Free Republic

… For 44 years, Robert Moses ruled over New York. Unelected, his power drawn from up to 12 concurrent city, state and federal appointments, he used his unparalleled control of public authorities with impunity. Deftly utilizing loopholes and creating new law, Moses had his own shadow government, with his own police force, flag, and an island under the Triborough (now Robert F. Kennedy) Bridge. There is no debate over the sheer magnitude of what he built. His accomplishments bestride New York: 416 miles of highways, 13 bridges, 658 playgrounds and housing for 150,000 people. He constructed parkways, tunnels, beaches, zoos,...

Videos of New York Police Department officers being doused with water and pelted with objects in separate incidents surfaced on social media on Monday, including one clip that showed officers getting drenched as they were making an arrest. NYPD officials called the videos “reprehensible.” In one video, somebody hurled a bucket that hit an officer in the head while he was making an arrest in Harlem. Groups of jeering bystanders could be heard reacting as people continued to splash the officers with water. “The videos of cops being doused with water and having objects hurled at them as they made...

To begin, I want to make crystal clear that I'm opposed to the burning of flags as a means of making a statement. It's childish, not to mention pointless. I'm even less of a fan of burning flags that don't belong to you. That's beyond pointless—it actually harms your cause and it is a crime. I support property rights, after all. That being said, charging someone with a hate crime for burning a flag is a bit much. But that's exactly what may happen to idiot arsonist Tyresse Singleton.The New York City Police Department broke the news on Twitter...

At least one arsonist set two gay-pride flags on fire in front of a Harlem bar just before the start of Pride Month, police said — an act Gov. Cuomo condemned. Cops were called at around 12:20 a.m. Friday to Alibi Lounge on West 139th Street near Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd., where two rainbow flags were set ablaze, police said Saturday. By the time officers arrived the flames were extinguished by the rain, and no one was hurt. The arsonist remained at large, and cops are investigating the crime as a possible bias incident. “Some a–hole set our rainbow...

Democratic presidential contender was at the Jazz Foundation’s ‘A Great Night in Harlem’ annual gala Sen. Bernie Sanders made a trip to the Apollo Theater in Harlem to pay tribute to Harry Belafonte, Tony Bennett and the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., but along the way slammed President Donald Trump as a racist. The Democratic presidential contender was at the Jazz Foundation’s “A Great Night in Harlem” annual gala where Belafonte and Bennett were honoured on Thursday night. Both worked with King, and the evening marked the 51st anniversary of King’s slaying in Memphis, Tennessee, during a...

A restaurant chain is facing a lawsuit regarding a Harlem restaurant staff's refusal to serve a group of transgender woman and a gender nonconforming person. Deja Smith, Daniele Marino, Jonovia Chase, Jahmila Adderley and Valerie Spencer claim they were told the Texas Burgers & Chicken on Frederick Douglass Boulevard and West 116th Street was out of chicken when they attempted to order there on May 28, but a customer directly behind them had his order taken, according to multiple reports. A video of the discriminatory behavior went viral in May after it was posted to Instagram by "Orange is the...

Diamond and Silk take it to the streets on Watters' World. First stop Harlem New York. "Do you feel like you are winning?"

“I want you to know as a matter of full disclosure, I am a Catholic. Catholics basically believe the same teachings that Baptists believe,” he said. “We just do it without the rhythm. But we try. We are not as without rhythm as some of our Jewish brothers and sisters.” Cuomo even singled out the off-beat swaying of Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf, a former campaign adviser who is Jewish, who was sitting in the front row wearing a yarmulke. “I was watching Mr. Sheinkopf here in the front row moving to the music,” Cuomo said of the politico, who was...

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D.) joked that Jews don’t have “rhythm” while speaking at a church in Harlem on Sunday. Cuomo had been invited to speak to the Mount Neboh Baptist Church, a predominantly black church, where his joke fell flat.

Cops have busted twin brothers from the Bronx for allegedly stockpiling explosive materials and crafting bombs inside their home — with help from high school students. Christian Toro, a former teacher at Harlem Prep, and his brother, Tyler Toro, were arrested by the FBI on Thursday as part of a joint investigation with the NYPD. The two 27-year-olds had been forging explosive devices inside their Pelham Parkway apartment since last October — using gunpowder from fireworks as the base for their bomb-making, according to the complaint. A search of the residence turned up a slew of dangerous chemicals, including 20...

New York City is using eminent domain to take an East Harlem businessman to the cleaners. Damon Bae, whose family success story embodies the American Dream, is about to lose the shirt off his back — after a 12-year battle with the city for control of his dry cleaning enterprise. Fancy Cleaners, a 6,000-square-foot facility at the corner of 126th St. and Third Ave., was supposed to be the cornerstone of a family empire built by a Korean couple who came to the U.S. in 1981, bringing their tailoring skills with them along with two young children and endless ambition....

Jump to around the 55:00 mark to see the defense of Nubian Queen! The setup starts earlier at the 48:00 mark. Tommy called 911 after the confrontation… also caught on tape (below)! **video on link*

Cops busted a Queens man for trying to push a straphanger onto the subway tracks in Harlem and yelling, “I hate white people!” Police cuffed Gary Weeks, 51, of Wavecrest for the bizarre attack Monday at 2 p.m. at the 4-5-6 subway station at 125th St. and Lexington Ave., officials said. The straphanger was waiting for a northbound train when Weeks walked up to him and tried to push him onto the tracks. The victim got away from Weeks, as other people started pointing and yelling at the attacker to simmer down. He then began yelling about his hatred for...

The black community isn’t despondent or angry. ‘If Trump can go in there and shake things up,’ one man says, ‘I’d like that.’ By JASON L. RILEY, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL This may come as a shock to the political left, but not everyone who opposed Donald Trump is as angry or despondent as the demonstrators who grabbed headlines nationwide over the past week or the pundits who intellectualized the Democratic hissy fit. On Monday I took a stroll around New York City’s Harlem neighborhood and asked a couple of dozen black residents to respond to the election and subsequent...

A 93-year-old woman robbed in East Harlem says she doesn't know how she'll pay her bills this month after a thief ran off with $600 in cash she had just taken out of the bank. "I feel terrible, and just keep thinking about it," Maria Vasquez told WABC, a local ABC affiliate. She says she planned to use the money to pay for her monthly bills and now worries about how she'll get by, WABC reports. "I need that money, because my husband passed away seven years ago. Until the money comes next month, I'm not sure how I'm going...

A fundraising email sent out by a candidate running for New York City’s City Council has sparked controversy amid accusations of anti-Semitism and racial incitement. The man at the center of the controversy, Thomas Lopez-Pierre, denies claims his campaign’s rhetoric is anti-Semitic, prominently featuring a 2014 article on his website entitled “Fighting Jewish Slumlords Isn’t Anti-Semitic”. Lopez-Pierre is running for the 7th district seat in the NYC City Council, challenging incumbent and fellow Democrat Mark Levine. […] Lopez-Pierre has repeatedly cited “greedy Jews” in his campaign, including a fundraising email earlier this month calling on supporters to help “Save Harlem...

NYPD investigators were searching Thursday for a nutcase who sprayed ominous graffiti on a Harlem church, police said. The phrases, “You must pay! Allah! Wake up!” were scrawled on the walls of the Church of St. Catherine of Genoa on W. 153rd St. near Amsterdam Ave. Surveillance video captured the vandal defacing the Catholic house of worship Wednesday and then taking off, Father Evaristus Ohuche said. …

Congressman Charles Rangel was swift-footed and savvy enough to stay ahead of demographic and geographic shifts in his district during his 46 years in the House of Representatives—but in the end, he just didn’t have enough juice to anoint an heir. Harlem Assemblyman Keith Wright lost his bid to replace his retiring 86-year-old mentor to State Senator Adriano Espaillat, who challenged Rangel in 2012 and 2014 but fell short. After a bitter Democratic primary campaign—one with heavy ethnic overtones—the Dominican Republic-born Espaillat beat the African-American Wright in the upper Manhattan-based district by approximately 1,300 votes. Former White House aide Clyde...

Nine candidates are vying for Rep. Charles Rangel's seat — a position he's held for nearly a half-century — but only one stood beside him as he cast his vote in Harlem on Tuesday. "For the first time in 46 years I couldn't find my name!" Rangel said as he stepped out of his polling site at Public School 175 on W. 134th St. "But I'm so glad I did find his name," he added, nodding towards Assemblyman Keith Wright, whom Rangel endorsed as his successor. New Yorkers in seven congressional districts in four boroughs — Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx...

Democrat Rep. Charlie Rangel has found himself in a bit of a pickle. After years of allegedly thumbing his nose at pesky things like rules, his supposed misdeeds may be coming back to bite him on the proverbial hind quarter. A House ethics committee subpanel today found Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel guilty of 11 of the 13 charges of ethics violations against him. The panel, composed of four Democrats and four Republicans, emerged after private deliberation to announce their findings.