Neighborhood News Check
Felonies Spike Along Park
While crime has gone down in most of the city, there has been a notable increase in crime along the borders of the city's parks. James Fayette and his son were among the five people stabbed by a man with scissors in Riverside Park last year. "We live in a broken world," he said. "What happened to me in the park could have happened in the suburbs of Connecticut. It could have happened anywhere." In the city's biggest parks there has been a 28.8% increase in grand larceny and a whopping 114% increase in rape. Wall Street Journal
Couple Sues to Remove Son From Apartment
An elderly couple on the Upper West Side recently filed a suit to remove their 50-year-old son from their apartment. The son, Leonard Daniels, suffers from multiple personality disorder and has apparently been harassing neighbors and has had a physical altercation with the building's manager. The couple, Michael and Sara Daniels, have lived in the rent-controlled apartment since 1963, but the board threatened to evict if they didn't remove their son. "They're obviously conflicted about doing this but they've tried many times to reason with him but it doesn't really seem to work," said the Daniels' lawyer Barry Schwartz. "He yells, screams, accosts board members, threatens them verbally, threatens them physically. It's a bad situation." NY Post
DA to Decide on 84-Year-Old's Jaywalking Charge
On January 19th, Kang Chun Wong was arrested and charged with jaywalking, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. Wong didn't know English and was confused about why police were being aggressive with him. The DA has yet to decide whether or not they are going to press charges on the man. "We're confident the DA's office will do the right thing," said one of Wong's supporters, Cathy Dang. She noted that "jaywalking is part of the culture" in New York City. NY Daily News
High End Recycling Bins Make Debut
State-of-the-art recycling bins made their debut earlier this month on the Upper West Side. The bins have magnets on their doors that force the bins closed if the latch is left open. Each bin costs $1,050 apiece, but the Sanitation Department believes it will be worth the price. "In New York City, people are only [recycling] about 15 percent [of their waste]," Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty explained. "If they think about it here, hopefully they'll do it at home. Hopefully it will sink in." DNAinfo.com
Possible Changes For 72nd and 79th Streets
The Department of Transportation is making plans to help two of the city's worst spots for pedestrians and bicyclists. On 72nd Street they have planned to extend the curbs, reducing the crosswalk by 52 feet to Riverside Park. On 79th Street the city plans to create new signals, crosswalks and extend the bike lanes near the Northbound Henry Hudson parkway. West Side Rag