13 Big NYC Stories You May Have Missed Last Week

NEW YORK, NY — Here are the 13 biggest news stories from across New York City last week — Monday, April 3, through Sunday, April 9 — as reported by Patch editors for our 28 neighborhood news sites.

Here's What Caused Last Week's Amtrak Crash And Ensuing Penn-Pocalypse In NYC

Amtrak investigators were aware of the problem, CEO Wick Moorman admitted, but didn't think it was urgent.

In Parent Letter, Brooklyn Principal Compares State Testing To Nazi Policy

Anna Allanbrook, principal of the Brooklyn New School in Carroll Gardens, took the (already quite passionate) city debate over opting out of state standardized tests to the next level last week.

Massive Brooklyn Skyscraper Would Include 2 Schools, 900 Apartments, Offices, Retail Space

You could drop your kid off at class, go to work, buy some groceries and sit the family down for a home-cooked meal — all without leaving the building. Here are the (slightly terrifying) project renderings for 362 Schermerhorn St.

New Yorkers Should Avoid Mailing Checks, Police Say, After Rash Of Mailbox 'Fishing' Thefts

Particularly in Upper Manhattan.

Cops Found A Crocodile (And A Gun, And Some Crack Cocaine) Inside A Brooklyn Living Room Last Week

Possession of a caiman is a violation of city health code.

NYPD Chief Reminds Trump Not To Ride Between The Subway Cars

After hearing the president brag about his glory days as an MTA outlaw.

Crown Heights Neighbors 'Betrayed' By Electeds Who Didn't Tell Them About Homeless Shelter

Local politicians knew about a new shelter planned for Rogers Avenue by mid-February. So why didn't neighbors?

NBA Player Tackled By NYPD Outside Chelsea Nightclub Will Get $4M From City

Atlanta Hawks player Thabo Sefolosha broke his leg on the eve of the 2015 NBA playoffs in a scuffle with NYPD officers outside 1 Oak. The cops still haven't admitted wrongdoing — but the size of last week's taxpayer-funded settlement speaks volumes.

Brooklyn's New Beach Ferry Will Set Sail This Summer, City Says

By June 1, you'll be able to take a quick ferry ride from Brooklyn Bridge Park, Red Hook, Sunset Park or Bay Ridge to the Rockaways.

20-Ton Blue Whale Washes Up Dead On Brooklyn Shore

The whale was apparently killed in a crash with a large marine vessel, according to a necropsy conducted on his carcass.

West Village Butcher Allegedly Handed Noose To Black Deliveryman, Offered To Help Hang Him

"I started shaking," Victor Sheppard told reporters of his alleged run-in with a family butcher at Ottomanelli and Sons. "He was laughing. I don’t know what kind of joke that is."

Preet Bharara Gives His First Major Address Since Trump Fired Him As Manhattan's U.S. Attorney

"Briefly, I was asked to resign," Bharara told a max-cap crowd at the Cooper Union last week. "I refused. I insisted on being fired, and so I was. ... I don't really understand why that was such a big deal, especially to this White House. I had thought that's what Donald Trump was good at."

Deputy NYC Mayor 'Pulled Strings' To Get Kid Into Selective Park Slope School, Report Says

Department of Education officials are denying any and all wrongdoing.

Lead photo courtesy of Amtrak