LOOKING FOR A CHEAP PLACE TO STAY IN NEW YORK? INSIDE THE COCKROACH-INFESTED 'HOTEL' WHERE MORE THAN 100 MEN SLEEP SIDE-BY-SIDE IN CHICKEN WIRE 'KENNELS'

Heinous: John Arkue sits in his tiny room at the Sun Bright Hotel

It’s a New York hotel offering 'cages' for just $10 a night - and you get what you pay for.  

The single rooms at Chinatown's The Sun Bright Hotel have been described as 'animal shelters', where more than 100 disadvantaged men live side by side in cockroach-infested chicken wire boxes. 

Only men are allowed in the 'kennels' on the third and fourth floors, and the rooms are just seven by five feet - smaller than a prison's solitary-confinement cell.

And at least one resident reported the body of a man was left to rot in his room for 15 days before it was removed - and the room wasn't even cleaned afterward.

Suffering: Double leg amputee Michael Fidler, 66, has lived in this room for 11 years

The allegations come from the New York Post, which sent a reporter to check out the cut-rate hotel.

'It was horrible - like an animal shelter,' a first responder recently called to the hotel told

'I picked up a suit on the wall and roaches fell out. Hundreds of them.'

More than 100 men on the floor share one bathroom with two shower stalls, four toilets and one urinal. Cockroaches, vermin and fleas infest the dilapidated building, and black mold covers most of the walls, according to the Post. 

The owners of the hotel have not responded to allegations. Managers were not available for comment to MailOnline early Monday.

The six-story building doesn't have an elevator, and most floors lack air conditioning, according to reports. 

New York Post reports the city Department of Buildings has issued the budget hotel with 46 summonses since 1988. 

It has 22 open violations for converting the second and fifth floors into a hostel and installing laundry equipment on the second floor.

Shocking: Double amputee Micheal Fidler, 66, sits in his 3rd floor cubicle. Cockroaches and trash line the rooms at Chinatown's The Sun Bright Hotel

Hellhole: A block of 32 cubicles, each about 90 by 58 inches, separated above the door frame by chicken wire

David Rodriguez, 74, has lived in his room for 16 years, paying just $310 a month for his little bed in a cockroach-infested cubicle.

'Somebody died on the other side, and he was there about 15 days,' the retired cab driver told the Post. 

'[Management] left it dirty. It smelled very bad -  a dead man!

'There’s a whole bunch of nuts around here. I don’t feel comfortable, but what am I going to do? I can’t do nothing. I can’t pay $1,000 for an apartment.'

The story about a dead man being left inside a room for more than two weeks has not been verified. 

However many of the dorm rooms which aren't occupied by long-term tenants are rented out to backpackers.

The hotel boasts on its website that rooms are 'cozy' and affordable.

'Whether you're traveling for business or pleasure, Sun Bright Hotel offers a variety of room types to ensure comfort for your needs at low prices,' the website states. 'Our rooms are clean, affordable and very cozy.'

However the promotional pictures of the rooms it has posted, which have also been uploaded to online review guide Yelp, do not paint the full picture. 

The rooms are small, but clean, with white walls and spotless toilet facilities. 

One Yelp reviewer wrote: 'The place is a total dump. Don't stay here if you don't like camping, are afraid of cockroaches, mold or mildew.' 

Another wrote: 'Prison! The second floor looks clean but if you go to other floors, you'll ask yourself what have you done to deserve this. You'll see cats, cat food, roaches, floor tiles peeling off, smell of cigarettes even though it says no smoking.'

The same hotel? This image of a hotel room on Yelp is a far cry from the reality

Misleading? These images from the review site Yelp offer a stark contrast to the scenes of squalor depicted inside the hotel by the New York Post

Disabled construction worker John Arkue has lived on the third floor for 15 years.

'They keep all the garbage all on this floor,' he told New York Post. 

'Sometimes the garbage sits here. Like on a Saturday, we don’t put the garbage out. We got roaches, we got flies, you know? Did you look in the bathroom? It’s falling down, the ceiling and stuff.'

Two months ago, the building was sold for $14.8 million to Bowery 88 LLC, which shares its address with the headquarters of clothing retailer Dr. Jays.

Mail Online contacted Dr. Jays but no one was immediately available for comment.

Prison-like: This is the third floor entrance, where men live in tiny cubicles with no air conditioning

No options: David Rodriguez, 74, moved into the Sun Bright Hotel in 1997, after he retired from cab driving

Hellhole: The Sun Bright Hotel is on Hester St on the edge of Chinatown

SEXTING SCANDAL: TEACHER ARRESTED FOR SENDING HER NUDE PICTURE TO HER 17-YEAR-OLD STUDENT

NEWPORT NEWS CITY JAIL

Cara Alexander, 27, of Newport News, Va., is accused of sending nude pictures of herself to a former student’s cellphone. The student also claims they had a relationship. She has been in jail since Friday.

A 27-year-old high school teacher in Virginia was busted for sexting a former student after his parents found nude pics of her on his cellphone, police said.

Cara Alexander, an English teacher at Woodside High School in Newport News, was arrested Friday and charged with several offenses, including contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

The 17-year-old student told his parents that he was also in a relationship with Alexander, a full-time ninth-grade teacher at the school since 2010, reported ABC affiliate WVEC-TV.

While the teen was previously under Alexander’s watch, he currently attends a different school, a Newport News Public Schools spokeswoman told The Virginian-Pilot.

Officials didn’t immediately say how long Alexander had allegedly been sexting the teen, although they don’t believe they engaged in any inappropriate activity on school grounds.

WVEC.COM

Woodside High School in Newport News, Va., where an English teacher was arrested Friday for several counts related to delinquency of a minor.

The district plans to ask the state to revoke Alexander’s teaching license.

Some of the parents of Alexander’s students, meanwhile, said they’re stunned by the allegations.

Parent Anthony Bailey said his son recalled Alexander as “a very nice teacher and … he had a good time in her class.”

“It is disappointing,” Bailey added.

Alexander remained in Newport News City Jail on Sunday with no bond set.

'PEOPLE SAY I SHOULD BE SHOT FOR HAVING A BEARD, BUT I'VE NEVER FELT SEXIER': MOTHER, 49, WHO SPROUTED FULL FACIAL HAIR AFTER BIRTH OF SON 28 YEARS AGO IS FINALLY READY FOR LOVE

 

Mariam, 49, gave up tweezing her facial hair in 2008, and has decided instead to let her beard grow and see how it would change her as a person

Source: Daily Mail

A mother who began sprouting thick facial hair after the birth of her son 28 years ago says she's feeling sexier and more confident than ever before, having finally stopped trying to get rid of her beard.

The German-born woman, identified only as Mariam, appeared on ITV's This Morning to discuss why she stopped tweezing the hair on her face which she had been plucking every day for almost two decades.

Mariam, 49, also explained to Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield that she is happy with the way she looks and would not change her situation, despite being criticised for her behaviour by her own mother

She also said she is able to look past the comments of internet trolls who target her bearded woman blog to tell her 'people like me should be sent to Russia... or shot'.

Mariam - who has had tests to rule out serious medical problems more associated with excessive hair growth in women - told Phil and Holly, along with expert Dr Carol Cooper, that she had never had any facial hair before the birth of her son, after which it gradually began growing.

Ten years on, the hair was growing thick enough for a full beard, and Mariam would laboriously tweeze out each hair every morning.

'I asked my mother what to do and she told me to tweeze them, never to shave or wax. And then I visited my gynaecologist who said it happened to lots of other women so I shouldn't worry. But they didn't really give me a reason. Now I know it must be inherited

'My chin got really red and inflamed from all the plucking, and some of the hairs were ingrown, so it always looked like I'd fallen on my chin. But when people asked what had happened and I told them they couldn't believe it.'

In 2008, when she was living alone and unemployed, Mariam decided to give her beard a chance to grow. She said: 'I had no job so I had free time to give it a chance and see what happened, so I started a blog to inform other women about it, and to see what was happening every day and how I felt.

Mariam explained to Holly and Phil that prior to her 'experiment' plucking her beard had become an obsession, and that her son, who has not been named, used to remember it taking her hours to leave the house.

She added: 'I thought about it all the time. I had to double check before leaving the house that it was OK, and take a mirror in my pocket. That was life.

'When I decided to let it grow it didn't feel brave, it was more like a curiosity. I wanted to see hwat would happen to me. There was a big fear that everyone would turn away and nobody would talk to me anymore.'

Mariam, 49, appeared alongside Dr Carol Cooper on ITV's This Morning to explain her situation to Holly and Phil

And Mariam did meet some resistance - from her family.

'My mum said "do you have to shock people like this". Then she got used to it and thought that one day I'd finish it, and was patient, but now she's getting nervous and wants me to stop and become "normal".'

She received negative reactions from other people, too, especially on the internet: 'People can be cruel depending on where you go. 

'Some people say people like me should be sent to Russia or shot, but that's just one person on the internet writing horrible stuff. Other people say it's courageous and inspiring. So there are both sides.'

Mariam now travels with a circus as the bearded lady act, which she says she enjoys since she has studied acting in the past and also likes educating people about the issue.

'I want to give people the opportunity to talk to a bearded lady, because usually they are too scared in the street'

She said: 'I want to give people the opportunity to talk to a bearded lady, because usually they are too scared in the street.'

Mariam, who has been single for a decade, also says she is looking for a relationship now that she is feeling sexy and more confident. She told Holly that even if she could she would not change her situation.

Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield asked Mariam how she felt about having a beard

'I know myself more now,' she said. 'There are always people with a fetish who might only be attracted by the beard, but that is the same with lots of things, even if I were a blonde woman.

'It is sometimes annoying when I go shopping but otherwise it has given me other opportunities'

'I tried electrolysis three times but it just grew back -  and now I'm happy with it. It is sometimes annoying when I go shopping but otherwise it has given me other opportunities.

Dr Cooper explained that it is fairly common for women to have facial hair they do not want, but if it comes on suddenly - especially if accompanied by other symptoms such as weight gain and irregular periods - you should see your GP since it could be to do with excessive of androgen hormones.

What triggers excess facial hair in women?

What causes excess facial hair?

It's estimated that one in ten women suffers from excess facial and body hair. But what causes it? 

'Sometimes race or just a family tendency to be more hairy is to blame, rather than any medical problem,' explains Dr Rina Davison, an endocrinologist from Whipps Cross University Hospital, London, with a special interest in excess hair. 

'People of South Asian or Mediterranean descent tend to have more hair than Caucasians or those with black skin, for example. It's also possible to be quite a “hairy” family regardless of race.'

But there are other factors that could be to blame. 

Women normally produce low levels of male hormones called androgens, but an excess can trigger unwanted hair growth known as hirsutism.

A common cause of hirsutism is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, which has accompanying symptoms of acne, weight gain and irregular periods.

Other, rarer, causes include a tumour on the ovary or adrenal gland as well as certain medicines including steroids.

Rarely, a woman will have normal androgen levels and the cause of the unwanted hair growth will not be identified.

SUPER MOM-PHOTOS OF CHARLY BOY'S FIRST DAUGHTER, MAGGY AND HER FAMILY



Maggy & Hubby

 

 

19-YEAR OLD AMINA WHO POSTED TOPLESS PHOTOS ON FACEBOOK THREATENED

Campaigners including Richard Dawkins have called for a day of action to support a young Tunisian woman who appeared to post pictures of herself topless as part of a feminist movement in the country, and was subsequently threatened with death by stoning.

The 19-year-old activist, identified only as Amina, posted on the Femen-Tunisian Facebook page a topless picture of herself with the words “F**k your morals” written across her chest.

Another controversial image followed, of the woman smoking a cigarette, baring her breasts, with the Arabic written across her chest: “My body belongs to me, and is not the source of anyone’s honour”.

Tunisian newspaper Kapitalis quoted the Wahabi Salafi preacher Almi Adel, who heads the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, saying: “The young lady should be punished according to sharia, with 80 to 100 lashes, but [because of] the severity of the act she has committed, she deserves be stoned to death.

“Her act could bring about an epidemic. It could be contagious and give ideas to other women. It is therefore necessary to isolate [the incident]. I wish her to be healed.”

If she committed the offense in Tunisia, Amina could be punished by up to two years in prison and a fine of 100 to 1,000 dinars [between £40 and £400], local media said.

Supreme Court to rule on bitter divorce case between Nigerian oil tycoon and British wife

AFTER hearing the appeal of the former wife of one of Britain's richest men for over two days last week, seven Supreme Court Judges of the United Kingdom (UK), including the President of the Supreme Court - Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbuty - will, over the next few months, deliver what could be a landmark judgement in the bitter divorce suit between Itsekiri multi-millionaire oil tycoon, Michael Prest, and his former English wife, Yasmin Aishatu Prest.

The couple, who have four children, oldest is 15, met and married in London in 1993. They lived happily thereafter till a bitter split in 2008.


In what is the third and obviously the final round of the legal tussle that has cost Prest and his former wife about £3 million in legal fees to divorce lawyers, Mrs. Prest, 50, has prayed the highest court of the UK to quash the ruling of the Court of Appeal (England and Wales), which ruled that 51-year-old Prest could use Nigerian Customary law to shield his multimillion assets from being split with his former wife. The judges, six men and Lady Hale of Richmond, will, in the coming months, give the ruling, which will set legal precedence for similar cases involving legal disputes between husbands and wives in Great Britain.

On Friday, Supreme Court sources told The Guardian that the "judgement doesn't come that quickly. It takes a couple of months for the Judges to deliver their judgement after a case has finished," when asked how soon the judgement would be delivered.

Prior to dragging her former husband before the Law Lords last week, the High Court had, in October 2011, ruled that Prest should give a lump sum of £17.5 million of his wealth and some London properties as settlement to his former wife, after she asked for over £30million maintenance payout and £730,000 per annum to cover "reasonable needs" for both herself and their four children.

However, he headed straight for the Court of Appeal and in February last year, citing Itsekiri Customary Law. In October, his lawyers won the appeal and got an order slashing the High Court ruling by almost £9 million. Thereby, reducing his wife's payout to over £8 million.

Citing the customary Nigerian law, lawyers representing Prest said the oil tycoon, having lost his father - who set him up in business with a seed gift of £10,000 before his death in 1992- is not only the head of his extended family, but also responsible for the welfare of his four brothers and their children.

Besides, Prest's lawyers argued that by virtue of the same Nigerian Customary Law, the assets of their client belong to the family and not solely those of their multimillionaire client.

In essence, what Prest's lawyers and those of the three companies - Petrodel Resources Ltd, Petrodel Upstream Ltd. and Vermount Petroleum Ltd - he owns, said last week was that, under Nigerian Customary Law, those three oil companies and their assets belong to their client's family and not solely his.

The companies are all registered in the Isle of Man.

But Mrs. Prest's lawyers based their arguments on Section 24(1)(a) of Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, to ask the Judges to reverse the order, which Prest got at the Appeal Court in October last year, where his lawyers had invoked Nigerian Customary law to quash the order of the High Court.

Also added to the prayer of his former wife is the fact that Prest, who resides in Monaco, had not even paid the mother of his four children neither the lump sum, which was slashed by nearly half nor the £270, 000 -a -year allowance, which the Court ordered him to pay her. Her lawyer argued that if his client lost this case, other husbands would similarly be able to dishonestly use this legal precedence to hide their assets behind a corporate veil, thereby denying their wives a fair slice of their fortune.

Mrs. Prest's legal team also underlined the fact that if the case went against their client, the Marital Causes Act - a legislation meant to give divorcing spouses a fair share of their assets - would become meaningless.

Although the court was told that Mrs. Prest still lives in their £4 million marital home in Bayswater, West London, and that her former husband is paying over £100,000 per annum in school fees for the couple's four children's education in private schools, he has refused to obey courts orders that he should pay her massive legal costs.

Moreover, he has been handing out just a meagre £150 per week as maintenance allowance. Her lawyers went further, accusing him of using a "cheats charter" to hide his oil money in offshore companies.

Mrs. Prest's barrister, Richard Todd QC -Queen's Counsel, the equivalent of SAN - told the court on Tuesday that: "It is not hyperbole to say that this is a case where, if the companies succeed, this wife will be rendered destitute. They say it is not the case that this is a "cheats charter," even though it would result in Mr. Prest and his companies coming away with tens of millions of pounds, while the wife is reduced to claiming benefits. They say it is not a "cheats charter' because there are potentially other remedies available to the wife. We say this is not so." He described his client's former husband as someone who has exhibited a strong desire to "thwart the intentions of the court."

Todd also said that coupled with this is the wrong signal that this judgement -if it went against Mrs. Prest - would send out to other warring couples across the UK. "It would be a simple matter to incorporate a company, or better still use a company already incorporated, in order to retain assets and make them judgement -proof in a case such as this. This would be that very "cheats charter," and more importantly, "it would reduce the Matrimonial Causes Act to being nothing more than a scarecrow."

Although Prest claims he wants to give his former wife shares in the companies, her lawyer would rather his client have nothing to do with that. Todd told the court that waiting to get a slice of the companies would be a wasteful exercise for his client. Basing his argument on the way the companies' ownership is structured, Todd noted that Prest had already woven such a "web of deceit in respect of ownership of these shares that it would be impossible to ever work out what the position is."

He compared entering into any agreement with his client's former husband as being equivalent to her "being led in a merry dance without any reward." Continuing, Todd added: "The husband who is resident in Monaco, simply uses these companies as his piggy bank," noting that although "he is supposed to be paying Mrs Prest £270,000 per annum, but he simply chooses not to pay that."

Todd made it clear that Mr Prest "is paying Mrs Prest £150 cash per week - £7,800 per annum , a little bit less than the minimum wage."

International Women's Day Celebration

International Women's Day is celebrated on March 8th every year. It is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future.

As women all over the world are celebrating their day, blessingheartt presents to you 10 life Saving Tips Every Woman Should Know.

1.SELF DEFENCE MOVES: The knowledge of self-defense could mean the difference between life and death. Every woman should know how to protect herself effectively against attackers, rapists, or anyone else trying to do you harm. All you have to do is S.I.N.G. If you’ve ever seen the film Miss Congeniality, you may know what I’m talking about. S.I.N.G. stands for Solar Plexus, Instep, Nose, and Groin. Targeting any of these sensitive spots on the body will help hurt and eventually distract your attacker, giving you time to run away.

2. DEALING WITH CRAMPS: It’s that time of the month again and what presents do we get besides bloating and crankiness? Woman’s worst enemy: cramps. Luckily, there’s a few ways that us girls can cope with this pain, some things to try are a heating pad or hot water bottle on your stomach to help relax the muscles.

3. ACCESSORIES: The number one rule for accessories that every woman should know is that less is more. You can wear statement earrings or a statement necklace, but not both. Your accessories should compliment the outfit and the colour scheme of the outfit.

4. CHANGING YOUR OWN TIRE: Okay ladies, we can do this! It’s actually a very simple process. First of all and probably most obvious; make sure that your parking break is on and that the car will not roll.

Now, raise the jack so it is supporting the car. Remove the hubcap and unscrew and remove the lug nuts doing one then the one opposite of it until all are removed. Now you can remove the flat tire. Put the new tire onto the wheel studs with the air valve facing out. After that you can replace the lug nuts in the same pattern that you took them off (make sure they’re tight!). Put the hubcap back on and lower the jack. You’re finished!

5. FINDING THE RIGHT BRA SIZE: Did you know that more than 50% of women wear the wrong bra size? It’s very easy to find your right size. To start, wear a comfortable bra without padding. Take the measuring tape and measure around your chest right underneath your breasts. This measurement is your band size (if it’s an odd number then add 1"). Next, measure around your breasts at the fullest part. Take that number and subtract it from your band size. Every inch is a cup

SUNSCREEN IS YOUR BEST FRIEND: Ah, the magical powers of sunscreen. Not only does it protect against skin cancer, but it also helps anti-aging. Applying sunscreen every single day is what will help you have the beautiful young skin you want, forever. Doctors recommend wearing sunscreen every single day, even if it’s not so sunny out. Those nasty UV rays still get through, rain or shine.

 

7. STAYING SAFE ONLINE: Today, in the age of Facebook and Twitter and tons of other dating sites, it’s very easy to slip up and give away some precious information. Posting information, such as your address, where you are, or when you aren’t going to be home, can be remarkably dangerous. Be smart about what you say and what details you give on the web. Make your web page private and so only people you know can see what you post. If it’s not private always ask yourself, would I tell this to a complete stranger?

 

8. CPR: Be a hero, know your CPR. To start, check the person for breathing, by tilting their head back. If there is no breathing then you start mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Plug their nose and cover their mouth with yours and breath 2 breaths into them, each breath being about 1 second long. Now look for responsiveness; breathing, coughing, or moving should occur, if not, start chest compressions. Place your hands in the middle of the person’s nipples and pump your hands up and down 1 ½ inches to 2 inches with each pump being less than 1 second. Do this 30 times. Repeat both steps until help arrives.

 

9: PREVENTING HEART DISEASE: Heart disease is the number one killer of woman in the world. Luckily there are many ways to prevent it. Tobacco and stress contribute massively to heart disease so try your best to stay smoke-free and de-stressed. Having a good diet will help too, you are more likely to have heart disease if you have high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, or are obese.

 

10: SELF BREAST EXAM: Spotting breast cancer early on can save your life. You always do a self-breast exam lying down. When checking your right breast, place your right palm under your head and use the left hand to check. Use the pads of your three middle fingers and go in a circle motion overlapping to check for bumps. You’ll need to use different types of pressure; light for the tissue closest to the skin, a mild pressure for deeper and firm pressure to feel the tissue closet to the chest and ribs. To make sure you check the whole breast, go in a line down the breast then a line right next to that line and so on. Repeat on right side. Call your doctor immediately if you find anything.

 

Happy international women's day!