Northeast
NYPD warns anti-Israel protesters a 'Seattle-style' occupation zone won't be tolerated
New York Police Department leaders attempted to shut down concerns Wednesday that the “liberated zones” on college campuses like Columbia and New York University could metastasize into the anarchical “autonomous zones” seen during the 2020 George Floyd riots.
On “The Story,” anchor Trace Gallagher was speaking with NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell and NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry when he reported on concerns the already raucous protests could devolve further.
Daughtry said when he worked alongside officers at NYU recently, he witnessed professors joining the student protests and ridiculing New York’s Finest for their attempts to keep the demonstrations under control.
As arrests of protesters who refused to vacate the area were being made, Daughtry heard epithets toward him and others that he said would have never been tolerated if the roles were reversed.
JEWISH COLUMBIA STUDENTS DENOUNCE CAMPUS ANARCHY AS RABBI WARNS THEM TO LEAVE
“Let’s just say, if my officers spoke how the professors and the faculty spoke to the officers — if my officers spoke like that, they would get a substantiated CCRB,” he said, referring to the city’s Civilian Complaint Review Board, through which transgressions by officers can result in loss of vacation, suspension or termination.
Gallagher noted some of the protests have evolved into being simultaneously anti-police, and that the NYPD was audibly compared to the Ku Klux Klan in some cases.
“You can see where a lot of people say they could see these areas becoming like the Seattle autonomous zone back in the George Floyd riots, where they linger and last all summer long and get bigger and more dangerous,” he said.
However, Chell appeared to immediately shut down the possibility, drawing a line between resistance and refusal to vacate.
ANTI-ISRAEL COLUMBIA STUDENTS STONEWALL, DIRECT FOX NEWS REPORTER TO ‘MEDIA TEAM’
“We will not have any Seattle-type encampments on the streets of New York City. I can guarantee you that — that would end rather quickly,” he said.
In Seattle, protesters took over a portion of the Capitol Hill neighborhood, which led to clashes between then-President Trump and Democratic then-Mayor Jenny Durkan over the handling of the zone.
Chell said there is a difference between the right to create encampments on campus quads and the right to do it in public. While the Columbia campus is zoned private, NYU-based protests have been held in places like Washington Square Park, which is public but considered part of the greater campus neighborhood.
“The fine line here is the street, the public property, which we’ll deal with, and the college is the private property,” Chell said.
“That’s why we got to strike this balance. Let me repeat, there will never be encampments on the streets of New York City while we’re in power — never going to happen.”
In Columbia’s case, the NYPD remained outside the Morningside Heights campus until President Nemat Minouche Shafik gave her blessing to have the cops raid her school’s encampment.
More than 100 people were detained and/or arrested during the April 18 operation, according to the New York Post.
Chell later said his officers made more than 200 arrests during a Tuesday night protest at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, not far from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s home, which was similarly besieged by anti-Israel demonstrators.
CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Near Schumer’s home, protesters held an “emergency Seder” — using a Hebrew term that at this time of year signifies the feast at the beginning of Passover — and demanded the Senate majority leader oppose U.S. “arming” of Israel, according to a statement from organizers reported by the Times of Israel.
Still, the NYPD prevented the protests from descending into chaos.
“We have done it flawlessly and we’re neutral and we know how to conduct ourselves,” Chell said. “And I think that the country’s watching on. I think our young men and women from this department and our bosses are doing a fantastic job in a very precarious situation.”
Read the full article from Here
Boston, MA
A crowd scientist is helping the Boston Marathon manage a growing field of 30,000-plus runners
BOSTON (AP) — Running the Boston Marathon is tough enough without having to jostle your way from Hopkinton to Copley Square.
So race organizers this year turned to an expert in crowd science to help them manage the field of more than 32,000 as it travels the 26.2 miles (42.195 kilometers) through eight Massachusetts cities and towns — some of it on narrow streets laid out during Colonial times.
“There are certain things that we can’t change — that we don’t want to change — because they make the Boston Marathon,” said Marcel Altenburg, a senior lecturer of crowd science at Manchester Metropolitan University in Britain. “Like, I’m a scientist, but I can’t be too science-y about the race. It should stay what it is because that’s what I love. That’s what the runners love.”
The world’s oldest and most prestigious annual marathon, the Boston race was inspired by the endurance test that made its debut at the inaugural modern Olympics in 1896 — itself a tribute to the route covered by the messenger Pheidippides, who ran to Athens with news of the Greek victory over the Persians in Marathon.
After sharing the news — “Rejoice, we conquer!” — Pheidippides dropped dead.
Organizers of the Boston race would prefer a more pleasant experience for their runners, even as the field has ballooned from 15 in 1897 to as many as 38,000 to meet demand for the 100th edition in 1996. It has settled at around 30,000 since 2015.
As the race grew, it tested the limits of the narrow New England roads and the host cities and towns, which are eager to reopen their streets for regular commutes and commerce as quickly as possible.
“It would be kind of great someday to be able to grow the race a little bit more,” race director Dave McGillivray said. “The problem with this race is that it’s about two things: time and space. We don’t have either. … So, we’re trying to be innovative.”
That’s where Altenburg comes in.
A former German army captain who runs ultra marathons himself, Altenburg has worked with all of the major races, other large sporting events, and airports and exhibitions that tend to attract large crowds on ways to keep things safe and flowing smoothly.
For the Boston Marathon, which draws hundreds of thousands of spectators in addition to the runners, his models allow him to run simulations that help him see how the race might play out under different conditions.
“We have simulated the Boston Marathon more than 100 times to run it once for real. That is the one that counts,” Altenburg said in a telephone interview. “They gave me, pretty much, all creative freedom to simulate more waves, simulate more runners and — within the existing time window — they allowed me to change pretty much anything for the betterment of the running experience.
“And then we checked every aid station, every mile, the finish, every important point, (asking): Is the result better for the runner? Is that something that we should explore further?”
The most noticeable difference on Monday will be that the runners are starting in six waves — groups organized by qualifying time — instead of three. The waves, which were first used in Boston in 2011, help spread things out so that runners don’t have to walk after the start, when Main Street in Hopkinton squeezes to just 39 feet wide.
Other, less obvious changes involve the unloading of the buses at the start, the placement of the water and aid stations, and the finish line chutes, where runners get their medals, perhaps a mylar blanket or a banana, and any medical treatment they might need.
“For an event that’s as old as ours, 130 years, it allowed us to be a startup all over again,” said Lauren Proshan, the chief of race operations and production for the Boston Athletic Association.
“The change isn’t meant to be earth-shattering. It’s to be a smooth experience from start to finish,” she said. “It’s one of those things that you work really, really hard behind the scenes and hope that no one notices — a behind-the-curtain change that makes you feel as if you’re just floating and having a great day.”
Shorter porta potty lines would also be nice.
“What I loved about working with the BAA was how aware they are of what the Boston Marathon is. And they won’t change anything lightly,” Altenburg said. “So it was very detailed work from literally the moment the race last year ended to now. That we check every single option. That we really make sure that if we change something about this historic race, then we know what we’re doing.”
The BAA will look at the feedback over the next three years before deciding about expansion or other changes.
“Fingers crossed, hope for the best, but we’ll get feedback from the participants,” McGillivray said. “And they’ll let us know whether or not it worked or not.”
But keeping the course open longer isn’t an option. And the route isn’t going to change. So there’s only so much that crowd science can help with at one of the toughest tests in sports.
“I can talk. I’m a scientist. I just press a button and it’s going to be,” Altenburg said. “But the runners still have to do it.”
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports
Location: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA
Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Pirates are at home today against the Pittsburgh Pirates looking to grab a win against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Please remember our Game Day thread guidelines.
Advertisement
-
Don’t troll in your comments; create conversation rather than destroying it
-
Remember Bucs Dugout is basically a non-profanity site
-
Out of respect to broadcast partners who have paid to carry the game, no mentions of “alternative” (read: illegal) viewing methods are allowed in our threads
-
The commenting system was updated during the summer. They’re still working on optimizing it for Game Day Threads like ours. If you don’t like clicking “Load More Comments”, remember that the “Z” key can be your friend. It loads up the latest comments automatically.
BD community, this is your thread for today’s game against the Rays. Enjoy!
Naugatuck Police say one person has been arrested after a multi-car accident on Route 63 Saturday afternoon.
According to police, they responded to the area of Route 63 and Cherry Street around 1 p.m. for reports of a collision with injuries.
They say a 30-year-old man from Waterbury was arrested and charged with operating under the influence of drugs/alcohol, operating under the influence with a child passenger, illegal possession of prescription drugs, failure to keep narcotics in the original container, risk of injury to a child and distracted driving.
Police say he is being held on a $10,000 Surety Bond.
This is all the information at this time.
-
Culture32 minutes agoPoetry Challenge: Memorize “The More Loving One” by W.H. Auden
-
Lifestyle38 minutes agoPhotos: How overfishing in Southeast Asia is an ecological and human crisis
-
Technology50 minutes agoBlue Origin successfully reused its New Glenn rocket
-
World56 minutes agoDistress call captures tanker under fire, Iran shuts Hormuz trapping thousands of sailors
-
Politics1 hour agoTrump ally diGenova tapped to lead DOJ probe into Brennan over Russia probe origins
-
Health1 hour agoExperts reveal why ‘nonnamaxxing’ trend may improve mental, physical health
-
Sports1 hour ago‘Demon’ Finn Balor settles score with Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania 42
-
Technology1 hour agoiPhone and Samsung flashlight tricks you should know