Morning Headlines | Selected by the WNYC News Hub

Must-reads headlines from around the city, curated by the WNYC Newsroom.

POLITICS
Paterson Aides Said to Have Sought Race-Based Changes to Security Detail in ‘08 (NYT)
Danny Hakim reports that many of Paterson’s former aides refute the allegations: “Preston L. Felton, at the time the acting superintendent of the State Police and the first African-American to lead the agency, said the Paterson administration had sent him ‘a typed request to remove 10 to 15 white troopers, and 2 African-American troopers they didn’t like, and it was clear to me that they wanted to remove all the white troopers and replace them with African-American or Latino troopers.’ State Police officials believed such moves would violate state law and lead to discrimination lawsuits. Mr. Felton said the dispute became so heated that he considered making a harassment complaint in Albany city court against a top Paterson aide.”

CRIME
NJ Men Pretend to Be Navy SEALs, Run Bogus 9/11 Charity: AG (WNBC)
Brian Thompson reports: “In the lawsuit filed Monday in Superior Court, the Attorney General's Office claims 66-year-old Mark Niemczyk of Tinton Falls and 40-year-old Thomas Scalgione of Manahawkin used the money they raised for their own personal gain. It also alleges that the pair — who both have criminal records — failed to register the charity as required by state law.”

CRIME
Mayor Bloomberg: Weapons Busts Beat Cash (NYP)
David Seifman reports: “ Mayor Bloomberg rejected a proposal yesterday to add $50 million to community groups in neighborhoods beset by gun violence. ‘You know, feel-good organizations are great and do some good,’ said the mayor. ‘That’s not our problem. Our problem is guns on the streets, people that those kinds of programs would probably never reach.’” Meanwhile, the Post also writes: “New York’s tough-as-nails gun laws aren’t doing much to stop illegal weapons purchased in other states from getting into criminal hands here, according to a federal analysis released yesterday.”

CRIME
Newark Police Ramp Up Gun Seizures, See Violence Go Down (The Star-Ledger)
James Queally reports: “Officers seized 696 firearms in 2011, a massive 60 percent increase compared to the 438 weapons seized in 2010. With nearly 500 guns off the street already in 2012, the department could record its largest seizure of weapons in a single year, DeMaio said. The record stands at 896 guns seized in 2006. As the gun seizures have gone up, violence has slowly gone down. There were 43 homicides in the city as of July 11, down from 52 at the same time in 2011.”

TRANSPORTATION
Bicycle ‘Pump’: Pedal-share Firm Pushes for Quick Cash (NYP)
David Seifman reports: “Alta, the company that was supposed to have put 10,000 bicycles on the street starting today, has asked the lead sponsor to accelerate payments of $3.5 million in case the program is delayed until next spring and runs out of cash, sources said.”

PARKS
A $40M Gift, a Proposed Bike Arena and Now Skepticism in Brooklyn (NYT)
Lisa W. Foderaro reports: “The gift was heralded as a much-needed boost for the 85-acre waterfront park, which is still under development. But attention quickly turned to the centerpiece of the plan: a velodrome with a 200-meter inclined indoor cycling track and stadium seating for almost 2,500 spectators. At the track’s center would be limited space for more traditional sports like basketball, gymnastics or tennis.
Now, some parkgoers, neighborhood activists and community leaders are looking that donation in the mouth and saying, Thanks, but no thanks.”

POLITICS
Native Newarker to Assume Role of Booker’s Press Secretary (The Star-Ledger)
David Giambusso reports: “Kimberly DeHaarte, a longtime aide in Mayor Cory Booker's press shop, will assume the role of press secretary, according to two city officials with knowledge of the move. DeHaarte's appointment comes at an auspicious time for Booker and Newark, as the mayor goes increasingly on the offensive with a hostile city council and as speculation flies about Booker's political future.”

POLITICS
Gov. Cuomo to Veto Special Ed Bill That Could Make it Easier to Send Kids to Private or Religious Schools (NYDN)
Glenn Blain reports: “Gov. Cuomo Tuesday plans to veto a controversial special education bill that critics charged would have made it easier for parents to send their children to private or religious schools at taxpayer expense, a source confirmed Monday.”

CRIME
Girls Plead Not Guilty to Attacking Vietnam Vet on 6 Train (DNA Info)
Irene Plagianos reports: “Five young women pleaded not guilty Monday to charges related to the stabbing of a Vietnam Vet during a violent melee on a Manhattan subway. Prosecutors said one of the girls, 19-year-old Stairmeik Driggins, swung the knife during the brawl on a southbound 6 train near 23rd Street just after 6 a.m. Sunday that left 63-year-old Ralph Carnegary with a stab wound in his shoulder...Driggins' lawyer, Ikiesha Al-Shabbaz, presented a different version of the early-morning tussle, saying Driggins had no knife — and only jumped into the fray to protect her girlfriend, who had been punched in the stomach by the victim.”