Jenna Flanagan

New York, NY —

Gov. David Paterson said he'll let federal officials and the NYPD finish up their investigations into the fatal shooting of Sean Bell before implementing his own changes, like the use of a special prosecutor.

Paterson says one isn't needed in every case where police are charged.

PATERSON: ...

New York, NY —

Friends of the High Line are offering sketch classes to experienced and in-experienced artists.

REPORTER: High Line spokesperson Meredith Taylor, says the classes will be taught by artist Ann DeVere on a section of the line that wraps around the Hudson Rail Yards and has views ...

New York, NY —

Congressman Vito Fossella faces five days in jail if he's convicted of drunk driving.

The Republican was pulled over in Alexandria, Virginia Thursday; his blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit. At a press conference in Brooklyn Friday, Fossella called the incident a ...

New York, NY —

A federal jury found former Newark Mayor Sharpe James guilty on five separate charges including fraud and conspiracy. Along with his ex-girlfriend, Tamika Riley, James was convicted for illegally flipping city-owned land for personal profit.

Speaking outside the courthouse, U.S. Attorney Chris Christie says he felt ...

New York, NY —

A private land owner is suing Columbia University and the city to prevent its 17-acre expansion plans.

Norman Siegel, is representing Tuck-It-Away Associates, which owns some of the land to be used in the project.

He says his client is concerned about a part of the development, ...

New York, NY —

In his swearing-in speech, Gov. David Paterson stressed continuity and reconciliation. The governor also made it clear that both Republicans and Democrats would have to consider the new economic reality in negotiating the budget.

PATERSON: We are looking at an economy that is reeling. And I ...

New York, NY —

A new city program gives neighborhood residents parking permits in hopes of discouraging "park and ride" commuters from other areas.

Janette Sadik-Khan is the commissioner of the Department of Transportation. She says people won't try to park in already congested neighborhoods to avoid the congestion fee.

SADIK-KHAN: ...

New York, NY —

The longtime secretary to former Newark mayor Sharpe James told a jury in his corruption trial that James' affair with a city businesswoman was obvious to her and other City Hall staffers.

Rosemarie Posella says James' relationship with Tamika Riley started in 1999, hit a rough ...

New York, NY —

A day after Ralph Nader announced he's running for president, potential independent candidate Mayor Michael Bloomberg is declaring there's no such thing as a spoiler.

REPORTER: He says everyone has a right to run.

BLOOMBERG: There's 330 million people in this country and anybody that's over 35, ...

New York, NY —

REPORTER: Mayor Bloomberg attended a crime summit yesterday in Baltimore.

He was joined by local mayor Sheila Dixon and several other members of the coalition Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

Bloomberg said the NRA's powerful influence in Washington is an impediment to the mayors' efforts to curb illegal ...

New York, NY —

REPORTER: Hardin said the media is rushing to convict Clemens.

HARDIN: I warn you all now. That 5, 6, 7 months from now, any of you that have jumped on this bandwagon about Roger taking steroids and assume that anything Brian McNamee has to say about ...

New York, NY —

REPORTER: Johan Santana put on his number 57 Mets jersey for the first time yesterday as the team introduced him at Shea Stadium.

Santana made it clear he understands that Mets' fans demand a World Series championship - or at least an NL pennant - after ...

New York, NY —

The toxicology report says actor Heath Ledger was killed by an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.

The medical examiner reports Heath Ledger's system was coursing with pain killers, sleeping pills and anti-anxiety drugs. He died last month.

The statement from ME spokeswoman Ellen Borakove says the 28-year-old ...

New York, NY —

REPORTER: It was a sold out crowd last night as the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture screened a documentary film about Amadou Diallo.

Community leaders, elected officials and Diallo's mother, Kadiatou were among those who attended.

"365 Days of Marching: The Amadou Diallo Story" chronicles ...

New York, NY —

REPORTER: Testifying in Albany yesterday, Bloomberg said the city will lose roughly $500 million in state funding that was either promised for things like health care or, in the case of education, as part of a court-ordered settlement.

Bloomberg told lawmakers that a "deal's a deal" ...

New York, NY —

Mayor Bloomberg presented a conservative 58-billion-dollar budget plan for the next fiscal year, which includes a one-percent growth rate in controllable spending... and maintains his state of the city promise to continue 7-percent property tax cuts and 4-hundred-dollar rebates.

He says the nation's housing crisis has ...

New York, NY —

REPORTER: New York Civil Liberties Union had sued for full disclosure on behalf of 1,800 people arrested at the convention.

The Police Department's Commissioner for Intelligence, David Cohen, argued that full disclosure of any aspect could compromise the city's intelligence gathering. He said it could also ...

New York, NY —

A 26 year-old man was sentenced to life in federal court in New York City today.

REPORTER: Mohammed Mansour Jabarah had been in US custody for 6 years, after he was charged with planning and conspiring to bomb US embassies in the Philippines and Singapore in ...

New York, NY —

Owners of vacant sites in upper Manhattan are being given a reason to develop their languishing properties if they don't, they could face higher taxes.

REPORTER; Currently, tax rates for vacant property south of 110th Street are lower than those for vacant land north of that ...

New York, NY —

Growing concerns that the U.S. is headed toward recession sent Wall Street plunging today. The Dow Jones industrials fell 277 points to close at 12,501.

REPORTER: And Citigroup announced plans to cut thousands jobs after a disastrous 4th quarter. Mayor Bloomberg says he believes most of ...