A rematch between a former Republican congressional member and the Democrat who ousted her from office two years ago has come down to a just a few dozen votes, with a judge likely to play a role in the final outcome. Republican Claudia Tenney is vying to reclaim her seat in Congress from U.S. Rep. Anthony Brindisi, the Democrat, in a district that stretches from Lake Ontario to the Pennsylvania border, east of Syracuse. She had a lead of more than 28,000 votes on Nov. 3, but absentee ballots have highly favored Brindisi. County election boards have withheld information about the current count from the public, but Tenney’s campaign put the current gap at around 100 votes, while Brindisi’s campaign says it could be less than 100.

A new bill in the City Council would pay people to rat out drivers who park illegally. Council Member Stephen Levin, of Brooklyn, said the measure would give someone a cut of the fine if the illegal parker is found guilty. If someone reports a driver parking illegally in bike lanes, bus lanes, crosswalks or sidewalks they’d get $25 from the fine, which the bill would raise from $115 to $175. “Placard abuse remains a scourge on our city streets despite repeated efforts to bring it to an end,” NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson said Thursday in a tweet. “This new bill would give New Yorkers the power end placard abuse through real time crowdsourced reporting and appropriately harsh penalties.” (YWN World headquarters – NYC)

Jonathan Pollard who spied for Israel, is now “ free to travel anywhere, including Israel, for temporary or permanent residence, as he wishes.” as the U.S. Parole Commission has issued a certificate terminating parole. Per a Statement from his attorneys. This move culminates an extraordinary espionage case that occasionally complicated American-Israeli relations over 30 years. Pollard’s attorneys provided the following statement and message from Jonathan: Mr. Pollard is no longer subject to a curfew, is no longer prohibited from working for a company that does not have U.S.

NYPD Captain Richie Taylor was promoted to Deputy Inspector – making him now the highest ranking Yarmulka-wearing member in the NYPD history. Taylor, who lives in Flatbush, was appointed around six months ago as the NYPD’s Liaison to the Jewish Community working out of Police Headquarters. Sources tell YWN that Taylor will continue working at the Community Affairs Bureau, but in a higher position. Taylor is an incredible person devoted to his wife, children and his job, but most of all, he continues making a Kiddush Hashem each day, as he helps thousands of New Yorkers while representing the Jewish community. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Two incumbent Democrats have won re-election to Congress in districts east and north of New York City. U.S. Rep. Thomas Suozzi survived a tough challenge to win a third term representing a district that includes Long Island’s wealthy north shore. And U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado won a second term, defeating military veteran Kyle Van De Water in a district stretching from the Catskills and Hudson Valley to rural counties near Albany. Both Democrats prevailed in contests that were close on Election Day, but where absentee ballots tipped the scales in their favor once counting began a week after the last votes were cast. The Associated Press declared winners in both races Wednesday.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said it’s “just a matter of time” until the state orders a halt to indoor dining. A shutdown likely will come “in the next week or two,” de Blasio said Thursday at a news briefing. On Wednesday, Governor Andrew Cuomo had warned that the entire city could be placed into the state’s orange-zone category of Covid-19 problem areas, which means indoor dining must cease and outdoor dining must be limited to four people per table. Restaurants were closed for more than five months during the initial outbreak, and have been limited to 25% capacity since Sept. 30. The orange zone would apply to New York City if the state calculation for seven-day average positive tests reaches 3%.

A rapper who shot off a flamethrower while standing on an occupied New York City bus surrendered to police on Wednesday. Authorities said Dupree G.O.D was arrested on charges of reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon. There was no information on when he would be arraigned. He was in police custody Wednesday night. The musical artist was filmed earlier this month in an unauthorized stunt that he said was part of a tribute video for the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan. The clip gained attention on social media after a police union tweeted it as an example of the city becoming less safe. NYC OUT OF CONTROL: Man with a FLAMETHROWER stands on top of a Bus and fires away at the public.

New York City’s entire public school system will shutter on Thursday, Chancellor Richard A. Carranza wrote in an email to school principals, in a worrisome signal that a second wave of the coronavirus has arrived. Schools have been open for in-person instruction for just under eight weeks. The shutdown – which was prompted by the city reaching a 3 percent test positivity rate over a seven-day rolling average – is perhaps the most significant setback for New York’s recovery since the spring, when the city was a global epicenter of the outbreak. No word on how Yeshivas will respond to the news. Mayor DeBlasio tweeted the following: “New York City has reached the 3% testing positivity 7-day average threshold.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams announced he is running for mayor of New York City on Wednesday, joining an already crowded field of candidates for the 2021 election. Adams, who entered politics after a two-decade career as a police officer, announced his candidacy in a video posted overnight. “Whether it’s the pandemic or violence in our streets we don’t feel safe, and too often city government makes things worse with inefficiency that leads to inequality and holds our people back,” the 60-year-old Adams says in the video, in which he also describes being victimized by police brutality in his youth and joining the police in order to fight for reforms from the inside.

Agudath Israel of America has taken its case to the U.S. Supreme Court, filing for an injunction to block New York’s “Cluster Initiative” against shuls and other houses of worship. The Agudah suit was filed together with the Agudath Israel of Kew Garden Hills and its shul Secretary, Mr. Steven Saphirstein, and the Agudath Israel of Madison and its Rav, Rabbi Yisroel Reisman, shlita. This follows a similar move taken by the Brooklyn Catholic Diocese. The lawsuit raises numerous unsettling points regarding the current executive order, including clear statements that the order was intended to “target” the Orthodox Jewish community.