New York City will double its funding for teacher training beginning this June, Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott said.

Officials have set aside about $100 million to help prepare students for new Common Core standards that were introduced this spring, The Daily News reports.

The city spent about $50 million on teacher training last year.

Principals will have access to the funds starting next month, Walcott said earlier this week. They can choose how to spend the money as long as it helps students prepare for the tougher academic standards. Some ways to spend the money include adding teacher training sessions or buying new classroom materials.

“Doubling down like this is a significant step,” said Walcott. “It will build the strength and capacity of our teachers to deliver everything we expect of them.”

A portion of the funds will also help schools prepare for the new teacher evaluation system that the state will impose on city schools June 1.

The post City to double funding for teacher training appeared first on Metro.us.

Police are investigating after a man and a woman in their 20s were found shot to death in a New Jersey park Thursday night.

Cops discovered the victims at approximately 10 p.m. near a bench inside Montclair’s Canterbury Park, NBC New York reports.

The investigation is ongoing. Relatives of the dead told NBC that the woman was from East Orange.

The post Two found shot to death in NJ park appeared first on Metro.us.

A Hofstra student and an armed suspect were shot dead early Friday morning during an apparent home invasion.

Police say a man wearing a ski mask forced his way into 213 California Ave. in Uniondale at approximately 2:30 a.m., the New York Post reports. Three women and one man were in the house at the time.

One of the women was allowed to leave the house, and she called 911, Nassau County Deputy Inspector Kenneth Lack said. The shooting that killed the suspect and the student occurred when police arrived at the home. It is not cleared who fired the deadly shots.

Police have not released any identities. The house is located near Hofstra’s campus.

Officials said at a press conference this morning that they suspect the motive was robbery. They said they are investigating and declined to provide further details.

The student killed was Andrea Rebello, 20, according to the Daily News.

The post Hofstra student shot dead during home invasion appeared first on Metro.us.

New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver announced Thursday night that he would take steps to recommend the expulsion of State Assemblyman Vito Lopez after a scathing report detailing sexual harassment allegations against Lopez was released on Wednesday.

Silver said Thursday that he would introduce a resolution on Friday asking the Assembly’s Ethics and Guidance Committee to “recommend appropriate sanctions including expulsion” against Lopez, the New York Times reports.

The announcement comes after Silver, a Manhattan democrat, himself has been under attack for his handling of the allegations following the Joint Commission on Public Ethics’ report and a separate report by Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan.

With Silver’s approval, the Assembly’s leadership secretly settled two sexual harassment allegations against Lopez and failed to refer the cases to an ethics committee for investigation, the Times reports.

Lopez has maintained his innocence. He was re-elected last year after the allegations first became public, and he has been eying a City Council run.

But the lengthy JCOPE report released this week has stirred more anger towards the assemblyman. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday that he believes Lopez should be expelled if he does not resign.

According to the report, Lopez demanded female staffers to massage him, send him flirtatious text messages, wear revealing clothing and stay overnight in hotel rooms with him.

Elected officials from both parties have called for Lopez’s expulsion, the Times reports. Republicans called for Silver’s ouster as well, while Democrats generally said they believe Silver has acknowledged his mistakes and will handle future allegations differently.

The post Sheldon Silver to recommend expulsion of Vito Lopez appeared first on Metro.us.

An MTA employee and an accomplice have been charged with conspiring and stealing $4,000 in cash from a Queens subway station last week.

Tracy King, 48, who worked at the 111th Street station off the 7 line in Queens, allegedly had her friend duct tape her hands and mouth and steal the cash from the subway booth, according to the Queens District Attorney’s office. She planned to split the money with the robber.

“Instead of being the alleged victim of a gunpoint robbery at her job, the MTA employee charged in this case is accused of staging the purported robbery and splitting the proceeds of the crime with an accomplice,” said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

King told police that she was working at the station around 11 a.m. last Saturday when a man arrived at the station dressed in a reflective contractor’s vest and asked for the keys to the employees’ break room. Inside the break room, the robber pointed a revolver and a stun gun at King as he placed duct tape on her hands and mouth, King told cops. The man then allegedly went to the ticket booth and took $4,000. King was discovered by other MTA employees who called police to report the robbery.

Police arrested Anthony Brown, 42, after they lifted a fingerprint off a plastic container in the break room. Brown told police that the robbery was King’s idea. He also said he was not armed and that he has known King for about 10 years. Phone records revealed that King and Brown had talked as recently as the day before the robbery.

Cops also recovered $2,334 in cash from inside Brown’s girlfriend’s Queens apartment.

Brown and King face charges of third- and fourth-degree grand larceny, defrauding the government, fifth-degree conspiracy and third-degree falsely reporting an incident. They each face up to seven years in prison if convicted.

The post MTA clerk arrested for inside-job robbery appeared first on Metro.us.

On the same day that a special investigator announced that State Assemblyman Vito Lopez will not face criminal charges over allegations that he sexually harassed female staffers, the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics released a 70-page report containing graphic details of the assemblyman’s alleged abused, and how he got away with it for so long.

Lopez forced his hands up one woman’s legs, the report revealed. He told the women to wear low-cut blouses, miniskirts and high heels. He tried to persuade some of the women to stay overnight with him in hotel rooms. And he forced one woman to rub his hand even as she cried because she told him she had been raped in college, the New York Times reported.

The report also detailed how the assembly’s leadership protected Lopez from public scrutiny amid the sexual harassment allegations. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Speaker’s staff members failed to investigate or refer the allegations to the assembly’s ethics committee, the Times reports.

Eight women were harassed by Lopez, according to the report. The employees feared that Lopez would use his power to ruin their careers if they complained.

The report was released shortly after Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan said Wednesday that Lopez would not be charged over sexual harassment allegations following a months-long investigation because there was not enough evidence to prove “a chargeable crime was committed within the confines of Kings County.”

Donovan said, however, that “what we found is certainly alarming.” He said the way in which assembly leaders handled a confidential settlement with women in a separate incident encouraged Lopez to continue with his inappropriate conduct.

The post Report details Vito Lopez sexual harassment allegations appeared first on Metro.us.

Police have arrested a 20-year-old man in connection with the murder of a teen girl whose body was found on Gerritsen Beach in January.

Christian Ferdinand allegedly killed Shaniesha Forbes, 14, cops said. The two were in a relationship, and Ferdinand told cops he killed Forbes because he thought she was pregnant, the New York Post reports.

Forbes was not in fact pregnant. Ferdinand allegedly suffocated the Brooklyn teen inside his apartment. He then stuffed her body into a suitcase a few days later, brought it to the beach and set it on fire, the Post reports.

Cops arrested Ferdinand in Maine, where he had fled after the killing.

The post Man arrested for killing of teen girl found on Brooklyn beach appeared first on Metro.us.

State Assemblyman Vito Lopez, who is accused in a sexual harassment scandal, is expected to escape all criminal charges against him, the New York Post reports. 

The prosecutor in the trial will announce Wednesday that there was not enough evidence to charge Lopez, sources told the Post. The assemblyman is accused of groping young female staffers.

The scandal, which became public last summer, also revealed that State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Speaker authorized a settlement of more than $100,000 in taxpayer money with two other women who made previous allegations against Lopez.

Lopez remains in the assembly, but was forced to step down as Brooklyn’s Democratic Party leader. The assemblyman held a fundraiser last month for a possible City Council run.

National Organization for Women president Sonia Ossorio blasted Lopez today, saying he should be expelled from political office, now and in the future.

“The Assembly engaged in a shameful cover-up at great expense to all women who live and work in New York State,” she said.  “Despite the fact that no criminality was found, Mr. Lopez is clearly unfit for office.”

The post Vito Lopez not likely to face charges appeared first on Metro.us.

A measles outbreak has hit one Brooklyn community and may be spreading, health officials say.

There have been 21 cases of measles reported in Borough Park and one case in Williamsburg this year, according to the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Those infected are between 10 months and 32 years old, DNAinfo.com reports.

The first case was imported from London, according to the health department. Measles is a highly contagious disease and can be deadly. Symptoms include rash, fever, cough, runny nose and sore throat.

The disease can be prevented with a vaccine. The new outbreak may have spread between families who refused vaccinations, according to DNAinfo.com.

This is the fourth time since 2008 that a measles outbreak has hit the ultra-Orthodox community in Borough Park, DNAinfo.com also reported.

All of those who were infected this year have recovered, but officials say there may be more cases because of the large number of people exposed to the disease in the community.

The post Health Dept: Measles outbreak hits Brooklyn appeared first on Metro.us.

Police have arrested a 44-year-old man who snatched $500 from a toddler’s hand after the child removed the money from his mother’s purse.

Warren Hayes of the Bronx turned himself in on Tuesday, cops said. Hayes allegedly saw a 3-year-old boy remove $500 in cash from his mother’s purse inside a liquor store in Hunt’s Point last Friday. When the child’s mother did not notice, Hayes approached the boy, took the money and fled the store.

He has been charged with grand larceny in the fourth degree.

The post Suspect caught in theft of $500 from toddler appeared first on Metro.us.

Former Rep. Anthony Weiner may announce that he is running for mayor as soon as next week. The former congressman has hired a campaign manager, according to a new report.

Weiner has hired Danny Kedem, who most recently worked on a failed Staten Island congressional race last year, Politico.com reports. Kedem has worked on mayoral races in the past.

Weiner will likely announce that he is running next week, sources told Politico. In addition to Kedem, Weiner has also hired a press secretary and other staffers.

A poll released last month placed Weiner in second place in the mayoral race, trailing only City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. Quinn led the race with support from 26 percent of voters, and Weiner came in second with 15 percent, according to the NBC New York/Marist poll.

The former congressman resigned in 2011 amid a sexting scandal. After removing himself from the public eye for nearly two years, Weiner said in a New York Times Magazine interview last month that he was considering a run for mayor because it is “now or never” for him to return to politics.

Since his interview with the Times, Weiner has conducted a number of other media interviews. He also returned to Twitter last month.

The post Anthony Weiner hires campaign manager appeared first on Metro.us.

A man who is accused of physically assaulting two people was accidentally shot by police on Sunday night after the suspect barricaded himself inside of an apartment.

Hassan King, 42, allegedly punched a 22-year-old man and struck a 34-year-old woman at approximately 10:40 p.m. during a dispute inside an apartment at 1380 University Ave. in the Bronx. The victims were taken to St. Barnabas Hospital in stable condition.

After the assault, King barricaded himself inside the apartment, and hostage negotiators tried to convince the suspect to surrender for more than two hours, police said.

When cops finally forced the door open, the lead officer accidentally shot King in the wrist when the door swung back and hit the lead officer. King was transported to St. Barnabas Hospital in stable condition.

He is charged with assault, menacing, harassment and obstructing governmental administration.

The post Assault suspect accidentally shot by police in the Bronx appeared first on Metro.us.

Caroline Kennedy will sit on a Manhattan jury in the trial of an accused crack dealer.

Kennedy was selected to serve as a juror in the state Supreme Court trial of Nelson Chatman, the Daily News reports.

Kennedy, the only surviving daughter of President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, did not mention whether any member of her family had been a victim of a crime. She did state that her brother once worked as an assistant district attorney.

When asked if her brother ever discussed his work as a prosecutor with her, she replied that he had not.

The author and mother of two said this isn’t the first jury that she has served on.

Chatman is fighting felony charges after he was arrested in December on suspicion of dealing drugs in East Harlem, the News reports.

The post Caroline Kennedy to serve as juror on crack-dealing trial appeared first on Metro.us.

Before she entered politics, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn struggled with bulimia and alcoholism. Quinn opened up about those experiences in an interview with the New York Times, and is expected to talk about them publicly at Barnard College on Tuesday.

Quinn’s mother was dying of breast cancer when she was 16 years old, the speaker told the Times. Quinn spent every morning waking her mother, bathing her, making her breakfast and giving her medication. Her mother’s condition wasn’t improving, and when it was all too overwhelming for the teen to handle, she would binge on ice cream and corn muffins — and then make herself throw up.

The habit continued for 10 years until she sought help at the age of 26.

“I just want people to know you can get through stuff,” she told the Times. “I hope people can see that in what my life has been and where it is going.”

The speaker reached out to the Times to share her experience. She will also touch upon the issues in a memoir that is scheduled to be published next month.

Quinn also talked about how although her mother was diagnosed with cancer when she was in the second grade, she didn’t know about it until the eighth grade when a nun at her school told one of her classmates to be nice to her because her mother had cancer.

At this time, Quinn felt that she needed to be perfect — and thinner — in order to save her mother, the Times reports. Secretly eating sweets and then purging brought a sense of relief, she said.

“For a brief moment, you’ve kind of expelled from your being the things that are making you feel bad,” she said. Quinn also began going out and drinking with friends around this time.

Quinn was in her junior year of high school when her mother died. She continued to struggle with her bulimia and drinking throughout college.

Years later, Quinn got a job working as a campaign manager for City Councilman Thomas Duane. When Quinn opened up to Duane about her problems, he urged her to go to rehabilitation, and she did.

Quinn said she is proud of what she has overcome and does not want to hide it anymore. She added that she does not believe her openness about this part of her life will have an effect on the mayoral race, saying it feels “nonpolitical.”

The post Christine Quinn discusses struggle with bulimia, alcoholism appeared first on Metro.us.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended plans to build a soccer stadium in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park on Monday, saying green space in Queens is not “irreplaceable,” the New York Post reports.

“On balance there’s an enormous amount of new park land,” he said. “But it’s not the only thing people need. A lot of people want a stadium to enjoy soccer.”

Major League Soccer is expected to announce plans in the next few weeks for a 25,000-seat stadium that will sit on about 13 acres.

But a new park that will soon replace old Flushing Airport in College Point will make up for the loss of green space, the mayor added.

That response wasn’t good enough for some opponents to the plan.

“If Flushing Airport is the best replacement we can find, that just indicates no green space can replace Flushing Meadows Park,” Hilary Klein of Make the Road New York told the Post.

Local elected officials and activists have been fighting to block the sale of the land at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. Opponents say the Queens park is irreplaceable, and that a soccer stadium would lead to pollution.

The post Bloomberg defends plan for Queens soccer stadium appeared first on Metro.us.

Brooklyn district attorney candidate Abe George is expected to sue CBS to block the network from airing a new show featuring longtime Brooklyn D.A. Charles Hynes.

George, 34, wants the station to delay airing the show until after the election, the Daily News reports. It is currently scheduled to premier May 21.

“I am surprised CBS News would conspire to violate campaign finance laws,” said George, who called the new series an “infomercial.”

The six-part documentary series, called “Brooklyn D.A.,” follows those who work in the borough’s D.A. office, one of the largest in the country.

George and another challenger in the upcoming election, Kenneth Thompson, were both angered by the news of the show.

George also plans to lead a protest Tuesday at CBS headquarters in Midtown.

The post Brooklyn DA candidate to sue CBS over Hynes’ show appeared first on Metro.us.

The $1 fee imposed by the MTA to encourage riders to reuse their MetroCards is producing an unexpected amount of extra revenue for the transit agency.

The so-called “green” MetroCard was supposed to reduce the number of used MetroCards that end up in the garbage, but a transit executive said last week that more riders are paying the $1 fee for a new card than expected, The Daily News reports.

If the fee continues to produce extra cash for the MTA, the agency will exceed the $20 million in new revenues and savings that it anticipated when drafting the budget, the executive said.

The $1 surcharge, imposed in March, was expected to generate an estimated $18 million in revenue this year. Printing fewer cards and reducing cleanup costs was expected to save an additional $2 million.

The extra revenue will likely put pressure on the agency to make system improvements and service restorations, the News reports.

The post MTA’s $1 ‘green’ MetroCard produces more revenue than expected appeared first on Metro.us.

Police are searching for a man who punched an unidentified victim on a Queens-bound 7 train last week.

The suspect punched the passenger about 1 a.m. on May 5 before exiting the train at the 69th Street station, cops said. The man is caught on video as he stands in the middle of the car and swings his arm to punch his victim, who is sitting down.

• 
  View Video

  Subway rider punched in Queens

A witness recorded the assault on a cell phone and shared it with the Central Robbery Queens Transit Squad. The victim of the assault did not report the crime. Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspect and locating the victim.

The suspect is described as a white or Hispanic male, about 5-foot-9, 180 pounds, with brown eyes and long black hair worn in a ponytail. He was last seen wearing a dark T-shirt and blue jeans.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577.

The post VIDEO: Suspect punches subway rider in Queens appeared first on Metro.us.

The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development has approved the city’s plan to spend $1.77 billion in aid for Sandy recovery efforts, and city residents and businesses are set to start receiving the funds as soon as this summer, the New York Times reports.

The city’s plan calls for $648 million to go to programs to rebuild homes and make them more storm-resistant. That sum also includes $9 million in rental subsidies for low-income New Yorkers who are at most risk for homelessness.

The rest of the money breaks down as follows:

• $360 million on city infrastructure
• $294 million on investments to make the city more resilient to storms
• $293 million on loans, grants and other programs for businesses

City officials say the aid is not enough to cover all the damage caused by the storm, but it will allow for crucial progress to be made. The funds will help address some of the most persistent issues, such as evacuees still living in hotels and mold in homes, the Times reports.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to announce the approval of the plan at City Hall on Friday.

The post Federal government approves city’s plan for Sandy aid appeared first on Metro.us.

Workers have fully installed the spire atop One World Trade Center on Friday morning, bringing it to a symbolic 1,776 feet and making it the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

The 408-foot spire will serve as a world-class broadcast antenna. The LED-powered light emanating from it will be seen from miles away, the Associated Press reports.

Weighing 758 tons, the spire was raised to the roof of the building last week covered in an American flag.

The tower is located at the northwest corner of the site where the twin towers were destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001. The 72-story Four World Trade Center and other buildings are also on their way to being completed.

One World Trade Center is expected to open for business in 2014.

The post Spire installed at One World Trade Center appeared first on Metro.us.

A 27-year-old Long Island City man has been arrested after he went on an armed carjacking spree Thursday morning in his own neighborhood.

Nicholas Almonte is accused of first carjacking a black 2006 Mercedes from a woman at gunpoint at about 9:40 a.m. on Borden Avenue between 21st and 23rd streets, cops said. Almonte drove around with the victim in the car for a few minutes before she was able to flee in the vicinity of Queens Plaza near Thompson Avenue and Van Dam Street.

Almonte then reportedly ditched the Mercedes and attempted to steal a white 2006 Ford Econoline van. When he was unsuccessful, the robber targeted a man with a gray 2007 Lexus. The suspect allegedly took out a gun and forcibly took the Lexus at approximately 10 a.m., cops said. The car was recovered a short time later.

Just a few minutes later, Almonte was apparently back on foot and he allegedly tried to forcibly remove car keys from a woman who was walking her dog. He fled after she told him she did not have any car keys.

Cops say that at approximately 10:20 a.m., the same suspect approached a truck driver near 38th Street and Hunters Point Avenue. Holding the victim at gunpoint, he took an unknown amount of cash and then fled on foot.

The spree ended about 10 minutes later when Almonte approached a man with a gold 1996 Mercedes at gunpoint and drove off in the victim’s car.

Almonte has been charged with multiple counts of robbery, attempted robbery and unlawful imprisonment.

The post Man arrested for Queens carjacking spree appeared first on Metro.us.

Former MTA chairman and mayoral candidate Joseph Lhota is under fire for comparing Port Authority police to “mall cops” at a forum Tuesday night.

Lhota was asked a question about improving airport security when he began to express his reservations about the quality of Port Authority police officers, the New York Times reports.

“Quite honestly, and I know I will get in trouble for saying this, they are nothing more than mall cops,” Mr. Lhota said at Pace University in Lower Manhattan.

Lhota issued an apology Wednesday morning, but his comments had already sparked anger among police groups.

“I’ve had 9/11 widows call me this morning,” Paul Nunziato, president of the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association, told the Times on Wednesday. “They are not pleased at all.”

Thirty-seven Port Authority officers died at the World Trade Center site on Sept. 11, 2001, according to the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association.

PBA spokesman Patrick J. Lynch said, “New York City police officers have worked side by side with Port Authority police officers for many years, and we have found them to be well-trained and highly experienced professional police officers.”

The comment comes as a surprise. The mayoral candidate is the son of a New York City police lieutenant, and as a former deputy mayor of operations, Lhota suffered from health complications after he, too, rushed to the World Trade Center site on Sept. 11.

“I regret my unfortunate characterization of the Port Authority Police Department,” Lhota said in his apology. “It was an inappropriate answer that does not accurately reflect the hard work of its officers.”

But his apology may be too little, too late.

“I don’t think he has a chance to be mayor of New York City, and I would certainly be out there campaigning against him if he ever got close,” Nunziato said.

Rival Republican mayoral contender John Catsimatidis quickly took advantage of the blunder and issued the following statement: “It’s sad that the son of an NYPD lieutenant would take verbal shots at the Port Authority police or any law enforcement organization. As mayor, I would support law enforcement, not knock it down.”

The post Lhota slammed after calling Port Authority police ‘mall cops’ appeared first on Metro.us.

Police are searching for a 21-year-old man wanted in the rape and robbery of a woman at gunpoint in a Brooklyn park last year. 

The attack occurred almost a year ago on May 29, 2012. Police were recently able to identify Damien Hollis as a suspect thanks to a positive DNA hit.

Cops say Hollis approached a 26-year-old woman early on the morning of May 29, 2012, at a bus stop located at East New York and Ralph avenues. He brandished a firearm and ordered her to walk to Lincoln Terrace Park, where he raped her. He then took the victim’s cell phone and fled.

Hollis is described as about 6 feet tall and 160 lbs. with short black hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577.

Danielle Tcholakian contributed reporting to this article.

The post Man wanted for armed rape, robbery in Brooklyn appeared first on Metro.us.

Police have released a video of eight men they are looking to speak with about a possible bias attack Sunday evening that left one man with a broken nose and another with a bruised hand. 

• 
  View Video

  Eight sought in Midtown bias attack

A group of men approached two men in front of a McDonald’s on Eighth Avenue near Madison Square Garden at around 6:45 p.m. and shouted anti-gay remarks at them, cops said. The suspects then pushed the victims to the ground and punched one of them in the face.

Police released a photo of one of the suspects Tuesday. They released a new video Wednesday showing the same suspect walking with seven other men. Detectives are looking to speak with the men in the video regarding the incident. 

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577.

The post VIDEO: Cops seek eight men in Midtown bias attack appeared first on Metro.us.

The post Eight sought in Midtown bias attack appeared first on Metro.us.

A former New York state senator from Queens secretly recorded seven lawmakers as part of a political corruption probe, according to a court document unsealed Wednesday.

Shirley Huntley, 74, a Democrat who pleaded guilty in January to embezzling $87,700 from a nonprofit organization, recorded and photographed the officials on multiple occasions in the summer of 2012 after meeting with federal prosecutors and agents, according to the filing in Brooklyn federal court.

The recorded lawmakers include New York state Sens. John Sampson, Eric Adams, Ruth Hassel-Thompson, Jose Peralta, Malcolm Smith and Velmanette Montgomery, and New York City Councilman Rubin Wills. Huntley also taped conversations with Melvin Lowe, a former political consultant and associate of New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman, and Curtis Taylor, a former press adviser for Malcolm Smith.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn declined to comment. However, it said in a separate court filing Tuesday that eight of the nine individuals recorded remain under investigation. No details of the investigation were provided. Huntley’s lawyer could not be reached for comment.

Wills said that his attorney had been informed by law enforcement that his client was not the subject of an investigation. Adams said he had not been contacted with regard to any investigation. Peralta he was confident authorities would find he did not engage in any wrongdoing.

Representatives for Sampson and Smith declined to comment. Representatives for the other senators did not immediately return a request for comment. The non-elected officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Two of the individuals who Huntley taped have already been named in federal criminal cases.

Last month, Smith was charged with bribery in connection with the New York City mayoral race. Sampson was charged Monday with embezzling funds from foreclosed properties in Brooklyn. Both pleaded not guilty.

The filing, a sentencing memorandum from Huntley, was originally filed under seal. After media outlets, including Reuters, requested that it be made public, U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein unsealed the filing.

Huntley, who faces up to five years in prison, is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday.

The post Seven lawmakers recorded in N.Y. corruption probe: filing appeared first on Metro.us.

The New York City Council passed legislation Wednesday that will require thousands of businesses to provide paid sick days to workers.

Companies with 20 or more employees will be required to offer five paid sick days beginning Apr. 1, 2014. On Oct. 1, 2015, it will expand to include companies with 15 or more workers.

An estimated one million workers will benefit from the legislation. Another 300,000 workers will receive unpaid sick leave under the new legislation.

“This vote marks a big step in the right direction toward providing paid sick time to workers in our city,” said Vincent Alvarez, president of the city AFL-CIO.

Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, said the vote means “working families do not have to choose between their jobs or their health.”

He added, “More than 1 million workers will no longer be afraid of being fired for taking a sick day.”

Supporters say the bill will allow workers to take time off when they are sick without fear of losing pay or their job. Critics of the measure say that many business owners cannot afford to offer paid sick days, and that businesses and employees should be left to work out sick-leave arrangements on their own.

“We have a good, strong and sensible piece of legislation that recognizes the needs of everyday New Yorkers and the realities that our struggling small businesses face,” City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said when she first outlined the bill on March 29.

Advocates have been pushing for a bill that would apply to businesses with five or more employees. Despite some of the limits of the bill, the legislation is viewed as a pivotal step in a national push for paid sick days.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who said earlier this year that the bill would “stifle job creation,” is expected to veto the measure, but the Council, which passed it 45-3, will likely have enough votes to override the veto.

The post (UPDATE) City Council passes sick days bill appeared first on Metro.us.

The parents of a teenager shot and killed by police earlier this year are expected to file a notice of claim Wednesday, informing the city that they intend to file a wrongful-death lawsuit that alleges cops used excessive force in the shooting that killed their son, The Daily News reports.

Family lawyer Kenneth Montgomery says he can prove that police officers left 16-year-old Kimani Gray to die in East Flatbush on March 9.

Gray was left on the pavement and received no medical attention for 15 minutes, Montgomery told The News.

Two plainclothes police officers shot Gray after the teen pointed a .38-caliber handgun at them, according to police. He was hit by seven bullets. Gray’s death set off a series of riots and protests in the neighborhood in the days following the shooting.

The city’s Law Department declined to comment because it has not seen the notice of claim.

The post Kimani Gray’s family to file wrongful-death lawsuit appeared first on Metro.us.

A Columbia University football player has been charged with aggravated harassment as a hate crime after he allegedly threatened another student with racial slurs, NBC News reports.

Chad Washington, 19, allegedly followed a 19-year-old Asian student early Sunday morning, called him ethnic slurs and then grabbed him by the collar and pushed him against a wall.

The victim told police that he was walking with two female friends when Washington and his friends began heckling the women, according to NBC News. When the victim tried to defend his friends, Washington started calling him slurs and following him.

According to the Columbia University Athletics Department’s website, Washington is a junior and defensive lineman from Oakland, Calif.

Police are investigating whether Washington’s friends were involved in the harassment.

Columbia released the following statement regarding the incident: “We can only say that Columbia is widely recognized for the core values long defining us as an urban university community: the multicultural diversity of our students, faculty and staff; our openness to people and ideas; and tolerance for our differences. And we will continue to be guided by these essential values.”

The post Columbia student charged with hate crime appeared first on Metro.us.