Regional Briefs – February 16, 2016

Restoration Over for 125-year-Old Historic Train Tower

WALDWICK, N.J. – Work on a tower built in 1890 was completed Monday after 15 years of work at a cost of $200,000, The Record reported. The Erie Railroad Signal Tower had once made it possible to travel directly from Jersey City to Chicago.

Cuomo Backs Replacing Rikers Island With Modern Jail

ALBANY – Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday said Rikers Island is dangerous and should be replaced with a modern and safer NYC jail, The Associated Press reported. Cuomo says the first step is to admit the problem, the second to determine the alternative: one jail or many smaller facilities.

Con Ed Says Natural Gas Usage Hit Record During Cold Snap

NEW YORK – Consolidated Edison said its customers used a record 1.23 million dekatherms of natural gas during the cold snap in New York this past weekend, when temperatures were at -1 degrees, The Associated Press reported. It blew past its previous record set Thursday of 1.19 million dekatherms.

SI Allowed to Shame Through Street Namings

STATEN ISLAND – A state judge on Thursday allowed Staten Island Borough President James Oddo to shame a development which knocked down trees through unflattering street names, Politico reported. He has chosen Fourberie Lane and Avidity Place — meaning greed or trickery. Oddo calls the names “pleasing and historically illuminative.”

3 Firefighters Hurt While Battling Jersey City Fires

JERSEY CITY – Three firefighters were injured Sunday while battling a blaze, The Associated Press reported. Their efforts were hampered by subzero wind chills.

NYPD Body-Camera Program Won’t Be Operational Before Late Summer

The NYPD’s body-camera program won’t be operational for at least another six months, according to a new report from the NYPD’s federal monitor, cited by NY1. The program will need 5,000 body cameras. Thus far, just 54 cops have body cameras, as part of a pilot program.

This article appeared in print on page 30 of the February 17th, 2016 edition of Hamodia.