received the first of two doses. Experts have said they believe cases will begin to decline once 10 to 20 percent of the city has been vaccinated, but as of Dec. 31 only about one percent had received their first dose. Adams believes that the state must expand eligibility to workers in high-risk industries, New Yorkers with medical conditions that make them vulnerable, residents of the most impacted ZIP codes and New Yorkers over the age of 75.
Disturbed man allegedly kills grandfather, wounds others
A disturbed man killed his grandfather and wounded two family members — including his 4-year-old sister — in a machete attack at a Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment building on Sunday night, police said. The three victims were attacked in a second-floor apartment at a building on Putnam Avenue near Nostrand Avenue around 6:20 p.m. The attack was believed to be related to a domestic dispute. Dayquan Dubose, 22, allegedly slashed the little girl’s right leg, according to law enforcement sources. He then allegedly fatally stabbed his 79-year-old grandfather in the stomach and slashed his 49-year-old brother-in-law to the right hand. Dubose’s grandfather died at a nearby hospital, and the other two victims were hospitalized in stable condition. A witness was able to hold Dubose until police arrived, according to the New York Post.
Attacks at Williamsburg subway station continue
A woman reported being punched by a stranger at the Morgan Avenue L train station in East Williamsburg on Saturday night, a day after a man held as a suspect in four other attacks there was freed from custody. In the most recent incident, a 26-year-old woman told police she was on the stairs of station when a man pushed her against a wall and punched her several times in the left side of her face around 10 p.m. She was treated at the scene. The four earlier incidents took place between Nov. 17 and Dec. 28 when the women, ages 24 to 32, were walking on stairs or ramps at the station, according to Fox 5 News.
Steven Cymbrowitz concerned about Brighton shelter plan
Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz (D-Gravesend-Manhattan Beach-Brighton Beach) has written Mayor Bill de Blasio to share his concerns about a homeless shelter for 170 single men planned for 100 Neptune Ave.in Brighton Beach. Chief among these concerns is the city’s desire to build a congregate shelter rather than seek permanent housing for the homeless. The lawmaker also cited potential safety hazards at the proposed location. Back in the 1930s and 1940s, before the implementation of state and federal environmental regulations, the site and its adjacent property at 64 Neptune Ave. both housed businesses requiring petroleum storage, meaning that contaminants likely remain, “with carcinogenic chemicals and levels of toxicity not appropriate for residential use without demolition and remediation of the current building.” Finally, Cymbrowitz noted that Core Services Group, the non-profit operator of the proposed shelter, has amassed hundreds of violations at its other shelter sites.
Correction officer shot in East Flatbush
Police say a correction officer was shot in East Flatbush on Saturday night. The incident happened just before 10 p.m. on Lenox Road, police said. The officer was rushed to a local hospital and was critically injured as of Sunday night. It’s unclear if he was on duty or off at the time, according to CBS News.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo requires death benefits for frontline workers’ families
Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced that he is signing an executive order to extend the requirement that death benefits be paid out to families of frontline government workers for an additional 30 days. The legislation that provided these benefits, signed by Cuomo in May, would otherwise have expired on Dec. 31. The governor also announced that more than 200,000 New Yorkers have now been vaccinated with the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and beginning next week, New York is opening vaccination criteria to ambulatory care health workers and public health care workers, including those who administer COVID-19 tests.
Compiled by Raanan Geberer.
