A child is in serious condition after being struck by a minivan in New Square yesterday. That’s according to News 12. They say the incident occurred near Stern Street and Clinton Lane around 7:15 last night, reportedly the same intersection where an 8 year-old was struck by a school bus and killed earlier this year. The child was taken to Westchester Medical Center, and the driver reportedly remained on-scene. No other information was available.
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Report: NYC Group to go to court to Re-Start Congestion Pricing
Several groups and government entities sued to stop the congestion pricing toll from becoming a reality in New York City and for now, the plan is on hold though those lawsuits remain. But now, according to The New York Times, a group headed by New York City’s comptroller, Brad Lander, is expected to detail their plan today to go to court to get it back on track. The thought, reportedly, is that Governor Kathy Hochul violated the law by cancelling the congestion pricing scheme that was hatched and passed by the state legislature and signed by former governor, Andrew Cuomo. Rockland State Senator Bill Weber of the 38th district says Hochul’s move last week to put the plan on pause at the eleventh hour reeks of politics…
Rockland State Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski of the 96th District, covering Clarkstown, Haverstraw and Nyack, says the governor’s move to pause congestion pricing was bold and necessary…
Under the congestion pricing plan, cars would be hit with a $15 toll when they drive below 60th Street into the so-called Congestion Relief Zone during peak hours. Officials projected it would eliminate 100,000 vehicles from entering the zone each day, resulting in less traffic and cleaner air in the city, and help finance maintenance and new projects for the MTA.
NY Board Of Regents Wants Lawmakers Back in Albany to Help East Ramapo School District
The New York State Board of Regents wants the state Legislature to return to session to approve a fiscal control board to help the cashed-strapped East Ramapo school district. That’s according to the Journal News. Things are so bad the school district could be broke this summer. The Regents voted unanimously Monday to support Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski’s bill that would create a state control board for the district. Voters there failed to pass a budget that included a two percent tax increase. They are scheduled to vote again June 18th on a new budget that increases taxes one percent.
Former NY Governor Testifies Before COVID House Subcommittee on Handling of Coronavirus
A House subcommittee Tuesday interviewed New York’s former governor on his handling of the COVID crisis. Former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration was accused of underreporting the number of deaths in the state’s nursing homes, but in prepared remarks to the GOP-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, Cuomo said the policy of admitting COVID-positive patients into nursing homes in the early days of the pandemic was the policy of the federal government that the state was following. At a press conference outside the Capitol yesterday, Rockland Congressman Mike Lawler of the 17th District said Cuomo is covering up for his failures…
Cuomo said The Department of Justice, Manhattan’s D-A, New York’s Attorney General, and the New York State Assembly all investigated the situation and none validated the accusations against him. Cuomo added it wasn’t sick patients that brought COVID into nursing homes, but staff members and visitors who unknowingly brought the virus in before they even knew COVID was already here.
News Briefs: Two Ramapo Cops Injured After Incident in Hillcrest
Two Ramapo Police officers suffered minor injuries while they were arresting an allegedly drunken man who was having difficulty getting into the home he lived in. Police say 44 year-old Antonio Aguilar-Oliva had kicked in the front door and smashed windows of the Hillcrest home on Helen Court early Friday morning. Police say they got several calls of a man yelling and breaking glass, and when they arrived he fought with the officers. One of the officers suffered a dislocated shoulder. Aguilar-Oliva was arrested and charged with assault, obstruction of governmental administration and resisting arrest. He was being held in the Rockland County Jail on $50,000 bail.
Airmont Audited by State Comptroller
The New York State Comptroller’s office has released its findings of a recent audit of a village in Ramapo and found they overpaid for various services. State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli says in one particular case, the Village of Airmont potentially overpaid a vendor nearly $37,000 for snow plowing services. Additionally, DiNapoli says six claims totaling just over $42,000 did not comply with the Village’s purchasing policy. DiNapoli suggested the village should conduct an independent audit of claims prior to payment. Village officials reportedly disagreed with aspects of the Comptroller’s report, but said they accepted the recommendations and planned to take corrective actions. The audit covered a two-and-a-half-year period from January 2021 to July 2023.
Former Westchester Cop Gets 4 Consecutive Life Terms for Murders
A former Westchester police officer convicted in federal court of killing four men in Orange County eight years ago has been sentenced to four consecutive life terms on Monday. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, says former Briarcliff Manor officer Nicholas Tartaglione beat and strangled one of his victims, and shot the three others execution-style. Tartaglione was found guilty last year in the killing of 41 year-old Martin Luna, 25 year-old Miguel Luna, 35 year-old Urbano Santiago and 43 year-old Hector Gutierrez in April 2016 after torturing them and burying them in shallow graves on his Otisville property. He believed at least one of the men owed him hundreds of thousands of dollars in a cocaine deal. WABC News reported Tartaglione spoke at his sentencing, and denied doing anything wrong and said he was being framed. The judge reportedly called him “a monster” and “delusional.”