NYC

May 22 (UPI) — One civilian has died and 36 others — many of whom were first responders — were injured on Friday after a series of explosions in a New York City shipyard.

Two explosions occurred on a barge Friday afternoon along the North Shore of Staten Island, roughly an hour apart, with firefighters and another civilian also injured.

That area of the North Shore is mostly populated with industrial businesses, including various boating and barge companies, The New York Times and WPIX reported.

“What unfolded was a fast-moving emergency that claimed one life and left more than 30 civilians and first responders injured,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement on X.

“The fire is now under control,” he said. “We mourn the life that was lost today, and we hold their family in our hearts.”

The first explosion was heard just before 3:30 p.m. EDT, which saw more than 200 firefighters and medical personnel respond to the dry-docked barge.

The New York Post reported that people were trapped in confined spaces aboard the barge and, minutes before the second explosion, fire officials called for assistance for those already trapped.

In addition to the civilian who died and the injured civilian, CBS News reported that at least 34 Fire Department of New York firefighters had been injured, two of whom were significantly injured.

In his statement, Mamdani asked New Yorkers to keep the injured and their families in their thoughts and noted the sacrifices of firefighters who responded to the emergency.

“To the first responders who rushed toward danger without hesitation: thank you,” Mamdani said.

“As you do every day, you put yourselves in harm’s way so others could escape,” he said. “Our city owes you a debt of gratitude.”

New York City is launching a lottery for 1,000 discounted World Cup tickets priced at $50. The city’s Mayor, Zohran Mamdani said match prices had soared into the thousands of dollars. The scheme is intended to give working-class New Yorkers access to matches.

May 3 (UPI) — Enforcement actions carried out by masked U.S. immigration agents triggered an hours-long stand-off and angry protest at a New York City hospital late Saturday, resulting in eight arrests, police officials say.

Crowds gathered outside of Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., around 10 p.m. EDT after images spread online of a man arrested earlier that evening by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and brought to the hospital for treatment of injuries, witnesses told WPIX-TV.

Hospital patients reported they had seen a handcuffed Black man surrounded by ICE agents inside the facility, prompting a crowd estimated at around 200 or more people to gather outside the hospital.

Videos showed scenes of chaos as agitated protesters milled about, throwing garbage containers and fighting with New York Police Department officers as pepper spray is dispersed.

Around 2 a.m., ICE agents were seen dragging a man in handcuffs along the street near the entrance to Wyckoff Hospital while carrying a large canister of what appeared to be pepper spray, amNY reported.

The Department of Homeland Security on Sunday issued a statement to media outlets identifying the arrested man as Chidozie Wilson Okeke, a Nigerian immigrant who had allegedly overstayed his visa and had previous arrests for assault and criminal drug possession.

The DHS said Okeke has requested medical treatment after agents had used force during his arrest.

NYPD officials said eight people were arrested during the melee, adding that they did not assist ICE in the arrest, in keeping with New York’s sanctuary city policies, and responded after receiving multiple emergency calls of people blocking entrances to the hospital.

“People tried to stop the vehicles from leaving,” New York City Councilwoman Sandy Nurse told The New York Times. “That’s when the police arrived, and then it was essentially a standoff for five or six hours, because more and more people showed up from the neighborhood to try to keep that individual from being taken.”