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Take care, Carranza: New York City Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza is stepping down after three years, paving the way for the first Black woman to lead the Education Department, Mayor de Blasio announced on Friday. Carranza — who resigned of his own accord, city officials said — will be replaced on March 15 by Meisha Porter, the executive superintendent for the Bronx. “It has been my greatest honor to serve as New York City schools chancellor and I can’t think of anyone who would be better to take the helm than Meisha Porter,” Carranza said in a statement.
Cuomo harassment claims: A former aide to Gov. Cuomo accused the state’s top leader Wednesday of sexually harassing her, claiming the governor once kissed her on the mouth and, in another incident, suggested they play a game of strip poker during a taxpayer-funded plane trip. The former aide, Lindsey Boylan, wrote in a self-published essay that she endured “pervasive harassment” while working under Cuomo, and that the governor “created a culture within his administration where sexual harassment and bullying is so pervasive that it is not only condoned but expected.” Mayor de Blasio called for an independent probe into the accusations on Thursday. “When a woman comes forward with this kind of very specific allegation, they have to be taken seriously. We need a full and independent investigation,” de Blasio said. Representatives for Cuomo have denied the allegations.
Conviction overturned: A Brooklyn man who spent 24 years in prison had his murder conviction overturned Thursday after a judge ruled that thousands of dollars in secret payments to witnesses in his case violated his right to a fair trial. Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Jane Tully ordered Louis “Tony” Charriez, 57, to be released after a drug-addicted witness allegedly fabricated her testimony in cases in exchange for money from the Brooklyn district attorney’s office. “The People’s failure to disclose the moneys paid, promises made, and benefits conferred upon every single witness who testified against
the defendant, failure to correct misstatements, and conduct in bolstering the credibility and misstatements of the witnesses, constituted a denial of the defendant’s rights and a pattern of breach of the People’s constitutional duty,” wrote Tully in her decision. Charriez was accused of fatally stabbing Larry Byrd in a crackhouse in East New York in 1997.
Harlem to Hollywood: A Harlem nail tech whose Rolodex of star-studded clientele includes Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige and Queen Latifah has made it her mission to elevate other Black women in the industry. “People will always be like, ‘Oh, I didn’t know there were Black nail techs.’ And there have been for many years,” said 48-year-old Lisa Logan, owner of the Nail Suite on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. “I always let them know that I’ve not only worked in Black-owned nail salons for my entire career, but they’ve been in Harlem. So that has always been an encouragement to me.”