WORLD WORLDWIDE US USA New York NY New York City NYC the city THE CITY news journal UPDATE - Last days of Sheldon Silver, Flaco necropsy, DOE shakeup

 

Dear New Yorkers,

Sheldon Silver, who was for years one of the most powerful politicians in the state before he was taken down by a corruption conviction, spent his last days struggling to get out of his prison bed while his wife was barred from visiting him.

Silver died from cardiac arrest inside Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, Massachusetts on Jan. 24, 2022, according to his Federal Bureau of Prisons file, which THE CITY obtained. He was 77 years old.

Silver, who’d gone from being the son of a hardware store owner to one of the most feared politicians in New York, was convicted on corruption charges in 2015. He was found guilty of taking close to $4 million in payments in exchange for political favors on behalf of  a cancer researcher and two real-estate developers, and ultimately sentenced to seven years.

At the time, he begged the judge to keep him out of prison, citing his poor health: “Your honor, I do not want to die in prison,” he wrote. But the judge ruled that a non-jail sentence would not be “appropriate.”

Silver lost nearly 60 pounds over the last six months of his life. The documents reveal that he became so weak he relied on fellow prisoners, who doubled as health aides, while confined to a bed. Yet prison medical staff told Silver’s wife, Rosa, she couldn’t visit him in his final weeks because the hospital at the time only allowed guests of patients in “end of life situations,” prison medical records show.

Read more about the last days of the former Lower East Side powerbroker here.

Weather scoop by New York Metro Weather Tuesday’s Weather Rating: 4/10. Partly sunny to start, but chilly with high temperatures only reaching the mid-40s. To make matters worse we have clouds moving in late and showers are expected tonight. The vibes are getting unsettled again…

Our Other Top Stories

The necropsy report for Flaco, the beloved Eurasian eagle-owl who flew from his perch at the Central Park Zoo after it was vandalized, is in — and it reveals that the bird had underlying conditions that could have ultimately killed him. Flaco also “had a severe pigeon herpes virus” from eating the birds while living in the wild, and was exposed to four anticoagulant rodenticides used to control rats in New York City.  In a major shakeup, the city’s Education Department is disbanding its division of teaching and learning, which oversees schools Chancellor David Banks’ centerpiece literacy initiative, reports Chalkbeat. Carolyne Quintana, the deputy chancellor of that department, is leaving at the end of the school year. Quintana has been supervising Banks’ top education priority, namely reshaping how the city’s elementary schools teach children to read including by mandating that all elementary schools across the five boroughs use one of three curriculums by next school year. The department has also been working to overhaul high school algebra programs. On the latest episode of FAQ NYC, the hosts discuss the Adams administration’s women problem — and why his political rivals aren’t talking about it. They also dive into Trump’s trials, the groups railing against congestion pricing and much more. Listen here.

Things To Do

Here’s what’s going on around the city this week.

Thursday, March 28: The New York Public Library’s March Book Club event, featuring “Anita de Monte Laughs Last” author Xochitl Gonzalez. Free from 6 to 7 p.m. online and in-person at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library in Manhattan. Saturday, March 30: Activists on Screen: Queer Gaze in Cinema, a pair of films followed by a conversation about trans New Yorkers’ lives.Tickets are $10 ($5 for members), at 3 p.m. at the Museum of the City of New York. Saturday, March 30: Let's Go Birding Together, an inclusive birding event for all levels of curiosity and expertise, hosted by NYC Audubon. Free from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Icahn Stadium, Randall’s Island Park.

THE KICKER: The Museum of Natural History might become a voting site, reports West Side Rag.

Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Tuesday.

Love,

THE CITY

PS. Love THE CITY? Our nonprofit newsroom runs on support from readers like you. Donate here.

Want to view Scoop in your web browser? Click here.

THE CITY's work is made possible, in part, through the support of our sponsors. Interested in becoming a sponsor of THE CITY? Contact us here.  Copyright © 2024 THE CITY, All rights reserved.