Timeline New York City 2001-2010
Return to home
2001 Apr 26, A
group led by Larry Silverstein, a NYC developer, and Westfield
America Inc., signed a 99-year lease on the 11-million square-foot
WTC complex from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
(SFC, 9/17/01, p.B1)
2001 Jun 17, In NYC a 5-alarm
fire at a hardware store in Queens killed 3 firefighters and injured
dozens of others.
(SFC, 6/18/01, p.A3)
2001 Jul 11, In NYC the city
and police union made a tentative agreement to pay $9 million to
settle a suit by Abner Louima over his 1997 police beating.
(WSJ, 7/12/01, p.A1)
2001 Jul 24, Larry Silverstein
signed a $3.2 billion, 99-year lease for the NYC World Trade
Center (WTC).
(WSJ, 4/30/04, p.A11)
2001 Jul 30, Former Pres.
Clinton opened his new office in Harlem.
(SFC, 7/31/01, p.A1)
2001 Aug 4, In NYC police
officer Joseph Gray (40) ran over Maria Herrera (24), her son Andy
and her sister (16). A baby boy was delivered by c-section but did
not survive. Gray had been drinking with fellow officers at a strip
club and was later charged with manslaughter for killing the family
while driving drunk on his way to work. 17 cops at the 72nd precinct
were soon disciplined transferred or suspended. Gray was convicted
of manslaughter in 2002 and sentenced to five to 15 years in prison.
Ms. Herrera's husband, Victor, and his mother-in-law, Maria
Peña, later filed lawsuits. The city settled the civil
lawsuit for $1.5 million.
(www.courttv.com/trials/gray_joseph/chronology.html)(AP,
8/5/02)(http://tinyurl.com/5oa8lz)
2001 Aug 23, Thierry Devaux
(41), a French stuntman, got snagged on the Statue of Liberty arm
while trying to land there using a motor-driven parachute. He was
rescued and arrested.
(SFC, 8/24/01, p.A3)(AP, 8/23/02)
2001 Sep 11, 8:45 a.m. American
Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767 carrying 92 people, crashed into
the North tower of the World Trade Center in NYC. It was enroute
from Boston to LA.
9:03 a.m. United Airlines Flight 175, a Boeing
767 carrying 65 people, crashed into the South Tower of the WTC. It
was enroute from Boston to LA.
9:38 a.m. American Airlines Flight 77, a Boeing
757 carrying 64 people, crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Va.
It was enroute from Washington DC to LA.
9:40 a.m. The FAA grounded all domestic flights
and ordered all airborne craft to land
immediately.
10:00 a.m. The South Tower of the WTC collapsed.
10:10 a.m. United Airlines Flight 93, a Boeing
757 carrying 45 people, crashed southeast of Pittsburgh. The plane
had left Newark for SF but was believed to be directed by hijackers
to Camp David. Passengers appeared to have overcome the hijackers.
10:29 a.m. The North Tower of the WTC collapsed.
5:25 p.m. Building 7 of the WTC complex
collapsed. Four groups of terrorists used knives, hijacked 4
airplanes, and were suspected to be linked to Osama bin Laden’s al
Qaeda organization and appeared to be a franchise operation.
(SFC, 9/12/01, p.A6,10,12)(WSJ, 9/12/01,
p.A1)(SFC, 11/6/01, p.A6)
2001 Sep 11, World leaders
expressed outrage at terrorist attacks in NYC and the Pentagon and
pledged solidarity with the US. In the West Bank town of Nablus,
some 3,000 people celebrated the attacks and chanted "God is great."
Later the estimates of the WTC dead dropped to 4,396. In 2004 the
count was reduced to 2,749.
(SFC, 9/12/01, p.A14)(SFC, 11/3/01, p.A3)(SFC,
11/21/01, p.A2)(USAT, 10/30/03, p.7A)(WSJ, 1/26/04,
p.A1)(www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1M4eH9Kk7I)
2001 Sep 11, Rick Rescorla,
security chief at MS, evacuated 2,700 Morgan Stanley employees from
the WTC and was killed trying to save others. In 2002 James B.
Stewart authored "Heart of a Soldier," a biography of Rescorla.
(WSJ, 9/11/02, p.D10)
2001 Re: Sep 11, In 2005 NYC
said it was unable to identify the remains of 1,161 of the 2,749
people killed in the Sep 11 attacks.
(WSJ, 2/24/05, p.A1)
2001 Sep 11, Peter Alderman
(25) was among those murdered by terrorists while attending a
conference at the World Trade Center. His parents later established
the Peter C. Alderman Foundation in his name to alleviate the
suffering of victims of terrorism and mass violence in post-conflict
countries by providing physicians and other indigenous caregivers
with the tools to treat mental anguish using Western medical
therapies combined with local healing traditions.
(www.petercaldermanfoundation.org/about/index.html)
2001 Sep 11, The UAR emirate of
Ras al Khaimah was drawn into the international fallout as the
birthplace of hijacker Marwan al-Shehhi, who flew United flight 175
into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
(AP, 10/27/10)
2001 Sep 13, "Urinetown" was
scheduled to open on Broadway. It was written by Greg Kotis and Mark
Hollman and closed Jan 18, 2004 after 965 performances.
(SFC, 7/3/03, p.E1)(SFC, 11/4/03, p.D6)
2001 Sep 23, The NYC missing #
was raised to 6,453 with 252 accounted dead. On Nov 20 the official
count was reduced to just below 3,900. [see Dec 19]
(SFC, 9/24/01, p.A3)(SFC, 11/21/01, p.A2)(SFC,
12/20/01, p.A15)
2001 Oct 3, In NYC Nathan
Powell killed and dismembered Jawed Wassel, an Afghan
émigré and filmmaker. Powell claimed anger over the
Sep 11 attacks and pleaded guilty in 2003.
(SFC, 6/5/03, p.A3)
2001 Oct 4, NYC officials
estimated that the Sep 11 disaster would cost as much as $105
billion over the next 2 years. Depending on the number of jobs
permanently shifted out of the city, the September 11th attacks
could cost New York City as much as $83-95 billion dollars, though
the financial loss could never compare to the horrendous loss of
nearly 3,000 lives.
(SFC, 10/5/01, p.A15)(HNQ, 9/11/02)
2001 Oct 7, A scheduled peace
demonstration in NYC drew some 10,000 people. Anti-war
demonstrations in SF and Chicago drew some 1,000 each.
(SFC, 10/8/01, p.A11)
2001 Oct 8, NYC celebrated its
57th annual Columbus Day Parade.
(SFC, 10/9/01, p.A8)
2001 Oct 11, Mayor Giuliani
rejected a $10 million donation from Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal
due to an attached press release that said the US should re-examine
its policies in the Middle East and adopt a more balanced stance
toward the Palestinian cause.
(SFC, 10/12/01, p.A3)
2001 Oct 24, In NYC 14-story
scaffolding collapsed in a courtyard behind 215 Park Ave S. and at
least 5 people were killed.
(SFC, 10/25/01, p.C16)
2001 Oct 25, The Broadway
musical "Thou Shalt Not" premiered. It was based on the 1867 novel
by Emile Zola (27): "Theresa Raquin."
(WSJ, 10/25/01, p.A18)
2001 Oct 29, A hospital worker
in NY and a woman who handled mail in New Jersey were found to have
anthrax. Since Oct 4 a total of 37 people have tested positive for
exposure and 15 have contracted the disease.
(SFC, 10/30/01, p.A8)
2001 Oct 31, Kathy Nguyen (61),
a NYC hospital worker, died of anthrax. The source of infection
remained a mystery.
(SFC, 11/1/01, p.A1)
2001 Nov 1, Anthrax spores were
found in 4 mailrooms in Rockville, Md., a postal facility in Kansas
City, 3 new locations in a Manhattan processing center and a 6th
postal facility in Florida.
(WSJ, 11/2/01, p.A1)
2001 Nov 2, A 17th case of
anthrax was reported in a NY Post employee.
(SFC, 11/3/01, p.A3)
2001 Nov 2, NYC firefighters
and police engaged in a scuffle as firefighters protested a limit to
the number of firefighters working to retrieve their dead at the WTC
disaster site.
(SFC, 11/3/01, p.A3)
2001 Nov 2, Estimated of the
WTC dead dropped to 4,396. [see Dec 19]
(SFC, 11/3/01, p.A3)
2001 Nov 4, Tesfaye Jifar of
Ethiopia won the NYC Marathon in record time, 2:07:43. Margaret
Okayo of Kenya set a woman’s record of 2:24:21.
(WSJ, 11/5/01, p.A1)
2001 Nov 6, Michael Bloomberg,
self-made billionaire, was elected as the NYC’s 108th mayor. He
spent $69 million on his self-financed campaign. He soon introduced
“311,” a form of centralized customer service for the city.
(SFC, 11/7/01, p.A15)(WSJ, 12/4/01, p.A1)(Econ,
2/19/05, Survey p.11)
2001 Nov 12, American Airlines
Flight 587, bound for the Dominican Republic, crashed in Belle
Harbor in the Far Rockaway district of Queens just after takeoff
from JFK Airport. All 260 crew and passengers were killed as well as
5 people on the ground. The A300-600 plane appeared to have fallen
apart. The vertical tail section cracked off when composite fittings
failed possibly due to turbulence from a preceding 747. In 2004 a
safety board said the pilot’s “unnecessary and excessive“ use of the
rudder contributed to the crash.
(SFC, 11/14/01, p.A14)(SFC, 11/15/01, p.A19)(SFC,
10/27/04, p.A3)(AP, 11/12/05)
2001 Dec 15, With a crash and a
large dust cloud, a 50-foot tall section of steel, the last standing
piece of the World Trade Center's facade, was brought down in New
York.
(AP, 12/15/02)
2001 Dec 18, A fire at the
Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the world’s largest Gothic
cathedral, damaged 2 of 6 17th century Barberini tapestries.
(WSJ, 12/19/01, p.A1)
2001 Dec 19, The Sep 11 WTC
death toll was reduced to 3,000. In 2002 a revised tally put the
total dead at 2,795. In 2003 the count was reduced to 2,752.
(SFC, 12/20/01, p.A15)(WSJ, 8/20/02, p.A1)(WSJ,
9/9/02, p.A1)(WSJ, 11/4/02, p.A1)(USAT, 10/30/03, p.7A)
2001 Dec 19, The fires that had
burned beneath the ruins of the World Trade Center in New York City
for the previous three months were declared extinguished except for
a few scattered hot spots.
(AP, 12/19/02)
2001 Dec 23, Time magazine
named Mayor Rudolph Giuliani as Person of the Year.
(SFC, 12/24/01, p.A2)
2001 Dec 27, A van lurched out
of control in Herald Square at 34th ST. and 6th Ave. and killed 6
pedestrians. A 7th died the next day.
(SFC, 12/28/01, p.A3)(SFC, 12/29/01, p.A6)
2001 Dec 30, A viewing platform
opened over ground zero of the Sep 11 terrorist attacks.
(SFC, 1/3/02, p.A9)
2001 Dec 31, New York City
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani spent his final day in office praising
police, firefighters, and other city employees, and said he had no
regrets about returning to private life. In 2005 Fred and Harry
Siegel authored “Prince of the City,” an account of the Giuliani’s
years as mayor of NYC.
(AP, 12/31/02)(WSJ, 6/23/05, p.D8)
2001 New York City was supposed
to close its only landfill in this year.
(SFC, 10/12/97, p.A2)
2001 Eric H. Monkkonen authored
"Murder in New York City," a historical look at murder in NYC.
(WSJ, 3/20/00, p.A20)
2001 Martin Tytell (d.2008 at
94), master of typewriter technology, closed his shop in Manhattan
after 65 years in business. During WWII he turned Siamese keyboards
into 17 other Asian languages.
(Econ, 9/20/08, p.106)
2002 Jan 1, Michael Bloomberg
succeeded Rudolph Giuliani as New York City's mayor.
(AP, 1/1/03)
2002 Jan 31, Some 2,500
participants met at the 31st World Economic Forum in NYC at the
Waldorf-Astoria.
(SFC, 1/31/02, p.A3)
2002 Feb 2, The Bush
administration approved a $700 million grant to help rebuild lower
Manhattan devastated by the Sep 11 terrorist attacks.
(SSFC, 2/3/02, p.A13)
2002 Feb 2, In NYC protesters
of the World Economic Forum turned out in large numbers. Inside Bill
Gates and U2 rock star Bono pushed for increases in foreign aid by
rich countries to poor countries.
(SSFC, 2/3/02, p.A3)
2002 Feb 12, Ronald Popadich of
New Jersey struck 19 pedestrians at 6 spots along Seventh Ave. near
Madison Square Garden and one died 2 days later. He struck 7 more
people Feb 13. He shot his girlfriend, Lisa Gotkin Feb 10, and a cab
driver on Feb 13.
(SFC, 2/16/02, p.A8)
2002 Feb 25, After a 35-year
plot to accept bribes and cheat the city out of tax revenues, 16 tax
assessors were arrested and charged with altering values of over 500
properties worth some $8 billion.
(SFC, 2/26/02, p.A5)
2002 Mar 17, After nearly a
year's run, Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick left the Broadway hit
musical "The Producers." They later returned for a limited
engagement.
(AP, 3/17/07)
2002 Apr 1, Pres. Bush said he
would sell Governor’s Island in NY Harbor to NY state and NYC for a
nominal charge.
(SFC, 4/2/02, p.A3)
2002 Apr 2, The 1848 Turgenev
comedy: "A Poor Gentleman," opened at Broadway’s Music Box as
"Fortune’s Fool."
(WSJ, 4/3/02, p.A20)
2002 Apr 16, The new New York
Sun newspaper was launched by investors led by Canadian Conrad
Black. The previous NY Sun ran from 1833-1950.
(SFC, 4/17/02, p.A2)
2002 Apr 25, In NYC dozens were
injured in an explosion at a building on W. 19th St. Industrial
chemicals were suspected.
(SFC, 4/26/02, p.A3)
2002 May 21, The NYC MOMA
opened for a last day prior to closing for a $500 million renovation
to be completed in 2005. A temporary home was set to open Jun 29 at
a former staple factory in Queens.
(SFC, 5/24/02, p.D15)
2002 May 30, In NYC a solemn,
wordless ceremony was held to mark the end of the cleanup at the
World Trade Center site.
(SFC, 5/31/02, p.A1)(AP, 5/30/03)
2002 Jun 4, A crime sweep
arrested 17 alleged members of the Gambino family with charges that
included extortion.
(SFC, 6/5/02, p.A8)
2002 Jun 10, John Gotti
(b.1940), former mob boss, died at age 61 of cancer in a prison
hospital in Missouri.
(SFC, 6/11/02, p.A2)
2002 Aug 1, In NYC the alleged
ringleader of a massive identity theft operation was indicted along
with 3 associates.
(SFC, 8/2/02, p.A6)
2002 Aug 15, In NYC WNEW-FM
radio shock jocks Gregg Hughes and Anthony Cumia aired an eyewitness
account of a couple having sex in the vestibule of St. Patrick’s
Cathedral. Their show was cancelled Aug 23.
(SFC, 8/24/02, p.D4)
2002 Sep, The Museum of Sex
opened at 27th and Fifth. Its 1st show was titled: NYC Sex: How New
York Transformed Sex in America."
(WSJ, 10/22/02, p.D8)
2002 Oct 30, DJ Jam Master Jay,
rap artist, was shot to death in Queens, NYC.
(SFC, 11/1/02, p.A1)
2002 Nov 3, The NYC Marathon
was won by Rodgers Rop of Kenya in 2:08:06; Joyce Chepchumba of
Kenya won the women's title in 2:25:55.
(WSJ, 11/4/02, p.A1)
2002 Nov 30, It was reported
that NYC estimated 37,000 homeless.
(SFC, 11/30/02, p.A4)
2002 Dec 19, After a prosecutor
cited new DNA evidence, a judge in New York threw out the
convictions of five young men in a 1989 attack on a Central Park
jogger who had been raped and left for dead.
(AP, 12/19/03)
2002 Lynne B. Sagalyn authored
"Times Square Roulette," an examination of the transformation of
Times Square.
(WSJ, 2/20/02, p.A20)
2002 Julia Solis authored “New
York Underground: The Anatomy of a City.” It was 1st published in
German. An English version was made in 2004.
(SSFC, 3/6/05, p.M1)
2002 The 1st Int’l. knitting
contest was held in NYC. The winner managed 180 stitches in 3
minutes.
(WSJ, 2/28/05, p.A1)
2002 Mayor Michael Bloomberg
took charge of NYC’s school system. He soon opened 15 small high
schools. In 2003 he got money from the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation to help open 169 more.
(Econ, 1/20/07, p.41)
2003 Feb 8-Mar 20, Larme Price
(30) killed 4 immigrants in 4 different all-night stores in Brooklyn
and Queens.
(SFC, 4/1/03, p.A8)
2003 Feb 21, An
explosion rocked a Mobil oil refinery on the edge of Staten Island
and 2 workers were killed.
(AP, 2/21/03)
2003 Feb 26, NYC chose
an airy spire, designed by Daniel Libeskind, for the site of the
former World Trade Center destroyed on 9/11/2001. The spire would be
taller than any other building in the world at a height of 1,776
feet.
(AP, 2/27/03)
2003 Mar 7, In NYC most
of Broadway went dark as actors supported a strike by theater
musicians.
(SFC, 3/8/03, p.A3)
2003 Mar 10, In NYC 2
undercover police officers were killed during an undercover gun buy
on Staten Island. 3 people were arrested the next day. Ronell Wilson
climbed into the back seat of an unmarked police car on the pretense
of selling an illegal gun. He shot officers Rodney Andrews and James
Nemorin in the head. In 2007 Wilson (24) was convicted and sentenced
to death. Wilson was one of seven people arrested in his case; the
other six pleaded guilty to various charges.
(SFC, 3/12/03, p.A6)(AP, 1/31/07)
2003 Mar 11, Striking
Broadway musicians settled a contract dispute with theater producers
to end a walkout that shut had down 18 musicals since Mar 7,
agreeing to a smaller number of musicians in the largest theaters.
(AP, 3/11/03)
2003 May 10, The New York Times
announced on its Web site that one of its reporters, Jayson Blair,
had "committed frequent acts of journalistic fraud," according to an
investigation conducted by the paper.
(AP, 5/10/04)
2003 Jun 5, In NYC Howell
Raines, NY Times executive editor, resigned along with Gerald M.
Boyd, managing editor, due to their handling of inaccurate stories
by recently released reporter Jason Blair.
(WSJ, 6/6/03, p.A1)
2003 Jul 23, New York City
Councilman James Davis (41) was shot to death by political rival
Othniel Askew (31) at City Hall; a police officer shot and killed
Askew.
(AP, 7/24/08)
2003 Sep 8, In NYC Harvey Milk
High School for gay, bisexual and transgender kids opened in
Greenwich Village. It was named after the San Francisco
supervisor killed in 1978.
(SFC, 9/9/03, p.A1)
2003 Sep 9, The WSJ disclosed
that Dick Grasso, Chairman of the NYSE, had a retirement package
close to $140 million along with entitlements to an additional $48
million. His 2001 pay exceeded $30 million with a base pay of $1.4
million. Grasso soon decided to forego the $48 million undisclosed
compensation.
(WSJ, 9/11/03, p.C1)(WSJ, 5/25/04, p.C1)
2003 Sep 17, Microsoft Chairman
Bill Gates said his foundation would donate $51 million to create 67
small high schools in NYC. It was part of a larger plan by the city
to create 200 small high schools to replace struggling large ones.
(SFC, 9/18/03, p.A3)
2003 Oct 18, Wynton Marsalis
was scheduled to help inaugurate the new $128 million Frederick P.
Rose Hall at Manhattan's Columbus Circle.
(SFC, 10/14/03, p.D4)
2003 Oct 15, A Staten Island
ferry pilot lost consciousness before the vessel slammed into a
pier, killing at least 10 people and injuring 42, including 3 who
lost limbs. Pilot Richard J. Smith fled the scene and attempted
suicide. Smith later pleaded guilty to 11 counts of manslaughter. In
2006 Smith was sentenced to 18 months in jail. Patrick Ryan, the
ex-ferry director received a one year sentence.
(AP, 10/16/03)(SFC, 10/16/03, p.A1)(AP,
10/15/04)(SFC, 1/10/06, p.A5)
2003 Nov 2, The NYC Marathon
was won by Martin Lel of Kenya in 2:10:30; Margaret Okayo of Kenya
won the women's title in 2:22:31, a course record.
(WSJ, 11/4/02, p.A1)
2003 Nov 15, Laurence Tisch
(80), NY billionaire, died at NYU Medical Center. He and his brother
Preston Robert gained control of Loews movie house chain in 1960 and
developed the business into a conglomerate of hotels, insurance,
cigarette manufacturers, movie theaters, oil tankers and watch
making that served as a vehicle for other investments.
(SSFC, 11/16/03, p.A29)
2003 Dec 19, New plans revealed
that the signature NYC skyscraper at the World Trade Center site
will be a 1,776-foot glass tower that twists into the sky, topped by
energy-generating windmills and a spire that evokes the Statue of
Liberty. The plan was produced after months of contentious
negotiations between Daniel Libeskind, who designed the overall
five-building site plan, and David Childs, the lead architect for
the Freedom Tower.
(AP, 12/20/03)(SFC, 12/20/03, p.A1)
2004 Jan 10, Spalding Gray
(62), morose humorist, disappeared in NYC. His body was found in the
East River in March. In 2011 film director Steven Soderbergh culled
clips from 90 hours of Gray source material to produce the
documentary: And Everything Is Going Fine.”
(SFC, 2/09/04, p.A2)(SFC, 2/18/11, p.E8)
2004 Feb 10, NYC said nearly 4%
of men age 40-49 in the city have AIDS or are infected with HIV.
(WSJ, 2/11/04, p.A1)
2004 May 3, A NYC court found
financier Frank Quattrone (48) guilty on 3 counts of obstruction of
justice and witness tampering. On Aug 22, 2006, a NY judge approved
a settlement that would allow him to avoid another trial and return
to the securities industry.
(SFC, 5/4/04, p.A1)(Econ, 8/26/06, p.56)
2004 May 24, NY Attorney
General Eliot Spitzer sued the NY Stock Exchange, former exchange
chairman Dick Grasso and an executive who headed its compensation
committee. Spitzer wanted Grasso to return $100 million of the $200
million plus that the NY Exchange gave or promised to Grasso.
(WSJ, 5/25/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 6, In the 58th annual
Tony Awards “Avenue Q” won for best Broadway musical.
(SFC, 6/7/04, D1)
2004 Jul 4, In NYC a 20-ton
slab of granite, inscribed to honor "the enduring spirit of
freedom," was laid at the World Trade Center site as the cornerstone
of the skyscraper that will replace the destroyed towers.
(AP, 7/4/04)
2004 Jul 4, In NYC Takeru "The
Tsunami" Kobayashi chewed up the competition at the Nathan's Famous
hot dog eating competition, breaking his own previous world record.
Kobayashi, of Nagano, Japan, gulped down 53 1/2 wieners in 12
minutes and shattered his own world record by three dogs. 105-pound
Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, 36, of Alexandria, Va., ate more hot
dogs (32) than any other woman and any other American in the
contest's history.
(AP, 7/4/04)
2004 Jul 27, NYC Mayor Michael
Bloomberg visited a slum in Haiti and met interim leaders.
(AP, 7/27/04)
2004 Jul 30, In NYC Joseph
Massino, a Bonanno crime boss, was convicted of orchestrating
murder, racketeering, arson and extortion over the last 25 years.
(SFC, 7/31/04, p.A2)
2004 Aug 4, Richard Smith, a
Staten Island ferry pilot, pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges in
a crash that killed 11 commuters in the October 15, 2003, wreck of
the Andrew J. Barberi Staten Island ferry, acknowledging that he'd
passed out at the helm after arriving at work with medication in his
system.
(AP, 8/4/05)
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Staten_Island_Ferry_crash)
2004 Aug 5, Patrick Ryan (52),
New York City's director of ferries, pleaded not guilty to 11 counts
of manslaughter in the October 15, 2003, wreck of the Andrew J.
Barberi Staten Island ferry. Ryan later pleaded guilty to negligent
manslaughter.
(AP,
8/5/05)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Staten_Island_Ferry_crash)
2004 Aug 27, Thousands of
cyclists snarled traffic in NYC and police said they arrested more
than 250 people and confiscated their bicycles in the first
significant protest against President Bush before the Republican
convention.
(Reuters, 8/28/04)
2004 Aug 29, Tens of thousands
of demonstrators took to the fortified streets of Manhattan to
protest President Bush's foreign and domestic policies as Republican
delegates gathered to nominate the president for a second term.
Organizers estimated up to 400,000 participants.
(AP, 8/29/04)(SFC, 8/30/04, p.A1)
2004 Aug 30, Republicans opened
their convention in NYC with speeches by Rudolph Giuliani and Sen.
John McCain. They belittled Democratic Senator John Kerry as a
shift-in-the-wind campaigner unworthy of the White House and
lavished praise on Pres. Bush as a steady, decisive leader. Pres.
Bush ignited a Democratic inferno of criticism by suggesting on
NBC's "Today" show that an all-out victory against terrorism might
not be possible.
(SFC, 8/31/04, p.A1)(AP, 8/30/05)
2004 Aug 31, Arnold
Schwarzenegger and Laura Bush spoke on the 2nd night of the
Republican Convention in NYC as police arrested nearly 1,000
demonstrators.
(AP, 8/31/04)
2004 Sep 1, VP Cheney and
Democrat Zell Miller were featured as prime-time speakers at the
Republican Convention in NYC.
(SFC, 9/2/04, p.A1)
2004 Sep 11, Songwriter Fred
Ebb (76) died of a heart attack in NYC. His songs included “New
York, New York,” written for the 1977 film of the same name.
(SFC, 9/13/04, p.B4)
2004 Oct 23, Robert Merrill
(87), NY Metropolitan Opera star, died in NYC.
(SFC, 10/26/04, p.A2)
2004 Nov 7, The NYC Marathon
was won by Hendrik Ramaala of South Africa in 2:09:28; Paula
Radcliffe won the women's title in 2:23:10.
(WSJ, 11/8/04, p.A1)
2004 Nov 20, The new NYC MOMA
opened in midtown Manhattan. Its new tower was designed by Yoshio
Taniguchi.
(Econ, 11/20/04, p.85)
2004 Nov 20, Juan Rodriguez
(49) of NYC, a Colombian immigrant and parking garage worker, won
the $149 million Mega Millions lottery jackpot. He chose to take a
single payment of $88.5 million before taxes.
(USAT, 11/21/04, p.3A)
2004 Nov 26, In NYC a man
jumped to his death from the 86th-floor observation deck at the
Empire State Building.
(AP, 11/27/04)
2004 Dec 20, Jack Newfield
(66), NYC reporter and columnist, died. His books included “Robert
Kennedy: A Memoir” (1969).
(SFC, 12/22/04, p.B5)
2004 The $1.7 billion Time
Warner Center in NYC was completed. It measured 2.8 million square
feet.
(SSFC, 8/8/04, p.J1)
2005 Feb 11, In NYC ceremonies
marked the completion of the 46-story Hearst headquarters building
on 8th Ave. between 56th and 57th streets. It was built over
Hearst’s original 1927 6-story, Art Deco structure.
(SFC, 2/12/05, p.A3)
2005 Feb 12, Christo and
Jeanne-Claude opened their NYC Central Park Gates project. The $20
million,16-day exhibit featured 7,532 fabric draped steel gates
spanning 23 miles.
(SSFC, 2/13/05, p.A1)
2005 Feb 15, The Gates
Foundation granted $32 million for 35 new small schools in NYC.
Mayor Bloomberg had recently announced the closure of a number of
large, troubled schools to be replaced by 200 new small schools with
pupils capped at 500-600.
(Econ, 3/5/05, p.33)
2005 Feb 23, A real estate
report said uptown Manhattan, condo and co-op apartments sold for a
median price of $305,490 in 2004, up a whopping 349.3 percent from
$68,000 in 1995.
(Reuters, 2/23/05)
2005 Mar 9, The acting boss of
the NYC Gambino family and at least 30 other mob figures were
arrested following an undercover FBI operation.
(SFC, 3/10/05, p.A3)
2005 Mar 9, In Las Vegas 2
retired NYC police detectives, Louis Eppolito (56) and Stephen
Caracappa (63), were arrested on federal charges of taking part in 8
murders on behalf of the Mafia. In 2009 both men were sentenced to
life in prison.
(SFC, 3/11/05, p.A3)(SFC, 3/7/09, p.A5)
2005 Apr 20, The NYSE, in a
move toward computerized trading, agreed to buy Archipelago Holdings
of Chicago in a reverse merger. The new company, to be called NYSE
Group was valued at $3.5 billion.
(WSJ, 4/21/05, p.A1)
2005 Apr 26, Clarence Williams
(58), suspected of raping at least 25 women in 3 states, was
arrested in NYC following DNA tests that linked him to a 1973 rape
case.
(SFC, 4/27/05, p.A3)
2005 Jun 15, The opera
“Gertrude Stein Invents A Jump Early On” with music by William C.
Banfield (b.1961) and words by Karren LaLonde Alenier (b.1947) had
its world premiere by the Encompass New Opera Theatre in New York
City under the direction of Nancy Rhodes.
(www.steinopera.com)
2005 Jun 23, An indictment,
unveiled in US federal court in Los Angeles, said Seymour Lazar and
his family were plaintiffs in over 50 class action lawsuits against
both large and small companies. Prosecutors claimed that he received
$2.4 million in illicit kickbacks from a New York law firm believed
to be Milberg Weiss. In 2008 Melvyn Weiss (72) agreed to plead
guilty to racketeering and acknowledge that his firm, Milberg Weiss,
concealed secret payment arrangements with plaintiffs in
class-action suits.
(Econ, 7/2/05, p.65)(SFC, 3/21/08, p.C3)
2005 Jun 23, Joseph Massino,
who went from the New York Mafia's last old-school don to its
highest-ranking turncoat in a betrayal that rocked organized crime,
was sentenced to life in prison after admitting his involvement in
eight mob murders.
(AP, 6/23/05)
2005 Jun 29, In Manhattan a new
design, by architect David M. Childs, was unveiled for the Freedom
Tower.
(WSJ, 6/30/05, p.B1)
2005 Jul 4, In NYC Takeru
Kobayashi (27) captured the Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest
for the 5th straight year, gobbling a nauseating 49 dogs in 12
minutes, but missing his own world record of 53 1/2, set at last
year's July Fourth competition.
(AP, 7/5/05)
2005 Aug 23, NYC said it will
install 1,000 surveillance cameras and 3,000 motion sensors in its
subways and rail stations in a new deal with Lockheed Martin.
(SFC, 8/24/05, p.A3)
2005 Sep 24, Monica
Lozada-Rivadineira (26), a immigrant from Bolivia, disappeared in
NYC. Her daughter, Valery, was found in the evening wandering
barefoot in Queens. On Oct 6 Police found her body in a Pennsylvania
landfill and police said she was killed by her boyfriend.
(AP, 10/7/05)
2005 Sep 28, In NYC a
groundbreaking ceremony unveiled the $3 million memorial design by
Rodney Leon, a Yale-trained architect who has lived in West Africa.
As many as 20,000 slaves and free blacks who helped build New York's
economy from docks to warehouses will be honored with a memorial
near their burial ground. Closed in 1794, the five-acre burial
ground was forgotten as a construction landfill eventually buried it
20 feet underground. When the cemetery was rediscovered during
construction of a federal office tower in 1991, community pressure
prompted the government to abandon the project.
(AP, 9/28/05)
2005 Nov 24, A giant balloon in
the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York snagged a street
light and caused part of it to fall, injuring a woman and a child.
(AP, 11/24/06)
2005 Dec 10, In NYC police
officer Daniel Enchautegui (28) was shot a killed when he
interrupted a burglary in progress while off duty. 2 suspects were
arrested. Steven Armento (48), a convicted burglar, and Lillo
Brancato Jr. (29), an actor who appeared in episodes of "The
Sopranos" and in films including "A Bronx Tale," were shot by the
officer and were in stable condition yesterday in the critical care
unit of Jacobi Medical Center. Armento was convicted of first degree
murder in 2008 and sentenced to life in prison. On Jan 9, 2009,
Brancato was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
(SFC, 12/12/05, p.A3)(SFC, 1/10/09, p.E4)
2005 Dec 20, In NYC subways and
buses ground to a halt morning as transit workers walked off the job
at the height of the holiday shopping and tourist season, forcing
millions of riders to find new ways to get around.
(AP, 12/20/05)
2005 Dec 21, Millions of New
Yorkers trudged to work in another bone-chilling commute without
subways and buses as a transit strike entered its second day. The
transit union suggested it would be willing to end the strike if a
plan to change workers’ pensions were dropped.
(AP, 12/21/05)(SFC, 12/22/05, p.A9)
2005 Dec 22, NYC striking bus
and subway workers ended a 3-day strike voting to return to work and
resume negotiations on a labor contract.
(SFC, 12/23/05, p.A3)
2005 Dec 23, In a NYC probe,
first reported by the Daily News in October, authorities confirmed
this week that investigators found paperwork indicating that bones
of British broadcaster Alistair Cooke had been removed and sold by
Biomedical Tissue Services, before he was cremated in 2004. Human
bone, skin and tendons were allegedly removed from the bodies of
hundreds of others without required permission from their families.
The Brooklyn case stemmed from a deal struck between Michael
Mastromarino (42), a Fort Lee, NJ, dentist who started Biomedical
Tissue Services, and Joseph Nicelli (49), an embalmer and funeral
parlor operator from Staten Island. In 2006 seven funeral directors
pleaded guilty to undisclosed charges and agreed to cooperate with
investigators.
(AP, 12/23/05)(SFC, 2/24/06, p.A2)(SFC, 10/19/06,
p.A7)
2005 Dec 27, In NYC the
executive board of the transit workers approved a tentative contract
that included a 10.9% raise over 3 years and a requirement for
workers to contribute to their health care plans.
(SFC, 12/28/05, p.A3)
2005 Stacy Horn authored “The
Restless Sleep: Inside New York City’s Cold Case Squad.” She noted
that NYC had 8894 unsolved murders dating back to 1985.
(SSFC, 7/10/05, p.E6)
2005 Barbaralee
Diamonstein-Spielwogel, former commissioner of the NYC Landmarks
Preservation Commission (1972-1987) authored “The Landmarks of New
York.”
(WSJ, 7/8/05, p.W7)
2006 Feb 2, NYC Mayor Michael
Bloomberg, a billionaire known for his philanthropy, anonymously
donated $100 million to Johns Hopkins University to support stem
cell research.
(AP, 2/2/06)
2006 Feb 21, New York's
Metropolitan Museum of Art and Italy signed a deal under which it
will return antiquities Italy says were looted in exchange for
long-term loans of other artifacts.
(AP, 2/21/06)
2006 Feb 23, In NYC Michael
Mastromarino, owner of Biomedical Tissue Services in New Jersey, was
charged along with 3 others of selling body parts for use in
transplants across the US. Joseph Nicelli, owner of a Brooklyn
funeral home, was among those charged.
(SFC, 2/24/06, p.A2)
2006 Apr 29, Thousands of US
anti-war demonstrators converged on lower Manhattan to call for an
immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
(AP, 4/29/06)
2006 May 2, A pre-dawn fire in
NYC raged through a 21-acre site. It destroyed 15 industrial
buildings and was the worst city fire in 10 years.
(http://nyc.gov/html/fdny/html/home2.shtml)(WSJ,
5/27/06, p.P9)
2006 May 8, Stunt artist David
Blaine emerged weak and wrinkly from a week spent submerged within
an eight-foot snow globe-like tank in the plaza of New York's
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, but without a world record
for holding his breath.
(AP, 5/8/07)
2006 May 9, Victor Gonzalez,
former butcher, murdered his roofing foreman Wilfredo Pinto.
He then dismembered and bagged the body parts and scattered them on
NYC street corners. In 2009 Gonzalez was convicted of murder.
(SFC, 4/9/09,
p.A4)(www.mahalo.com/Victor_Gonzalez)
2006 May 25, A major power
outage stranded thousands of rush-hour commuters between New York
and Washington, stopping trains inside sweltering tunnels and
forcing many passengers to get out and walk.
(AP, 5/25/06)
2006 Jun 10, In NYC a
firefighter’s monument was unveiled for the 343 who died in the
Sept. 11 attacks.
(SSFC, 6/11/06, p.A2)
2006 Jun 11, In the Tony Awards
in NYC the play “The History Boys” won best play and “Jersey Boys”
won as best musical. The award for best actor went to Richard
Griffiths of "The History Boys." Cynthia Nixon won best actress for
her role in “Rabbit Hole.”
(Reuters, 6/11/06)(SFC, 6/12/06, p.E3)
2006 Jun 14, In NYC Kenny
Alexis (20), a homeless man, was arrested following a string of
stabbings through Manhattan over a 13-hour period.
(SFC, 6/15/06, p.A12)
2006 Jun 16, Barbara Epstein
(77), co-founder and editor of the NY Review of Books (1963), died
in NYC.
(Econ, 7/1/06, p.79)
2006 Jun 30, Former NYC Police
Commissioner Bernard Kerik, whose Homeland Security nomination was
withdrawn because of ethics questions, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor
charges of accepting $165,000 in improper gifts while serving as a
top city official.
(Reuters, 6/30/06)(WSJ, 7/1/06, p.A1)
2006 Jul 6, Ralph Ginzburg
(b.1929), journalist, magazine publisher and photographer, died in
NYC. His magazine included Eros (1962), Avant Garde (1968) and Fact
(1964). In 1962 he wrote “100 Years of Lynchings,” a chronicle of
racist hangings in the South. He was at the center of two First
Amendment battles in the 1960s and served 8 months in federal prison
for obscenity.
(AP, 7/6/07)(SFC, 7/7/06, p.B9)
2006 Jul 10, In NYC a
four-story townhouse collapsed and burned in an apparent gas
explosion after what witnesses described as a thunderous explosion
that rocked the neighborhood just off Madison Avenue. Dr. Nicholas
Bartha (66), owner of the building, was pulled alive from the
rubble. He had recently lost a $4 million judgement in a divorce
case. Bartha died from his wounds on July 15.
(AP, 7/10/06)(SFC, 7/11/06, p.A4)(AP, 7/16/06)
2006 Jul 21, In NYC residents
of Queens suffered through a 5th day of power blackouts. ConEdison
said power blackouts in Queens had affected some 25,000 customers.
(SFC, 7/22/06, p.A3)
2006 Jul 25, In NYC 14 athletes
competed in the 10th annual Self-Transcendence 3,100 Mile Race in
Jamaica, Queens. The 51-day event was sponsored by followers of
meditation master Sri Chinmoy.
(Reuters, 7/25/06)
2006 Aug 10, In NYC organizers
said Germany's Madhupran Wolfgang Schwerk (51) won the 3,100-mile
Self-Transcendence event, capturing the world's longest foot race in
41 days, eight hours, 16 minutes and 29 seconds. Suprabha Beckjord
(50) was 14th overall and the only woman to finish, doing so after
60 days, four hours, 35 minutes and 24 seconds.
(AFP, 8/10/06)
2006 Aug 15, NYC’s Mayor
Bloomberg said he is putting $125 million of his own money into a
new worldwide anti-smoking campaign.
(SFC, 8/16/06, p.A2)
2006 Aug 16, New York City
officials released new tapes of hundreds of heart-wrenching phone
calls from the World Trade Center on 9-11, along with other
emergency transcripts.
(AP, 8/16/07)
2006 Sep 21, In NYC Venezuela’s
Pres. Chavez visited the Mount Olive Baptist Church in Harlem and
promised to double the amount of discounted heating oil his country
is shipping to needy Americans.
(SFC, 9/22/06, p.A3)
2006 Oct 11, A small plane,
carrying New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle (b.1972) and instructor
Tyler Stanger, crashed into a 50-story condominium tower on
Manhattan's Upper East Side killing both men. It was not clear who
was at the controls.
(AP, 10/12/06)(SFC, 10/13/06, p.A12)
2006 Nov 1, Adrienne Shelly
(b.1966), actress and director, was found by her husband hanging by
a bed sheet in their Manhattan apartment in an apparent suicide. In
2008 Diego Pillco (20), an illegal immigrant from Ecuador, pleaded
guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrienne_Shelly)(SFC, 3/14/08, p.A4)
2006 Nov 5, Marilson Gomes dos
Santos of Brazil won the NYC Marathon in 2:09:58. Jelena Prokopcuka
of Latvia won the women’s race for the 2nd year in a row in 2:25:05.
(WSJ, 11/6/06, p.A1)
2006 Nov 25, In NYC Sean Bell
(23) and two other unarmed men in a car were killed hours before
Bell was to have married the mother of his two children. The
confrontation with police stemmed from an undercover operation by 7
officers investigating the Kalua Cabaret in Queens. Two officers
were later indicted for manslaughter, and a third was charged with
reckless endangerment; all pleaded not guilty. In 2008 three NYPD
detectives were acquitted of all charges in the case.
(AP, 11/27/06)(AP, 11/25/07)(AP, 4/25/08)
2006 Dec 5, New York became the
first city in the nation to ban artery-clogging trans fats at
restaurants. The ban became effective July 1,2007.
(AP, 12/6/06)(SFC, 7/2/07, p.A4)
2006 Franklin Acosta de Vargas
(34) was arrested in Queens, NYC, on suspicion of drunk driving.
Vargas led gang members from the Dominican Republic who preyed on
rival drug dealers along the East Coast, stealing their money and
cocaine. They allegedly bound their victims with duct tape, beat
them and held guns to their heads to get them to reveal information.
The bandits also applied pliers to their genitals and pressed hot
irons to the soles of their feet. His lieutenant, Rudy Martinez,
kept the operation alive, but was arrested in 2007.
(AP, 7/18/08)
2007 Jan 2, New York City
commuter Wesley Autrey Sr. saved a 19-year-old student who had
fallen onto subway tracks by leaping down and pulling the teen and
himself into the trough between the tracks as a train passed over
them.
(AP, 1/2/08)
2007 Jan 8, In NYC an
unidentified rotten-egg smell wafted over the city.
(SFC, 1/10/07, p.A2)
2007 Jan 30, Jeanne Kane, a
member of the 1960s singing group the Kane Triplets, was shot and
killed by her ex-husband John Galtieri, a retired NYC police
officer. In 2009 Galtieri was sentenced to 32 years to life in
prison.
(http://tinyurl.com/lhbevm)(SFC, 5/28/09, p.A5)
2007 Feb 8, The Museum for
African Art unveiled plans for a new home in Manhattan, becoming the
first major addition to New York's Museum Mile in 50 years.
(Reuters, 2/8/07)
2007 Mar 4, In NYC a videotape
captured Rose Morat (101) as she repulsed an attack by a mugger in
the vestibule of her apartment. A suspect was later arrested.
(SFC, 4/28/07, p.A3)
2007 Mar 7, In NYC 9 people,
including 8 children, died inside their burning Bronx house. Another
child died the next day.
(AP, 3/8/07)(SFC, 3/9/07, p.A8)(SSFC, 3/11/07,
p.A2)(AP, 3/7/08)
2007 Mar 14, In NYC David Gavin
(32), with a fake beard and carrying 100 rounds of ammunition,
fatally shot a pizzeria employee and two unarmed volunteer police
officers in Greenwich Village before other officers shot him to
death. Gavin was a former employee at the pizzeria.
(AP, 3/15/07)
2007 Apr 1, Brooklyn's borough
president launched the Coney Island amusement park's last season
ahead of a major redevelopment that will raze much of the lovably
seedy boardwalk area.
(Reuters, 4/1/07)
2007 Apr 12, In NYC transit
officials and politicians broke ground on the Second Avenue line in
East Harlem.
(Econ, 4/21/07,
p.34)(www.mta.info/mta/news/releases07/index.html?en=070412)
2007 Apr 13, In NYC lawyer
Moshe Kanovsky (31) leaped to his death from the 69th floor of the
Empire State Building. At least 30 people have jumped from the
Empire State Building since it opened in 1931.
(SFC, 4/14/07, p.A3)
2007 Apr 15, Airlines canceled
over 400 flights in the NYC area as a hard-blowing nor'easter
gathered strength along the East Coast. The storm out of the Great
Plains was already blamed for 5 deaths.
(AP, 4/15/07)(SFC, 4/16/07, p.A4)
2007 Apr 19, A Brooklyn jury
convicted Gerald Garson, a former matrimonial court judge, of taking
bribes. His arrest in 2003 prompted investigations into judicial
corruption.
(www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/04/20/judge.cigar.ap/index.html)
2007 Apr 20, In NYC 13 people
were indicted on charges stemming from their roles in a credit card
fraud. Waiters in about 40 restaurants, in New York and as well
eateries in Florida, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Connecticut, had
quietly recorded customers' credit card information and passed it on
to people who used the information to make more than $3 million
worth of worth of illegal purchases. The conspirators had operated
from November 2005 until this week.
(AP, 4/21/07)
2007 May 23, Seven insurance
companies agreed to pay out over $2 billion in claims related to the
World Trade Center. The payout will be split between the Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the site, and Larry
Silverstein, the developer who took over the site weeks before it
was destroyed on Sep 11, 2001.
(Econ, 5/26/07, p.28)
2007 Jun 2, Four Muslim men
were arrested and in connection to a plan to set off explosives in a
jet fuel line that feeds John F. Kennedy International Airport and
runs through residential neighborhoods.
(AP, 6/2/07)(AP, 6/2/08)
2007 Jun 11, NY City Mayor
Michael Bloomberg said the city will incorporate biofuel made from
corn and soybeans into oil used to heat city buildings starting in
2008.
(Reuters, 6/12/07)
2007 Jun 18, NYC officials
detailed an experimental anti-poverty program whereby poor residents
will be rewarded for good behavior, like $300 for doing well on
school tests, $150 for holding a job and $200 for visiting the
doctor.
(AP, 6/19/07)
2007 Jun 19, After some six
years as a Republican, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg (65) announced
that he has left the Republican Party and become unaffiliated in
what many believe could be a step toward entering the 2008 race for
president.
(AP, 6/20/07)
2007 Jun 26, Liz Claiborne
(b.1929), fashion designer died in NYC. She revolutionized the way
working women put together their wardrobes. Claiborne launched her
label in 1976 after working for years as a relatively unknown dress
designer.
(AP, 6/28/07)(WSJ, 6/30/07, p.A4)
2007 Jul 1, In NYC a ban on
restaurant cooking with trans fats went into effect.
(SFC, 7/2/07, p.A4)
2007 Jul 4, In NYC Joey
Chestnut emerged as the world's hot dog eating champion, knocking
off six-time winner Takeru Kobayashi in a record-setting yet
repulsive triumph. Chestnut ate 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes.
(AP, 7/5/07)
2007 Jul 18, A massive geyser
of steam and debris erupted through a midtown Manhattan street near
Grand Central Terminal as an 83-year-old steam pipe ruptured. One
woman, identified as Lois Baumerich (57) of Hawthorne, N.J., died
from cardiac arrest.
(AP, 7/19/07)
2007 Jul 18, NYC and New Jersey
claimed $170.2 million in anti-terrorism funds, LA and Long Beach,
Ca., claimed $72.6 million, DC claimed $61.7 million, Chicago got
$47.3 million, the SF Bay Area got $34.1 million and Houston got $25
million.
(SFC, 7/19/07, p.B3)
2007 Aug 8, A tornado struck
Brooklyn, NY. This was the first ever tornado in recorded history to
touch down in Brooklyn. It was the first tornado to hit New York
City since 2003, when a weak tornado touched down in Staten Island,
and only the sixth tornado recorded in the city since 1950.
(http://nymag.com/restaurants/features/37273/)(http://tinyurl.com/3a2npv)
2007 Aug 18, A seven-alarm fire
ripped through the former Deutsche Bank next to ground zero in Lower
Manhattan, killing two firefighters who were responding to the
blaze.
(AP, 8/19/07)(Econ, 9/8/07, p.34)
2007 Aug 20, Leona Helmsley
(87), the NYC hotelier who went to prison as a tax cheat and was
reviled as the "queen of mean," died at her home in Greenwich, Conn.
(AP, 8/20/07)(Econ, 8/25/07, p.79)
2007 Aug 22, It was reported
that some US lawyers in NYC had crossed the $1,000 per hour billing
mark.
(WSJ, 8/22/07, p.B1)
2007 Sep 4, New York city’s
first Arab-language school opened.
(Econ, 9/8/07, p.36)
2007 Sep 24, Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in NYC for a speech at Columbia
University followed by a scheduled address to the UN General
Assembly. Ahmadinejad defended Holocaust revisionists and raised
questions about who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks in a tense
showdown at Columbia University.
(AP, 9/24/07)(AP, 9/25/07)
2007 Sep 28, A federal judge
refused to block a new NYC city rule that requires taxi drivers to
install global positioning systems and credit card machines in their
cabs by Oct 1.
(AP, 9/29/07)
2007 Oct 28, In NYC
orthodontist Daniel Malakov was shot and killed when he too his
daughter for an arranged meeting with his former wife, Mazoltuv
Borukhova. Police soon charged Borukhova with hiring a cousin by
marriage to kill Malakov. In 2011 Janet Malcolm authored “Iphigenia
in Forest Hills: Anatomy of a Murder Trial.
(SSFC, 5/15/11,
p.G4)(www.fathersandfamilies.org/?tag=daniel-malakov)
2007 Oct 30, Linda Stein (62),
a pioneer in the punk music scene and later known as a real estate
“broker to the stars,” was found murdered in her Manhattan
apartment. On Nov 9 police arrested Natavia Lowery (26), Stein’s
personal assistant, who bludgeoned her boss to death because Stein
“just kept yelling at her.”
(SFC, 11/2/07, p.E2)(SFC, 11/10/07, p.E2)
2007 Nov 4, Paula Radcliffe
outlasted Gete Wami to win her second New York City Marathon in
2:23:09. Martin Lel of Kenya won his second men's title, in 2:09:04.
(AP, 11/4/08)
2007 Nov 5, NYC Mayor Bloomberg
announced a new report card for the city’s schools. He said high
grade schools will get a budget increase and schools that fail will
not be tolerated. Bloomberg and school chancellor Joel Klein
announced a plan to in effect charterize the entire school system.
(Econ, 11/10/07, p.16,35)
2007 Nov 10, A stagehands
strike shut down most Broadway shows, with curtains rising again 19
days later.
(AP, 11/10/08)
2007 Nov 16, The first summit
of women leaders opened in NYC. The two-day "International Women
Leaders Global Security Summit," opened under the co-chairmanship of
former Irish president Mary Robinson and former Canadian prime
minister Kim Campbell. At the close over 70 women leaders issued a
call for action on global warming, terrorism, poverty and women's
security. The women leadership initiative was launched in October
2006.
(AFP, 11/18/07)
2007 Nov 28, Broadway
stagehands and theater producers reached a tentative agreement on
ending a crippling 19-day-old strike.
(AP, 11/28/08)
2007 Dec 3, In NYC Don Imus
returned to the airwaves eight months after he was fired for a
racially charged remark about the Rutgers women's basketball team,
and introduced a new cast that included two black comedians on
WABC-AM.
(AP, 12/3/07)
2007 Dec 7, In NYC 2 window
washers fell 47 stories from a Manhattan skyscraper when their
scaffolding failed; Edgar Moreno was killed, but his brother,
Alcides, miraculously survived.
(AP, 12/7/08)
2007 Joseph Dominick Pistone
(b.1939), alias Donnie Brasco, authored “Donnie Brasco: Unfinished
Business.” Pistone, a former FBI agent, worked undercover for six
years (1976-1981) infiltrating the Bonanno family and to a lesser
extent the Colombo Family, branches of the Mafia in NYC.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donnie_Brasco)
2007 Graham Russell and Gao
Hodges authored “Taxi! A Social History of the New York City
Cabdriver.”
(WSJ, 4/6/07, p.W6)
2007 “Show Choir!, The
Musical” by Mark McDaniels and Donald Garverick, made its premiere
at the New York International Fringe Festival. The original musical
comedy was awarded two awards for Overall Excellence. After a very
successful reading in November 2008, the musical is actively making
its way to Broadway.
{Theater, USA, NYC}
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Show_choir)
2008 Jan 22, The NYC Board of
health voted to require restaurant chains to state the number of
calories in everything on their menus. Full enforcement began in
July.
(www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/pr2008/pr008-08.shtml)(Econ, 8/30/08,
p.64)
2008 Feb 7, Authorities in
Italy and the US conducted raids targeting dozens of alleged members
of Mafia clans who controlled drug trafficking between the two sides
of the Atlantic. A 169-page indictment in the US went back 3 decades
and included at least 7 murders. The main targets in NY included 3
of the “five families” controlling organized crime in America: the
Genovese, Bonanno and Gambino families.
(AP, 2/7/08)(Econ, 2/16/08, p.41)
2008 Feb 11, It was reported
that Patricia Cornwell (51), crime novelist, was donating $1 million
to NYC’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice to help start a Crime
Scene Academy.
(WSJ, 2/11/08, p.B7)
2008 Feb 12, In Manhattan
psychologist Kathryn Faughey (56) died in her Upper East Side office
after being stabbed 15 times with a cleaver and knife. Psychiatrist
Kent Shinbach was also slashed in the attack. The assailant escaped.
David Tarloff (39) was arrested on Feb 16. He blamed Faughey for
having institutionalized him 17 years earlier.
(SFC, 2/14/08, p.A3)(SSFC, 2/17/08, p.A2)
2008 Feb 26, Brunei’s Prince
Jefri effectively lost control of the 55-story New York Palace
Hotel, formerly known as the Helmsley Palace. A firm owned by prince
Jefri paid $202 million for the hotel in 1993 using funds from the
Brunei Investment Agency (BAI).
(WSJ, 3/1/08, p.A6)
2008 Mar 11, Paul LeClerc,
president of the NY Public Library, said its main Manhattan building
on Fifth Ave. would be renamed after Stephen Schwarzman, billionaire
chairman of the Blackstone Group, who has pledged $100 million
toward library expansion plans.
(SFC, 3/12/08, p.E2)
2008 Mar 15, In NYC an
apartment building on Manhattan’s East Side was crushed in a giant
crane collapse that killed 7 people and injured 17.
(AP, 3/16/08)(SFC, 3/18/08, p.A2)
2008 Apr 20, Pope Benedict XVI
held a Mass at Yankee Stadium on his last day in the US.
(WSJ, 4/21/08, p.A1)
2008 Apr 23, New York’s Gov.
David Paterson signed into law a $1.25 per pack tax hike on top of
the state’s $1.50 per pack cigarette tax. NYC has an additional
$1.50 per pack tax. By July 1 smokers will be paying an average
$9.00 a pack for legal cigarettes. The taxes have encouraged major
criminal smuggling.
(WSJ, 5/7/08, p.A17)
2008 May 14, A triptych by
Francis Bacon (1909-1992), titled “Triptych 1976,” sold for $86.3
million in NYC, a record for contemporary art auctions.
(Econ, 5/17/08, p.79)
2008 May 30, A construction
crane collapsed on New York's Upper East Side, smashing into a
23-story apartment building before crashing onto the street below
and killing two workers.
(AP, 5/30/08)(SFC, 5/31/08, p.A3)
2008 Jun 2, Melvin Weiss (72),
co-founder of the NYC law firm Milberg Weiss, was sentenced to 30
months in prison for his roll in a kickback scheme targeting US
corporations. He was also ordered to pay $9.7 million in forfeitures
and $250,000 in fines.
(SFC, 6/3/08, p.D4)
2008 Jun 5, Alain Robert (45),
the man known as the French "Spiderman," climbed The New York Times
building to draw attention to global warming, adding to earlier
conquests including the Eiffel Tower and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Hours later a 2nd man ascended the building and was also arrested at
the top.
(Reuters, 6/6/08)(SFC, 6/6/08, p.A4)
2008 Jun 10, In NYC a million
pieces of stainless steel toy parts assembled into a nearly
seven-story model skyscraper glimmered under the hot sun. It was
created by American artist Chris Burden (b.1946). The 16,000-pound
(7,250-kg) "poetic interpretation" of the 30 Rock Building at
Rockefeller Center was made of replicated Erector set pieces from
the toy created by A.C. Gilbert in 1912.
(Reuters, 6/11/08)
2008 Jun 12, Deaths due to the
heat wave across the US East Coast climbed past 30 with at least 15
dead in Philadelphia and 7 in NYC.
(WSJ, 6/13/08, p.A2)
2008 Jun 15, In the annual NYC
Tony Awards “August: Osage County” won 5 awards and the musical “In
the Heights” won 4 awards.
(SFC, 6/16/08, p.E3)
2008 Jun 24, In NYC Robert
Williams (31) was convicted of attempted murder, rape, kidnapping,
arson and other charges in an attack of a Columbia University
graduate student, which was so prolonged and agonizing that Ann
Prunty begged her tormentor to kill her and later tried to kill
herself.
(AP, 6/25/08)
2008 Jun 24, In NYC David
Fisher, an Italian architect, said he is poised to start
construction on a new skyscraper in Dubai that will be "the world's
first building in motion," an 80-story tower with revolving floors
that give it an ever-shifting shape.
(AP, 6/25/08)
2008 Jun 28, Ruslana Korshunova
(20), a European Vogue cover model, fell to her death from her
Manhattan apartment building in an apparent suicide. She was
originally from the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan.
(AP, 6/29/08)
2008 Jul 30, Nicholas Corozzo
(68), New York City mob captain, pleaded guilty to racketeering and
2 murders in 1996. In 2009 he was sentenced to 13 years in prison.
(http://tinyurl.com/cz7tj8)(SSFC, 4/19/09, p.A10)
2008 Aug 11, Federal
prosecutors in NYC charged Joseph Shereshevsky and Steven Byers,
partners in Chicago-based WexTrust Capital, with raising over $250
million through a Ponzi scheme, mainly from Orthodox Jews.
(WSJ, 8/15/08, p.A1)
2008 Sep 10, A regulatory
filing revealed that Carlos Slim, Mexican businessman, and his
family had purchased a 6.4% stake in the New York Times.
(Econ, 9/20/08, p.78)
2008 Sep 11, Pres. Bush
attended the dedication of a new memorial at the Pentagon in honor
of 9/11 attacks in 2001. In NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg led a
ceremony attended by presidential candidates Barack Obama and John
McCain.
(SFC, 9/12/08, p.A3)
2008 Sep 15, Lehman Brothers,
burdened by $60 billion in soured real-estate holdings, filed a
Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in US Bankruptcy Court after attempts
to rescue the 158-year-old firm failed. Bank of America Corp. said
it is snapping up Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. in a $50 billion
all-stock transaction.
(AP, 9/15/08)
2008 Sep 24, In NYC police Lt.
Michael Pigott ordered a fellow officer to fire a taser at Imam
Morales, who had threatened to kill himself and stood naked on a
window ledge. Morales fell about 10 feet and died. A distraught
Pigott committed suicide on Oct 2.
(SFC, 10/3/08, p.A6)
2008 Sep 21, NYC police
arrested more than a dozen people for stealing pieces of Yankee
Stadium during the 85-year-old ballpark's final game.
(AP, 9/23/08)
2008 Oct 15, A NYC police
officer warned Michael Mineo, a tattoo parlor worker, that if he
reported being sodomized with a baton during an arrest at a subway
station, officers would lock him up for a felony. Officer Richard
Kern (25) was later charged with aggravated sexual abuse and
assault. Fellow Officers Alex Cruz and Andrew Morales were charged
with hindering prosecution and official misconduct for allegedly
covering up the crime.
(AP, 12/9/08)
2008 Oct 23, NYC Mayor
Bloomberg persuaded the city council, in a 29-22 vote, to amend the
term limit law allowing him to run for re-election next year.
(SFC, 10/24/08, p.A4)
2008 Oct 23, In NYC Raffaello
Follieri (30) was sentenced to 4½ years in prison for
cheating investors by claiming he had ties with the Vatican enabling
him to buy Catholic Church property at a discount.
(WSJ, 10/24/08, p.A2)
2008 Nov 2, Paula Radcliffe
defended her title at the NYC marathon to become the second woman to
win the race three times. Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil won
the men's race for the second time in three years.
(www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,445965,00.html)
2008 Nov 5, John Leonard,
former editor of the NY Times Book Review (1970-1983), died in NYC.
(SFC, 11/11/08, p.B4)
2008 Nov 19, In NYC the
Triborough Bridge was renamed the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge.
(SFC, 11/20/08, p.A4)
2008 Nov 25, Gerald Schoenfeld
(b.1924), head of the Shubert Organization, died in NYC. From 1972
he and Bernard B. Jacobs (d.1996) reinvigorated the commercial
theater business.
(SFC, 11/27/08, p.B8)
2008 Nov 27, Macy’s held its
82nd Thanksgiving Day parade in NYC.
(SFC, 11/28/08, p.A2)
2008 Dec 3, Laura Garza, an
aspiring dancer, disappeared after leaving a NYC nightclub with a
registered sex offender. On April 11, 2010, her remains were found
in Olyphant, Pa. DNA confirmation was announced on April 26.
(SFC, 4/27/10,
p.A4)(www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=NEWS67)
2008 Dec 7, NYC police officers
escorted a drunken Gap designer (29) to her East Village apartment.
In 2011 a Manhattan jury acquitted two officers of rape, but found
them guilty of misconduct for three unauthorized post midnight
visits to her apartment.
(SFC, 5/27/11, p.A6)
2008 Dec 8, Marc Dreier (58),
owner of a prominent NYC law firm, was indicted with criminal
charges and civil complaints alleging he defrauded investors of some
$115100 million by selling them phony financial instruments. On Dec
23 federal prosecutors charged Kosta Kovachev (57), a former
stockbroker, for his role in Dreier’s 2006 Ponzi scheme. In 2009 the
indictment was amended and estimated the alleged fraud at about $700
million.
(WSJ, 12/9/08, p.A3)(WSJ, 12/24/08, p.A3)(WSJ,
3/18/09, p.A7)
2008 Dec 11, Bernard Madoff
(70), a quiet force on Wall Street for decades, was arrested and
charged with allegedly running a $50 billion "Ponzi scheme" in what
may rank among the biggest fraud cases ever.
(AP, 12/12/08)
2008 Dec 18, John Costelloe
(47), the actor who portrayed the gay lover of a closeted mobster on
"The Sopranos," died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in New York
City.
(AP, 12/25/08)
2008 Dec 20, The NY Times said
China has blocked access to its Web site, days after the central
government defended its right to censor online content it deems
illegal.
(AP, 12/20/08)
2008 Dec 23, In NYC police
found the body of investor Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet (65)
at his Madison Avenue office. He had grown increasingly subdued
after the Madoff scandal broke and apparently swallowed sleeping
pills and slashed his wrists with a box cutter. His investment fund
had lost $1.4 billion with Bernard Madoff.
(AP, 12/24/08)(SFC, 12/24/08, p.C3)
2008 Dec 25, Eartha Kitt (81),
singer, dancer and actress, died in NYC. The self-proclaimed "sex
kitten" attracted fans with her sultry voice and catlike purr even
as she neared 80.
(AP, 12/26/08)
2008 Dec 31, SF ended the year
with 98 homicides. In Milwaukee, Wisc., the total number of
homicides dropped 32%, from 105 in 2007 to 71 in 2008, the lowest
number since 1985. Detroit had 344 slayings, a 13% drop from the 396
in 2007; Philadelphia's 332 killings were a 15% drop from the 392 in
2007; and the 234 homicides in Baltimore were 17% less than the 392
the year before. Cleveland recorded 102 homicides in 2008, down from
a 13-year high of 134 in 2007. Homicides in New York rose 5.2%, to
522 from 496 the year before. Slayings in Los Angeles were down to
376 in 2008 compared to 400 the prior year. Preliminary data in
Chicago showed 508 homicides were reported in 2008, the first time
the city had more than 500 murders since 2003 and about 15% more
than the 442 homicides reported in 2007. Washington, D.C., ended
2008 with 186 homicides, up from 181 in 2007.
(SFC, 1/2/09, p.1)(AP, 1/3/09)
2008 Max Page authored “The
City’s End: Two Centuries of Fantasies, Fears, and Premonitions of
New York's Destruction.”
(WSJ, 10/3/08, p.A19)
2008 Darcy Tell authored “Times
Square Spectacular,” a history of NYC’s Times Square.
(WSJ, 3/22/08, p.W11)
2009 Jan 15, A US Airways
Airbus A320 jetliner, piloted by Chesley B. Sullenberger and bound
for Charlotte, NC, landed in the Hudson River after both engines
failed shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia and an encounter with a
flock of geese. All 155 people aboard Flight 1549 survived.
(AP, 1/16/09)(WSJ, 1/16/08, p.A3)
2009 Jan 16, Citigroup said it
is splitting into two businesses as it reported a fourth-quarter net
loss of $8.29 billion, its fifth straight quarterly loss.
(AP, 1/16/09)
2009 Feb 11, In NYC Guido
Salvador Carabajo-Jara (26), an immigrant from Ecuador, died after
he was hit by a car then trapped under a van and dragged for nearly
20 miles.
(SFC, 2/13/09, p.A6)
2009 Feb 24, In NYC Monzer
al-Kassan, a Syrian-born arms dealer, was sentenced to 30 years in
prison for conspiring to sell weapons to Colombian militants in
2007.
(SFC, 2/25/09, p.A4)
2009 Mar 6, Former NYC police
detectives Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa were sentenced to
life in prison for their conviction in 8 gangland murders. They had
moonlighted as hit men for the Luchese crime family while on the
police force during the 1980s.
(SFC, 3/7/09, p.A5)
2009 Mar 19, In NYC Henry
Morris (55), political adviser to former New York comptroller Alan
Hevesi, and David J. Loglisci (38), former New York Deputy
Comptroller, were arrested on charged in a 123-count indictment that
included money laundering, corruption and bribery charges. Some $30
million was allegedly paid to Mr. Morris in a pay-to-play scheme.
(WSJ, 3/20/09, p.C1)
2009 Mar 29, Helen Levitt (95),
photographer of New York City, died.
(Econ, 4/11/09, p.87)
2009 Apr 26, New York City
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention has confirmed that students at a city high school
were infected with swine flu. About 100 students complained of
flu-like symptoms at the school. Some students went to Cancun on a
spring break trip two weeks ago. The flu has spread beyond Mexico's
borders with confirmed cases in the US and suspected cases as far
away as New Zealand.
(AP, 4/26/09)
2009 May 17, In NYC Mitchell
Wiener, an assistant principal at a middle school, became the first
death linked to the H1N1 flu virus.
(SFC, 5/18/09, p.A3)
2009 May 20, In NYC four
ex-convicts, 3 Americans and a Haitian citizen, were arrested and
accused of plotting to place bombs at NYC synagogues and shoot down
National Guard jets. James Cromitie, David Williams, Onta Williams
and Laguerre Payen envisioned themselves as holy warriors. The 4 men
were convicted on Oct 18, 2010. They were caught in an FBI sting
operation led by undercover informant Shahed Hussain, who faced
serious punishment in a separate fraud case.
(http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=7642086&page=1)(SFC,
5/22/09, p.A7)(SFC, 10/19/10, p.A6)
2009 Jun 8, Royal Dutch Shell
agreed In NYC to a $15.5 million settlement to end a lawsuit
alleging that the oil giant was complicit in the executions of
activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and other civilians by Nigeria's former
military regime.
(AP, 6/8/09)
2009 Jun 29, Bernard Madoff
(71) was sentenced in NYC to 150 years in prison for his
multibillion-dollar fraud scheme.
(AP, 6/29/09)
2009 Jul 2, In NYC federal
marshals seized disgraced financier Bernard Madoff's $7 million
Manhattan penthouse and forced his wife to move out and leave her
possessions behind, including a fur coat she had asked to take with
her.
(AP, 7/3/09)
2009 Jul 4, NYC police arrested
a dozen people and seized 33 pounds of heroin worth $30 million that
was stuffed inside Build-A-Bear toys.
(SSFC, 7/5/09, p.A11)
2009 Jul 4, Joey Chestnut (25),
of San Jose, Ca., ate a record 68 hot dogs capturing his 3rd
straight Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Int’l. Hot Dog Eating
Contest at Coney Island, NYC.
(SSFC, 7/5/09, p.A2)
2009 Jul 16, Jeffrey Locker
(52), a debt-ridden motivational speaker, was found strangled and
stabbed in his car in East Harlem, hours after he was seen buying
condoms. In 2011 jurors found Kenneth Minor guilty of helping Locker
commit suicide.
(SFC, 3/4/11, p.A10)
2009 Aug 11, Bernard Madoff's
long-time deputy, Frank DiPascali, pleaded guilty to financial
crimes including helping others carry out Wall Street's biggest
investment fraud, but shed little more light in court on the
decades-long swindle.
(Reuters, 8/11/09)
2009 Sep 8, Philip Barry (52)
of Brooklyn was charged with operating an alleged $40 million Ponzi
scheme that stretched for three decades and apparently helped
finance a pornography business. He had turned himself in to
authorities in August after running the scheme for 31 years. Barry
spent a portion of his investors' money on real-estate purchases
that he hoped would appreciate. They did not.
(http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2009/09/brooklyns_philip_barry_may_hav.html)
2009 Sep 19, The FBI arrested
Najibullah Zazi (24) of the Denver suburb of Aurora, Colorado, on
charges of making false statements to federal agents in an ongoing
terror investigation. Supporting documents contend the man admitted
receiving weapons and explosives training from al-Qaida in Pakistan.
Also arrested were Zazi's father, Mohammed Wali Zazi (53) in Denver;
and an associate, Ahmad Wais Afzali (37) of Queens, NY. On Feb 22,
2010, Zazi pleaded guilty admitting that he had agreed to conduct an
Al-Qaida-led “martyrdom operation” in NYC.
(AP, 9/20/09)(SFC, 2/23/10, p.A6)
2009 Sep 20, It was reported
that US Democrat Rep. Charlie Rangel (79), the person most in charge
of writing the nation's tax laws, had neglected to pay taxes on
rental income from his vacation villa in the Dominican Republic, and
that he had also failed to report assets worth hundreds of thousands
of dollars on his annual disclosure forms, including a hard-to-miss
credit union account worth up to $500,000.
(AP, 9/20/09)(http://rangel.house.gov/)
2009 Oct 8, A NYC jury
convicted Anthony Marshall (85), the son of Brooke Astor, of grand
larceny and conspiracy in a scheme to force the socialite to change
her will before she died at age 105 in 2007. Francis Morissey (66),
a lawyer who worked with Marshall, was also convicted of conspiracy
and forgery. On Dec 21 Marshall was sentenced one to three years in
prison.
(SFC, 10/9/09, p.A8)(SFC, 12/22/09, p.A8)
2009 Oct 16, US federal
prosecutors unveiled a broad criminal case against billionaire hedge
fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, head of Galleon Partners in Manhattan,
and 5 others accused of netting over $20 million by trading based on
insider information. Investigators had used wiretaps to gain
evidence.
(SFC, 10/17/09, p.D1)
2009 Oct 25, The New York
Yankees, baseball's biggest spenders, finally cashed in with their
first pennant in six years, beating the Los Angeles Angels 5-2 in
Game 6 of the AL championship series behind the savvy pitching of
Andy Pettitte.
(AP, 10/26/09)
2009 Nov 1, Meb Keflezighi
(27), an Eritrean born American citizen, won the New York City
Marathon (2:09:15). Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia was the women's winner
(2:28:52).
(AP, 11/2/09)
2009 Nov 2, The new US Navy
assault ship New York arrived at Pier 88. The 684 foot, $1 billion
ship was included 7½ tons of steel in its hull from the World
Trade Center.
(SFC, 11/3/09, p.A11)
2009 Nov 3, NYC voters gave a
narrow win to Mayor Michael Bloomberg over Bill Thompson. Bloomberg
was reckoned to have spent some $100 million to win his 3rd term.
(Econ, 11/7/09, p.30)
2009 Nov 4, The New York
Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 in Game 6, finally
seizing the World Series crown, the team's first since winning three
straight from 1998-2000, making it championship No. 27.
(AP, 11/5/09)
2009 Nov 4, US federal
prosecutors In NYC charged 53 people with running open-air drug
markets at two housing projects near Yankee Stadium. Early morning
raids had resulted in 37 arrests along with seizures of cash, guns
and stockpiles of heroin and crack cocaine.
(SFC, 11/5/09, p.A8)
2009 Nov 5, Bernard Kerik (54),
former NYC Police Commissioner, pleaded guilty to 8 felonies
including lying to the white House while being considered for chief
of Homeland Security and lying on tax returns. On May 17, 2010, he
began serving a 4-year sentence for tax fraud, lying to the White
House and other felonies.
(SFC, 11/6/09, p.A8)(SFC, 5/18/10, p.A4)
2009 Nov 10, In NYC Ralph
Cioffi and Matthew Tannin, former executives at Bear Stearns, were
acquitted of lying to investors about the state of the
subprime-stuffed hedge funds they ran at Bear Stearns. The funds’
collapse caused losses of $1.6 billion.
(Econ, 11/14/09, p.85)
2009 Nov 12, US prosecutors
filed a civil complaint in federal court against the Alavi
Foundation, seeking the forfeiture of more than $500 million in
assets. The Muslim nonprofit organization, suspected to have Iranian
links, held assets including bank accounts; Islamic centers
consisting of schools and mosques in New York, Maryland, California
and Houston; more than 100 acres in Virginia; and a 36-story
Manhattan office tower.
(AP, 11/15/09)
2009 Nov 25, US federal
prosecutors said a young woman from Mexico was smuggled over the
border and forced to work as a prostitute for years in Brooklyn, and
the remains of an infant were found in concrete at the home where
she was held prisoner. NYPD officials discovered the bin a day
earlier, with the remains of an infant inside. Domingo Salazar (33)
and his wife, Norma Mendez (32), appeared in US District Court in
Brooklyn on sex trafficking charges and were being held without
bail.
(AP, 11/26/09)
2009 Dec 1, In NYC John
“Junior” Gotti was freed on $2 million bond after a jury failed to
reach a verdict over racketeering charges. This was the 4th hung
jury for Gotti in 5 years.
(SFC, 12/2/09, p.A9)
2009 Dec 6, The play “Race,” by
David Mamet, opened on Broadway.
(Econ, 12/12/09, p.95)
2009 Christopher Dickey
authored “Securing the City: Inside America’s Best Counterterror
Force—the NYPD.
(Econ, 2/14/09, p.93)
2009 Eric W. Sanderson authored
“Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City.”
(SSFC, 5/17/09, Books p.H4)
2010 Jan 8, In NYC 2 men linked
to an alleged Al-Qaida associate were arrested after one of the men
caused a traffic accident while under surveillance. Zarein Ahmedzay
(24) and Adis Medunjanin (25), former classmates of Najibullah Zazi,
were first publicly linked to an investigation of a plot to attack
NYC with homemade bombs in September. Zazi was arrested in Denver on
Sep 19 after investigators found evidence of a planned attack in his
rented vehicle in NYC on Sep 10. On April 23 Ahmedzay pleaded guilty
to charges including conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction.
He said Al-Qaida leaders in Pakistan in 2008 had encouraged him and
Zazi to target structures in NYC.
(SFC, 1/9/10, p.A9)(SFC, 4/24/10, p.A7)
2010 Jan 27, In NYC an armed
robber killed jewelry store worker Henry Menahem (71) and made off
with nearly $1 million in jewels.
(SFC, 1/29/10, p.A6)
2010 Jan 30, In NYC a fire
housing Guatemalan immigrants killed at least 5 people in Brooklyn.
Arson was suspected.
(SSFC, 1/31/10, p.A16)
2010 Feb 3, In NYC Aafia
Siddiqui, a 37-year-old Pakistani-born mother and neuroscientist
trained at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was found guilty
of two counts of attempted murder, armed assault, using and carrying
a firearm and assault of US officers and employees and faces up to
60 years in prison. Siddiqui was arrested in July 2008 by US forces
in Ghazni, Afghanistan on accusation of being a suicide bomber and
alleged possession of "chemical and gel substances" for bomb making.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aafia_Siddiqui)
2010 Feb 10, Snow, wind and
slush hounded eastern commuters as blizzard warnings from Baltimore
to New York City heralded the second major storm in a region already
largely blanketed by weekend snowfall. Snow was falling from
northern Virginia to Connecticut after crawling out of the Midwest,
where the storm canceled hundreds of flights and was blamed for
three traffic deaths in Michigan.
(AP, 2/10/10)
2010 Feb 27, In NYC a new
visitor center opened near the rediscovered cemetery from the 17th
and 18th centuries to celebrate the ethnic Africans who had toiled,
many unpaid, to help make New York the nation's commercial capital.
(AP, 2/28/10)
2010 Mar 3, NYC Rep. Charles
Rangel (b.1930), announced he will temporarily step down as chairman
of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, saying he didn't
want his ethics controversy to jeopardize election prospects for
fellow Democrats.
(AP, 3/3/10)
2010 Mar 11, In NYC lawyers
representing construction companies, and rescue and recovery workers
agreed to a settlement that could pay as much as $657.5 million to
responders sickened by dust from the destroyed World Trade Center.
On March 19 a federal judge rejected the ground zero settlement
saying it was insufficient and that too much of it would go to legal
fees. In June a $712 million settlement was reached.
(SFC, 3/12/10, p.A8)(SFC, 3/20/10, p.A5)(SFC,
6/11/10, p.A6)
2010 Apr 5, In NYC 4 people
were shot and dozens of people were arrested in a mile-long stretch
of Manhattan near Times Square in mayhem following the city's annual
auto show.
(AP, 4/5/10)
2010 Apr 30, In NYC an
indictment was unsealed against Wesam El-Hanafi and Sabirhan
Hasanoff for scheming to provide computer systems expertise and
other goods and services to Al-Qaida.
(SFC, 5/1/10, p.A5)
2010 May 1, NYC police found an
"amateurish" but potentially powerful bomb that apparently began to
detonate but did not explode in a smoking sport utility vehicle in
Times Square. The Pakistani Taliban quickly claimed responsibility
for the failed car bomb attack.
(AP, 5/2/10)
2010 May 3, Faisal Shahzad
(30), a US citizen who had recently returned from a five-month trip
to his native Pakistan, was arrested at a New York airport on
charges that he drove a bomb-laden SUV meant to cause a fireball in
Times Square.
(AP, 5/4/10)
2010 May 5, Faisal Shahzad
(30), a US citizen who on May 1, drove a bomb-laden SUV meant to
cause a fireball in Times Square, was sentenced to life in prison.
The Pakistani immigrant had pleaded guilty on June 21 to 10
terrorism and weapons counts.
(AP, 10/5/10)
2010 May 7, Bernard Schoenbaum
(89), cartoonist, died at his home in Queens, NY. His work included
over 300 cartoons for the New Yorker magazine.
(SFC, 5/18/10, p.C5)
2010 May 13, US Attorney
General Eric Holder said 3 Pakistani men had been taken into custody
in a series of raids related to the May 1 failed Time Square car
bombing.
(AP, 5/14/10)
2010 May 16, In NYC 2 off-duty
police officers were killed and 4 women injured when their car hit a
guardrail in the Bronx.
(SFC, 5/17/10, p.A4)
2010 Jun 2, The US Embassy said
that Polish police arrested Alexsander Efrosman, a businessman from
Staten Island, New York, in Krakow last weekend. The US Commodity
Futures Trading Commission said in a complaint filed in 2005 that
Efrosman, who also goes by Alex Besser, stole about $5 million from
customers of two fraudulent hedge funds that he claimed to manage,
Century Maxim Fund, Inc. and AJR Capital Inc.
(AP, 6/2/10)
2010 Jun 3, NYC agreed to pay
$9.9 million to Barry Gibbs, an innocent man who spent 19 years
behind bars after being framed by a police dept. detective who had
doubled as a killer for the mob.
(SFC, 6/4/10, p.A6)
2010 Jun 21, In NYC Faisal
Shahzad (30), a Pakistani-born US citizen, pleaded guilty to all
charges related to his May 1 driving of a bomb-laden SUV meant to
cause a fireball in Times Square.
(SFC, 6/22/10, p.A6)
2010 Jul 5, The US deported
Imam Ahmad Afzali to Saudi Arabia. He had admitted to lying to the
FBI during an investigation into a suicide bomb plot against NYC
subway stations in 2009.
(SFC, 7/6/10, p.A4)
2010 Aug 3, Lawrence Salander
(61), NYC owner of a lavish Upper East Side gallery, was sentenced
to six to 18 years in prison. He had pleaded guilty earlier this
year to 29 counts of grand larceny and fraud.
(AP,
10/24/10)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Salander)
2010 Sep 22, NYC officials said
59 taxi drivers have been arrested for manipulating their meters to
double the fare rate.
(SFC, 9/23/10, p.A11)
2010 Sep 22, In NYC Cesar
Mercado (34), who had worked at the Nicaraguan consulate as acting
consul general, was found dead in his apartment in the Bronx by the
driver who went to pick him up to attend the meeting. On Oct 29 a
medical examiner’s report said he had committed suicide.
(AP, 9/24/10)(AP, 10/29/10)
2010 Sep 23, A New York
court sentenced Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani scientist, to 86 years
in prison. Siddiqui (38) was detained in Afghanistan in 2008. She
was found guilty of seizing a weapon from one of her captors and
trying to shoot US authorities who were interrogating her there.
(AP, 9/24/10)
2010 Sep 25, In NYC artworks
held by Lehman Brothers and a former subsidiary were auctioned by
Sotheby’s bringing in almost $12.3 million.
(SSFC, 9/26/10, p.A14)
2010 Oct 3, In NYC a potential
recruit for the Latin King Goonies street gang and 2 other men were
beaten and sodomized for their sexual contacts. 8 suspects were
later arrested and one more was sought in the gruesome assaults. 2
more suspects were charged on Oct 12.
(SFC, 10/9/10, p.A7)(SSFC, 10/10/10, p.A10)(AP,
10/13/10)
2010 Oct 15, Israeli police
arrested Staten Island resident Eric Bellucci (30), a US citizen who
escaped to Israel after allegedly stabbing his parents to death in
their New York home earlier this week. Bellucci's parents, Arthur
(61) and Marian (56), were found dead the night of Oct 13 in their
Staten Island home.
(AP, 10/15/10)(AP, 10/16/10)
2010 Nov 16, A US congressional
panel found New York Rep. Charles Rangel (80) guilty of 11
violations of House ethics rules.
(SFC, 11/17/10, p.A7)
2010 Nov 19, NYC officials said
over 10,000 workers, exposed to toxic dust following the 9/11 fall
of the world Trade Center, have ended a legal fight with the city
and joined a settlement worth at least $625 million.
(SFC, 11/20/10, p.A5)
2010 Nov 22, The FBI raided
three hedge funds in NYC as part of a sweeping investigation into
insider trading.
(Econ, 11/27/10, p.82)
2010 Dec 2, NYC Rep. Charles
Rangel (80) was censured by the US House of Representatives for
financial misdeeds.
(SFC, 12/3/10, p.A14)
2010 Dec 10, In NYC Nicholas
Brooks (24), the son of an Oscar-winning songwriter, was arrested on
charges of attempted murder and strangulation in the death of
fashion designer Sylvie Cachay (33), who was discovered around 3
a.m. the previous day at the Soho House hotel. Brooks' Academy
Award-winning father, Joseph Brooks (72), is awaiting trial in an
unrelated case. He was accused of raping 11 women he lured to his
apartment with the promise of a starring role in a movie. He has
pleaded not guilty to sexual assault charges and is free on bail.
(AP, 12/10/10)
2010 Dec 11, Mark Madoff (46),
one of Bernard Madoff's sons, was found dead of an apparent suicide
in his Manhattan apartment on the second anniversary of his father's
arrest.
(AP, 12/11/10)
2010 Dec 17, The Archdiocese of
New York announced that a Roman Catholic tribunal has defrocked
former monsignor Charles Kavanagh (73) for molesting a teenage
student in the 1980s. Kavanagh denied the accusation.
(SSFC, 12/19/10, p.A12)
2011 Jan 7, In NYC Carlos
Castro (65), a gay Portuguese TV reporter, was found castrated and
bludgeoned to death at the InterContinental Hotel. His young
boyfriend, model Renato Seabra (21) was arrested by police.
(SSFC, 1/9/11, p.A11)
2011 Jan 20, US FBI agents
dealt another major blow to New York's five Mafia crime families by
arresting some 127 suspected mobsters throughout the Northeast on
charges including murder, extortion and narcotics trafficking.
(AP, 1/20/11)(Econ, 1/29/11, p.29)
2011 Feb 12, In New York Maksim
Gelman (23) was taken into custody after a bloody 28-hour rampage
across New York City. He had gotten into a fight with his mother
after she refused to allow him to use her Lexus. Armed with five
knives Gelman fatally stabbed his stepfather, ex-girlfriend and her
mother, ran down a pedestrian in a stolen car, and slashed and
wounded four other people before being arrested in a Times Square
subway station.
(AP, 2/13/11)
2011 Feb 24, In New Jersey
Transportation Security Administration officer Al Raimi (29) of
Woodbridge pleaded guilty in Newark federal court to theft by a
government officer. Federal prosecutors say Raimi stole between
$10,000 and $30,000 cash over nearly a year from travelers passing
through his checkpoint. He gave a cut of the cash to his supervisor,
Michael Arato, who pleaded guilty to related charges this month. 2
TSA agents at a NYC airport were arrested earlier this month on
charges of stealing $40,000 from passengers' luggage.
(AP, 2/24/11)
2011 Mar 12, In NYC 13 people
died when a bus returning from a casino flipped onto its side on a
major highway in the Bronx and was sliced in half by the support
pole for a large sign.
(AP, 3/12/11)
2011 May 11, In NYC hedge fund
founder Raj Rajaratnam was convicted on all counts of fraud and
conspiracy, in Wall Street's biggest insider trading trial for
years.
(AFP, 5/11/11)
2011 May 14, Dominique
Strauss-Kahn (62), the leader of the International Monetary Fund and
a possible candidate for president of France, was yanked from an
airplane moments before it was to depart for Paris and arrested in
the alleged sexual assault of Nafissatou Diallo, a NYC hotel maid.
The immigrant maid from Guinea identified him in a line-up. On Aug 8
Diallo sued Strauss-Kahn for sexual assault.
(AP, 5/15/11)(Econ, 5/21/11, p.25)(SFC, 8/9/11,
p.A5)
2011 May 22, Joseph Brooks
(73), the Academy Award-winning songwriter of "You Light Up My Life"
(1977), was found dead in NYC of an apparent suicide while awaiting
trial on charges of sexually assaulting more than a dozen women and
just months after his son was accused of murdering a swimsuit
designer.
(AP, 5/23/11)
2011 May 23, Bradley Franzen
(41) pleaded guilty in a Manhattan court to bank fraud, money
laundering and illegal gambling offenses. The US president of a
Costa Rica-based company faced up to 30 years in prison for
illegally processing payments for Internet poker firms.
(AFP, 5/23/11)
2011 May 31, Mahmoud Abdel
Salam Omar (74), former chairman of Egypt's Bank of Alexandria, was
arrested in NYC for allegedly assaulting a hotel maid the previous
evening. On June 24 Omar pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor sexual
abuse charge, acknowledging he kissed the woman on the lips and neck
and touched her breasts after she brought tissues to his room at the
posh Pierre hotel. He completed five days of community service in a
soup kitchen, and his case will be closed without jail time or
probation if he stays out of trouble for a year.
(AP, 5/31/11)(http://tinyurl.com/3mjbkkf)(AP,
6/24/11)
2011 Jun 2,
The New York Times announced the appointment of Managing Editor Jill
Abramson to the position of Executive Editor, effective September
6th. She will become the first woman Executive Editor in the history
of the Times.
(Agence France Presse, 6/2/11)(Washington Post, 6/2/11)
2011 Jun 9, In New York
officials of Citibank acknowledged that hackers had breached their
system in May and gained access to the names, account numbers and
e-mail addresses of about 200,000 customers.
(AP, 6/9/11)
2011 Jun 13, In NYC Zvi Goffer,
former Galleon Group LLC hedge fund trader, was convicted on all
counts for insider trading. His brother and Michael Kimelman were
also found guilty of conspiracy and securities fraud.
(SFC, 6/14/11, p.D2)
2011 Jun 14, The much-delayed
stage play “Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark” finally opened on
Broadway. Originally scheduled to open on February 18, 2010, the
project endured financial problems, accidents that injured several
cast members, and criticism from preview audiences, which led to the
firing of the play’s original director, Julie Taymor.
(AP, 6/15/11)
2011 Jun 26, SF held its 41st
gay pride parade. NYC held its 42nd.
(SFC, 6/27/11, p.A1,7)
2011 Jul 1, In NYC former IMF
chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn (62) was released without bail after a
dramatic court hearing where the sexual assault case against him
appeared to shift in his favor. Prosecutors said the credibility of
the woman at the center of the case had been thrown into question.
(Reuters, 7/1/11)
2011 Jul 11, In NYC Leiby
Kletzky (8), an Orthodox Jewish child, disappeared. On July 13 the
body of the boy was found in the refrigerator of Levi Aron (35), who
was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.
(AP, 7/14/11)
2011 Jul 20, NYC authorities
said a high-end prostitution ring catering to Wall Street clients,
who often would spend over $10,000 for a night bingeing on sex and
cocaine, has been busted and 17 people indicted.
(Reuters, 7/20/11)
2011 Jul 22, In NYC Mohammed
Wali Zazi (55), the father of convicted terrorist Najibullah Zazi,
was found guilty of charges that he destroyed evidence and lied to
investigators to cover up his son’s al-Qaida sanctioned plot to
attack NYC subways in 2009.
(SFC, 7/23/11, p.A6)
2011 Jul 22, Temperature
records tumbled on the US East Coast. Newark, New Jersey saw an air
temperature of 108 degrees Fahrenheit (42 Celsius), the highest ever
recorded in the city since records began there in 1931, and the
hottest reported by the National Weather Service on the East Coast.
Temperature in NYC hit 104.
(AFP, 7/22/11)(SFC, 7/23/11, p.A4)
2011 Aug 23, A NYC judge
ordered the dismissal of all sexual assault charges against former
IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn. The order was stayed until an
appelate court decides whether a special prosecutor should be
appointed. The judge cited credibility issues with Nafisssatou
Diallo (33), the hotel housekeeper who had filed the initial
charges.
(SFC, 8/24/11, p.A5)
2011 Aug 28, Seawater surged
into the streets of Manhattan as Tropical Storm Irene slammed into
New York, downgraded from a hurricane but still unleashing furious
wind and rain. The flooding threatened Wall Street and the heart of
the global financial network. At least 16 people were reported
killed in 6 states: 5 in North Carolina, 4 in Virginia, 3 in New
Jersey, 2 in Florida and one each in Maryland and Connecticut.
(AP, 8/28/11)(SFC, 8/29/11, p.A10)
2011 Sep 11, In NYC the 9/11
memorial “Reflecting Absence” opened with two pools in the footprint
of the 2001 fallen twin towers of the World Trade Center.
(Econ, 9/3/11, p.27)
2011 Sep 17, The Occupy SF
movement began on Sep 17 with 6 people gathering outside the former
Bank of America center on California Street in solidarity with
protesters in NYC, who had set up camp in Zucotti Park near Wall
Street the same day.
(AP, 10/6/11)
2011 Oct 1, In NYC more than
700 of protesters, speaking out against corporate greed and other
grievances, were arrested during a march on the Brooklyn Bridge in a
tense confrontation with police. The group Occupy Wall Street has
been camped out in a plaza in Manhattan's Financial District for
nearly two weeks staging various marches.
(AP, 10/2/11)
2011 Oct 4, A private
helicopter crashed into New York City’s East River, killing one
British passenger and injuring a British couple and a New Zealand
woman. The helicopter went down shortly after takeoff from a
riverbank heliport. On Oct 12 the New Zealand woman died of her
injuries.
(AP, 10/5/11)(SFC, 10/13/11, p.A8)
2011 Oct 7, New York City
authorities said bank tellers, restaurant workers and other service
employees in NYC lifted credit card data from residents and foreign
tourists as part of an identity theft ring that stretched to China,
Europe and the Middle East and victimized thousands.
(AP, 10/7/11)
2011 Oct 15, In NYC thousands
of demonstrators protesting corporate greed filled Times Square,
mixing with gawkers, Broadway showgoers, tourists and police to
create a chaotic scene in the midst of Manhattan.
(AP, 10/16/11)
2011 Oct 21, US political
operative John Haggerty (42) was convicted of cheating NYC Mayor
Michael Bloomberg out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
(SFC, 10/22/11, p.A6)
2011 Oct 31, MF Global, a New
York brokerage firm run by former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, filed
for bankruptcy.
(http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/10/31/mf-global-bankruptcy-rattles-wall-st-firms/)
2011 Nov 15, In NYC hundreds of
police officers in riot gear raided Zuccotti Park, evicting dozens
of Occupy Wall Street protesters from what has become the epicenter
of the worldwide movement protesting corporate greed and economic
inequality. Hours later, the National Lawyers Guild obtained a court
order allowing Occupy Wall Street protesters to return with tents to
the park. About 70 people were arrested overnight.
(AP, 11/15/11)
2011 Nov 17, Police arrested
over 200 protesters who sat on the ground and blocked traffic into
New York City's financial district, part of a day of mass gatherings
in response to efforts to break up Occupy Wall Street camps
nationwide.
(AP, 11/17/11)(SFC, 11/18/11, p.A13)
2011 Nov 18, New York
authorities said an ambitious and organized identity-theft ring
recruited waiters at steakhouses and other high-end restaurants to
steal diners' credit-card information, then used it for luxury
shopping sprees. 28 people were indicted on racketeering and other
charges.
(AP, 11/18/11)(SFC, 11/19/11, p.A5)
2011 Nov 18, In NYC hundreds of
Muslims marched to police headquarters to protest a decade of police
infiltrating mosques and spying on Muslim neighborhoods.
(SFC, 11/19/11, p.A5)
2011 Nov 19, Jose Pimentel
(27), a Muslim convert and al-Qaida sympathizer, was arrested for
allegedly making bombs in New York City. He was inspired by radical
cleric Anwar Awlaki and was allegedly plotting to attack US
servicemen and police officers.
(AP, 11/21/11)
2022 The 1973 film "Soylent
Green" with Charlton Heston and Edward G. Robinson in his last role
was set in NYC in 2022. The screenplay play was by Stanley R.
Greenberg (d.2002).
(SFC, 8/28/02, p.A19)(MoTV, 1977, p.667)
Go to
http://www.timelinesdb.com
Subject = NYC
End of file