Baby dies at Queens Blvd homeless hotel

Police finally arresting panhandlers

From NBC:

A woman panhandling with a newborn near Grand Central Station was arrested yesterday and charged with endangering the welfare of a child and aggressive panhandling, authorities said.

The arrest is the first after the I-Team aired a series of exclusive reports that found the woman and others may be involved in a coordinated scheme to exploit their children -- and state officials vowed to take action.

MTA police arrested the woman, Caselina Margel, after a city outreach worker pointed her out as she begged for money on the street while holding her two-month-old son.

Women use kids to scam people

From the Daily News:

That panhandling mom with a child in her lap?

Oh, baby! It’s a scam, according to NBC New York. While panhandling is legal in New York, a month-long investigation followed nine women around the city and concluded that they were working and living together.

Social service workers said the women have repeatedly refused shelter and aid because they only want cash.

"This is a scam — a business," the non-profit The Doe Fund’s George McDonald told NBC New York.

McDonald said his organization has done its research on the women and witnessed them handing off the same children, exploiting them by “working in shifts.”

Homeless women are seen more and more bringing their children along to panhandle.

Research suggests that some of the women are 'working in shifts' and handing off the children to each other to use as props.

Children can’t be used to peddle, according to seldom-enforced state law. But it’s a statute that’s being flaunted as video shows these women collecting fast cash from sympathetic passersby.

But the investigation found the women were using Grand Central Terminal as a meeting point and living in the same East New York building.

Dead infant in Elmhurst

From the Queens Gazette:

Queens police officials are awaiting the results of tests performed by the city Medical Examiner to determine the cause of death of a 2-month-old girl who was found dead on November 17 inside a daycare center located at a dilapidated home in Elmhurst.

Police found the unconscious infant shortly before 9 a.m. on Saturday, in a daycare center located on the second floor of the home at 92-45 55th Avenue, authorities said.

Cops said Jennifer Zheng had a blanket over her head and was not breathing when she was found at about 8:45 a.m. in one of several cribs inside her babysitter’s home.

Emergency responders took the lifeless infant to Elmhurst Hospital Center where she was pronounced dead on arrival. There were no signs of trauma on the infant, police said.

Police alerted the city Department of Buildings (DOB) immediately after the child’s body was found to report a “possible illegal daycare” facility operating out of the home.

DOB officials shuttered two floors of the building owned by Wai Yee Chung shortly after the baby was found dead in the crib.

From the Times Ledger:

While Jason and other neighbors said they never witnessed any activity that would suggest an unlicensed daycare was being run out of the house, that is exactly what the NYPD told the city Department of Buildings, according to a complaint on file in a city database.

The complaint alleges that the business was operating on the second floor, where several cribs were found, the New York Post reported.

In response, the department issued a vacate order Saturday and a notice posted to the front door warned anyone who entered the second or third floors of the house might be arrested due to the floors being deemed “imminently perilous to life.”

The house is owned by Wei Yee and Kuo Ping Cheng, according to records from the city Department of Finance, and is only legally allowed to house one family.

But neighbors said at least two lived at the residence.

The side yard of the house was littered with construction materials, where a large Rottweiler dog paced between discarded bathroom fixtures, buckets of waterproofing liquid and a detached vehicle door.

Baby banding on the bridges

Where would Meng raise the kids?

While Baby Boomers were focused on having careers and kids at the same time, subsequent generations have been putting more emphasis on child-rearing. And traditionally, Asians have always put their families first. Considering this, one has to wonder why Grace Meng would want to run for an office that would cause her to spend so much time away from her family, which includes a young child and a new baby.

Perhaps, like Joe Crowley, she'll just move the whole clan to Washington and raise them there. After all, the neighborhoods and schools are better in tony DC suburbs than anyplace in NY-6!

The idiots back in Queens won't care, they'll keep sending her back term after term so long as she comes back once in awhile for photo ops.

South Jamaica house firebombed?

From WPIX:

A fire broke out early Thursday morning at a home in South Jamaica, Queens, and fire officials are calling it "suspicious."

The fire started at 3 a.m. at a home on 145th Street and Rockaway Boulevard, which is ironically located right near the local fire department.

At one point, the flames were so intense that a woman was trapped on the second floor of the home with her kids, and was forced to toss her baby out of the window. Two bystanders were there to catch the baby and complete a heroic rescue.

Three firefighters and six residents were taken to Jamaica Hospital, where they are currently in stable condition.

Fire officials are currently investigating the cause of the fire. There were reports that a Molotov cocktail was thrown at the front door of the home, but those reports are unconfirmed.

Welcoming the Weiner child

From the NY Post:

After a year filled with ridicule and scandal, disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner finally has something he can feel proud about — a new baby boy.

Weiner’s wife, Huma Abedin, gave birth to the wee Democrat yesterday, 10 days before the New Year’s Eve due date, The Post has learned. Jordan Zain Weiner checked in at 7 lbs. 5.8 oz, a source said.

Weiner emailed friends yesterday announcing the arrival of their "sparkling wonder."

Now he'll have another little Weiner to play with!

Another boy for Melinda

From the Queens Tribune:

Former Councilwoman Melinda Katz recently welcomed a second child into her life. Hunter Charles Katz was born nearly three months premature at Weill Cornell Medical Center on Feb. 24. The good news was tempered by the loss of Hunter’s twin.

“Most of my friends knew that I was pregnant with twins,” Katz said in a phone interview Tuesday. “It was a difficult pregnancy for a bunch of reasons. But in the end I gave birth to one beautiful little baby boy. The other one unfortunately did not survive.”

As for Hunter, you can attribute the name to ex-football player Fred Dryer for acting in one of Katz’s favorite TV shows – “Hunter,” which ran from 1984 to 1991.

Young Hunter was born at 3 lbs 3 oz, and as of Tuesday morning was up to 3 lbs, 14 oz., and expected to come home from the hospital in the next few days.

As Gatemouth put it: "New Litter for Katz Department: People we've already forgotten about are still reproducing. Is this timed to make us forget about the Hevesi sentencing?"

Baby brain dead after ambulance gets stuck in snow

From the NY Post:

A 3-month-old Queens boy was left brain dead last night after snow-clogged routes prevented medics from reaching him quickly -- and unplowed streets later forced the EMS workers to ditch their ambulance and sprint with the ailing baby to the hospital.

As little Addison Reynoso hovered at death's door, a priest performed last rites, and his family considered pulling him off life support.

The baby's heartbroken father fumed at the city's lax clean-up response to last weekend's monster blizzard.

"Clean the streets," Luis Reynoso said, "because that's why the ambulance came too late."

On top of the half-hour it took rescuers to get Addison to the emergency room, family members and friends said they were forced to call 911 several times before they could even reach a dispatcher.

"The weather hampered our efforts," an FDNY source said, hours after Addison -- apparently suffering from a respiratory infection -- was declared brain dead. "The snow did impact this."

Addison was being watched by a family friend in Corona Wednesday afternoon when he suddenly lost consciousness.

The frantic baby-sitter knocked on a neighbor's door after failing to reach a 911 dispatcher at around 1 p.m. and told the neighbors to call for help. A few minutes later, the boy's parents arrived, and his father lay the child on the floor and started performing CPR.

Addison's mom, Rocio Xoyatla, meanwhile, made several 911 calls, but only got a tone. She finally reached a dispatcher at 1:12 p.m., a family friend said.

It took at least 12 agonizing minutes longer for EMS crews to reach the home on 39th Avenue, near 108th Street in Corona.

When they arrived, medics found Luis Reynoso hovering over his dying child, desperately trying to blow life into the tiny lungs of the baby.

Reynoso and his wife sprinted down three flights of stairs with their child and climbed into the ambulance, which slogged two miles through the snowy streets with a police escort.

Then, the unthinkable happened. The ambulance got stuck in the snow on an unplowed stretch at Baxter and Layton streets, just 30 yards short of the emergency room door at Elmhurst Hospital.

EMS workers had to sprint the rest of the way cradling the baby, arriving at 1:42 p.m

"The City is going fine." - Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg

SICK

From the NY Post:

Two convicted sex traffickers -- who entombed a deceased infant in concrete and kept it for 11 months in the house with their children -- were hit yesterday with manslaughter and child-endangerment charges.

Domingo Salazar and Norma Mendez, both illegal aliens, pleaded guilty in July to federal charges of smuggling women from Mexico and putting them on the street as prostitutes.

Salazar fathered the baby with a teenager he forced into prostitution, Assistant DA Jacqueline Kagan said in Brooklyn Supreme Court. The tot, Carlos Santillana, died of battered-child syndrome.

The pair allegedly put the body into a container and filled it with concrete. They kept the container in the house with their three young kids, Kagan said.

"They allowed them [the children] to live in the house with the decomposing body of their step-brother," she said.

Mendez's lawyer, Amanda Scioscia, said her client did not commit an "overt act" of violence -- she only failed to get medical attention for the tot.

Mother and baby in critical condition after fire in illegally converted home

From the Daily News:

A suspicious two-alarm fire ripped through an illegally converted Bronx building early Wednesday, leaving a young mother and her 2-year-old son in critical condition.

Flames raced through the two-story West Farms home - which was carved up into a warren of tiny apartments - and trapped the mother and son in the basement at 6:15 a.m., officials said.

Fire marshals have not pinpointed the cause of the blaze but suspect an incendiary was used, FDNY sources said.

Investigators are also talking to witnesses who claimed the occupant of the basement apartment was fighting with another woman in the hours before the blaze.

The two-story building was zoned to house two families, according to the Department of Buildings' website.

Sources said several more apartments had been illegally added but it was unclear how many because of the extensive damage.

In 2006, building inspectors issued a violation because 13 apartments were found inside the home, according to records.

Since then, six more complaints - all for reports of illegal occupancy - were lodged against the owner. It was not clear if they were resolved.

College Point mother dies, baby eats dog food

From Eyewitness News:

A woman battling a long-term illness died in her home in the College Point section of Queens, leaving her toddler to crawl around her lifeless body for hours.

Authorities say 32-year-old Saydie Rentas collapsed in the kitchen of her home on 11th Avenue sometime Thursday afternoon.

Rentas was home with her 21-month-old son, Brian Rodriquez, at the time. Her husband was at work.

She was reportedly dead for at least four hours, and possibly more, when her husband called a neighbor to check on her.

The neighbor, who had a key, went into the house at around 8 p.m. and discovered Rentas' lifeless body.

Authorities say her son was crawling around her body and eating food out of the dog bowl. He was taken to a nearby hospital for observation.

An autopsy conducted Friday morning determined Rentas died from complications of lupus. Her death is not considered suspicious.

Father arrested for baby's murder

From Eyewitness News:

A seven-month old baby, found unconscious in a home in Queens, has been pronounced dead at a hospital.

The incident apparently happened on Tuesday just before 7:00 pm, inside of 194-49 113 Avenue in St. Albans.

After an investigation, the baby boy's father, 20-year old Larry Greene, was arrested.

Police say for some unknown reason, Green punched the baby in the chest.

The reason is because he's a scumbag that should have worn a condom if he didn't want to be a father.

Paschal lambs at Queens Zoo

From NBC 4:

Four "Jacob’s Four-Horned" Lambs were born last week, and have been fluffily frolicking ever since. Two males were born to mom, Phoebe, while her sister, Emma, gave birth to a duo of females.

Zookeepers report the yet-to-be-named lambs are doing well, and they are all very active -- spending their time jumping, running, and generally exploring.



You can name them, too.

Father of the Year lives in Ozone Park

NEW YORK (AP) - Prosecutors say a New York City man bit his infant daughter in the leg, head-butted her and would sometimes bend the girl's feet back until they touched her chest.

The 23-year-old Queens man was scheduled to make a court appearance on charges of first- and second-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child on Saturday. He faces up to 15 years in prison, if convicted on the charges.

Prosecutors said they wouldn't have information about his attorney until after the arraignment.

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said 13-week-old girl was taken last week to Schneider Children's Hospital with multiple injuries, including 17 fractured ribs.

Prosecutors allege that her dad assaulted her while baby-sitting.

Bensonhurst fire kills 5; baby is critical

From Eyewitness News:

A massive fire in a three-story Brooklyn apartment building has killed five people, and left a baby in critical condition.

The fire went to three alarms and the building was fully engulfed in flames.

When the fire was first brought under control, that is when fire officials found three people dead inside the building. Eyewitness News is told two more bodies were later found, bringing the death toll to five.

The fire broke out at around 2:30 this morning at 2033 86th Street in Bensonhurst.

The building has a restaurant on the ground floor and two apartments on the second and third floor.

Fire officials say when they arrived, they were met with a very heavy volume of flames.

One firefighter reportedly fell through the stairs while trying to get upstairs to the apartments.

Two adults were taken to Lutheran Hospital in fair condition.

There were complaints made about an illegal SRO and defective wiring previously, but DOB documented that they were both unfounded.

Yellow liquid and sausage at Bohemian Hall...

From the NY Times:

At the Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden in Astoria, Queens, my friends and I watched in shock as a father changed his child’s diaper on a vacant table, pitying the person who would sit there next with a pilsner and kielbasa.

Murderer of pregnant woman should be charged with 2 killings

From the Daily News:

Queens prosecutors say boyfriend Derrick Redd, angry with Delain for refusing to have an abortion, stabbed her six times in the stomach, killing her and the unborn boy she planned to name Aidan.

"I either avoid the problem or I eliminate it," Redd said, according to investigators who interviewed him after Delain's body was found.

Redd, 36, faces a murder charge for the Oct. 25, 2008, slaying of Delain, 25, but nothing for the death of the unborn fetus.

To Delain's mother, Towanda Wimms, that's an injustice state lawmakers need to correct.

"It's like this baby is not being looked at as a victim and that's ridiculous," said Wimms, 43. "There were two victims here. This baby was intentionally stabbed."

Redd is to appear in Queens Supreme Court on Monday, with a trial slated for early next year.

Meanwhile, Wimms has thrust herself into the middle of a battle in Albany that pits longtime rivals in the abortion debate against one another over a bill that would make it a crime to take the life of an unborn child during the commission of a homicide.

It's a boy for Grace Meng

From the Queens Chronicle:

Assemblywoman Grace Meng (D-Flushing) had a busy Tuesday. She voted in the Democratic primary runoff and delivered her second son at New York Hospital Queens.

The baby was born at 7 p.m. and weighs 8 pounds 3 ounces. He has not yet been named.

The new mom is shown with her husband, Dr. Wayne Kye, and the newborn at the Flushing hospital. At home was the couple’s 21-month-old son, Tyler.