Defining Heinousness And Egregiousness Upward/No Hyperbole Left Behind

No doubt, this was a terrible thing for budding sociopaths to do:

The three suspects range in age from 11 to 13.

And while some of their fellow students inside Dreyfus Intermediate School were getting after-school help with their studies yesterday afternoon, the trio and two accomplices allegedly robbed a delivery man of pizza pies and soda in the school parking lot.

Teachers had ordered the snacks for kids studying after school.

But the problem with calling it both heinous and egregious is that it leaves little room for that which is really both heinous and egregious:

“This is a heinous and egregious act and this type of act is commonplace, and the students behave this way because they know there’s little or no consequences for their actions,” said a source at the Stapleton school.

Trains May Suck In A Lot Of Ways But At Least They Don’t Flip Over On The Thruway

As long as the Acela remains absurdly expensive, this will continue to be one of my worst fears:

More than a dozen people were killed in a horrific crash early Saturday when a discount bus flipped on a Bronx highway and careened into a metal traffic pole, officials said.

It’s A Bad Winter To Do Sketchy Shit

It’s important to always drive carefully on snow-covered streets, especially when transporting stuff you don’t want authorities to discover:

A New Jersey man who was severely beaten — and part of whose ear was hacked off — was found tied up inside the trunk of a BMW that crashed in upper Manhattan early Wednesday, police said.

. . .

The driver, who goes by the name of Blake, slammed the luxury sedan into a livery cab after running a red light on snow-covered Dyckman St., near an exit for the Harlem River Drive, the sources said.

The [livery cab driver] said the suspect tried to flee the crash by making a U-turn, but got stuck in the snow.

. . .

When police arrived, they spotted what looked like a bullet hole in the blue BMW’s trunk, which also had blood spots on it, the sources said.

They popped the trunk open and found the victim, bound and barefoot, with the bloody remains of one of his ears dangling from his head, the sources said.

And then there’s something called “thundersnow” . . .

While The Mayor Is Busy Grandstanding On A National Stage, Here At Home He Shows How He Can Flex His Muscle

I don’t want to hector you and say “here’s a disturbing story that should bother anyone who cares about how government abuses its power” but here’s a disturbing story that should bother anyone who cares about how government abuses its power:

The raid, conducted by government agencies including the NYPD and the Buildings and Housing Preservation and Development departments, began about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, when an estimated 200 law enforcement officers in more than 50 vehicles arrived at the Iron Triangle, blocking several entrances and exits and stopping anyone from coming or going for more than six hours, [Willets Point Defense Committee president Marco] Neira said. [Councilwoman Julia] Ferreras said “dozens” of officers participated.

“I tried to drive up the street [into Willets Point] and the police said, ‘This is a secured area, you can’t come in.’ I said, ‘What do you mean? I live here,'” the Iron Triangle’s only resident, Joseph Ardizzone, recounted Thursday. “I was running up and down the streets telling everyone to close up since they were coming through to ticket everyone.”

. . .

Many workers and local landlords believe the raid was directly related to the fact that the city plans to build a multibillion-dollar development project at Willets Point. The city wants to relocate existing businesses and maybe even use eminent domain to clear the land in pursuit of its development goals, which area tenants and landlords say leaves them up against a wall.

“They were harassing us. I have no intention of selling or giving anything to Economic Development [Corporation],” Ardizonne said. “I think it’s wrong. I don’t think this is a democracy anymore, I think it’s a dictatorship.”

Location Scout: Iron Triangle.

Three Plagues Down, Seven To Go

OK, rule of threes, we’re ready for our trend piece — bed bugs, stink bugs and now termites:

Termites took down a series of utility poles in Queens yesterday, cutting power to 60 Con Ed customers and smashing a car.

In a feat of steady chewing that could have taken months, the termites finally finished their meal of a utility pole in Springfield Gardens just before noon.

When that one fell, it took down five more wired to it.