Results tagged “church”

A storefront pastor has been sentenced to two to six years in prison after swindling more than 100 immigrants with promises of U.S. visas and green cards. Gregorio Gonzalez, 57, was sentenced on Tuesday after pleading guilty to collecting more than $840,000, mainly from Ecuadorian immigrants who visited him at the Iglesia Pentecostal Roca de Salvacion Eterna in Corona, according to 1010WINS. "He took our money," 27-year-old office cleaner Viviana Ordonez told the Daily News. "He took our trust in him. We right now have nothing. We don't have hope. We want justice." After Gonzalez gets out of prison, he will face deportation proceedings. more ›

According to everyone involved, yesterday’s gun buyback in the Bronx was a marvelous success! Four churches collected 1,216 firearms in a limited-time, no-questions-asked cahs4guns event. “In the fight against gun violence, everything helps, and I am proud that we were able to take so many guns out of circulation,” said Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. in a statement. Gun relinqhishers can use the money to feed their families and pay their mortgages—or just blow it all on drugs and knives. more ›

For at least a year now, the First Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn Heights has been giving parishioners parking placards for their cars when parking in the bike lane on Henry Street. The placards explain to police that occupants of the vehicle are conducting "Church Business." One local resident, Peter Kaufman, believes "they have some 'understanding' with the 84th Precinct, whereby if they put a sign in their window that they are attending church, they don't get ticketed." On his blog Ink Lake, Kaufman posted video of this epic bike lane block during last Sunday's service [SPOILER: they're parked along the entire block]: more ›

Queens has been long ignored by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, but the 160-year-old St. Saviour's in Maspeth has gotten a lot more attention than the likes of Jack Kerouac's old stomping grounds. In fact, Curbed recalls that at one point, "a deal was worked out to save the main church building and relocate it to a nearby cemetery, while the Parks Department works on a potential deal to acquire the land and turn it into a much-needed park." Here's a complete timeline of the saga. more ›

The Brooklyn Paper reports that members of the Westboro Baptist Church — famous for their "God Hates Fags" and "Thank God For 9/11" signs — will be in Park Slope this Saturday to harass the Sabbath services at Congregation Beth Elohim. This isn't their first time in NYC— they visited the West Village earlier this year. The synagogue is being targeted as part of a concerted effort to begin protesting Jewish organizations for such sins as tolerance of homosexuality and of course, killing Jesus. more ›

How did Brooklyn Heights ring in the Jewish New Year? With swastikas painted inside the First Unitarian Universalist Church on Monroe Street. Sigh. Police said there were also “very inappropriate statements," but did not get more specific. [BHB] more ›

The Rev. Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II, a materialistic multimillionaire evangelist better known as Ike, died Tuesday in Los Angeles at the age of 74. He had been residing there since 2007 following a stroke, but he spent most of his life in New York City, where, in 1969, he paid $600,000 for the massive old Loew’s 175th Street theater and made it his headquarters, calling it the Palace Cathedral. For the past several years, the ornate Washington Heights theater has also been used for rock concerts, featuring such acts as Arcade Fire and Sonic Youth. But the Christ Community United Church continues to worship at the theater, albeit without Reverend's Ike's famous "Blessing of the Cadillacs," nor his exhortations to his flock to "close your eyes and see green. Money up to your armpits, a roomful of money and there you are, just tossing around in it like a swimming pool." We expect to see plenty of swim trunks and inflatable armbands stuffed with dollar bills at the next United Palace concert. more ›

It's hardly a secret that organized religion can be a very lucrative business model, but the sky high compensation package offered to the new senior minister of Riverside Church—which has a long history of advocating social justice—has some congregants raising hell. The Daily News's Juan Gonzalez reports that a group of dissident church members filed suit in Manhattan Supreme Court last week to stop Saturday's installation of Rev. Brad Braxton, who's been hired with a $600,000 annual compensation package. more ›

Last year, the Port Authority struck a deal with the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church over the church's land at Ground Zero. The church was destroyed on 9/11 and the Port Authority offered $20 million to the church for the land (it was planning a vehicle security center underground) and $40 million in infrastructure; the church would move a block to a bigger lot. But now the deal is off, because, as the PA claims, the church was demanding more. According to reports, the church wanted to build a basilica that would have been taller than the World Trade Center memorial—plus wanted approval of the security center, the $20 million upfront and another $20 million if the land wasn't turned over by 2011. A church spokesman told the Times they are continuing talks, "We consider the rebuilding of the St. Nicholas Church a sacred obligation to the victims of 9/11, to the city of New York, to the people of America and in fact to the international community." more ›

While the scope of the alleged fraud isn't as wide-reaching at Bernard Madoff's, it doesn't mean accused Ponzi schemer Bryant Rodriguez didn't hurt his victims. Rodriguez allegedly convinced fellow parishioners at Iglesia El Camino in Washington Heights (which he first joined for baptism classes) to invest with him—promising returns of 30% every two weeks, since he was working with BJ's and Costco. It all unraveled when parishioners became suspicious when they didn't get their investments back. He was granted $2 million bail, plus must "post $750,000 in cash or property and turn in his passport before he would be released and would be subject to electronic monitoring," according to the NY Times. At the hearing, some people were present to defend Rodriguez, claiming they had received their investments. But the Manhattan DA's office says that the scheme may be bigger than the $1.1 million churchgoers invested, “We...believe that he may be perpetrating the same scheme in other churches.” more ›

Baby Jesus is coming strapped this Christmas—with GPS! Many churches and synagogues in the area are equipping their nativity scenes and menorah displays with the locating system to impede hooligans who often use the holiday season to get their jollies via vandalism, costing the places of worship up to thousands of dollars for the sometimes pricey decorations. New York-based firm BrickHouse Secruity offered free, short term loans of GPS to religious institutions that now will be notified immediately by email if their display is moved. Reverend Bob Gorman of St. Ambrose Church in Old Bridge, New Jersey told The Star-Leger, "We call it God's Positioning System." Their church is currently planning to to drill a hole in Baby Jesus' backside to slip in the GPS device before the figure is placed in the manger on Christmas Eve. Somewhere King Herod wonders in defeat, "Why didn't I think of that?" more ›

The police say 27-year-old Joseph Pallipurath fatally shot his estranged wife and another person and injured a third inside a church in Clifton, NJ. The Star-Ledger reports that Pallipurath's wife Reshma James had fled her husband and their California home "to live with a relative in New Jersey... and even took out a restraining order against" him. But he tracked her down at the Thomas Syrian Orthodox Church; witnesses say Pallipurath said, "You are my wife, I'm taking you, you have to come with me." James refused and Pallipurath shot her in the head as well as Dennis John, who tried to intervene. James's cousin Silvy Perincheril was also critically wounded. Pallipurath fled the scene in a 1994 green Jeep with California plates; he is considered armed and dangerous. more ›

As reported last week, a woman is suing the Diocese of Brooklyn for $25 million because a Roman Catholic priest at Our Lady of the Snows church allegedly seduced her from the confession booth. The accused priest, Reverend Elvis Elano, has yet to speak publicly, but yesterday parishioners at his former church in Astoria opened up to the Post. And one 80-year-old female churchgoer can probably count on being summoned to testify in Elano's defense: "I don't care whether he's a priest or not, when a woman opens her legs, a man is not going to say no. I don't believe it, but if he did it, more power to him." more ›

Reverend Elvis Elano, a priest formerly posted at Our Lady of the Snows in the Queens, is having a very trying day. After his secret seven-month affair with parishioner Judith Rodrigues-Lytwyn ended earlier this month, his ex has gone public with a lawsuit in Brooklyn Supreme Court, and The Smoking Gun has obtained a cachet of embarrassing photos, emails and documents, like the receipt for his online Viagra purchase. more ›

Police say a drug-addicted ex-con admitted to robbing 12 churches on Staten Island. And Lonnie Faulk would attend "Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, then [come] back to raid poor boxes and candle collection plates," according to the Staten Island Advance. Apparently Faulk was arrested while attempting a 13th break-in, "using a screwdriver to break a basement window at the First Central Baptist Church." The church deacon, who said they had been previously robbed of rolls of quarters and some pens in August, so they installed metal bars, remarked, "It is really sad. If we could help him, we would, but we don't want the church broken into." Earlier this year, a Long Island man attending an AA meeting stole $40 from a church poor box to buy pot. more ›

Is gambling really a vice if you donate your $3 million lottery ticket to a church in need? The growing True North Community Church, which Newsday says was about to hold services in "rented ballrooms and school gyms," received a blessing when an anonymous donor gave them a winning Ba-Da Bling scratch-off ticket's winnings. The Port Jefferson Station church will received $150,000 a year for 20 years. Taxes will be taken out, but since the church is a nonprofit, "the church can file for refund claims for a portion or all of the taxes withheld by the lottery." The church has decided to give the first year of earnings away to charities and its pastor denied being the lottery ticket winner, "I'd give a lot of it to the church, but not all of it. This is a rare, remarkable, generous person." more ›

The Daily News has a cute story about a Flatbush church ordering a 240-pound fan to cool the congregation. Apparently it gets so stifling at Our Lady of Refuge Church during the summer that some parishioners stop going to church, therefore the church called upon Big Ass Fans of Kentucky to bring in a $7,500 fan. While the name is a bit secular, but the church administrator said in the current conditions, "You can't even sit and lean back because your clothes are going to stick to the pew." And Big Ass Fans says it's installed its products at many churches and thinks the congregations will say, "I'm glad they bought that big-ass fan." Fun fact: The fan's blades display the signatures of parishioners who donated to the fan (see the photo). more ›

The Brooklyn Flea was back in business for another Sunday, and The Daily News reports from the front lines, noting that the clash between "hipsters and old-timers" continued. While the Flea isn't really a hipster thing, the clash between the two sides did continue, even though the two attempted to reconcile at a meeting this past Thursday.

Angry encounters over parking between shoppers and local churchgoers nearly ended in blows yesterday. more ›

Last night the community board meeting concerning The Brooklyn Flea was held, and The Brooklyn Paper reports back that opponents and organizers alike "met in a heated, ethnically charged summit that ended without any solutions to the chasm that separates the sides." Essentially, local churches want the Flea gone, or at least no longer coinciding with services on Sunday (but really they just want it gone); many believe that the long-time residents are leaving no middle ground for compromise and are merely resisting any inevitable change. more ›

It's a $20 million miracle for an East Village church slated for demolition! An anonymous donor has given a multi-million donation to the struggling parish and its school: There's $10 million for the restoration of the the church, $2 million for a parish endowment and $8 million to support St. Brigid's school and other Catholic schools. more ›

the church and sell it to a developer. How could this happen? Well, the City Register doesn't check deeds for authenticity, enabling many scammers to attempt steal property. more ›

Working his political connections to score one of the few below-ground burial plots left in Manhattan, former Mayor Ed Koch has announced that he will be buried in Trinity Church Cemetery at Broadway and 155th Street. The 83-year-old New Yorker says, “The idea of leaving Manhattan permanently irritates me.” So when the time comes he’ll be laid to rest in the company of such notables as Jerry Orbach, naturalist John James Audubon, and a slew of Astors. more ›

Yesterday’s protest outside the headquarters on 46th Street amounted to roughly 100 masked gadflies cracking wise and chanting anti-Scientology slogans like “Tax the Cult”. Besides objecting to Scientology’s tax-exempt status, the protesters also blame the church for the death of adherent Lisa McPherson in 1995, their alleged use of child labor, and their “fair game” policy of aggressively silencing critics. Yesterday would have been McPherson’s 49th birthday. more ›

Peter Braunstein really loves the New York Post. The fashion industry reporter-turned-prison inmate, after being recently convicted of the kidnapping, sex assault, armed robbery and burglary of a former co-worker on Halloween in 2005, gives his first interview since being locked up this past summer to the tabloid. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery on Austin Rd. in Queens, another bank robbery on Church Ave. in Brooklyn, and a police car vs. scaffolding in Manhattan; the scaffolding has been compromised.
• A Queens high school was locked down this afternoon for two hours after a student's 'To Do' list was found listing seven students "To kill today."
• The projected cost of restoring the separate homes that constitute Admiral's Row at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
• Alcides Moreno, who fell more than 40 stories in an accident that killed his brother, has been yawning and moving his arms and legs.
• The owner of Central Park Carriage and Horse Stables and the managers of Wicker Park Cafe and Bistro and Penang on Columbus Circle were arrested for attempting to bribe a Consumer Affairs inspector, hoping he'd overlook multiple violations.
• A $10,000 security system is being installed at the Wollman Rink in Prospect Park after thieves broke into the skating facility's concession stand last week.
• The ad sales execs at NBC are getting tricky by placing AmEx bumper spots featuring cast members of Tina Fey's "30 Rock" that segue directly from the show.

Writer/director Robert Tinnell has sifted through his fond childhood memories of big Italian Christmas gatherings and emerged with a unique fusion of comic book and cookbook called The Feast of the Seven Fishes. Originally a popular internet comic, the humorously fictional book is inspired by the Italian Christmas Eve tradition involving big seafood dinners and lots of red wine. (The book's boisterous familial storyline will also be adapted into a feature length film of the... more ›

A week and a half ago, former NJ Governor James McGreevey and his ex-wife Dina Matos McGreevey were fighting over a birthday party McGreevey and his partner were planning for 6-year-old daughter Jacqueline, another public spat in their contentious divorce. In spite of a judge's repeated requests for the McGreeveys to settle their differences for the sake of their daughter, we know a lot about their squabbling. The Post runs down the greatest hits. Matos... more ›

Fire Marshal Douglas Mercereau was laid to rest at St. Charles R.C. Church on Staten Island yesterday. Mercereau was found murdered in his home, shot three times in the head, and his wife appears to be a suspect. Though the police have not officially named any suspects, Janet Redmond-Mercereau allegedly had a rocky relationship with her husband, to the point where the two started divorce proceedings in 2006. At the funeral, mourners "cast suspicious glances"... more ›

After commuters on the L and B/D (as well as N/Q/R/W) lines had to deal with breakdowns and commuting delays last night, this evening's commute brings delays on the F, D, G and N lines. Apparently a signal problem at 4th Avenue-9th Street Station in Brooklyn is causing the F to be shut between West 4th Street-Washington Square Station and the Church Avenue Station in both directions. The F then runs on the D... more ›

After two seasons of constant trade speculation, the Mets finally have moved Lastings Milledge in a deal this afternoon to the division rival Washington Nationals. In return, the Mets receive Outfielder Ryan Church and Catcher Brian Schneider. Milledge was not always a model citizen as a Met, either on the field or of the field, but nonetheless had been long touted by the organization and the media by a top tier outfield prospect. While he... more ›