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Daquan Armstead charged in string of random NYC attacks on women over the past month: NYPD

A deranged woman-hating maniac wanted for more than a half-dozen random attacks on women in the Big Apple is finally in custody, police and sources said Tuesday.

Daquan Armstead, 31, was picked up by cops shortly after midnight and charged with third-degree assault and harassment in eight unprovoked attacks on women over the past month, the sources said.

That includes an April 17 attack on a 27-year-old administrator at New York University, who was slugged in the face while walking through Washington Square Park around 10:30 a.m., according to police.

The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating, although details weren’t released.

Armstead is also being charged in seven other attacks this year.

The violent spree began on Feb. 12, when police said Armstead allegedly walked up to a 30-year-old woman on Elizabeth Street around 11:50 a.m. and punched her without warning, then fled.

On March 24 he allegedly attacked a 30-year-old woman on Delancy Street at around 2 a.m., hitting the victim in the back of the head as she turned. He then ran from the scene.

The following day Armstead is charged with punching a 36-year-old woman in the back as she walked along Chrystie and Rivington streets around 10:15 a.m., police said.

On April 2, he allegedly slugged another woman after he asked the 38-year-old victim for $1 and she replied that she had no cash — so he punched her in the back of the head.

Police said he is also accused of attacking two women in separate incidents on Delancey Street on April 5 — a 25-year-old who was slugged on the right side of her head around 12:25 p.m. and a 44-year-old who was punched in the face just five minutes later, according to cops.

In the last alleged attack before the assault on the NYU administrator, police said Armstead punched a 24-year-old woman on Stanton Street after she also refused when he asked her for $1 shortly before 10 a.m.

Records show his prior busts date to a 2021 misdemeanor asault case.

He is expected to be arraigned on the new charges later on Tuesday.

Police have also been investigating a series of other attacks on woman that have not been linked to Armstead, including a 23-year-old woman slugged outside Union Square McDonald’s last month.

Among the other recent victims was Halley Kate, an influencer with 1.1 million followers on TikTok, who posted a video last week saying she was assaulted so viciously that she blacked out.

Skiboky Stora, 40, a criminal with an extensive criminal record, was busted in that case.

In another random attack, a 57-year-old Brooklyn school bus aide was slugged by an unhinged man — a brutal attack that broke her jaw and knocked out several teeth — in Crown Heights, cops said.

Franz Jeudy, 33 — who has a history of sucker-punch attacks and mental illness — was hit with misdemeanor assault charges in that attack, according to a criminal complaint..

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61-year-old dies after dispute over NYC parking spot

A 61-year-old man died after a 30-year-old tow truck driver allegedly punched him in the face, causing him to fall back onto the pavement following a dispute over parking Saturday night in Brooklyn.

The deadly dispute broke out around 8:45 p.m. at a Shell gas station at 1143 Clarkson Avenue in Brownsville, according to officials.

A 61-year old man died after being punched in the face at a Shell gas station in Brooklyn CITIZEN

The man was punched in the face by a 30-year old tow truck driver. CITIZEN

The argument “became physical” and the tow truck driver punched the older man in the face, causing him to “fall and hit the pavement,” police said.

Emergency responders were called to the scene and brought the 61-year-old to Brookdale Hospital Medical Center. He was pronounced dead at 9:17 p.m., police said.

The tow truck driver was taken into custody at the scene and charges were pending, according to the NYPD.

Authorities have not released the identity of the victim.

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Cliched anti-Israel protesters need a rap sheet

While the rest of us working stiffs were just trying to get to the office so we can keep our jobs and pay our ever-mounting bills, a group of privileged radicals were blocking nearly every artery in and out of Manhattan during Monday rush hour.

For a few hours, it was unnecessary havoc in the Big Apple.

Chains of anti-Israel agitators squatted in front of bridges and tunnels bringing traffic to a standstill, trapping commuters.

The chaos caused stonewalled New Yorkers to lean on their horns, creating a city-wide symphony of frustration.

Police arrested 325 demonstrators in the so-called “Shut it down for Palestine” debacle, many of them masked to obscure their faces and fend off personal and professional consequences.

However, once their names were shared, the list unsurprisingly, read like an open casting call for Portlandia, the reality show. Or Dancing With the Democratic Socialists of America.”

A paint-by-numbers band of over-educated members of the lecturing class. Suspects so usual, it’s painfully embarrassing.

There were a Fulbright scholar, Ivy league grads, multiple NYU graduate students, a poet who identifies as nonbinary, a filmmaker for HBO and Netflix — and out-of-town protesters who gave cops home addresses in Georgia and Florida.

But what about a gender and sexuality teacher, who lives in a $1.2m Prospect Heights condo, you ask? Let’s meet Ann Holder, a veteran protester who teaches at Pratt.

Then there’s Eli Coplan, a 31-year-old artist whose work has been shown in the Whitney. His parents have a multimillion dollar real estate portfolio in Colorado and California, and he enjoys dressing as Marie Antoinette, at least according to his Instagram.

For a little Hollywood razzle-dazzle, wealthy Oscar winner Susan Sarandon cheered on her fellow activists.

No cliche left unturned. A perfect protester bingo card.

I guess the union electricians weren’t able to join on account of having to actually show up for work. If they ever made it there.

In other words, the only time these peoples’ hands have gotten dirty was when they plunged them into concrete-filled tires, so cops would have trouble cuffing them.

Naye Idriss, a 25-year-old NYU grad student with a degree from Columbia, was also hauled in. She marked the October 7 massacre by addressing a crowd in Times Square the next day to say it was “the beginning of our victory.”

That was after she used her NYU library mailroom job to write “f–k” over the word Israel on a discarded Israeli mailbag. That’s what an Ivy League degree teaches you.

Ilana Cruger-Zaken of South Salem in Westchester took time from her busy schedule of studying the Judeo-Neo Aramaic dialects of northeastern Kurdistan at NYU, to partake in the mass disruption that was organized by six radical anti-Israel groups.

The scholar of the esoteric bragged on Instagram, “And we’ll do it again.”

Cruger-Zaken is right because the prosecution-averse DA’s office in all likelihood will give them hugs and high fives.

For shutting down the city and endangering everyone within miles, they were issued desk appearance tickets for disorderly conduct charges. Released without bail, and an open invitation to offend over and over.

This is just the latest stunt for these self-absorbed anti-Israel agitators.

They have blocked travelers’ entry to JFK, barricaded the Manhattan Bridge on Thanksgiving weekend and violently attempted to shut down the Rockefeller Center tree lighting.

This time, their aim was to create similar conditions to life in Gaza and make us New Yorkers understand what it’s like to live under a blockade. Of course, it only pissed people.

The lone hero of the day was the man who got out of his car to shove some protesters, screaming that he had to get his daughter in Brooklyn, adding that they were breaking the law.

His act of defiance made us collectively cheer. At least, that trademark gritty New York fighting spirit still lives.

Thankfully it didn’t escalate into real violence. But that’s clearly how this will end: in tears, injury or death. Someone is going to get hurt, and both protesters and authorities will be scratching their heads.

Give these guys something to hang next to their fancy college degrees: a mug shot and a criminal rap sheet.

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NYPD detective Christina Cancel gave phony name twice during shoplifting bust

The suspended NYPD detective who worked in Commissioner Edward Caban’s office and allegedly stole from a Long Island Home Depot provided cops with a phony name twice before coughing up her real one, court documents reveal.

Detective Specialist Christina Cancel, 54, allegedly gave Suffolk County Police the fake name “Lisa Lopez” and a made up date of birth — even after cops warned she could be charged with false impersonation.

“The defendant still gave the name of Lisa Lopez birthdate 04.12.1968,” the documents state.

Cancel is accused of snatching $160 worth of merchandise from the home improvement store on Saturday in Deer Park, Suffolk County Police said.

Cancel — who made more than $150,000 last year — allegedly stole a six-port charger and Beyond Bright Ultra light worth $128.97 before waltzing out the door at 10:12 a.m., according to the criminal complaint.

The sticky-fingered detective then allegedly headed back into the store and grabbed a $29.97 USB three-port charger and walked past the registers at around noon, authorities allege.

The detective who worked in Commissioner Edward Caban’s office gave police the fake name “Lisa Lopez” and a made up birthday. ZUMAPRESS.com

Cancel, a 19-year veteran, used a cart during her shoplifting spree, according to the complaint.

Before cops brought her to Suffolk’s 1st Precinct, she finally admitted her real name and date of birth, the complaint shows.

She was charged with two counts of petit larceny and false personation.

The detective is accused of stealing $160 worth of merchandise from Home Depot in Deer Park, Suffolk County. Google Maps

Cancel, of Hicksville, was suspended without pay, the NYPD said.

The alleged thief worked in the Police Commissioner’s Office since July, the same month Caban was tasked with leading the department.

It’s not the first time she was disciplined by the NYPD.

In 2015, she lost 10 days of vacation for using another cop’s password to search the NYPD database.

Cancel did not return a message left by The Post Thursday night.

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NY Girl, 7, killed in New Year’s Day house fire on Staten Island

New Year’s Day turned tragic on Staten Island after a 7-year-old girl was killed in a house fire, police and fire officials said.

The blaze erupted shortly after 5:30 p.m. inside a two-story home at 110 Brookside Avenue in the Castleton Corners neighborhood.

Video taken at the scene shows firefighters crawling through the second-story window of the home, decked in Christmas lights, as thick smoke billows out.

The young girl was rescued from the home and rushed to Richmond University Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead an hour after the fire sparked, the NYPD said.

There were no other reported injuries, according to FDNY officials.

The fire was brought under control minutes before the young girl died in the hospital.

Neighbors told ABC7 that the New Year’s Day tragedy comes on the heels of another family death.

The girl’s grandmother, who helped raise her, passed away just before Thanksgiving.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

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Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum’s socks sell for $18K on eBay

Consider investing in the sock market.

Two pairs of three-foot-long white socks worn by a revered leader in the Hasidic Jewish community brought in a haul of nearly $18,000 on eBay this week.

After an opening price of just 99 cents, socks worn by the late Grand Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, the founder of the Satmar sect, sold for an impressive $11,600 on Sunday, after 88 bids.

Those amazing feet were followed by a second auction for another pair of Teitelbaum’s hose, which sold on Tuesday for $6,200 with 43 bids.

“Pair of long, white socks used by Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar,” the listing read. “Approx. 95 cm. Good condition. Stains.”

Teitelbaum died in 1979, and his stockings were handed down to his aide, Rabbi Mendel Greenberg, who subsequently gave them to Rabbi Leib Friedman of Lakewood, NJ, according to the listing.

Teitelbaum founded the Satmar sect of Hasidic Judaism. eBay

A letter signed by Friedman confirmed the garments’ authenticity.

“There’s a lot of people buying stuff because . . . an item that a rabbi wore has something holy in it,” said David Knobloch, who runs Rarity Auction House in Spring Valley, NY, and handled the recent sales.

Many members of the Hasidic community splurge on prayer books and garments previously used by rabbinical leaders, which they might bust out on the high holidays or when attending weddings.

One pair of Teitelbaum’s socks fetched an impressive $11,600 after 88 bids. Courtesy of David Knobloch

“They won’t wear it on a regular Monday … they’ll use it for special occasions,” said Brooklyn-based Judaica collector Israel Clapman, 37.

“In the Hasidic community, they’re not buying Ferraris or Bentleys, so rare Judaica is their way of flashing bling, of throwing money around.”

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Too many male trees making spring allergy season hell in NYC

When it comes to allergies, men are the “root” of the problem!

An excess of obnoxious, pollen-spewing male trees are wreaking havoc on New Yorkers’ sinuses — worsening what experts predict will be a hellish spring allergy season this year.

In a trend dubbed “botanical sexism,” urban planners planted more male trees in the Big Apple because they’re generally easier to maintain than females, which litter sidewalks with seeds and fruit, experts told The Post.

“But males are actually much more prolific producers of pollen. It’s an aggravating factor for allergies,” said Dr. Sebastian Lighvani, of the Allergy Experts practice on the Upper East Side.

“The concept of allergies wasn’t on the radar of planners when they planted so many males. So we’re stuck with a preponderance of them,” he said.

Pollen from dioecious trees such as maples linger in the air longer and fail to fully absorb due to the city’s lack of leafy ladies, according to doctors and horticulturists.

As the inconsiderate males spread their seed, it creates an itchy, sneezy nightmare for New Yorkers.

“It’s been horrible. I keep taking COVID tests because I’m nervous but then I take Claritin and it goes away,” said Sandy Schiffman, 67, a retired FBI agent from the West Village.

“Every time the wind blows it’s awful today,” said Schiffman, who was relaxing in Washington Square Park with her 10-year-old chihuahua, Be.

The high number of male trees in New York City is causing peoples’ allergies to flare up.

Getty Images

Asked about the city’s allergy-inflaming arbor world gender gap, she quipped: “I think men have been screwing up the country for years so that makes sense to me.”

Other factors exacerbating allergies this year include New York City’s mild winter and the fact that people are masking up less post-COVID, experts said.

“Everyone is talking about how this could potentially be the worst allergy season ever,” said Dr. Neeta Ogen, an Edison, New Jersey-based spokeswoman for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

“It aligns with a trend. With climate change and a warmer planet we are seeing more intense severe, seasons,” Ogen said. “It’s optimal for plant growth but that means earlier and longer release of pollen.”

“People involved in urban and residential planning are going to have to consider this as they decide what to plant,” she said of the city’s abundance of male trees. “Climate change is going to continue to be a trend.”

In a trend dubbed “botanical sexism,” urban planners planted more male trees in the Big Apple because they’re generally easier to maintain than females

Intensifying allergy seasons are a problem in other cities too, horticulturists said.

“There’s no gender balance [of trees] in cities anymore,” horticulturist and author Tom Ogren told NBC Washington in early April.

Ogren, an author who coined the term “botanical sexism,” said cities often prioritize easy clean-up over an ecologically healthy balance of plant sexes.

“If you line a street with nothing but male red maples, good Lord, you’re creating what I would just call a pollen corridor,” he said. “When that thing goes off, it will blow people away.”

Earlier this month, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene issued a report warning that pollen could send some New Yorkers to the emergency room with asthma attacks and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis.

New Yorkers can manage spring allergies by beginning some medications before the season is in full swing and avoiding going outside during peak pollen count times such as mornings, Lighvani said.

Experts also recommended frequent showers to clean pollen off your skin and out of your nasal passages during the pollen-heavy months of April and Jun.

The city parks department said it plants only about half of the city’s trees — and that the vast majority are monoecious, with both male and female flowering parts.

“We wholeheartedly object to accusations of treescrimination. The vast majority of trees we plant have both male and female flowers,” a spokesman for the department said.

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Peaches Stergo admits to stealing $2.8 million from Holocaust survivor

A heartless Florida woman admitted to scamming an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor she met on a dating site out of a jaw-dropping $2.8 million, federal prosecutors announced.

Peaches Stergo’s years-long fraud cost the elderly victim his life savings while she lived a life of luxury that included a house in a gated community, a Corvette, lavish vacations and designer items, including Rolex watches, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said in a Friday news release.

In total, the victim signed off on 62 checks totaling almost $3 million that went right into Stergo’s coffers and he ultimately lost his apartment from the romance scam.

Starting in early 2017 — after the 36-year-old woman met the man on a dating site — she asked the victim to borrow money to pay her lawyer who she said refused to fork over funds from an injury settlement, according to the feds.

She claimed the funds were put into a TD Bank account, but evidence indicates she never received a cent from a supposed injury settlement.

Over the next four-and-a-half years, Stergo’s web of lies steadily continued, draining the Holocaust survivor of his final pennies.

She demanded the victim deposit money into her bank accounts because she claimed if not, they would be frozen and he would never get any of the money back that he loaned her, the US Attorney’s Office said.

United States Attorney Damian Williams slammed the fraudster in a statement.

justice.gov

He continued loading money into two accounts belonging to Stergo, who at one point even created a fake email account and fake invoices that were supposed to look like it came from a TD Bank employee, the feds said.

Stergo pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and faces up to 20 years in prison. She was also ordered to pay $2.8 million in restitution and forfeit the same amount, including the more than 100 luxury items she bought including designer clothes, purses and lots of jewelry.

“Peaches Stergo stole the life savings from an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor who was just looking for companionship. This conduct is sick – and sad,” US Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. “… Thanks to the hard work of the FBI and this Office, Stergo is being held accountable for her fraud.”

Stergo also bought a boat and other cars on top of the house and Corvette she purchased. Some of the fancy items she scooped included from companies like Tiffany, Ralph Lauren, Neiman Marcus, Louis Vuitton and Hermes.

She’ll be sentenced July 27.

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Elderly man described as “nicest guy” dies in Queens housefire

An elderly victim described by neighbors as “the nicest guy” died in a Queens house fire early Sunday morning after more than 100 firefighters took two hours to extinguish the flames, officials said.

The 82-year-old man, who has not been identified, perished in the three-alarm blaze that sparked out of control at the two-story home at 218-01 36th Ave in Bayside at about 5:40 a.m., according to fire officials.

“When the fellas pulled up, it was fully involved,” FDNY Battalion Chief Brian Deery said at a morning press conference.

The elderly man was the only person in the house, Deery said.

Firefighters found him severe burns in the back of the home on the second floor, authorities said. Emergency medical workers pronounced him dead at the scene.

The quiet suburban neighborhood still smelled of smoke and ash Sunday afternoon. Homes on both sides of the blackened husk of a house showed signs of the conflagration, including melted siding and blown-out glass windows.

Neighbors told The Post that the victim was a friendly, helpful older Italian man who belonged to the local Knights of Columbus and St. Josaphat Roman Catholic Church in Bayside.

It took nearly 100 firefighters almost two hours to knock down the three-alarm fire in Queens.

Seth Gottfried

An 82-year-old man died in the blaze, authorities said.

He handed out cards and money at the church’s Bingo nights and knew everybody in the neighborhood, according to one of his neighbors, a woman named Liz.

“He was a wonderful guy,” Liz told The Post. “It’s a shame to die this way, and to die alone too … He never talked about anybody, he’d do anything for anyone.”

“I never saw anything like it this morning,” said another neighbor, who has lived across the street from the victim for more than two decades. “Flames just engulfed the house.”

Neighbors described the elderly victim as a “wonderful guy.”

Homes on both sides suffered damage, firefighters said.

Deery said firefighters struggled to work inside the home because of the darkness, the thick black smoke and a severe amount of clutter.

“You’re going in and you really can’t see anything and you have clutter … you’re searching and you’re bouncing into things,” Deery said. “It’s hard to maneuver … so it kind of delays the search.”

But Deery added that the mess did not stop firefighters from reaching the victim promptly.

Fire officials are still investigating the fire’s cause, the chief said.

The three-alarm fire in Bayside was extinguished at about 7:20 a.m.

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Rutgers faculty ends historic strike, classes to resume

Rutgers University has reached a tentative agreement with its faculty and staff unions, allowing classes to resume Monday after a nearly week-long historic strike.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced the breakthrough early Saturday, following five days of negotiations between the university and the unions’ leaders in his office that led to the 257-year-old school’s first strike.

“This fair and amicable conclusion respects the interests of many different stakeholders, upholds New Jersey’s values and puts an end to a standoff that was disruptive to our educators and students alike,” Murphy said in a tweet.

Rutgers University President Jonathan Holloway praised the agreement, calling its provisions “fair and equitable.”

The strike involved about 9,000 Rutgers faculty members and staff as well as students.

Noah K. Murray for NY Post

The tentative agreement includes salary boosts across the board for full-time faculty and counselors by at least 14% by July 1, 2025. It also includes higher pay for adjuncts, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students, as well as greater job security for adjuncts.

The contracts, which will need to be voted on by the unions’ members, would be retroactive to July 1, 2022.

The strike began Monday after about 9,000 Rutgers faculty and staff walked off the job, disrupting classes for the university’s 67,000 students statewide, many of whom joined the picket line.

The five-day strike disrupted classes for 67,000 students statewide.

The strikers were seeking increased pay, better job security for adjunct faculty and guaranteed funding for graduate students.

The drastic demonstration came after almost a year of stalled contract negotiations, according to strikers. Among their demands were higher salary, better job security for adjunct faculty and guaranteed funding for graduate students.

In a joint statement, the unions noted that there were still “open issues” that needed to be addressed, but said the strike helped them achieve “vital progress” for their contracts goals.

“The agreements we secured in this framework are a testament to all the workers, students and community members who organized, talked to colleagues and friends, walked the picket lines and marched in New Brunswick, Newark and Camden,” they said.

Classes for students will begin again Monday.

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