Day: December 11, 2024

A Brooklyn man has been arrested and charged in connection with a fatal hit-and-run collision near JFK Airport that killed a Manhattan man in March, as well as for unrelated weapons and driving offenses.

Hutton December, 44, of Watkins Street in Brownsville, was taken into custody on Wednesday, Dec. 4, after a 113th Precinct officer in Jamaica observed him driving a gray GMC van while looking at his cell phone near North Conduit Avenue and Inwood Street in South Jamaica, according to the criminal complaint.

When pulled over, December was unable to produce a valid driver’s license. A DMV check revealed his license had been suspended twice, most recently on Nov. 14. He was arrested, and his van was impounded. Later that day, while inspecting the vehicle, another officer discovered a multi-colored backpack hanging from the driver’s seat. Inside, they found a green ripped pouch containing a .38-caliber silver handgun loaded with eight rounds of ammunition.

A subsequent NYPD database check linked December to an ongoing investigation into a fatal hit-and-run collision on Sunday, March 31, near the Nassau Expressway and JFK Expressway, not far from where he was pulled over on Dec. 4.

On that day, NYPD Highway District officers responded to a 911 call just before 1:30 p.m. They determined that 68-year-old U Fo Ng of East Broadway on Manhattan’s Lower East Side had parked his Honda CRV on the shoulder of the Nassau Expressway when it was struck by a box truck whose driver failed to navigate the roadway. The impact caused Ng’s vehicle to hit him, and the box truck fled the scene. EMS responded to the location and rushed the victim to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.

Detectives identified the box truck as a blue and white 1998 Ford E350 registered in Florida to Hutton December.

Following his Dec. 4 arrest, December admitted during questioning, “It was me who was driving. I was at a party, I was driving home, I remember hitting something.” He added, “I stopped to push my mirror and then kept going.” He told investigators he noticed the damage to the truck the following morning.

“I had a few drinks, and I smoked at the party, and I did not report the incident,” December said.

December was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on Dec. 5. He faces charges including leaving the scene of an incident without reporting, aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, and driving without a license. In a separate case, he was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, an armed felony offense, and criminal possession of a firearm.

Queens Criminal Court Judge Julieta Lozano set bail at $30,000 cash or $90,000 bond for each case.

Less than two months ago, Kayla Thornton gave the New York Liberty 21 strong minutes off the bench in the fifth and decisive game of the WNBA Finals. Now, she’s moving on to the Bay Area as one of the founding pieces of the Golden State Valkyries following her selection in last week’s expansion draft. […]

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Since COVID, inflation has eaten away at New Yorkers’ incomes. In just the last four years, the price of something as basic as a dozen eggs has more than doubled nationally. Milk costs a dollar more per gallon, hamburger is up nearly two dollars more per pound, and diapers are up by seven dollars a pack.

When costs for basic necessities like these skyrocket, it makes putting food on the table so much more difficult. Many New Yorkers still feel the pinch. They know that every dollar counts. It adds up quickly, especially for a family with small children or for seniors on a fixed income.

I understand this struggle intuitively. I watched my factory worker grandparents struggle in their old age. I watched my mother raise a family of eight, stretching every dollar by buying us used clothes and serving fried spam sandwiches for dinner. When my own family was just starting out, I had to leave my job because we couldn’t find affordable childcare.

I shopped at discount grocery stores and dreamed of the days when we wouldn’t have to pay for formula and diapers.

This experience is why, since I became governor three years ago, my top priority has been to tackle the affordability crisis. And it’s also why, when I present my new state budget in Albany next month, I will include a historic new directive to return $3 billion in surplus sales tax revenue to the taxpayers.

Under my proposed Inflation Refund plan, if you are single and earn less than $150,000 per year, you would get a check for $300 later next year. Couples that file jointly and earn less than $300,000 annually would get a check for $500.

This is your money to buy groceries, clothes, medicine, or to pay rent or other bills, or whatever else you see fit to spend it on.

We’re able to do this because high inflation meant the amount the state collected in sales tax went up. Personally, I don’t think this extra revenue should be spent by the state. After all, it’s your money. Instead, it should be heading one place and one place only: Back into your pocket.

This could benefit 8.6 million households and make a real difference for middle class New Yorkers. It could help a young family pay for things like groceries, formula or diapers. It could help a young person pay student loans or rent. Or it could lift up a senior struggling to afford medication and heat in the winter.

And this is only the beginning of my 2025 affordability agenda for New York.

This groundbreaking Inflation Refund will build on actions we have already taken to protect New York families and make this state a more affordable place to live and raise a family.

Since my first day in office, we’ve expedited a middle class tax cut, cut property taxes, increased housing supply to reduce rents, and boosted tuition assistance, including, for the first time ever, for part-time students. My administration has also dramatically increased childcare support, so that eligible families may pay as little as $15 per week.

We’ve raised the minimum wage and indexed it to inflation, and this year delivered first-in-the-nation paid pre-natal leave, so working moms won’t lose income when they visit their doctor. We’re helping to cover utility bills and we’ve sent money to families for back to school shopping. This summer, we helped feed nearly 2 million more hungry kids with direct funds for food to parents.

My focus on affordability isn’t new. I wake up every day thinking about one thing: How can I fight for New York’s children and families? How can I put money back in your pockets?

No one should ever have to leave our great state because they can no longer afford to live here. I believe New York should be a place where people can get ahead, not just get by.

So know that I never have, and never will, stop fighting for you and your family.

ON THIS DAY IN 1874, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle said, “The official acceptance by Great Britain of the invitation of the United States to send a Commission to the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia is a complete acknowledgement on the part of John Bull that his rebellious youngster Jonathan has achieved an honorable success since he […]

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