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David Dinkins, who was elected New York City’s first black mayor in 1989 and famously referred to the nation’s largest metropolis as a “gorgeous mosaic,” died Monday night, sources told The Post.

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Police on Saturday arrested a woman they say is behind a series of attacks in upper Manhattan and the Bronx which are being eyed as possible hate crimes. Investigators say the woman, who is black, first sprayed multiple people, all of whom are white, with an unknown chemical substance in several unprovoked attacks near subway stations in Harlem and the Upper West Side on Friday.

Former New York City mayor David Dinkins says he was never aware he had struck a bicyclist with his car earlier this summer. Dinkins made the claim in response to a lawsuit filed Friday that says Dinkins left the scene after striking a bicycle deliveryman June 30. …

Cops are hunting the creep who raped and assaulted a 21-year-old woman in the Port Authority Bus Terminal parking garage, police said on Saturday. The brute raped and then beat the woman, lacerating her face and body in the parking garage on Eighth Ave. and W. 42nd St on Friday at 1 a.m., according to the police. The suspect was spotted on security cameras sauntering into the garage's sixth floor elevator and then examining his knuckles before he ambles out, the footage shows.

Here’s an up-close look at a quality-of-life offense the City Council wants to decriminalize. This urinating vagrant turned a busy stretch of Broadway into his own private bathroom yesterday – an offense that would result in a mere summons if Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and her pals get their way. Wrapped in rags and a Mets blanket the hobo wandered into traffic at around 10:30 a.m. and relieved himself as cabs, cars and buses whizzed by between West 83rd and 84th streets on the Upper West Side.

There’s a new homeless shelter in Alphabet City — Tompkins Square Park. The East Village green space has become an encampment for the surging number of city vagrants, with many sleeping through the day amid dog walkers and moms with strollers. “I really don’t enjoy the beauty of the park anymore because I’m too scared to walk through it,” said NYU student Christine Gal, 19, who lives nearby. “I would say it has doubled in the last six months.” Gal added that she has been verbally harassed by “aggressive” bums and now avoids the park at night. A parks worker...

He’s on the road again. As violent crime soars in the Big Apple, Mayor Bill de Blasio has far more pressing matters to deal with — touting his progressive agenda in two more out-of-state locales. Hizzoner will be heading off Tuesday for his 11th trip outside New York in the last 12 months to address national or international issues. After speaking in three Midwestern states last month on income inequality, de Blasio is headed to DC to unveil details of his progressive agenda.

Ex-Mayor David Dinkins today advised his former aide, Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio, to consider pushing to renew the commuter tax instead of his signature campaign plan to boost taxes on the rich to fund universal pre-K, arguing the former would be more palatable to Albany lawmakers. Mr. de Blasio had just finished a sweeping speech to experts and advocates at Columbia University touting his early childhood education plan–his first major address since his election–when a moderator turned to Mr. Dinkins, who was in attendance, to ask a question. “I know how difficult it’s going to be to fight Albany to...

Former Mayor David Dinkins was a special guest on Campaign Closeup this week and he had some strong words for Joe Lhota. “The man’s desperate,” Dinkins said of Lhota’s controversial attack ad on Bill de Blasio. Dinkins defended his administration, saying crime in the city began to fall well before Rudy Giuliani took over as Mayor. The former Mayor also offered up advice for de Blasio, who was a staffer of his.

With one eye on the recount, presumptive Democratic candidate Bill de Blasio has already begun tacking toward the middle for his upcoming mayoral showdown against Joe Lhota, analysts say. It began with his celebratory speech late Tuesday night, when the far-left candidate highlighted the importance of law and order in the wake of 9/11. “He already tonally and rhetorically walked it back [from the left] when he focused on safety and 9/11 primary night,” said Mark Green, a former Democratic candidate for mayor. De Blasio has often ripped top cop Ray Kelly and backs major reforms of NYPD policies. But...

The recent explosion of black-on-white vicious and hateful killings -- the murder of thirteen-month-old Antonio Santiago, the shooting of nurse David Santucci in Memphis, the murder of Australian student Chris Lane, the beating death of elderly veteran Delbert Belton -- have served to put an end to one of the great myths of the civil rights movement: that black leadership would lead the country out of racism into an epoch of national reconciliation. One of the assumptions behind the civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s was that black participants (not to overlook their white supporters) had a moral...

Gunfire erupted today near the massive West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn -- not far from Mayor Bloomberg was marching -- as the entire city reeled from a epidemic of shootings over the past two days. By noon today, a total of 39 people had been shot in the city since Saturday morning, authorities said. At just before noon, a gunman fired into the air several blocks away from the start of the West Indian Day Parade route in Crown Heights -- not hitting anyone -- before hopping into a cab and fleeing. Bloomberg, who has decried the recent spate...

Nine people were shot in Brooklyn between Sunday night and Monday morning - 12 hours of bloody mayhem that left three men dead. Four of the victims were shot at an East Flatbush barbecue that turned violent about 12:45 a.m. Monday. Tyrief Gary, 18, was blasted in the chest at the cook-out on E. 54th St. Three other men - ages 30, 29, and 26 - were wounded in the barrage. The four were taken to Kings County Hospital, where Gary later died. The others were in stable condition. The other incidents: * A 24-year-old man was shot in the...

Until last week, former Mayor David Dinkins said he'd never seen Rep. Charlie Rangel, a dear friend, become emotional in public. "But he's never faced anything like this," Dinkins told the Daily News on Sunday outside a Harlem church where local leaders gathered to urge mercy for Rangel. Rangel choked up and wiped tears from his eyes on Thursday before a House ethics panel recommended he be censured for a host of infractions. It's a severe punishment that involves a public shaming before congressional colleagues "It was painful" to watch, Dinkins said. "I love him. He's my brother." Dinkins added,...

David Dinkins Endorses Adriano Espaillat Because 'Most People In The City Are Going To Look More Like Us Than Others'By David Freedlander September 9, 2010 | 1:43 p.m Former Mayor David Dinkins was in rare form at an endorsement press conference for state Senate candidate Adriano Espaillat, telling reporters: I grew up in Harlem where we taught that New York City is a melting pot. Well I don't agree with that. I have always said that we are a gorgeous mosaic. We have as many separate ethnic identities as the United Nations. That's why we have a parade about every...

A who's who of Democratic officials turned out to celebrate scandal-scarred Rep. Charles Rangel's 80th birthday last night -- whooping it up as if he didn't have an ethics charge in the world. In fact, former Mayor David Dinkins, 83, went so far as to flip the bird to a protester who called Rangel a "crook" outside The Plaza hotel gala. Not everyone matched Dinkins' gusto, but the New York political establishment did turn out in force. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and Mayor Bloomberg all took turns at the mike to heap praise on...

It was a dramatic but fitting start to an evening that brimmed with political defiance. About 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, as guests began strolling into the Plaza Hotel to celebrate Representative Charles B. Rangel’s 80th birthday, former Mayor David N. Dinkins turned to confront a heckler. “You know you are attending a party for a crook,” the man yelled. At that, Mr. Dinkins, a paragon of statesmanship and dignity, raised his middle finger at the man, displaying it for all to see, witnesses said.

Sorry for the Vanity but I have been thinking about this for a bit.

A convicted drug dealer was busted early Saturday in the brutal rape of a laundermat worker, police said. Samuel Rivera, 29, who lives a few blocks from the laundermat where the 38-year-old woman was attacked, was waiting to be arraigned late Saturday on rape and robbery charges. Police said the suspect, posing as a customer, arrived about 7:15 a.m. Tuesday. He grabbed a wad of cash from the register, forced the worker into a back room, then raped her. A subsequent customer scared Rivera off, police said. A security camera captured the vicious attack. While police say Rivera is a...

Straphangers better hold on to more than bars in the subway. Crooks are grabbing snazzy cellphones right out of the hands of unsuspecting riders, NYPD Transit Bureau Chief John Hall said yesterday. Criminals are targeting commuters who become engrossed on their phones while standing near subway doors. "The door opens up, the snatch or grab is made, then they're right out the door, on to the platform, then gone," Hall said.