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CBS News
5 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Days of housing discrimination complaints sent to the "Twilight Zone" are over, new NYS Human Rights commissioner says
Have you ever complained to a government agency and wondered what it did with your complaint? A CBS News New York investigation last year revealed that one New York state agency left complaints languishing in a filing cabinet called the "Twilight Zone." Reporter Tim McNicholas recently followed up with the state to ask what improvements have been made. "The Twilight Zone ended March 18 when I arrived here," Human Right Commissioner Denise Miranda said. Miranda wasn't talking about the hit 1960s science fiction television series. She was actually referring to last year's government audit that found the Human Rights Division failed to properly investigate housing-related discrimination complaints, and instead left them languishing in a filing cabinet labeled with the show's name. State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli revealed that name in an exclusive interview with CBS News New York. "With that kind of a label, it kind of reinforces what some people's worst opinion of what government bureaucracy is about," DiNapoli said. The comptroller's report also offered a series of recommendations, from training improvements to identifying reasons for delays. Miranda said her team has implemented all of those recommendations. "It is a new day for the Division of Human Rights," Miranda said. The audit, which was conducted before Miranda became commissioner, also found the agency often failed to complete investigations within 100 days, as required by law. Miranda says after she took over, she made major personnel changes, added 50 new investigators, and will soon launch a call center that lets New Yorkers talk to a live agent. The complaints are often from tenants accusing a landlord or broker of discriminating against them. "Clearly, there were issues and we wanted to make sure New Yorkers were going to have the opportunity to file those complaints, and so we have completely revamped our intake process for complaint filing, that includes a brand new intake unit, that also includes updating our online form," Miranda said. Miranda said she is already seeing improvements, including a 70% increase in closed cases, from 222 at this time last year to 379 so far this year. George Haddad of the Hudson Valley Justice Center represents people in housing-related discrimination complaints. "I am optimistic," Haddad said. "It just seems like they're getting a response quicker, at least about initial documents that the intake unit needs. and it looks like the complaints are being organized in a way where it doesn't get lost in the Twilight Zone." "We're going to continue to prioritize this. This is not a one-day fix. But I'm very proud of the improvement we've made over time," Miranda said. New Yorkers say they hope the improvements continue, and the days of the Twilight Zone stay far away, lost in another dimension.
9 News
7 days ago
- 9 News
Man in custody after baby girl thrown down garbage chute in New York
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here A one-year-old girl is recovering after being thrown down a garbage chute on Staten Island, New York on Monday, police said. Investigators say the child's father called 911 about 3.15pm local time and officers quickly responded to an apartment building at 195 Steuben Street near Weser Avenue in the Park Hill section of the borough. Police found the little girl with abrasions to the torso. A one-year-old girl is recovering after being thrown down a garbage chute on Staten Island on Monday, police said. (CNN) She was rushed to Richmond University Hospital in stable condition and is expected to recover. Police said a 39-year-old man was taken into custody. Police sources say he is the one-year-old's uncle. He has not been charged. An NYPD officer was seen on the third floor standing in front of the garbage chute and just down the hall was the family's apartment with the door open. Neighbour Milton Franklin told CBS News New York the family has lived in the building for a while. "I'm lost for words right now because I'm just ... a baby down a garbage chute is just ... it's absolutely mindboggling," Franklin said. He said he was coming home from work on Monday afternoon when he saw several emergency crews outside the building and a distraught woman carrying a child to an ambulance. "I'm going to pray that God wraps his arms around this family and they get through this situation," Franklin said. "It makes me feel so depressed. It makes me feel bad about who can do a thing like that," neighbour Froylan Zapata added. New York USA World crime police CONTACT US Auto news: Why Australians are still driving around without insurance.
New York Post
10-07-2025
- New York Post
Woman says she was raped on Coney Island and witnesses just laughed and recorded
A Brooklyn woman alleged that she was raped on Coney Island while celebrating the Fourth of July — and bystanders just laughed and filmed instead of trying to save her. Melissa Harris, 25, told CBS News she tripped over a walking mat on the beach at around 3 a.m. that night while trying to escape a man with 'bad vibes' marching menacingly toward her. 'He saw that I was on the floor and that's when he put his face between my legs, and I started screaming and everyone started laughing and recording me,' said the Brooklyn native, who allowed herself to be identified in the hopes of finding her attacker. Advertisement 'Nobody helped. Nobody stopped.' 3 Harris said the man approached her on the beach around 3 a.m. and forced oral sex on her. CBS News New York 3 She said her attacker followed her from the beach and then raped her on Stillwell Avenue. CBS News New York Advertisement At one point, a light from a golf cart shined on her and her attacker — but the driver just drove off without intervening, said Harris, who has reported the attack to the NYPD, The Post confirmed. When she managed to free herself and leave the beach, her assailant followed her down Stillwell Avenue and raped her, she said. 'He bent me over over here, and he raped me,' she told CBS, pointing toward a planter just beside some of the famed boardwalk rides. 3 Harris shared a video of a crowd of people standing around a bonfire before the attack. Melasia Harris Advertisement 'My face hit the bushes. I couldn't do anything … I was just really scared and then I was screaming for help,' Harris said. 'I was just terrified, and I couldn't fight back,' she said, saying that there were also witnesses for the second part of her nightmarish ordeal. Harris said she had arrived at the boardwalk around 11 p.m. Friday after the fireworks had finished. She shared video with CBS News showing a crowd of people standing around a bonfire before the attack. She told News12 Brooklyn that she had been hanging out with a group of people she had just met — and the assailant was one of them. Advertisement After the assaults, she claims the group ran off. She said she's sharing her story in order to get the man of the streets. The NYPD did not immediately respond to the Post's request for additional information.
CBS News
01-07-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Threat of thunderstorms for NYC area today. Map shows where storms could be severe.
New York City and the surrounding Tri-State Area could see some severe thunderstorms on Tuesday. It's a First Alert Weather Day as we track all the latest alerts. A flood watch has been issued for central New Jersey from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. There will also be dangerous rip currents along New York's south facing beaches. Threat of thunderstorms around NYC today CBS News New York Much of the area dodged yesterday's storms, but that won't be the case today. The combination of today's anticipated heat, tropical-like humidity and approaching cold front, will all serve for an action-packed afternoon. Thunderstorms will begin to populate the area anytime after 1 or 2 p.m., with all bets off after about 3 or 4 p.m. Widespread thunderstorms are expected during the afternoon commute, with the potential for flash flooding and damaging winds. CBS News New York The shower and thunderstorm activity will be sustained into the first half of the evening with things winding down into the overnight hours. 4th of July forecast CBS News New York Tomorrow, we'll transition from showers in the morning to sunshine by the afternoon. Our next chance of thunderstorms will arrive on Thursday, some of which could be strong. As for the Fourth of July, it looks like high pressure will get the upper hand this year.
CBS News
01-07-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Next round of NYC ranked choice voting results set to be released in mayoral election
The next round of ranked choice voting results in New York City's primary elections are set to be released Tuesday. Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani has claimed victory in the Democratic primary for mayor, but sources say former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is waiting for the ranked choice voting results before deciding whether to continue his campaign as an independent. The first unofficial results were released when polls closed a week ago, showing Mamdani ahead with 43.5% of the vote over Cuomo's 36.4%. The city's Board of Elections says Tuesday's report will include elimination rounds based on all in-person voting and mail-in ballots received and processed as of Election Day. If the results show that Mamdani has cleared the 50% threshold, he moves on to the November general election where he will face off with incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa. Mamdani could also face Cuomo again in November. Sources tell CBS News New York's Political Reporter Marcia Kramer the former governor plans to stay on the ballot for the general election but is still deciding whether to actually campaign. "We're going to be looking at the numbers that come in from the primary, and then we have to look at the landscape in the general election, which is a totally different landscape," Cuomo told Kramer in an exclusive interview last week. Tuesday's ranked choice voting results are expected to be released at noon. CLICK HERE for more results from the primary elections.
