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Weiner Might Get Early Prison Release; Serving Time for Sexting Underage Girl

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Perverted former Congressman Anthony Weiner, 54, is reportedly set to be released early for good conduct roughly a year after he began his 21-month prison sentence for sexting with an underage girl.

Weiner, the New York Post remarks, “who has failed at being a husband, at sex rehab and at politics because of his uncontrollable urges — has managed to be a model inmate at the Federal Medical Center in Devens, Mass., according to the federal Bureau of Prisons.”

Prison records show he is scheduled to be released in May 2019, three months ahead of his scheduled release date in August 2019.

“If the Queens Democrat ends up getting sprung early, it will be his first success in close to a decade,” the Post continues. “Weiner’s dramatic and seemingly never-ending fall from grace kicked off in 2011, when he resigned from Congress after it emerged he had been sending photos of his privates to women online.”

Weiner, of course, has been involved in multiple sex scandals related to sexting. The first scandal began when Weiner was a Democratic U.S. Congressman. He used the social media website Twitter to send a link that contained a sexually suggestive picture of himself to a 21-year-old woman. After initially denying reports that he had posted the image, he admitted that he sent a link to the photo. He also sent additional sexually explicit photos and messages to women before and during his marriage. He denied ever having met or having had a physical relationship with any of the women. On June 16, 2011, Weiner announced his intention to resign from Congress effective June 23.

Weiner returned to politics in April 2013 when he entered the New York City mayoral race. After additional pictures of Weiner were released, Weiner admitted sexting at least three women since his resignation from Congress. He remained in the race until the end, placing fifth in the Democratic primary.

Following a report from the Daily Mail in September 2016, the FBI investigated Weiner for sexting with a 15-year-old girl. His laptop was seized and emails related to the Hillary Clinton email controversy were found on it, causing a controversy late in the presidential election. On May 19, 2017, Weiner pled guilty to one count of transferring obscene material to a minor. His wife, Huma Abedin, filed for divorce prior to Weiner’s guilty plea. In September, he was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison. On November 6, 2017, Weiner began his sentence at Federal Medical Center, Devens, in Ayer, Massachusetts.

Weiner has proven to be a favorite target of now-President Donald Trump going all the way back to 2012. Among Trump’s tweets:

  • I knew disgusting and unwanted porn star @REPWEINER was a sleazebag the first time I met him. Thank goodness he was revealed (so to speak).
  • Degenerate former Congressman Anthony Weiner is trying to make a comeback. He is a sick & perverted man that New York does not want or need.
  • Keep an eye on Anthony Weiner. Weasels are hard to get rid of.
  • Pervert alert. @RepWeiner is back on twitter. All girls under the age of 18, block him immediately.
  • Scary thought—what is the pervert Anthony Weiner doing with all the free time he has. Does he collect unemployment?
  • Weiner says many more pictures may be out there—this is just what NYC needs, a pervert Mayor.

By Howard M. Riell

Wife of NY Art Mogul David Mugrabi Claims He “Tussled” With Her Over Sculpture

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Trouble in paradise, as a billionaire art bigshot vies with his estranged wife over an alleged “tussle.”

Libbie Mugrabi — the estranged wife of David Mugrabi — presented a Keith Haring sculpture as evidence in a Manhattan courtroom last Friday as what she hoped would be proof of her husband’s rough treatment of her over the half-million-dollar art object.

“A friend of the divorcing couple testified in court on Friday that Libbie feared for her life after a tug of war over the prized Haring sculpture,” the New York Post reported. “Libbie said, ‘Don’t go! He’s going to kill me!’ ” the pal, Lauren Amar, said. Then David “charged at Libbie and to that sculpture,” Amar added, referring to the 20-inch-high Haring piece.

“They were both wrestling with it, tussling with it,” Amar testified. “He said, ‘You’re taking my things!’ ”Then, “Libbie ended up on the floor and yelled for her sister to call 911,” Amar recalled about the July 10 incident in the dressing room of the couple’s East 85th Street apartment,” according to the Post. “Amar said David then shoved her out of the apartment and repeatedly pushed the door into his 102-pound wife.”

According to ArtNet News, the Mugrabi collection was started in the 1980s by David’s father, Jose Mugrabi. David’s brother, Alberto “Tico” Mugrabi, who married fashion blogger Colby Jordan two years ago, is also a prominent art dealer. “Their holdings are known to feature the likes of Pablo Picasso, Auguste Rodin, Damien Hirst, George Condo, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Jeff Koons, as well as the world’s foremost collection of works by Pop art legend Andy Warhol, rumored to be in excess of 1,000 pieces.”

“We collect art, and my husband’s a dealer so we live with a lot of art at home,” Libbie told Resident magazine, which described her as an “art consultant,” last October. “I love being part of the art world.” The magazine noted that the couple’s dining room was lined with “Flower” paintings by Andy Warhol.

David has reportedly been ordered by the court to pay Libbie $25,000 a month in spousal and child support, the news publication reported. “That figure does not include tuition for the couple’s two children, who attend private school. Libbie is reportedly living in their home in Water Mill, while the couple also owns a recently renovated home on Manhattan’s East 82nd Street. David’s lawyer, Lois Liberman, declined to comment on the case to artnet News, citing a gag order. Libbie’s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.”

By Andrew Blodgett Mayfair

Rabbi Earning City Salary of $100K as Liaison for School Buses Under Scrutiny

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The New York Post is reporting that an Orthodox rabbi who earns a city salary of almost $100,000 as a so-called “yeshiva liaison” for school buses also has the use of a government car with which he commutes both to and from his home in Brooklyn, as well as $59,000-a-year driver and assistant.

Orthodox Rabbi Moshe Ausfresser, age 75, works just four days a week, co-workers told the Post. He reportedly takes all day Friday off for the Sabbath, even though it doesn’t begin until just before sundown.

“His personal assistant, Shersheial Borisute, chauffeurs the rabbi between his Borough Park home and the Office of Pupil Transportation in Long Island City, co-workers said,” the Post reported. “Borisute drops the rabbi off at the front door, then parks the car in a lot before going inside. The DOE called Borisute a “transportation coordinator,” but colleagues say he just drives and assists the rabbi — even fetching his lunch. “He coordinates the rabbi’s transportation,” one charged.”

The OPT, a unit of the Department of Education, oversees bus transportation for 150,000 kids in public, private and religious schools.

The office has come under fire since September, the Post’s Susan Edelman wrote. “An OPT hotline has received 135,685 calls so far this year, including complaints about late or no-show buses, compared to 114,346 last year. And whistleblowers charged that supervisors have let bus companies hire drivers without adequate background checks.”

The Post has reported that several OPT employees commute in city-issued cars but do little or no field work, which the rules require. “We take allegations of misuse very seriously and this matter is being investigated,” said DOE spokeswoman Miranda Barbot, who refused to discuss specific employees.

The newspaper has also reported that Chancellor Richard Carranza has fired an official who oversaw busing and food service, Eric Goldstein, and on Friday accepted the resignation of ex-deputy chancellor Elizabeth Rose, who supervised Goldstein.

“Ausfresser, who joined the education department in 2007, is the only OPT employee who serves a single religious group,” the story continues. “His current salary is $98,646, the DOE said, but records show he collected $101,873 in fiscal year 2017. Borisute, who joined the DOE in 2016, makes $58,922 — about the same or more than investigators who probe alleged misconduct by bus drivers and escorts.”

Ausfresser “demands immediate attention to yeshiva problems, and insists that bus drivers be removed, even if unwarranted,” according to co-workers quoted in the Post article. “When there’s an issue, he wants it done right way — drop everything,” one said. The rabbi also goes up the DOE chain for favors, but doesn’t always get what he wants, staffers said. In one case, a yeshiva student reported a lost velvet bag used to hold prayer shawls. The rabbi claimed it was found near a bus yard. “The rabbi wanted to make a hate crime out of it,” a co-worker said. “He even went to the police.”

By Howard Riell

Cuomo Announces $13B in Renovations for JFK Airport Improvement Plans

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been big on shiny infrastructure projects, including the opening of the second span of the new bridge replacement for the old Tappan Zee Bridge. The governor has also talked before about the need to update and innovate the city airports, especially after former Vice President Joe Biden described La Guardia Airport as a “third-world country.”

While plans for a new and improved John F. Kennedy Airport have been in the works, the public is finally getting some of the new details. The improvements to existing infrastructure will be major and noticeable, but the biggest detail from Cuomo’s plans would mean boosting the airport by giving it two new terminals, which would take up space from some current terminals.

The plans would come at a cost though, estimated at $13 billion now after originally being estimated at $10 billion. The airport is not only one of the busiest in the country, serving a mega metropolitan area, but it’s also the gateway into America for a number of international travelers. The governor sees a need to make sure that these people get a world-class experience as they arrive in America and New York, instead of arriving to find outdated and inefficient infrastructure keeping them stranded and confused out in southern Queens.

The renderings also released give a preview as well for some of the improvements that could come, with some ideas getting outside of the box to try and reimagine what the airport experience can be like.

The city boasts plenty of great park space, and Queens has the most parkland out of all the boroughs. The renderings right now show plans for High Line-like parks fit down to scale and spreads throughout the airport. Also included in renderings are Chelsea Market, Flushing Meadows’s iconic Unisphere, and sculptures meant to also feature some of the city’s most notable and memorable images. The airport will even have a so-called “Central Park,” area. There’s no guarantee that these ideas will all come to fruition, with the plans and renderings subject to change.

Terminal One Group will head up the task of putting together the terminal that will be at the southern end of the airport, closer to the beach than to Manhattan. A number of airlines make up the group, including Lufthansa, Air France, Japan Airlines, and Korea Air Lines. The project will

There is a planned expansion of the Van Wyck Expressway to ensure that more people can get to the airport and with less traffic. As a major thoroughfare, the expansion serves more than just people going to the airport. Locals will have to deal with construction and then a permanent increase in noise and air pollution from the increased capacity for transit.

No plans seem to be in place to incentivize or improve mass transit options. The Regional Planning Association’s Fourth Plan includes suggestions that could provide one-seat rides from midtown Manhattan that would only take about a half hour. The project, among other obstacles, heavily relies on reopening the decades-long abandoned Rockaway Beach branch right-of-way.

By: Linda Faya

Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Leaders in Glaring Conflict of Interest

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Memorial Sloan Kettering is at the center of some controversy coming after an investigative report showed three of its leaders have a glaring conflict of interest with Paige.AI. The three people include a member of the health system’s executive board, the chairman of its pathology department, and the head of one of its research laboratories. The equity stake they have in Paige.AI is what’s in question, and an additional three board members have investments with Paige.AI, The New York Times and ProPublica report.

Memorial Sloan Kettering offers its 25 million patient tissue slides and pathologist libraries to Paige.AI. This arrangement raises questions over whether such a deal creates an unfair advantage for Paige.AI. which some argue give Paige.AI an advantage over its competitors.

A letter written by President and CEO Craig Thompson and COO Kathryn Martin described why they believed there are “mischaracterizations included in the [New York Times/Propublica] article,” adding that “no patient tissue, patient slides or protected health information has been — or will be — used by, or shared with, Paige. AI.”

Pathologists working for Memorial Sloan Kettering weren’t buying that line of thinking though because of the appearance that it would be unfair to competitors. They were also worried about patient privacy issues.

Charitable foundations, like Memorial Sloan Kettering, need to show that they don’t provide assets to insiders for less than the fair market value.

“It just seems awfully coincidental that the individuals involved happen to be people in control and influence of that asset, and they ended up with an exclusive use of it,” Marcus Owens, a Washington lawyer who ran the IRS division that oversees tax-exempt organizations, said to the New York Times and ProPublica in their joint investigation. “It seems to create a cascading series of conflicts for the operation of Sloan Kettering.”

Memorial Sloan Kettering insists that offers were made to anyone on the outside before insiders could have their chances and that everything else was also done in compliance with all rules and regulations.

“This is an incredibly expensive undertaking — it needs a lot of money,” Dr. Gregory Raskin, the hospital’s vice president of technology development, said. “We feel this is a really valuable and important technology to get developed.”

“It just seems awfully coincidental that the individuals involved happen to be people in control and influence of that asset, and they ended up with an exclusive use of it,” Marcus S. Owens, a Washington lawyer with prior I.R.S. experience said. He specifically dealt with these kinds of entities during his time with the government. “It seems to create a cascading series of conflicts for the operation of Sloan Kettering.”

By: John Floyd

Unauthorized Torah Celebration in Boro Park Leaves One Person Arrested

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Celebration escorting Torah scroll turns ugly when NYPD orders unauthorized march to disperse. Police need additional units to handle riot

A festive celebration in New York’s haredi-dominated Borough Park community turned ugly after police ordered the unauthorized gathering to disperse.

On Sunday, a festive event was held to celebrate entering a new Torah scroll into the Dzebo Bais Hamedrash on 51nd Street between 15th and 16th Avenues. Called a ‘Hachnasat Sefer Torah’, the event involved thousands of Jews singing and dancing as they escort the new scroll into the sanctuary.

However, the event organizers had not received police approval for the large-scale event. Things turned ugly after law enforcement ordered the marchers to disperse for blocking traffic, deteriorating into a small riot.

As officers attempted to clear the street, they approached and commanded individual participants, who didn’t immediately respond to their instruction, according to the Matzav web site. Officers claim that they were obligated to ensure that the street remained opened and passable.

The site reported that officers made physical contact with pedestrians who they claim did not adhere to their verbal admonitions to stay out of the street. All the people that were involved were male onlookers. There was one female officer at the scene who attempted to handcuff the man that was eventually detained.

Nearby pedestrians yelled that the officer had instigated the altercation and that the man should be released, as was reported by Matzav. As events ensued, tens of people took out their cell phones and videotaped the melee, with some charging that they would use the video against the police as evidence of brutality.

The Matzav website reported that police traded fisticuffs with a hassidic man who was summarily arrested. Hundreds of yeshiva students later protested outside the 66th Precinct on 16th Avenue and 59th Street where he was being held, with officers being called a “Nazi” by the crowd.

In order to manage the chaos, police were forced to call in reinforcements as some Boro Park residents grew increasingly unruly.

Jewish community leaders pleaded for calm after the violence. “I’m concerned about the arrest of one of our citizens, but let’s not jump to conclusions just yet, I’m urging everyone to exercise restraint, we will get to the bottom of what happened,” tweeted New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind.

The Matzav site was told that an investigation into the incident is underway. Detectives will be examining footage from the incident to determine if the officers involved acted correctly. Charges against the individual who was arrested have not yet been announced.

“We’re just shocked by the chaos,” said one Chassidic woman. “Everyone knows that our community and the NYPD have a remarkable relationship. To see conflict like this was just so out of the ordinary and simply astounding. We respect the police greatly, but we also hope that proper measures were taken and that no one was treated unfairly. Time will tell.”

By: Tzvi Lev

Failing Scores of NYC Students on Writing Portion of State Exams Raises Concern

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The abysmal scoring of NYC students on state exams is raising concern over the level of education, and even doubt about whether the test results accurately portray students’ aptitude. A new study has revealed that NYC students are increasingly doing poorly on the writing portion of state exams. Fred Smith and Robin Jacobowitz utilized the Freedom of Information Law to forcefully obtain ELA test result data, and compiled a report entitled, “Tests are Turning our Children into Zeroes: A Focus on Failing.” As opposed to the multiple choice questions, the 9 or 10 open-ended writing questions on the exams require children to think critically and demonstrate their broader understanding of topics in the stories read. The report shows a steep increase in the number of “zeroes” students earned for the essay portion of the English Language Arts tests administered, for grades 3 through 8, by the state between 2013 and 2016. A score of zero meant a student wrote something “totally inaccurate,” “unintelligible,” or “indecipherable”, as these questions were supposed to be worth 2 to 4 points each.

“Its easier to fake a multiple-choice question,” said David Bloomfield, a Brooklyn College and CUNY Grad Center professor. “The lack of intelligible answers in the open-ended section is of particular concern. It raises the question of whether students are truly learning to become creative thinkers.”

As reported by the NY Post, in particular of roughly 78,000 NYC third-graders tested, the report found the number of students who scored zeroes on three or more written answers doubled from 14 percent in 2012 to 28 percent in 2013, the year when state tests were redesigned to suite the tougher Common Core standards. Over the next three years, though the third-graders were taught nothing but Common Core curriculum from kindergarten and up, they still scored zeroes at the same alarming rate. The number of test takers with three or more zeroes on the state exam was still 28 percent in 2014, and 29 percent in 2015. In 2016, the last year for which data was available, the state even removed time limits, but the difference was insignificant with 27 percent earning quadrupole zeroes.

The report also showed a widening of the racial achievement gap. The number of African American students scoring three or more zeroes was 10 percent higher than white pupils in 2013, but 18 percent higher in 2016. In that time frame, also the gap between Hispanic and White students expanded from 11 percent up to 20 percent.

The disappointing ELA results have the report authors Smith and Jacobowitz pointing a finger at the test makers, and questioning how well suited the questions are for the grade level. “We conclude that testing instruments that put children in a virtual stupor cannot be defended as sound testing practice, nor as a way to raise standards or serve as a foundation for high-stakes decisions…” Parents and teachers also complained that the test was a great source of frustration for students.

State officials, however, denied that the exams were unsuitable. The state paid $32 million to testing vendor, Pearson, over a five-year contract. “In general, zeroes would not imply a flaw in the test; rather, it would demonstrate students struggled to master the content being assessed,” said a state spokesperson.

For 2017 and 2018, the tests were produced by a different vendor, Questar, under a new five-year $44.7 million contract. Also the math and ELA tests were reduced from three to two days each to reduce the stress on the children. The state has not yet revealed any clues as to how many students achieved zeros on these exams. Smith contends that parents should intervene to demand full disclosure before the 2019 state tests.

By Ilana Siyance

Hitler’s Remaining Relatives Living Secret Lives on Long Island

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Some of Adolf Hitler’s last surviving relatives have been living quietly right here on Long Island for decades. In a small town with less than 20,000 people, few of their unsuspecting neighbors know their true family origins. As reported by the NY Post, three brothers Alexander, Louis and Brian Stuart-Houston, are great-nephews of Hitler, and the sole living descendants from the Fuehrer’s paternal side. The middle-aged men are sons of Hitler’s nephew, William Patrick Hitler, who was born to the dictator’s half-brother, Alois Hitler Jr.

As per the New Yorker, Alois left home at age 14 to move to Dublin and worked there as a waiter. He was not present as a father for ‘Willy’, who was born in Liverpool, UK in 1911. Willy caught up with his dad though, meeting him in Germany in 1929, where he attended a Nuremberg rally. When he returned to the UK, Willy began giving interviews to the press, milking his status as Hitler’s “English nephew”. That went on until a furious Adolf Hitler suddenly summoned him to Berlin. “What did you tell the newspaper? Who gave you permission to appoint yourself an authority on my private affairs?” demanded the dictator, as per Willy’s mother, Brigid Dowling. “No one must drag my private affairs into the newspapers. I have never said one word they can use. And now there is a ‘nephew’ to tell them all the miserable little details they want to know, ”squirmed Hitler.

Willy ended up moving to NY, but he kept on telling his stories about his infamous relation. He later joined the US Navy to fight in World War II against the Germans. Following the war, he and his German wife moved to Patchogue. They changed their family name from Hitler to Hiller, and again later to Stuart-Houston. Willy died at the age of 76, in 1987. His three sons stayed in Patchogue, but neither of them gave any interviews or divulged any information, even though the media has come knocking on their doors over the years.

Germany’s Bild newspaper recently visited the brothers’ homes in hopes of getting interviews. Both homes were adorned with American flags on the lawns. Brian and Louis, who live together made no comments. Alexander, the oldest brother, whose middle name is Adolf, broke his silence, responding to questions regarding today’s politics.

The 68-year-old told the Bild that he likes German Chancellor Angela Merkel and would vote for her if possible. “I like her. She’s good. She seems to be an intelligent and smart person,” said Alexander, giving the interview from his home porch. He shared that he and his brothers are devout life-long Republicans. He said he hasn’t missed an election for decades, and “I always vote for the person who does the best job.” He also said that he is not keen on the current American President. “The last person I would say I admire is Donald Trump. He is definitely not one of my favorites,” Alexander told the newspaper. “It’s the way he does it that annoys me. And I just don’t like liars,” he added.

By: Hellen Zaboulani

DeBlasio to Meet with Homeless After Backlash Over Gym Dismissal

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Mayor Bill de Blasio is under fire again. This time, by a homeless advocacy group, which claims he has not done enough to keep his vow to address homelessness in New York City. On Friday, the Mayor was approached by 72-year-old homeless activist Nathylin Flowers Adesegun, while he was at the gym in the Brooklyn YMCA, near Park Slope. While he shook her hand, she asked him “why he wouldn’t do more for homeless New Yorkers like myself”. “Out of the 300,000 units in your affordable housing program, only 5 percent will go to housing the homeless,” said Flowers Adesegun, a member of grassroots group entitled Vocal-NY, addressing the Mayor.

“I’m not doing this here. I’m in the middle of a workout,” responded de Blasio, according to video footage of the encounter, which has been posted to YouTube. His bodyguard then stepped between them as the Mayor walked away. Another activist from Vocal-NY then shouted at him: “We need housing for homeless New Yorkers!”

The news of the Mayor’s dismissal traveled fast, as Ms. Flowers posted her complaint on twitter. “He made it clear that his morning workout was more important to him,” she tweeted on Vocal NY’s feed. “We’re not asking for much: commit 30,000 units out of your housing plan for homeless New Yorkers. Every time we ask him to do more for homeless New Yorkers, he changes the subject to prevention and the economy”, she wrote, “but am I just supposed to stay homeless?”

As per the NY Times, after the Mayor faced the backlash, he responded by inviting members of a homelessness advocacy group, Vocal NY, to City Hall for a meeting. Spokesman for de Blasio, Eric Phillips, defended the Mayor saying that the gym is “not the right venue” for political dialogues. “People working out at the gym shouldn’t be worried they will be recorded in highly publicized, videotaped political confrontations every morning,” he said. This was not the first time the Mayor was confronted while at the gym.

By: Hadassa Kalatizadeh

Report: 12 Students Molested by Administrator at Riverdale Jewish School

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Officials at a New York Jewish day school “knew of allegations against an administrator who abused at least a dozen of the school’s students, according to an investigation that was reported on by the JTA. “He was rehired a decade later.”

The report which was published on October 5th, according to JTA, reportedly found that “Stanley Rosenfeld sexually abused at least a dozen students at SAR Academy, a Modern Orthodox school in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. Another teacher, Rabbi Sheldon Schwartz, was found to have acted inappropriately with at least four students.”

JTA continued, “Rosenfeld, a convicted sex offender, has admitted to molesting hundreds of boys throughout his life, including at SAR, according to the report. JTA has reached out to Schwartz through his attorney seeking comment on the accusations against him.”

T&M Protection Resources, an external firm with experience investigating sexual assault allegations, conducted the probe that examined allegations of child sex abuse by Rosenfeld, an assistant principal at SAR in the 1970s who also taught English there a decade later, according to the Sales story. The school reportedly commissioned the investigation in January, soon after learning of the allegations.

JTA’s report continued, “The firm interviewed nearly 40 witnesses, as well as both Schwartz and Rosenfeld. T&M was able to interview Schwartz, however, only before hearing allegations of his inappropriate behavior.”

“We want to extend our most sincere gratitude to the individuals who came forward to report instances of inappropriate behavior and abuse,” SAR’s leadership wrote in an email sent Friday linking to the report, according to JTA. “We remain heartbroken that our alumni suffered abuse while in SAR’s care, but we also are deeply inspired by their bravery.”

The respective principals of SAR Academy and SAR High School, Rabbis Binyamin Krauss and Tully Harcsztark, “wrote in the email that the school instituted a sexual harassment policy in 2014,” Sales writes. “The policy requires reporting credible allegations of sexual misconduct to law enforcement, as well as guidelines for reporting allegations within the school and investigating them. In a separate email to JTA, Krauss wrote: “We strive to create a learning environment in which students feel comfortable coming forward with concerns or reports of misbehavior of any kind. “Nothing is more important than the safety of our students. If we were to learn of a report of abuse, we would work quickly to begin an investigation and ensure, throughout the process, that students are safe.”

SAR Academy defines itself as “a Modern Orthodox co-educational day school dedicated to the belief that every child possesses a divine spark, has unique worth as an individual and should be encouraged to achieve according to his or her ability.” In its approach to academics, the school says, “we nurture students to develop intellectual curiosity, critical thinking skills and a lifelong love of both Torah and Secular studies. We have created a program committed to excellence in every aspect of our educational goals.”

By: Kenneth Robeson

Landlords Battling Over Development Group’s Plans to Build LES Megatower

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Plans for a megatower on the lower east side are being stymied by landlords who control a small building by a crucial court decision that prevent the tall structure from overlooking the smaller edifice.

Gary Spindler and Roy Schoenberg are fighting in Manhattan state Supreme Court to keep Michael Stern’s JDS Development Group from building an incredibly tall edifice roughly 1,000 foot-tall apartment tower above their empty 1-story building they lease at 325 Cherry Street.

The court refused an attempt by JDS to dismiss the suit and while the case in ongoing the opinion by Judge Andrea Masley has sided with Shoenberg and Spindler stating that they have the right to prevent a merger of their site with a neighboring property that JDS is scheming to do to build to provide its base for the megatower.

Judge Masley’s decision has not amounted to a final decision in the case but possibly mean that JDS’ development plans can eventually be thwarted. The case has been going on since August 2016. Both Schoenberg and Spindler have accused JDS of “hijacking’ air rights that they we’re in contract to buy. According to the complaint, both Schoenberg and Spindler signed a contract to purchase the Cherry Street location from two nonprofits, Two Bridges Neighborhood Council and the Settlement Housing Fund back in 2012 with the idea of building affordable housing. The organizations canceled the contract and sold the rights to JDS instead.

The attorney for the landlords, Raymond Hannigan from the law firm of Herrick Feinstein LLP remarked that “the court addressed the facts and legal issues and ruled very clearly Spindler and Schoenberg are a party of interest.”

Despite the setback, JDS is going ahead with a plan and is due to go before the City Planning Commission on October 17 as part of the approval process. Several years back, JDS presented a synopsis of a 800 page document which promised, if the tower were built, neighborhood improvements like a new elevator at the East Broadway Subway Station and the renovation of three local parks. Despite this, residents were less than impressed responding that this wasn’t sufficient for what was to come with the tower: reduced light, more traffic and overcrowded schools.

This is a particularly unusual case with regard to building a large tower because it is located in a unique development area what is commonly referred to the Two Bridges neighborhood because it is located between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridge. As such, JDS only needs the CPC’s thumbs up instead of full environmental review to secure the requisite zoning adjustments.

If Schoenberg and Spindler are able to hold of JDS, it isn’t clear what will happen down the road to the property. Winning the case may be just a way of delaying the inevitable. Eventually it might come down to a single person: Margaret Chin. Councilwoman Chin has pressed to put in regulatory changes that would require the project to go through a full review process, giving her full power to approve or disapprove the project.

By: Michael Rosenthal

Govt to Seize Manafort’s Hamptons Home & Trump Tower Condo in Plea Deal

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On Saturday, prosecutors filed the official papers to allow the federal government to take possession of two of the real estate properties negotiated during Paul Manafort’s plea deal. As per the Real Deal, as early as October 20th, the government plans to complete the seizure of Manafort’s home in the Hamptons, as well as his condo in Trump Towers. The Trump Towers apartment #43G at 721 Fifth Avenue, which spans 1,509-square-feet, is valued at $3 million. The 5,574-square foot Hampton’s home is valued at approximately $7.3 million. The 10-bedroom, six bathroom home in Watermill features a pool house, pergola, “waterfall pond”, and hundreds of red and white flowers planted in the shape of an M, as per Bloomberg News.

Manafort’s Trump Tower condo is going to be seized in two weeks

Manafort, former campaign chairman for President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty in mid-September to two criminal counts, namely federal conspiracy and conspiracy to obstruct justice. As part of his plea deal, Manafort gave his consent to cooperate with Robert Mueller’s special council investigation. He also agreed to forfeit five of his properties, bank accounts and his life insurance policy.

The other properties he will be forfeiting to end his prosecution are: a seven-bedroom, four-bathroom brownstone at 377 Union Street in Brooklyn, estimated to be worth $4.1 million; in lower Manhattan a 2,133-square-foot, three-bedroom apartment at 123 Baxter Street worth about $4.7 million; and a boutique condo in SoHo at 29 Howard Street. The total value of his forfeited NY Real estate assets is estimated to be $21.7 million, as per NBC News.

The 69-year-old Republican will still have some assets to his name when he is freed from prison. As part of the negotiation, he will keep one of his bank accounts,which he opted to keep in lei of the Trump tower condo. He also still has three or more properties outside of New York, valued at a total of roughly $6 million. Among the properties he will be keeping is Manafort’s estate in Virginia. He also pleaded to keep is his Florida home in Palm Beach valued at $1.25 million.

By Hadassa Kalatizadeh

NYC Artists May Eventually Get Affordable Housing; Roadblocks Persist

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Rendering by Goldstein Hill & West

New York is a hotbed for artists and all other creative types, but being an artist and being able to still pay the bills can be challenging. It’s not unusual to see artists also working other jobs in order to get by, at the expense of living in voluntary poverty. The importance of art to the city and the resources and opportunities for artists are hard to ignore, which is why politicians have talked in the past about making sure art and artists aren’t ignored.

A few years ago, Mayor Bill de Blasio suggested making 1,500 units of affordable housing that would be set aside for all types of artists.

At the 2015 state of the city, the mayor spoke about the importance of not letting artists slip through the cracks. ”We know that New York is the city it is today in part because of the contributions from generations of artistic visionaries who at one point struggled to make ends meet.”

More than three years later, de Blasio’s vision seems to be harder to make a reality when push comes to shove. Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen talked at a Crain’s event about how the federal Fair Housing Act interferes with de Blasio’s goal because setting aside housing for only one group of people could go against the act. Landlords are not allowed to discriminate against people on most grounds, like race or religion. Even though the intent in de Blasio’s proposal is to take care of a group in need rather than discriminate against a group or groups of people to make sure they can’t get housing, it could still fail to comply with the act. The city in the meantime is using a task force it created that spans a few different agencies in order to try coming up with some way to make this idea work without violating any rules.

“This is something I wish we had made more progress on,” Glen said, adding “and we are committed to doing so.”

Even if New York can find a way to make the plan work, the city would then have to decide how it determines who is and is not an artist. There needs to be a way to assess eligibility, make sure all types of artists are included, and make sure nobody games the system in order to score an undeserved affordable apartment unit. The city could try cleaning its hands of this potential mess by outsourcing the job to an organization existing beyond the city government.

“I don’t think every person who was cool and hip who moved to the Lower East Side in the early ’80s necessarily has a right to live there forever,” Glen said. “The flip side of that is, if you moved to the Lower East Side in the ’80s and you were an artist and live in a rent-stabilized apartment, you cannot be harassed out of there.”

By: Morgan Humes

Hamptons Crowd Builds Panic Rooms in Mansions to Hide from MS-13

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(Photo by Owen Hoffmann/Patrick McMullan)

Fearing for their safety, well-to-do millionaires in the Hamptons build panic rooms to hide from the terroristic MS-13 group.

The rooms come with bulletproof glass and guns and other weaponry.

Billionaires like John Catsimatidis owner of Gristides Foods have become unnerved over the vicious Salvadorian gang MS-13 being coming too close to where they live and are beginning to fear for their safety.

Last April, members of the gang executed four young men behind a soccer filed in Central Islip. Two other incidents occurred in a Hampton Bays brothel which was raided by police and found to be labeled with an MS-13 sign. Two years ago, a man with connections to the group sexually assaulted a woman after breaking into her Southhampton home.

Southampton Town Police Chief Steven Skrynecki last year, openly expressed concern that the gang might spread further east. Locals noticed when Skyrnecki installed police equipped with antiterrorism gear, including automatic weapons, along the perimeters of summer 2017 charity galas.

One anonymous Southampton homeowner recently adorned her East End manse with bulletproof glass and hidden cameras throughout.

“[MS-13 is] in Suffolk County,” she fearfully said. “What’s an hour car ride? They are near.”

There’s a growing concern among all Long Island residents particularly moving east that MS-13 is headed toward them. Gary Blum who is the president of Armored Entry who installs bullet-proof widows. Said that the “home-security business is very event- and news-driven.” “We get business when there is a tremendous amount of fear being generated.”

It’s a good thing the Long Island residents are wealthy because the products that Blum sells are expensive to most. Starting at $6,000 for a single window “that you can beat with a sledgehammer without making a dent.”

Chris Cosban, a Long Island contractor who installs panic rooms in the area’s mansions, believes “if people want it they have it.” Cosban’s company, Covert Interiors, charges between $25,000 and $200,000 for a standard space with high-tech add-ons, like as fingerprint recognition, cost extra.

Managing director of the personal-security firm Sage Intelligence Group, Herman Weisberg, said that not only do the buyers look at the panic rooms as protective areas, he says that they also function many of his like amenity spaces — doubling as home theaters, wine cellars or even gun vaults where weapons can be safely displayed.

For instance instead of showing of “their Lamborghinis,” Weisberg said, , “they [rather] take guests to the wine bar in their safe room.”

Catsimatidis who has spent a fortune due to his concern about MS-13, especially since he has had his house broken into and has resorted to installing infared sensors at his home, is nothing in terms of the expense that others have gone to secure their safety. Al Corbi, president of SAFE (Strategically Armored & Fortified Environments) has provided to safety for customers with costs that literally go through the roof.

“I finished a system for $100 million,” he said of one West Coast project. “That sounds like a lot but there is nothing I know of, human or manmade, that could possibly harm this family for three generations, including global nuclear holocaust, a pandemic or a second Ice Age.” Plus, he added, “It’s like a Ritz-Carlton underground.”

Still, some East Enders feel their neighbors are going overboard. Whether they are or not, times have changed and the safety of Long Island residents, the crown jewel of southern New York has transformed into fear and paranoia.

By: Anton Kulevsky

Reflecting on #MeToo One Year After Weinstein Allegations

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Just over a year ago, stunning allegations of rampant and systemic sexual misconduct by movie mogul Harvey Weinstein shook not just the country but most of the world, helping to spark the #MeToo movement. Simply put, women want to be treated as equals, as human beings and not objects of entertainment to be controlled and manipulated by powerful men like Weinstein.

In the wake of the news, not only did more reporting continue shedding even more light on Weinstein and his other victims, but it led to a number of other high-profile men being outed as enemies of women, enemies of anyone with any sense of decency and a desire for fairness and humanity. The victims also extend beyond women, with a number of men also coming forward to accuse other famous men, like actor Kevin Spacey, of sexual misconduct. In Spacey’s case, at least one alleged incident happened with someone who was a minor at the time. Even the president and two Supreme Court justices stand accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct.

A lot of the focus remains on Hollywood, an industry ripe for exploitation. While most Hollywood elites would suggest they are socially liberal, people like Weinstein were able to allegedly get away with serial sexual misconduct and all sorts of intimidation and retaliation tactics against women.

The Associated Press went out and interviewed people in the business to see how things have changed and where they stand one year later.

“Definitely there’s been a seismic shift,” British actress Carey Mulligan said. “I feel like if I was walking down the street and someone said something or did something outside the bounds of appropriate, I would feel so much more empowered to tell them to f… off while before I probably wouldn’t. Those sort of gray area things are now no longer gray areas.”

It appears that Hollywood is increasing its efforts to find women to put in important roles.

“Everybody’s looking for their female content,” Parks and Recreation actress Rashida Jones said, whose documentary Quincy was recently released by Netflix. “They’re starting to understand that content that’s created by and shepherded by women and people of colour is super under represented in the business. And everybody’s scrambling to try to fix that.”

For all of the movement’s triumphs, it may only be able to take society so far along the path of progress.

“It’s a great thing when you’re on the red carpet and people are talking about sexual assault. At least it’s out in the open,” actress Viola Davis said. “My fear is that people feel like the focus of sexual assault is just on actresses in Hollywood and studio execs like Weinstein.”

She wants to make sure that all of the most vulnerable women, the ones without any power and money, aren’t overlooked. She worries that by focusing only on these high-profile cases, society could miss the larger picture, saying that “outing the men, putting them in the court of public opinion and just destroying their careers. It’s way bigger than that. One out of every four women–and there’s some statistics that say it’s one out of three–will be sexually assaulted by the time they’re 18.”

By: Lynn Clary

Kraft Heinz Passes on Making Takeover Offer for Campbell’s Soup

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Dan Loeb, hedge fund manager and CEO of Third Point, has his focus on soup. The 56-year-old, with a reported net worth of about $3.1 billion, has for some time now been pushing Campbell’s Soup to sell itself. Third Point, which manages $18 billion in assets, owns a 5.7 percent Campbell stake. As reported by the NY Post, he has been telling investors that rival Kraft Heinz was willing to pay nearly $50 a share for Campbell, but that Campbell’s board was unresponsive. The Shareholder activist sent a letter to Campbell last Wednesday, demanding to see the company’s records, as well as documents regarding its just-completed strategic review. The next day, Campbell’s shares rose 1.9 percent, to $37.19, giving the company an $11.2 billion market cap. In Third Point’s letter, it criticizes Campbell’s disregard to the offer, writing, “potential acquirers of all or a meaningful portion of the company were not contacted nor was a sale pursued — which is flatly inconsistent with the board’s public promise that it was reviewing a “full slate” of options”.

The harsh words, however may be unjustified. According to an unidentified source with direct knowledge of the situation, “Kraft Heinz looked, but is not interested.” The source added, “I think Campbell was open to talking to people.” The source says that the Warren Buffett-backed Kraft Heinz company did consider buying Campbell in recent weeks, and was invited by Campbell to review the data, but that it took a look at the financials and reconsidered. “There was some kicking of the tires but it did not get very far,” the source said. Back in August, the Post had already reported that Kraft Heinz, which would seem the most logical buyer for the company but which is having trouble of its own with its dwindling stock price, was looking into Campbell but was not keen to pay much of a premium. Currently, over 40 percent of Campbell’s stocks are held by descendants of John Dorrance, the inventor of condensed soup.

A Campbell spokesperson said, “We do not comment on rumors or speculation,” adding “The board remains committed to evaluating all strategic options if any of those options can demonstrably enhance value for all shareholders.” Kraft Heinz declined to comment on the story.

In August Campbell also announced that it is looking to sell its non-core businesses, including Arnott’s and the Kelsen Group, and the Campbell Fresh business, which consist of Garden Fresh Gourmet, the refrigerated soup business, and Bolthouse Farms, purchased six years ago. Last Thursday, the WSJ reported that Campbell was in preliminary negotiations to sell Bolthouse Farms to Jeff Dunn, its former President.

By Hellen Zaboulani