Deadly fire caused by e-bike battery charger

Illegal conversion of a basement garage + Charging an e-bike battery = death trap. And it was the family's first day living in the house.

Rest in peace, Remi

From NBC:

A 9-year-old boy has died following a building fire in Queens early Wednesday.

The flames broke out around 2 a.m. in a three-story building on 102nd Road near Liberty Avenue in Ozone Park. Ten other people were rescued from the structure with minor injuries and the young boy was the only fatality, the FDNY said.

The boy has been identified as Remi Miguel Gomez Hernandez, police said.

It's unclear how the fire started but officials say it possibly began in the building's basement.

When you see something like this after a fire, it means the FDNY found something disturbing:

I'm sure BdB will do something about this as soon as he gets off the Times Square Ferris Wheel.

Flushing fire kills 2 at house with history of problems

From CBS 2:

Two people were killed in an overnight house fire in Queens.

Authorities have confirmed the victims were a father and his young son whose twin brother survived.

As CBS2’s John Dias reports, the Flushing home was destroyed in the fire.

Police confirmed a 6-year-old boy died in the fire, along with a 65-year-old man. Neighbors told Dias it’s a father and his son.

Cellphone video shows flames shooting out of the home at 45-54 157th Street in Flushing, Queens.

It all happened just after 1 a.m

So unbelievably tragic. What could have happened?

Nothing to see here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Update

NY Daily News

The home was in the middle of various repairs, with blue tarps covering part of the building. It’s not clear if the renovations played a role in the blaze, but last February a contractor linked to the home settled a case with the city, apparently paying a fine after being cited for an unstable shed constructed in the driveway.

Department of Buildings records said the shed and backyard were filled with household debris and tools scattered about.

 

Bipolar homeless man attacked a child in front of his house

NY Post

 A homeless man with a history of mental illness randomly attacked a 6-year-old boy in front of his grandparent’s house in Queens on Thursday afternoon, seriously injuring the boy, police and sources said.

The child was sitting on the steps of his grandparent’s house on Metropolitan Avenue near 123rd Street in Kew Gardens at about 5 p.m. when the vagrant walked into their driveway, said Rabbi Naftali Portnoy, the boy’s grandfather.

The 35-year-old vagrant then grabbed the child, picked him up and threw him to the concrete, slamming his face on the ground, police said.

His brother rushed into the house and told his grandfather about the attack.

Portnoy called 911 and tailed the vagrant, who was shirtless, while he walked away from the scene down Metropolitan Avenue.

Cops arrived soon after and arrested the suspect, who sat down on the street and said, “I’m bipolar,” the grandfather explained.

The kid was rushed to Cohen Children’s Medical Center and treated for hemorrhaging to the brain and facial contusions, a source said.

Quick First Lady McCray, send some simps to hand out Thrive pamphlets on Metropolitan Ave.

House fire started by lit candle kills a child and injures six other children living in converted apartment in attic.

 

NY Post


An 8-year-old Queens boy died Sunday when the illegally converted attic apartment were he lived was engulfed in a massive blaze — which also injured six others, including two of the youngster’s brothers, who leaped out a window to escape, officials and neighbors said.

Tighani Jones — who went by “Tiggy” and “Ti – Ti” — was found unresponsive by firefighters who arrived at the blaze at the two-story building on 160th Avenue in Springfield Gardens at 2:28 a.m. to find a deadly inferno.

“The second-floor was fully engulfed in fire when we arrived,” said FDNY Battalion Chief Pat Ginty. “Two children jumped to survive.”

Neighbor Travis Lewis, 18, said he could hear screams from the home.

“Then a burst of fire [came] out of the side of the house. Then glass started breaking cause people jumped out windows around back,” he said.

“The family was running up and down the street screaming. They just escaped… They were bleeding from breaking the glass and jumping out the windows.

“They came to sit here, you can see the blood. I was lost for words.”

A department of buildings inspection said there was an apartment built illegally in the attic where Tighani was found unresponsive.

The building’s owner, who was cited for the construction violations, didn’t respond to a message. The FDNY said a smoke alarm was present but was not working.

A child drew those swastikas on that school playground

 

Forest Hills Post



A 12-year-old boy has been arrested for scrawling swastikas and other anti-Semitic symbols on a Rego Park playground last week.

The boy, whose name has not been released, was charged yesterday with aggravated harassment, according to news reports.

The boy allegedly drew dozens of swastikas and messages such as “Heil Hitler (sic)” in chalk over the school yard at P.S. 139, located at 93-06 63rd Dr.

 “Truly unbelievable,” Council Member Karen Koslowitz wrote on twitter. “I am shocked that a 12-year-old committed this crime. It’s completely unacceptable and has no place in society.”

 

Cellar murder story’s twist

From NBC:

The father of two toddlers who were found seriously hurt in their Queens home last week — one of whom later died — jumped to his death from a Midtown hotel, police sources said.

Mohammad Reza Torabi, the father of the 1-year-old twins, was found dead Saturday after jumping from the Renaissance New York Hotel 57 on East 57th Street, according to police sources.

Police had been interested in questioning Torabi about the incident prior to his death, the sources said.

They're always cited after it's too late

From CBS 2:

The New York City Department of Buildings on Friday ordered a Brooklyn laundromat to remove an illegal parking where a young girl was fatally struck by a vehicle last month.

Residents say they’ve complained about the parking lot before because cars have no driveway across to the street, forcing people to drive perilously onto the sidewalk to park.

The DOB called for the immediate removal of the parking lot, which the NYPD already has blocked off.

DOB records reveal that this laundromat was established in 2002. Since that time, the DOB has been visiting to cite the owner for an elevator violation. I guess they failed to notice the parking lot on the way in for all these years.

Cigarette, non-functional alarm cause of child's death

From PIX 11:

Smoking caused the Queens apartment fire that killed a 12-year-old boy on Sunday, according to the FDNY.

Fire marshals reported that the cause of the fire was accidental and related to smoking. The building's smoke alarm was also not operational.

Slumlord busted for tenant harassment

From the Daily News:

A Brooklyn landlord has become the first person arrested under a new city-state campaign to go after property owners who threaten and harass rent-stabilized tenants, Mayor de Blasio and state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced Wednesday.

Daniel Melamed, 39, was indicted on charges of unlawful eviction, child endangerment and filing false documents in harassment of rent-protected tenants at the Crown Heights building he owns.

The mayor and Schneiderman formed a task force to go after landlords who illegally force out rent-stabilized tenants so they can jack up the rent.

The charges involve a Melamed building on Union St. where he began illegal construction and demolition last year.

The indictment alleges he knocked down interior walls and destroyed common spaces, and illegally shut off heat to rent-stabilized tenants as temperatures plummeted in December.

He also exposed tenants -- including a 6-year-old -- to toxic lead paint dust. In some apartments the dust tested at 80 times above acceptable levels, the indictment alleges.

Falling bricks kill a baby

From the Daily News:

An adorable 2-year-old girl who was hit when bricks rained down from a crumbling Upper West side building died Monday, police sources said.

Greta Greene was sitting with her grandmother when she was struck by the terra-cotta bricks that fell from the 8th floor of 305 West End Ave. Sunday, the sources said.

The Esplanade was hit with two Department of Building complaints right after the incident. Department of Building inspectors said the owner failed "to maintain the property in safe and code-compliant manner."

Child dies in New Year's fire

From the NY Post:

A raging home fire killed a seven-year-old boy in Queens on Wednesday morning, police sources said.

The blaze began in a fireplace at the East Elmhurst home, on 90th Street near 31st Avenue streets, then grew out of control at around 9 a.m., fire department officials said.

The boy’s 13-year-old brother suffered second degree burns and was rushed to Cornell Hospital, according to cops.

Bars on the windows of the home may have caused the boys to be trapped inside, police sources said.

I suppose "2 FLR IS BEING RENTED AS SRO'S, ALSO WALLS ERECTED ON THE 1FLR, NO PERMITS" was also a factor.

Conflicting info about safer or more dangerous streets

I'm going to throw a bunch of links up and allow you to make heads or tails of the data.

Mayor Bloomberg's aggressive traffic policies have caused massive drop in traffic deaths - Daily News. Subheadline: "Widened sidewalks, redesigned intersections and speed zones have brought traffic deaths down by more than 30% since Hizzoner took office."

Could it be that fewer people are dying in car accidents because cars have been made safer for drivers and passengers and not because of Bloomberg or Sadik-Khan? Unless they are talking about pedestrians, which would make the following headline from the same paper more curious:

Elmhurst Hospital doctors say pedestrian injuries are continuing to rise in Queens" - Daily News. Quote: The hospital recorded 296 pedestrian injury cases in 2012, up from 275 the previous year and the highest number in a decade. Figures are not yet available for 2013. The hot spots for accidents in the area — Queens Blvd., Roosevelt Ave. and Northern Blvd. — would come as a surprise to nobody.

Bayside Patch reports that as a whole and compared to other states, NY state drivers are average.

Yet the NY Post reports that DWI deaths in NYC have - get this - doubled since last year. What's the deal with that? We've had DWI education programs in place since the 1980s...

Drunk driving aside, the observant among us have seen pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists all do stupid things and take unnecessary risks, mainly because everyone in this city is in such a damn hurry for some reason.

And then think about the series of really bad choices by various people that led up to this past Friday's tragedy and yesterday's deadly accident in Woodside.

Police have been cracking down on bad motorists lately, but it never seems to be enough.

This is complicated stuff, and no matter how "improved" things appear to be, there is still a lot of bad stuff happening, with plenty of blame to go around.

Queens kids missing

From NBC:

Police are looking for a 12-year-old Queens boy who disappeared on his way home from school Tuesday.

Authorities say Gerardo Ramos was last seen at about 2 p.m. Tuesday walking home from I.S. 204 on 28th Street. Police say he has no history of running away.

The Astoria boy is about 5'1" tall and 105 pounds with brown eyes and short black hair. He was last seen wearing a brown coat, grey sweater, blue jeans, and blue and gray sneakers.

Anyone with information about Ramos' whereabouts is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).

UPDATE: The boy was found unharmed.

From the Village Voice:

​Angela Zheng, a 16-year-old Queens resident, left her house around 7 a.m. Friday -- and never returned.

Now, cops want your help finding her.

They say the 5-4, 110-pound teenager left her home at 225-14 59th Avenue at 6:40 a.m.

Zheng, who has black hair, was last seen at that address, and was sporting a blue jacket with fur trim, blue jeans, and a black sweatshirt before her disappearance.

Zheng, who is Asian, also wears glasses and braces on her teeth. Zheng, cops say, is in good mental and physical health.

From the Queens Courier:

Police are asking for the public’s help finding a Flushing teen that went missing Tuesday, December 13.

Pascal Chiu, 15, was last seen near Francis Lewis High School at approximately 2 p.m. this past Tuesday. Chiu is 5-feet-4-inches tall, weighs 120 pounds and was last seen wearing a red jacket, blue jeans and white sneakers.

Seeking Forest Park rape suspect

From A Walk in the Park:

The New York City Police Department is seeking the public's assistance in identifying the following individual wanted in connection with an Attempted Rape that occurred within the confines of the 102 Precinct.

On Wednesday, September 7, 2011 at 10:00am, in the vicinity of Park Lane South and Myrtle Avenue inside of Forest Park, a female white, age-13 reported that she was approached from behind by the suspect who placed his hand over her mouth; threw her to the ground and attempted to pull her shorts down. The victim screamed and fought off the suspect who then fled the location.

Suspect Description:

Male white 30-35, approximately 5'10"-6'0" in height, 190-220 lbs with light brown scruffy facial hair. The suspect was last seen wearing a blue baseball cap, navy blue windbreaker type jacket and tan khaki cargo shorts.

Vibrant and diverse voodoo granny

From CBS:

A New York City grandmother of a 6-year-old girl who was severely burned in a voodoo ritual has admitted she did nothing to stop it.

Sylvenie Thessier, of Queens, pleaded guilty Wednesday to endangering the welfare of a child. Under a plea deal, she faces three years in prison.

Prosecutors said the child’s mother, Marie Lauradin, sprayed the girl with rum and set her on fire in June 2009 to rid her of evil spirits.

They said the 71-year-old grandmother later doused the girl with water and put her to bed without seeking medical help.

The girl’s mother was set to go on trial on charges of assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

Hiram Monserrate: Father of the Year

From the Daily News:

Hiram Monserrate is so deep in debt he wants to stiff his autistic son and ex-wife on child support, the Daily News has learned.

The disgraced ex-pol - who can't even cover his legal bills - has asked Manhattan Family Court to "modify" his monthly payments to his 14-year-old kid, his former wife said.

"He's trying to use his son's child support to write off his other debts," Janet Monserrate, 40, said Wednesday. "He has no attachment to anyone; he only cares about his ego."

Monserrate, 43, pleaded poverty last month to Family Court Magistrate Karen Kolomechuk, stating that his sole income has been a $26,000 police pension since he was kicked out of the state Senate after his misdemeanor conviction for assaulting his girlfriend, Karla Giraldo.

He also claimed a bad back has kept him from finding work.

Kolomechuk initially denied the ex-cop's request. But then she agreed to consider it at a hearing this month, asking Monserrate to bring tax forms, medical proof of his injury and other paperwork in support of lowered payments.

Currently, Monserrate pays $1,100 a month in child support.

His ex-wife said if his payment modification request is granted, the new child support based on his pension would drop to about $400 a month.

"He's not looking for employment," Janet Monserrate said.

"This is a man who cares mainly about what people think. He won't work in a Home Depot, he won't work at a supermarket, he won't work two, three jobs to pay child support."

Attempted kidnapping in Flushing

From NY1:

Police in Queens are on the lookout for two men who tried to abduct a 13-year-old girl earlier this week.

Investigators say the teen was walking near the corner of Barclay Avenue and Union Street in Flushing around 6:15 p.m. Wednesday when a black, four-door sedan with tinted windows pulled up next to her.

One of the men tried to pull her inside, but she managed to break free.

Police say both men are in their 40s. One of the suspects was seen wearing a blue and orange Mets jacket.

2 bad car accidents today

From the NY Post:

An elderly motorist plowed her Mercedes Benz into a Queens Kosher grocery today, mowing down a customer and giving everyone else in the store the scare of their lives.

From Eyewitness News:

A mother and her two kids were struck by a car as they crossed a street in Woodhaven, Queens.

The accident happened just before 6 p.m. as the three were walking across 101st Avenue.

The car was heading north on 81st Street, made a left turn, and hit them.

The mother and her 2-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter were all rushed to Jamaica Hospital.

The 5-year-old girl is in extremely critical condition.

The mother and her son are in stable condition.

There is no criminality suspected.

Ridgewood bus driver finds abandoned toddler

NEW YORK (CBS 2) — A quick thinking bus driver jumped into action after making an alarming discovery while on the job.

As William Allan started his shift around 4 a.m. Wednesday morning along Putnam Avenue in Ridgewood, Queens, he spotted a 2-year-old boy, wandering on the sidewalk.

“I noticed out of the corner of my eye there’s a small child standing here, unclothed and shivering. Immediately I stopped the bus and I came around…he immediately saw me and put his arms up in the air and started crying,” Allan told CBS 2′s Cindy Hsu. “I immediately picked the child up and called 911.”

Allan took the little boy, who was dressed only in his underwear, into his warm bus and waited for police.

When police arrived, they started searching for the boy’s family. Just a few doors down, authorities found an open apartment door where the child’s 1-year-old brother was asleep in a crib with no adults home.

The next door neighbor said just a few months ago, he found the two boys alone on their front stoop.