STATEN ISLAND MODEL COMPANY Thoroughbred Models WILL BE HAVING THERE LAUNCH PARTY THIS FRI @ ELEMEN
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Thursday, September 30, 2010
Staten Island's parolees get big new helping hand
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Some hunched forward, others slouched in their chairs and crossed their arms defiantly over their chests, but all 89 parolees listened yesterday to the speakers at St. Philip’s Baptist Church, Port Richmond, with the quiet attention of honor students.
The message was about opportunity, and all the resources available to help them make a worthwhile life beyond prison bars.
"All you need is a desire. If you come with a desire and you have a will, there is a way," Patricia Gatling, head of the New York City Commission on Human Rights, told the group, all of whom are back home on Staten Island after doing time for felony crimes.
NYS Division of Parole Chairwoman and CEO Andrea W. Evans talks to former parolee Karron Mangin, owner of Against Da Grill, restaurant in Tompkinsville, at yesterday's event."Our job is not to lock you up. We’re here to help," said Andrea Evans, the chairwoman and CEO of the New York State Division of Parole.
She asked how many were unemployed, and nearly all hands shot up. "If you have zeal to get a job and get it done, you can make it happen," she said.
It was the inaugural event of ComALERT (Community and Law Enforcement Resources Together), which will offer the borough’s roughly 500 parolees a network of assistance with everything from finding a job to getting housing and psychological support during their "transition" — deceptively soft-sounding law enforcement parlance for the very difficult adjustment period after walking out of prison.
Why this borough, why now?
"Because of all the incidents that have been happening here; it’s the squeaky wheel that gets the oil," said Commissioner Gatling, ticking off some of the heart-wrenching crimes committed here this summer, including the string of alleged bias attacks and the Port Richmond mother’s murder of her children four children (she committed suicide). "When these kinds of things are happening in a community, it’s a cry for help."
In such a compact area, Ms. Gatling said, parolees often know — or know of — the people committing the crimes. If one-time felons transform themselves into role models, the positive impact can be far-reaching, she said. "They know what’s going on and where it’s going on," she said. "It’s a public safety issue: Either we will ignore we have a population who is having a particularly difficult time, especially in this economy, or we can do something about it."
The program takes as its model an initiative launched in 1999 in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, a community plagued by a spike in crime and where, like the Island, there had been a paucity of services.
Without job skills, education, access to housing, counseling and inspiration to carve out new priorities, the deck is stacked against parolees. Statistics show that more than 60 percent of the people who are convicted of crimes get locked up again within three years of getting out of prison.
"As I sit here and look at all of you men, it takes me back to the day I was sitting in your seat," said Gerald Howard, who grew up in the Park Hill section of Clifton and spent 18 years behind bars for robbery. After his release he got a job, put down roots through church and now runs Unorthodox Angels, a New Brighton-based group dedicated to helping parolees get on their feet. "Nobody in this room is born a criminal, but a lot of men fall into that trap. There are people in this room who want to help you."
The owner of Tompkinsville restaurant Against Da Grill, Karron Mangin, looked around the room, calling out to people he recognized from the neighborhood. "Getting people to believe in you is very hard, especially where we came from," he said, describing his journey from criminal to businessman. "Once you take that first step you’ll see there are people, right there, getting behind you."
The message was about opportunity, and all the resources available to help them make a worthwhile life beyond prison bars.
"All you need is a desire. If you come with a desire and you have a will, there is a way," Patricia Gatling, head of the New York City Commission on Human Rights, told the group, all of whom are back home on Staten Island after doing time for felony crimes.
NYS Division of Parole Chairwoman and CEO Andrea W. Evans talks to former parolee Karron Mangin, owner of Against Da Grill, restaurant in Tompkinsville, at yesterday's event.She asked how many were unemployed, and nearly all hands shot up. "If you have zeal to get a job and get it done, you can make it happen," she said.
It was the inaugural event of ComALERT (Community and Law Enforcement Resources Together), which will offer the borough’s roughly 500 parolees a network of assistance with everything from finding a job to getting housing and psychological support during their "transition" — deceptively soft-sounding law enforcement parlance for the very difficult adjustment period after walking out of prison.
Why this borough, why now?
"Because of all the incidents that have been happening here; it’s the squeaky wheel that gets the oil," said Commissioner Gatling, ticking off some of the heart-wrenching crimes committed here this summer, including the string of alleged bias attacks and the Port Richmond mother’s murder of her children four children (she committed suicide). "When these kinds of things are happening in a community, it’s a cry for help."
In such a compact area, Ms. Gatling said, parolees often know — or know of — the people committing the crimes. If one-time felons transform themselves into role models, the positive impact can be far-reaching, she said. "They know what’s going on and where it’s going on," she said. "It’s a public safety issue: Either we will ignore we have a population who is having a particularly difficult time, especially in this economy, or we can do something about it."
The program takes as its model an initiative launched in 1999 in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, a community plagued by a spike in crime and where, like the Island, there had been a paucity of services.
Without job skills, education, access to housing, counseling and inspiration to carve out new priorities, the deck is stacked against parolees. Statistics show that more than 60 percent of the people who are convicted of crimes get locked up again within three years of getting out of prison.
"As I sit here and look at all of you men, it takes me back to the day I was sitting in your seat," said Gerald Howard, who grew up in the Park Hill section of Clifton and spent 18 years behind bars for robbery. After his release he got a job, put down roots through church and now runs Unorthodox Angels, a New Brighton-based group dedicated to helping parolees get on their feet. "Nobody in this room is born a criminal, but a lot of men fall into that trap. There are people in this room who want to help you."
The owner of Tompkinsville restaurant Against Da Grill, Karron Mangin, looked around the room, calling out to people he recognized from the neighborhood. "Getting people to believe in you is very hard, especially where we came from," he said, describing his journey from criminal to businessman. "Once you take that first step you’ll see there are people, right there, getting behind you."
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Jim Jones – Blow Your Smoke
Jim Jones – Blow Your Smoke [Dirty] | Mediafire
Props to Splash for coming through with the explicit version.
New Brighton man is guilty in break-in, rape of ex
Qiydaar ReddickYesterday, a jury found Qiydaar Reddick guilty of the vicious attack in May last year that could put him behind bars for 25 years.
Reddick, 27, of Carroll Place, was convicted of first-degree rape, second-degree burglary and aggravated criminal contempt stemming from the May 18, 2009, assault at the victim’s New Brighton apartment — roughly two weeks after a judge issued a court order barring Reddick from communicating with his former girlfriend until 2014.
When the guilty verdicts were read yesterday, Reddick reacted angrily and had to be subdued by court officers. Jurors also acquitted Reddick of a count each of second-degree burglary and criminal contempt stemming from an incident at the woman’s apartment that allegedly occurred five days after the order of protection was issued.
Reddick faces up to 25 years in prison when Justice Robert J. Collini imposes sentence Oct. 20 in state Supreme Court, St. George.
His attorney, Mark J. Fonte, could not be reached for comment yesterday following the verdicts.
“This was a brutal attack by a violent criminal who will now spend a significant portion of his life behind bars,” District Attorney Daniel Donovan said, commending the “courageous victim who testified in front of a courtroom of strangers and relived the physical and psychological trauma she endured at the hands of this sexual predator.”
The victim, whose name is withheld, told jurors that during the first incident, on May 6 last year, Reddick kicked in her front door about 2 a.m., pushed her to the ground and yelled, “I’m going to [bleep] you up.”
Twelve days later, she testified, she was home with her cousin when Reddick again kicked the door open about 3:40 a.m., pulled a knife and ordered the cousin out of the apartment.
Reddick slashed the victim’s hand and thumb, then dragged her outside to a neighboring yard near a cellar door. He pulled down her pants and raped her, the victim testified. The cousin called 911, as did a neighbor who witnessed the attack.
The victim was taken to Richmond University Medical Center, West Brighton, where she underwent a rape kit examination. DNA lifted during the exam tied Reddick to the attack.
Reddick’s reaction to yesterday’s verdicts was in stark contrast to the smile on his face after a state Supreme Court, St. George, jury acquitted him of selling $40 worth of cocaine and marijuana to an undercover officer in November 2006.
Reddick said at the time he was living in Stockbridge, Ga., and was here visiting his mother and waiting to collect money he’d been awarded in a lawsuit when he was picked up on the drug charge.
Immediately following his acquittal, Reddick said he planned to return to Georgia that night, adding, “I’m not wasting no more time here.”
Assistant District Attorneys Karen Varriale and Kelly Carroll prosecuted the case.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
West Brighton man charged with burglary
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - A West Brighton burglary suspect ended up in cuffs after he brought his ill-gotten gains to a pawn shop, police allege.
Cops say Anthony Hemby, 19, of the 700 block of Henderson Avenue, and another man — identified in court papers only as “Kenny” — broke into a house on Delafield Avenue on Sept. 11.
“I was standing on the steps while Kenny cut open the window and he also tried to open the side door and he came out of the house with a bag of jewelry and a camera,” Hemby told detectives, according to court papers. “He went back inside and came out with an Express bag and he came back the next day with about four bracelets.”
Surveillance video from pawn shops led police to Hemby, court papers allege. Police are still looking for “Kenny.”
Hemby was arrested Thursday and charged with second-degree burglary, third-degree grand larceny, third-degree criminal possession of stolen property and fourth-degree criminal mischief.
Cops say Anthony Hemby, 19, of the 700 block of Henderson Avenue, and another man — identified in court papers only as “Kenny” — broke into a house on Delafield Avenue on Sept. 11.
“I was standing on the steps while Kenny cut open the window and he also tried to open the side door and he came out of the house with a bag of jewelry and a camera,” Hemby told detectives, according to court papers. “He went back inside and came out with an Express bag and he came back the next day with about four bracelets.”
Surveillance video from pawn shops led police to Hemby, court papers allege. Police are still looking for “Kenny.”
Hemby was arrested Thursday and charged with second-degree burglary, third-degree grand larceny, third-degree criminal possession of stolen property and fourth-degree criminal mischief.
West Brighton man charged with burglary
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - A West Brighton burglary suspect ended up in cuffs after he brought his ill-gotten gains to a pawn shop, police allege.
Cops say Anthony Hemby, 19, of the 700 block of Henderson Avenue, and another man — identified in court papers only as “Kenny” — broke into a house on Delafield Avenue on Sept. 11.
“I was standing on the steps while Kenny cut open the window and he also tried to open the side door and he came out of the house with a bag of jewelry and a camera,” Hemby told detectives, according to court papers. “He went back inside and came out with an Express bag and he came back the next day with about four bracelets.”
Surveillance video from pawn shops led police to Hemby, court papers allege. Police are still looking for “Kenny.”
Hemby was arrested Thursday and charged with second-degree burglary, third-degree grand larceny, third-degree criminal possession of stolen property and fourth-degree criminal mischief.
Cops say Anthony Hemby, 19, of the 700 block of Henderson Avenue, and another man — identified in court papers only as “Kenny” — broke into a house on Delafield Avenue on Sept. 11.
“I was standing on the steps while Kenny cut open the window and he also tried to open the side door and he came out of the house with a bag of jewelry and a camera,” Hemby told detectives, according to court papers. “He went back inside and came out with an Express bag and he came back the next day with about four bracelets.”
Surveillance video from pawn shops led police to Hemby, court papers allege. Police are still looking for “Kenny.”
Hemby was arrested Thursday and charged with second-degree burglary, third-degree grand larceny, third-degree criminal possession of stolen property and fourth-degree criminal mischief.
parkhill man charged with robbery and assault
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - A Clifton man faces felony charges stemming from a robbery and assault inside a Tompkinsville coin laundry.
Police say Coty Harley, 24, of Park Hill Court, walked into the St. Paul’s Laundromat at 6 St. Paul’s Ave. about 9:20 a.m. Aug. 5 and confronted a female attendant.
He threw her to the floor and stepped on her to hold her down as he opened a cash register and took $200, police allege.
When police caught up with Harley in Stapleton Thursday night, he repeatedly gave the officers a fake name, court papers alleged.
He’s charged with second- and third-degree robbery, second- and third-degree burglary, second-degree assault, fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and false personation.
Police say Coty Harley, 24, of Park Hill Court, walked into the St. Paul’s Laundromat at 6 St. Paul’s Ave. about 9:20 a.m. Aug. 5 and confronted a female attendant.
He threw her to the floor and stepped on her to hold her down as he opened a cash register and took $200, police allege.
When police caught up with Harley in Stapleton Thursday night, he repeatedly gave the officers a fake name, court papers alleged.
He’s charged with second- and third-degree robbery, second- and third-degree burglary, second-degree assault, fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and false personation.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Arrest made in slaying of man who was shot outside his Sunnyside home this week
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- An apparent landlord-tenant dispute turned deadly today, as a Sunnyside man was shot in the chest outside his home near the Clove Road on-ramp to the Staten Island Expressway.
Carlos Rivera, 23, fell to the curb at 87 Little Clove Rd. about 8:15 a.m. and was pronounced dead shortly thereafter at Richmond University Medical Center, West Brighton.
The gunman fled in the direction of Clove Lakes Park.
Police comb scene of fatal shooting in Sunnyside yesterday morning.Tonight, police arrested Ardjent Shaini, 35, of 89 Little Clove Rd., the son of Rivera’s landlord, and charged him with murder. Detectives had fetched Shaini from the Brooklyn auto body shop where he works and questioned him all day at the 120th Precinct station in St. George.
A police source said Rivera’s mother told officers her son had quarreled with Shaini about the lease. According to the source, the mother said that argument, about three weeks ago, included dire threats issued by Shaini.
Neither Rivera’s mother nor the landlord, was available for comment tonight. But a woman answering the door at number 89 who identified herself only as Zoka confirmed that her husband was the man being questioned.
"I don’t know nothing," she said. "And he had nothing to do with any shooting."
She said they have been married for 10 years and have three children.
The charges against Shaini include second-degree murder, criminal use of a firearm and criminal possession of a weapon.
Earlier in the day, yellow crime scene tape cordoned off the street into the evening rush hour, sending traffic into side streets. Detectives collected evidence and interviewed potential witnesses throughout the day. A pile of blankets lay next to the curb, in front of the white sedan where Rivera’s body fell.
Later in the evening, an NYPD vehicle stood sentinel outside the home.
Fran Vicario , 71, who lives on the street with her sister, said they didn’t see anything, but expressed skepticism that the landlord’s family could be connected to the crime.
"They are wonderful, wonderful people. They bake zeppoles and they give us tomatoes," she said.
"There’s no two ways about it, we are so devastated by this, really, really heartbroken," said Ms. Vicario’s sister, who didn’t want to give her name.
Jennifer Perella, 29, who lives on Tioga Street, behind Little Clove Road, said she had taken the day off and was enjoying her coffee when, "I heard gunshots and I looked out the window and I saw a man running down Little Clove Road." Ms. Perella said he wore a black hoodie over his head and was moving fast.
"I was scared. I locked all my doors and windows," she said.
Her next-door neighbor Angelica Iannone, 30, said she frets about crime. "We had two robberies in the area and now this. This is crazy," she said.
Claudia Mennella, who also lives on Tioga Street, said she heard four slow popping sounds early in the morning that "I thought maybe [were] gunshots." She gave a statement to detectives.
The neighbor on the other side of Rivera’s home declined to comment on the shooting.
Several houses down, a man said he was awakened by the sound of three gunshots. He did not know Rivera, he said, and was surprised to hear there had been a murder just doors away.
Another neighbor, who just moved to the area earlier this month, said she’s keeping her 12-year-old son close to their house until she gets word of an arrest in the shooting. "It’s scary," she said.
Carlos Rivera, 23, fell to the curb at 87 Little Clove Rd. about 8:15 a.m. and was pronounced dead shortly thereafter at Richmond University Medical Center, West Brighton.
The gunman fled in the direction of Clove Lakes Park.
Police comb scene of fatal shooting in Sunnyside yesterday morning.A police source said Rivera’s mother told officers her son had quarreled with Shaini about the lease. According to the source, the mother said that argument, about three weeks ago, included dire threats issued by Shaini.
Neither Rivera’s mother nor the landlord, was available for comment tonight. But a woman answering the door at number 89 who identified herself only as Zoka confirmed that her husband was the man being questioned.
"I don’t know nothing," she said. "And he had nothing to do with any shooting."
She said they have been married for 10 years and have three children.
The charges against Shaini include second-degree murder, criminal use of a firearm and criminal possession of a weapon.
Earlier in the day, yellow crime scene tape cordoned off the street into the evening rush hour, sending traffic into side streets. Detectives collected evidence and interviewed potential witnesses throughout the day. A pile of blankets lay next to the curb, in front of the white sedan where Rivera’s body fell.
Later in the evening, an NYPD vehicle stood sentinel outside the home.
Fran Vicario , 71, who lives on the street with her sister, said they didn’t see anything, but expressed skepticism that the landlord’s family could be connected to the crime.
"They are wonderful, wonderful people. They bake zeppoles and they give us tomatoes," she said.
"There’s no two ways about it, we are so devastated by this, really, really heartbroken," said Ms. Vicario’s sister, who didn’t want to give her name.
Jennifer Perella, 29, who lives on Tioga Street, behind Little Clove Road, said she had taken the day off and was enjoying her coffee when, "I heard gunshots and I looked out the window and I saw a man running down Little Clove Road." Ms. Perella said he wore a black hoodie over his head and was moving fast.
"I was scared. I locked all my doors and windows," she said.
Her next-door neighbor Angelica Iannone, 30, said she frets about crime. "We had two robberies in the area and now this. This is crazy," she said.
Claudia Mennella, who also lives on Tioga Street, said she heard four slow popping sounds early in the morning that "I thought maybe [were] gunshots." She gave a statement to detectives.
The neighbor on the other side of Rivera’s home declined to comment on the shooting.
Several houses down, a man said he was awakened by the sound of three gunshots. He did not know Rivera, he said, and was surprised to hear there had been a murder just doors away.
Another neighbor, who just moved to the area earlier this month, said she’s keeping her 12-year-old son close to their house until she gets word of an arrest in the shooting. "It’s scary," she said.
Friday, September 24, 2010
23-year-old killed after being shot in Sunnyside
sTATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A 23-year-old man was killed after suffering a gunshot wound to his chest this morning in Sunnyside.
Cops investigate the scene on Little Clove Road this morning.Cops, who set up a Level 1 mobilization near the scene at 87 Little Clove Rd., steps from Ontario Avenue, chased a suspect into Clove Lakes Park, but he got away.
The suspect is described as white with blond hair, around 19 years old. He was wearing a black hoodie and cargo.
The victim, who was not identified but was described as black or Hispanic, was taken to Richmond University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, a police spokesman said.
Cops investigate the scene on Little Clove Road this morning.The victim, who was not identified but was described as black or Hispanic, was taken to Richmond University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, a police spokesman said.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Midnight fire in New Brighton leaves one person in critical condition
View full sizeFirefighters work at the scene of a fire in a house at 20 Egmont Place in New Brighton early today. Another occupant of the two-story dwelling at 20 Egmont Place, and two firefighters, were also taken to Richmond University Medical Center for treatment.
As the Advance reported earlier this morning, the fire, the cause of which has yet to be announced, began in an upstairs apartment shortly before midnight. It was fully 90 minutes before firefighters declared the blaze to be under control.
Authorities have not released the names of the victims, or other details
Monday, September 20, 2010
S.I. African Heritage Parade draws few spectators, marchers......comments from si live..This is a waste of money and time, could they please call this off for next year.
Young women from the group, E.N.U.F.F. ride a float in the parade.Acknowledging the slim turnout, parade organizer Bobby Digi said it was a "great challenge" to bring together busy people.
Motorcyclists from Shaolin Ryders and members of E.N.U.F.F., a group to promote confidence in young black women, were among those who either drove or rode on two floats from Central Avenue at Bay Street in St. George to Tappen Park.
Earlier in the week, Digi said members of El Centro de Hospitalidad, an immigrant resource center in Port Richmond, would march, along with musicians Tito Puente Jr. and James Brown Jr. They did not.
However, a few members of El Centro attended a parade gathering afterward in Tappen Park, Stapleton.
Several dozen police officers lined the parade route.
Digi said the parade "shows that people of African descent exist on Staten Island, and they can take pride that Staten Island has become a diverse community."
David Suarez of El Centro said he wanted to participate because, while "we have our differences, we can be brothers. "
Democrats Rep. Michael McMahon, Councilwoman Debi Rose, state Sen. Diane Savino and Assemblyman Matthew Titone were among those on hand.
Ms. Rose, the borough's first black elected official, said yesterday's event shows "we are making progress incrementally" in forging racial understanding.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
New Dip Set Song Disses Kanye & Jay-Z
Looks like the Dips reunion is gonna include some new lyrical jabs at old foes. Oh boy!
heads up: bobby greenleaf
UPDATE: Yup over the “Runaway” track. Can hear more below.
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Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Kanye West feat. Pusha T – Runaway (CDQ)
Funk Flex premiered the CDQ via his InFlexWeTrust blog.
Kanye West feat. Pusha T – Runaway (CDQ) | Mediafire
Last Night:
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