Day: March 6, 2025

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Democratic mayoral primary opponents piled on him on Thursday over a report that he has only lived in the Big Apple since September.

Former city Comptroller Scott Stringer called a last-minute news conference Thursday morning to bash the former top executive over the report by the news site Gothamist following Cuomo’s entrance into the race last weekend. The former governor is making his first run for office since resigning as the state’s top executive in 2021 amid multiple allegations of sexual harassment, which he denies.

The outlet reported that Cuomo made a Midtown East apartment his home address last September. The posh two-bedroom unit costs $8,242 a month, according to the report, and was previously occupied by Cuomo’s daughter, Cara Kennedy-Cuomo.

Cuomo was previously a long-time resident of Westchester and Albany. Although Cuomo grew up in Queens, Stringer charged that he abandoned the five boroughs long ago for the suburbs and no longer understands how the city works.

“Andrew Cuomo hasn’t been here, hasn’t thought about us,” Stringer said. “He doesn’t get us, he doesn’t understand us, he doesn’t think about us in the way people who live here every day do…He’s back in town, and that’s okay. But I have to tell you, this notion that he is a New York City person goes out the window with the reporting of today’s stories.”

Stringer argued that Cuomo’s lack of understanding fueled what he characterized as Cuomo’s unfavorable treatment of the city during his 11 years as governor. The former comptroller specifically pointed to Cuomo’s repeated cuts to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and CUNY while in office and his handling of COVID-19 patients living in nursing homes.

 “When you overlay his record as the government on policies that mattered most to New Yorkers, he failed, he failed with the MTA, he failed with the city university, he failed during COVID, protecting our seniors,” Stringer said. “And I think part of the problem is he doesn’t get us anymore.”

‘I have been a lifelong New Yorker’

Cuomo pushed back on his opponents’ accusation that he is a carpetbagger during a Thursday afternoon news conference.

“I have been a lifelong New Yorker,” Cuomo told reporters. “When you’re governor, you’re still in New York. New York City is in New York State. And I was obviously very, very involved with New York City. So I’m a New Yorker 100% through and through.”

Cuomo said he had rented the Manhattan apartment for a couple of years but only lived there full-time since last fall.

Brad Lander, Stringer’s successor as comptroller, blasted Cuomo for the exorbitant rental price of his apartment.

“Most New Yorkers can’t afford the asking the average unit of $3,500-a-month, I don’t know anyone who can afford to pay $8,800-a-month,” Lander said. “That is not the housing struggle that New Yorkers are facing.”

Cuomo has been fielding attacks from all sides since entering the race as a front-runner less than a week ago. In addition to his residence, Cuomo’s opponents have attacked him over the toll his feud with former Mayor Bill de Blasio took on the city and the sexual harassment scandal that led him to resign.

Nonetheless, Cuomo has continued to dominate public polls — leading the pack with 31% of support in a Wednesday Quinnipiac University Survey.

He has also begun nabbing big endorsements, including those from Mayor Eric Adams’ allies, such as former Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and Manhattan Assembly Member Eddie Gibbs.

“If anything has changed, momentarily, it’s that across our country, across issues, people who should be speaking up, aren’t.”

The post As many top Democrats stay silent on Cuomo mayoral run, an accuser feels betrayed appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

A group of 25 inmates and accomplices tied to Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center were charged in a slate of cases connected to violence and smuggling at the infamous federal jail, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Thursday. 

The group allegedly engaged in an array of illegal activity in the Sunset Park facility — from minor offenses such as pot smuggling to dangerous assaults caught on security camera. The charges include inmates as well as former correctional officers and people outside of the jail. 

“The safety and security of our federal detention facilities is paramount,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York John Durham said. “As alleged, in several separate charging instruments, inmates viciously attacked fellow detainees, a correctional officer betrayed his duty by attempting to smuggle drugs into the facility, several inmates orchestrated elaborate contraband smuggling operations and yet another inmate continued to engage in fraud schemes while detained. These actions undermine the order and security of MDC-Brooklyn and endanger everyone within its  walls.”

In one incident, Angel Villafane, a member of the gang Valentine Avenue Crew, used a bag of Doritos chips to smuggle into the jail a ball full of ceramic scalpels. 

During a visit to the jail on Oct. 12, 2024, Villafane took out the blades and placed them under his shirt. Correctional officers later discovered the scalpels during a search, court papers stated.

It is unclear right now if the bag was empty or what flavor Doritos occupied. 

The MDC, which once housed Ghislaine Maxwell for her role in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case, has come under heavy criticism in recent years for alleged inhumane conditions, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago. Last month, News12 reported, the MDC was closed to family visits following a bloody brawl that left numerous inmates injured — and six others hit with criminal charges.

Six inmates in bloody brawl caught on camera

In a separate incident, six inmates—Brian Castro, Franklin Gillespie, Juan Lopez, Jowenky Nunez Jr., Hugo  Rodriguez, and Elvis Trejo—are facing charges for their roles in a brutal unit-wide fight at the prison that resulted in more than 20 inmates getting medical assessments.

Armed with weapons, the group chased and stabbed a fellow inmate 18 times during the brawl. 

The victim required hospitalization for his injuries. 

Other defendants, including Devone Thomas, were charged with possession of a contraband weapon. Thomas was previously charged with the June 7, 2024, killing of  Uriel Whyte inside of the MDC Brooklyn. Tyquan Robinson has been charged with a five-count superseding indictment with conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bank fraud,  aggravated identity theft and possession of contraband in prison.

Prosecutors also charged Mike Josie, Adil Duran, Erik Steadman, Javaughn Horton, Juan Lopez and Jose Rivera with other unrelated assaults at the MDC involving inmates over the past year.

Additional cases include the following:

•  Jairon Ortega-Corea, an MS-13 gang associate, made a pit-stop at Walmart to get alcohol and phones for an attempt to smuggle it all into fellow gang members housed at the jail. An MDC employee found the retail contraband, as well as 345 grams of pot, on Dec. 2, 2024, according to court papers.

But Villafane and Ortega-Corea are far from the only smugglers involved in the MDC crime swoop. Daryl Campbell, Ian Diez, Jonathan Guerrero, Abel Mora and Mayovanex  Rodriguez are charged by complaint with conspiracy to smuggle contraband into the facility between April and June 2024. In detailed voice recordings, Cambell explained his Looney Toons-style method of throwing a “line” out of a jail window for his co-conspirators to attach an array of drugs and weapons. 

On June 30, 2024, the others charged in the case attempted to execute Campbell’s scheme by pulling a rope through the window in their housing area. At the other end of that rope, correctional officers found what appeared to be suboxone, marijuana, a scalpel, a phone charger, lighters, and cigarettes, according to court documents.

• Najee Jackson, a former correctional officer at the jail, allegedly attempted to smuggle contraband – vacuum-sealed bags of pot and cigarettes – into the facility on Jan. 21, 2025. 

He was caught when he failed to clear the on-site metal detector in the staff screening area, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. Jackson resigned two days later but still faces charges. 

• Inmates Sean Smith, Rasheed Chapman and Antwan Mosley were indicted by a grand jury for the June 2, 2024, assault of another inmate. The defendants violently assaulted the victim, slashing him across the face and neck and causing serious lacerations. The victim was then chased through the housing unit and struck repeatedly by his assailants. 

 

Subway ridership is up and transit crime numbers are plummeting as NYC approaches a full year’s worth of large-scale subway safety initiatives, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The governor marked on Thursday the first anniversary of what she called a five-point subway safety plan by spotlighting reductions in NYC transit crimes. The year-old plan kicked off in March 2024 with a massive surge of National Guard soldiers and MTA Police officers into the city’s subway system in response to several high-profile, violent incidents, including three homicides, that shook the city at the start of the year. That came on the heels of an NYPD surge of officers. 

Although, at first, New Yorkers were divided about having National Guardsmen present during their everyday commutes, the governor’s team said other more inconspicuous safety measures are still responsible for lowering crime on the rails. These include surveillance cameras in every subway car, police bag checks, and an increase in outreach teams to help homeless or mentally ill New Yorkers who are often found riding the trains. 

“By adding uniformed officers to every train, fortifying our transit infrastructure, and expanding mental health outreach, we’ve made real progress in driving down transit crime,” Hochul said. “Working in partnership with law enforcement, district attorneys and mental health experts, we’re working to make the subways safer for every straphanger.”

The ongoing five-point plan utilizes state resources to protect New Yorkers on the subways. The governor’s office described it as not only a boots-on-the-ground effort but also an administrative one. 

The plan includes increased coordination between district attorneys and law enforcement and the governor’s call on judges to use their expanded discretion to set bail in an effort to reduce recidivism. 

Additionally, throughout the year, about 850 homeless individuals initially seeking shelter on subways were put into permanent housing through the state’s Safe Options Support initiative. 

Transit advocacy groups have noticed the results of the safety measures implemented. Brian Fritsch, associate director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, said riders “need and deserve to be safe and feel safe” throughout the MTA system. 

“Millions have been exercising their confidence every day with MetroCard swipes and OMNY taps as ridership continues to set post-pandemic records,” Fritsch said. “We’re thankful for Governor Hochul’s continued focus on safety throughout the MTA system and her commitment to ensuring it is affordable, accessible, and reliable for decades to come.”

What do the numbers say?

NYC would be hard-pressed to call the subways crime-free these days. High-profile crimes involving assault, robbery, and other offenses on the trains and platforms continue to make headlines almost every day. 

But statistically speaking, major transit crimes are down 29.4% year to date compared to the same time period last year, per NYPD data. The department also reports that transit crime is down 28% compared to the same two-month period in 2019, the year before the pandemic. 

Meanwhile, as crime rates drop, trains are getting more crowded, and ridership is increasing. The governor’s office said there were 1.2 billion riders in 2024, with ridership up 7% year to date. 

“It’s not a mystery — more cops, more enforcement, and more effective mental health outreach and treatment directly cuts down on transit crime,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said. “Now we need legal changes proposed by Gov. Hochul that will ensure recidivist criminals aren’t free to keep preying on subway riders.”

Increasing law enforcement presence

Closing out 2024 and heading into 2025, another spate of violent crimes occurred, including the horrific arson homicide of a woman who was burned alive on an F train in Brooklyn. Hochul responded by putting more of the crime-fighting plan into action and assigning more uniformed officers to the trains.

After putting 750 NYPD in transit stations across New York City and an additional 300 in the train cars themselves, subway crime statistics have continued to drop so far this year. The governor’s office explained that the increase in enforcement prioritizes 30 subway stations and transit hubs that account for 50% of crime in the transit system. 

The city has also stepped up efforts to help keep subways safe this year. On Jan. 30, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced her own three-point plan to battle subway crime. Per her plan, cops have been assigned to platforms and subway cars, where she said 78% of transit crime takes place. She also highlighted a renewed focus on officers addressing quality-of-life crimes, such as drinking and smoking on the trains.

Now, per both state and city initiatives, more cops are riding the trains, including overnight trains, and about 1,000 National Guardsmen patrol subway entrances throughout the transit system. 

“Keeping New Yorkers safe is my top priority – and I’ll never stop working to ensure riders can rely on our subways to safely get wherever they need to go,” the governor said. 

Looking ahead

As noted in previous reports, the governor plans to install subway platform edge barriers, paid for by the state, at more than 100 additional stations by the end of 2025. 

The state will also invest in modern fare gates in more than 20 stations across the system in 2025 and an additional 20 stations in 2026 to reduce fare evasion, a crime scourge projected to cost the MTA up to $800 million annually. 

The Subway Co-Response Outreach Team (SCOUT) effort will expand through a $20 million investment by the end of 2025 to help end the seemingly endless problem of finding housing and treatment for homeless New Yorkers on the trains.

 

On a Friday night, members of the Brooklyn Lace Guild gather at the Old Stone House in Park Slope, rhythmically knocking together 3D-printed and traditional wooden bobbins.

The crafters’ hands move like elegant machines, each thread adding to the creation of extremely intricate and delicate pieces of lace. 

Devon Thein, one of the guild’s founders, carefully unspools a piece of lace she’s been weaving for five years.

Thein, who has worked with lace for more than 40 years, moves with such speed that the wooden bobbins are nearly impossible to follow as they bounce back and forth.

She co-founded the Brooklyn Lace Guild in 2016 alongside Elena Kanagy-Loux and Kaelyn Garcia to preserve the tradition of the craft. Today, the guild brings together antique lace collectors, history enthusiasts, textile artists, newcomers to the craft, and everyone in between.

“ We are really having quite a renaissance of interest in lace and I see it all over the place,” Kanagy-Loux told Brooklyn Paper. “A lot of our members are younger and are beginners.”

Nearly a decade in, the guild has grown to 70 members, welcoming individuals of all ages and genders who share a passion for preserving the craft of lace-making.

While machines can replicate the look of handmade lace by mechanically weaving threads together, Kanagy-Loux — a historian, Ph.D. student, and lace researcher — isn’t worried that the craft will get lost in today’s shuffle of modernity or machinery.

“People have a lot of anxieties about things like AI, but this is something that really is so human and it’s something that can’t be done by machine in the same way,” she said. “I think it’s a way that we reconnect with our bodies and our self-confidence, and that we reconnect with each other as a community. That makes us feel really human.”

Lace-making is women’s history

Kanagy-Loux, who has spent years studying lace-making internationally, said the craft was largely pioneered by generations of highly skilled women.

“ Sometimes there’s a tendency to sort of pity historical women,” she said. “Many of these women weren’t literate and they weren’t paid very well, but they were brilliant.”

“They were doing such technical and amazing work,” she went on. “It’s like a circuit board. It’s so technologically complicated. The way that they were figuring these things out and pioneering them and innovating, it’s breathtaking.”

The guild’s meet-ups help preserve the traditions of the women memorialized through the textiles and archival patterns they left behind. By reviving decades-old lace patterns and sharing the history they’ve learned, guild members are more than hobbyists — they are historians and preservationists.

“ It’s really incredible to be doing research that is sometimes hard to find,” said 23-year-old member August Grace. “They’re not things that as commonplace to search for, like merchants’ records of bobbins.”

Grace, who has been making lace for three years, said their interest in the craft began with exploring the intersection of disability and lace-making.

“I found that lace-makers tend to keep those histories very alive and will retell the stories,” Grace said. “So I’ve learned information that I don’t think I ever could have found researching in a traditional way, just by talking to people.”

Brooklyn Lace Guild often works with patterns that have little historical context or are written in different languages, leaving members to pool their knowledge about the craft. 

At a Feb. 28 meet-up at the Old Stone House, one member presented a box of completed lace projects, hoping someone could identify their origin. The group speculated they likely came from Eastern Europe.

Immigrant women paving the way

New York has its own special history of lace-making. Kanagy-Loux pointed to Carolina Amari, a lace pioneer who established the industry on the Lower East Side in the late 19th century, providing Italian immigrant women with needlelace work.

She also highlighted the contributions of Puerto Rican artists working in the Mundillo style and Jewish immigrants who founded lace businesses that still operate in the city today.

The Brooklyn Lace Guild continues this legacy, keeping the craft alive in New York.

“When I started on this lace journey, I really felt like, oh no, I have to go and save this thing, and there’s gonna be no one left, it’s gonna disappear,” said Kanagy-Loux. “[Then] I was like, oh, there’s actually so many young people doing this. And now that we have more of this knowledge online, it just continues to grow.”

With increasing digital access to historical techniques and patterns, she said, the craft is finding new life among a younger generation of lace-makers.

Going online has not only helped the guild discover more lace-making resources, but it has also connected members with others who share their passion for the craft. Kanagy-Loux began creating TikTok videos in 2020, showcasing her work and sharing stories of historical lace-makers. She has since gained more than 100,000 followers.

The guild has also expanded to Zoom meet-ups, broadening its membership and connecting people across the country, and regularly hosts 

The Brooklyn Lace Guild regularly hosts crafting meet-ups and lace-making classes. Visit the Brooklyn Lace Guild website for information on upcoming events.

FATHER MICHAEL EGUINO, an NYPD chaplain and pastor, was arrested last Friday and is accused of soliciting a prostitute.

The post NYPD chaplain denies soliciting prostitution after arrest appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

Feminist Art  Brooklyn Museum