Crime

UPDATE Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin Resigns following His Arrest for Campaign Finance Corruption

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Editor’s Note: On Jan. 17, 2025, the charges against Benjamin were dropped following the death of a co-defendant and witness in the case, as reported. Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin resigned on Tuesday, April 12, following his arrest on campaign finance corruption charges. In a statement issued on Tuesday evening, Gov. Kathy Hochul said, “I have accepted Brian Benjamin’s resignation effective immediately. While the legal process plays out, it is clear to both of us that he cannot continue to serve as lieutenant governor. New Yorkers deserve absolute confidence in their government, and I will continue working every day to deliver


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Police Appeal for Help from Public in Citywide Armed Robbery Pattern

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  The NYPD is asking for the public’s help, identifying the person seen in the attached photos who is sought in connection to a citywide commercial robbery pattern which has been traced to the 50th precinct, the 26th precinct, and the 33rd precinct.   The 50th precinct in The Bronx, covers Kingsbridge, Marble Hill, Riverdale, Fieldston, Spuyten Duyvil and Van Cortlandt Park. The 26th precinct covers the Upper West Side of Manhattan, including Morningside Heights, Manhattanville, Columbia University, Riverside Park, Morningside Park, and the General Grant National Memorial.   The 33rd precinct covers Washington Heights in northern Manhattan, which encompasses


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UPDATE South Bronx: Arrest Made in Shooting of Three Teens, One Fatally, in School Vicinity

By SÍLE MOLONEY
The NYPD announced Saturday, April 9, that an arrest has been made in the case of the shooting of three teenagers who were shot, one fatally, in the vicinity of South Bronx High School, located north of the Mott Haven border in the South Bronx, on Friday, April 8.   During a press conference held Friday afternoon, Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell described the incident “as a tragic shooting that took the life of a teen, a young woman with a bright future and injured two other teenagers who were struck by bullets on the streets of The Bronx.”   “At this


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UPDATE Store Robbed at Gunpoint as NYPD Releases March Crime Stats & Contentious State Budget Agreed

By SÍLE MOLONEY
The NYPD said a cell phone store in Kingsbridge was robbed at gunpoint on Thursday, April 7. The incident comes on the heels of the NYPD releasing the latest crime statistics for March, and following news on Thursday that the delayed State budget has been agreed in principle. The budget was due to be brokered by April 1, and despite long negotiations, some are still not happy with the final plan, a scenario reminiscent of the 2020 contentious City budget negotiations amid the old rallying cry of “Defund the Police.”   Regarding the Kingsbridge robbery, a police official said the


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Op-Ed: Why the Vernon C. Bain Center Should Close

By EDWIN SANTANA
The Vernon C. Bain Center, also known as “The Boat,” is perhaps the only floating jail in the country. Advocates have equated it to a slave ship. It’s an extension of Rikers Island. I know both The Boat and Rikers Island well, since I’ve been detained at both places, and I know they both deserve to be a chapter in the history books and not part of anyone’s present.   The Boat opened in 1992 to make room for the ballooning population held pre-trial at the height of mass incarceration. Thirty years later, it’s still in use, even with the


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Norwood: 20 Alleged G-Side/Drilly Gang Members Charged with Murder, Non-Fatal Shootings, Stabbings

By DAVID GREENE & SÍLE MOLONEY
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark and New York City Police Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell announced on Thursday, April 7, that 20 people, including four adolescent offenders, have been charged with various offenses related to murder, non-fatal shootings, and stabbings mainly in the areas of East Gun Hill Road, Hull Avenue and Decatur Avenue in Norwood and the surrounding areas.   According to the investigation, the defendants, alleged members of the G-Side/Drilly gang, a subset of the Bloods Sex Money Murder gang, allegedly carried out a total of 32 acts of violence that spanned a three-year period, between Sept. 20,


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Fordham Manor: 76-Year-old Woman Attacked & Robbed

By SÍLE MOLONEY
    The NYPD is looking for the public’s help identifying the person seen in the attached photo and video who is sought for questioning in connection to a robbery that occurred in Fordham Manor.   It was reported to police that on Saturday, April 2, at approximately 1.40 p.m., shortly after a 76-year-old woman withdrew money from an ATM located inside a bank located at 1 East Fordham Road, the person grabbed the victim’s purse and threw her to the ground.   The assailant then fled, northbound, on Jerome Avenue with the victim’s purse. The victim was transported by


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UPDATE Fordham Heights: Police Announce Arrests in Fatal Shooting of 61-Year-Old Female Bystander

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Police said they have made two arrests following the shooting of a 61-year-old female bystander in Fordham Heights on Monday, April 4. The news was confirmed on Friday, April 8.   As reported, the victim was shot dead in cross fire amid a dispute among a group of young men in the Fordham Heights section of The Bronx on Monday evening, April 4.   Deputy Chief Eric Hernández from the 46th precinct confirmed that at around 7.05 p.m., officers from the 46th precinct responded to numerous calls of a person shot outside a grocery store located at 164 East 188th


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Fordham Heights: Man Slashes Woman in Face with Knife

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  The NYPD is asking for the public’s assistance locating the unidentified man seen in the attached photo and video who is sought in connection to an assault that occurred in Fordham Heights, located in the 46th precinct.   According to police, on Wednesday, March 30, at 10.55 p.m. inside Fordham Road Station, the victim, a 45-year-old woman, got involved in a verbal dispute with the man who produced a knife and slashed her in the face. According to the police report, “the man fled the subway system, topside.” The victim was transported in stable condition by EMS to St.


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