Happy Valentine's Day! Cutest East Village Couple Give Love Advice: "There Is No Love Today"

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"I love you, God bless you and see you tomorrow," is how Pilar La Rosa bids adieu to her regular patrons at Pilar Jewelry Repair on East 7th Street. Shopping at her quaint boutique is always a joy, though for the most part we stop by for no apparent reason other than to chat with owners Pilar and her husband Walter. You see, it's not everyday you meet a happily (and chill) married couple (in Manhattan) that also happen to work together.

This adorably cute couple hail from Lima, Peru, and have been coworkers for the past 20 years at this East Village storefront, which is an accomplishment in itself. What is even more astonishing is that they've been married for the past five decades! So on today's very special love day, we asked the one couple who spends every waking moment together how relationships can function and survive in today's complex digital love age.

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Mayor Bloomberg Thinks Skype is Cool -- And Not Just for Young People!

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Sam Levin
Mayor Mike Bloomberg at a senior center in Flushing where seniors were talking on Skype.
Mayor Mike Bloomberg toured one of the city's senior centers in Flushing, Queens yesterday as part of a press event to promote his administration's efforts in launching eight new "innovative" senior centers throughout New York City.

Innovation, in this case, means Skype!

With a tail of reporters and camera crews shoving each other behind him, Bloomberg arrived at the Selfhelp Ben Rosenthal Prince Street Senior Center in Queens yesterday morning, and was given a brief tour of the facilities; he shook hands with seniors, watched them sing, peeked in on a tai chi class, and, you betcha, even participated in a Skype chat (crazy 21st century world we live in, eh?)

In one room, he joined participants who were in the middle of a sing-a-long Skype session.

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John Liu, With the New School, Proposes Pension Plan to Address Retirement Crisis

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Sam Levin
New School professor Teresa Ghilarducci and City Comptroller John Liu at the New School today.
City Comptroller John Liu, staying focused on official business and not his ongoing campaign finance controversy, unveiled a new pension plan this morning designed to target what he says is a growing retirement crisis in New York City.

Here's the problem, according to Liu, an expected 2013 mayoral candidate, who has partnered with the New School on this effort: Because benefits from Social Security average only about $1,200 per month, many rely on employer-sponsored retirement plans to supplement their income as they get older. But in New York City, between 2000 and 2009, the percentage of employers that sponsor retirement plans for their employees fell from 48% to 40%, such that a growing group of New Yorkers are at risk of facing great economic hardship when they retire. More than one-third of households in which the head is nearing retirement will have to rely almost entirely on Social Security income. Some will not be able to retire at all due to low assets.

Liu also pointed to reports that the number of elderly people in the city's homeless shelters has shot up to 55% over the last ten years, with half of that increase taking place over the last two years alone.

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Donald Trump Backs Mitt Romney in 2012; America Engages in Collective Facepalm

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He's baaaack.

After throwing in the towel for his own bullshit-loaded, presidential race pre-campaigning that predictably amounted to NOTHING, Donald Trump has decided to endorse Mitt Romney's bid in the 2012 election.

There had previously been rumors that Trump -- the loud-mouthed, over-bronzed birther -- would back Newt Gingrich, but he was apparently wooed by the Mormon millionaire after watching televised debates and "supports Romney's stance on China, which has been a key issue" according to USA Today.

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Scumbag Knocks Down Old Lady in the Bronx and Grabs Her Purse. See for Yourself.

What kind of scumbag comes up behind a 78-year-old woman on the sidewalk, knocks her down, and runs off with her purse? This guy, say cops, and they have the video to prove it. It happened while she was walking with her husband and granddaughter on Arthur Avenue, near 188th Street at about 11:25 p.m. last Friday, April 15. Tipsters can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or submit tips at nypdcrimestoppers.com or text info to 274637 (CRIMES), entering TIP577.

Phony 'Water Dept.' Burglars of Elderly Strike Again, This Time in West Village

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Phony 'Water Dept.' employees. Don't let them in!
​A trio of scumbag robbers posing as Water Dept. employees and victimizing the Bronx elderly are now linked to a similar case in the West Village, cops say. They talked their way into an 80-year-old woman's apartment at 87 Barrow Street on February 16. One of them distracted the old lady while the two others scooped up jewelry from her bedroom. She was unharmed; they fled.


Linda Naimo, Staten Island Granny Who Was Mugged, Dies; Suspects Still at Large

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Linda Naimo (Photo: Julia Xanthos/Daily News)
​Linda Naimo, the 75-year-old Staten Island granny who, along with her thrift-store-owner husband, Joe, was viciously beaten by a couple of robbers last month, has now died.

But her death, on Monday, has not been ruled a homicide (at least not yet), and that's because of inconclusive autopsy results, the Daily News's John Lauinger reports. Naturally, that has enraged her son, Rocco Naimo.

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Scumbag Mugs Queens Man, 96, Gets $5, Knocks Him Down

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Mugger of man, 96
​Cops are looking for the chickenshit mugger who snatched $5 from a 96-year-old man in a Woodside elevator and then knocked him down. The Queens ambush happened at about 3:30 p.m. last Thursday at 30-81 54th Street. The old man avoided serious injury.

Tipsters can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or submit tips at nypdcrimestoppers.com or text info to 274637 (CRIMES), entering TIP577.

Cops say the guy demanded money, the old man pulled out $5 from his pocket, then the guy grabbed it and pushed him to the floor of the elevator. The mugger was unavailable for comment on how he's able to live with himself after doing something like that.

Robbers Run 'Water Dept. Inspector' Scams on Bronx Elderly

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Phony "Water Dept. inspector."
​A duo of robbers have run a scam on Bronx oldsters recently, posing as "inspectors" for the "Water Dept." to check either the "water level" or "quality." Once inside, they scoop up jewelry and other goodies and run like hell, cops say. Their first such score was on December 19; the fifth, and most recent, was on February 7. The robbers are described as Latino males, each about 5-foot-10 and 35 to 40 years old.

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Madeline Klima: The 81-year-old Cleaning Lady Who Got Mugged in the Subway

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Madeline Klima
Cops are still looking for the beefy female who, as we reported yesterday, was caught on camera mugging an 81-year-old lady at the Fulton Street subway station turnstiles at 10:40 p.m. January 4.

And the story gets even sadder: The Post has a heartrending piece today identifying the victim as Madeline Klima, who was trudging home after her job of cleaning offices. The video shows the mugger stalking and then flipping the old lady over while snatching her handbag. She suffered a broken shoulder. From the Post:

"Nothing was said. It happened very fast. I was just pulled backwards," said Klima, who lost three paychecks in the robbery, as well as her checkbook and other personal papers.

"She got my paychecks, $800. I guess I'll have to survive without it," said Klima, who lives with her daughter and insists she's never considered retiring. "I've always worked," she said.

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