7 Manhattan Stories You May Have Missed Last Week

NEW YORK, NY — Here are some of the stories that made headlines in Manhattan this week:

1. Battle Over Controversial Upper West Side Synagogue Development Goes Back Before Board: The city Board of Standards and Appeals is once again serving as a battleground for an Upper West Side congregation and neighborhood preservationists. Congregation Shearith Israel received approval from the board to construct a nine story, mixed-use development adjacent to its synagogue in 2008. Fast forward eight years — the site is still a hole and the congregation is back in front of the board seeking approval for an amended plan so they can continue construction.
2. Mayor: Bronx Shooting 'Unacceptable,' 'Didn't Have to Happen': Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill admitted in the bluntest terms possible that the police department did the wrong thing in killing a 66-year-old woman in the Bronx on Tuesday night. "What is clear in this one instance: We failed," O'Neill told reporters Wednesday morning. "That's not what was supposed to happen. That's not how we are trained."
3. NYPD Releases Adorable Footage of Police Dog Named After Fallen Officer: One year after the shooting death of New York City police officer Randolph Holder in East Harlem, a police dog named after Holder is being a very, very good dog. Randy, a black labrador, is a K-9 officer who patrols the city, and supports his fellow officers, according to this rather adorable footage released by the NYPD Thursday.
4. Manhattan, Bronx Most STD-Filled Boroughs in New York: CDC: Fans of one night stands, take note — you better be extra careful if you're living in Manhattan or the Bronx. Sexually transmitted diseases are up across all of New York City in 2015, but they're the highest in those two boroughs, according to the newest data released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Oct. 19.
5. Women's Homeless Shelter's Family Photo Shoot Day Provides Relief for Its Residents: Eufracina Soler and her daughter, Kiara Fortuna Soler, spend most of their time going back and forth between hospital appointments in the Bronx and the homeless shelter where they live in the East Village. So they were relieved on Thursday to be able to get their makeup done by professionals and pose together for a skilled photographer in Tompkins Square Park.
6. 10 Fake ‘Lucky Pennies’ Dropped in New York City Worth $1,000 Each: Finders keepers. You may want to think twice before walking past a penny you see lying on the sidewalk in New York City. Ally Bank dropped 10 "Lucky Pennies" in each of 10 different cities around the United States, and if you find one, it's worth 100,000 pennies — that's $1,000 if you're not quick with the math.
7. Illegal Airbnb Renters in New York Now Subject to $7,500 Fine: Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday signed the strictest bill in New York's history against Airbnb renters, imposing fines of as much as $7,500 on people who rent out rooms in their apartments. The bill applies to rentals of less than 30 days when the owner or tenant isn't actually in the apartment.

Photo Credit: Patch