Manhole Explodes on Sixth Avenue as Transformers Catch Fire

Two transformers caught fire on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan,

FLATIRON DISTRICT — A manhole exploded on Sixth Avenue Monday, causing several nearby windows to be blown out, officials said.

The explosion was possibly caused by Con Ed electrical equipment catching fire below West 17th Street at roughly 2:30 p.m., the FDNY said.

Just as firefighters were leaving the scene, a second transformer caught fire, shooting flames out of a manhole down the block at 55 W. 17th St., an FDNY spokesman said.

"It was like a bomb," said George Tamayo, 26, who works on the sixth floor of the building. "The whole building shook."

The explosion blew out several nearby windows, sending shards of glass onto the street, he said.

An FDNY spokesman said firefighters initially picked up on dangerous carbon monoxide readings in the lobby of the building. The FDNY subsequently evacuated about 10 people from the building.

No one was injured when two transformers caught fire on Fifth Avenue on March 26, 2012. (DNAinfo/Ben Fractenberg)

No one was injured, officials said.

They were allowed back in the building some 90 minutes later, a fire chief said at the scene, after CO readings leveled off and were no longer deemed dangerous.

The FDNY spokesman said about 4 p.m. that the transformers were nearly extinguished. The block was re-opened to traffic just before 4:30 p.m.

Sara Banda, a Con Ed spokeswoman, said workers were on the scene, but the cause was not immediately known. There were no outages as a result of the manhole fires, she said.

By: DNAinfo

Shooting Victim Dies After Taking Woman's Car In Queens

QUEENS — A man wounded by gunfire died in Elmhurst Sunday night after crashing a car belonging to a terrified motorist he had asked for help, authorities said.

Tesfari Davis, 32, of Corona, approached a woman parking her car in the neighborhood at 8:33 p.m. Sunday after suffering a gunshot wound to the neck and multiple gunshots to the legs, police said.

The woman panicked and jumped out of the car and Davis hopped behind the wheel and sped away, police said.

The victim ultimately crashed into an SUV near the Horace Harding Expressway and Junction Boulevard, where cops found him, police said.

The driver of the SUV got out to exchange vehicle information when he saw the victim "shaking and having convulsions," a police source said.

Davis was taken to Elmhurst Hospital and pronounced dead.

There are no arrests and the investigation is ongoing. 

By: DNAinfo

BROOKLYN 2 ALARM FIRE...

Brooklyn  FDNY  are on scene at a fire in a furniture store on 65 St & 18 Ave, FDNY has transmitted a 2nd Alarm response due to heavy fire conditions throughout the store.

Police Shootout Leaves Man Critically Injured

MANHATTAN — A young man was shot and critically injured in Harlem Sunday evening after he opened fire on a group of police officers, authorities said.

The shootout unfolded at 2698 Frederick Douglass Blvd., near West 143rd Street, just before 6:30 p.m.

According to police officials, the uniformed officers, from the 32nd Precinct, approached the suspect for reasons that were not immediately known and he then took off.

At some point the man turned around and shot twice at the officers but did not hit them, according to the officials.

That's when one of the cops fired back, hitting the man in the chest and upper left thigh.

He was rushed to Harlem Hospital in critical but stable condition, according to the officials.

But witnesses said that the young man was shot in the back.

"The kid was running away. He looked real scared," said witness David Page, 42. "Next thing I see him freeze and that's when the cop shot him in the back."

A source said that the man who was shot was hopping between two cars when he was shot.

Police could not immediately confirm that account, but said that a .45 caliber handgun was recovered at the scene.

Two shell casings were also recovered.

By: DNAinfo

Man Critically Injured In Harlem Shooting

MANHATTAN — A man was shot and critically injured in Harlem Sunday evening, authorities said.

The shooting unfolded at 2698 Frederick Douglass Blvd., near West 143rd Street, just before 6:30 p.m.

The victim was rushed to Harlem Hospital in critical condition, according to the FDNY.

By: DNAinfo

Red light’ for scofflaw patrol cops

NYPD brass is cracking down on cops who go through red lights while on patrol by forcing officers to fork over $50 fines if they get caught on camera and can't prove they were on legitimate police business.

A Manhattan cop said he was hit with a summons three months ago after he ran a red light to stop a vehicle with a potential drunken driver.

The motorist was sober but tired, so no ticket was issued, and the cop didn't make a note of the stop in his memo book, he said.

When the precinct received the red-light summons, his supervisor grilled him — then ordered him to pay the fine.

"They didn't believe me," the cop said. "Where was the proof? I had to pay it out of my own pocket."

His union blasted the policy.

"We were trained in the Police Academy that the greatest single deterrent to crime is police omnipresence, which translates into catching the bad guys by surprise," said Pat Lynch, head of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.

"If that means circling a block with suspicious activity or passing a light for the sake of catching a perp off guard, then so be it."

By BRAD HAMILTON

Massive Fire Rips Through Morningside Avenue Building

MANHATTAN — A huge fire tore through a vacant Harlem building Sunday morning — leaving more than a hundred firefighters battling the flames for nearly five hours, fire officials said.

The three-alarm blaze broke out at 92 Morningside Ave., near West 122nd Street, just before 2:30 a.m., according to the FDNY.

Heavy flames ripped through the basement, extending to the third floor of the seven-story building.

"Building on the corner is a raging inferno," tweetedTobias McGuigan. "Smoke and flames are crazy intense. Hope everyone is ok there."

It took nearly five hours for the 133 firefighters who raced to the scene to bring the fire under control.

"Wow FDNY is still at it," McGuigan tweeted. "No doubt about it, when firefighters go to work they really earn that salary."

There were no reports of injuries, the FDNY said.

It was not immediately clear what sparked the blaze, the cause of which is under investigation.

By: DNAinfo