New York Minute: No party as Queens girl in massive drug bust turns 13

A baby drug dealer from Queens turned 13 Thursday, a day after she was busted for selling crack to an undercover cop.

The girl, spending the first day of her teen years in custody, was one of 37 people arrested for selling crack, marijuana, OxyContin and powder cocaine out of two Far Rockaway housing complexes. Sources said the girl, whose name was withheld, hung out after school with some older girls at the Almeda Ave. apartment of one of the men in the drug crew.

The other girls smoked pot and had sex with the dealers in exchange for drugs and pocket money, sources said.

But while the 13-year-old - who looked older than her age - didn't have sex with the men, she was sent out to peddle drugs for them, sources said.

Cops didn't find out how old she was until her mom showed up at the precinct after the girl's arrest.
Terrence Jenkins, 21, of Far Rockaway, was charged under a 2006 law that makes it a felony to have a child sell drugs on an adult's behalf.

Also arrested was an airport security screener for the Transportation Security Administration, Joy Faulkenson, 32, of Queens.
 
News courtesy of The New York Daily News

New York Minute: War is over: Last U.S. combat troops leave Iraq

Alleruzzo/AP

The last American combat troops left Iraq on Wednesday, battling no more than civilian traffic on potentially hostile desert roads en route to safe haven in Kuwait.

The last of the 14,000-member 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division - about 4,000 strong - began crossing the border in the predawn hours, almost two weeks ahead of an Aug. 31 deadline for the end of "Operation Iraqi Freedom."

Some 50,000 U.S. troops will remain in the country until the end of 2011 to advise and train Iraqi forces and protect U.S. interests.

The Pentagon issued no confirmation that the move marked an early end to combat operations. But State Dept. spokesman P.J. Crowley said U.S. involvement would be less intrusive and more civilian focused.
"We are ending the war ... but we are not ending our work in Iraq," he told MSNBC. "We have a long-term commitment to Iraq."

Yesterday's departure quietly closed the active combat phase of a 7-1/2-year war that overthrew the regime of Saddam Hussein, forever defined the presidency of George W. Bush and left more than 4,400 American service members and thousands of Iraqis dead.

The last convoy, which began moving earlier in the week, rolled along a route carefully planned for nearly a month. Departing soldiers told MSNBC their biggest worry was Iraqi motorists who often sped past or cut in front of their slower moving vehicles.

Many of the troops arriving at the Khabari Crossing on the border said they were proud of their effort - but glad to be out of Iraq.

"I know that to my brothers in arms who fought and died, this day would probably mean a lot - to finally see us getting out of here," Spc. Luke Dill, 18, told The Associated Press


News courtesy of The New York Daily News

New York Minute: 'Last Stop for Hip-Hop' store Fat Beats to shutter due to poor vinyl sales

Photo Courtesy of Branch Price for the NY Daily News

Hip-hop fans with an affinity for wax are mourning the end of an era - the closing of Fat Beats record stores.

The intimate West Village shop, one of the last in the city that specializes in selling hip-hop vinyl, is closing its doors, the company announced Wednesday.

"The business is down. The rent is up," said store manager Eric (DJ Eclipse) Winn, 40. "We've slowly lost all of the retail end of the company. ... Between the Internet and Serato [a digital DJ program] that's what hurt the vinyl sales."

Inside the store, known as "The Last Stop for Hip-Hop," customers were devastated.

"Damn, I didn't know," said DJ Kase, 29, of Jersey City, a longtime customer at the Sixth Ave. store.

"The Internet messed it all up. This was like a cornerstone for hip-hop. This is where you get your [stuff]," he said.

He recalled when he saw Outkast inside the store and picked up Raekwon's album "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..."

"It's something about putting your hands on wax and digging through records. It's something the Internet can't do for you," the deejay said. "I have a true love for vinyls."

Jorge Berrios, 34, of South Ozone Park, Queens, spent $13 on three vinyls - "Player's Anthem" by Junior M.A.F.I.A., "Candy Rain" by Soul for Real and Zhigge's "Rakin' in the Dough."

"You have no idea how sad I am," Berrios told the store owner. "It's almost like my second home."

The store was a haven for rap fans, and a top promotional stop for artists. The Fugees, Common and Kool G Rap were among the artists whose autographed photos covered the walls.

Veteran hip-hop producer DJ Spinna was deeply saddened by the closing of the store that boosted his career.

"It was definitely a landmark for the underground movement of the '90s," he said. "Young people who've never touched wax probably don't know what the closing of a store like this means."

In past years, once popular music stores like Tower Records, HMV and the Virgin Megastore have also been shuttered.

"It just means that we're heading to a place where music won't exist in a physical form anymore," the producer said.

The final day for the New York store, which first opened on W. Ninth St. in 1994, will be Sept. 4. The Los Angeles store will close on Sept. 18.

"We're losing stores that sell vinyl because of downloads and stuff like that," said veteran DJ Clark Kent. "It's a shame that deejays lose this place."

With Michael DiSilvestri


News courtesy of The NY Daily News

New York Minute: Bed Begs Infest AMC 25 Movie Theater in Times Square

First The New York Public Library and now the AMC Empire 25 movie theater complex on 42nd Street. The heart of Times Square is infested with bed bugs.

AMC 25 Movie Theater

After getting several complaints, the movie palace shut it’s doors Tuesday night. It seems bed bugs don’t just show up in beds. Katheryn Prior stated, when talking about the angry welts easily seen on her person, "I got them at the movies last night." AMC inspected the Empire 25  and found the bed bugs. Caring about their customers they immediately shut down.

The theatre had previously tested negative on August 3rd. Bed bugs have become such a problem that the City Council has created an Advisory Board to plan it’s next steps. Since 2009, bed bugs have infested CNN at the Time Warner Building, Victoria’s Secret, Bergdorf Goodman’s, Abercrombie and Fitch, College’s and even the city’s Health Department. 40-percent of bedbug problems now occur in commercial businesses.

 

What are bed bugs exactly and how do we get rid of them?

Bed bugs are small wingless insects that feed solely upon the blood of warm-blooded animals. Hatchling bed bugs are about the size of a poppy seed, and adults are about 1/4 of an inch in length. From above they are oval in shape, but are flattened from top to bottom. Their color ranges from white to a deep brown or burnt orange. They become bloated when filled with blood.

Getting rid of bed bugs is not an easy process, and most cases of bed bug infestation requires treatment by a pest-control expert. Pest-control companies can help determine if the mattress can be disinfected or must be discarded. Since beds cannot readily be treated with insecticides, it's often necessary to discard infested mattresses andTh beds. Maybe AMC might consider getting rid of its seats.
The pest-control expert may recommend other forms of deep-cleaning to remove the eggs.

AMC will be open today, but be cautious.

 News Courtesy of The Time Square Chronicles