New York Post, Tuesday, August 27, 2019nypost.com15Award-winning Chef José
Andres and his Hudson Yards
food court, Mercado Little
Spain, are facing a class-action
suit filed by a bartender who
says she wasn’t paid enough.
The Manhattan federal
suit, filed by Tina Braunstein
Monday, accuses Andres of
underpaying employees.
Andres did not respond to
a request for comment.
Emily SaulPaid too ‘Little’
at Hudson Yards
Israeli drones bombed a
Palestinian base in eastern
Lebanon early Monday amid
rising tensions between the
Iran-backed Hezbollah
movement in Lebanon and
the Jewish state.
The strike came a day after
an alleged Israeli drone hit a
stronghold of the militant
group in southern Beirut
while another crashed and
exploded nearby.
Lebanese President Michel
Aoun told the UN’s special
coordinator for the nation,
Jan Kubis, that the attacks in
the Dahyeh suburbs and in
the Bekaa Valley violate a Se-
curity Council resolution
that ended the 2006 war be-
tween Israel and Hezbollah.
“What happened is equal to
a declaration of war and gives
us the right to defend our
sovereignty, independenceand the safety of our land,”
Aoun said. “We are people
who seek peace and not war,
and we don’t accept that any-
one threatens us through any
means.”
On Sunday, Hezbollah
leader Sayyed Hassan Nasral-
lah issued the toughest
threats to Israel in years and
said the drones had launched
a “new phase.”
Yaron Steinbuch, WiresIsrael bombs ‘Hez’ base in Leb
A Spanish endurance ath-
lete has become the first
man to paddleboard across
the Pacific Ocean — an epic
2,900-mile solo voyage
from San Francisco to Ha-
waii lasting 76 days.
Antonio de la Rosa, 50, ar-
rived on the shores of Ho-
nolulu on Saturday morning
and described the journey
as one of “absolute loneli-
ness and self sufficiency” —
using nothing but elbow
grease to move the 24-foot
stand-up paddleboard.
The adventurer slept in a
cabin aboard his custom-
made paddleboard with 90
days’ worth of food and
spent his 50th birthday
chartering the vast sea.
He completed the journey
solo and did not see an-
other soul for more than
two months after paddling
away from San Francisco on
June 9. Ebony BowdenPaddling across Pacific
More accusers will bring
lawsuits against the estate of
pedophile Jeffrey Epstein on
Tuesday, their lawyer said
Monday, at the same time that
a judge is expected to close
the criminal case against him.
Manhattan federal Judge
Richard Berman ordered a
hearing Tuesday in response
to prosecutors’ request that
he dismiss a sex-trafficking
case against Epstein, who
died Aug. 10.
The city medical examiner
has ruled that Epstein
hanged himself in his jail cell.
Berman’s letter indicated
he wanted to give a chance
for prosecutors, defense at-
torneys and accusers’ law-
yers to address the court be-
fore he formally closes the
case.
Firebrand attorney Gloria
Allred told The Post she’ll
appear at the courthouse
Tuesday with women who
plan to file suits against Ep-
stein’s estate. She declined to
elaborate.
Accuser attorneys Brad Ed-
wards and Stan Pottinger
also plan to attend, the Daily
Beast reported.
“Regardless of the number
of people who appear, the in-
vitation for victims to be
present and participate is
very important, not only for
the victims of Jeffrey Epstein,
but for crime victims gener-
ally,” Edwards, who’s repre-
sented Epstein victims for
more than a decade, told the
news site.
Prosecutors allege he sexu-
ally abused dozens of minor
girls at his Upper East Side
mansion and in his water-
front compound in Palm
Beach, Fla.
US Attorney Geoffrey Ber-
man has said his office is still
investigating the case.
Emily Saul
More sex
suits vs.
‘Epstein’
APBy LARRY CELONA
and CRAIG McCARTHYThe number of arrests and
criminal summonses handled
by city cops last week plum-
meted compared to the same
period in 2018 — and law-en-
forcement sources warn it’s the
“Pantaleo Effect.’’
Officer Daniel Pantaleo (far
right) was fired by NYPD Com-
missioner James O’Neill on
Aug. 19 over his role in
the fatal take-down of
Staten Island cigarette
peddler Eric Garner
(inset), enraging po-
lice officers and
their union leaders,
who argue the cop
was simply doing his
job during an arrest.
Police Benevolent
Association chief Pat-
rick Lynch responded by
angrily telling his members
to “proceed with the utmost
caution’’ when answering calls
— and new statistics obtained
by The Post on Monday suggest
officers are heeding his warning.
Arrests dropped 27 percent
between Aug. 19 — the day Pan-
taleo was fired — and Aug. 25
compared to the same period in
2018, with police making 3,
busts compared to 4,827.The number of criminal sum-
monses issued fell nearly 29
percent over the same period,
going from 1,655 to 1,181, the fig-
ures show.
Multiple law-enforcement
sources told The Post that
while there is no organized
slowdown, cops on the street
clearly feel that the depart-
ment doesn’t have their
backs, so why should they
needlessly put themselves
on the line?
“Who wants to be the
last cop standing?” a
Manhattan cop said.
“If someone’s in
trouble and needs
help or if a cop’s in
trouble, obviously,
you do what you
have to do as a police
officer. But if it’s dis-
cretionary, why put
yourself in harm’s way?’’
An NYPD supervisor in
Brooklyn said, “Of course it has
to do with what happened to
Pantaleo — cops are frustrated,
upset. They feel they don’t have
the backing of downtown, Police
Headquarters and City Hall.
“It all goes back to cops feel-
ing like they’re out on the
street alone.’’
A Bronx cop said the stats are
lower partly because officersare taking more time with calls
after Pantaleo.
“They want to be more care-
ful. They have to protect them-
selves because no one else is
going to protect them,’’ the
source said.
The Manhattan source said
Garner’s case would never have
happened today — because the
city has told officers to back
down on making such quality-
of-life busts.
The Police Department saidin a statement, “The brave
women and men who joined the
NYPD did so with a solemn
promise to help people, to fight
crime, and to keep New York
City safe.
“These dedicated officers
practice precision policing —
focusing on the offenders who
commit crimes, not the accu-
mulation of raw numbers.”
Additional reporting by Tina
Moore
[email protected]percent over the same period,
going from 1,655 to 1,181, the figMultiple lawenforcement
sources told The Post that
while there is no organized
slowdown, cops on the streetbacks, so why should they
needlessly put themselves“Who wants to be the
last cop standing?” a
Manhattan cop said.Fewer busts since
Garner cop axed