New York City briefs

Local airports break record for passengers

Port Authority airports broke passenger records last year with 111.6 million fliers, the agency said yesterday.

The last traveler record set for the Port Authority came before the recession in 2007, which saw about 1.5 million fewer fliers than last year.

Port Authority-operated airports broke records of their own in 2013.

Kennedy Airport had a record 50 million annual passengers, including a record 26 million international travelers, while LaGuardia Airport clocked in a record 1.6 million international passengers.

-- amNewYork

Police release rape suspect's sketch

The NYPD yesterday released a sketch of a man suspected of an attempted rape on the subway in Harlem last week.

The victim, 21, was riding in a No. 3 train at 4 p.m. Thursday when she saw the suspect, police said. He followed her into the next car and tried to rape her. The victim fought him and he ran out, the NYPD said. She wasn't hurt.

The suspect is described as 6 feet tall, 25 to 35 years old and wearing pink Nike sneakers. -- amNewYork

New fire-safety

rules proposed

A week after a Manhattan fire killed a young playwright, a New York City lawmaker proposed a new fire-safety requirement for high-rise residential buildings that he said could save lives.

City Councilman Corey Johnson told a news conference yesterday that buildings taller than six stories should be required to have emergency public-address systems so first responders and building managers can communicate better with residents.

The playwright, Daniel McClung, 27, was overcome by smoke in a stairwell near the 31st floor of The Strand apartment building on Manhattan's West Side after fleeing his 38th-floor apartment Jan. 5. Fire officials have said residents would have been safe staying in their apartments because of the building's fireproof design.

Former Marcos aide

sentenced in art plot

A former aide to ex-Philippines first lady Imelda Marcos was sentenced yesterday to 2 to 6 years in prison after being convicted of scheming to sell a $32 million Claude Monet painting.

Prosecutors have said Vilma Bautista peddled misbegotten treasure. Defense lawyers said she was caught up in a clash between a government and its ousted leader.

Bautista, who also was ordered to pay about $3.5 million in state taxes, was convicted in November of conspiracy and tax fraud.

The 1899 Monet, from the French painter's famed "Water Lilies" series, and other art ended up in Bautista's hands after vanishing when a 1986 revolt drove longtime President Ferdinand Marcos into exile.

Charged with selling bogus play tickets

An outspoken opponent of the NYPD's stop-and-frisk policy was accused of selling bogus tickets to Broadway shows and other sought-after events, court documents say.

Angel Ortiz, 19, was charged with grand larceny yesterday.

Prosecutors say Ortiz sold fake tickets to the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical "Book of Mormon" for $350 in total and a set of three phony tickets for $480.

He was also accused of selling a pair of bogus tickets to the award-winning "Kinky Boots" for $280.

Ortiz is part of a federal lawsuit challenging a program known as Operation Clean Halls that sends police to patrol private dwellings. The case is related to the federal trial last year on the department's stop-and-frisk policy.

Compiled with

wire services