The Wall Street Journal - 02.08.2019

A9A| Friday, August 2, 2019 ** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

New York City police arrested a suspect Thursday who is accused of dousing two Traffic Enforcement agents with water on July 24. Steven Larosa, 35 years old, of Brooklyn, was charged with misdemeanor harassment and obstructing governmental ad- ministration, said New York Police Department officials. The latter charge is a viola- tion, a type of offense that isn’t considered a crime. Mr. Larosa was being held Thursday afternoon in Man- hattan, awaiting arraignment.

The NYPD said it took Mr. Larosa into custody Thursday morning at his home without incident after receiving multiple tips from citizens who identified him in a video shared by police on social media that shows a man spraying two NYPD Traffic Enforcement agents with water from a bottle as they conducted a patrol on a Queens street. Mr. Larosa couldn’t be reached for comment. It wasn’t immediately known whether he had a lawyer. His arrest comes one day after two New York state Re- publican lawmakers an-

nounced a new bill to make dousing police officers with water a felony punishable by up to four years in prison. NYPD officials are also in- vestigating the soaking of two officers in Brooklyn on July 20 and two officers in Harlem on July 21. Police arrested a Brooklyn man in the July 20 incident, accusing him of splashing a bucket of water on an officer. Courtney Thompson faces misdemeanor charges for ob- struction of governmental ad- ministration and criminal nuisance, as well as a felony charge for criminal mischief,

stemming from damage to the officer’s body camera. He pleaded not guilty, according to his attorney, Doug-

las Rankin. Videos of the two earlier dousing incidents in July were widely viewed on social media,

prompting protest from the lo- cal police union and politi- cians about the treatment of law enforcement.

BYBENCHAPMAN

NYPD A man, alleged to beSteven Larosa, tossed water on NYPD Traffic Enforcement agents on July 24. The photo was taken from a surveillance video and officials blurred the faces of the officers.

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Vendors near Macy’s say they have been squeezed out of curb space by strategically placed benches, bike racks, potted plants and trash cans. Below, Yahay Rahimi, who runs a coffee cart, says he has been forced to relocate a block away, cutting into business.

JACKIE MOLLOY FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (2)

New York City principals will notify thousands of parents of young children that their classrooms had cracked, chipped or peeling paint that tested posi- tive for lead this summer, city officials said Thursday. In a round of inspections starting in June, contractors found lead in deteriorating paint in 938 public-school classrooms for children under 6 years old in 302 buildings, according to new Department of Education data. Its officials

BYLESLIEBRODY

GREATER NEW YORK

said these trouble spots will be fixed, typically by repaint- ing, before school opens in September. The release marks the department’s first public data on lead paint in classrooms, and was first reported by the news site Chalkbeat. The department inspected 5,408 classrooms of preschools and kindergartens after an in- vestigation by public radio sta- tion WNYC found evidence of lead-paint contamination in four public elementary schools. The agency said it would check first- grade rooms, too. Lead exposure is a particu- lar threat for young children because they are growing rap- idly and often put their hands in their mouths. It can delay their mental development and

may cause learning and behav- ior problems. For the first time, the De- partment of Education posted online a list of classrooms that need repairs, and said it would update this database three times a year. Custodians regularly do vi- sual inspections of walls and windowsills in schools serving children under 6 that were built before 1985, officials said. The purchase of lead paint was banned in 1960 but some cans might have been used afterward. When custodians find paint chipping, they order lead tests and repairs, school officials said. Some of the problems found may stem from end-of- year wear and tear, such as moving posters and furniture.

“Our schools are safe, and this summer we’ve enhanced our protocols and strength- ened communication with families around the steps we take to prevent lead exposure

for kids under 6,” said Miranda Barbot, a department spokeswoman. Morri Markowitz, a lead- poisoning expert at Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in the Bronx, said it is unclear how

long paint had been chipped before custodians noticed problems, and how well they were trained to detect risks. The department should test every classroom in older buildings for lead paint proactively, so they know where it is, rather than waiting for deteriorating paint to trigger a test, he said. “That way you can get rid of lead paint as the budget allows,” Dr. Markowitz said. Ms. Barbot said her agency is assessing that option. Parents should discuss with pediatricians whether to get blood tests for children who were in classrooms flagged for problems, Dr. Markowitz said. Parents who want their children to get free blood tests can call 311. The state requires all children to be tested for lead

poisoning at ages 1 and 2, and screened for risk up to age 6. Kristen Berger, a parent on the Community Education Council for Manhattan’s Dis- trict 3, where five schools had classrooms flagged for lead- paint problems, said the database is a useful tool, though the findings are alarming. “It’s a step towards trans- parency but we certainly want to know they’re generally in- specting and remediating across the board on a regular basis,” she said. Lead poisoning reports have dropped steadily in the city during the past decade. Preliminary health-department data says 3,866 city children under 6 had elevated blood lead levels in 2018, down from 13,951 children in 2010.

Hundreds of Classrooms Tainted by Lead

The toxin was found in paint in 302 public- school buildings used by children under 6

For the first time, New York City posted a list of areas that need repairs online.

nership said the sign was moved after it was damaged. In New York City, street vendors covet high-traffic spots. They compete for space both with pedestrians and store- fronts, sometimes leading to flare-ups. Tensions are expected to get worse due to a “master plan for the use of streets, side- walks, and pedestrian spaces” introduced in May by City Council Speaker Corey Johnson. The plan makes no mention of street vendors, who say their livelihoods should be incorpo- rated into the city’s vision.

started appearing exactly where they could cause maximum ag- gravation: A bike rack impeding a halal cart’s hitch, boulder- sized potted plants crowding out coffee and juice carts. Wahede Whab, who runs a fruit cart on the block that his father started in 1984, said in May a street sign owned by the partnership was moved 14 inches to a location that inter- fered with his cart’s location. He had to downsize his cart as a re- sult, he said. “I’m a fixture,” Mr. Whab said. “They hate that.” Daniel Biederman, presi- dent of the 34th Street Part- nership, said vendors are a nuisance and an eyesore. “Ask any business owner. They all hate the vendors,” he said. The street sign that im- peded Mr. Whab was moved at the request of the Department of Transportation, Mr. Bieder- man said. A spokeswoman for the transportation department said it had no record of such a request. In response, a spokesman for the 34th Street Part-

Separate legislation would lift limits that have applied to street vendors since 1983, when their numbers were cut from 12,000 to 3,000. A spokesman for Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city hopes for more diplomacy. “We are looking to balance the many demands on our already crowded street space—including amenities, safety infra- structure and vendors,” said Seth Stein, the spokesman. The 34th Street Partnership opposes the legislation, saying it believes the city should is- sue licenses to specific vend- ing locations to reflect their true market value. Christopher Zieger, the No- mad Tower’s property man- ager, deferred comment to the 34th Street Partnership. Meanwhile, Yahay Rahimi, who runs a coffee cart, said he has been forced to relocate a block away, halving his business. “It cannot be my job to fight this,” he said. “My job is my business.”

The east side of a Broadway block in Midtown Manhattan, steps away from Macy’s flag- ship store, has become a bat- tlefield in recent months be- tween street vendors and an office tower under renovation. The half-dozen vendors say they have been boxed out of precious curb space by strategically placed sidewalk amenities, including benches, bike racks, potted plants and trash cans, all provided by the 34th Street Partnership, a nonprofit private-management company serving as a business improve- ment district. The feuding grew worse when Visiting Nurse Service of New York, a home health-care provider, vacated 435, square feet at 1250 Broadway in late 2018, accelerating the 39- story building’s rebranding as Nomad Tower. Construction took up swaths of sidewalk, making it a scarcity for all involved. Vendors say amenities

BYRICHARDMORGAN

Vendors Square Off Against Developer

Man Arrested for Allegedly

Dousing NYPD Traffic Agents

Two members of the far- right group Proud Boys went on trial Thursday, accused of inciting a brawl after a 2018 speech by the organization’s founder at a New York City Republican club. John Kinsman and Maxwell Hare each face five charges, including attempted gang as- sault, for allegedly attacking members of Antifa, a self-described antifascist group that was protesting the Oct. 12 speech. Manhattan prosecutors said Mr. Kinsman and Mr. Hare were part of a group of Proud Boys members being escorted by New York Police Depart- ment officers to a subway sta- tion on the Upper East Side when the fight broke out. In his opening statement to a packed courtroom, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said police set up barricades to pro- vide the Proud Boys with safe passage. But its members evaded the barrier to attack the protesters, who also had circumvented the barriers and were chanting at the Proud Boys, the prosecutor said. “At worst, the Antifa members were verbally taunting the Proud Boys. And words alone do not justify violence,” Mr. Steinglass said in Manhat- tan Criminal Court. The brawl was caught on video and widely circulated on social media. Ten alleged members of the Proud Boys were indicted in connection with the fracas, including Mr. Kinsman and Mr. Hare. Most of the other men who were

charged pleaded guilty to lesser crimes. Mr. Kinsman, 39 years old, of Morristown, N.J., and Mr. Hare, 27, of Harrisburg, Pa., have pleaded not guilty and denied starting the fight. They each face charges that carry up to 15 years in prison. Mr. Steinglass said as the two groups squared off on East 82nd Street, Mr. Hare led the rush toward Antifa members, sparking a fight that involved more than a dozen people. In their opening state- ments, defense lawyers said members of Antifa incited the attack by threatening violence multiple times in the lead-up to the event and by throwing a bottle at the Proud Boys. “These are no ordinary in- dividuals,” Jack Goldberg, a lawyer for Mr. Kinsman, said of Antifa. “These are people wearing masks, dressed in black, and throwing an ob- ject.” Ronald Paul Hart, an attorney representing Mr. Hare, said the prosecution’s case “is nothing more than an exagger- ation of the evidence” and that nobody was hurt in the conflict. “The evidence is going to show that this was nothing more than what could be best described as a schoolyard brawl,” Mr. Hart said. The trial is set to resume Monday. Gavin McInnes, the Proud Boys founder who gave the Oct. 12 speech at the Metro- politan Republican Club, has since left the group. He de- clined to comment on the charges facing Mr. Kinsman and Mr. Hare.

BYTYLERBLINT-WELSH ANDBENCHAPMAN

Far-Right Group

Members Go on

Trial Over Brawl

NY

The Wall Street Journal - 02.08.2019

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