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New York Post
2 days ago
- General
- New York Post
Inside ‘busy season' for hero local Coast Guard crew
These boots-on-the-ground rescues start from thousands of feet in the air. The busy season is just ramping up for the US Coast Guard's Air Station Atlantic City crew, which patrols the skies and conducts search-and-rescue operations from the Long Island Sound to the Chesapeake Bay, crew members told The Post in an exclusive interview Monday. Advertisement 'It was kind of a slow start to our busy season … but it's been picking up lately,' said Cmdr. Randall Slusher, a pilot whose team's coastal coverage includes that of the Big Apple, Jersey Shore and Long Island almost daily. 7 Coast Guard pilots Randy Slusher (left) and Tyler Smith of Air Sation Atlantic City pose after flying up the Jersey Shore to Manhattan on Monday. Aristide Economopoulos He said the colder spring months staved off droves of recreational boaters until after Memorial Day weekend — then all heck broke loose. Advertisement 'There's a lot of people out on the water this time of year, all trying to use the same space,' Slusher said. 'We'll have everything from boat crashes to jet skis getting stuck to people in the water, especially when riptides are heavy.' The eight-chopper fleet's more dramatic search-and-rescue operations involve crew members using giant baskets and slings to hoist people to safety while also regularly picking up and flying cruise-ship passengers for emergency medical treatment. It's not uncommon for training crews to be diverted to rescue missions while in the air, either. During Manhattan's Fleet Week in May, the team's own demonstration was diverted for an actual offshore search mission. Advertisement And 'last year, we had a case where the crew was doing a normal training on Saturday morning and upon coming back, saw someone … in the water, and we pulled him out,' pilot Lt. Tyler Smith said. 7 Petty Officer Adam Timberlake, a flight mechanic, makes adjustments while flying over the Hudson River. Aristide Economopoulos 'We've recently had a few cases where you're flying around and seeing someone clinging to a boat or clinging into a jet ski,' Smith said. He said one of his most memorable saves involved rescuing two boaters in February when their vessel capsized off the coast of Staten Island, killing three other passengers. Advertisement The air station also assisted in search and rescue operations during the Baltimore bridge disaster in March. 'When you have to rescue people that really need help, it's hard to beat that — it's a rewarding experience,' Slusher said. 7 'I think our mission is so unique: We're a military branch, and lifesaving is our goal,' Timberlake told The Post. Aristide Economopoulos The jumpsuit-clad heroes provide air space security during presidential travel and major tri-state area events such as United Nations summits, too. In the wintertime, the crew even provides aid to duck hunters who frequently get stuck on the water, Slusher said. Jet ski incidents in particular have exploded recently, he said. Last week, the crew hoisted two jet skiers stuck in South Jersey marshland. 7 Slusher (left) and Smith return to Air Station Atlantic City after flying their MH-65 Dolphin helicopter. Aristide Economopoulos Slusher said one memorable incident occurred in 2016 when a pair of New Jersey teens stole their parents' jet skis and took them for a joy ride through the mud. Advertisement 'The cabin of the helicopter was a [muddy] disaster,' Smith recalled of the teens' rescue. 'I think they took a shower … and we gave them clothes so their mom could come pick them up.' False-alarm and prank distress calls are unfortunately a regular issue the crew has to deal with, too, he said. Prank calls can happen multiple times a week, but the crew still must treat every instance as if it were a real emergency, Slusher said. 7 Coast Guard rescue swimmer Hunter Ruddell, 24, talks about how he saved an elderly couple and their two dogs from a marooned boat in November. Aristide Economopoulos Advertisement 'We spend a lot of time flying on those,' he said. 'Very rarely is it actually someone in distress.' Petty Officer Adam Timberlake, a flight mechanic who inspects the crew's choppers before and after each flight, said, 'I think our mission is so unique: We're a military branch, and lifesaving is our goal.' For 24-year-old helicopter rescue swimmer Hunter Ruddell, his first two years on the team have been nothing short of eventful. 7 Ruddell rescued a seasick boater from choppy Long Island Sound waters on Oct. 7 before driving the boat back to shore himself. Courtesy of Hunter Ruddell Advertisement In October, Ruddell drove a distressed boater in the Long Island Sound back to shore after the boat's operator fell ill and his ship was taking on water, he said. The rescue operation also doubled as the first time Ruddell had ever operated a boat. 7 Ruddell (right) and his colleagues rescued two adults and their two dogs in the Chesapeake Bay in November. Courtesy of Hunter Ruddell 'I had no idea how to drive a boat, I was just holding onto the steering wheel making sure we were going in the right direction,' the Florida native said. 'But the crazy thing is … I didn't have my phone, so I just followed my [smart] watch the entire time. Advertisement 'There's crazy days, but it's really fun,' he added. Roughly a month after the Long Island rescue, Ruddell and his crew members pulled two elderly boaters and their two dogs to safety after they were beached for hours in rising tides on Maryland's Chesapeake Bay. '[The boat operator] wasn't following the correct path, and they got caught at low tide,' he said. 'Everyone was alright, but they would've gotten hypothermia if they were there for much longer. 'You can't really train for the cases that you're gonna get,' Ruddell said. 'You really have to adapt, and overcome the cases that you do get.'
New York Post
16-07-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Iconic NYC diner from ‘Taxi Driver' to close as ‘spirit' of old Meatpacking District vanishes forever
An iconic Meatpacking District diner featured in the movie 'Taxi Driver' will shut down as part of a deal with the city – as locals said the 'spirit' of old New York is slowly vanishing. Hector's Cafe and Diner, a 76-year-old eatery tucked under the High Line, will shutter on Friday after the local butchers that supply the eatery struck a deal to pack up so the city can build affordable housing and public space on the block. 6 Hector's Cafe & Diner has served breakfast and lunch to local workers for nearly 80 years in the Meatpacking District. Aristide Economopoulos 'If we were making money, we'd be kicking and screaming,' owner Nick Kapelonis told The Post, 'but we're just barely surviving. 'We know everyone by first name, last name, the kids, their parents,' Kapelonis, 55, added. 'People come by in their 60s and 70s and say, 'my grandfather brought me here.'' Butchers from the Gansevoort Market co-op, which Hector's is a part of, 'elected' to vacate last August as part of an agreement with the city and the New York City Economic Development Corporation. The city is looking to make way for its Gansevoort Square development, a 66,000-square-foot project complete with mixed-income housing, public open space and an expansion of the Whitney Museum of American Art and the High Line. 6 'If we were making money, we'd be kicking and screaming,' owner Nick Kapelonis, 55 (center) said, 'but we're just barely surviving.' Aristide Economopoulos The EDC plans to select a developer for the housing site by the end of 2025, and for the city's land use review process to be completed by 2027, a rep told The Post. A City Hall spokesperson said the administration has 'worked closely with the site's current tenant who decided it was time to leave and make way for what's to come — a 24/7 community and cultural hub where New Yorkers will come to live, work, play, and learn.' 6 Busboy Marcus Vasquez peers through a window from the kitchen to the dining room. Aristide Economopoulos Even though Hector's has an active lease until 2033, the owner said the business never fully recovered from COVID — and a decline in tourism and reduced foot traffic from both daytime butchers and late night partygoers all served as writing on the wall. But locals couldn't believe the old-school spot would soon be no more. 'There's really no [other] breakfast around here,' said diner regular Tony Melis, an electrician who has worked at the High Line for five years. 'We always come here for lunch … sometimes they give you a discount if you bought a meal,' he added. 'Every time a store has a guy come fix something, where do they go to eat? Right here.' 6 Waitress Miriam Morales (center) takes a breakfast order at the diner Tuesday morning. Aristide Economopoulos Hector's Cafe & Diner opened in 1949, joining more than a half-dozen coffee shops around the neighborhood servicing hundreds of local butchers, before it was sold in 1984 to Kapelonis' family. The site remained a local staple for decades and even appeared in Martin Scorsese's classic 'Taxi Driver' as well as 'Perfect Murder' and multiple 'Law & Order' episodes. 6 Cook Baldomero Pas lays out a breakfast dish for the waiter to take at Hector's Cafe & Diner. Aristide Economopoulos 'We're losing the spirit of New York,' said diner patron Jane Aiello, 45, who grew up in the neighborhood. 'It's completely gentrified. Affordability is out the window. Places like this, are a dying breed.' 6 Susan Stockdale, 80, told The Post she was glad to have visited the diner before it closed. Aristide Economopoulos Kapelonis noted Hector's story may not be over yet — and, after a much-needed 'break' during the summer, he will be scouting locations in Manhattan for another outpost. 'We're going to take a break and we're trying to find another location,' he said. 'Rents are horrendous, so it's a whole different ballgame to get acquainted with. 'Just give us a little time.'
New York Post
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Fire-spewing instruments on display in Brooklyn
Shooting off pyrotechnics at a concert may be nothing new, but a music event where the instruments belch fire is certainly unique. Fire the Band performed both Friday and Saturday night at Brooklyn's Chocolate Factory, a warehouse space on Scott Avenue in East Williamsburg as part of their Mechasonic Sessions. Dozens of artists came together for these sonic experimental collaborations, producing a storm of sound, pulsating light, and yes, fire. 6 Ellena Phillips sings and performs her fire harp Friday night. Aristide Economopoulos 6 Jack Atkinson, right, uses a grinder during a performance. Aristide Economopoulos 'It's basically to give musicians and artists a way to do things that they couldn't do in any other environment,' explained Stefan Zeniuk, Fire The Band's musical director. 'It's for artist and musicians, by artists and musicians to do things they couldn't do in other shows or environments.' The event, the fourth of its kind, was organized for 'exploring how much further musical experiences can [go] for the audience,' Zenuik added, 'but also for the performers and for people that are maybe not professional musicians, but are incredible thinkers and dreamers. And so we have endless ideas and text threads that just spiral into wild concepts. 6 Fire The Band use a small stream of propane gas to create the fire coming out of their brass instruments. Aristide Economopoulos 6 Trombonist Chris Cortier is seen performing Friday. Aristide Economopoulos 'We keep trying to explore new ways that they can happen, you know? Lots of new noises. We like to come up with lots of new noises.' Horn player Chris Cortier's trombone shoots fire thanks to a propane system. 6 Fire the Band performed in Brooklyn to a mesmerized crowd. Aristide Economopoulos 6 Stefan Zeniuk, the musical director of Fire the Band, left, is the conductor for the evening. Aristide Economopoulos The last event was staged two years ago, and attracted 600 people — and the FDNY. Boasted Zeniuk: 'Zero injuries to date.'
New York Post
24-06-2025
- Climate
- New York Post
NYC grapples with historic heat wave as temps surpass 100
Coney Island resident Chrystelle Davis makes sure her dog Luigi Cohart is kept cool while on the boardwalk in Coney Island. Aristide Economopoulos FDNY members Anthony Rizzo, front and Roman Roumiantsev of Ladder 166 in Coney Isalnd cool off after working a fire. Aristide Economopoulos A person walking with an umbrella in Midtown. Billy Becerra/NY Post A woman inside a tent on Coney Island. Aristide Economopoulos A man squints at the sun. AP Coney Island Lifeguard Nnaemeka Okoli looks over bathers in the water during a heat wave. Aristide Economopoulos A Black Bear cooling off in the water at the Bronx Zoo. Robert Miller A worker splashes water on their face ahead of the opening of the pool at the new Davis Center. Michael Nagle Bed–Stuy resident David sells his umbrella hats for $5 at Coney Island. Aristide Economopoulos People on the beach in Coney Island. Aristide Economopoulos People cross the Brooklyn Bridge during the heat wave. AP A woman takes a bite of an ice cream cone during the heatwave. AP NYC Lifeguard Sam Artov, who is starting his 5th season as a lifeguard in Coney Island, looks over the crowd in the water from his stand. Aristide Economopoulos A man using an outdoor shower at Coney Island. Aristide Economopoulos Alison Mortier, a vistor from Belgium, finding some shade in Columbus Park. William Farrington A family cools off on the Brooklyn waterfront. AP People cool off in the waters in Coney Island, Brooklyn. Aristide Economopoulos A man reads a newspaper while sunbathing in Washington Square Park. AFP via Getty Images A digital thermometer at a bus stop in Midtown, Manhattan. Billy Becerra/NY Post A Swan at the Bronx Zoo during the heat wave. Robert Miller A woman cools off with a portable fan while walking in Midtown during the heatwave. AP Aaron Miles, a fashion designer, cools off in the Washington Square Park fountain on Tuesday, June 24, 2025 in New York City. Michael Nagle
Forbes
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
Highs And Lows Possible For Women Governors In The Next Two Years
ELIZABETH, NJ - MAY 24 - Democratic candidate for Governor Rep. Mikie Sherrill attends a Latinos for ... More Mikie event at the Rancho Mateo restaurant. (Aristide Economopoulos For The Washington Post via Getty Images) Three of four gubernatorial nominees in 2025 are women. Current U.S. Representative Mikie Sherrill secured the Democratic nomination for New Jersey Governor last week and former U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger (D) and current Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears (R) cleared their fields ahead of today's Virginia state primary contests. If Sherrill is successful in November, the number of women governors could match the record high of 14, set for the first time for a brief period in January 2025. But maintaining that level of representation—still far short of parity with men—might prove difficult as half of the current women governors will be leaving office by 2027. Women's political representation is especially stark at the gubernatorial level. According to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, 51 women have served as governors in 32 states; 18 states have never been led by a woman. And women's gubernatorial representation has never exceeded 28%. The number of women governors serving simultaneously jumped from nine to 12 as a result of the 2022 elections, when the number of women candidates and nominees for governor reached record highs. In 2024, when just 11 states held gubernatorial elections, former U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) was the only woman winner. The 2025 gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia could double that number and mark multiple milestones. Apart from matching a record number of women governors nationwide, the 2025 contests will yield the first woman governor of Virginia. Earle-Sears could also become the nation's first Black women governor. In 2011, Susana Martinez (R-NM) became the first Latina and Nikki Haley (R-SC) became the first South Asian woman governor in the U.S. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) became the first Latina Democrat and just the third woman of color to serve as governor in 2019. To date, no Black, Native, or Middle Eastern/North African woman has held gubernatorial office. Women's gubernatorial representation matters beyond the numbers. The presence of women in states' top executive office has both symbolic and substantive implications. Scholars Christina Ladam, Jeffrey Hardin, and Jason Windett find, for example, that the presence of high-profile women officeholders—including women governors—positively affects the numbers of women running for the legislature in that state. Other researchers have found that women governors, more than their male counterparts, are associated with drops in CO2 emissions, greater attention to social welfare policies, and swifter and more aggressive reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic. The broader literature on women officeholders' impact demonstrates how the distinct and diverse lived experiences of women contribute to the difference they can make when in positions of political power. Women governors are also especially poised to be considered as presidential contenders. Of the 45 men who have served as president, 17 previously served as state governors. More than 20 U.S. governors (former and current) were major-party candidates in the past three presidential elections. Among them is just one woman—former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who sought the 2024 Republican nomination. Increasing the number of women state executives creates a fuller pathway to a woman president. Serving as a state's top executive provides potential women presidential contenders with executive skills and experience, statewide and national recognition, and substantive leadership records that can match voter expectations for the country's commander in chief. Seeing these benefits of women's gubernatorial representation is more difficult when the number of women governors drops, which is possible as a result of election 2026. Five of 12 current women governors are term-limited in 2026, and another—Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds (R)—has already announced that she will not seek re-election. The remaining women governors currently serving are up for re-election in what is expected to be another competitive election year. Only the women (or woman) who win in 2025 are assured their offices in 2027. Already, multiple non-incumbent women have announced their 2026 bids for governor, supplying a pool of candidates that could curb a possible loss in women's gubernatorial representation in 2027. This includes women running in states where incumbent women governors are departing. An early poll finds Secretary of State Joceyln Benson is favored in the 2026 Democratic gubernatorial primary in Michigan, where current Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) is ineligible to run for re-election. Two prominent women officeholders—Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and former Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives Hannah Pingree—have already declared candidacy in Maine's Democratic primary to replace incumbent, and term-limited, Governor Janet Mills (D). Last week, state Senator Cindy Holscher became the first Democrat to declare candidacy to replace Kansas Governor Laura Kelly (D), and at least two women—former state Representative Charlotte O'Hara and Stacy Rogers—are running for the Republican nomination. In Iowa, where Governor Kim Reynolds (R) is not seeking re-election, multiple women have either declared candidacy or expressed they might, including Republican Attorney General Brenna Bird and Julie Stauch, a longtime Democratic operative. In New Mexico, former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (D) has launched her bid to succeed term-limited Governor Michelle Lujan-Grisham (D). Haaland, who was one of the first two Native women elected to Congress, would—if successful—become the first Native woman governor in the U.S. In Georgia, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) has announced her bid to become the first woman governor of her state. She would also be, if Earle-Sears is unsuccessful in 2025, the first Black woman governor nationwide. Former Vice President Kamala Harris (D), who could mark that same milestone, has reportedly told supporters that she will make her decision on whether or not to run for Governor of California by the end of summer, potentially joining a Democratic primary field that already includes multiple prominent women officeholders. The future for women's gubernatorial representation will include both gains and losses, but the magnitude of each rise or fall is yet to be determined. At the least, we know that women will be a key part of the story in the next two years of gubernatorial elections, and their success may well influence the forecasting of who will—or should—run for president in 2028.
