A large fight among about 10 people broke out in front of NYCHA’s South Jamaica Houses on 160th St. near Tuskegee Airman Way in South Jamaica just before 7:45 p.m., cops and witnesses said.

“They were fighting at first,” said an 82-year-old witness. “There were three shots, it stopped and then about two more. People were screaming, ‘They’re shooting! They’re shooting!’”

When the gunfire stopped, a black Hyundai with two men inside took off, police sources said.

Cops were called to the street, where they discovered the young victim suffering from a gunshot wound to the arm.

Medics rushed the girl to Long Island Jewish Medical Center in stable condition.

Later, two women ages 18 and 26 walked into Jamaica Hospital Medical Center for medical help, police said.

The older woman was stabbed in the chest and the younger one had lacerations to the head. Both were expected to survive their injuries.

The mayhem came a day after the oldest victim and her boyfriend were beat up by people who live in a neighboring building, a witness told the Daily News.

“They’re out front all day fighting and shooting craps,” the woman said of the people involved in the fight. “They’re out of control.”

There were no immediate arrests.

Juanita Vidal was running an errand for her 17-year-old grandson’s birthday with her 44-year-old daughter at the same time officers from the NYPD’s 83rd precinct attempted to pull over the driver of a blue Mazda CX-5 with Massachusetts plates at the corner of Eldert St. and Wilson Ave. in Bushwick around 5 p.m. May 9.

The driver instead took off northbound on Eldert St. and blew through two stop signs a block away at the intersection of Knickerbocker Ave. and Eldert St., cops said.

Video viewed by the Daily News showed the driver streaking through the intersection as police followed close behind. Just off camera, in the crosswalk, the driver slammed into Vidal and her 44-year-old daughter.

She was taken to Wyckoff Hospital but could not be saved. Her daughter, Jessica Vidal, was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center in stable condition.

The city Medical Examiner deemed Vidal’s death a homicide, cops said Wednesday.

Police are still looking for the driver, who ditched the totaled car after the crash and fled onto an L train at the nearby Halsey St. Station.

The driver was described by cop sources as a man with a ponytail wearing gray sweatpants.

The 29-year-old victim and the gunman got into a fight on an A train, which spilled out onto the corner of W. 145th St. and St. Nicholas Ave. upstairs, according to witness Rashard Flowers, who was in the same subway car.

“It was definitely four shots,” the 37-year-old told the Daily News. “He was shot in the arm and leg, his head was bleeding but he was able to get up.”

The victim ran into a Dunkin’ Donuts, where he collapsed.

“I’ve never heard gunshots so close and so loud,” said Flowers. “There are women and children out here — anybody could’ve gotten hit.”

The gunman took off on foot as cops raced to the scene just after 4:35 p.m., police said.

Medics took the victim to Harlem Hospital, where he was expected to survive.

There were no immediate arrests.

Employees at Rothschild TLV on Lexington Ave. near E. 79th St. arrived to work Wednesday morning to discover one of the tall front windows had been shattered overnight.

The manager and owner of the spot reviewed surveillance footage, which caught a man approaching the window at around 2:10 a.m., he said.

“We saw him on the footage,” Mike Kalbo told the Daily News. “His face was covered with a scarf. It was very difficult to see. He came with a tool in his hand to break the glass. We were targeted.”

The NYPD could not immediately provide details and it has not been determined the restaurant was targeted for serving kosher eats, though the department’s Hate Crime Task force has been notified of the incident.

The vandalism echoed a recent incident on the opposite side of town.

In March, Israeli restaurant Effy’s Cafe on W. 96th St. near Columbus Ave. on the Upper West Side was vandalized with pro-Palestinian graffiti.

The metal gate covering the cafe was covered with red paint at night, while “form line here to support genocide” was spray-painted in black on the sidewalk just outside the entrance. Another sidewalk message, painted green, read “Free Gaza.”

Kalbo believes his restaurant, named after a lively boulevard in Tel Aviv, was picked out by a vandal with similar intentions.

“What else could it be?” the restaurateur said. “A crazy person wouldn’t come with his face covered and a tool in his hand. It’s obvious. There is no doubt.”

The incident came on the heels of scores of protests across the city, including several pro-Palestinian encampments at city universities and colleges that ended in hundreds of arrests.

On Wednesday night, a small group of pro-Palestinian students said they were “occupying” the lobby of the CUNY Graduate Center in Midtown, though they left after declaring victory and saying administrators had agreed to forward their demands to the entire student body.

Meanwhile, antisemitism has surged in the city since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, prompting a ferocious war in Gaza. Antisemitic hate crimes more than doubled that month alone.

As of April 14, there were 96 hate-fueled incidents targeting Jewish people, according to NYPD stats. The figure marked a 45% uptick compared with the same time frame last year, when cops investigated 66 antisemitic hate crimes.

The attacks against Jewish New Yorkers made up 56% of all hate-motivated crimes across the five boroughs, the stats showed.

Wednesday’s incident left Rothschild TLV manager Deana Pekanovic rattled.

“I was shocked,” she said. “It’s really horrible this happened. It’s been a while since the war started, and we’ve never had any issues here. We’ve only had support. We’ve never had any problems.”

Last month, Mayor Adams announced the city would pay $514 million to continue programs backed by expiring federal stimulus funds after the pandemic. The investment included $92 million for 3-K next school year — but it did not restore recent budget cuts to the program that Adams has blamed on the costs of sheltering migrants.

“I do want to come back to some of the statements you made when you were last before us,” said Councilman Lincoln Restler (D-Brooklyn), referencing a preliminary education budget hearing on March 18.

“You went on to say, ‘The parents in New York City are waiting to see if these cuts are going to be restored. I’m fighting to make that happen. And I believe that it is exactly what is going to happen in the coming weeks,'” he continued. “But of course, it didn’t happen. The mayor did not restore $170 million of cuts to early childhood education just that he made this year.”

Despite those cuts staying in the budget, education officials could not say how the reduction would impact the number of available seats.

“The last time you were here, you said we would restore it,” said Councilwoman Rita Joseph (D-Brooklyn), head of the Education Committee. “What’s the plan for that?”

Since former Mayor Bill de Blasio planned to expand 3-K, the Adams administration has attributed subsequent cuts to a series of problems as the program was stood up with temporary COVID aid. While 23,000 early childhood seats are currently empty, families are being shut out of programs elsewhere in the city.

With 3-K offers set to be released Thursday, 16% of families were not matched with any program ranked on their applications, according to preliminary data shared at the hearing. About 78% of families will receive an offer to one of their top three choices.

“I can’t over emphasize enough the state — the challenged state — that we assumed when we came into office as relates to early childhood,” Banks said. “We have made very, very significant progress, given what we inherited when we got here.”

Education officials have moved thousands of program seats across the city and adapted them to meet the scheduling and age-specific needs of more families. The city also tapped consultants at Accenture to produce a report, due last month, that could suggest more improvements to the program. It’s yet to be released.

“For working families, access to early childhood education is a deciding factor of whether they can remain in New York City or must leave to raise their children elsewhere,” said Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (D-Queens).

Despite the city’s hefty down payment last month, another $200 million fiscal cliff remains after COVID aid expires this summer. Programs on the chopping block or at risk of being trimmed back include hundreds of school nurses hired during the pandemic, alternatives to disciplinary action and suspensions and services for preschool age children with disabilities.

“The Council has been steady on this that our biggest challenge is not the costs related to the migrant influx but to grappling with the expiration of temporary dollars that were used to prop up permanent programs,” said Councilman Justin Brannan (D-Brooklyn), head of the Finance Committee.

Those budget woes were only worsened by less-than-expected school aid from the state, after lawmakers punted a funding formula overhaul until next year but tweaked how inflation is calculated. The result was a state aid increase that was nonetheless $126 million below what city education officials anticipated.

“It is very challenging as chancellor to have a list given to you of all these wonderful and amazing programs and to be told, which ones do you prioritize?” said Banks. “How do you prioritize arts over community schools? I mean, it’s like asking you which one is your favorite child? These are all wonderfully amazing programs. We don’t want to lose any of them.”

A final city budget is due by July 1.

In addition to a gaming facility, “The Coney” would feature a 250,000-square-foot, 500-room hotel, a 2,500-seat concert venue, 92,000-square-foot convention center, a dozen restaurants, room for local businesses, public open space and more, according to newly shared specifics.

The development team — consisting of Thor Equities, Saratoga Casino Holdings, Legends and the Chickasaw Nation — has already spent a year and a half trying to sweeten the pot for reluctant locals with the promise of thousands of jobs.

“We have heard time and time again that Coney Island needs a project that provides year-round economic support while also lifting up the infrastructure in one of the most densely traveled areas of the community,” Sam Gerrity, CEO of Saratoga, said in a statement. “The Coney does just that.”

The entertainment hub would be right by the iconic Boardwalk and include more than an acre of public space, most of which would be part of a rooftop garden.

But the plan is far from a sure bet. The Coney is among about 10 contenders across the city vying for one of three highly competitive casino licenses on offer from the state in 2025. Five proposals are in Midtown Manhattan, one at Ferry Point in the Bronx and a pair in Queens: one by Citi Field and another at the existing Resorts World “racino.”

The casino competitors have been trying to woo their respective communities in the lead-up to state applications opening next year. Developers have offered public benefits ranging from green space to affordable housing in an effort to break away from the pack.

The Coney team has been campaigning hard since 2022, hiring the area’s former Council member and even sponsoring youth sports. Many Brooklynites have nonetheless been skeptical about a casino, with a report released last July by the borough president finding most locals were against it.

Gerrity still hopes the neighborhood will roll the dice.

“We believe that no other project would create as big of a lift as ours in terms of lifting up the local economy, which, again, right now is seasonal,” he told the Daily News.

“You’re right there on the beach and it’s just this beautiful landscape, the Boardwalk. It’s got so much history and we’re going to use its already existing unique character and weave our project into the district.”

The New York City Fire Museum at 278 Spring St. in Hudson Square was evacuated about 9:45 a.m. on Saturday when employees who were preparing to open for the day heard loud banging and felt the building vibrate, according to Executive Director Patti Murphy.

“It’s closed off until we can get a structural engineer to ensure the safety of anybody entering the building,” Murphy told the Daily News. She said that the collection of 10,000-odd artifacts did not appear to be damaged.

“The safety of our visitors and staff is our utmost priority, and this closure is a precautionary measure while we await clearance,” read a notice on the museum’s website.

A 311 complaint to the city Buildings Department suggested a nearby construction crane may have been a factor, but a spokesman said the agency did not find issues related to the building shaking or any evidence that crane activity had caused any structural damage.

The department has issued an order for the museum to have a professional engineer inspect the facade.

“The New York City Fire Museum plays an important role in honoring the department’s history, and the FDNY is in touch with museum leadership and we are working closely with our agency partners to ensure its safety,” said FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh.

“The department will work with the museum and our partners in the public and private sector to make sure the collection remains open to the public for years to come.”

The Fire Museum has been at the Spring St. location since 1987 and dates to 1870. The 1904 Beaux Arts building was once the firehouse of Engine Co. 30 and is home to a permanent 9/11 exhibit memorializing the 343 members of the FDNY who died in the terror attacks.

Murphy said it’s unclear how long the museum will have to stay closed, but that the closure would likely have a “significant impact” financially on the independent, self-funded nonprofit, which relies heavily on admissions, gift shop sales and events (the museum was about to host a children’s birthday party when the incident happened).

“Closing down right now is going to have an impact on our operations of course,” she said.

The mayor made the remark during a Tuesday press conference while talking about wanting to address the city’s shortage of lifeguards.

He said hiring migrants for lifeguard posts would make sense since they “are excellent swimmers” before lamenting that the “only obstacle is that we won’t give them the right to work.”

Matamoros, Mexico

Some immigration advocates blasted Adams’ comment as distasteful, given that many newly arrived migrants crossed the treacherous Rio Grande on the Mexican border to make it into the U.S.

But the mayor said Wednesday afternoon that wasn’t at all what he was getting at.

“I go to the [migrant shelters], and I’m blown away by how many of the West Africans — swimmers, how many of the South Americans — swimmers. I say, ‘How many of you guys know how to swim?’ Hands go up,” he told reporters at City Hall after an unrelated press conference.

“So we have these capable people who know how to swim from West Africa, from Ecuador, from South, Central America, from Mexico, and we have a shortage of lifeguards, so if we start planning out now, we can be prepared.”

Murad Awawdeh, president of the New York Immigration Coalition, didn’t buy the mayor’s explanation and said he should apologize for his “out of line” remark.

“His comments on asylum seekers being ‘excellent swimmers’ implies that because some immigrants had to swim or wade across water on their dangerous journeys to seek safety in the United States, that they would make good lifeguards,” Awawdeh said.

“This comment is racist, and the mayor should not be making light of the perilous and often life-threatening journeys people are forced to make to escape violence and persecution. It’s demeaning and dehumanizing.”

Staff shortages in the city’s lifeguard ranks started hampering the city during the COVID-19 pandemic, part of a pattern seen across the U.S.

Last summer, just about 750 lifeguards were staffing the city’s 14 miles of beaches and dozens of public pools. That’s far short of the 1,400-1,500 lifeguards that the Parks Department aims to hire ahead of every summer.

In defending his comments Wednesday, Adams noted that he has proposed hiring migrants to fill the city’s shortages of nurses and food service workers, too.

“Now why people want to just hang on to the swimming … I’ve been saying this over and over again: Let people work,” he said.

migrants

The NYU Palestine Solidarity Coalition, a coalition of various student groups, had promoted an “autonomously planned” walkout on social media, as the newly minted university president Linda Mills was scheduled to deliver her first commencement address.

Graduates in keffiyehs painted their hands red to protest Israel’s military action in Gaza and what they see as NYU’s complicity in failing to divest from the Jewish state.

“No graduation as usual,” the student groups said in an Instagram post.

As students walked out, Mills introduced a musical performance from “Wicked,” which involved many NYU alumni and she described as a story about two formidable forces at odds who ultimately unite, “appreciating that each offers the other something to learn.”

“Today, as we face a world of war and polarization, this is as important as ever — the enduring desire to be open to those most unlike us. And this is the lesson of Wicked,” the university president said.

Spokespeople for NYU did not immediately return a request for comment, but told a student newspaper the disruption was minimal.

“During a joyful 2 1/2 hours for 40,000 grads and guests, I observed a few passing moments of booing by a tiny fraction of the crowd,” NYU spokesperson John Beckman wrote in a statement to student newspaper Washington Square News.

“It had no impact on the proceedings, which carried on very well, and the overwhelming majority of the attendees seemed to enjoy the Commencement Exercises very much.”

Last week, about 20 pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted the main campus library for a few hours at the height of final exams season, unfurling banners and demanding divestment.

University officials have twice summoned the NYPD to clear Gaza solidarity encampments, resulting in close to 150 arrests at NYU since April 22.

NYU’s main commencement came on the heels of a series of smaller graduations at Columbia University, after college officials cancelled the university-wide ceremony. While school-level celebrations have continued, some have featured disruptions and demonstrations, including a social work graduate who ripped their diploma folder in half on stage.

“They stayed strong. They just had tight security and said, the rest of the graduates is more important,” NYU graduate Zack said. “So I think it’s a credit to the president and the administration.”

For many of the undergraduates who finished their degrees this semester, Wednesday marked their first major graduation after many high school ceremonies were cancelled in 2020.

“We started during the pandemic. And so, we’re so happy to be having a graduation for real,” said Dakota Bobadilla, a drama major from San Francisco, whose family flew across the country for the ceremony.

“It’s a little scary going into the future,” another graduate, Ella Webb, said as she starts a job as a grant writer while she auditions in New York. “But I’m really excited to be here.”

The letter, signed by 17 Council members and 14 mostly Muslim community groups, took particular issue with claims from the mayor and his press office that Naveed was axed last month because he didn’t put “bringing hate crimes down first.”

“To suggest that he prioritized himself over the city’s mission of combating hate crimes against all New Yorkers is not only unfounded, but deeply offensive to those who have worked closely with him, and who he has helped over the years,” read the letter, a copy of which was exclusively obtained by the Daily News.

“Questioning his integrity and character is not just disheartening; it is an affront to everything we stand for as a city.”

Asked for a response to the letter Wednesday, Adams’ office referred to comments the mayor made about Naveed last month.

In those remarks, the mayor dismissed that Naveed was canned due to his Muslim faith. Instead, he suggested Naveed didn’t “live up” to the job, given that there has been a recent spike in hate crimes in the city.

The Hamas Oct. 7 terror attack in Israel and the war in Gaza that followed have sparked protests and anger across New York.

As of April 14, there had been 96 reported anti-Semitic hate crimes this year, a 45% increase compared with the same time frame in 2023, and nine reported Islamophobic hate crimes, compared with just one in the same span in 2023, NYPD data show.

In responding to Naveed’s discrimination accusation, Adams also noted he has other Muslim employees in his administration.

The signatories on Wednesday’s missive include Brooklyn Councilwoman Shahana Hanif and Manhattan Councilman Yusef Salaam, the chamber’s only two Muslim members.

Among the community groups that signed on to the letter is Majlis Ash-Shura, an umbrella organization representing more than 90 local mosques.

That group has a history of supporting Adams that includes inviting him to deliver remarks at its 30th anniversary gala in 2019, when he was Brooklyn borough president. But the group has recently been critical of politicians who aren’t calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war; Adams is among those who haven’t. More than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza as part of the military campaign Israel launched in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack.

Assignment- CLOSE RIKERS

Wednesday’s letter echoed some of Majlis Ash-Shura’s concerns over the tumult in the Middle East, charging there has recently been “a change” in the Adams administration’s “approach with vulnerable communities, raising concerns about fair representation for all New Yorkers.”

Hanif, a frequent Adams critic who is co-chairwoman of the Council’s Progressive Caucus, said in an interview that part of the letter is about what she sees as a disregard for Palestinians and Muslims amid the devastation in Gaza.

“Since Oct. 7, the Adams administration has consistently dismissed discrimination against Muslims and Palestinians,” she said.

Naveed declined to comment on the letter to the mayor.

As first reported by The News, Naveed was booted on April 16 from his job as executive director of the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes. He told The News he wasn’t given a reason for his firing, but that he believes it was the result of his Muslim faith. He also said he has hired an attorney and that he’s in the process of filing a legal claim alleging he was the victim of discrimination.

It’s unclear who’ll replace Naveed, and his former office now has only one staffer.

The letter from the Council members and the community groups argued it’s preposterous for Adams to point blame at Naveed for a hate crime uptick, since his administration has cut funding and staff for the Hate Crimes Prevention Office. The letter also contended City Hall’s treatment of Naveed sets a troubling precedent.

“Despite the presence of a few Muslim members within this administration, using their mere existence as grounds to dismiss legitimate claims of discrimination is unacceptable,” it said. “Publicly singling out an individual like Mr. Naveed and attributing circumstances solely to unsubstantiated performance issues, while disregarding such discrimination claims, sends a chilling message to others and creates a barrier that discourages reporting workplace harassment, hate crimes, discrimination, bullying and bias incidents without fear of retaliation.”