Tag Archives: Long Island

NEW YORK: Students Suspended Over “Tebowing” Prayer Demonstrations

Four Long Island high school students have been suspended for creating a “hallway hazard” when dozens of other students mimicked their pious public display and fell to one knee. “It was basically just a tribute to Tim Tebow,” Carroll Connor, 17, who planned the prank with his brother and friends, told The Post. “It was more than a religious thing. …

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LIRR Tests Quiet Cars

Long Island Railroad is testing a quiet car program similar to Amtrak’s long-running policy. No loud talking and no audible electronic devices will be allowed in the designated cars. Conductors will give “Shh” cards to passengers who do not comply with the rules but the program will be voluntary. Announcements will remind customers of the location of the quiet carriages, …

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Nightclubs Destroyed On Fire Island

Last night a fire roared through the commercial district of Fire Island Pines, the popular gay resort village on a barrier island one hour east of New York City. Among the destroyed businesses were two nightclubs, including the popular Pavilion, which was rebuilt at great expense just a couple of years ago. Michael Lavers reports at Fire Island News: Initial …

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NEW YORK: Church Rakes In $150K From Federal Anti-Terrorism Fund

Claiming that they are at risk of a terrorist attack, a Long Island evangelical church that regularly broadcasts an anti-Muslim radio show was granted $150,000 from a Homeland Security fund. The money, they say, will be used to add video surveillance and other security features. Lots of groups are raking in the dough from the fund and even the wingnuts …

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Quote Of The Day – Kathleen Rice

“Recently, a local clerk in upstate New York made headlines when she said she would not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The Marriage Equality Act provides that an application for a marriage license cannot be denied on the grounds that the applicant parties are of the same sex and the law affords no discretion to public officials charged with …

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NEW YORK: Three Long Island Teens Arrested For Gay-Bashing 14 Year-Old

Three Long Island high school students have been arrested for stomping and kicking a 14 year-old boy while screaming anti-gay epithets at him. Nassau County Police say on Tuesday at 2:15 p.m., 18-year-old David Spencer of North Valley Stream; 16-year-old Chase Morrison of Lakeview; and 14-year-old Roy Wilson of Baldwin assaulted their 14-year-old classmate on a bus leaving the Nassau …

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NEW YORK: Quisling Ken Mehlman Backs “Pro-Family” GOP U.S. House Candidate

Newly out and still not sorry for damaging the lives of millions of LGBT Americans, Quisling Ken Mehlman is co-hosting a fundraiser for Randy Altschuler, the “family values” candidate for the U.S. House on Long Island. Altschuler, who has also been endorsed by Newt Gingrich, says that his family values will have the “single greatest influence” on his voting record, …

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Nixon’s Grandson Is A Teabagger

Richard Nixon’s grandson Chris Cox is an oil industry lobbyist running for Congress against Long Island incumbent Rep. Tim Bishop (D). Cox recently moved into Tricky Dickie’s old mansion in the Hamptons in order to establish himself as a resident. But he’s a man of the people, as you’ll see in the below address to the Conservative Society for Action.

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Today In Journalistic Racism

The Awl reports that Long Island’s Smithtown Messenger has created a before-and-after photo essay to demonstrate how the stress of the presidency affects the faces of presidents and first ladies. The projected “after” photo of the Obamas is from Sanford & Son. Oh, but the paper has now issued an apology. So it’s OK!

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Campaign Against Black Homophobia Launches On Long Island Rail Road

Sponsored by a Long Island-based LGBT group, an ad campaign against homophobia in the African-American community has been launched on the Long Island Rail Road. Via Newsday (subscription required): In between ads for TV shows and clothes on the Long Island Rail Road is a different kind of message. These ads feature pictures of young African-American men with their families, …

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Newsday’s Paywall Fail

Three months ago Long Island’s Newsday, the 11th most widely read newspaper in the country, shifted their website to pay-to-read. The number of paying subscribers so far: 35. New York Times, are you watching? That astoundingly low figure was revealed in a newsroom-wide meeting last week by publisher Terry Jimenez when a reporter asked how many people had signed up …

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“God Made Me Hate Gay People”

Two men returning from a Halloween event were assaulted by three men in Long Island’s Nassau County early Sunday morning in what police are calling a hate crime. According to Newsday, the one man captured told police, “God made me hate gay people.” Shouting an anti-gay slur, three assailants beat a man and his cross-dressing friend before stealing $7 from …

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Fire Damages Cherry Grove Hotel

Fire Island’s famous Cherry Grove Hotel, home to the Ice Palace nightclub, was severely damaged in a fire last night. The blaze broke out inside a housekeeping shed along the north side of the two story Grove Hotel around 2 a.m. Firefighters from Cherry Grove, the Fire Island Pines, Point O’ Woods, Ocean Bay Park, Ocean Beach, Saltaire and Sayville …

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A Day On Fire Island

Yesterday the Farmboyz and my visiting pal from LA, Jerry, joined me in a lovely trip out to Fire Island. The Farmboyz, strangely enough, had never been, and Jerry hadn’t been in 27 years. And although I’ve spent nine summers in NYC, this was only my third visit. We started the morning with a tour around the houses in the …

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No Prosecution For Wal-Mart Over Black Friday Death Stampede

After a security guard was trampled to death by an unruly mob stampeding the entrance of a Long Island Wal-Mart, many called for the criminal prosecution of the company for staging the pre-dawn “doorbuster” holiday sales event with little security. Yesterday the company evaded charges. Mega-retailer Wal-Mart will avoid criminal prosecution for its role in the fatal post- Thanksgiving Day …

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Gay Youth Center Vandalism Committed By Former Clients

Now we know why it wasn’t classified a hate crime. According to David Kilminick, the executive director of the Long Island gay youth center, two of the men arrested for last week’s vandalism are former clients of the center. From his email: Over three years ago, two of the four people arrested were former clients of LIGALY. The individuals regularly …

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Four Arrests In Gay Youth Center Vandalism, Police Rule: No Hate Crime

Police have made four arrests in last week’s vandalism of the Long Island LGBT Youth Center, but say that the crime was not bias-related. Police arrested three men and a woman, all from Bay Shore, Monday in connection with the vandalism and charged each of them with second-degree criminal mischief. None of the four was charged with a hate crime. …

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Long Island Gay Youth Center Vandalized

Yesterday the already struggling gay youth center in Long Island suffered thousands of dollars in vandalism damage .Via Newsday: Vandalism at a center that serves gay and lesbian youths in Bay Shore is being investigated as a hate crime, Suffolk police said Monday. Police were called Monday morning to the Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth Center, at 34 Park …

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Family Of Trampled Man Sues Wal-Mart Over Marketing Practices

In a case that may have far-reaching implications regarding the practice of “doorbuster” sales, the family of the Wal-Mart employee killed in the Black Friday stampede on Long Island is suing the company over its marketing tactics. Security should have been better, but advertising also helped kill a temporary worker at Wal-Mart, according to a lawsuit filed by the estate …

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Wal-Mart Stampede Suits Begin

The lawyers are rushing in to the Wal-mart death stampede case and the first lawsuit has already been filed. Yesterday an autopsy revealed that the dead employee died of “positional asphyxiation” or trampling to death. Nassau police released the findings at a news conference in which they also defended themselves from criticism – including allegations of negligence by a father …

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