Kathy Hochul, a western New York Democrat unfamiliar to many people in the state even after six years as its lieutenant governor, was set to begin reintroducing herself to the public Wednesday as she prepared to take the reins of power after Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced he would resign from office. Hochul, 62, in two weeks will become the state’s first female governor, following a remarkable transition period in which Cuomo has said he will stay on and work to ease her into a job that he dominated over his three terms in office. She stayed out of public sight Tuesday but said in a statement that she was “prepared to lead.” Hochul planned to hold her first news conference Wednesday afternoon at the State Capitol.

Don’t be caught by surprise! A nationwide Emergency Alert System (EAS) test will be conducted Wednesday and radios, televisions and certain cellphones will be alerted. The emergency alert system, or EAS, test will take place Wednesday, Aug. 11 at 2:20 p.m. ET (1:20 p.m. CT). It will include messages sent to radios and televisions as well as Wireless Emergency Alerts, or WEA, for those who have opted in on their cell phones. The EAS test will include a high-pitched tone followed by a message. The message will say: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Emergency Alert System.

An elderly Jewish man was viciously assaulted in broad daylight by a violent thug complaining over parking spot. It happened just before 12:00PM, when the NYPD and Boro Park Shomrim were both called to reports of a Jewish man assaulted on 12th Avenue and 39th Street. A law-enforcement source tells YWN that the victim, who is a plumber, was doing some work in a local home, and his van was accidently sticking into someone’s driveway. The suspect approached the victim and began screaming about him blocking the driveway. Without warning, the suspect suddenly slapped the elderly man in the face sending him flying to the floor. The suspect got into a vehicle and drove away toward Fort Hamilton parkway.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced his nominees to lead high-profile U.S. Attorney offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Biden picked Damian Williams for the top spot in Manhattan’s Southern District of New York, and Breon Peace to head Brooklyn’s Eastern District of New York. Both men are Black, and Williams would be the first Black person to run the Manhattan office. Both offices have been involved in attention-getting investigations and prosecutions. The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District in 2018 oversaw the prosecution and subsequent guilty plea of Michael Cohen, at one time the personal lawyer of former President Donald Trump, on campaign-finance violations and other charges.

As New York’s lieutenant governor, Kathy Hochul has spent years on the road as the friendly face of the administration, visiting the far-flung coffee shops and factory floors of each of the state’s 62 counties for countless ribbon-cutting ceremonies and civic cheerleading events. Now, with Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation over harassment allegations Tuesday, her next stop is the state Capitol in Albany. Hochul will become the state’s first female governor once Cuomo’s resignation is effective in two weeks. A centrist Democrat from western New York, she has worked deep in Cuomo’s shadow for her two terms in office, but last week joined the chorus of politicians denouncing the governor after an independent investigation concluded he had harassed 11 women while in office.

The Justice Department said Monday that it would work toward providing families of 9/11 victims with more information about the run-up to the attacks as part of a federal lawsuit that aims to hold the Saudi government accountable. The disclosure in a two-page letter filed in federal court in Manhattan follows longstanding criticism from relatives of those killed that the U.S. government was withholding crucial details from them in the name of national security. Nearly 1,800 families, victims and first responders objected in a letter last week to President Joe Biden’s attendance at memorial events as long as key documents remained declassified.

The following important message was sent to YWN with a request to publish: 20 years ago, an unlikely dream became an undeniable reality. Through tireless collective efforts, constant siyatta dishmaya, and the absolute support of our respective communities, Chaveirim morphed into the established network that you are familiar with today. Chaveirim was founded with nothing but hopeful idealism, loving-kindness and a sincere drive for chesed. We persevered, we rallied and we built this organization from the ground up. Like Rome, trust, reputation and experience were not built in a day. The name Chaveirim has Baruch Hashem earned respect and distinction backed up by two decades of honesty, competence and dependability.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned over a barrage of harassment allegations Tuesday in a fall from grace a year after he was widely hailed nationally for his detailed daily briefings and leadership during the darkest days of COVID-19. The three-term governor’s decision was announced as momentum built in the Legislature to remove him by impeachment. It came after New York’s attorney general released the results of an investigation that found Cuomo harassed at least 11 women. Investigators said he subjected women to unwanted inappropriate behavior. Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, a 62-year-old Democrat and former member of Congress from the Buffalo area, will become the state’s 57th governor and the first woman to hold the post.

Five frum New York leaders made City & State’s coveted Power 100 list of influential leaders out of the 2.5 million residents of Brooklyn, New York. Leading the list is former Council Member and current Met Council CEO David G. Greenfield. David was a major behind-the-scenes player in the successful, non-partisan Get Out The Jewish Vote initiative that he led with noted askan Lou Scheiner in the recent New York City elections. That effort led to record turnout from the frum community this year. At # 14, he’s the highest ranking frum Jew in New York. Per City and State, “When the coronavirus pandemic struck, David Greenfield never closed the doors of the Met Council and led a $100 million campaign providing emergency funding for New York’s food pantries.

History will be made next Tuesday, as the first-ever chasunah in the court of Gur will take place on American shores, affording the chassidim in America to fully participate in this event of holiness and joy. Chassidim have already flocked in throngs to join the Rebbe for Rosh Chodesh davening on Sunday morning. The event required preregistration, and when the venue hunters began creeping up, it became clear that Bell Works in New Jersey would be unable to accommodate the crowd. This afternoon it was announced that the venue for the massive wedding has been changed to a Monsey locale, where the Rebbe has been staying. It has been slated to take place at the Massive Bell Works venue, in Holmdel, New Jersey, which is owned by the great ba’al tzeddakah, Mr. Ralph Zucker. Mr.