Free Republic

Anti-Muslim protesters marching in Lower Manhattan Saturday were met by a larger group of counter-protesters who drowned them out with chants of their own. The two sides squared off in Foley Square, where ACT for America, a lobbying organization opposed to Muslim immigration, organized a “March against Sharia” - part of a series of nationwide marches the group organized Saturday. About 100 demonstrators carrying signs with anti-Islamic slogans — one reading simply “NO MORE MUSLIMS” — shouted against Sharia law, which ACT for America argues is threatening the United States. The organization is designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center...

An office tower is subject to forfeiture because revenue from it was secretly funneled to a state-owned Iranian bank in violation of a U.S. trade embargo, a judge ruled Monday. … The U.S. government had said the Alavi Foundation’s sole partner in the ownership of the 36-story Manhattan building was a shell company fronting for a secret interest held by the state-owned bank of Iran, Bank Melli. The Iranian government has been designated by the U.S. as a sponsor of international terrorism, an allegation it has repeatedly denied. …

Mayor Addresses Protesters at Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society Rally in Battery Park By Courtney Gross Updated Sunday, February 12, 2017 at 06:25 PM EST Mayor Bill de Blasio addressed of thousands of protesters today at a rally in lower Manhattan to support refugees. The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, a Jewish non-profit that aims to protect refugees held the event at Castle Clinton in Battery Park at 11 a.m. Organizers said they were calling on elected officials to keep America's doors open to refugees fleeing violence and persecution. "This is what a fight for conscience looks like," de Blasio said to...

**SNIP** Zarif is the current minister of foreign affairs in the Rouhani administration and has held various significant diplomatic and cabinet posts since the 1990s. He was Kerry’s chief counterpart in the nuclear deal negotiations. Secretary Kerry and Zarif first met over a decade ago at a dinner party hosted by George Soros at his Manhattan penthouse. What a surprise. I have to say, connecting the dots gets more and more frightening. But it gets even worse. Guess who was the best man at the 2009 wedding between Kerry’s daughter Vanessa and Behrouz Vala Nahed? Javad Zarif’s son.

For 25 years, China Fun was renowned for its peerless soup dumplings and piquant General Tso’s chicken. What left a bad taste in the mouths of its owners and loyal patrons was the restaurant’s sudden Jan. 3 closing, blamed by management on suffocating government demands. “The climate for small businesses like ours in New York have become such that it’s difficult to justify taking risks and running — nevermind starting — a legitimate mom-and-pop business,” read a letter posted by the owners in the restaurant’s front door. “The state and municipal governments, with their punishing rules and regulations, seems to...

A man was shot in the shoulder Tuesday during a dispute on the Lower East Side, possibly involving people in several vehicles. The 31-year-old was struck in the left shoulder at the intersection of Hester and Essex streets just after 5 a.m.http://abc7ny.com/news/man-injured-in-lower-east-side-shooting-/1683625/

Tyler DurdenDecember 21, 2016 One week ago, New Yorkers were captivated, and unnerved, by a 40-minute long military exercise in which one USAF C-130 and several HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters could be seen circling at very low altitudes above Manhattan. While the US military kept silent about the overflight, U.S. Air Force Col. Nicholas Broccoli, the vice commander of the Air National Guard’s 106th Rescue Wing, said the aircraft were conducting "standard military training." However, one look at the flight pattern of the plane shows there was seemingly little that was "standard" about a C-130(snip)Today we learn that the overflights...

A military plane that flew over Manhattan on Tuesday afternoon briefly caused widespread confusion as New Yorkers wondered why the aircraft was circling so low over the city. A spokesman for the FAA told Business Insider in a statement that the C-130 spotted overhead was “conducting authorized flights over New York City in coordination with FAA air traffic control.” Col. Nicholas Broccoli of the 160th Rescue Wing added to The Washington Post that the plane was simply carrying out “standard military training.” Aviation writer Jason Rabinowitz, however, said on Twitter that it is “not normal” for military aircraft to circle...

LeBron won't stay at Trump hotel with team © Getty Images A group of Cleveland Cavaliers players are refusing to stay at a Trump hotel in New York City, according to ESPN. The Cavaliers have a contract with Trump SoHo hotel in lower Manhattan, but a group of players have been excused from staying there. LeBron James is among the players who will not stay at the hotel, ESPN reports. James endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton about a month before she lost the election to Donald Trump.

There’s going to be the same old “sheriff” in this town. Preet Bharara, The gungho federal prosecutor has agreed to “stay on” as Manhattan U.S. Attorney after President-elect Donald Trump offered him the gig during a meeting Wednesday afternoon at Trump Tower in Midtown. “We had a good meeting. I agreed to stay on. I have already spoken to Senator Sessions, who is as you know is the nominee to be the attorney general. He also asked that I stay on, and so I expect that I will be continuing to work at the southern district,” Bharara confirmed to a...

Donald Trump is a creature of New York. He ran against Washington and called it “a swamp.” During his campaign, he often flew home late at night so he could wake up in his own bed. His 10-year-old son is enrolled in a Manhattan private school. So it’s no wonder Trump is reportedly considering spending time in New York whenever he is able — presumably on weekends. If so, his home, in the penthouse of Trump Tower, on W. 56th Street and Fifth Avenue, will be the epicenter of an iron curtain that will wall off much of Midtown from...

The American Civil Liberties Union on Monday began representing a man accused of setting off bombs in New York and New Jersey and injuring more than 30 people. After judges in both states denied attempts by public defenders to represent Ahmed Khan Rahami, a lawyer for the organization’s New Jersey chapter entered a notice of appearance in his case in federal court in Newark on Monday. Rahami has been hospitalized since he was caught following a shootout with police in Linden last week. He has not made an initial court appearance. …

NEWS FDNY confirms they are on the scene of possible explosion in Chelsea Email FDNY confirms they are on the scene of possible explosion in Chelsea (@voicehalf/Twitter ) Updated 7 mins ago CHELSEA, Manhattan (WABC) -- The FDNY confirms they are on the scene of a possible explosion at 135 West 23rd Street in Manhattan. As a result, E and F trains are currently bypassing 23 St in both directions.

An improvised explosive device was detonated tonight in New York, sending at least 15 to the hospital with injuries. The explosion took place on 6th Ave and 23rd, according to a journalist who reported his findings to Cernovich Media.

CHELSEA, Manhattan — Multiple people were injured during an outdoor explosion in Chelsea Saturday night. The explosion happened at 135 23rd St. between Sixth and Seventh avenues. It was not immediately clear how many people were injured or the severity of their injuries. The FDNY is on the scene with the NYPD. The explosion comes after a pipe bomb exploded in Seaside Park, New Jersey near the Semper Five 5K Charity Run Route. The device was placed in a garbage can.

Received text from @realDonald Trump: I will be making the announcement of my Vice Presidential pick on Friday at 11am in Manhattan. Details to follow.

An elite Manhattan school is teaching white students as young as 6 that they’re born racist and should feel guilty benefiting from “white privilege,” while heaping praise and cupcakes on their black peers. Administrators at the Bank Street School for Children on the Upper West Side claim it’s a novel approach to fighting discrimination, and that several other private New York schools are doing it, but even liberal parents aren’t buying it. They complain the K-8 school of 430 kids is separating whites in classes where they’re made to feel awful about their “whiteness,” and all the “kids of color”...

Congressman Charles Rangel was swift-footed and savvy enough to stay ahead of demographic and geographic shifts in his district during his 46 years in the House of Representatives—but in the end, he just didn’t have enough juice to anoint an heir. Harlem Assemblyman Keith Wright lost his bid to replace his retiring 86-year-old mentor to State Senator Adriano Espaillat, who challenged Rangel in 2012 and 2014 but fell short. After a bitter Democratic primary campaign—one with heavy ethnic overtones—the Dominican Republic-born Espaillat beat the African-American Wright in the upper Manhattan-based district by approximately 1,300 votes. Former White House aide Clyde...

Nine candidates are vying for Rep. Charles Rangel's seat — a position he's held for nearly a half-century — but only one stood beside him as he cast his vote in Harlem on Tuesday. "For the first time in 46 years I couldn't find my name!" Rangel said as he stepped out of his polling site at Public School 175 on W. 134th St. "But I'm so glad I did find his name," he added, nodding towards Assemblyman Keith Wright, whom Rangel endorsed as his successor. New Yorkers in seven congressional districts in four boroughs — Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx...