An inmate on a New York City jail barge died Wednesday after a medical emergency, the city’s Department of Correction said. It is at least the 12th death of a city inmate this year and the second this week amid what some elected officials and advocates have deemed a “humanitarian crisis” in the city’s lockups. The Department of Correction said in a statement that the inmate at the Vernon C. Bain Center, a floating Bronx jail across the East River from the Rikers Island jail complex, appeared to be in medical distress and was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 10:50 a.m.

A vaccine mandate for New York City’s public school teachers and other staffers can go forward as planned next week, after a state judge on Wednesday lifted a temporary restraining order. The city had announced last month that school employees would have to get at least a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine by Sept. 27, impacting about 148,000 school workers and contractors. A coalition of city unions had filed a lawsuit against the mandate and had asked for the injunction against its implementation. State Supreme Court Justice Laurence Love put the TRO in place last week, but removed it in his ruling on Wednesday. In a statement, the Department of Education said the ruling was “a big win for New York City children and Department of Education employees.

Former Republican U.S. Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, who represented upstate New York for 24 years, died at age 84, according to a statement from former staff members. The Utica-area resident died late Monday at a local hospice after a brief illness, according to the statement. He served in the House of Representatives from 1983 to 2007. Boehlert was chairman of the House Science Committee from 2001 through 2006. And he was a leader of a small moderate Republican faction in Congress that clashed with President George W. Bush over such issues as global warming and spending for social programs. Boehlert was remembered Tuesday by elected officials in both major parties for his work on behalf of his central New York constituents and for environmental issues.

YWN regrets to inform you of the Petira of Reb Yechiel Benzion (“Benny”) Fishoff Z”L, noted philanthropist & askan of klal yisroel. He was 97. Reb Benzion was the Chairman Emeritus of Agudath Israel’s Board of Trustees, and a longtime Askan and Baal Chesed who devoted his entire life to helping others. The Niftar was born in Lodz, Poland, to a family of Gerrer Chassidum. As a young child, he was Zoche to see the Imrei Emes. He miraculously escaped WWII by escaping to Shanghai, China, along with Talmidim of Yeshiva Chachmai Lublin. He later wrote his memories of that period in a book he co-authored “From Lublin to Shanghai: The Miraculous Exile of Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin”. He resided in Forest Hills, Queens.

A New York City man is facing charges he kicked a woman down an escalator at a Brooklyn subway station in an ugly incident captured on security video. Bradley Hill, 32, was arrested Friday on assault charges, police said. A message was left Saturday with prosecutors seeking details on the charges and whether Hill had a lawyer who could comment on his behalf. According to an initial police report, Hill attacked the 32-year-old woman Sept. 9 after they had a “verbal exchange” on an escalator at a station serving the Barclays Center arena. Security video showed a man turning around and kicking the woman “in her chest, which caused her to fall several feet down the escalator,” the police report said.

New Yorkers will be able to avoid jail time for most nonviolent parole violations under a new law signed Friday by Gov. Kathy Hochul. The “Less is More” law largely eliminates New York’s practice of incarcerating people for technical parole violations, including being late to an appointment with a parole officer, missing curfew, or failing to pay fees or to inform a parole officer of a change in employment. Starting in March, people on parole will land back behind bars only for drug or alcohol use if they were convicted of driving under the influence of those substances.

A New York City cop has been arrested on felony burglary charges after allegedly breaking into a Jewish camp on Sprout Lake Road on September 8, the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah. Sources have told Mid Hudson News that on September 8, a person now identified as 37-year-old Matthew McGrath, broke into Camp Young Judea, smashed several windows, destroyed many of the contents in the director’s residence, and did extensive damage to the property. The New York State Police were summoned to the camp when the damage was discovered. On September 15, 2021, the New York State Police, in conjunction with the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office arrested Matthew McGrath, a Middletown resident, on multiple felony charges of burglary and Criminal Mischief.

U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin revealed Saturday that he was diagnosed last November with early stage chronic myeloid leukemia but said he responded well to treatments and is now in remission. Zeldin, a Long Island Republican who’s running for New York governor, said the diagnosis had no impact on his work or Army Reserve duties. The Iraq War veteran said he suffered no side effects from treatment and that his health is now “phenomenal.” “Over the last nine months, I have achieved complete remission, am expected to live a normal life, and my doctor says I currently have no evidence of this disease in my system,” Zeldin said in a statement released through his Congressional office.

An inmate at New York City’s troubled Rikers Island jail complex hopped behind the wheel of a prison bus Thursday night and crashed it into a wall while guards weren’t looking, officials said. Two inmates were evaluated for minor injuries. One guard was suspended for 30 days without pay. Officials said further discipline could be warranted pending the outcome of an investigation. Jason Kersten, a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Correction, said the incident happened around 10 p.m. He said the agency is working with prosecutors to have the inmate re-arrested. The Daily News reported that the inmate got behind the wheel of the bus while guards in charge of watching him and other detainees left to get paperwork. “We take this incident very seriously,” Kersten said.

Agudath Israel of America commends Governor Phil Murphy and the State of New Jersey for taking swift and formal action against Unilever, the parent company of Ben & Jerry’s, in response to Ben & Jerry’s decision to stop all sales in Judea, Samaria, and East Jerusalem, in violation of New Jersey state law. In a letter to Unilever, Shoaib Khan, acting director and chief investment officer at New Jersey’s Division of Investment, wrote that New Jersey’s annuity and pension funds will longer invest in Unilever, and that New Jersey will take action to divest and withdraw any investment in the company, amounting to some $182 million. New Jersey is the second state to take formal action against Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s for Ben & Jerry’s boycott.