A shul in Flatbush was robbed of seven silver crowns – valued about $8,200 – and Police are looking for the suspect. The incident happened at Congregation Beth El of Flatbush, on East 3rd Street near Avenue U, around 1:00AM, last Wednesday (January 27th). Flatbush Shomrim was contacted following the incident, and provided the NYPD security camera footage of the incident. The video shows the suspect walking around the Shul and then making off with the items. The NYPD says that there was no sign of forced entry to the building, and have no idea how the person made their way inside. A source tells YWN that the suspect may be known to Shomrim and the NYPD, and community members were hoping an arrest would be made before the pricy items would be sold to a pawn shop.

Bicyclists who currently share space with pedestrians as they try to get across New York City’s Brooklyn and Queensboro bridges would get their own lanes across those spans, according to a plan from Mayor Bill de Blasio. De Blasio was announcing the “Bridges for the People” project on Thursday evening, as part of his final State of the City speech. On the Brooklyn Bridge, the innermost car lane in the Manhattan-bound direction would be turned into a two-way bicycle lane, and the promenade space that bicyclists and pedestrians currently use together would be given over solely to those on foot. While the promenade has marking delineating bicycle and pedestrian lanes, the increasing use of it by both walkers and cyclists had made it difficult, at times dangerous.

Mayor Bill de Blasio issued a state of emergency on Sunday night that includes restricting non-emergency travel beginning at 6 a.m. on Monday. De Blasio made the announcement as the first hours of snowfall began to hit New York City. The National Weather Service’s latest forecast predicts over 20 inches of accumulation will hit Staten Island. “Make no mistake: this storm will bring heavy snowfall, and it will make travel dangerous in every neighborhood in our city,” said de Blasio. “New Yorkers should stay home, keep the roads clear for emergency vehicles, and let our plows work to keep us all safe,” said de Blasio. “This order will be mandatory at 6 a.m. tomorrow, and everyone should make necessary preparations this evening.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A huge fire engulfed a recycling plant overnight in northern New Jersey and raged into Saturday as firefighters battled flames, wind and frigid cold that turned the water from their hoses into treacherous ice. Officials warned it could burn for days. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries, but all 70 employees at the Atlantic Coast Fibers plant are accounted for, Passaic Mayor Hector Lora said. The blaze broke out around midnight, shooting flames into the dark as more than two dozen fire departments responded. There were at least two explosions, one involving a truck with gas tanks on it, Lora said. Smoke billowed into the sky even after sunup, and Lora said firefighters planned to tap the Passaic River to keep dousing an inferno that could take days to extinguish.

New York’s attorney general has joined calls for the state to loosen a partial immunity from lawsuits and criminal prosecutions it had granted to nursing homes at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic last spring. In a report issued Thursday, Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, documented how a number of homes failed to follow proper infection-control protocols as the virus raged. Patients with COVID-19 were mingled in some homes with residents who didn’t yet have the virus. Staff members weren’t properly screened for illness. Some homes made sick employees keep coming to work, even though they could potentially infect others on the job. Others maintained dangerously low staffing levels that endangered residents, the report found.

Twenty-one firefighters have been taken to hospitals after a blaze tore through a Harlem apartment building Saturday, the fire department said. None of the injuries is considered life-threatening, and all the patients are in stable condition, the department said. Firefighters were called around 7 a.m. to a building on West 115th Street and found the blaze on the first floor. It soon surged all the way to the top floor of the six-story building, Chief of Fire Operations Thomas Richardson told the Daily News. Nearly 170 firefighters were called to tackle the blaze, which took them about 2 1/2 hours to get under control. It wasn’t immediately clear how many residents were displaced on a morning when temperatures were in the teens. The cause of the fire is under investigation. (AP)

New York City and surrounding areas could see upwards of 10 inches of snow as a winter storm descends on the Tri-State after this weekend’s bitter cold. While much of the area could get 6 to 10 inches, suburbs to the north and west may see over a foot. Snow could mix with rain and sleet along the coast, pushing down totals there, according to AccuWeather. The cold weather sets the stage for the snow, which is forecast to arrive in the city on Sunday evening and continue at varying intensity into Monday, when the high will be 34. It’s expected to be a wet snow that’s more difficult to shovel. Winds increase Monday into Monday night as the storm continues. Gusts could reach 40 to 50 mph, and there’s a potential for near-blizzard conditions amid the heavy snow and wind.

A fire ripped through the dormitory of Yeshiva Mercaz HaTorah of Belle Harbor on Friday morning, causing serious damage. The FDNY tells YWN that the fire started at around 10:00AM in the top floor of the three-story dormitory located at 512 Beach 130th Street near Beach Channel Drive. Bichasdei Hashem, all occupants of the dormitory were not injured. Unfortunately, a firefighter sustained injuries and was being treated by Paramedics on the scene. The high winds and frigid temperatures caused issues for firefighters battling the blaze, and a second alarm was requested for additional manpower to extinguish the fire. The cause of the fire was unknown. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Indoor dining will resume with limited capacity in New York City restaurants next month NY, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced on Friday, more than a month after the governor had banned it to combat a second wave of the coronavirus. Starting on Feb. 14, the city’s restaurants can seat customers indoors at 25 percent maximum capacity, Mr. Cuomo said. Cuomo says weddings with up to 150 people as long as all attendees test negative for Covid-19 beforehand will be permitted. The events must be approved by local health departments. The guest count will be limited to the 150-person cap or 50% of the reception venue’s capacity, whichever is smaller. All guests must be tested ahead of time. The new rules for receptions go into effect March 15. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Anti-Israel candidate for City Council in Queens Wants to Impose to her “Inner Palestinian” on frum community. In a bombshell revelation by YWN, Moumita Ahmed, Candidate for City Council for District 24 covering the frum neighborhoods of Kew Garden Hills, Jamaica Estates, Pomonok, Hilcrest and Fresh Meadows, who has tweeted anti-semitic propoganda says she finds inspiration from noted anti-Israel activist Linda Sarsour. Moumita Ahmed, a Bernie Sanders staffer and delegate, avowed member of the Democratic Socialists of America, this week called the annual trip that New York City Council members take to Israel propaganda, and declared her support for the anti-Semitic BDS movement as freedom of speech.