Weather Journal: Snowy NYC Gets Yet More Snow

Our next big winter storm will arrive Thursday night and continue through Friday, delivering upwards of six inches of new snow to an already slushy Greater New York.

In New York City, snow totals should be between two and five inches — although there’s always that outside possibility for significantly more or less. Unlike previous storms this winter, this one will be a quick mover. Snow totals should remain low accordingly.

Queens Man Pleads Guilty in Sex-Trafficking Case

A Queens man, who became the first person to be indicted under New York’s sex trafficking statute in 2008, pleaded guilty Wednesday to prostituting three young women.

The man, 25-year-old Woodley Gaston of South Ozone Park, acknowledged advancing and profiting from the prostitution of a 16-year-old girl, among other things. In return, Queens Supreme Court Judge Barry Kron promised Gaston an indeterminate sentence of three to nine years in prison when he’s officially given his penalty on Feb. 3. Gaston will also be forced to register as a sex offender.

He pleaded guilty to a laundry list of charges against him, including sex trafficking, promoting prostitution and rape. According to the complaint, he used the website Craigslist.org to post explicit pictures of at least two girls to attract customers, then forced the girls to turn over to him any money made from the transactions.

New Jersey Tries to Duplicate Harlem Children’s Zone

The methods behind the Harlem Children’s Zone education and social project have been praised by President Barack Obama and lionized in the film “Waiting for ‘Superman.’” But the integrated approach to raising successful children has been tough to repeat — and now New Jersey is going to give it a try.

Officials in Paterson, N.J., will begin working with experts from the Harlem Children’s Zone to mimic the model, the Christie administration said Wednesday. Geoffrey Canada, the outspoken president of the Harlem company, said his group’s work will be similar to contracts it has in Newark and Camden, two other large, urban school districts.

Few details were given about what the program might look like, but Department of Education spokesman Alan Guenther said state funding could be provided for the Paterson experiment.

Sen. Lieberman: I’m Leaving With Regis

Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman joked Wednesday that he decided to retire from Congress because he once promised his wife that he’d quit when longtime talk show host Regis Philbin retired.

“It’s not easy on the spouses, and Hadassah said to me, ‘Joey, how long are you going to stay in the Senate?’ I promise you, when Regis leaves television, I’ll leave the Senate — and here we are!” Lieberman said at a press conference. Philbin announced retirement plans of his own earlier this week.

First elected to the U.S. Senate in 1988, Lieberman opted not to seek a fifth term on Wednesday, as he faced the likelihood of strong challengers on both the right and the left.

Bloomberg Gets Tough on Unions

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, hoping to preserve his legacy after weeks of intense criticism following the post-Christmas blizzard, vowed Wednesday to take a tough stand against the unions as he seeks pension reform in Albany.

In his 10th State of the City address, Bloomberg pledged to reduce the welfare rolls, increase contracting with women- and minority-owned businesses and improve the city’s record in safety and public education. He also promised not to raise taxes.

But in a bold move, the mayor plans to take a very aggressive approach to reforming the pension system, his administration’s number one priority in Albany. To do so, he sent a clear warning to the city’s labor force.

New Jersey Employers Slash Jobs

New Jersey lost 16,300 jobs in December — including 13,300 in the private sector — while the state’s unemployment rate fell to 9.1%, the state labor department said Wednesday.

The public sector also shed 3,000 jobs in December. The new numbers, which are often revised in subsequent months, showed the state more than erased November’s gain in private-sector employment, which labor officials revised upward to 12,400 jobs added.

Overall, New Jersey is now estimated to have 3.83 million jobs.

Last month, Gov. Chris Christie said his policies were responsible for the November gain because he brought “optimism and certainty” to New Jersey, which traditionally is ranked at or among the bottom of business-friendly states.

On Wednesday, a Christie spokesman downplayed the one-month loss. “Fluctuations are to be expected as we move out of recession, but year-over-year private-sector job losses have stabilized as conditions in the state and national economies improve,” said spokesman Michael Drewniak.

Suspicious Package at Israeli Bank in Midtown

See update below.

Police are investigating a report of a suspicious package at the Midtown location of Bank Hapoalim, an Israeli commercial bank, according to a report from the Associated Press.

Police and fire officials told the AP that no injuries have been reported so far. Several floors of the bank, located at 1177 Sixth Avenue, have been evacuated as a precaution. The bomb squad is at the scene and officials are investigating.

The suspicious package was found earlier this morning. We’ll post more information as it becomes available.

UPDATE: NYPD officials have indicated that it was a false alarm, and workers are now re-entering the building.

Three-Year-Old Firefighter Gets Recognition

Christopher C.J. Cooke, 3, woke up his father, Steven, when he heard a smoke alarm that went off due to a dryer fire. Christopher’s mother, Nicolina, was showering at the time. Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano swore in C.J. as a Junior Firefighter and presented him with a badge and a firefighter’s hat on Tuesday.

EPA Testing at School Finds High Levels of PCBs

Environmental regulators have found high levels of PCBs in two-thirds of the lighting fixtures tested at a Staten Island elementary school, officials said Tuesday.

Earlier this month, the Environmental Protection Agency arrived at P.S. 53 for a spot inspection of old lighting fixtures suspected of leaking PCBs, a group of chemicals used in building materials for decades until they were banned in 1978.

Samples from 22 of the 33 lighting fixtures tested at the school contained PCBs above the federal government’s “acceptable” level of 50 parts per million.

Newark Schools Chief Steps Down

Newark schools Superintendent Clifford Janey, who was told in August his contract would not be renewed, stepped down on Tuesday.

The New Jersey Department of Education, which controls the nearly 40,000-student Newark school system, said a transition team would run the day-to-day operations while a search is on for the next executive for the state’s largest district.

Gov. Chris Christie has focused on Newark Public Schools, saying the district is failing children trapped in bad schools. Christie and Newark Mayor Cory Booker are making a public play to turn the district around.