New ‘co-living’ housing option spreads its wings in New York

Nandita Iyer landed in New York, United States from Bombay, India without knowing anyone, but she did not want to live alone in a “sketchy studio.” So instead she opted for a room in a “co-living” unit.

She lives with roommates in one of the 14 apartments in a small building run by the housing start-up Quarters in the trendy Lower East Side neighborhood.


The best part of the arrangement she said, are the common areas, a large kitchen with a big table and comfy couches, a terrace where she can work and a luxurious rooftop patio.

“I met people from such different backgrounds. And I became very good friends with them,” she said.

And she even found mentors to help with her job search.

Group living arrangements are not new. Many people have lived with roommates, in student dormitories or retirement homes.


But with housing costs skyrocketing in major cities and amid changing lifestyles, start-up companies are offering to take care of everything for renters, including the social life of their residents.

Demand for these new group housing arrangements is on the rise, especially among young people aged 18 to 35, the millennials, so more and more projects are appearing on the rental landscape.

Real estate brokers Cushman & Wakefield estimated in May that the major U.S. co-living start-ups had about 3,200 rooms available with 16,700 in the pipeline. The new players include Quarters, Common, Ollie, Starcity, X Social Communities, The Collective and WeLive.

Quarters manages three residences in New York and Chicago and is preparing to grow quickly. Its German-based parent company, Medici Living, just raised $300 million to expand in the U.S. market, in addition to one billion euros to develop in Europe.

Social network

“We provide an easy solution for people looking to move into big cities,” said Gil Hirak, head of U.S. operations for Quarters.

From the virtual tour to the signing of the lease, everything can be done online. Then “you just move in with a suitcase,” since units are furnished.

The companies also reduce many traditional sources of friction between roommates by taking care of all the practical details: basic products such as toilet paper, cleaning, Internet or electricity bills.

“During the week, we are so busy. Housekeeping is really helpful,” said resident Eric Tauro, a 29-year-old architect.

After finishing his studies he was “researching what would be the easiest way” to move to New York.

He set his sights on Ollie’s third project in a large new building in fast-growing Long Island City. The start-up occupies a third of floors in the complex, with 422 beds available in 169 apartments.

Amenities are more sophisticated than at Quarters, residents have access to a gym, golf simulator and top floor with open views of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.

Like many co-living providers, Ollie’s boasts that it organizes social events several times a week, like museum visits or cooking classes. It also allows residents to communicate with each other on a dedicated application.

“Millennials do not like to own a lot of things,” said Alex Cohen, real estate agent for Compass. “They want to be part of a community.”

And since they are already at home with services like Airbnb or Uber, “they do not mind sharing” the common areas. 

Cheaper option for renters?

Everything about the projects is geared towards optimizing the use of the space.

“In a normal apartment building, there is so much lost space,” said Sophie Wilkinson, who is in charge of the design for Common.

Their response was to shrink the size of the rooms and expand living spaces like the kitchen.

With smaller rooms, co-living is 15 to 30% cheaper than a studio in the same area, the companies say. But that does not necessarily make them more affordable than a traditional roommate situation.

Common, which offered 800 rooms in 27 buildings in six U.S. cities in June, hopes to be able to offer 2,000 by the end of the year. Every week, the company receives 3,000 requests.

Noting the rapid rise in popularity of coworking by companies like WeWork, Medici Group spokesman Volker Binnenboese said that “something similar could happen to co-living.”

“We are now focusing on these millennials, but they grow older. We can perfectly imagine doing the same things for young families in our buildings,” he told AFP.

Projects for families could include shared childcare services, for example. HM/JB

source: business.inquirer.net

Blue sky at night lights up social media in New York

An alien invasion? The Rapture? The sky flashed an eerie blue over New York City on Thursday night and social media users feared the worst.

Extraterrestrial activity was a leading theory: “IM SORRY WHAT???? THE SKY JUST TURNED BLUE???? literally so confused I think aliens just tried to steal new york,” one user wrote on Twitter.

“Apparently aliens are landing in New York City right now bcs the sky’s blue,” wrote another.

In this trying time, some saw the hand of God at work: “Don’t worry, New Yorkers. The blue light you saw in the sky was just the Rapture,” one tweet said.

Another Twitter user noted that people had been warned to change their ways: “What’s happening in the sky in New York? If it’s the rapture, I just wanna say I told y’all to quit it.”

Travelers at LaGuardia airport were treated to potential delays as well as a light show.

“Due to a power outage in Queens, there is partial flight operations @LGAairport. Many flights are departing, some are not,” the airport wrote on its Twitter account, later adding that power was back in “all terminals” and advising passengers to check with airlines for flight status information.


In the end, the explanation turned out to be somewhat more mundane than the end of times or invaders from outer space: a problem at a local power plant.

“The lights you have seen throughout the city appear to have been from a transformer explosion at a Con Ed facility in Queens. The fire is under control, will update as more info becomes available,” the New York Police Department tweeted.

Con Edison, the power company, tweeted that: “There was a brief electrical fire at our substation in Astoria which involved some electrical transformers and caused a transmission dip in the area. We’re currently investigating the cause of the incident.”

“The incident is under control. There are no injuries reported, and no fire,” the fire department said.

The anticlimactic explanation was disappointing to some.

“I wish the blue sky in New York was aliens and not a power plant on fire,” one Twitter user wrote. CC

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

Apple expected to unveil new iPads, Mac in New York

NEW YORK — New iPads and Mac computers are expected Tuesday as part of an Apple event in New York.

The event is being held at an opera house in Brooklyn, suggesting Apple is pushing products focused on creativity and the arts.


As overall tablet sales decline, Apple has been promoting its high-end iPad Pro as ideal for artists, photographers and other creators. A new model is expected, as the last update came nearly 17 months ago.

There’s been speculation the new iPad Pro will adopt features found in the latest iPhones, including facial-recognition technology to unlock the device. Apple isn’t giving details about the event.

Apple may also release a new Mac, including a MacBook Air laptop, though higher-end MacBook Pro laptops just got refreshed in July.  /kga

source: technology.inquirer.net

Djokovic gets through on hot day; Federer next at US Open?

NEW YORK — Facing much more resistance from the 90-degree heat and 50-percent humidity than from his outclassed opponent, Novak Djokovic figured he can count on cooler conditions during a night match at the U.S. Open his next time out.

The next foe? That could be Roger Federer.

Djokovic left the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium for a medical timeout — the second time during the tournament he’s sought help from a doctor because of harsh weather — during what would become an otherwise straightforward 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 victory over 68th-ranked Joao Sousa of Portugal on Monday in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows.


“I’m not 21 anymore. That was 10 years ago. I still don’t feel old. But at the same time, there is a little biological clock that is not really working in your favor,” the No. 6-seeded Djokovic told the crowd afterward. “Sometimes, you just have to survive.”

He reached the quarterfinals for an 11th consecutive appearance in New York as he bids for a third U.S. Open championship and 14th Grand Slam trophy. To add to his resume, though, he might need to beat Federer, who has won five of his men’s-record 20 major titles at Flushing Meadows.

Federer was scheduled to play 55th-ranked John Millman of Australia in the fourth round on Monday night. Like Sousa, Millman had never before made it this far at a Slam.

The other quarterfinal on the bottom half of the draw will be a rematch of the 2014 U.S. Open final: No. 7 Marin Cilic against No. 21 Kei Nishikori. Cilic, who beat Nishikori four years ago for his only major title, was a 7-6 (6), 6-2, 6-4 winner against No. 10 David Goffin, while Nishikori advanced by defeating Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-2, 7-5.

Both Nishikori and Djokovic missed last year’s U.S. Open with arm injuries.

Asked Monday whether he thought during that time away about returning to the height of his powers, Djokovic replied: “I have imagined. I have hoped for. I have prayed for that.”

He improved to 28-0 at the U.S. Open against opponents ranked outside the top 50, and here’s another reason it wasn’t all that surprising the way things went against Sousa: Djokovic is now 5-0 in their head-to-head series, taking all 14 sets they’ve played against each other.

The heat, though, is much tougher on Djokovic, who showed the same blank expression, rosy cheeks and sweat-soaked shirt as during his first-round match last week. That was the first time in tournament history that the U.S. Open created an extreme heat policy for men’s matches — players can opt for a 10-minute break between the third and fourth sets — similar to what’s standard on the women’s tour, when there can be a delay between the second and third sets.


“It’s not easy,” Djokovic said, “to play in these kind of conditions.”

His match didn’t get to the point of a heat interruption, because he wrapped it up in straight sets, but that did come into play for a couple of women’s matches.

It was most striking during Lesia Tsurenko’s 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-2 win against Marketa Vondrousova, in which both players seemed affected by the temperature and mugginess.

Tsurenko left the court for a health check after the first set and often leaned on her racket between points, saying later she felt dizzy at the Grandstand court, which doesn’t offer shade the way the tournament’s two bigger arenas do.

Vondrousova wasn’t all that sure Tsurenko had issues.

“I don’t think she was struggling so much,” Vondrousova said. “She was just acting.”

The 19-year-old Vondrousova, who said she dealt with cramping, certainly helped decide the outcome: Of Tsurenko’s 107 points, only 17 came via winners; 73 were her opponent’s unforced errors.

Also into the quarterfinals: 2017 runner-up Madison Keys of the U.S. and No. 20 Naomi Osaka of Japan. Osaka beat No. 26 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 to earn her first trip to a Grand Slam quarterfinal. The 20-year-old Osaka was already the first Japanese woman to get to the fourth round in New York since 2004.

Keys overwhelmed No. 29 Dominika Cibulkova 6-1, 6-3 thanks to a 25-7 edge in winners and now will face No. 30 Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain. Suarez Navarro became the first player to beat five-time major champion Maria Sharapova in a U.S. Open night match, eliminating her 6-4, 6-3.

Sharapova won the 2006 title in New York, but she’s now lost in the fourth round in her past three appearances.

source: sports.inquirer.net

New York University makes tuition free for all medical students

NEW YORK – New York University (NYU) said Thursday it would offer all its current and future medical school students free tuition in an effort to tackle soaring debt levels and encourage more applicants.

The move – which it said was financed by the generosity of the university’s “trustees, alumni, and friends” – amounts to a reduction of $55,018 in annual fees, regardless of financial needs or academic merit.

It does not cover living and administrative costs averaging $27,000 a year.


“A population as diverse as ours is best served by doctors from all walks of life, we believe, and aspiring physicians and surgeons should not be prevented from pursuing a career in medicine because of the prospect of overwhelming financial debt,” said Dr. Robert Grossman, dean of the NYU School of Medicine.

In its statement, NYU also pointed out that high student debt was putting graduates off pursuing less lucrative specializations including pediatrics and obstetrics and gynecology.

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the median debt of a graduating medical student in the US is $202,000 – while 21 percent of doctors who graduate from a private school such as NYU face over $300,000.

“Our hope — and expectation — is that by making medical school accessible to a broader range of applicants, we will be a catalyst for transforming medical education nationwide,” said Kenneth Langone, chair of the Board of Trustees of NYU Langone Health.

Thursday’s announcement came as a surprise ending to the school’s annual white coat ceremony, which marks the start of first-year students’ medical careers.

Those 93 students will benefit from the scholarship, along with 350 others enrolled further along in the program.

NYU said it is the only top 10-ranked medical school in the US to offer such an initiative.  /kga

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Man accused of masturbating on train rips his wanted posters

NEW YORK, United States — Police in New York City say a man spotted by officers ripping down wanted posters of himself had been accused of masturbating on a subway train.

The photo of Kosta Kolaci (KOH’-stah koh-LAH’-cheeh) that’s on the posters was taken this month by a rider who was in the same subway car. The rider handed over his photos to police, who made the posters.

The 61-year-old suspect was arrested Friday when officers saw him in a Brooklyn station, tearing down the posters.


He’s charged with public lewdness. A phone number couldn’t be found for Kolaci. /cbb

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Wilder survives pummeling to stop Ortiz in 10th

NEW YORK — Deontay Wilder was out on his feet. Forget defending his WBC heavyweight title, Wilder was lucky to find his corner when the seventh round concluded.

About 10 minutes later, he was strutting around the Barclays Center ring, his belt secure, but his reputation as being untouchable severely tarnished.

Wilder survived a pummeling from Luis Ortiz, then knocked out the challenger in the 10th round Saturday night to retain his crown. Befitting the undefeated champion from Alabama, it was a wild affair for the final few rounds after a dull series of pawing and gesturing by Wilder gave Ortiz a solid lead.

“A true champion always finds a way to come back and that’s what I did tonight,” Wilder said. “Luis Ortiz is definitely a crafty guy. He put up a great fight. We knew we had to wear him down. I showed everyone I can take a punch.”

Well, yeah — Wilder certainly took his share of them.

Even after Wilder knocked down Ortiz in the fifth round, the bout remained in the Cuban’s favor.

Then, in the seventh, Wilder was dazed and confused by Ortiz’s assault. Though he never hit the canvas, he stumbled to his corner when that round ended. The end seemed near.

“I almost had him and I think I would’ve if there were a few more seconds in the round,” Ortiz said. “Wilder was definitely saved by the bell. I thought I had him out on his feet. But you have to give him credit, he weathered the storm.”

Instead of folding, Wilder closed the ninth with two hard rights, and then a series of vicious combinations in the 10th started Ortiz’s downfall.

It was over with 55 seconds to go in the 10th after Ortiz went down for the second time in the round from a right uppercut and referee David Fields stopped it.

“I just had to get my range back and my fundamentals back,” Wilder said. “And I was able to do that. I showed I was a true champion tonight.”

Wilder, 32, is 40-0 with 39 knockouts. This easily was his toughest bout. Somehow, he was ahead on all three judges’ scorecards.

The Associated Press had it 86-83 for Ortiz heading into the 10th.

Ortiz, 38, is 28-1. He couldn’t have come much closer to becoming the first Cuban heavyweight belt holder after finally getting his match with Wilder. Their initially scheduled bout was in November, but Ortiz twice tested positive for a banned substance, a diuretic.

He was ready Saturday, but not quite resourceful enough.

“In this sport, any punch can end a fight,” Ortiz said. “In the ring anything can happen.”

Wilder basically threw away the early rounds with a lack of aggression and much clowning. The left-handed Ortiz was all business.

In the fifth, with boos raining down from the crowd of 14,069 at Barclays Center, Wilder finally landed a solid punch. That invigorated him and two rights to the chin sent down Ortiz.

Wilder couldn’t finish him, and was nearly finished himself two rounds later. Ortiz was so dominant in those three minutes that Wilder looked bewildered at his predicament.

The champ hung on in the eighth, then somehow found the fortitude and punching power to turn it around in the final two rounds.

“Luis Ortiz was one of those fighters that everyone ducked, even champions ducked him,” Wilder said. “I wondered why it took so long for him to get a title shot and now we know.”

What boxing doesn’t know is how this performance will affect the division. Wilder’s sights have been set on Anthony Joshua, who defends his WBA and IBF crowns at the end of the month against WBO champ Joseph Parker.

If nothing else, Wilder’s ring reputation took a hit, although his toughness and ability to take a punch can’t be questioned.

“I’m ready right now,” Wilder said. “I always said that I want to unify. I’m ready whenever those guys are. I am the baddest man on the planet and I proved that tonight. This solidified my position at the top of the food chain tonight.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

3 killed, 16 hurt as charter bus barrels into NYC bus

NEW YORK — A charter bus owned by a company with safety problems record barreled through an intersection, slammed into a city bus and then plowed across a sidewalk into a building, killing three people on Monday.

The wreck, which was captured by a security camera, ripped away the facade of a fried chicken restaurant and started a small fire. The footage also showed the bus racing through the intersection without applying its brakes.

“The tour bus was flying,” Mike Ramos, a witness to the crash, told the Daily News. “There were people pinned under the front of the city bus. A lady was crying and screaming, ‘Get me out! Get me out!’”

One of the people killed was a pedestrian on the sidewalk, identified by police as Henry Wdowiak, 68, of Queens. The other dead were the charter bus driver, Raymond Mong, 49, and a passenger on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) bus, Gregory Liljefors, 55.

Sixteen other people were hurt in the crash, which happened at 6:15 am in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens, city officials said at a briefing. The charter bus was empty of passengers at the time of the crash.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said he was shocked by the “sheer destruction.”

A building that houses a number of retail stores, including the restaurant, received substantial impact from the crash, and experts were working to make sure it was secure, the mayor said.

MTA chairman Joe Lhota said that although the investigation has just begun, the evidence indicates there was “an enormous amount of speed.”

“We want to make sure we understand what happened and prevent this from ever happening again,” he said.

Signage on the charter bus showed it was from the Dahlia Group Inc., which has its depot a few blocks from where the wreck happened.

A person answering the phone there declined to comment; there was no immediate response to an email seeking comment.

An MTA spokesman said Mong was fired from the transit authority in 2015 before he went to work for the charter company. The spokesman did not provide a reason for his dismissal.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration records show that a Dahlia bus was also involved in a fatal crash in Connecticut in February 2016.

One of the company’s buses was driving through a snowstorm to reach the Mohegan Sun casino when it overturned on Interstate 95 in Madison, east of New Haven. One person died, and 36 people were injured.

The company’s drivers have been cited several times over the past 12 months for safety violations, including failing to obey a traffic control device, speeding and unlawful parking in the roadway.

Federal regulators have flagged the company on a public website of having more infractions than similarly sized companies.

A Yelp page for the company is filled with complaints from motorists complaining about Dahlia buses speeding or driving dangerously.

Liljefors’ widow, Audris Liljefors, told the New York Post her husband was a security guard on his way home from a night job.

“He was a good man. He was a good husband for 27 years. He was a good father to his two step-sons,” she said.

/kga

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Williams wins at US Open to stay in No. 1 hunt; Konta out

NEW YORK — Venus Williams stayed in the crowded hunt for the No. 1 ranking — even though she had no idea that she has a shot at that spot.


Johanna Konta, a Wimbledon semifinalist just last month, dropped out of that chase with a first-round exit as the U.S. Open got started Monday.

The No. 9-seeded Williams overcame a mid-match lapse to pick up a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 victory in Arthur Ashe Stadium against Viktoria Kuzmova of Slovakia, a 19-year-old qualifier who is ranked 135th.

It was the first tour-level, main-draw match of Kuzmova’s career, and the 967th for Williams, who won the title at Flushing Meadows in 2000 and 2001, in addition to her five Wimbledon championships. Williams is in her 19th U.S. Open; she reached the final in her 1997 debut, about eight months before Kuzmova was born.

“I had no idea what she looked like, who she was, anything. But she played amazing. She played well, served well, competed well. Definitely a match I had to earn,” said Williams, who at 37 is the oldest woman in the field. “I definitely wasn’t expecting or planning on dropping sets today. But things happen. That’s why we play the match, because you have to win the match. So it’s just all about regrouping. It’s the first round. You figure out what’s going on.”

She was up a set, plus a break in the second at 2-0, when she faltered. Kuzmova broke for 2-1, then pulled at even at 3-all before taking three games in a row to force a third set. But Williams righted herself there, breaking for a 2-0 lead, then digging out of a love-40 hole with five consecutive points for 3-0 and was on her way.

Williams entered the U.S. Open as one of eight women with a chance to rise atop the WTA rankings by tournament’s end.

Not that it was foremost on her mind. Indeed, she said she was unaware of that possibility.

“I just want to win, and if you get the win, you get the ranking,” said Williams, who was already at No. 1 in 2002.

Before the American’s match was over, that number of ranking contenders was reduced to seven, because the No. 7-seeded Konta was bounced by 78th-ranked Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

“I don’t take anything for granted,” said Konta, who was a semifinalist at Wimbledon just last month. “I think it would be quite obnoxious of me to come in here expecting I have a right to be in second week.”

Konta, who lost to Williams in the Wimbledon semifinals, figured to be Britain’s best chance for a deep run these two weeks, because the country’s top male player, Andy Murray, withdrew on Saturday with an injured hip.

Instead, she was among a crop of seeded players on the way out the door at a tournament already missing several top names, including the biggest in women’s tennis: Williams’ older sister Serena, who is expecting a baby.

“We always coach each other, pretty much,” Williams said.

While the most anticipated matchup of Day 1 was scheduled for Monday night — five-time major champion Maria Sharapova’s first Grand Slam action since her doping suspension, against No. 2 seed Simona Halep — the afternoon was filled with quite a few seeded players joining Konta on the way out.

For every victory by someone such as Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza or 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic, there was a surprise or two.

The men’s seeded losers included No. 21 David Ferrer, who was the runner-up at the 2013 French Open, No. 25 Karen Khachanov and No. 32 Robin Hasse. On the women’s side, there as No. 21 Ana Konjuh, No. 24 Kiki Bertens and No. 32 Lauren Davis.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Katy Perry tricks museum-goers with her ‘disembodied’ head

She slumped disco balls across world cities, as well as baked cherry pies to introduce her new single “Bon Appetit,” but Katy Perry’s novel approach to promote her music goes on and on.

With the help of Vanity Fair, the pop star tricked random visitors at New York’s The Whitney Museum of American Art by transforming her cover art for “Bon Appetit” into a real museum art piece. While Vanity Fair’s Derek Blasberg was luring visitors to check Santa Barbara-based artist Katheryn Hudson’s (Perry’s real name) exhibit, Perry surfaced her head in the middle of a fruit platter to deceive them.

The unsuspecting visitors were ushered into a dark room where Blasberg lifted a metal dome covering Perry’s head. At one point, Perry joked that she was Miley Cyrus to a fan asking if she was actually Katy Perry.

Perry returns from years of career hiatus with her singles “Chained to the Rhythm” and “Bon Appetit.” Soon, she will sit on the judges’ panel of ABC’s reboot of “American Idol” and drop her album entitled “Witness” this coming June.  Gianna Francesca Catolico /ra

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Car mows down Times Square pedestrians for blocks, killing 1

NEW YORK— A man steered his car onto a sidewalk running through the heart of Times Square and mowed down pedestrians for three blocks Thursday, killing a teenager, then emerged from his wrecked vehicle wild-eyed and waving his arms before he was subdued by police and bystanders.

The driver, a 26-year-old U.S. Navy veteran, told officers he was hearing voices and expected to die, two law enforcement officials said.

Helpless pedestrians had little time to react as the car barreled down the sidewalk and through intersections before smashing into a row of steel security barriers installed in recent years to prevent vehicle attacks on the square where massive crowds gather every New Year’s Eve. The car came to rest with its two right wheels in the air.

“He didn’t stop,” said Asa Lowe, of Brooklyn, who was standing outside a store when he heard screaming as people scattered. “He just kept going.”

Police said 23 people were hit by the car, including an 18-year-old tourist from Michigan who died. The woman’s 13-year-old sister was among the injured.

A fire department chief, Mark Foris, was at an unrelated elevator rescue when he saw the car speed by.

“This is more than just a car accident,” he thought as he walked among bleeding victims.

The carnage raised immediate fears of terrorism, fueled by recent attacks in England, France and Germany in which vehicles plowed through crowds of pedestrians. But investigators quickly turned their focus to the sobriety and mental health of the driver, identified as Bronx resident Richard Rojas.

“There is no indication that this was an act of terrorism,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

Photographers snapped pictures of Rojas after he climbed from the wrecked car and ran through the street before he was tackled by a group that included a ticket seller and a muscular door supervisor at a nearby Planet Hollywood restaurant.

Rojas initially tested negative for alcohol, but more detailed testing was being done to determine if he was high, according to two law enforcement officials who were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.

The officials said Rojas told officers he had been hearing voices.

A week ago, Rojas was arrested and charged with pointing a knife at a notary, whom he accused of stealing his identity. He pleaded guilty to a harassment violation.

He was arrested on charges of driving while intoxicated in 2008 and 2015, police Commissioner James O’Neill said. He pleaded guilty to an infraction in 2015 and was ordered to complete a drunken-driving program and lost his license for 90 days.

In previous arrests, he told authorities he believed he was being harassed and followed, one of the law enforcement officials said.

Police identified the woman killed by the car as Alyssa Elsman, of Portage, Michigan.

Elsman graduated last year from Portage Northern High School.

“If you didn’t know her, you might think she’s reserved or shy,” school principal Eric Alburtus said. “But if you could talk to her for a minute, you’d realize she was engaging. She was bright. She was funny.”

In the Bronx, neighborhood acquaintances said Rojas was a friendly man who had been having problems. Harrison Ramos said Rojas wasn’t the same when he came back from active duty in 2014.

“He’s been going through a real tough time,” he said.

Rojas enlisted in the Navy in 2011 and was an electrician’s mate fireman apprentice. In 2012 he served aboard the U.S.S. Carney, a destroyer.

Navy records show that in 2013 he spent two months at a naval brig in Charleston, South Carolina. They don’t indicate why.

Rojas was based at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida, before being discharged in 2014 as the result of a special court martial, a Navy official said. Details were not immediately available.

Thursday’s mayhem began at noon on a hot, clear day that brought large crowds of people into the streets to enjoy the good weather.

Police said Rojas had been driving south on Seventh Avenue when he made a quick U-turn at 42nd Street and drove up the sidewalk for three blocks, passing tourist draws like the Hard Rock Cafe and the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurant.

Security camera video showed people being flung in bunches over the car’s hood.

“People just got stunned,” said Bruno Carvalho, a student at SUNY Albany. “I don’t think there was actually time for screaming.”

As Rojas ran from his wrecked vehicle, Ken Bradix, a door supervisor at Planet Hollywood, struck him to get him to stop. Alpha Balde, who works in the square selling sightseeing tour tickets, said he and Bradix jumped on top of Rojas and held him until police took over.

Planet Hollywood said Bradix “selflessly and heroically took action, helping to stop the fleeing suspect.”

The White House said President Donald Trump was informed of the situation in Times Square and would continue to be briefed as it unfolded.

The apartment building where Rojas lives was cordoned off by police Thursday. It was unclear when Rojas, who was in custody, would get a lawyer or face formal charges in court.

The sidewalks in many parts of Times Square and surrounding blocks are lined with metal posts designed to prevent cars from getting onto the sidewalks and other public areas.

That network of barricades, though, is far from a complete defense. There are many areas where vehicles could be driven onto packed sidewalks or public plazas.

Sunita Prasad and her family, visiting from Guyana, were marveling at the sights when the car came toward them.

She pushed her children, 3 and 6, out of its path. But an uncle was struck on the head by a pole dislodged by the vehicle, relatives said as they left the hospital where he was being treated.

“We were just touring, seeing how beautiful Times Square was,” Prasad said. “And this came.”

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Gucci launches its latest scent, Bloom

Italian luxury house Gucci is set to unveil the first fragrance by creative director Alessandro Michele.

Michele, who was appointed creative director of the house in 2015 and who is responsible for all of Gucci’s men’s and women’s collections, worked in collaboration with master perfumer Alberto Morillas to create Bloom, a floral scent containing notes of jasmine, tuberose and Rangoon creeper, a special ingredient sourced from India exclusively for use in this fragrance. The floral element ties in with Michele’s ready-to-wear designs, which regularly feature botanical motifs.

Bloom will be packaged in a very classic, rectangular-shaped bottle in powder pink, which is likely to appeal to Gucci shoppers and fragrance fans on the basis of looks alone.

The launch of the fragrance will be celebrated on Tuesday, May 2 with a party in New York. Actress Dakota Johnson, artist Petra Collins and actress and model Hari Nef have been chosen to star in the perfume’s advertising campaign photographed by Glen Luchford, and will be among the celebrities in attendance. On May 3, Bloom will be available to pre-order in limited quantities ahead of the official release, which will be in August for the United States, but not until spring 2018 in Europe.

Italian-born Michele was a leather goods designer at Gucci before taking over as creative director following the departure of his predecessor Frida Giannini. He is credited with breathing new life into the house, and his feminine, vintage-inspired designs have inspired legions of fans around the world. JB

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

LOOK: Kendall Jenner’s mag cover displayed on Empire State bldg.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BTFrhPvDG4u/?taken-by=kendalljenner

Following her recent Pepsi advertisement wrangle, Kendall Jenner has moved on brandishing her newest achievement.

The 21-year-old supermodel gushed about her portrait screened on the iconic Empire State Building in celebration of Harper’s Bazaar’s 150th anniversary on Thursday (Wednesday in the US). Jenner, who shared the photo on her Instagram page, is the face of the fashion magazine’s May issue and her cover was flashed on the skyscraper’s facade.

In a similar Instagram post, Kendall’s mother and manager Kris Jenner expressed her “proud mom” moment upon sighting Kendall in the night sky.

“The moment when I looked out across the city and saw my daughter’s image on The Empire State Building…so breathtaking,” Kris captioned her post.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BS1LjRpj2we/?taken-by=kendalljenner

A slew of Hollywood A-Listers was also featured in the dazzling spectacle, such as Audrey Hepburn, Lauren Bacall, Gwen Stefani, Jennifer Aniston, Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor.

Earlier this month, Jenner starred in a commercial for soft drink titan Pepsi, which reaped a storm of backlash from social media users and activists of the “Black Lives Matter” movement. Pepsi pulled down the advertisement and Jenner, who was reportedly “traumatized” by the uproar, has kept mum on the issue.  Gianna Francesca Catolico /ra

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Clinton casts her ballot: ‘It is the most humbling feeling’

CHAPPAQUA, N.Y.  — Seeking to become the nation’s first female president, Hillary Clinton cast her ballot Tuesday and settled down to wait for the country to make its choice.

The Democratic nominee and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, voted at an elementary school near their home in suburban New York before greeting supporters waiting for her outside.

“It is the most humbling feeling,” she said of voting for herself for president. “I know how much responsibility goes with this.”

It was a relatively calm moment Tuesday compared with Clinton’s hectic final few days day on the campaign trail. The former secretary of state and New York senator dashed through battleground states, encouraged get-out-the-vote efforts and campaigned with a star-studded cast of celebrity supporters.

It was an election eve punctuated by an emotional rally in Philadelphia with her husband, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, as well as performances by Jon Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen, and capped by Lady Gaga, who serenaded thousands of supporters before the Clintons took the stage for a 1 a.m. rally in Raleigh, North Carolina. It ended with cheering fans greeting her at the airport back in New York when she landed in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

After the divisive rhetoric of the campaign against Republican Donald Trump, Clinton sought to offer a positive closing message on Monday. She told supporters in Pittsburgh they “can vote for a hopeful, inclusive, bighearted America.” In a buoyant mood, she also greeted voters who cried out “we love you,” smiling back: “I love you all, too … absolutely.”

Some good news boosted Clinton’s spirits in the final moments of the campaign. On Sunday, FBI Director James Comey sent a letter to Congress, informing lawmakers the bureau had found no evidence in its hurried review of newly discovered emails to warrant criminal charges against Clinton.

The late October announcement of a fresh email review rocked the race just as Clinton appeared to be pulling away from Trump in several battleground states. The update from the FBI may have come too late for some: In the nine days between Comey’s initial statement until his “all clear” announcement on Sunday, nearly 24 million people cast early ballots. That’s about 18 percent of the expected total votes for president.

But campaign aides projected confidence in the final moments. They said they felt good about Nevada, where they said support for Clinton in early voting was strong. They were encouraged by the strong Latino turnout in Florida and felt they took a strong lead in Michigan and Pennsylvania into Election Day, when the bulk of votes are cast in those states.

Leading up to Election Day, Clinton made stops in Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and New Hampshire — often flanked by star guests. Jay Z and Beyonce performed with pant-suited backup dancers in Cleveland. James Taylor serenaded New Hampshire voters and Katy Perry sang “Roar” in Philadelphia.

She also campaigned with Khizr Khan, the father of a slain U.S. Army officer whose indictment of Trump at the Democratic National Convention was an emotional high point for Clinton’s party.

Her last two days on the campaign trail felt almost like a Clinton family reunion, with some of her closest confidants jumping on the campaign plane for her final hours. Even Huma Abedin, her embattled personal aide caught up in the email controversy, jumped on the plane for the midnight rally in Raleigh. TVJ

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Last pieces of 9/11 rubble reach memorials

For six years, Amy Passiak oversaw the distribution of hundreds of objects from the World Trade Center in New York, a task she finished days before the 15th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

There was only a knot of people on July 27, in a corner of the cargo area at New York’s Kennedy airport, to help with the end of the adventure.

The last pieces from the Twin Towers still stored in Hangar 17, which had been exposed to the view of thousands, left under Passiak’s watchful eye.

For six years, she coordinated the distribution of almost 2,800 pieces under the control of the site’s owner, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Among them, there was no individual, personal object: a damaged police car, sunglasses sold at one of the stores in the building, but mostly massive objects, fragments of the destroyed skyscrapers in lower Manhattan.

There was a lot of steel, including several of the tridents, the distinctive forked steel structures on the facade at the base of the buildings, each weighing several dozen tons.

In 2009, the Port Authority decided to distribute the objects to non-profit organizations and government entities for use in public memorial projects.

Already working at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, Passiak was chosen to supervise the program.

Passiak, who is in her 30s and holds a master’s degree in museum studies, discovered a universe about which she knew almost nothing.

“I was a senior in high school in Michigan when 9/11 happened. I had never been to New York City,” she said.

Passiak had no close family connection to the victims of the attacks, or the police officers, firefighters and emergency personnel, nothing that could create a link, even an indirect one, with the attack.

“I didn’t have a real concept of what the World Trade Center was, where it was,” she added.

‘A lot of hugs’

Retrospectively, this distance perhaps allowed her to completely plunge into the task without feeling emotionally overwhelmed.

Since a little more than a year ago, the pace of the work has sharply slowed and Passiak is also handling other projects, but “for about four years, my life was September 11, which is crazy,” she said.


Generally, “I think that I’m a very emotionally steady person,” she said, “so I think that that actually helped with the job. I was able to remain calm.”

Passiak and the Port Authority approved the requests of 1,567 different groups across the United States, many of them fire and police departments, schools and cities.

Requests for objects also were approved for 10 foreign countries, including Canada, China, Germany and Italy. Despite its long ties with the US, France is missing from the list.

Each distribution was emotionally charged.

“I received a lot of hugs,” said Passiak, smiling.

“As the front person, you became part of that grieving process, almost like a pillar that they were able to identify and lean on.”

Passiak has now finished the project and said “it feels good” knowing that all the pieces went somewhere and the memorials were built.

“They weren’t giving it to individuals — they were giving it to groups of people that can process everything and interact together. That’s probably the element that I found most rewarding.”/rga

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Kanye’s lyrics about Taylor Swift ignite new controversy

NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Kanye West’s new album, “The Life Of Pablo,” has ignited a new controversy between the rapper and pop superstar Taylor Swift.

West debuted his album at the Yeezy Season 3 fashion show at Madison Square Garden in New York on Thursday. The album included a song called, “Famous,” in which he called the “Bad Blood” singer a “b—-” and said he made her famous.

On his Twitter account, he said the lyric was not an insult. “I did not diss Taylor Swift and I’ve never dissed her,” he wrote.

“I called Taylor and had a hour long convo with her about the line and she thought it was funny and gave her blessings,” he wrote.

Tree Paine, Swift’s publicist, said in a statement that West did not ask Swift for approval.

“Kanye did not call for approval, but to ask Taylor to release his single ‘Famous’ on her Twitter account,” the statement said. “She declined and cautioned him about releasing a song with such a strong misogynistic message. Taylor was never made aware of the actual lyric.”

West defended his use of the word “b—-,” saying it was an endearing term in hip hop.

Meanwhile, Swift’s friends have come to her defense on social media. Taylor Swift’s brother, Austin, posted an Instagram video of him throwing Yeezy shoes in a trashcan.

West famously interrupted Swift’s speech during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards when she won for best female video. But the two apparently put differences aside and she introduced him when he won the video vanguard award at the 2015 VMAs.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Three people test positive for Zika in New York

New York — Three people in New York have tested positive for the Zika virus, which has been blamed for a surge in babies born with abnormally small heads in Latin America, city officials said Friday.

All three had travelled to areas outside the United States where the mosquito-borne ailment is spreading rapidly, the New York State Department of Health said, without specifying where.

Officials said one person has completely recovered, while the others are still getting better.

US health authorities earlier on Friday expanded a travel warning for pregnant women to avoid 22 places in Latin America and the Caribbean due to the Zika virus.

It has been linked to thousands of cases of a birth defect known as microcephaly, when babies are born with abnormally small heads, which can cause brain damage.

New York authorities warned anyone contemplating travel to warmer regions to take care.

"We are urging residents, especially pregnant women, to check all health advisories before travelling and take preventive measures when travelling to affected countries," said New York State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker.

Women in these areas are urged to take measures to avoid mosquito bites, including wearing long sleeves and pants, and applying insect repellent. — Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

Boxing promo tour for Pacquiao in New York

Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao was in New york on Thursday (Philippine time) to promote his last boxing match that would be held in April this year.

At the press conference held in Madison Square Garden, where Pacquiao invited his fans to watch his last professional boxing match.

He was accompanied at the event by his coach Freddie Roach and his wife, Jinkee Pacquiao.

source: gmanetwork.com

Ghosts, bacon and creativity at NYC Halloween parade

NEW YORK - New York City's giant Halloween Parade brought thousands to the streets Saturday to celebrate the ghoulish and spooky—from Donald Trump to witches; from bacon to a pervert in training.

Organized on balmy autumnal night, it was the 42nd edition of a parade that marches up Sixth Avenue, and calls itself the largest celebration of its kind in the world.

Keeping it political, there were party goers dressed as Donald Trumps, the brash Republican contender for president, and a Hillary Clinton witch-puppet on a broomstick.

Keeping it sporting, revelers donned Mets hats or shirts in honor of the once-moribund New York team's place in the World Series, 30 years after it last clinched victory.

Rashers of bacon and posters proclaiming love for pork were also popular—just days after the United Nations warned the cured meats give you cancer.

But as befits the entertainment capital of the United States, it was above all a bonanza of pure creativity, style and sexual outrageousness.

"It's our Mardi Gras," said Catherine Schuller, an image consultant who teaches fashion and is friends with the organizers. "It's the ultimate creative expression, and this is what we do best."



Pediatrician Alon Leibovitz, 38, was one of those dressed as Trump, loathed by a swathe of Democratic New York for his bombastic style and opinions on immigration.

"There's not that many news stories," he said. "He's very funny," he told AFP, dressed in a grey suit, Trump blonde wig and Trump campaign trucker hat promising to "Make America Great Again.

Flasher

He strapped a giant plaster-cast penis to his crotch with the strapline "Obama You're Fired"—Trump's catchphrase as a reality TV star on "The Apprentice."

"It's so funny and the energy, you get together with your friends. You can be kids together," he said.

Graphic designer Mimi Flow said her bodysuit spider costume, which she made herself complete with elaborate web headpiece, was inspired by a vintage photo she found online from the 1920s.

A student, who gave his name as Richard Jones, came as a flasher in a black raincoat which he flung open to reveal a flashlight and Christmas-tree lights strapped to and flashing from his briefs.

"It's all about engaging people," he said leerily.

A New Jersey couple came as a pair of New York cops, wondering whether people might think they were real officers.

"We don't have the guns with us," explained chemical engineer Kaushal Sheth, explaining that no one had.

Husband and husband—both called Chris Jordan—dressed up as street fighters for their first parade since moving to New York from Colorado, and getting married.

"It's huge, it's awesome," said one of the Chrises, who works as a consultant.

"There are so many people. Everyone's so excited. And everyone's wearing costumes in the subway and no one cares."  — AFP

source: gmanetwork.com

New York governor orders more July Fourth security after alert

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday ordered heightened security measures across the state over the U.S. July Fourth holiday weekend in response to a call for vigilance by the federal government.

"We are keenly aware that New York State remains a top target for terrorists," Cuomo said in a statement.

The Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have issued an alert calling for local authorities and the public to remain vigilant for possible threats following recent calls for violence by Islamic State militants.

In New York City, the nation's largest municipal police force assigned about 7,000 officers and nearly all its counterterrorism personnel to handle security around Independence Day events.

Cuomo expanded the stepped-up security measures to include the entire state in a directive to the New York Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.

"In response to the warning by the federal government, New York State is taking steps to increase monitoring and communication with our local, state, and federal emergency management and law enforcement partners through the holiday weekend," Cuomo said.

The state's homeland security department also will increase the staff on Saturday at its 24-hour Emergency Operations Center and the New York State Watch Center, which monitors events across the state.

Last week, terror attacks in Tunisia, Kuwait and France prompted U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to issue a statement calling for increased vigilance over the patriotic holiday in the United States.

The French attack was on a U.S.-owned gas company.

Separately, State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement that diplomatic posts had been reminded to carry out routine security reviews several weeks before the holiday.

The reminder is "done before all major holidays, and is not indicative of any specific security threat," he said.

In Washington, nine security checkpoints will be set up to screen the tens of thousands of visitors expected for fireworks and festivities on the National Mall. Coolers, backpacks and packages are subject to inspection, and about 18,000 feet of chain link fencing will be installed, the National Park Service said.

The U.S. capital was jolted on Thursday by the false report of a gunman at the Navy Yard military base that triggered a massive security response.  — Reuters