Another week, another slate of important stories in New York City. This week, we reported on a reneged promise from Mayor Bill de Blasio, a woman's settlement with the city and New York City Police Department after she gave birth in handcuffs, a pigeon who decided to squat in a woman's apartment while she was out of town and more.
Catch up on this week's news below, and follow our borough-specific accounts to get the daily news most relevant to you.
Queens Daily News
De Blasio funds new police precinct in Queens, breaking with pledged NYPD budget cuts
Mayor de Blasio announced Tuesday he will commit $105 million to build a new NYPD precinct in Southeast Queens despite agreeing to nix the project last year as protesters were demanding cuts to the $6 billion police budget.
De Blasio plans to use stimulus money from the federal government to build and staff the 116th precinct in a predominantly Black neighborhood.
The cuts had previously faced criticism from both sides: Pro-police advocates said any cuts undermined the police’s ability to prevent crime and demonstrated weakness in the face of civil unrest, while those in favor of defunding police said the cuts didn’t go far enough and accused the government of using budgetary sleight of hand to overstate the size of the cuts.
De Blasio said the original decision to abandon construction of the 116th was predicated on limited resources due to the coronavirus pandemic, but assistance from the federal government allows the city to both invest in communities and expand policing.
Thief steals from worshippers praying at Queens Mosque
Police are searching for a thief who stole wallets from worshippers while they prayed at two mosques in Queens.
The most recent robbery occurred on April 3 at the Masjid Al Taufiq Mosque on Forley Street. The thief stole credit cards and $80 in cash. Surveillance video showed the suspect rummaging through men's coats while they prayed nearby.
In the other robbery, which took place in February at the Jackson Heights Islamic Center Mosque, the same suspect stole a wallet containing $1,200 in cash as well as multiple credit and debit cards.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Tips can also be submitted through the Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org or by messaging on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.
The Bronx Beacon
Woman reaches settlement with NYPD, NYC after being shackled during labor
An African American woman who says she was shackled on her wrists and ankles during her active labor at a city hospital reached a $750,000 settlement Wednesday with the city of New York and the NYPD.
The young mother told CNN she was forced to give birth while handcuffed to the hospital bed with no family or friends and only a nurse to hold her hand. She was under arrest for a misdemeanor assault charge that was later dismissed and reportedly went into labor on the day of her arrest.
"That was not my birth plan. I felt like a failure to my unborn because that wasn't something that was planned for neither of us," the mother told CNN. "I just didn't feel like myself anymore after that. I feel like my memory got taken away. And still, I'm in pain."
As a part of the settlement, neither the NYPD nor the city admitted wrongdoing.
New York Rep. Ritchie Torres held a press conference Friday with environmental groups to encourage the Biden administration to include altering the Cross Bronx Expressway in the president's extensive infrastructure plan.
Bronxites have long complained about the Cross Bronx Expressway for the way it split neighborhoods and the air and noise pollution it brought due to the thousands of vehicles that travel on it daily.
"The Cross Bronx Expressway has imposed on the Bronx the burden of chronic disease," Torres said. "We can't breathe here in the Bronx."
President Joe Biden's proposed infrastructure package will feature $20 billion in investments to reconnect communities separated by "urban renewal" and Bronx leaders are pushing for the inclusion of the Cross Bronx Expressway.
The Manhattan Echo
Pigeon breaks into Manhattan apartment, lays eggs and makes window home
Last week, a Hamilton Heights woman found an unexpected guest in her apartment.
Erika Barker left her apartment for eight days and returned to find a pigeon had taken up residence in her guest bedroom and given birth on her bed after flying in through an opening next to the room's air conditioner.
After the initial rage, as heard in Barker's viral TikTok, subsided, she decided to share her space with the bird and made a makeshift nest for it. "Now she and her male mate are roosting," said Barker. "I guess I’m going to be having some baby pigeons."
Man stages fake emergency with FDNY to propose to girlfriend
Upper West Side native Mike Matthews staged a fake emergency with the New York City Fire Department to propose to his fiancée, Amy Marshall.
They had planned to take engagement photos on April 16, but Matthews had a surprise for Marshall, the senior director of nursing of Maternal Child Health at Lenox Hill Hospital.
One of their pregnant friends pretended to be in labor along with FDNY firefighters who participated in the fake emergency, and Marshall, a maternity nurse, got into action and tried to be of assistance.
As Marshall offered her medical services, Matthews got down on one knee to propose.
"I don’t recommend getting engaged on the way to get engagement photos unless your girlfriend has a great sense of humor and a lot of patience," joked the soon-to-be groom. "I was riding way too close to the edge."
The Brooklyn Beat
City Councilmember for Southern Brooklyn Chaim Deutsch pleads guilty to tax fraud
New York City Councilman Chaim Deutsch pled guilty to tax fraud Thursday.
Deutsch, whose district spans Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach, Sheepshead Bay, Homecrest and Midwood, admitted to claiming about $82,000 of personal expenses as expenses for his real estate business, Chasa Management Inc., in 2016.
“As an elected official and community leader, Deutsch had a particular responsibility to follow the law,” said U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss in a press release from the Department of Justice. “Instead, over a multi-year period, Deutsch concealed his true business income to avoid paying his fair share of taxes.”
The Brooklyn Democrat’s second term on the City Council ends in 2021. Deutsch faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison, a maximum term of one year of supervised release and a maximum fine of $100,000. He will also have to pay the taxes he avoided.
Brooklyn men allegedly stole over $30 million from foreign banks using high-tech equipment
Three Brooklyn men are facing racketeering charges after the Department of Justice accused them of participating in stealing $30 million of cash and other valuables from safe deposit boxes from banks in Eastern Europe.
Val Cooper, 56, Alex Levin, 52, and Garri Smith, 49, were arrested Tuesday morning for money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to violate the Travel Act — a law that forbids interstate and international travel in aid of racketeering enterprises.
The DOJ believes the alleged co-conspirators are part of a “sophisticated network of criminals” that used high-tech equipment to break into safety deposit boxes and then laundered the money through U.S. banks.
When FBI agents raided the three men’s Brooklyn apartments, they found safe deposit keys with no official markings, cash, jewelry and expensive handbags. The agents also found a borescope, a specialized medical camera allegedly used in the scheme and a safe deposit box lock in a Brooklyn storage unit owned by Cooper.
If convicted, the men could serve up to 20 years in prison.
Borough president hosts event honoring Black soldier who was brutalized by police
On Wednesday, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams hosted an event honoring Army 2nd Lt. Caron Nazario on the steps of Borough Hall — the soldier’s first public appearance since the video of his arrest and pepper-spraying by Virginia police was released in mid-April.
At Borough Hall, Nazario, who grew up in Bedford-Stuyvesant and graduated from George Westinghouse High School, emphasized his gratitude to his community for the “outpour of love and support” that he experienced in the wake of the attack.
The Black and Latino 27-year-old was in uniform when he was pulled over. Video of the encounter shows Nazario calmly asking what was happening with his hands out the car window as police pointed guns at him, demanded he exit the car and then pepper-sprayed and arrested him.
The Windsor Police Department dropped all charges against Nazario and fired Joe Gutierrez, the officer who pepper-sprayed Nazario, on April 14. Nazario is suing the department for violating his constitutional rights.
The New York City Update
Andrew Yang receives critical endorsement from former rival in NYC mayoral race
Carlos Menchaca, a Brooklyn city councilman, endorsed former presidential candidate Andrew Yang on Wednesday in the NYC mayoral race.
Menchaca had tried to run as one of the left-leaning candidates in the field, before dropping out in March.
“We share a lot of values that are rooted in bringing community voices to the table to shape policies,” Menchaca said.
Yang said he is "excited to have [Menchaca] on board on so many levels” and that “he has been fighting for marginalized communities for years.”