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Early Addition: Village Halloween Parade founder dies at 87
By
James Ramsay
Published May 17, 2023
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John Angelillo/UPI/Shutterstock
By
James Ramsay
Published May 17, 2023
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Good Wednesday morning in New York City, where Jay-Z is warning that the city's future depends on him getting a casino license. Here's what else is happening:
- "If the grand jury ultimately votes not to indict Mr. Penny, Mr. Bragg can tell the public it was not because prosecutors failed to take the case seriously": The New York Times has a handy explainer on on why Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg took so long (but, from another perspective, moved quickly) to arrest Daniel Penny for choking Jordan Neely to death.
- Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley hasn't waited for a grand jury ruling to declare that Penny should be "pardoned" because he was just trying to commit a "good deed."
- More than two years after the City Council passed a law forcing the NYPD to commission an independent investigation into the work of its former Equal Employment Opportunity Division director, James Kobel — who was fired for posting hundreds of racist and misogynistic comments under an alias on a law enforcement message board — the police department has yet to even hire a consultant to do the investigation.
- Prominent Brooklyn drill rapper Sheff G was among 32 people arrested as part of the Brooklyn DA's crackdown on a long-running gang beef.
- Ralph Lee, who founded the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade back in 1974 and created the famous "Land Shark" costume featured on "Saturday Night Live," has died at the age of 87.
- The Secret Service is under fire for letting a drunk, confused man wander into the Washington, D.C. home of President Joe Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.
- Apple is launching a snowboard goggle-looking nerd helmet.
- Starting May 22, you can get Early Addition in your inbox every weekday morning before it publishes on our website. Sign up here, and toggle to "subscribed."
- And finally, yo, come look:
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James Ramsay
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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