New York Post, Saturday, November 14, 2020
nypost.com
A northern Virginia banker
who admitted illegally re-
ceiving $1.4 million in fraud-
ulently obtained coronavirus
relief funds has been sen-
tenced to a year in prison.
Tarik Jaafar, 43, was ar-
rested in June at JFK Airport
after purchasing one-way
tickets to Poland. Authori-
ties say he and his wife had
18 bags of luggage and nearly
$50,000 in cash with them.
He admitted filing 18 differ-
ent loan applications using
various shell companies un-
der a federal program meant
for businesses struggling un-
der the pandemic. APJail for viral-$$
bank fraudster
Ice Cube will be a head-
line speaker at the annual
gala of the Zionist Organi-
zation of America — the na-
tion’s oldest pro-Israel
group — after he was called
out for sharing anti-Semitic
images earlier this year.
“ ‘I gotta say it was a good
day’ when my friend Cube
readily and happily agreed
to speak at our ZOA Gala,”
ZOA president Morton
Klein said in a statement,
quoting one of the rap-
per’s best known hits.
The 51-year-old activ-
ist and Klein forged a
friendship after Cube
(above) was accused of
anti-Semitism in June
when he shared a string of
images and memes ampli-
fying anti-Jewish tropes
including a Star of David
enveloping a black cube.
Klein reached out and
the pair had a two-hour
conversation where they
both disavowed racism,
Klein said.
“We both grew up poor in
Black hoods. Cube told me
he thanked Jews for starting
NAACP,” Klein wrote.
Ebony BowdenIce warms
to Jewish
‘ZOA’ gala
By DOREE LEWAKIt’s war out there — at
least when it comes to
street parking.
A physical fight over a
parking spot Thursday
morning led to an arrest on
the Upper West Side — just
the latest spat among the
nabe’s surge in quality-of-
life issues, including aggres-
sive jockeying for increas-
ingly scarce parking spots.
Thanks to reduced alter-
nate-side parking and an
overflow of outdoor dining,
road rage is running high.
On Thursday, videos taken
by a resident showed park-
ing pugilists clashing over a
spot, resulting in an arrest
on assault charges.
Jason Haber filmed the
ugly twin scenes on West
74th Street, depicting two
near-simultaneous melees
when alternate-side rules
came into effect on Thurs-
day morning.
“It truly is prison rules out
there on alt-side parking
days,” Haber told The Post.
“This was the worst that I’ve
seen, and it was made more
intense by the fact that two
fights broke out just 30 feet
from each other.”
He’s never seen this vol-
ume of anger on his street.
“Every once in a while,
you see a parking ruckus,
but never two right next to
each other,” said the long-
time Upper West Sider.
He said one fight broke
out after a driver was forced
to vacate his spot during the
street sweep and another
driver swooped in before he
could reclaim his spot.
The other fight began
with heated yelling and
soon intensified. Haber be-
lieved “both fights were
triggered by the street
sweeper moving through —
that’s also why they started
at the same time.”
The second fight ended
with an arrest. A bystander
said he ran over to break upThe new
rAge Of
PArkIng
Fights for spots grow
the fight he saw unfolding.
“I saw two guys were argu-
ing, and it got physical. I
didn’t want the fight to con-
tinue, so I went over to sepa-
rate them,” Efraim Martinez,
48, told The Post. He said he
saw the older of the two
men blow cigar smoke in the
face of the other, escalating
the argument.
“That’s when they started
wrestling... and the
younger guy eventually
threw the punch,” Martinez
said. He and another friend
tried to break the pair apart,
but the police had already
been called.
An NYPD spokesperson
confirmed that a 58-year-
old male was punched in
the face during an argument
over a parking spot and hit
in the left eye. Jonathan
Reiner, 46, was arrested and
charged with assault. He
was released with a desk
appearance ticket.
Melanie Wesslock, an Up-
per West Side photogra-
pher, said of the tense and
competitive parking cul-
ture, “I mean, it’s downright
violent out there on [alter-
nate-side] parking days.”
Haber added. “[Friday]
morning from 9 to 10:
a.m., it’s my turn. Hopefully
I don’t end up in the back of
an ambulance.”
Additional reporting by
Craig McCarthyDrive-by Shouting:
A fight recently erupted
over a parking spot on
West 74th Street.Seasons greenings
You’re a green one, all right, Kylie Jenner, showing off your Grinchy
side on Instagram. In addition to teasing us with her sexy ensemble
and killer nails, the supermodel teased Thursday with the caption,
“can you guess the theme of my holiday collection this year...
reveal coming TOMORROW.” And wouldn’t you know, on Friday the
Kardashian clan member, posted: “WOW ♥ MY GRINCH X KYLIE
HOLIDAY COLLECTION LAUNCHES 11.19!” Who but you, Kylie!Instagram