Twenty Charged With Alleged Trafficking Of Eastern European Women
Immigration and law enforcement officials have arrested and charged 20 people, including five Queens residents and three Brooklyn residents, in connection with a human trafficking operation that allegedly brought women from Russia and Eastern Europe and forced them to dance in various strip clubs in the city. Read More: NY1
Buyer Assistance Program marries first-time homeowners and foreclosed houses
A new city program is offering sweetheart deals to persuade wannabe homeowners to move into parts of Queens ravaged by foreclosure. Homebuyers can earn up to $80,000 in forgiveable loans through the initiative aimed at areas like South Jamaica, Woodhaven and the Rockaways. The program, run with federal funds, hopes to fulfill home-buying dreams and prevent abandoned houses from being vandalized and becoming havens for squatters. Read More: Daily News
Food carts may get letter grades
One Queens politician is aiming to make choosing the right food cart as easy as “A, B, C.” Senator Jose Peralta, who represents Jackson Heights, Corona, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst and Woodside, recently introduced a bill that would require local health departments across the state to evaluate and assign a letter grade to mobile food carts. The legislation, which is expected to be introduced in the coming weeks, would invoke a similar rating system to the one performed on restaurants. Read More: Queens Courier
Man pleads guilty to Brooklyn charges in 28-hour rampage The man charged with a Brooklyn-to-Manhattan murder spree that started with the slaying of his mother’s boyfriend and ended with a brutal stabbing aboard a subway train pleaded guilty today to four murder counts and other charges. Maksim Gelman, 24, had originally pleaded not guilty to the four counts and a raft of other charges in the 13-count indictment. Gelman’s lawyer Edward Friedman said his client wished to plead guilty in Brooklyn this time. Read More: New York Post
Police suspect murder victims found on Long Island’s Gilgo Beach were murdered by single serial killer
Days before the first anniversary of the discovery of bodies on Gilgo Beach, police said Tuesday that they believe one serial killer is responsible. Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer said there was enough evidence to link the dumping of the remains of 10 people to one killer. Read More: Daily News
Young teen pepper-sprays classmates at Harlem high school A 14-year-old Harlem student blasted her classmates with pepper spray Tuesday, sending eight students to the hospital with minor injuries. Education officials are investigating the incident, which occurred in an Academy for Social Action classroom around 2:30 p.m. Eight students who inhaled the noxious chemicals were rushed from the W. 129th St. school to St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital. Read More: Daily News
Deaf woman abducted in Brookyln ‘for sex’
A deaf woman who stormed out on her boyfriend after a fight was snatched off a Williamsburg street by two thugs who tried to pimp her out — and beat her when she refused, police sources said yesterday. The 28-year-old upstate woman told cops she was walking back to her grandmother’s apartment at about 2 a.m. Monday when a man yanked her into his car and told her to “work” for him. Read More: New York Post
