While plenty of city politicians have recommended Vito Lopez stop his campaign for City Council, most recent among them being Mayor Michael Bloomberg, one City Councilmember has decided it’s time to take action.

Queens Councilman Peter Vallone is calling for city and state lawmakers to cut funding to the Lopez-controlled Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, “unless Vito’s cronies step away from that organization and we get a pledge from Vito not to run.”

Lopez recently resigned from the Assembly in disgrace, after the ethics committee produced a 68-page report detailing sexual harassment allegations made against him by his female staffers. They ranged from staffers contracting pink-eye after being instructed to apply eye drops to Lopez’s infected eyes, to a female staffer being scratched “by one of Lopez’s jagged fingernails” when he tried to push his hand up her inner thigh.

“A lot of people are saying that Lopez should not run, but no one is discussing the power base that he has in that district that allows him to run and be a viable candidate,” Vallone explained.

In the most recent campaign finance filing period, $1,700 of Lopez’s contributions came from employees of the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council.

Vallone also noted that the housing division of the organization is run by Lopez’s girlfriend, and it has consistently been peppered with his hand-picked friends and political allies.

A New York Times report last year noted that the Council’s offices close every Election Day so that employees can vote for Lopez and his chosen candidates.

“This Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council has for a long time been controlled by Vito and his cronies, and they need to go,” Vallone said. “Once they’re gone, once there’s a pledge for Vito not to run, then I think people can discuss whether to fund that group or not.” 

“But until then, nobody in government should do anything to help him run and abuse other women.”

Councilmember Erik Dilan, who had several member items for RBSCC in last year’s budget, declined to comment for this story.

Another steady supporter of RBSCC with member items for the organization in last year’s budget, Councilmember Domenic Recchia, did not respond to a request for comment.

Councilmember Stephen Levin, who once worked for Lopez and also had several member items for the organization in last year’s budget, put out a statement this weekend saying he believes Lopez should “voluntarily step down.”

But Levin said today that he would not support a plan to cut or withhold funding from RBSCC to put pressure on Lopez to drop out of the race.

“The truth is they provide good services,” Levin said, noting the work the organization does with youth programs, homelessness prevention, and seniors. “And so I don’t think that it’s appropriate to allow politics to dictate what programs get funded in that way.”

Vallone conceded that “the organization apparently does some good work.” 

“But so did some other organizations that were controlled by slimy elected officials,” Vallone said. “As with most villains, you have to go after the power source.”

Vallone wants to show voters that Lopez would be impotent on the Council, only harming his districts as legislators refuse to work with him.

“[RBSCC] unfortunately makes him a viable candidate,” Vallone said. “I’ve been wondering for a while why this organization, why Vito’s power base, has been unmentioned and untouched.”

Lopez’s competitor in the City Council race, Antonio Reynoso, noted to Politicker that while Lopez’s political allies outside of Ridgewood Bushwick may be falling away, he still maintains influence in that neighborhood.

Even after the ethics report outlining the abuse allegations female staffers made against Lopez, community members are apparently still standing behind him.

“Who knows if it was just someone making up lies?” one resident told Politicker.

“I don’t believe that’s true,” said another Ridgewood Bushwick resident of the sexual abuse allegations. “I don’t care what anyone says.”

The ethics report details, among others, an incident with a female staffer who Lopez coerced into massaging his hand. When the staffer began to cry, Lopez responded by saying, “I like that you’re holding my hand.” The young woman cried harder. The whole exchange occurred immediately after the staffer told Lopez she was raped in college and he responded by asking her if she “felt guilty.” He got her to massage his hand after telling her he “really believe[d] in her work” but wanted her to show more “intensity” and be more “adventurous.”

Ultimately, Vallone said he does not want a colleague who could potentially do with female staffers in the Council what the report said Lopez did with women who worked for him in the Assembly.

“He clearly does not understand that what he did was wrong, and he’ll do it again if you give him power,” Vallone warned.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

The post Peter Vallone: Stop Vito Lopez, cut funding to Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council appeared first on Metro.us.

Catch “Top Gun” at the Intrepid on Friday.

The warmer weather means Memorial Day must be here! Postpone your barbecue for another weekend because the city has much to offer.

1. Honor the heroes
In case you’ve forgotten, Memorial Day is not simply an excuse for a three-day weekend. To honor the men and women who died while serving our country, head over to the Little Neck–Douglaston parade in Queens, the city’s largest, on Monday. This year’s parade is dedicated to those who served in Vietnam. And a visit to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum seems like a no-brainer with their Summer Salute to Heroes. The Free Summer Movie Series on the Flight Deck begins Friday with “Top Gun.” The rest of the weekend is chockablock with performances, tours and activities.

2. Grab your swimsuit
All city beaches finally open for swimming on Saturday! If you find yourself in Coney Island, take a break from all the grueling sunbathing and go for a relaxing, heart-thumping ride on the Cyclone at Luna Park, which will be open seven days a week starting Saturday.

3. Go for a ride
On Friday, the CitiBike share launches its preview week for annual members, and Bike and Roll NYC will offer free one-hour bike rentals on Governor’s Island. Anime-inspired hotel Yotel and custom bike company Strada Customs partner once again to offer hotel guests six specially designed fixies featuring snakeskin printed leather seats to commemorate the Year of the Snake. And biking may be one of your only modes of transportation if you live along the L line. Trains will not run between Lorimer St., Brooklyn and Eighth Ave., Manhattan from 11:30 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Tuesday.

4. Entertain the kids
This weekend signals the start of the summer season, a.k.a, every child’s favorite time of year. On Saturday, take the kids to the Dinosaur Safari debut at the Bronx Zoo. Governor’s Island also opens and the New York Aquarium in Coney Island, badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy, will partially open.

5. Stuff your face
From the folks who brought you Smorgasburg, SmorgasBar opens at the South Street Seaport on Friday. Food vendors include Asia Dog, Blue Marble Ice Cream, Red Hook Lobster Pound and newcomers Fonda. On Monday, Recette (328 W. 12st St., 212 414 3000) is offering a 3 course brunch from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. for $25 per person, and the Windsor West Village (234 W. Fourth Street, 212-206-1208) will be open at noon for their Memorial Day BBQ. Or, enjoy a Spanish twist on barbecue at Andanada (141 W. 69th St., 646-692-8762), which will serve a three course prix fixe with dishes like chorizo hot dogs and roasted bananas with cilantro and coconut sauce for $23. If you’re on the daring side, Louro (142 W. 10th St., 212-206-0606 ) is hosting a kelp cocktail pairing event with Brendan Smith of the Thimble Island Oyster Company ($45).

6. Go shopping
We plan to hit the Hester St. Fair (corner of Essex and Hester sts.) this three-day weekend. Besides browsing for vintage clothing, jewelry, crafts, home goods and more, you can take part in a Ping-Pong tournament on Saturday, and on Sunday, shop “Manhattan’s largest garage sale,” where neighborhood vendors are selling goods way below price.

The post Stuck in the city for Memorial Day? It’s OK! Here’s your game plan appeared first on Metro.us.

According to New York Post exclusive, Mayor Michael Bloomberg had some choice words for Taxi Management CEO Gene Friedman at last week’s Knicks playoff at Madison Square Garden.

Friedman reportedly approached the mayor and inquired after “what is going on with the Taxi of Tomorrow,” the mayor’s proposed taxi-replacement that was shot down by a judge the day before.

The mayor reportedly responded, “Come January 1st, when I am out of office, I am going to destroy your f———ing industry.”

Friedman told the Post he tried to calm the mayor and asked, “Why can I sit down with you and figure out something that works?”

The mayor, reportedly with his face red and his jaw clenched, replied, “After January, I am going to destroy all you f———ing guys.”

As he and a friend walked away, Friedman told the Post he asked his friend, “Did the mayor just threaten me?”

To which his friend reportedly replied, “No, he threatened you twice.”

The mayor told the Post that all he remembered from the night was that “it was a great game.”

Taxi of Tomorrow was Bloomberg’s plan to replace the entire yellow cab system with a more spacious Nissan. Nissan won the right to design the car in an open competition.

The taxi industry challenged the plan in court, and state Supreme Court Judge Peter Moulton recently ruled that Taxi of Tomorrow could not stand because it violated a hybrid-cab option for garage owners.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

The post Bloomberg threatens taxi czar appeared first on Metro.us.

Anthony Weiner announced on Wednesday that he will be running for mayor of New York City this fall. You can check out his official campaign video here. We take a look at the city’s newest mayoral candidate.

The post PHOTOS: Looking back at Anthony Weiner appeared first on Metro.us.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

The post VIDEO: Anthony Weiner launches campaign for mayor appeared first on Metro.us.

Anthony Weiner has finally stopped beating around the bush and launched his bid for mayor.

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  VIDEO: Anthony Weiner launches campaign for mayor

A video posted late Tuesday night on a revamped anthonyweiner.com—emblazoned with a large blue and orange logo reading “WEINER FOR MAYOR”—features the once-disgraced politician in various picturesque Brooklyn settings, talking about his mother being a teacher and his father hanging “a shingle outside our house” after going to law school on the G.I. bill.

“That’s how this city was built,” he says in the video.

He goes on to rue the high rents—up 20 percent in the last two years alone, he says—and impossible real estate prices that will “cost you a million bucks.”

As Weiner is seen shmoozing with shopowners, a voiceover describes the struggle small business owners face, “drowning in regulations that nickel and dime you to death.”

He boasts of gaining billions of dollars while in Congress to put more cops on the streets of New York, his work with the 9/11 responders bill, and having “lead the campaign for real health reform.”

“Look, I made some big mistakes and I know I let a lot of people down,” Weiner says in the video. “But I also learned some tough lessons.”

“I hope I get a second chance to work for you,” he adds. 

Weiner also plugs his recently released “64 ideas” to improve the city he aims to make “the middle class capital of the world.”

Weiner’s wife, Huma Abedin, appears at the end of the video to vouch for their love of the city and attest that “no one will work harder to make it better than Anthony.”

The video may have been posted prematurely. As Twitter exploded with the discovery of the video shortly after midnight, the website reverted back to its previous ambiguous design, sans video, and the tweet by Weiner that originally released the video disappeared.

Some wondered whether the release-and-retract was intentional, or if it was a sign that Weiner’s campaign team is subpar.

Sources told The New York Post that the video was supposed to released later on Wednesday.[galleryembed id ="155339"]

Weiner first announced that he was considering a run for mayor in a lengthy New York Times Magazine interview in April. Since then, he has done a round of media interviews and returned to Twitter as he prepared to formally launch his campaign.

A NBC/Marist poll released last month showed that Weiner would come in second place among the Democratic candidates for mayor. Quinn led with support from 26 percent of voters, and Weiner came in second with 15 percent, according to the poll.

The former congressman resigned in 2011 after he tweeted a lewd photo of himself and lied about it, saying that his account had been hacked. He later admitted to having inappropriate online relationships with several women.

He spent more than a year and a half away from the public light. He moved from his Queens home to an apartment on Park Avenue South. He said in his Times Magazine interview that he has spent the time as a stay-at-home father to his toddler son, who also appears in the video.

Weiner also opened a lucrative consulting firm during his time away from office, the Times reports.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

The post Anthony Weiner launches mayoral campaign in video appeared first on Metro.us.

Concerns are growing about the planned Spectra pipeline on the west side of lower Manhattan, but those concerns may be coming too late: The pipeline is already in place. The only thing that remains is to connect it to Con Edison power structures — a project that Con Ed says is on track to be completed by November.

The Spectra pipeline runs along the Jersey Shore and from the Port Authority hub in Hoboken under the Hudson River to Gansevoort Street in Lower Manhattan, according to Sane Energy Project co-founder Denise Katzman.

From Gansevoort Street, a Con Ed extension runs up along the West Side Highway to a Con Ed power station at 14th Street and 9th Avenue.

Clare Donohue, also with the Sane Energy Project, said that while the Spectra pipeline has been reviewed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Con Ed extension of the pipeline has undergone no environmental review.

A spokesperson for Con Edison said its extension is the same as all of the company’s other infrastructure in the city.

“We are in compliance with all environmental rules and regulations,” the spokesman said. “This is routine gas work for us.”

According to Katzman, seismic pressure becomes more intense the wider the radius of the pipeline. The Spectra pipeline has a radius of 30 inches. That is the same size as the pipeline that exploded in San Bruno, Calif., in 2010.

Donohue noted that the well-known San Bruno pipeline accident occurred in a suburban area in California and wrecked massive damage on the area, killing eight people. She noted that the pipeline in Manhattan is in a densely populated, economically vibrant neighborhood. In particular, she pointed out that it runs parallel to the High Line. Since the restoration of the High Line, commercial activity has grown exponentially as hotels, condos and businesses flock to the area.

Katzman said a gas vault will be located underneath the Whitney Museum’s new location. A spokesperson for the Whitney confirmed there will be a gas vault connected to or next to it, but did not know the exact location or what impact that proximity would have on the museum’s artwork or insurance.

The pipeline also lies 300 feet from a playground in Hudson River Park.

A spokesperson from Spectra called the concerns unfounded, and said the pipeline was “built to meet or exceed all federal safety regulations.”

“The only thing that our pipeline and the San Bruno pipeline have in common is that they are natural gas pipelines,” the spokesperson said. “Spectra Energy has been delivering safe, reliable, clean natural gas and energy to the New York-New Jersey region for more than 60 years.”

Web videos highlight “a number of safety enhancements” that the Spectra spokesperson said will “ensure that it will be one of the safest pipelines in North America.”  

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who represents the district where the pipeline lies, did not respond to requests for comment.

Susceptible to terrorist attacks?

Katzman pointed to a statement by FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance Summit in New York this spring, citing the U.S. power grid’s susceptibility to terrorist attacks. Wellinghoff said solar energy could protect against lengthy blackouts caused by a potential terrorist attack on the power grid.

Last year, the Department of Homeland Security issued several alerts over six months as an apparent cyberattack seemed to be mounting on the control systems of U.S. gas pipelines.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

The post Community fights Greenwich Village gas pipeline appeared first on Metro.us.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and other local officials joined with LGBT groups and other community members on Monday to march to the site of Friday night’s shooting of Marc Carson and to denounce hate violence.

Carson, 32, was killed in the West Village at about midnight Friday. The suspected gunman, Elliott Morales, allegedly shouted anti-gay slurs at Carson before pulling out a gun and shooting him in the face.

The march started at the LGBT Center at 208 W. 13^th St. and ended at the corner of Eighth Street and Sixth Avenue.

The post PHOTOS: City leaders, gay rights activists march against rise in NYC hate crimes appeared first on Metro.us.

New Yorkers hoping to make a little extra cash by renting out their apartments on a short-term basis may want to think twice: The city has ruled that Airbnb is illegal in New York City.

Metro reported last week that East Village resident Nigel Warren was in hot water after running afoul of a 2011 illegal hotel law by using the web-based service to rent out his apartment for three nights. The law bans anyone from renting out their property for less than 29 days.

Following the ruling, Warren owes the city $2,400 in fines.

But Business Insider reports that would-be black-market landlords only risk getting in trouble if a complaint is filed, which is good news for the people behind nearly 23,000 New York listings currently posted on Airbnb.

The post City rules Airbnb illegal in NYC appeared first on Metro.us.

An analysis by New York City’s public advocate may indicate that racial profiling does not contribute to effective stops.

The report looked at public NYPD data on stop-and-frisk from 2012, and found that weapons and guns were more often found on white New Yorkers than African-Americans or Latinos.

The NYPD discovered a weapon in one of every 49 stops of white New Yorkers. They only found weapons on one of every 71 Latinos stopped and one in every 93 African-Americans stopped, the public advocate’s office said.

Contraband, including marijuana, was also found more frequently on white New Yorkers than minorities. One out of every 43 white people stopped had illegal substances on them, while illegal items were found on one out of every 57 Latinos and every 61 African-Americans.

The director of policy at Bronx Defenders, a holistic public defense organization, said the data align with “what we see representing clients every day in the Bronx.”

“Despite promised reforms a year ago, black and Latino New Yorkers — especially young people — are still stopped every day based on nothing more than the color of their skin or the neighborhood they hang out in,” said director Kate Rubin.

The report acknowledges an overall reduction in stops but found that the skewed proportion of stops of minorities is still the same. Minorities constitute 84 percent of all stops, but make up only 54 percent of all New Yorkers.

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio said there is “an ugly truth in these numbers” and said the inefficacy of the system puts communities and police officers in danger.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

The post Report: Stops of minorities less effective than stops of white New Yorkers appeared first on Metro.us.

If you drew a map of Manhattan, what would your landmarks be?

For one man, a smattering of dots marked six wives and three lovers. Notably, the third, fifth and sixth wives were plotted about a block apart.

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  Mapping Manhattan: A Love (and Sometimes Hate) Story in Maps

Another map-maker left his map nearly blank, but for a small “x” in the southeast corner of Central Park with the note: “met my wife.”

A third cartographer noted at the tip-top end of Manhattan: “ruined a kickball game by kicking ball into Hudson.” Slightly further south is the note: “FIRST CRUSH I was 27.”

These maps, and 72 others, are part of a collection by Becky Cooper, titled “Mapping Manhattan: A Love (and Sometimes Hate) Story in Maps by 75 New Yorkers,” out of a public art project Cooper started in 2009.

She handmade hundreds of blank maps using a letterpress at school, and initially hid 300 of them around the city, in the Waldorf and the backseats of taxis, hoping people would stumble across them. She printed her P.O. box number on the back, expecting people would fill them out and send them back to her.

But she said that none came back, until she had a conversation with a boutique owner downtown who caught her trying to stash a map in the store. Cooper explained the project and a week later received a map in the mail that she knew was from that woman.

“The conversation had invested her enough in the project to return the map,” Cooper said. After that, she and her roommate walked the length of Manhattan, from Marble Hill to Battery Park, with a shoebox of maps, and handed them out to strangers.

A contribution from New Yorker staff writer Patricia Marx, a twenty-year Manhattan resident who is apparently “still annoyed with Broadway for running on a diagonal.” Credit: Becky Cooper.

Her book chronicles that walk, recounting little stories about the people she encountered. The text of the book is, in fact, her own map of Manhattan.

When she first considered producing a collection of the maps, she spread them all out on the floor and tried to group them into categories. A lot of people used to maps to chronicle numerous lovers, and it was then that it occurred to her that the maps were little love stories.

She noted the lost or haunted feeling that can come after a breakup, the disorienting feeling of traveling through a city pockmarked with memories.

“You feel like you’re in a ghost town,” Cooper said.

Cooper recounted the words of a friend after the end of a five-year relationship: “She’s never lived in New York without being with him. She was like, ‘My whole map of the city is skewed. I don’t know the city without him.’”

Cooper hesitated when asked if she has a favorite map.

“I feel like it’s like picking your favorite child,” she said. “I definitely have maps whose circumstances I remember more than others.”

She said the second-to-last map in the book, which portrays a four-decade-long relationship with a late wife, broke her heart when she received it.

“There isn’t an overwhelming amount of emotion that would allow you to distance yourself from it, but you can feel his loss.”

One of the most memorable maps for Cooper, which she calls “Eve.” Credit: Becky Cooper.

That sender had put his own return address label on the map, so she searched his name online and discovered the eulogy he wrote for her in a local paper.

“He said, ‘She was the most wonderful person I’ve ever known,’” Cooper recalled. “I just lost it.”

Cooper had the chance to meet that mapmaker at a reading recently when he approached her to express his gratitude at seeing his map in her collection.

“I knew his name because I love his map so much,” she said.

He told her that making it had helped him to remember things about his wife as he was trying to cope with losing her.

“He thanked me for allowing him to capture that particular Manhattan,” Cooper said.

Cooper is still collecting maps. Blank ones can be accessed here, or found on the cover of Tuesday’s Metro New York. She will be giving a talk and signing books at BookCourt in Brooklyn on Thursday, June 6 at 7 p.m.

“Mapping Manhattan: A Love (and Sometimes Hate) Story in Maps by 75 New Yorkers”

Book Talk and Signing with Becky Cooper

Thursday June 6

7 p.m.

BookCourt 164 Court Street, Brooklyn

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

The post Handmade maps describe a city of loves and losses appeared first on Metro.us.

The post Mapping Manhattan: A Love (and Sometimes Hate) Story in Maps appeared first on Metro.us.

Metro has gained nearly 100,000 daily readers in the last year as well as strengthened its grip as the most read free daily newspaper in New York, according to new figures that were just released.

The market research company Scarborough said Metro reached an all-time record of 733,311 people over the age of 18 in the New York area, a whooping 15 percent increase to the same period in 2012. Every week, Metro reaches over 1.5 million adults in New York in print and online – that’s 124,000 more than its competitor amNewYork.

“Thanks to our readers for making us the most popular free newspaper in New York”, Yggers Mortensen, Metro US Publisher and CEO said, “we continue to grow, innovate and find new ways to engage New Yorkers and deliver impact to advertisers both in print and online.”

Metro’s success can be attributed to 400 new newspaper boxes throughout the city as well as a concentrated focus on a re-launched website, metro.us, a redesign of the print edition and interactive features such as Blippar, a new augmented reality app.

The Scarborough data also shows that Metro has the highest proportion of adults between 18-49 years old, a demographic regarded as highly desirable by advertisers. In addition, the data says that 76 percent of readers are employed and that 1 in 10 are planning to buy a house or condo this year.

FUN FACTS ABOUT METRO READERS

1 in 5 plan to look for a new job this year

1 in 20 plan to get married this year.

25% belong to a gym/fitness club

67% own a smartphone

Your favorite beers are Corona, Bud Light and Heineken.

29% drank vodka in the past month, compared to 11%  which drank tequila.

39% attended a professional sports event in the last year

18% went to a Yankees game vs. 15% went to a Mets game

33%watched live theater in the past year

29% plan a trip outside of the United States this year

Metro readers spend $2,367 on vacation on average

45 percent visited a casino in the last year.

Source: Scarborough R1 2013

The post Metro dominates as the most-read free newspaper in the Big Apple appeared first on Metro.us.

Following a Daily News report of a Brooklyn narcotics officer receiving a promotion after costing the city more than $1.5 million in settlements, NYPD Police Commissioner Ray Kelly blasted the city for opting for settlements too frequently.

“The city is too willing to settle the case,” Kelly said to the Daily News. “We need a lot more trials and efforts to determine the true facts in many of these allegations.”

Some of the nearly 60 cases involving the narcotics officer involved racial profiling and slurs.

One of the lawsuits involved the beating of a man whose son was watching.

The City Council has been discussing legislation that would great more stringent anti-profiling laws, which opponents say could open up the NYPD to frivolous lawsuits.

In a public safety address to NYPD captains recently, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said these lawsuits would result in officers spending time in courtrooms when they could be out on the streets keeping the city safe.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

The post Kelly: city is ‘too willing’ to settle lawsuits against NYPD appeared first on Metro.us.

Three men were indicted today on drug trafficking charges after investigators New York State Police Special Investigations Unit traced a drug trail from a handoff in the Bronx on April 9, to a stash house in Corona, Queens.

The investigation yielded approximately 10 pounds of heroin and nine pounds of crystal meth.

The meth is valued at about $960,000, and that amount of heroin could be sold for more than $1 million on the street.

New York State Police Superintendent Joseph D’Amico said the drug trafficking ring “poured literally pounds of deadly, illicit drugs into the streets of Queens and beyond.”

A search of the Queens stash house uncovered a ledger pertaining to “ice” transaction, $2,000 hidden inside a vent, and supplies for making meth, including masks, grinders, a kilo-press and a scale.

Investigators believe the meth originated from “megalabs” in Mexico. One of the types of heroin they found os known as “black tar” and apparently comes from Mexico as well.

According to State Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan, the bust and seizure are “typical of a pattern” in narcotics investigations throughout the city.

Brennan believes that the presence of meth in the city is an indication that Mexican cartels are trying to “promote the use and addiction to crystal meth” here.

According to the Department of Health, emergency room visited related to meth more than doubled between 2004 and 2011, jumping from 214 to 576.

The post Over $2 million in heroin and crystal meth seized in drug trafficking bust appeared first on Metro.us.

Wanda Hernandez is one of many New Yorkers with HIV struggling to pay rent and for basic needs. Bess Adler, Metro

Every month, Wanda Hernandez considers whether to use her cash for bills, rent or possibly medical care.

Having lived for 15 years with HIV, Hernandez, 50, has chronic pain blocking her from work. But the largest chunk of her disability assistance goes toward the $1,000 rent for her 1-bedroom in the Bronx, near Arthur Avenue.

“I have to choose between paying my Con Ed or my rent, basically,” she told Metro.

She is one of many HIV patients who use have to use more than 70 percent of their disability income on rent, according to a new study by VOCAL-NY, which helps people with HIV/AIDS, and the Urban Justice Center’s Community Development Project.

As a result, thousands become homeless, unable to afford rent checks, the Friday report said.

Study organizers say that a state bill would protect them by ensuring they pay no more than 30 percent of their disability income toward affordable housing rent.

In the study, more than two-thirds of people said they decided between rent and necessities like medical care in the six months before losing their apartment.

And one in three struggled to pay medical expenses, the study revealed.

“Those living with HIV/AIDS should not have to choose between their medication and housing,” Assemblyman Robert Rodriguez said.

After rent, Hernandez has about $340 monthly, she said, or about $12 a day — scraped together for food, utilities and unexpected expenses like recently dropping her phone in the toilet.

She can’t get to her medical appointments sometimes because she can’t afford the Metrocard.

Con Ed shut off her lights last week, she said, and she faces a hearing Tuesday about possible eviction.

“I am very petrified,” she said. “I don’t know what the outcome is going to be.”

Before, she worked two places, going from an administrative assistant position to a bar job at night. Now, she is not sure how to move forward.

“I haven’t broken down yet,” she said. “It doesn’t mean that I’m superwoman, but I do have my point, when I break down.”

The post HIV/AIDS patients in NYC forced to choose between paying for rent or basic needs appeared first on Metro.us.

Assemblyman Vito Lopez will resign in June, according to news reports.

But his promise to step down at the end of the session only ignited more calls for him to leave  – immediately.

In a statement today, he said he would resign June 20.

According to The New York Times, Lopez suggested he would finish this session in office then run for the City Council.

The move comes after Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said he would recommend expelling Lopez from the legislature.

Lopez was censured last year after sexual harassment allegations surfaced. This week, a new report detailed his alleged behavior, including accounts of incidents with multiple women who worked for him. The report detailed asking staffers to give him massages and wear revealing clothing, among other requests.

Many have criticized Lopez as well as other lawmakers’ actions regarding him, including reported secret settlements after the allegations.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said today that the situation required “a zero tolerance policy.”

“We must now send a clear message that this behavior is not tolerated,” Cuomo said. “Vito Lopez should not spend another day in office, let alone a whole month. He should resign effective immediately and if he does not, he must be expelled.”

The National Organization for Women released a statement saying he should be expelled immediately “to ensure a sexual predator is removed from office.”

“Sexual predators should not be casting votes on legislation that impacts women’s lives,” the group said.

And city officials said he will not have an easy time running for City Council. The Speaker, Christine Quinn, told the Times his candidacy was “one of the most offensive things I have ever seen happen in New York City politics.”

His rival Council candidate,  Antonio Reynoso, added,  ”Vito Lopez clearly does not deserve to hold public office.”

The post Vito Lopez will resign, but not fast enough for many officials appeared first on Metro.us.

Cops are looking for a man wearing a suit who tried to rob a Midtown bank in broad daylight.

According to police, on Wednesday just after 10 a.m., a man entered the Bank of America on Third Avenue near 54th Street and passed a note demanding cash.

He fled without any money, cops said.

Police described the suspect as male, black, about 20 to 30 years old, 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-10 and about 160 to 180 pounds.

He was last seen in a black suit, white shirt with a tie, brown hat and glasses, they said.

Anyone with info should call 800-577-TIPS.

The post Cops search for suit-wearing Midtown attempted bank robber appeared first on Metro.us.

The couple whose children were murdered last year have a piece of good news – they are expecting a baby.

The city was shocked when Marina and Kevin Krim’s two children were killed, allegedly by their nanny, last fall.

Lucia and Leo Krim were 6 and 2 when they were murdered in their Upper West Side apartment in October.

The couple said yesterday they are expecting a baby boy in the fall, on a page devoted to a fund in honor of their children.

“We are very happy to let you know that Marina is expecting a baby in the fall,” they wrote. “Nessie can’t wait to welcome her new baby brother. We are filled with many emotions as we look to the future, but the most important one is hope.”

The family previously spoke through a website about their grief and healing.

The post Krim family expecting another baby appeared first on Metro.us.

Officials urged gay men to get vaccinated against meningitis after an outbreak in the city.

The Health Department reported that 17 cases have been reported since 2012, and 22 cases since 2010.

Seven of those cases were fatal, according to the Health Department.

Officials are worried that the danger will spread further.

“The meningitis outbreak in New York City is literally a life and death matter,” Assembly member Micah Kellner said.

LGBT advocates and elected officials are urging people to get vaccinated immediately

“Men who have sex with men should protect themselves from this potentially fatal disease,” City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said.

To find a location to get vaccinated, call 311.

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After a series of anti-gay attacks in Manhattan, city and state legislators are joining homeless gay youth in an interactive theater performance based on the real-life experiences of the teens involved.

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  Homeless LGBTQ youth rehearse for Theatre of the Oppressed festival

The “legislative performance” is part of a theater festival presented by Theatre of the Oppressed NYC that will take place this Saturday and Sunday, May 18 and 19, at the Church of St. Luke in the Field in Greenwich Village. The legislators’ performance will be on Saturday at 2 p.m.

City Councilmembers Daniel Dromm, Jimmy Van Bramer and Rosie Mendez, City Council Candidate Corey Johnson and New York State Senator Brad Hoylman will join three homeless LGBTQ teen acting ensembles from three local shelters geared at LGBTQ youth: The Ali Forney Center, The Door, and the Hetrick-Martin Institute.

The teens will also be joined on stage by a U.S. Housing and Urban Development policy analyst, Homeless Coordinator Samuel Miller and Department of Justice Regional Director Reinaldo Rivera. 

The plays will deal with the issues that the homeless LGBTQ teens face. Katy Rubin, the 27-year-old founder of both the festival and Theatre of the Opressed NYC, said that one of the main topics is the shortage of shelter beds that are safe for LGBTQ youth and being victims of hate crimes in non-LGBTQ shelters for youth.

There are only 80 bed available in LGBTQ-friendly shelters in New York City, for an estimated 1,800 homeless gay teens.

Some of the teens rehearsing. Clockwise from top: Sophie Nimmannit, TONYC Joker, Member of Door Troupe, Kendall (floor). Credit: Theatre of the Oppressed.

The performances in the festival are interactive: the teens act out a scene and then invite the audience onstage to improv, act out, and brainstorm solutions to the issues portrayed in the scene. At the performance involving legislators, the audience’s ideas will be shaped into policy proposals by the legislators, and the audience will vote on the proposals.

In a similar festival in Brazil, this kind of Legislative Theatre has led to policy changes in education, prison rights, and civil rights, Rubin said.

The performance, as well as all other performances and panel discussions in the festival, are free of charge and open to the public.

“We really want everybody’s voice to be part of the dialogue,” Rubin said.

Legislative Theatre Performance

Saturday, May 18 at 2 p.m.

The Church of St. Luke in the Fields

487 Hudson Street

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

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A Papa John’s delivery man delivered not pies, but up to $27,500 in cocaine, prosecutors said today.

Cops charged Ramon Rodriguez with delivering cocaine – and even sometimes pizza – in a pizza box while working for Papa John’s.

Officials said he sold cocaine at least 19 times to an undercover cop in Brooklyn.

They arrested him yesterday while he was selling a kilo of cocaine for $27,500 to an undercover officer, according to the Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s office.

Dressed in his uniform, he would meet the undercover officer in front of the Sunset Park pizza shop, officials said.

They said he would go inside the store, then come back with a bag with cocaine and an insulated pizza box to hide it.

He was on the job at least part of the time he was selling drugs, prosecutors said – he wore his uniform and told the cops he was interrupting pizza deliveries to bring them drugs.

The post Officials bust Papa John’s worker who delivered pizza with ‘coke’ appeared first on Metro.us.

The Taxi of Tomorrow just hit a road bump.

A judge ruled against the new plan for taxis Wednesday, saying the city’s own codes do not approve the planned ride.

According to The New York Times, a judge ruled that it did not provide a hybrid option as required.

City codes require that officials approve a hybrid option.

The Nissan NV200, which boasts transparent roof panels, would be the new face of the 13,000 cabs.

Taxi and Limousine Commission chair David Yassky said the ruling would not affect the rollout.

“The TLC is acting immediately to ensure that taxi owners will continue to have the option to purchase a hybrid vehicle,” he said in a statement to Metro. “This ruling will not delay the ToT’s implementation.”

The Greater New York Taxi Association had filed the lawsuit against the city’s plans.

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New Jersey and New York might not agree on a lot of things, but they now agree on what age people should purchase tobacco.

New Jersey legislators will also attempt to raise the minimum age requirement to buy tobacco products from 19 to 21, as New York lawmakers promised to do last month.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said preventing youth smoking is now “a regional effort.”

New Jersey state senator Richard J. Codey, who will sponsor the bill, said the joint effort would make it impossible to cross state lines to purchase cigarettes underage.

“Neighboring states need to work together and that is what we are doing today,” he said.

About 14 percent of New Jersey high school students smoke, according to a 2010 study. In New York, the youth smoking rate has been at 8.5 percent since 2007.

“I am grateful that New Jersey is taking our proposal a step further to protect youth from the harmful health effects of smoking,” Quinn said.

The Council is expected to approve the bill this summer, officials said.

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Service on the Rockaways line of the A train will finally resume at the end of this month, MTA officials announced Thursday.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that after Sandy hit, the MTA had to rebuild 1,500 feet of washed-out tracks, replace signals and wires, and rehabilitate two stations that had been flooded during the storm.

“The MTA did a remarkable job of restoring service following the storm and, at the end of this month, the A line in the Rockaways will be up and running,” he said.

Workers also installed a steel wall along two miles of Jamaica Bay to protect against future washouts, Cuomo said.

The MTA also announced they will solicit engineers and project managers to join a new division to plan for protecting stations against future floods.

The toll of the hurricane on the MTA was about $4.8 billion in damage, officials said.

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New York state ranks 10th in the country for dog attacks on postal workers, according to a new report.

The American Veterinary Medical Association reports that the state is 10th for most dog bites reported by mail carriers, citing United States Postal Service data.

Buffalo and Brooklyn tied for 11th on the list of cities with the most dog bite-related State Farm insurance claims, according to the company.

The city with the most attacks on postal workers was Los Angeles.

California also was top ranked for the state with the most insurance claims relating to dog bites.

Next week is National Dog Bite Prevention Week.

The AVMA advises against running past a dog, disturbing a dog caring for puppies or screaming if threatened by a canine.

“Dogs are wonderful, intelligent and loyal creatures, but they depend on responsible owners to teach them how to behave around people,” AVMA President Douglas G. Aspros said.

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Public Advocate Bill de Blasio unveiled a plan Thursday intended to promote the safety and economic involvement of immigrants in New York City.

The plan would eliminate bureaucratic obstacles faced by domestic violence victims, who are eligible for a special visa, lessen cooperation with the federal detention and deportation process, and eliminate the city’s Human Resources Administration’s mandate that sponsors of legal immigrants repay the city for assistance sought by the individuals they sponsor.

“Our city can’t be whole while hundreds of thousands of people are living in the shadows,” de Blasio said.

Karen Kaminsky at the New York Immigration Coalition called de Blasio’s proposals “common sense,” and said they “will contribute to rebuilding a sense of trust between the NYPD and the communities they serve.”

“NYC should not be in the business of helping deport people,” Kaminsky said.

De Blasio’s proposal includes legislation similar to that in Colorado, which would enable immigrants to get driver’s licenses and auto insurance, as well as legislation that currently exists or is being put in place in New Haven, San Francisco and Los Angeles, which would provide undocumented immigrants with municipal IDs, giving them access to city services.

“We’re seeing states and cities around the country take the lead in opening their doors,” de Blasio said. “New York City has to retake the mantel of the nation’s premier open city, that welcomes all immigrants and knits them into our civic life.”

Council members, including Daniel Dromm and Gale Brewer, recently proposed legislation to allow noncitizens to vote in municipal elections. While Mayor Michael Bloomberg has generally been a vocal proponent of immigrant rights, his office said they would not support such legislation because it conflicts with state law.

The Mayor’s Office of Immigration Affairs, established in 1984, is the only chartered immigrant affairs office in the country.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

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Some Stuy Town residents are considering a rent strike after they say their rent was increased before their leases expire.

According to NY1, about 1,300 residents of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village are upset because they recently received a notice upping their rent.

Some of the residents’ rent will jump past one thousand dollars, according to NY1.

This news comes after a lawsuit was settled about apartments being stripped of rent stabilization.

“Effectively it’s an eviction notice,” one resident told the news station.

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Red Hook will welcome a free ferry service between its businesses and Manhattan this summer.

The free Red Hook Summer Ferry service will begin May 25, running from Pier 11 in Manhattan to Van Brunt Street and then to IKEA, officials announced today.

“Every weekend all summer long, folks can hop on the IKEA ferry for free and hop off at a brand-new stop in Red Hook to spend the day and night sampling the neighborhood’s great small businesses,” Quinn said.

When the program launched, it only ferried people between IKEA and Pier 11. With the expanded service, officials expect a ferry to arrive every 25 minutes, less than the 40 minutes now.

Hopefully, officials say, this will bring more residents to Sandy-affected businesses in Red Hook.

“Hurricane Sandy hit the Red Hook community hard, and that’s why we’re making it easier than ever for New Yorkers to get to small businesses in the area,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

The service starts at 10 a.m., running through 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sundays from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, including holiday Mondays.

Local business owners lauded the new way to bring visitors, from the five boroughs or even overseas, to their doorstep.

“We learned that the East River can bring heartache, devastation and loss of business, but if the ferry lands at VanBrunt Street this summer, the East River will also be responsible for bringing profits back to businesses and the assurance of survival and progress,” said Triciann Botta, who owns Botta di Vino in Red Hook.

The expansion comes the same week that the popular East River Ferry will reach 2 million total riders this week, officials said.

The post Officials announce new Red Hook ferry service from Manhattan to Van Brunt Street appeared first on Metro.us.

An exclusive NY Post report exposed a 34-year-old medieval-art expert as an alleged Peeping Tom.

NYU professor Ross Finocchio was reportedly video-recording women in the dressing rooms at Beacon’s Closet but placing his iPhone in a shoe and sliding it under the divider towards the neighboring changing room.

A 26-year-old alleged victim reportedly told the store manager she noticed him slip something under the door as she was getting dressed, and then she and the manager reportedly watched him do it to a second female.

The manager, Stephanie Williams, reportedly knocked on the door and told him he had to come out.

She told the Post that when he exited the the changing room, “he was sweating profusely.”

A co-worker reportedly called the police as Finocchio tried to justify his behavior.

Williams recounted him saying, “I’m so embarassed. I was recording myself for a project—if I could just explain myself.”

Finocchio is charged with unlawful surveillance which is a felony. He reportedly admitted to making the recordings.

An NYU spokesman reportedly said, “Until this matter is cleared up, he will not be assigned to any duties that involves contact with students.”

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

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