Regional Briefs – June 29, 2017

A Mortgage, With Avocado Toast on the Side

NEW YORK – Playing off the joke that millennials aren’t buying homes because they are spending too much money on trendy avocado toast brunches, online lender SoFi said Thursday they’re offering a month’s worth of avocado toast to anyone who takes out a mortgage with it in July, The Associated Press reported. And yes, gluten-free bread is an option.

Illegal Immigrant 9/11 Worker Facing Deportation Freed

NEW YORK – A 9/11 cleanup volunteer and illegal immigrant who faces deportation over a 1990 drug conviction but was pardoned by Gov. Andrew Cuomo was freed Wednesday. Carlos Cardona will be required to check in periodically with federal immigration.

Need a Ride? Uber, Lyft Running Upstate, Long Island

BUFFALO – The Uber and Lyft ride-hailing services began operating Thursday upstate and on Long Island under legislation signed into law earlier this month. The original measure called for the services to begin July 9.

Vandals Target Amusement Pier Second Time This Week

OCEAN CITY, N.J. – A group of vandals trashed a popular amusement park for the second time this week, The Associated Press reported. Surveillance video captured the teenagers toppling two soda machines and overturning half of the trash cans at Playland’s Castaway Cove on Monday and Wednesday.

Robber Nabbed for Targeting 4 Banks in a Week

CAMDEN, N.J. – A man was arrested Wednesday for robbing four banks in New Jersey and Maryland over a week in December 2016, The Associated Press reported. Bruce Wayne Higgins presented tellers with a note that read “GUN IN Pocket, MONEY NOW or -BANG-.”

Restaurant Fire Fills JFK Terminal With Smoke

NEW YORK – A grease fire at a restaurant at Kennedy Airport Thursday afternoon filled Terminal 4 with smoke, The Associated Press reported. No one was injured and a nearby security checkpoint and a departure level were closed.