Elderly Woman Dies in Williamsburg Blaze

WILLIAMSBURG — An elderly woman was severely burned in a late-night fire on Saturday in a Brooklyn high-rise, officials said.

Firefighters responded to a residential fire at the Taylor-Wythe Houses, a NYCHA building, on Ross Street at 11:10 p.m., and extinguished a fire inside a 12th floor apartment, police said. 

Upon putting out the fire, rescuers discovered Nelly Bermudez, 78, who had suffered from severe burns in the blaze, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Fire Marshall will determine the cause of the fire, but no criminality was suspected, police said, and no other apartments were impacted by the fire, police said.

An investigation is ongoing, police said.

Possible 8th Incident in Series of Violent Elevator Robberies

Police say a 57-year-old man was assaulted and robbed inside an elevator in East Harlem Saturday morning, in what may be the eighth incident in a series of violent elevator robberies in the area.

The man suffered a broken nose in the attack inside a building on East 97th Street. The mugger took $200 from the victim, along with his wallet and his cell phone. The victim was treated and released from Metropolitan Hospital.

Police have not confirmed whether this attack is connected with a series of seven other recent elevator robberies on the Upper East Side and in East Harlem, in which Asian men and women were apparently targeted.

On Thursday, police say a 27-year-old woman was assaulted and robbed in an elevator in her apartment building on the Upper East Side. Once inside the elevator, the suspect attacked the woman, then fled with her purse and iPhone.

Police have released surveillance video of the suspect, taken after the first incident, reported on Jan. 17. 

In each incident, the suspect followed the victim into an elevator and assaulted them, punching them in the face and head. The suspect then forcefully took valuables like cell phones, wallets, keys and cash, before running away. 

The victims have ranged in age from 27 to 64-years-old. Each victim was taken to area hospitals to be treated for injuries to the face. 

On Saturday, Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito and other community leaders held a press conference in East Harlem denouncing the attacks.

"This kind of violence against our Asian American neighbors, and against any members of our community, will not be tolerated," said Mark-Viverito. "This attacker must be stopped, and we need the entire community to remain vigilant until he is apprehended."

The suspect in the first seven incidents is described as being between 25 to 35 years old, 200 to 240 pounds, and was last seen wearing a black jacket and blue jeans.

Anyone who recognizes the suspect pictured in the surveillance photo is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS or at nypdcrimestoppers.com.

Police: Nine Days Since Last Reported New York City Homicide

Murders in the city have gone cold.

Police say nine days have gone by since the last reported New York City homicide.

The last reported murder was on January 16 in the Bronx.

A woman was found dead Friday in Brooklyn. Her death is being called suspicious, but with no obvious signs of trauma, the cause of death hasn't been determined.

The only other recent time the city saw a streak of nine days was after Hurricane Sandy.

The police commissioner said there's no single reason for the streak, but didn't deny that the cold weather may be playing a factor.

Records show only 18 murders in the city so far this year.

The city is coming off a year with 414 murders, the lowest total since record keeping began.

By: NY1 News

FDR Crash Involving NYPD Cruiser Leaves 2 Cops Injured

A car crash on the FDR Drive involving an NYPD cruiser early Saturday morning left two officers injured, authorities said.

The officers were responding to an earlier accident involving two cars on the northbound lane of the FDR near 101st Street at around 4 a.m., when an SUV slammed into their cruiser.

The two officers were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, police said.

The driver of the SUV, a woman in her 20s, was arrested for driving under the influence, officials said.

Northbound lanes on the FDR were temporarily shut down as police investigated the crash.

Construction Worker Dies in Fall at Astoria Building Site

ASTORIA — A construction worker died Thursday afternoon after falling 12 feet at an Astoria building site, officials said.

The worker, who was not immediately identified, fell through a hole in the floor at a construction site at 45-11 Broadway, near 46th Street, about 3:15 p.m., the FDNY said.

He suffered serious injuries to his head and went into cardiac arrest, the FDNY said.

He was rushed to Mount Sinai Queens, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

Amile Zouten, 36, was eating in a restaurant nearby when a woman rushed in and screamed that a construction worker had fallen and was bleeding badly.

Zouten said he rushed out and saw emergency responders doing CPR on the worker as they loaded him into an ambulance.

"His head was covered in blood," Zouten said. "They tried to revive him. It's sad."

Massive Fire Displaces Families From Amsterdam Ave. Apartment Building

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — A massive fire tore through an Amsterdam Avenue building late Wednesday, leaving several apartments badly scorched and families displaced on a freezing night.

The Washington Heights blaze broke out about 8 p.m. on the second floor of 2440 Amsterdam Ave. and quickly spread through the walls of the five-story building, an FDNY spokesman said.

Jose, a 28-year-old who's lived in the building since childhood, was getting ready to walk his dogs when he saw smoke filling the hallway.

"We got everyone out of the second floor," Jose said. "Then we saw that the fire was spreading, so we ran up to the third floor and saw more smoke.  We were worried the fire was going wall to wall, so we had to evacuate everybody.

"I was carrying old women down the stairs. I don't know their names, but we're all neighbors here so we stick together," he added. "It was scary, but I just did what I had to do."

Nearly 10 apartments were scorched in the blaze and several others sustained water damage, fire officials on the scene said Wednesday night.

The Red Cross was on the scene to provide assistance to those tenants who were displaced by the fire.

Four firefighters sustained minor injuries and were taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital - Weill Cornell, an FDNY spokesman said. A civilian was also injured in the fire, but refused medical treatment at the scene.

The inferno was brought under control about 11 p.m., three hours later.

Taxi Driver Killed, 1 Person Injured in Manhattan Crash

A taxi driver was killed and another man was injured in an early morning car crash Sunday in Manhattan.

Police say a driver in a sport utility vehicle traveling on East 26th Street around 2 a.m. hit a taxi that was double-parked. The taxi shot forward, hitting the cab driver who had been standing in front of it.

Authorities say the taxi driver, 35-year-old Mir Hoosain of Queens, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The SUV and the taxicab hit three other parked cars. A man who was in one of the parked cars was hospitalized in stable condition.

No arrests have been made and an investigation into the accident is ongoing.