Light Rain 52°
Tag:

Disability

Police & Fire
Repeat Offender Punches Disabled Man In Face For 75-Cent Bus Fare: Ridgefield Park PD Repeat Offender Punches Disabled Man In Face For 75-Cent Bus Fare: Ridgefield Park PD
Repeat Offender Punches Disabled Man In Face For 75-Cent Bus Fare: Ridgefield Park PD A repeat offender heartlessly punched a disabled man on a Ridgefield Park street and took the 75 cents he'd been carrying for bus fare, authorities said. Joshua Bendewald, 30, approached the victim near the corner of Main Street and Grand Avenue and “asked him how much money he had” around 11 a.m. Saturday, June 1, Ridgefield Park Police Lt. Justin Tress said. The 64-year-old victim said he had only the 75-cent bus fare he held in his hand, which the robber took, the lieutenant said. When the victim said he didn’t have any more, Tress said, Bendewald punched him in the face, knocking the m…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Overnight Fire Destroys Home Of Couple Raising Special Needs Child Overnight Fire Destroys Home Of Couple Raising Special Needs Child
Overnight Fire Destroys Home Of Couple Raising Special Needs Child Their humble yet cozy Oakland home meant the world to Omar McCalla and Natalie Gregory as they raised their daughter, Amaria, who was born with multiple disabilities. "This was their first true home as a family outside of the extensive time spent at hospitals," friend Ana Sampson said. "(It) represented their bright future." A ferocious overnight fire on Saturday stole that dream. Flames were already shooting through the roof when firefighters arrived shortly before 2:30 a.m June 1. They had the blaze knocked down after about an hour and a half. Fire officials were trying to determine the…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
Holiday Cheer Sought For Bergen County Teacher With ALS Holiday Cheer Sought For Bergen County Teacher With ALS
Holiday Cheer Sought For Bergen County Teacher With ALS A Bergen County teacher who's married to a police officer could use some holiday cheer. Friends have been rallying to help Christine Grogan of Wyckoff, who has ALS, and her family. "Also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, ALS affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing loss of muscle control," friend Nancy Bellovich in a GoFundMe campaign. "This is a progressive disease that still has no cure." Christine and her husband, Glen Ridge Police Officer Christopher Grogan, have two children, 15-year-old Julia and Jack. "At this stage of the disease, Christine is requiring at-home healt…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
Police: Ex-Con, 73, From Hudson Jailed For Assaulting Bergen Group Home Resident With Cane Police: Ex-Con, 73, From Hudson Jailed For Assaulting Bergen Group Home Resident With Cane
Police: Ex-Con, 73, From Hudson Jailed For Assaulting Bergen Group Home Resident With Cane A 73-year-old Hudson County woman with a lengthy criminal history whacked a resident at a Bergen County home for people with disabilities with a wooden cane during a fight that got physical, authorities charged. Frieda McPherson of Jersey City has had dozens of charges brought against her over nearly three decades for shoplifting, drug possession and aggravated assault -- on both civilians and police -- among other offenses, according to court records. She’s also received a host of repeated traffic summonses over the years, the records show. Franklin Lakes police officers responding to a f…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
Hateful Images, Messages Sent To Westwood Regional Students Probed By Cyber Crime Detectives Hateful Images, Messages Sent To Westwood Regional Students Probed By Cyber Crime Detectives
Hateful Images, Messages Sent To Westwood Regional Students Probed By Cyber Crime Detectives An underage saboteur used the online account of a Westwood Regional High School student to email hateful messages to most of the victim’s classmates – among them, an image of a Ku Klux Klansman accompanied by an anti-Semitic caption, authorities said. The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Cyber Crimes Unit and Washington Township police are investigating the bias incident, which district officials traced to a “non-district minor’s” IP address, Schools Supt. Jill Mortimer wrote in a message to parents and staff members. “Please know this was not a breach of our network or system,” Mortimer emphasiz…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
Uber To Pay Millions For Penalizing Riders With Disabilities, Federal Authorities Announce Uber To Pay Millions For Penalizing Riders With Disabilities, Federal Authorities Announce
Uber To Pay Millions For Penalizing Riders With Disabilities, Federal Authorities Announce Uber will forfeit nearly $1.8 million to more than 1,000 passengers with disabilities and refund double the amount of wait time fees to more than 65,000 others to resolve a federal complaint, authorities announced. Uber will also furnish an additional $500,000 to others harmed by the practice and will also waive wait time fees for certified riders with disabilities going forward, the Justice Department said Monday. The agreement settles federal allegations that the ride-hailing giant violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, authorities said. The double-money-back part of the deal coul…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
Support Surges For Clifton Disability Care Center ‘Ready To Close Doors’ Amid Pandemic Struggle Support Surges For Clifton Disability Care Center ‘Ready To Close Doors’ Amid Pandemic Struggle
Support Surges For Clifton Disability Care Center ‘Ready To Close Doors’ Amid Pandemic Struggle The Clifton community is rallying to support a local center for adults with disabilities that is “ready to close its doors” due to financial struggles amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The North Jersey Elks Developmental Disabilities Agency (NJEDDA) has suffered a serious financial burden since the start of the pandemic, according to a GoFundMe launched by several parents of adults in its 21+ program. In addition to providing services to more than 45 adults with a range of developmental disabilities, the center maintains vans for transportation assistance and other specialized equipment for ongoi…

SHARE

by Valerie Musson
News
Rochelle Park Committeewoman Censured For Calling Mayor 's Wheelchair Political 'Prop' Rochelle Park Committeewoman Censured For Calling Mayor 's Wheelchair Political 'Prop'
Rochelle Park Committeewoman Censured For Calling Mayor 's Wheelchair Political 'Prop' A Rochelle Park Township Committee member who accused Mayor Nicholas LiBassi of using his wheelchair as a “prop” to get elected has been censured by a majority of her colleagues. “The only reason you got elected was because of your wheelchair,” Committeewoman Linda Boniface told the mayor during a June closed session, according to a censure resolution approved by a 3-2 vote late last month. Boniface, a Democrat, made the remark to the Republican mayor – who was confined to a wheelchair by a 1996 spinal cord injury -- during what ostensibly had been an interview for a new township police chi…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Lifestyle
Single Clifton Mom With 'Heart Of Gold' Battles Cancer For Fourth Time Single Clifton Mom With 'Heart Of Gold' Battles Cancer For Fourth Time
Single Clifton Mom With 'Heart Of Gold' Battles Cancer For Fourth Time Catherine Clinton of Clifton has survived cancer three times already. The first at 24 years old, ovarian cancer. Then breast, decades later. Last year, the single mom fought skin cancer. This year, Clinton was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic terminal breast cancer. Her neighbors are making sure she won't fight alone. More than $7,700 had been raised for Clinton as of Sunday on a GoFundMe, launched by Kate Cade. "All her life the single mother of two has worked tirelessly to help other people , working with children with disabilities," Cade wrote.  "She has tried to impro…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
News
Viral Footage Shows 'Demonic' Toddler's 8-Hour Tantrum To Newark Airport Viral Footage Shows 'Demonic' Toddler's 8-Hour Tantrum To Newark Airport
Viral Footage Shows 'Demonic' Toddler's 8-Hour Tantrum To Newark Airport Footage of a child throwing an 8-hour tantrum on a Lufthansa flight from Germany to Newark is going viral. Shane Townley of New York City posted the video to YouTube in August 2017 -- which has amounted more than 2.1 million views. The young boy climbs on seats, shrieks and runs around the aircraft for the entirety of the flight, before a full-blown tantrum upon landing, Daily Mail reports. Sources told Daily Mail that the boy suffers an unspecified disability. WATCH VIDEO ABOVE.

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine