Authorities are on the hunt for a vandal they say has smashed hundreds of windows on New York City subway trains. More than 400 windows have been damaged since May, costing nearly $400,000 to fix and all but exhausting supplies of replacement windows, the city’s transit agency said. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the police department this week announced a $12,500 reward for information leading to an arrest. On Wednesday, police released photos and video of a possible suspect — a man wearing a white tank top, gray pants, beige hat and blue surgical mask. Most of the damage has been on the 7-line linking Queens and Manhattan. Windows on 2 and 3 trains have also been smashed, police said.

Three of the four residents of New York City public housing whose criticisms of Mayor Bill de Blasio were used in a video at the Republican National Convention said they were never told their comments were to be showcased in that manner. The New York Times reported Friday that Claudia Perez, Carmen Quinones and Manny Martinez didn’t know that their comments from an interview with Lynne Patton were going to be used in support of President Donald Trump. Quinones, a Democrat, told the Times that Patton — a Trump administration appointee with the Department of Housing and Urban Development — had called her and asked her to bring together some people to speak about the city’s housing authority and their concerns, but that she was never told it would be part of the convention.

National Weather Service teams have confirmed that tornadoes touched down in southern Connecticut and in the suburbs north of New York City and uprooted and snapped trees during Thursday’s storms that caused power outages for tens of thousands of residents. Hundreds of crews have been repairing the damage in New Haven County in Connecticut and Orange County in New York, where hundreds of homes and business lost power. Gov. Ned Lamont had declared a state of emergency in Connecticut, where over 50,000 homes lost power in the storm.

A commuter bus slammed into a divider at New York City’s main bus terminal on Saturday, injuring 16 people – one critically, the fire department said. The New Jersey Transit bus crashed around 9:30 a.m. on an upper ramp at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan, tossing passengers around and causing major damage to the vehicle’s front end. “There were multiple patients laying on the floor, around the vehicle and then multiple patients that were still trapped inside of the vehicle,” EMS Deputy Chief Kevin Ramdayal said. Eleven people were taken to hospitals for treatment, including one person Ramdayal that said had “severely critical” injuries. Others were treated at the scene. The bus appeared to be departing the terminal when it crashed, officials said.

With coronavirus cases cropping up at colleges nationwide, New York will require schools to switch to remote learning for two weeks when cases surge, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday. Cuomo said he expects campus-based clusters now that many schools have welcomed students back for the fall semester. He mentioned “troubling reports” of students congregating after Syracuse University, Marist College and SUNY Plattsburgh each have recently suspended students after gatherings. “When you have large congregations of people, anticipate a cluster,” Cuomo told reporters during a phone-in briefing. “We expect it.

(By Rabbi Abe Friedman; Law Enforcement Chaplain) This summer has been one unlike any other and as we count down the final weeks toward fall, it seems appropriate to reflect upon all that we have experienced as a community since the pandemic struck. We have survived months where enormous challenges and devastating uncertainty seemed insurmountable, and the unprecedented loss of life has left us all shaken to the core. Our schools, businesses, synagogues, hospitals, summer camps and other institutions all bear COVID-related scars and yet looking at the big picture, it is clear to see the many rays of light that have emerged amid the darkness.

The shared moped service Revel, which suspended service in New York City after three deaths, is returning to city streets with new rules including a 21-question safety test, the company announced Thursday. “Revel was born and bred in New York City, and we’re proud to relaunch in our hometown with an even better service,” Revel chief executive officer Frank Reig said in a news release announcing the return of the blue scooters that were seen as an alternative to taxis and subways during the coronavirus pandemic. The scooter startup suspended New York City service on July 28 after two fatal crashes. A third Revel rider who was injured before the shutdown died later. Two of the three people who died were not wearing helmets, officials said.

The New York City Emergency Management Department advises New Yorkers of the potential for severe weather this afternoon. The National Weather Service has placed the city at an enhanced risk of severe thunderstorms this afternoon through the evening, with damaging winds in excess of 60 mph, large hail, and rain possible. A total of 0.25 inch of rain is expected with this event, but locally higher amounts are possible. Localized minor to moderate urban flooding may occur in low-lying and poor drainage areas. An isolated tornado cannot be ruled out. We have updated the briefing for the severe weather threat for this afternoon and this evening.

A man who ambushed a New York City police officer in June — stabbing him in the neck and stealing his gun to shoot other officers — had an interest in violent Islamic extremism and punctuated the attack with screams of “Allahu Akbar,” prosecutors alleged in court papers filed with his indictment Thursday on state and federal charges. Days later, according to prosecutors, suspect Dzenan Camovic told a hospital worker: “My religion made me do it.” Camovic, a 21-year-old Bosnian immigrant living illegally in the U.S., faces state charges including attempted aggravated murder and federal charges including theft and unlawful possession of a firearm. Camovic’s lawyer said arraignments could be scheduled within a few weeks.

The NYPD is asking the public’s assistance identifying the following individual depicted in the attached surveillance video and photo regarding an assault that occurred in Willliamsburg. The NYPD tells YWN that at round 6:00AM on Tuesday, August 25th, a 46-year-old female victim was walking at the southwest corner of Division Avenue and Rodney Street, when an unknown individual approached from behind, picked up the victim and slammed her onto the sidewalk. The individual knelt beside her and repeatedly punched the victim in the face and body. The individual attempted to take the victim’s pants off as she was dazed laying on the sidewalk, before fleeing the scene on foot on Division Avenue towards Keap Street.