MEXICO LEGISLATIVE MILESTONE

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In what Committee Protecting Journalists called "a step forward in the fight against impunity," Mexico approved legislation that would implement a constitutional amendment giving federal authorities broader jurisdiction to prosecute crimes against freedom of expression.

CITY ISLAND CIVIC ASS.

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April 25th 2013

Bill Stanton​ President

FredRamftl First Vice-President

Barbara Dolensek Second Vice-President

Janie Blanks​ Recording Secretary

John Doyle Corresponding Secretary

Tom Smith Treasurer

The Association will be meeting Tuesday April 30th 2013 at 7:30pm at 190 Fordham St.

There are no guests scheduled to address the general membership as of this time.

ST PAUL'S CHURCH NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

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Special free Programs in May 2013

Wednesday, May 1, 1 PM

Our lunchtime series features a presentation about Frederick Whittaker -- Civil War cavalry officer, good friend of George A. Custer, husband, father, best-selling author, spiritualist, suicide? -- one of the more intriguing figures buried in the historic cemetery at St. Paul’s

Thursday, May 2, First Thursdays at St. Paul’s open from 1 to 9 PM

Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum

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Friday, May 3 Hawthorne
5:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Back by popular demand! Join us for the wonderful indie folk sound of Hawthorne from 6 to 8 p.m. The New York-based band plays entirely original music, spanning various acoustic styles and genres, including Americana, with a touch of country, Irish folk, and even gypsy jazz. Nat Osborn (guitar and vocals) will be joined by Aimee Bayles (vocals) and Karna Ray (cello). Hawthorne frequently performs at Joe's Pub and Rockwood Music Hall in Manhattan, and at other venues in the metro New York area.

NYPD CRIME STATISTICS

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On April, 2006, NYPD - 45th Precinct, which serves both City Island and Co-op City, reported one murder, three rapes, 69 robberies, 28 felonious assaults, and 91 burglaries.

To find out what it is six yeas later, go on top of the page, linked below, it will state "Year to Date", "28 day" or "Week to Date" which is a breakdown of those same numbers in different ways.

These numbers are for the entire 45th precinct. This is the link to the current statistics http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/downloads/pdf/crime_statistics/cs045pct.pdf

New Tenant for Kingsbridge Armory

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Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., Mayor Michael Bloomberg, City Council Member Fernando Cabrera, along with others joined New York Rangers' legend Mark Messier and Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hughes to announce the selection of the Kingsbridge National Ice Center as the next tenant of the Kingsbridge Armory.

WHAT TOOK SO LONG?

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Why are Crowley, Vacca and FEMA coming to City Island for a Town Hall Meeting on May 2?

It has now been over six months after Hurricane Sandy took the lives of 100 people, ravaged the tri-state area by uprooting thousands of trees, decimating homes and submerging cities.

While the number of lives claimed in New York alone from the super storm was 48, some individuals are asking why has it taken so long for US Congressman Bill Crowley, NYC Councilman Vacca and FEMA officials to hold a City Island Town Hall Meeting?

For City Islanders, housing, business, tourism and coastal protection all remain major issues with the quickly approaching summer vacation, not to mention that hurricane seasons is right around the corner once again.

Given that many communities in New York's 14th District are on or close to the water, Crowley asked FEMA and the New York City Department of Buildings to join him and Councilman Jimmy Vacca for a town hall meeting. At the meeting, agencies will explain how the new flood maps may affect residents and business owners. The officials will explain the timeline for the new maps and outline changes to the National Flood Insurance Program. They will also take any questions you have about the flood maps, flood insurance and any changes to building requirements.

The town hall meeting will be held on Thursday, May 2 at 7:00 p.m. at the City Island Civic Center, located at 190 Fordham Street in the Bronx. I invite you to come learn about the program and have your questions answered. Please RSVP to crowley.events@mail.house.gov with your name and phone number, or call 718.779.1400.

This Week in Her and History

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This Week in History, Apr 28 - May 4

Apr 28, 1945
Benito Mussolini executed. On this day in 1945, "Il Duce," Benito Mussolini, and his mistress, Clara Petacci, are shot by Italian partisans who had captured the couple as they attempted to flee to Switzerland. The 61-year-old deposed former dictator of Italy was established by his German allies as the figurehead of a puppet government in northern Italy during the German occupation toward the close of the war. As the Allies fought their way up the Italian peninsula, defeat of the Axis powers all but certain, Mussolini considered his options. Not wanting to fall into the hands of either the British or the Americans, and knowing that the communist partisans, who had been fighting the remnants of roving Italian fascist soldiers and thugs in the north, would try him as a war criminal, he settled on escape to a neutral country.

Apr 29, 2004
World War II monument opens in Washington, D.C. On April 29, 2004, the National World War II Memorial opens in Washington, D.C., to thousands of visitors, providing overdue recognition for the 16 million U.S. men and women who served in the war. The memorial is located on 7.4 acres on the former site of the Rainbow Pool at the National Mall between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. The Capitol dome is seen to the east, and Arlington Cemetery is just across the Potomac River to the west.

Apr 30, 1945
Adolf Hitler commits suicide. On this day in 1945, holed up in a bunker under his headquarters in Berlin, Adolf Hitler commits suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule and shooting himself in the head. Soon after, Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allied forces, ending Hitler's dreams of a "1,000-year" Reich. Since at least 1943, it was becoming increasingly clear that Germany would fold under the pressure of the Allied forces. In February of that year, the German 6th Army, lured deep into the Soviet Union, was annihilated at the Battle of Stalingrad, and German hopes for a sustained offensive on both fronts evaporated. Then, in June 1944, the Western Allied armies landed at Normandy, France, and began systematically to push the Germans back toward Berlin. By July 1944, several German military commanders acknowledged their imminent defeat and plotted to remove Hitler from power so as to negotiate a more favorable peace. Their attempts to assassinate Hitler failed, however, and in his reprisals, Hitler executed over 4,000 fellow countrymen.

May 01, 1931
Empire State Building dedicated. On this day in 1931, President Herbert Hoover officially dedicates New York City's Empire State Building, pressing a button from the White House that turns on the building's lights. Hoover's gesture, of course, was symbolic; while the president remained in Washington, D.C., someone else flicked the switches in New York. The idea for the Empire State Building is said to have been born of a competition between Walter Chrysler of the Chrysler Corporation and John Jakob Raskob of General Motors, to see who could erect the taller building. Chrysler had already begun work on the famous Chrysler Building, the gleaming 1,046-foot skyscraper in midtown Manhattan. Not to be bested, Raskob assembled a group of well-known investors, including former New York Governor Alfred E. Smith. The group chose the architecture firm Shreve, Lamb and Harmon Associates to design the building. The Art-Deco plans, said to have been based in large part on the look of a pencil, were also builder-friendly: The entire building went up in just over a year, under budget (at $40 million) and well ahead of schedule. During certain periods of building, the frame grew an astonishing four-and-a-half stories a week.

May 02, 1933
Loch Ness Monster sighted. Although accounts of an aquatic beast living in Scotland's Loch Ness date back 1,500 years, the modern legend of the Loch Ness Monster is born when a sighting makes local news on May 2, 1933. The newspaper Inverness Courier related an account of a local couple who claimed to have seen "an enormous animal rolling and plunging on the surface." The story of the "monster" (a moniker chosen by the Courier editor) became a media phenomenon, with London newspapers sending correspondents to Scotland and a circus offering a 20,000 pound sterling reward for capture of the beast.

May 03, 1469
Niccolo Machiavelli born. On this day in 1469, the Italian philosopher and writer Niccolo Machiavelli is born. A lifelong patriot and diehard proponent of a unified Italy, Machiavelli became one of the fathers of modern political theory. Machiavelli entered the political service of his native Florence by the time he was 29. As defense secretary, he distinguished himself by executing policies that strengthened Florence politically. He soon found himself assigned diplomatic missions for his principality, through which he met such luminaries as Louis XII of France, Pope Julius II, the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, and perhaps most importantly for Machiavelli, a prince of the Papal States named Cesare Borgia. The shrewd and cunning Borgia later inspired the title character in Machiavelli's famous and influential political treatise The Prince (1532).

May 04, 1994
Rabin and Arafat sign accord for Palestinian self-rule. On May 4, 1994, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat reached agreement in Cairo on the first stage of Palestinian self-rule. The agreement was made in accordance with the Oslo Accords, signed in Washington, D.C. on September 13, 1993. This was the first direct, face-to-face agreement between Israel and the Palestinians and it acknowledged Israel's right to exist. It was also designed as a framework for future relations between the two parties. The Gaza-Jericho agreement signed on this day in history addressed four main issues: security arrangements, civil affairs, legal matters and economic relations. It included an Israeli military withdrawal from about 60 percent of the Gaza Strip (Jewish settlements and their environs excluded) and the West Bank town of Jericho, land captured by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967. The Palestinians agreed to combat terror and prevent violence in the famous "land for peace" bargain. The document also included an agreement to a transfer of authority from the Israeli Civil Administration to the newly created Palestinian Authority, its jurisdiction and legislative powers, a Palestinian police force and relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

MOMA FILMS

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Carte Blanche: Ken Jacobs
May 2–5
For this installment of MoMA's Carte Blanche screening series, one of the founding fathers of American experimental cinema, Ken Jacobs, presents films from MoMA's collection that have influenced and inspired him, alongside selections of his own work that represent key moments in his artistic life. The series also includes the world premiere of Jacobs's four-part Joys of Waiting for the Broadway Bus cycle of digital works.
Chinese Realities/Documentary Visions
May 8–June 1

NYC vs LA / East Coast vs West Coast?

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New York, also known as The Big Apple happens not only to be the most populous city in the United States, but it is the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populated global urban areas.

Area: 468 sq miles (1,213 km²)
Weather: 59°F (15°C), Wind NE at 4 mph (6 km/h), 32% Humidity
Local time: Saturday 10:49 AM
Population: 8.245 million (2011)
Unemployment rate: 8.8% (Dec 2012)
Awards: Top Intelligent Community of the Year
http://www.nyc.gov

Los Angeles, also known as The City of Angels is officially The City of Los Angeles, which often identifies just by its initials L.A., is the most populous city in California and the second most populous in the United States, after New York.

Area: 503 sq miles (1,302 km²)
Elevation: 233' (71 m)
Weather: 56°F (13°C), Wind N at 0 mph (0 km/h), 87% Humidity
Local time: Saturday 7:49 AM (3 hours earlier than NY)
Population: 3.82 million (2011)
Unemployment rate: 11.3% (Dec 2012)
Awards: Entertainment Capital
http://lacounty.gov