Printing House fatal
A construction worker dismantling scaffolding at the tony Printing House condo, at Hudson and Clarkson Sts., died last Thursday after a wood plank fell from the 10th floor and struck him in the head.
Responding police officers found Louis Mata, 32, of Port Chester, N.Y., on the Leroy St. side of the building shortly after 5 p.m. unresponsive with severe neck and back injuries. E.M.S. rushed him to Lenox Health Greenwich Village, where he died. The Daily News reported that Mata had been wearing a hard hat.
The News also reported that the luxury building has several open violations, including at least two for facade safety problems, according to Department of Buildings records. A complaint filed the day before Mata’s death charged that the building had “no permit in place for roofing, asbestos, exterior repairs and scaffolding.”
Also according to records, a Buildings inspector visited the site last Thursday and found its scaffold permit expired in October.
L.E.S. rape attempt
A Lower East Side woman was groped by a stranger who followed her into her building last weekend, but he was scared off and fled before anything worse could happen.
Police said that on Sat., April 23, at 3:20 a.m., a 24-year-old woman entered the elevator to her building, in the vicinity of Stanton and Pitt Sts., when a man followed her inside. When the elevator reached her floor, the stranger began to grope her as the car’s door opened and pushed her against the wall before fondling her. The man followed her to her apartment, but fled when a male from inside came to the door.
The suspect is described as a light-skinned Hispanic, about 16 to 20 years old, 5 feet 2 inches to 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 130 pounds.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the Police Department’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Web site at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577. All tips are strictly confidential.
Shelter homicide
An argument between homeless men at an East Village shelter had a tragic ending last week.
On Fri., April 1, around 2:10 a.m., police responded to a 911 call of a male assaulted inside 8 E. Third St., the Project Renewal men’s shelter. Upon arrival, officers discovered a resident of the shelter, Michael Antonicelli, 69, with head trauma. E.M.S. transported the victim to Beth Israel Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries the next day.
Pursuant to an investigation, Edwin Hernandez, 55, another resident of the shelter, was arrested at the scene and charged with felony assault. The incident was subsequently classified as a homicide.
According to news reports, Hernandez struck Antonicelli in the head, causing him to fall backwards, hitting his head on the floor, fracturing the back of his skull.
Both men were homeless and lived on the shelter’s third floor. According to WPIX news, police said the two were acquaintances and had known each other for an “extended period of time.”
Witnesses told police, “They were arguing all morning.”
Fake-gun muggers
Police busted a mugger and his female sidekick in the Village right after they had stuck up a man with a phony pistol.
On Fri., April 22, around 9:20 a.m, officers responded to a 911 call of a male with a gun at Washington Place and Sixth Ave. Upon arrival, Sixth Precinct Police Officers Thomas Sheehy and Christopher Rossi were met by a witness who gave them a description of the suspect. The description was transmitted over police radio.
Subsequently, Police Officer Christian Rich, of the Sixth Precinct Traffic Safety Unit, observed a man matching the description running down the street. After a brief chase on foot, during which the suspect reportedly knocked down a senior citizen, Rich apprehended the man.
An imitation pistol was recovered from the defendant, police said. While they were still at the scene, a 29-year-old male victim approached the officers and informed them that he had just been robbed at gunpoint by the same individual along with a female accomplice, who was also apprehended.
Ramell Huggins, 25, of 507 E. 11th St., was charged with robbery, criminal mischief, escape, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a controlled substance. Sakema Daniel, 26, of 2991 Frederick Douglass Boulevard, was charged with robbery.
Clearing the record
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office will hold its second “Clean Slate” event, at Grand Street Settlement, at 80 Pitt St. near Rivington St., this Sat., April 30, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Clean Slate is a one-day warrant-forgiveness opportunity where New Yorkers with open summons warrants for qualifying crimes can have them cleared from their record, without fear of arrest. More than 700 New Yorkers from all boroughs came to the first Clean Slate event in November in Harlem, at which 409 summons warrants dating back almost 20 years were vacated.
In addition to the D.A. and the Lower East Side settlement house, other program participants include the New York Police Department, the Office of Court Administration and the Legal AID Society.
“Clean Slate offers New Yorkers an opportunity to clear outstanding summons warrants for minor offenses from their records — and their lives,” said D.A. Cy Vance, Jr. “I urge anyone with an open summons warrant to join us at Clean Slate this Saturday at Grand Street Settlement.”
The program has the strong support of local politicians Borough President Gale Brewer, Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh and Councilmembers Margaret Chin and Rosie Mendez.
“A low-level, nonviolent infraction shouldn’t ruin a life,” Brewer said. “I’m thrilled to support District Attorney Vance’s Clean Slate initiative.”
The types of summons warrants that can be cleared at this event include disorderly conduct, public consumption of alcohol, public urination, littering, unlawful possession of marijuana, some subway offenses and more.
In addition to the outstanding warrant, the underlying summons can also be resolved at this event without fines or other penalties. The presiding judge will issue Adjournments in Contemplation of Dismissal, or A.C.D.’s, which require the recipient to avoid new arrests for six months, before the dismissal and sealing of his or her case.
Warrants for felony or misdemeanor charges cannot be resolved at Clean Slate, but Legal Aid attorneys will be present to offer free legal advice in an effort to help individuals resolve such cases. Additionally, Clean Slate will offer a resource fair with job training, healthcare information and on-site referral services.
Family members are welcome, and free prizes will be given away all day. Open summons warrants from any of the five boroughs can be resolved at this event, regardless of one’s current residence or immigration status.
Those wishing to clear open summons warrants must bring a photo ID, but it is not necessary to bring the original summons.
For more information about Clean Slate and qualifying offenses, visit https://manhattanda.org/sites/default/files/Clean%20Slate%20FAQ.pdf or call 212-335-3310.
— Lincoln Anderson
and Emily Siegel
