NJ Man Saves Driver from Burning Car

An 83-year-old man who set off an inferno when he lit a cigarette inside his car, causing eight oxygen tanks to explode, has a humble bystander to thank for saving his life.

It was just after 11 a.m. Tuesday morning, after the Reef Encounter aquarium supply store opened, when employee Bill Smith looked out the window and saw a car stopped at a light on Hudson Street. Smoke was billowing out of the car, and the driver was still behind the wheel.

"I didn't have time to think about it, I just kind of reacted," said Smith. "I kind of forced him out, dragged him out. He was holding on to the door saying, 'Call the fire department.' He just wouldn't leave the car."

Police said it may have been because virtually everything Stanislau Kavolvsky owned was inside that car, including the eight oxygen tanks he needs to breathe. Kavlovsky, who appears to be homeless, suffers from emphysema.

Nevertheless, he lit a cigarette inside the car and the canisters ignited. Windows shattered, and people ducked for cover.

"You felt it throughout your whole body," said Smith. "It was very, very loud. It was scary. Only way I can describe it, it was scary."

Hackensack Fire Department Deputy Chief Matthew Wagner said he "seriously doubted" Kavlovsky could have survived the explosion if he had remained in the car.

"With the explosion, the frame of the vehicle was all bent out," said Wagner. "You could see the doors bowed out, twisted and bent from the pressure."

Kavolvsky is reportedly in stable condition. Bill Smith, meanwhile, doesn't care for all the talk of heroism.

"I don't know what to say, I definitely wasn't thinking about that at the time," he said. "It definitely feels great. Just did the right thing, that's it."

By:NBCnewyork

Protester Arrested at Occupy Wall Street March

A protester has been arrested after a noisy Occupy Wall Street march in Manhattan grew to about 200 people.      

There was a heavy police presence around the 42nd Street area as the demonstration began Wednesday morning outside the Pfizer offices.      

The event featured loud drumming and a chant: "The people united will never be defeated.''      

Other chants included an obscenity aimed at both corporate America and the police.      

The group eventually marched in the rain to Bryant Park, where "teach-ins'' were held. Occupy organizers picked Bryant Park because of the corporations in that area, including Bank of America, Koch Industries and Pfizer.       

Workers in the neighborhood received memos alerting them to the planned event. 

The arrested protester had ridden his bike on the sidewalk outside the New York Public Library.      

Participants included a retired garment manufacturer, 68-year-old Michael Miller of Manhattan. He complained that he has to get prescription drugs from Canada to save money. 

The rally, called "Shutdown the Corporations," is part of a larger Occupy protest taking place in more than 80-cities across the country.

Second Person Struck By Subway At 72nd Street Station

MANHATTAN — A second person was hit by a subway at 72nd Street and Broadway Wednesday, just four hours after a man was struck and killed by a train at the same station, officials said.

The man was hit by an uptown 2 train just before noon. He was rushed to St. Luke's Hospital with serious injuries but was later listed in stable condition.

Police said that no criminality is suspected and that the 33-year-old man was likely intoxicated at the time of the incident. The investigation is ongoing, but it appeared the man had fallen onto the platform and, in the process of getting up, pitched in front of the 2 train, police said.

A witness standing on the platform on Wednesday afternoon said he observed the man screaming to himself and weaving between passengers before the incident.

"He walked straight into a pole right in front of me, head first," said the 27-year-old Columbia student who declined to give his name.

When the train pulled into the station, the man fell in front of it, the witness said.

"He was screamining for help for about 30 seconds and then silence," he said. 

Kevin Ortiz, a spokesman for the MTA, said that the station remained open after the incident. Northbound 2 and 3 trains ran on the local track between Times Square and 96th Street until about 1:30 p.m. Southbound 2 and 3 trains ran as normal. 

Kevin Duke, 61, was selling umbrellas outside the subway station and saw the man, wearing a business suit and apparently unconscious, taken out on a stretcher soon after the accident.

"I felt bad. You never want to see anyone hurt," said Duke, who lives in Midtown.

Duke said that he was "shocked" that two people had been hit by trains inside the 72nd Street subway station within four hours of each other.

The earlier incident happened around 8 a.m. Wednesday when a 62-year-old man was hit by a northbound No. 2 train in what cops said was an apparent suicide.

Andrew Albert, an Upper West Side Community Board 7 member and MTA board member, said the 72nd Street station is the No. 1/2/3 line's most congested stop during morning rush hour, but the crowds form on the downtown side, not the uptown side where the two people were struck.

The station was built in 1904 as part of New York's first-ever subway line, and its narrow platforms haven't been widened since, Albert said. The station was renovated several years ago when its platforms were lengthened, but no width was added.

By:DNAinfo

Ammo Belt Saves Cop's Life In Lower East Side Shootout

A cop owes his life to an ammo magazine on his belt that deflected a bullet fired at him in a shootout on the Lower East Side early Monday, police said.

Police Officer Thomas Richards and his partner, Thomas Dunne, were shot at as they approached suspect Luis Martinez, 25, at 47 Columbia Street about 1:45 a.m., according to an NYPD account of the shooting.

"I heard about 12 at once, then it stopped," said Wilfredo Alvero, 84, of the gunfire. "And then I heard four more. It sounded like an automatic shotgun."

Police said one of Martinez's bullets bounced off the spare ammunition magazine at Richard's abdomen, bending the metal casing but saving the officer's life.

"Another miracle," said Police Commissioner Ray Kelly in a radio interview with Rep. Peter King, who was hosting John Gambling's program on WOR 710.

It's the latest in the a string of shootings in which officers have survived.

Kelly added that Richards was lucky to be alive.

"An inch either way, and it would have hit his stomach," he said.

In the ensuing gun battle, one of the officers' rounds hit Martinez in the leg. He was arrested at 64 Baruch Drive, where he resides, and taken to Bellevue Hospital for treatment, police said.

A 9mm Taurus handgun was recovered in a nearby trash compacter, police said. Martinez, whose injury was not life-threatening, was not immediately charged.

The officers were examined at Beth Israel Hospital.

Kelly visited the officers at Police Service Area 4, where the officers are assigned, shortly after the shootout, police said.

"It was a very close call for Officer Richards," he said in a statement. "The magazine may have well saved his life."

Garage Fire Spreads on LI

Police on Long Island arrested a man Saturday after the fire he started inside a stranger's garage got out of control.

Authorities say George Diamond, 23, started the fire after breaking into a garage attached to a home on West Loines Avenue in Merrick at around 6:15 a.m Saturday.

 

As the blaze began to spread, police say Diamond took off his pants and tried using them to fight the fire.

 

When that didn't work, he ran out of the garage and into an adjacent backyard, wearing only shorts, a t-shirt and socks. A neighbor spotted him, and called the police.

 

While authorities had originally said Diamond was homeless and started the fire to stay warm, he later confessed that he started the fire with the intent to rob the home.

 

When firefighters arrived, flames were shooting upwards of 10 feet. Ron Luparello, ex-chief and spokesman for the Merrick Fire Department, said it "almost looked like the whole house was engulfed."

 

The fire spread to the attached home and sport utility vehicle parked in the driveway, according to Luparello. The heat of the fire also damaged the house next door, melting the siding.

 

There were two people inside the home as the fire spread but they escaped on their own. Firefighters did rescue a small dog that was trapped inside.

 

Officers arrested Diamond, who was taken to a hospital for undisclosed reasons. There was no information on charges.

 

Two firefighters were also taken to area hospitals and were treated and released for smoke inhalation and elevated levels of carbon monoxide, authorities said.

By:NBCnewyork

84-Year-Old Woman Found Dead With Head Trauma In Bay Ridge

BROOKLYN — An elderly woman was found dead with head trauma in Bay Ridge Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

Rescuers received a call for an unconscious person at a home on 90th Street and Parrott Place just before 1:20 p.m.

The woman, 84, who was discovered by a family member, was found in bed and pronounced dead.

Sources said that she had unexplained trauma to her head.

Police said the medical examiner's office will determine the cause of death.

By-DNAinfo

Father, Son Found Dead In Bronx Apartment

Investigators say they found two members of a Bronx family dead on Saturday, although they do not believe a crime was committed.

Joseph Valerio Sr., 85, and his son, 46-year old Joseph Jr., were discovered unconscious and unresponsive in their apartment in Parkchester yesterday.

Police say the father possibly suffered a seizure and died, and his son might have died soon after.

They say the elder Valerio took care of his son, who was mentally disabled.

Neighbors say they would see the pair taking long walks around the neighborhood, but they mostly kept to themselves.

"It's sad because he never bothered nobody, he just went and out of that building with his son," said neighbor Carmen Frazier.

"I was surprised because even though he was older, he looked in good condition and he used to always say he was a veteran," said neighbor Grey Maria.

The medical examiner is working to determine how they died.

By: NY1 News

Boy Killed in Jersey City

An 12-year-old boy was shot and killed on Friday evening in Jersey City, N.J.

The victim was shot at the home of a corrections officer may have been accidental.

Jersey City police told News 12 that it happened near 293 Randolph Avenue at about 6 p.m.

Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio told The Star-Ledger of Newark that the crime scene indicates the boy was shot once in the chest inside the home. The boy's body was found on the sidewalk outside the house, where he was pronounced dead.

According to police, the boy was shot with a semi-automatic pistol issued to Shaara Green-Sims. Green-Sims, 38, is a Hudson County Corrections officer who was in the Randolph Avenue home along with another child.

DeFazio says investigators don't know if anyone else was in the home at the time or who fired the pistol.

Police have reportedly not made any arrests and the boy's identity had not been released.

Teen Arrested For 8-Year-Old's Shooting

Police have arrested a teenager in connection with the shooting of an 8-year-old boy outside of a Bronx bodega.

The shooting happened about 7:55 p.m. on Tuesday night.

Police say Eduardo Rodriguez, 15, of the Bronx, rode up on a bike to a group of people standing in front of the store and fired a silver handgun.

8-year-old Armando Vigo was hit in the shoulder. He was taken to Jacobi Medical Center, police said. He was listed in fair condition on Friday.

Police arrested Rodriguez on Friday. He's charged with attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon.

Police had said they did not know if Vigo was the intended target.

By-Myfoxny 

Teen Shot In The Head On West 116th Street In Harlem

 A teen survived a gunshot wound to the head on West 116th Street in Harlem early Saturday, authorities said.

The 18-year-old male victim was struck by the gunfire shortly before 1 a.m. at 902 W. 116th Street near Seventh Avenue, police said.

He was taken to Harlem Hospital in stable condition, fire officials said.

It was not immediately clear what sparked the shooting.

By-DNAinfo

Man Struck And Killed On 6 Train Tracks At Spring Street Subway Station

A man was struck and killed by a 6 train at the Spring Street subway station early Saturday, authorities said.

The victim was walking on the train tracks when he was struck by a southbound 6 train about 5:49 a.m., police and fire officials said.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

It was not immediately clear why the man was on the tracks.

By-DNAinfo

Fire in Lower East Side High-Rise Hurts One

A fire broke out in a high-rise building near the FDR Drive early Friday, officials said.

The blaze started in a first-floor apartment at 475 FDR Drive about 1 a.m., FDNY officials said.

One person suffered a minor injury, but was not taken to a hospital.

The single-alarm fire in the 21-story building was under control about 30 minutes later, officials said.

The cause was not immediately known.

By-DNAinfo

Four Sought In Valentine's Day Home Invasion

Police are searching for four men behind a frightening home invasion in Manhattan last week where two of the robbers climbed through an apartment window.

Investigators say it happened around 4 a.m. on February 14 inside an apartment located at 601 West 185th Street near Saint Nicholas Avenue.

Authorities say two of the men got in through the window.

The other two came through the front door.

The men held five victims at gunpoint while they grabbed a laptop, cash and cell phones.

Police describe three of the men as being between 20 and 25 years old, 5'8" to 5'11" tall and weighing 150 to 200 pounds.

The fourth suspect is around the same age, about six feet tall, and weighing 200 pounds.

Anyone with information about the case is being asked to contact Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-577-TIPS, by texting TIP577 to CRIMES, or by going toNYPDCrimeStoppers.com.

By NY1 News 

Six Hurt, Five Rescued in Lower East Side Highrise fire

LOWER EAST SIDE — A fire broke out in the eighth-floor of a Pearl Street housing project Thursday, trapping a family of five inside and leaving six people hurt, officials and relatives said.

The blaze broke out at 7:30 a.m. in apartment 8B in 388 Pearl Street at the Alfred E. Smith Houses, near One Police Plaza, FDNY officials said.

"Smoke was pouring out of all of the windows," said Edwin Indio, who had relatives in the burning apartment. "People were running all over the place."

Firefighters had to rescue five people — including two via aerial ladder — who were trapped in a burning apartment, an FDNY chief said at the scene.

"I saw the guy on the ladder taking them all out through the window," said Judith Hernandez, who said she was related to victims.

The six people, including two firefighters, suffered minor injuries. They were taken to New York Downtown Hospital, officials said.

"There was a lot of smoke...heavy smoke in the hallway," said FDNY Deputy Chief Robert Carroll. "Victims were okay, but had some cuts."

The second-alarm fire was under control at 8:15 a.m. It required 20 units and nearly 80 firefighters to extinguish it, officials said.

The cause was under investigation.

Gas in the 17-story building has been shut off, FDNY said, and Pearl Street from Madison to Wagner streets has been temporarily closed.

Read more: http://www.dnainfo.com/20120223/lower-east-side-east-village/person-trapped-three-hurt-lower-east-side-fire#ixzz1nDoFYiw5

City Bus Kills Harlem Man Less Than A Day After Similar Accident In Queens

HARLEM — A city bus hit and killed a man in Harlem early Thursday, just hours after another MTA vehicle fatally struck a woman inQueens.

Willie Gonzalez, 25, of West 111th Street, was walking south on St. Nicholas Avenue when he was hit by an M60 bus moving west on 125th Street at 1:15 a.m., police and transit officials said.

Paramedics rushed him to St. Luke's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 30 minutes later, an MTA spokeswoman said.

The driver of the bus remained at the scene and has not been criminally charged.

On Wednesday, Meilan Jin, 22, died after a Q44 bus turned onto her as she crossed Northern Boulevard and Union Street in Flushing, Queens.

The driver of the bus left the scene, unaware she had hit anyone, police said. She was not charged.

Kevin Ortiz, a spokesman for the MTA, said the authority is conducting its own investigations into both accidents.

"These are two unfortunate incidents," he said.

By-DNAinfo
 

Bronx Crash Sends 2 NYPD Officers to Hospital

Two police officers were taken to the hospital after being involved in an accident in the Schuylerville section of the Bronx Wednesday.

The accident involving an NYPD vehicle and a civilian car happened near the intersection of the Hudson River Parkway service road and Lafayette Avenue just before 4p.m., according to authorities.

Two officers were taken to Jacobi Hospital in serious condition with non-life threatening injuries, said officials. A civilian was also transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

It was immediately unclear how the accident happened.

Woman Fatally Struck by City Bus on Northern Boulevard in Queens

QUEENS — A young woman was struck and killed by a city bus early Wednesday in Flushing, officials said.

Meilan Jin, 22, of Flushing, was hit by a Q44 bus about 8 a.m. at Northern Boulevard and Union Street, fire and police officials said.

"It's always dangerous here," said Julio Guambana, 40, an Astoria resident who works where the accident occurred.

Witness Fahid Ghalem, 54, said that the woman was carrying shopping bags and talking on her cell phone when she was hit.

Jin was pronounced dead by the time cops arrived at 8:15 a.m. 

"The bus operator was not aware that she hit anybody and kept going," a transit spokeswoman said.

She added that the NYPD was interviewing the driver, and that New York City Transit officials were waiting to talk to her, too.

Police said no criminality is suspected in the case.

9 Arrested for Alleged Fake Parking Permits

Nine people have been arrested for faking parking permits at city public housing projects throughout the city, officials said Wednesday.

A limited number of parking permits are available to residents and non-residents at NYCHA facilities, ranging in cost from $60 to $272 annually for residents, and between $150 and $650 for non-residents.

The investigation began after a fake permit was discovered on a car at the James Weldon Johnson Houses in East Harlem last year. Investigators then began checking permits at nearly 100 public housing facilities citywide.

Investigators said the fake permits appeared to be computer-generated, with backgrounds that were slightly different-colored than genuine permits. The numbers were also invalid.

Five people were arrested in December, and another 9 arrests were announced Wednesday.

"These motorists may have thought they successfully bypassed the expense of parking in New York City," Department of Investigation Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn said in a statement. "But using bogus city parking permits to park illegally was instead a one-way street to criminal charges."

Those arrested were charged with a misdemeanor charge of third-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument.

Boy, 8, Shot in Shoulder in Bronx

A child was wounded in a shooting in the Bronx Tuesday evening, authorities said.

An 8-year-old boy was shot in the shoulder at about 8 p.m., according to fire press officials.

It happened at 1714 Randall Ave. in the Soundview section of the Bronx.

The boy was taken to Jacobi Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.

The circumstances behind the shooting were immediately unclear.

Fire On East 73rd Street Leaves Woman Critically Injured And Dog Dead

MANHATTAN — A woman in her 60s was critically injured and a dog was killed in a fire at an Upper East Side co-op Tuesday afternoon, fire officials said.

The blaze broke out on the second floor of 181 E. 73rd St., near Third Avenue, about 2 p.m., fire officials said. The 19-story building was evacuated as firefighters battled the blaze, residents said.

The unidentified woman, in her late 60s, was found unconscious in a room in the apartment that had filled with smoke from the living room blaze. A "small dog" in the apartment died, according to fire officials.

The woman was taken to New York Hospital for smoke inhalation and possible burns.

The cause of the fire was still under investigation.  Fire officials said it did not appear suspicious.

(By-DNAinfo)

Smoky Manhole Fire Leaves One Injured And Forces Evacuation In Carnarsie

BROOKLYN — One person was injured Tuesday afternoon after a manhole fire sent smoke into a nearby warehouse that had to be evacuated, according to FDNY officials.

Fire officials responded to the blaze at noon in front of 472 E. 101st St., near Foster Avenue. The fire was out half an hour later.

Roughly 100 workers from the warehouse next to the manhole were asked to leave the building after it became filled with smoke, workers and sources said.

One person with an arm injury was taken to Brookdale Hospital, fire officials said.  It was not immediately clear how the person suffered the injury.

(By-DNAinfo)

Woman Hit By EMS Truck Then Treated By Its Paramedics

 A woman was struck by an FDNY ambulance in Harlem Tuesday — and then was treated for her injuries by paramedics onboard, witnesses said.

The unidentified woman was crossing Lenox Avenue and West 116th Street when the emergency vehicle slowly backed up and struck her, said MD Moazzen Hossain, a street vendor who said he saw the accident.

"The ambulance backed into her and she fell down," Hossain said, noting that the truck was moving at a "very slow" pace.

"The driver got out, picked her up and took her inside," he said. 

FDNY officials confirmed that an EMS vehicle was involved in the minor accident about 10:13 a.m. 

The EMS workers were treating her in the ambulance that struck her for an estimated 15 minutes before sounding the sirens and driving off. She was taken to St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital with minor injuries, officials said.

This was the second minor accident involving FDNY vehicles in two days. A fire truck rushing to a blaze in the Bronx on Monday swiped a minivan that was apparently pulling out of a parking spot as the truck was making a turn.

(By-DNAinfo)

Man Shot In Arm On Gates Avenue And Marcy Avenue

BROOKLYN — A man was shot in the arm in Bedford-Stuyvesant Monday afternoon, FDNY officials said.

An unidentified male was shot about 4:15 p.m. near Gates and Marcy avenues, fire officials said.

He was not immediately taken to the hospital.

The NYPD did not have information on the incident.

By-DNAinfo

Four-Alarm Brooklyn Fire Sends Nine Bravest To Hospital

 

By: NY1 News

Nine city firefighters were taken to the hospital Monday after battling a four-alarm fire in a Brooklyn auto shop.

The New York City Fire Department says it started around 10:30 a.m. inside an Auto Zone located at 561 Utica Avenue in East Flatbush and quickly spread.

"We had a lot of fire in the store in the front and also on the left hand side. As soon as we opened the roll down gates there was fire. Our units operated inside for at least 10 minutes but the amount of fire was just too much. We pulled them out for their own safety, part of the ceiling started to come down," said one fire chief on the scene.

The firefighters suffered minor injuries and no civilians were hurt.

As of late Monday, officials were still investigating the cause of the fire.

Accident Victim Dragged Near JFK Airport

A person was dragged for distance after a traffic accident on Monday morning.

A police source tells Fox 5's Lisa Evers that a small car cut across several lanes on the Southbound Van Wyck Expressway at the entrance to JFK Airport, near the old Ramada hotel.

A tractor trailer truck hit the car but didn't see it, thinking the an apparent puff of smoke was a tire blowing. The truck driver kept going, not knowing the car was attached to the truck.

The source says the victim in the car apparently tried to get out of the moving car through one of the doors and was dragged for some distance until the truck was flagged down.

The car driver was rushed to Jamaica Hospital and went into surgery in extremely critical condition.

There may be closures in the area for several hours during the investigation.

Cops Bust Alleged Thief Stealing iPhone from Sleeping Subway Rider

 

MANHATTAN — It was a rude awakening for this suspected thief.

A pickpocket's attempt to snatch an iPhone and wallet from a sleeping straphanger in a subway train in the Village early Saturday morning was foiled by a pair of eagle-eyed cops, authorities said.

Cops said that a pair of transit officers, Sgt. John Nunziato and Officer John Bartley, were patrolling a Queens-bound E train when they saw the suspect, Manuel Alduey, 50 board the train at West 4th Street around 4:15 a.m.

He sat next to the 27-year-old victim and once the train started moving, allegedly grabbed the victim's wallet and cellphone.

When Alduey got off at the 23rd Street station, the officers placed him under arrest.

The suspect, of the Upper West Side, was charged with grand larceny and possession of stolen property, police said.

(By-DNAinfo)

Hoboken Fire Leaves People Homeless

Officials say a four-alarm fire tore through five floors of a Hoboken building, displacing residents and causing three people to suffer smoke inhalation.

Firefighters from Hoboken, Newark and Elizabeth battled the blaze, which started at around 7 p.m. Sunday. They were still extinguishing flames from a section of the roof that was burning early Monday.

INFORMATION ON FUNDRAISER

Juan Melli, communications manager for Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer, told the Jersey Journal there were no major injuries but that one person was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation and two others were treated for it. Residents on the upper floors of the building were evacuated by ladder from the roof of the building.

Anthony DiCio, a Hoboken resident and local business owner, told The Associated Press he saw smoke coming out of the first floor entrance of the New Farm Market grocery store on Washington Street.

"A few minutes later, people were standing on the roof of the building next to it yelling for help to be evacuated," DiCio said.

The building that was consumed in flames over the next three hours contained four floors of condos above the store. It is a mostly wood frame building with bay windows.

At times, flames were leaping out windows and eventually shooting about 20 feet above the roof as firefighters trained water hoses on the structure. Thick black smoke swirled around the building, spreading the scent of fire throughout much of the mile-square city directly across the Hudson River from Manhattan.

Singer Frank Sinatra was born in Hoboken and New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning lives a short distance from where the fire occurred.

Some among the hundreds of local residents who came outside to watch the fire were commenting on what a shame it was that the building caught on fire because it was an old nostalgic-looking building, a Hoboken classic, DiCio said.

DiCio said he met a woman who came down with her dog to observe the fire because she knew her friend lived there. She said she learned her friend was out of town. Her friend recently purchased the fourth floor condo. She said her friend was distraught because her boyfriend was staying in her apartment and was taken to the hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation.

Man Shot and Killed in South Bronx

BRONX - A man was found shot to death in the lobby of a South Bronx building Friday night, police said. 

Norman Lodge, 32, of East 153rd Street was discovered shot in the torso and unconcious when police arrived to the building at 321 E. 153rd St. in the Melrose section of The Bronx about 10:41 p.m. Friday, the NYPD said.

He was taken to Lincoln Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

No arrests have been made and an investigation is ongoing. 

By-Dnainfo