There’s a new toll system for drivers crossing the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, which connects Staten Island and Brooklyn. Split tolls go into effect on Dec. 1. That means drivers must pay to cross the bridge in both directions, but the total for a round trip equals the toll that was only collected on one side before. The MTA said the change should ease congestion on Staten Island. For years, drivers bypassed tolls by entering Staten Island through New Jersey and then heading to Brooklyn. The new ‘split-tolling’ law ends the process that charged travelers double on just the westbound side (toward Staten Island) and no charge on the eastbound side (toward Brooklyn). Instead motorists will be charged half of the original price in each direction.

The Lakewood Police Department is actively conducting a bias harassment investigation after a dead pig was found at the home of a local Rov. The Lakewood Police Department tell YWN that at around 7:00AM on Shabbos morning, police were dispatched to a Treetop Lane home after receiving a call that an unknown person had placed the carcass of a pig at the doorstep of a local Rov. Responding officers and investigators were able to determine that the event had taken place sometime between midnight and 7:00AM. Lakewood Police, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department as well as several other law enforcement agencies are actively pursuing several leads and hope to bring this to a conclusion very soon. Chief Gregory H. Meyer would like to remind the public that such acts will not be tolerated.

The Crown Heights Jewish community is on edge after two people were mugged on Sunday night – in two separate incidents. Sources tell YWN that in the first incident, two black males approached a 19-year-old Jewish man on Union Street and Albany Avenue at around 7:00PM. The two men displayed a firearm, and demanded his wallet and cell phone. But that wasn’t all. They they demanded that the man wire them the money he had available in a bank account (around $180) using Venmo or CashApp. They then took a photo of his drivers license and threatened him not to call the police, or they will come to his home and kill him. The suspects also had the victim turn off his phone so police could not track the phone. The two suspects then got into their vehicle, and left the area.

A person is in serious condition following a crash in Williamsburg. Sources tell YWN that two vehicles collided at Dekalb Avenue and Bedford Avenue at around 12:30AM, with the vehicle jumping the curb, and slamming into a store front. A Jewish woman was a passenger in one of the vehicles, which appears to be an Uber/Car Service. Sources tell YWN that the victim was ejected from the vehicle and suffered critical injuries. Williamsburg Hatzolah transported the female victim to Bellevue Hospital in respiratory arrest. Security camera footage shows a sports car travelling what appears to be travelling at a high rate of speed, barrel straight through a red light.

The vehicle that was travelling at a high-rate of speed and blew through a solid red light – leaving a Williamsburg woman with critical head injuries tonight – seems to be proud of his reckless driving. On the side of the vehicle, the vehicle owner proudly posted his Instagram account. A quick check to his Instagram Account, will leave you shocked (or maybe not so shocked the way NYC is headed in 2020) to see how this manic drives. Just two hours before the crash, a video was uploaded to the account with the same vehicle doing “burn-outs” on a NYC street. The account is riddled with videos of his reckless driving. The vehicle appears to be a Dodge Charger 392 SRT, which It does 0-60 mph in 4.2 seconds and does a quarter mile in 12.4 seconds. See the videos for yourself.

New York City will reopen its school system to in-person learning, and increase the number of days a week many children attend class, even as the coronavirus pandemic intensifies in the city, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sunday. The announcement marks a major policy reversal for the nation’s largest school system, less than two weeks after de Blasio announced that schools were shutting down because of a rising number of COVID-19 cases in the city. Some elementary schools and pre-kindergarten programs will resume classes Dec. 7, a week from Monday, the mayor said. Others will take longer to reopen their doors. School programs serving special-needs students at all grade levels will open to in-person learning starting Dec. 10, de Blasio said.

An intoxicated driver slammed into Washington Square Park’s landmark marble arch on Sunday, injuring a police officer who was parked there to protect it, police said. A Nissan Altima driven by 25-year-old Jeremy Molina, of Queens, crashed into the arch at the northern entrance to the Greenwich Village park shortly before 1:30 a.m., a police spokesperson said. The Nissan then hit a police car that was parked near the arch, police said. The officer in the car was taken to a hospital with neck and back pain. The arch was not damaged. Molina was arrested on charges including reckless endangerment, driving while intoxicated and refusing to take a breath test. It’s not clear whether he has an attorney who could comment on the charges.

A convicted former union boss for New York City corrections officers wants to serve his nearly five-year prison term at home because of the coronavirus pandemic. Lawyers for Norman Seabrook said in a court filing last week that he is at “acute risk” of becoming infected because he has pulmonary disease. They say an alternative would be to delay his Dec. 29 surrender date until the spring, when there’s a chance he could get a vaccine. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan declined to comment Saturday. Seabrook, 60, once ran the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, the nation’s largest municipal jail guard union.

YWN regrets to inform you of the Petira of Hagaon HaRav Elya Meir Sorotzkin ZATZAL, the Rosh Yeshiva of Springfield Yeshiva in NJ. He was approximately 62. Rav Sorotzkin took ill a number of years ago, and despite his illness kept delivering Shiurim with great Mesiras Nefesh. Unfortunately he contracted COVID-19 a few weeks ago, and his condition deteriorated until his Petira on Erev Shabbos. The Rosh Yeshiva was a son of Hagaon HaRav Boruch Sorotzkin ZATZAL, the late Telzer Rosh Yeshiva, and a son-in-law of Hagaon HaRav Shmuel Berenbaum ZATZAL, the late Mirrer Rosh Yeshiva. Rav Sorotzkin founded Yeshiva Tiferes Boruch in Springfield around 30 years ago. It relocated to North Plainfield NJ a number of years ago.

Chof Alef Kislev is a special day in Satmar. It marks the day that Hagon HaRav Yoel Teitelbaum ZATZAL, the founder of Satmar Chassidus in America, escaped from the Nazis YM”S during the Holocaust in 1944. The day is usually marked with celebrations held around the world. In New York, there are two massive annual events each attended by thousands upon thousands of people – led by each of the Satmar Rebbes. This year, Hagaon HaRav Aharon Teitelbaum, the Satmar Rebbe from Kiryas Yoel has just announced that the event will be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event is not only a day of celebration, but is the annual fundraiser for the Mosdos.