PRIVATE CHEN DREAMED OF JOINING NYPD AFTER SERVICE
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN, CORKY SIEMASZKO AND RICH SCHAPIRO (NYDN)
Army Pvt. Danny Chen didn’t fit the mold of the classic tough-as-nails American soldier.
He was soft-spoken and slender — more gentle than tough, more awkward than athletic.
Friends described the only child from the lower East Side as quirky and brainy, with an offbeat sense of humor.
But deep within Chen’s unimposing facade was a warrior.
EIGHT SOLDIERS CHARGED IN DEATH OF DANNY CHEN
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN AND CORKY SIEMASZKO (NYDN)
The best friend of Pvt. Danny Chen, the Chinatown soldier who was allegedly hounded by members of his unit before his death in Afghanistan, said Wednesday he doesn’t believe his pal killed himself.
Raymond Dong spoke out as the Army charged eight soldiers in connection with the death of Chen, whose body was found in a guard tower in Kandahar Province Oct. 3.
“I kind of saw this coming,” Dong told he Daily News. “I knew there had to be something because I can’t believe he would commit suicide.”
ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS LAUNCH NEW VISION PROJECT FOR HARLEM RIVER
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
Where there’s a will, there’s a greenway - along the Harlem River. Environmental and community activists announced Monday a new plan for the Bronx bank of the neglected waterway.
The Trust for Public Land and Harlem River Working Group have secured a $35,000 grant to carry out a greenway vision project and have hired the Pratt Center for Community Development to help.
On Monday, they kicked off the project with a tour along the hardscrabble channel.
DEPT. OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION UNVEILS NEW SLUDGE PLAN
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
The city plans to start trucking its sewer sludge out-of-state, the Daily News has learned.
The Department of Environmental Protection has selected WeCare Organics to transport the sludge generated during wastewater treatment to rural Pennsylvania. Until June 2010, the toxic substance was handled at a stinky facility in Hunts Point, the Bronx.
APPLE STORE OPENS IN GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL
BY CHRISTIE ROTONDO AND DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
Grand Central commuters jockeyed for room with hundreds of eager Apple fans Friday morning as the tech giant opened its latest store in the city.
Jacob Davis, 19, won the honors of being the first into the sprawling store at 10 a.m. after traveling 200 miles from Albany and camping out for 24 hours in the midtown transit hub.
BRONX BUILDING CLEANERS STAND FIRM IN CONTACT TALKS
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
More than 22,000 office building cleaners and maintenance workers - including about 4,000 Bronx residents - are at loggerheads with Manhattan landlords over wages and benefits.
The landlords claim they need to cut costs, due to the bad economy. The two sides last negotiated a contract in late 2007, at the height of the real estate boom.
But the workers - members of Service Employees International Union 32BJ - voted last week to approve a strike if they don’t get a favorable new contract by Jan 1.
BRONX TEEN STARS IN NEW FLICK WITH PACINO, HOLMES, MORGAN
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
The Bronx has a new movie star — and he’s only 15 years old.
Brian Gilbert, of Co-op City, teams up with silver screen veterans Al Pacino, Katie Holmes, Channing Tatum and Tracy Morgan in “The Son of No One,” a gritty thriller that opens on Friday.
Brian plays Vinnie Carter, a troubled youngster who swears to keep a deadly secret for his best friend. The friend grows up to become a NYPD officer, played by Tatum, and he needs help from an adult Carter, played by Morgan.
SUBWAY HUNKS IN CHEEKY WEBSITE WITH STRAPHANGER PHOTOS
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
A racy new website has straphangers snapping photos of “hot guys” on the subway.
Subwaycrush.net, launched in June, is the New York version of tubecrush.net, a popular British site with photos from the London Underground.
Straphangers will submit photos featuring New York men sipping coffee, napping or reading on the train - with swooning comments like, “Is he kidding me with those arms? Never. Let. Go.”
IRATE TENANT ACCUSE BLUESTONE GROUP OF FLIP JOB
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN (NYDN)
When the Bluestone Group bought the debt of six Bronx slums 15 months ago, it promised to fix up the rotten buildings and make life bearable there.
But tenant advocates warned that the Manhattan-based company had overpaid and was looking to make a quick buck.
Last week, Bluestone sold the debt for a handsome profit and walked away.
159 CITY WALMARTS? THEY’D NEED THAT MANY: STUDY
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN AND ERIN DURKIN (NYDN)
Walmart would have to open as many as 159 stores in New York City to gain a successful market share, the chain’s foes say in a new report.
Researchers calculated how many stores it would take for Walmart to claim 21% of the city’s grocery market - its average share of the market nationally - and found they’d have to open 159 across the five boroughs to achieve that.
