4 firefighters injured in five-alarm Queens blaze

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4 firefighters injured in five-alarm Queens blaze
A five-alarm fire at a Long Island City warehouse injured four firefighters on Wednesday night and sent thick black smoke for miles around Queens and into Manhattan. The fire started at around 5:23 P.M. at the one-story New York Custom Interior Millwork Corporation, a family-owned wood furniture and interior design warehouse. There was over 200…

Man accused of shooting Cleanthony Early posts bond after 4 months
A man charged in the robbery and shooting of Knicks forward Cleanthony Early was released Wednesday on a $100,000 bond after being locked up for four months — but not before getting a stern warning from a Brooklyn judge. Delvon Dowling (inset), 22, was more interested in his family in the gallery than on heeding…

Schneiderman zaps ‘ineffective’ anti-Zika products
Companies that sell mosquito repellants are trying to suck New Yorkers dry by touting “Zika-preventive” products like bracelets, patches and ultrasonic devices that are completely ineffective, officials said Wednesday. The state Attorney General’s Office issued cease-and-desist letters ordering seven companies to stop falsely advertising the ineffective goods. The letters demand they immediately quit running ads…

Coney Island Hospital ranks dead last in national ranking
Coney Island Hospital, which city officials have vigorously defended for its quality of care, has received the lowest grade in the federal government’s first report card on the nation’s 3,600 hospitals. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued the one-to-five-star grades after reviewing hospitals’ performance in seven key categories: mortality, safety of care, readmissions,…

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Staten Island Cops have identified a short, stocky suspect in the attempted rape of a woman in a Port Richmond church. The 21-year-old victim was inside the basement bathroom of Our Lady of Mount Carmel-St Benedicta School on Clove Road at around 12:15 a.m. on July 24 when Asuncion Moran Barrera, 42, grabbed her by…

Ace Hotel chain sued by disgruntled part-owner
A sidelined part-owner of the celebrity-friendly Ace Hotel chain says in a new lawsuit that company executives are driving the business into the ground while paying themselves hefty salaries. Michael Bisordi says he worked with late Ace founder Alex Calderwood for 12 years to build the chain. Since Calderwood died in 2013, Bisordi hasn’t seen…

Maid busted taking pics in ex-boss’ $1,000 outfits
A wealthy Greenwich Village TV producer played an unexpected game of who-wore-it-better with the housekeeper she fired — when she discovered the woman had stolen her clothes and then posed in them for photos on Facebook. Amy Pack, 35, had already fired Jasmin Figueroa, 34, from her home at 1 Fifth Ave. for ruining a…

Mobster pleads guilty to $100K extortion charge
A mobster who threatened to beat up two men to collect on an unpaid loan at the behest of a Luchese crime-family captain pleaded guilty to two counts of extortion in Brooklyn federal court on Wednesday. Daniel Capra, 58, along with his brother Michael Capra, 52 — who pleaded guilty on Friday — were told…

‘Racist’ cop was caught grinding in uniform at West Indian Day parade
The NYPD cop who posted racist rants on Facebook — one calling the mayor’s wife a “former crack addict” — was one of the officers caught on video dancing suggestively with seminude women at the West Indian Day Parade The Post has learned. Detective Gregory Gordon, 33, was among several officers captured in the video…

Staten Island man who murdered his parents gets life in prison
A schizophrenic Staten Island man who was convicted of stabbing his parents to death was sentenced to life in prison. Eric Bellucci, 36 — who was convicted on two counts of first degree murder for the 2010 slaying — received a life sentence without the possibility of parole, the Staten Island District Attorney said Tuesday….

Cop busted for torching his cars for insurance payouts
Saving a bundle on car insurance wasn’t enough for one NYPD officer, who was busted by the feds for torching his Range Rover and two other cars to collect at least $34,000 in reimbursement checks from GEICO, federal authorities said Wednesday. Carlos Becker promised to pay off two men if they helped him crash and…

Cold-case rape victim became pregnant from attack, DA reveals
A woman who was raped in the West Village more than two decades ago became pregnant from the attack, it was revealed for the first time Wednesday, as a judge sentenced her assailant to up to 68 years in prison. “Although the jury was not permitted to know this during the course of the trial,…

Contractor admits to ‘playing minority card’ in 1WTC scam
An Ecuadorian contractor admitted to “playing the minority card” Wednesday as he testified about how he served as a front so his partner in fraud could pull in $1 billion worth of contracts for work at 1 World Trade Center. Johnny Garcia, 49, was listed as the president of Solera Construction on applications for Port…

FedEx driver crushed to death by falling 1,300-pound pallet
TONAWANDA, N.Y. — Police say a FedEx driver was killed when a pallet loaded with more than a half-ton of packages fell on him at a western New York freight facility. WIVB-TV reports police in Tonawanda say the accident occurred around 7:15 a.m. Wednesday. Police say the employee was crushed to death when a 1,300-pound…

Slain jogger eerily predicted her early death
She knew she could die young. The Queens jogger who was found strangled to death Tuesday night in a remote section of Howard Beach wrote numerous ominous posts on her Instagram and personal Web site embracing the possibility of dying early. Karina Vetrano, 30, admitted that it was “morbid” to be so accepting of death,…

These old-school New Yorkers have lived in the same homes for 50 years
Some Big Apple residents bear witness to the old adage — the only constant is change — more than most. These six New Yorkers have lived in their homes for more than 50 years, raising children, pursuing careers and holding tight to affordable rents as their neighborhoods shift around them. Upper West Side Story Riverside…

Mom of boy fatally hit by Uber car is suing city, driver
A Manhattan mom is suing the city and the Uber driver who dragged her 12-year-old son to his death for a block after hitting him near his school. Margarita Apolinar Saavedra says the school crossing guard was on her cell phone and distracted when her son left Frederick Douglass Academy in Harlem last year to…

Cuomo’s economic initiatives probed for unwarranted tax breaks
ALBANY – Gov. Cuomo’s economic development programs came under fire Wednesday during a legislative hearing that kept his economic czar in the hot seat for hours. Democrats and Republicans alike skewered the administration for its lack of success, transparency and oversight on the Buffalo Billion, Start-Up New York and the Excelsior Jobs programs. All three…

Army vet who stabbed ex-Knick arrested again
The U.S Army vet who copped a plea to stabbing ex-Knick player Chris Copeland was arrested again, in Brooklyn, transporting bundles of marijuana and forged credit cards just days after taking the deal, The Post has learned. Shevoy Bleary-Murdock was pulled over during the early morning hours of June 24, driving a 2013 Mercedes Benz…

Hit-and-run driver gets jail time as victim recalls harrowing scene
A hit-and-run driver who mowed down a woman on a busy lower Manhattan sidewalk over a year ago was sentenced Wednesday to two to six years in prison after her victim read an emotional statement in Manhattan court. Defendant Tiffany Murdaugh, 35, listened intently as her victim, Heather Hensl, 38, described the April 13, 2015…

State lawmakers could soon get a hefty pay raise
ALBANY – The commission studying whether to give state legislators their first raise since 1999 is considering a 48 percent pay hike to match the increases won over the years by unionized workers. That would increase lawmakers’ salaries from $79,500 to $116,900. The seven-member pay commission, where the hike was floated in a July meeting,…

NYC remains priority for anti-terror funds
WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson committed Wednesday that the New York City area will continue to be the No. 1 recipient of federal anti-terror funds. Despite the terrorist threat evolving from 9/11 large-scale attacks, to lone wolves going after opportunistic targets, Johnson said the Big Apple “should and will continue” to be the…

Woman found dead in apartment killed by blow to head
A 61-year-old woman who was found dead in her Queens apartment with cuts all over her body earlier this week took a fatal blow to the head, police sources said. The death of Huizhen Zhan — who was found on a bed inside her basement apartment on 65th Avenue near Parsons Blvd. in Fresh Meadows…

Bratton slams Trump for accepting Purple Heart: He’s never taken a punch
Outgoing NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton is “amazed and appalled” that Donald Trump would accept a Purple Heart from a veteran and brag about it — and speculated Wednesday that the mogul’s never taken “an actual punch.” Bratton’s slam of Trump came the day after a veteran handed the Republican presidential candidate his award at the…

Jogger was sexually assaulted before she was killed: police
The Queens jogger who was found apparently strangled to death in a marshy area near Howard Beach on Tuesday night was sexually assaulted, police said Wednesday. The body of Karina Vetrano — who had recently celebrated her 30th birthday in Saint Tropez, France — was discovered by police, with her running tights pulled halfway down,…

Critics question astonishing crime drop at city schools
The number of city schools on the state’s “persistently dangerous” list plunged from 27 in 2015 to just four this year — an astounding drop that critics claim is a mirage. While the city Department of Education lauded the numbers Tuesday, Gregory Floyd, president of the school safety-agents union, charged that the drop stems more…

Key evidence from Bob Simon’s fatal car crash is missing
A key piece of evidence has gone missing in the wrongful-death case of “60 Minutes” correspondent Bob Simon — the back seat of the Lincoln town car in which he was a passenger before he was killed in a crash. The back leather bench seat mysteriously disappeared sometime after a defendant in the case, limo…

Satanic Temple wants an after-school club in elementary schools
Schoolkids in New York City may soon be getting a new teacher who they definitely don’t want giving them detention — the devil. A group of satanists wants the Department of Education to let them create after-school programs at elementary schools based on their underworld “religion.” The Satanic Temple says its After School Satan Club will…

Jogger murdered after evening run in Queens
A Queens woman was found slain in a marshy area near Howard Beach after she went out for her evening jog Tuesday, law-enforcement sources said. Karina Vetrano, 30, was reported missing by her father when she didn’t return from her regular run along the Belt Parkway’s bike path at about 5 p.m., according to the…

Bratton’s new employer has deep connections to the Clintons
Bill Bratton’s new employer is a powerhouse consulting firm with deep connections to the Clintons — and a controversial past that includes a US Senate probe into its government ­access. Manhattan-based Teneo Holdings has been hoping to land a top NYPD cop for a while — it “pursued” Bratton’s predecessor, Ray Kelly, for possible employment…

Colleagues praise Bill Bratton’s fight against crime
During Bill Bratton’s first term as New York City police commissioner 20 years ago, his NYPD drove crime down to its lowest levels since the early 1960s — and during his second stint in the Big Apple he did even better, keeping most major crimes at or near record lows. And for that Bratton will…

Arthur Ashe Stadium’s retractable roof faults during unveiling
They had one job! A technical glitch occurred Tuesday as US Open officials were unveiling their new 6,500-ton retractable roof above Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows — causing the top to remain shut during its media demonstration. After two failures, the $150 million steel superstructure finally reopened. “This could possibly happen during the Open,…

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